By Laura Rodell
Last week, Congress allotted new federal funds to Veterans Business Outreach Centers in New York, which offer entrepreneurial guidance to vets in business for themselves.”The centers are run through the Small Business Association in Washington and their five-year contracts expired this year,” explained William Elmore, associate administrator for veterans business development at the SBA. “But New York recompeted for funding and came out on top.”More than 30 locations vied to become veterans centers but, in the end, funds went to three of the four original spots, namely, Florida, Texas and New York, which includes centers at York College in Jamaica and at La Guardia College in Long Island City. The contract for a two-year-old center in California, the fourth existing site, expires in three years, at which time the center may also recompete. The services are designed for those veterans who already own a small business as well as for those planning to start one. Coaching on entrepreneurial basics, such as using the Internet as a tool of expansion, is provided through Pre-Business Plan Workshops. One-on-one advice is also available and tailored to meet clients' individual needs.”Veterans who own or want to start their own business can sit down face-to-face with a very qualified business counselor and receive confidential advice on securing bank loans, marketing, or hiring and firing employees – all based on a client's specific type of small business and its anticipated location,” said Mike Ross, coordinator of Small Business Development Centers in New York. Further rejecting a one-size-fits-all approach, the centers help clients devise customized five-year strategies, called Business Plan Preparations. Where appropriate, center officials visit a client's business to assess how well the strategy is being implemented. The centers also offer counseling specifically geared to service disabled veterans. “It's a way to offer gratitude to not only army, air force, and marine but also reserve and national guard units,” Ross said. “And it's a way to strengthen local communities because successful small businesses contribute to the economic health of the towns in which they are located.” The center at York College in Jamaica, can be reached at (718) 262-2880 and center at La Guardia in Long Island Center can be reached at (718) 482-5303. For more information on SBA veterans centers, visit www.SBA.gov/VETS.
