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Small Business Guide

JUNE 27, 2000

SMART ANSWERS

Can This Soldier Thrive on the Small-Biz Battlefield?
A veteran who wants to become an entrepreneur, needs to do some research, but special help is available


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Q: I am currently in the Army and will be retiring in four years. I want to own my own business when my military career is over, but I don't have any money saved up. What do I do?

-- S.C.C., Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri
A: Take the last years of your military employment and use them wisely. Put the issue of financing aside at first, and spend time thinking about your own strengths, weaknesses, and experiences. Does your personality really lend itself to the discipline and the hard work needed to make a go of owning your own business? Can you make the commitment needed to see your idea through to reality? What expertise do you have that could be put to use in a small-business setting? Can you manage employees and delegate tasks? What industry appeals to you, and why? How can you get experience in that industry?

Becoming an entrepreneur requires you to deal with lots of issues. Unfortunately, many people don't explore them thoroughly before they jump into the fray and wind up losing their savings. There's nothing smart or noble about pursuing a venture for which you're ill-suited or unprepared.

Read up on the entrepreneurial mind-set and what it takes to successfully start and run a small business. You can find many books on the topic, including Michael Gerber's The E-Myth Revisited, which asserts that not everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur. It may help you determine whether you want to start your own business for the right reasons ("getting rid of the boss" or "creating a job for yourself after retirement" are not the right reasons, Gerber claims).

TAKE A COURSE. The Web page of the The U.S. Small Business Administration (www.sba.gov) has a "startup kit" that includes a discussion about entrepreneurialism (www.sba.gov/starting/ask.html#foryou) that could help you determine whether or not you've really got what it takes to be a small-business owner.

If you decide that you do have the right stuff, do your homework on basic business practices and on the specific industry you've chosen. Take courses on entrepreneurialism at local colleges and universities. These classes don't have to cost a fortune or take up years of your life. You can take an online course from the SBA Classroom, available on the SBA Web site, or visit one of the SBA's community-resource locations, which are listed on its site. The SBA sponsors Business Information Centers, the Service Corps of Retired Executives, Small Business Development Centers, and One-Stop Capital Shops, all of which provide assistance and advice for current and would-be small business owners.

Once you're sure you have the entrepreneurial spirit and you've done the due diligence necessary to plan and operate your business successfully, then you can start thinking about the funding aspect. Can you save enough money before you retire to have some startup capital available when you need it? If not, can you borrow from friends and family or qualify for a loan from a bank or attract a private investor?

VET RESOURCES. The SBA has several loan-guaranty programs to help startup and existing small businesses, including the 7(a), SBALowDoc, and SBAExpress loan programs. The MicroLoan Program helps small businesses needing small-scale financing. More information on these and other loan programs is available at the SBA's "Financing Your Business" Web page (www.sba.gov/financing) or by calling 800 U-ASK-SBA. Locally, you might want to contact the SBA's Kansas City District Office, at 816 374-6708.

Your status as a veteran will give you access to some special help through the SBA's Loan Prequalification Program, designed to help women, minorities, and veterans. "Veterans are encouraged to take advantage of all SBA programs and resources," says Nancy Singer, an SBA spokesperson based in Washington, D.C. She recommends that veterans interested in starting or growing a business should visit the SBA's Office of Veterans Affairs Web site (www.sba.gov/vets).

Best of luck.

Have a question about running your business? Ask our small-business experts. Send us an E-mail at smartanswers@businessweek.com, or write to Smart Answers, BW Online, 46th Floor, 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. Please include your real name and phone number in case we need more information; only your initials and city will be printed. Because of the volume of mail, we won't be able to respond to all questions personally.


By Karen E. Klein

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