since 9/11, only 4% of the 3.6 million veterans who have served in the US have attempted a post-service small business start-up. To put that in perspective, this 4% rate works out to 162,000 new veteran-owned businesses in 2016. In contrast, if veterans today were starting businesses at the same rate they did after WWII, that number would jump up to 1.4 million businesses. Additionally, since statistics show that veteran-owned companies employ an average of two additional veterans, we could logically estimate that in one year we could create another 2.8 million jobs for our country, simply from veteran business ownership.
The reason veteran entrepreneurship isn’t as widespread as during the post-WWII timeframe can be attributed to several possible factors. The first and most likely cause is that the post-9/11 GI Bill does not allow for low-interest loans like the version of the past provided. Another major factor is that after the economic crisis of 2007, it is much harder to obtain funding for small businesses. Since veteran-owned businesses are also 30% more likely to hire other vets, this lack of milpreneur start-ups has exacerbated the job creation problem over the last two decades. This is evidenced by a 7% decrease in vet-founded businesses from 1996 to 2014.
The Start-Up Nation
But we shouldn’t give up hope of seeing a new revival of military entrepreneurs. In fact, with the right mindset, we can create an environment that encourages the military community to capitalize on their strengths, to innovate, and to launch their own businesses. Imagine the positive ripple effect this could have right here at home!
Let’s look to the country of Israel to see a great example of how military service and the hardships of military life have provided the perfect foundation for great entrepreneurs there. Israel is a country that relies on conscription (mandatory military service) to maintain a robust military. All Jewish citizens in Israel, both men and women, over the age of eighteen are required to serve in the Israel Defense Forces for at least two years. The normal length of service is a minimum of two years and eight months for men and two years for women.
Authors Dan Senor and Saul Singer studied the success of Israeli entrepreneurs in their book, “Start-up Nation,” to uncover the secrets of how Israel, a war-ridden and relatively young country with a population of only 7.1 million people and no natural resources, could create more start-up companies than larger, more traditionally stable countries like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Their research discovered that when you combine the skills and resilience of military service, the persistence to succeed, a pay-it-forward attitude, and a spirit of “chutzpah,” you end up with unparalleled economic development.
According to Google CEO Eric Schmidt, “after the US, Israel is the best” place in the world for entrepreneurs. Tech start-up Waze, a mobile satellite navigation application, and something I use daily to cart kids to and from after-school activities, was founded in 2007. It was the first Israeli consumer-app company to be bought for over $1 billion, and it helped to set the tone for building large tech companies in Israel. Waze allows millions of drivers to share real-time traffic and road info that can save others time and gas money on their daily commute. If you Google “Israeli start-ups in the US,” you’ll come across numerous lists of companies to watch in the coming years.
This is proof that with a strong history of military service, combined with a head-strong passion to succeed, you can literally come out of nowhere and create your own economic stimulus movement! Every military business owner is helping in this movement. And with a tribe of milpreneurs, social influencers, and supporters with a shared vision, we can foster the right environment to change the world right here at home. In fact, the military community has the skills, network, and manpower to make the US an even better Start-Up Nation!
Why the Most Portable Job is a Business
The reasons business ownership works well with military life are numerous. With a shift in commerce from big corporations to smaller, more nimble business models, there has never been a better time in history to be an entrepreneur. With more and more brick-and-mortar stores trading their physical spaces for more agile virtual business models, the opportunities for the everyday entrepreneur are endless.
Could you have ever imagined that one of the biggest retailers in the country would get the large majority of their revenue from online sales?
Kudos to Amazon.
Could you have ever imagined that one of the most successful taxi companies wouldn’t own any cars?
Kudos to Uber.
Could you have ever imagined that one of the largest vacation rental companies wouldn’t own any hotels?
Kudos to Airbnb.
And could you have ever imagined that one of the most popular methods of watching movies wouldn’t include a theater or a DVD?
Kudos to Netflix.
These cutting-edge companies prove that business ownership is changing rapidly with the times. Hence, there is no time like the present to take advantage of this evolution and build a business that you can custom-design around your specific life needs.
Small business ownership provides unmatched flexibility and a variety of logistical options for how to set up your operations. For me, it provided the flexibility to work around the challenges of raising small children despite unpredictable deployments and frequent relocations. There was no other job out in the market that I could have obtained that would have allowed me the flexibility I needed to work around naps, babysitter availability, and my hubby’s flying schedule. Over the course of ten years in business we have relocated to three different states, my kids have migrated from preschool schedules to full-time school schedules, and my husband has been promoted in rank three different times. Through it all, my business allowed me to flex along with each and every phase.
Along with incredible flexibility, being a business owner also allowed me to maintain my job as “Mom” as my #1 priority. As much as I was driven to grow my business, I was also very sensitive to making sure I was always there for the little moments with my kids. I will never forget the pictures etched in my memory of bringing my kids with me to work when I was decorating homes. Most of those memories involve them sitting strapped in their car seats with big smiles on their faces, with faux foliage and other essential home staging décor packed all around them. Once we would arrive at a job, I could give them harmless tasks like moving plants and folding blankets as their way of helping to complete the work.
Not only was it handy to bring them with me on jobs to avoid daycare costs, but it allowed them to see their mom pursuing goals outside of the common homemaking tasks. I have always cherished that from a young age; my kids were able to see me not only as their Mom, but also as a smart, capable, and driven woman that they could look up to and be proud of.
Another major advantage to business ownership today is the fact that technology is something anyone can leverage. Amazingly, technology has evened the business playing field and is providing access to business opportunities for more and more everyday entrepreneurs. With each new passing day, I also recognize how incredibly capable the next generation is with all these new technological advances.
The Millennial generation has been raised in an era where video, internet, and Wi-Fi are all they have ever known, making them more connected and more capable than ever before. When I graduated college at the turn of the millennium, cell phones were just becoming popular, but they were large and had antennas and there was nothing smart about them, since the internet itself was just gaining traction. I giggle at memories of “chatting” with my husband on a blue DOS screen where we made our own version of an
