VETRN

Save the date! National Veterans Small Business Week begins Oct.31-Nov.4. Visit https://bit.ly/3dSxRuh for more information.

Lee Goldberg and VETRN wish to congratulate all the SBA Massachusetts Award recipients who were recognized May 5th at the annual MA SBA Awards Ceremony, the first in-person ceremony since Covid-19. A special congratulations goes to Brian LaFauci of Won Sports Inc. who received the Veteran Owned Business of the Year Award. Brian is an Air Force veteran, a former Director of the New England Veteran Business Outreach Center, and a graduate of the VETRN MBA Online Program. In addition, we would like to congratulate Kathleen Kelly, Senior Vice President of Webster Bank, recipient of the Financial Champion of the Year Award. Kathleen is also a financial advisor and resource for VETRN and veteran small business owners. In 2021, Kathy closed $21 million in SBA funding to veterans, women, minorities and the LBGTQ community. Kudos as well to Bob Nelson and his entire MA SBA District Office Team for closing a record number of SBA, PPP and EIDL loans in 2021, for assisting small business owners throughout MA and the region, and for a successful Awards Ceremony attended by over 250 people.

VETRN Announces its 2022 MBA Online Program
For Veteran Small Business Owners and Family Members

VETRN’s President, Lee Goldberg and Program Manager, David Ferrara are excited to announce the start of the 2022 VETRN MBA Online program for the Fall of 2022. The 2022 online cohort is expected to include 20 or more veteran small business owners and family members from across the country. This class starts our 8th year of the VETRN MBA training program, teaching veteran participants how to successfully grow their veteran owned small business. To date, 90 veteran small business owners and family members have graduated from the VETRN program, with many successes and successful pivot stories to date. The VETRN MBA program is free of charge.

To all of you who have provided VETRN with sponsorship support in 2021 and in prior years, thank you for your support and for helping veterans and family members achieve their dreams and goals of becoming successful small business owners. We hope that you will continue to provide your support for our 2022 VETRN Online program.

As the VETRN MBA program is now a national online program, identifying local mentors for each of our class participants continues to be a challenge. In addition to our own substantial list of mentors, guest experts, panel judges, and professional resources, who have selflessly volunteered their time, our heartfelt thank you goes out to Ray Milano and the SBA VBOC regional offices, the regional SBDC and SCORE Chapters, and to TMA Global and its local Chapter Presidents, for providing access to local resources so that every VETRN participant across the country has access to a personal mentor.

As is the 2021 VETRN Program, and in recognition of the continuing revenue and cash flow challenges to small businesses throughout the USA, we will continue to teach our two classes in 2022 on: “How to Manage Through a Financial Crisis” and “Understanding How to Deal with your Lender”. VETRN will also continue with the option of preparing a 12-month turnaround plan in lieu of a growth plan. VETRN will also continue with contracts with LivePlan and IBISWorld to provide additional tools and resources to our VETRN participants to augment its intensive 14-week curriculum.

So, as we begin our 8th year of the VETRN MBA program and our 3rd year of online programing, David and I are very appreciative of everyone involved with the VETRN program and are excited about teaching this year’s 2022 cohort. We look forward to the continued expansion of the VETRN MBA program, our veteran small business network, our VETRN graduate community and the VETRN support community in the years ahead.

FINANCIAL LITERACY MONTH FOR VETERAN ENTREPRENEURS: ACCESS CAPITAL

This April, the SBA is celebrating Financial Literacy Month. If you’re preparing to bring your business to life, expand your services, or even open a new location, the SBA has resources to help. Whatever your circumstances, use this month to take the next step with your small business.

With an extensive network of skilled business advisors and reliable lenders, the SBA has the financial tools you need to achieve small business success. Learn more about the SBA’s access to capital resources for veteran entrepreneurs.

SBA Funding Programs
From small business loans and grant-funded programs, the SBA offers a variety of funding programs to fit your business needs:

- Loans: Find SBA-guaranteed loans to start or grow your business. https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans
- Investment Capital: Identify a potential SBA-licensed investor for your business. https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/investment-capital
- Disaster Assistance https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/disaster-assistance: Get access to low-interest disaster recovery loans, including the Military Reservist Economic Injury - Disaster Loan (MREIDL). https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/disaster-assistance/military-reservist-loan
- Surety Bonds: Protect your work and clients with an SBA-guaranteed surety bond. https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/surety-bonds
- Grants: Look for grant funding based on your industry. https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/grants

Lender Readiness
Is your business lender ready? Before reaching out to lenders, update your business plan and financial projections. It’s important to understand how much capital you need and how you plan to use it. Consider your credit history, industry experience, and any collateral you could use to help guarantee the loan. Your local Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC) can help prepare you get lender ready.

Finding the right lender is an important next step. The SBA has made it easy for entrepreneurs to access lenders. With Lender Match, a free online tool, the SBA connects small businesses with SBA-approved Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) and small lenders. Answer questions about your business, try the SBA Lender Match tool, and get matched with lenders within two days.

This blog was originally written by the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Veterans Business Development. To learn more about OVBD visit, sba.gov/ovbd.

Office of Veterans Business Development The mission of this office is to maximize the availability of administration small business programs for veterans and their dependents or survivors.