Forbes recently released an article detailing the importance of veteran entrepreneurs along with the difficulties they face.
“There were more than 1.7 million veteran-owned businesses in the U.S. in 2023, according to the Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy’s Small Business Profile. Collectively, veterans provide an annual payroll of $179.9 billion and employ 3.3 million workers, the U.S. Census Bureau said in an October press release. However, reports also show that veteran entrepreneurship is declining. About 49% of World War II veterans started a business, but today, less than 5% of Gulf War Era II veterans—or those who have served since 2001—are self-employed.”
Citing two of our very own alumni – Anthony Gantt and France Hoang – Forbes explains how when they were in the service that came face-to-face with obstacles that caused issues in their lives. After their service, the each started their own business to overcome the very problems that they were faced with. This creative problem solving is just another item on the long list of benefits that veterans bring to the civilian workforce.
There is still much more companies can do to support veterans transitioning to the civilian workforce. Forbes cites IVMF’s very own 2022 National Survey of Military-Affiliated Entrepreneurs listing some of the most common obstacles to entrepreneurship.