According to G.I. Jobs, franchising is a hot target for veterans who want to put their strengths to work on the civilian market as small business owners.
With millions of veterans living across the nation and several hundred thousand transitioning out of the military each year, business ownership is, statistically speaking, an area of growth.
One out of seven businesses is owned by a veteran, with over 3 million total!
Apparently some franchise companies see the value in the skills servicemembers gain during their time in the military, as well. Some companies offer military assistance programs to help vets come up with the initial franchise fee and start-up expenses.
Photo by nukeit1.
Jim Coen on November 8th, 2006 at 5:10 pm
An ever-growing number of veterans are becoming franchised small business owners through the VetFran program, reports the International Franchise Association (IFA).
More than 600 veterans in 48 states have purchased franchised small businesses through the association’s Veterans Transition Franchise Initiative, known as VetFran, since the program was re-launched following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. With more than 150 sales in various stages of negotiation, even more veterans are expected to join the franchise business ranks.
“The VetFran initiative is the franchise community’s way of thanking veterans for their service,� said Matthew Shay, president of the IFA at the West Coast Franchise Expo last week. Veterans are a particularly good fit as franchised small business owners, Shay went on to explain, because their military experience has trained them to be results-oriented and leaders within a system, which translates well to the franchise business model.
The private-sector program is very flexible. Each company gets to determine its own discount and the only requirement is that it has to be the “best deal.� More than 220 franchise companies participate in the program. VetFran was honored by the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs last year with a Support Sector Champion Award for expanding business opportunities for veterans, and the IFA signed an official Memorandum of Understanding with the agency to jointly promote the program.
The initiative is recognized by the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Veterans Corporation.
To see a list of participating companies Visit:
http://opportunities.franchise.org/Public/SearchResult.aspx?Investment=-1&ParentCategory=-1&SubCategory=0&netWorth=-1&isHomebased=False&countryId=0&stateId=&isNewFranchisor=False&IsVeteran=True