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Arkansas Procurement Assistance Center
Veterans In Business
Resources Available •
Information about 3rd Annual Conference •
Information about 2nd Annual Conference
To our active duty military personnel, we want you to know that when you come
back to your jobs and companies, we are here to help you re-establish your
government contracting market at no charge. Meanwhile, we hope this
message from the folks back home will also cheer you while you're away.
Resources Available To
Arkansas Veterans In Business
In preparing for the Second
Annual Veterans In Business Conference, a great deal of research was needed to
unearth relevant information to share with the attendees. There appears to be
no centralized reference point for information relating to veterans in Arkansas
who are in business or interested in going into business. Although the Arkansas
Procurement Center specializes only in government contracting, it was our intent
to broaden the scope of our conference to all types of business, as a service to
Arkansans in uniform. The following list is the result of that research.
Suggestions for additional sites related to Veterans in Business may be
submitted to
apac@uaex.edu . This page will be updated as additional information becomes
available.
- The Association for Service-Disabled Veterans has a website at
http://www.asdv.org/ASDV/index.cfm that describes the association’s
history and purposes. Among its many services are a matchmaking database,
entrepreneurial support programs, and managed employment programs. ASDV has
two primary missions: To provide public and private organizations with
information on qualified and qualifiable SDVE businesses, and to open the
purchasing door at a variety of organizations for SDV businesspeople, giving
them the opportunity to sell goods and/or services.
- Center For Veterans Enterprise, "VetBiz," is at
http://www.vetbiz.gov/ . Operated by Department of Veterans Affairs in
Washington DC, it provides a wide range of information about starting and
operating a business in all types of markets, from the perspective of
veterans. The site also provides information on, and online registration
for, a comprehensive database of veteran-owned businesses. The direct
link to the registration and certification for veteran-owned businesses is
http://www.vip.vetbiz.gov/. It also provides
instructions for determining eligibility for status as a service-disabled
veteran-owned business.
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Disability and Business
Technical Assistance Center, Region 6, serving Arkansas, Louisiana, New
Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. Funded by the National Institute on Disability
and Rehabilitation Research, it serves a wide range of audiences who are
interested in or impacted by these laws, including employers, businesses,
government agencies, schools, and people with disabilities. Expert staff
members are available to provide training and publications and to respond to
your inquiries via the toll-free hotline 800-949-4232.
http://www.dlrp.org
- The National Veterans Business Development Corporation was mandated by
Congress in 1999 under The Veterans Entrepreneurship Act, PL 106-50. The
organization's nickname is The Veterans Corp (TVC). It partners with VetBiz
(see above) and SBA (see below) and APTAC (of which APAC is a member). This
is an independent non-profit organization that provides a variety of
services, including assistance to VOSBs and SDVOSBs in securing bonding.
Their site is
http://www.veteranscorp.org/.
The services they offer are listed at the big square button called
"Veteran's Business Tool Box."
- The Arkansas Highway & Transportation Department has no preference
program or any other recognition of veteran owned contractors or suppliers.
They only have programs for special license plates, parking, and vehicle
registration, which a veteran owned business might qualify for. They also
recognize veteran status in employment applications. They have no
information about recognition of veteran owned businesses bidding on
federally funded highway projects. Their site is at
http://www.arkansashighways.com
- The U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has a special page for
Veterans Business Development at
http://www.sba.gov/aboutsba/sbaprograms/ovbd/index.html, and we especially recommend the link
for "Veterans News" (in the column of golden buttons on the left), where
they have posted newsletters called "VetGazette" along with announcements of
events and other news. SBA also has published a helpful booklet "Getting
Veterans Back to Business." The direct link to the pdf file is:
http://www.sba.gov/idc/groups/public/documents/sba_program_office/
ngr_veternsbackbus.pdf.
- The U. S. Small Business Administration has a
little-known loan program for military reservists and National Guard members
whose businesses suffer economic hardship from their absence when they are
called to active duty. The veteran has only ninety days after returning to
apply for the "Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program," so it is important to
read this information immediately upon being called up. Here is the site:
http://www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance/
militaryreservistsloans/ .
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SBA's Patriot Express Loan program
is available to military community members including veterans,
service-disabled veterans, service members leaving active duty, Reservists
and National Guard members, current spouses of any of the above, spouses of
active duty members, and the widowed spouse of a service member who died
during service, or of a service-connected disability.
- The Veterans Business Outreach Center at University of Texas Pan
American serves Arkansas as well as Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, and New
Mexico with
funding from SBA. Their services are described on their site at
http://ea.panam.edu/vboc/. You have to fill out an online form to
get a log in password for access to the site, but there is no charge, and
your information is considered confidential.
Basic information
about VBOC (PowerPoint).
- Arkansas Department of Workforce Services (DWS), employment assistance
for veterans
http://www.dws.arkansas.gov/Veterans/A_Vetprogram.htm. The Arkansas
Department of Workforce Services (DWS) provides Disabled Veterans Outreach
Program (DVOP) specialists and Local Veterans’ Employment Representatives (LVER)
staff at local One-Stop Career Centers throughout the state, who are
thoroughly familiar with the full range of job development services and
training programs available locally to veterans seeking employment. DVOP and
LVER staff, through outreach with employers, develops increased hiring
opportunities within the local work force by raising the awareness of
employers of the availability and the benefit of hiring veterans.
An updated list of Veterans Representatives can be viewed at
http://www.dws.arkansas.gov/PDF/ArVetRepresentatives.pdf
- Arkansas Department of
Workforce Education, State Approving Agency for Veterans Training,
http://dwe.arkansas.gov/veterans.html
- County Veterans Service
Offices
http://www.arkansas.gov/esd/Veterans/A_CVSOs.htm . These offices can
also help veterans who wish to pursue the "service-disabled veteran business
owner" credential, especially those seeking a "zero-benefits letter" from
the Veterans Administration. APAC will help with the certification after
the veteran gets the disability letter.
- Arkansas Department of
Veterans Affairs
http://www.veterans.arkansas.gov/.
This site contains an excellent page of veterans’ organizations.
- Websites For Veterans, a
jumpstation containing dozens of links, mostly related to employment and
career transition, but some are of general interest,
http://www.arkansas.gov/esd/Veterans/A_vetlisting.htm
- The U. S. Department of
Labor has a page that deals only with employment issues, including
requirements that federal contractors must follow along with their reporting
instructions. There seems to be no mention of information for veteran
business owners. For what it’s worth, here is the link:
http://www.dol.gov/vets/
- One of the best-kept secrets
is the 5-track program that includes self-employment (aka entrepreneurial
training) in the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Vocational
Rehabilitation & Employment Program at
http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/vre/index.htm . This program has been known
to pay the tuition for APAC’s Government Contracting Course.
- A sub-page of the VRE site
includes information about the Five Tracks, at
http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/vre/vrs.htm
- Another sub-page of the VRE
site defines "self-employment," which includes assistance in developing a
business plan, training in the operation of a small business, etc. This
link is
http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/vre/def.htm#5t .
- The International Franchise
Association helps veterans enter the business world by finding a suitable
franchise opportunity. The advantages of franchising instead of starting a
brand new business include a popular brand name, a structured business
model, and training and support. The Veterans Transition Franchise
Initiative, known as VetFran, mentions the IFA in a press release dated July
4, which has a link for a list of participating companies under "Franchising
for Veterans" at
http://www.franchise.org (look for the tiny orange link just above the
search field on the left).
- An affiliate of IFA is
FranNet, The Franchise Connection, which provides services to veterans in
Arkansas. Its site is at
http://www.frannet.com/ . Their website does not
mention veterans, but they do facilitate the VetFran program. FranNet of
South Central U. S. in Little Rock can also be reached by phone at
501-217-9668.
- In the U. S. Congress, the
House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs includes two Arkansans, Vic Snyder and
John Boozman. In addition, Rep. Boozman chairs the Subcommittee on Economic
Opportunity which has legislative, oversight, and investigative jurisdiction
over the education of veterans, employment and training of veterans,
vocational rehabilitation, veterans’ housing programs, readjustment of
service members to civilian life, and service members’ civil relief. The
House Committee on Veterans Affairs has a website at
http://www.veterans.house.gov . There is no direct mention of services
for veterans in business, but the site has a comprehensive list of links
that might in turn have business-related links.
- The United State Senate
Committee on Veterans’ Affairs currently has no Arkansans assigned to it,
but it has a website at
http://www.veterans.senate.gov . There is no specific mention of
business issues, but there is a page of "Hot Topics and Issues" and a page
of "Links."
- Both of Arkansas’s senators
have veterans’ pages and both have sponsored legislation related to
veterans’ issues. Senator Pryor’s page is at
http://pryor.senate.gov/issues/veterans.cfm and Senator Lincoln’s page
is at
http://lincoln.senate.gov/leg_issue_vets.htm . In addition, Senator
Pryor serves on the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee.
- The Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) provides a variety of
free services to veterans, reservists, and Guard, in addition to their
assistance to other small businesses. They are a non-profit organization
that has a close relationship with SBA. See what they offer at
http://www.score.org/veteran.html.
- Little Rock Vet Center – a wide variety of resources by "vets helping
vets".
http://www1.va.gov/directory/guide/facility.asp?ID=471&dnum=ALL
Information About the 3rd Annual Veterans in
Business Conference
A conference for people in (or formerly in) uniform who own or manage a
business or who are interested in starting a business – to learn about resources
to help them succeed – is open to the public at no charge on November 26, 2007,
at the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension
Service in Little Rock, Arkansas. It is sponsored by the Arkansas Procurement
Assistance Center, University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. The
program also includes panelists from fifteen organizations that provide services
to veterans in business, each of whom has a table for networking after the
presentations.
Information About the 2nd Annual Veterans in
Business Conference
Keynote Speaker: Maj. Gen. Don C. Morrow (Ret.), Former Adjutant
General, Arkansas National Guard
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Keynote speaker, Major General Don C. Morrow (Ret.), former Adjutant
General of Arkansas National Guard, and the state’s newest 2-star
Veteran, addresses the audience, acknowledging the first anniversary of
Hurricane Katrina by describing his troops’ service in New Orleans last
year, and also the leadership skills that military personnel bring to
the workforce and to entrepreneurship. |
Featured Speaker: Mr. Michael B. Anderson, President/CEO, StaffImpact
- Service-Disabled Veteran Business-owner
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Featured speaker, Mr. Michael Anderson, President and CEO of
StaffImpact LLC, motivating the audience by describing his experience as
a veteran after 15 years in the Air Force, trying several forms of
employment before starting his training company which utilizes the
skills he achieved in the military. |
Back to Arkansas
Procurement Assistance Center
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