How to Open a Small Business as a Veteran

Small businesses have seen a massive increase in popularity over the past few years. But did you know that a small percentage of them are owned by veterans? However, starting a business, especially as a veteran, can be really difficult without the proper guidance. In this article, we’ll be covering everything veterans need to know about opening a small business.

Start Looking at Financing

One of the biggest hurdles of opening a business, regardless of if you’re a veteran or not, is coming up with the funds needed to get it up and running. Opening a business is a huge investment and one you need to be ready for. Fortunately, there are ways to easily get the money you need to start. Your best bet is to look into taking out Accion small business loans. As the name implies, these are loans dedicated to assisting new and aspiring small business owners. Furthermore, small business loans can also come with additional benefits such as coaching, a support network, and other valuable educational resources you can use to your advantage.

Take Your Time in Brainstorming Ideas

Every business you’ve seen didn’t just spring up out of nowhere. They all started from ideas about one of the many types of companies veterans can start, which they then used as the foundation of their business. With so many ideas to incorporate into a business, the process can be overwhelming for some newcomers. The key to coming up with a solid business idea is inspiration. You can draw inspiration from just about anything. Whether its watching people walk their pets or seeing people struggle with keeping their car clean, you can use that to your advantage. This is how you can brainstorm ideas, which can then be turned into your niche. Since this is one of the first steps, you can take as long as you need until you come up with what you deem as the perfect idea.

Use Every Resource to Your Advantage

While there are ways to help new business owners, veterans, in particular, have additional resources. Veterans can have some difficulty trying to adapt to how things work, which is what these resources are designed for. The Office of Veterans Business Development, Boots to Business, and VBOC are to name a few. Through these, veterans can learn everything they need to know about opening their small business.

Choose a Business Structure

A business structure is basically how a business conducts itself. More specifically, it dictates how taxes are handled and the assets at risk for a liability claim. There are a total of four main structures to choose from:

• Sole proprietorship
• Corporation
• Partnership
• Limited liability company (LLC)

It’s recommended for every new business owner to choose to be an LLC. This structure offers the best protection as it functions similarly to a sole proprietorship with the benefits of a corporation. The business will be yours, but it’s also classified as its own entity, like a corporation. Furthermore, LLCs are far easier to start and manage than other structures. Taxes are solely handled by the IRS as well, so you don’t have to manually file them.