I'm excited to announce the release of a report by the Interagency Task Force on Veterans Small Business Development called "Heroes on the Homefront: Supporting Veteran Success as Small Business Owners." This is the second report of its kind where task-force members from seven agencies collaborated on small business issues that are unique to veteran business owners.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) believes that two of America's greatest assets are the service of its returning veterans and the economic dynamism of our small businesses. It is no secret that entrepreneurs and small businesses are the engines of American innovation and economic prosperity. For example, our nation's 28 million small firms employ 60 million Americans, or half of the private-sector workforce, and they are responsible for creating two out of three net new private-sector jobs across the country.
These numbers are even better when looking at veteran-owned small businesses:
- U.S. military veterans own 2.4 million businesses, or nearly one in 10 of all businesses nationwide; 8.3% of veteran business owners have service-connected disabilities.
- Veteran-owned businesses generate $1.2 trillion in receipts and employ nearly 5.8 million people.
- In the private-sector workforce, veterans are at least 45% more likely than those with no active-duty military experience to be self-employed.
The focus of this year's report is to provide updates on the 18 recommendations that were made in last year's report. The recommendations are organized around three priority areas for engaging the federal government: (1) Increase opportunities for growth; (2) Improve and expand counseling and training services; and (3) Reduce barriers to growth and improve coordination and efficiencies.
We are pleased to report great progress has been made since the task force's initial review. In Fiscal 2012, the task force, along with the interagency Veterans Employment Initiative, developed and piloted a redesigned military transition program, entitled Transition GPS, that includes an entrepreneurship training program called "Operation Boots to Business: from Service to Startup." This program is expected to be rolled out nationally in the coming year.
The task force has also worked to streamline programs and cut paperwork for veteran-owned small businesses through support for initiatives, such as BusinessUSA and QuickApp, for surety bonds. It has continued the efforts begun last year to make the process of winning federal government contracts simpler and easier for service-disabled veterans and veteran-owned small businesses.
We know that our nation's veterans helped reshape the American economy after World War II. They helped to build one of the longest periods of economic growth in our country's history. And we know they can do it again if they are simply given the right tools and the right opportunities.
That's why the SBA and the entire Obama administration is committed to ensuring that these amazing men and women have the access and opportunity they need to realize their potential as entrepreneurs and small business owners fully.
These men and women have served our country so well. And as they begin this next chapter in their lives, we are prepared to be with them every step of the way.
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