SBA helps female vets, military wives as entrepreneurs
Iowa has great incentives to attract veterans to live and work here, but an official for the Small Business Administration who was here last week said more can be done, particularly in the area of female entrepreneurship.
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Barbara Carson, associate administrator for the SBA’s Office of Veterans Business Development, said there is a great interest in entrepreneurship, particularly among women leaving military service. Carson added that the SBA’s incentives for vets who want to start or grow their own businesses also are available to their spouses, the vast majority of whom are female.
Carson said the nationwide growth of U.S. women starting their own businesses (census data put it at 300 percent growth between 2007 and 2012) is mimicked in military women as well. When her department puts on Boots to Business – two-day seminars in various states for people leaving the military – 23 percent of participants are women. That’s an extraordinary statistic, she said, given the fact that women account for – at most – 18 percent or less of various military branches.
Carson promoted several benefits and programs for female vets, reservists or members of the National Guard as well for military wives:
- Boots to Business Reboot: Sept. 6 at Iowa State University. This will be the first time this free one-day seminar on entrepreneurship for vets, reservists, National Guard and their spouses will be provided in Iowa. For information, email veteranscenter@iastate.edu.
- V-Wise: Veteran Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship, a free national conference and online training course open to female military or military wives interested in starting a business. Conferences are scheduled around the country and Carson said that 65 percent of participants start a business within a year of taking the course and so far, 95 percent of those entrepreneurs are still in business. Register online.
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