5 Funding Tips for Growing Veteran-Owned Businesses

Veterans make excellent entrepreneurs, thanks to their leadership skills, talent, endurance, and resilience. However, creating and managing a business also requires some training in raising capital, marketing, and other skills. When your veteran business needs funding to continue growing, you can count on research and business loans for veterans. Fortunately, there is a rich foundation with resources available to help those who serve the country. If you are an experienced veteran looking to grow a business, here are five funding tips:

Know if it’s for you

If you are an active service member, veteran, or an immediate family member, you can use the Veterans Small Business Loans program. If you are eligible for automatic confirmation, you must meet the following requirements:

• The business must be at least 20% owned by a person of veteran status or a member of their family.

• The business should be operating for two years or more.

• There must be two or more workers.

• You need to either break even or have a positive cash flow.

• The owner has a personal credit score of 640 or higher.

• The business earns more than $ 120,000 in annual revenue.

• There is no guarantee or conviction rate for the last 3 years.

• There is no payment date, neither for you nor for your business.

What can the fund be used for?

You can use veteran-owned funds for any need. Veteran businesses learn the benefits of low-interest rates to support contract costs, refinance commitments, expense debts, expand human resources, and more. This program can help you get funding for:

• Working capital

• Purchase of equipment

• Modernization of technologies

• Debt refinancing

• Rent improvement

Deadline for obtaining a business loan or VA grant

It may take weeks or even months to go through the process with the SBA and some online lenders may have a response for you on the day you apply, and deposit money into your account within 24 hours of receiving it. For many borrowers, the time it takes to finance is a major factor, even if the cost of the loan is higher.

Grants available to veterans

Grants can provide capital that will help with start-up and ongoing costs. Plus, some grants are available only to veteran businesses. Examples include:

• Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) is available to businesses with up to 500 employees who work with technical support.

• Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR), in which the company collaborates with a non-profit research institute.

• National Association of the Self-Employed (NASE), contributing to the growth of existing micro-businesses.

• Independent grants for veterans with disabilities services are mainly for start-ups. They are created in order to help disabled veterans with services and be self-employed.

Secure fund

Veteran entrepreneurs fundraise from various sources of capital. A series of initiatives in which veterans will use a wide range of initiatives to support small and medium-sized businesses. Veterans can receive budgetary funds from the SBA Veterans Organization under the program-provided funding and will also be eligible for relief to provide small loans to active-duty military veterans and their spouses.