Featuring Bill Elmore, Associate Administrator
Office of Veterans Business Development
U.S. Small Business Administration
More than 90,000 National Guard and Reserve personnel are now on active status. For some small business owners being called for active duty means leaving behind the company they worked hard to build and grow. What happens to the business when the owner is deployed?
This podcast provides an overview of the program and services available to prepare of active duty and to overcome potential economic setbacks.
Transcript:
Ron Johnson: If you get to call about the Military Service, SBA has some help for you. Hello, I’m Ron Johnson with the U.S. Small Business Administration, Your Small Business Resource. More than 90,000 National Guard and reserve personnel are now on active status. And when called to duty, these men and women must leave behind their homes, families and careers. For some, that means to leave behind their small business. So what happens to the business when the owner is deployed? And where can they go for help to overcome the economic setback? With us today is Bill Elmore, Associate Administrator of SBA’s Office of Veteran Business Development. Welcome, Bill.
Bill Elmore: Thank you, Ron, and thank you for the opportunity to bring our veterans and Reserve Component members up to speed on what SBA does have to offer. Starting point might be to visit SBA’s two primary websites, first would be www.sba.gov/vets, v-e-t-s; the second would be www.sba.gov/reservists with an s.
Ron Johnson: That’s a good place to start. So tell us about the Office of Veteran Business Development, Bill.
Bill Elmore: Well, the Office of Veteran Business Development coordinates and provides outreach, programs and policy recommendations to SBA including small business owners who either own small businesses or are the essential employee in a small business, and may or have been activated by a Title 10 activation. Now, we provide business counseling, planning, training programs, and special financing. And our goal is to help veterans start and grow their own small businesses. But we can also help them prepare their small business to overcome whatever economic damage may occur from a Title 10 activation.
In 1973 DoD adopted the Total Force Policy. Title 10 provides the Federal call up authority to activate National Guard in Reserve Components. Reserve forces are no longer considered to be forces of last resort; they are now recognized as indispensable in the Nation’s defense.
Ron Johnson: So, Bill, where can veterans go to get the help they need?
Bill Elmore: Well, I recommend they start with one of SBA’s 68 district offices who coordinate access to more than 3,500 local business assistance and financing partners. These partners provide business counseling, planning, training, and financing options for each life stage of a small business, including how to prepare your small business for Title 10 activation.
Ron Johnson: I know SBA has quite a few resources, but what are some of the unique resources available to veterans?
Bill Elmore: Well, I think for any veteran or Reserve Component Member, we have 15 Veterans Business Outreach Centers geographically dispersed around the nation. They provide online and face-to-face assistance as well as referrals to your closest local SBA programs and partners. We also have: more than 13,000 volunteer small business counselors and mentors from SCORE; more than 950 Small Business Development Centers operating in every state and territory; 110 Women's Business Centers that offer business assistance for women and men.
We are also in partnership with universities to provide individualized Entrepreneurship Boot Camps for service-disabled veterans, for women veterans, for disabled veteran family caregivers, and for National Guard and Reserve Component Members and their families. And the web address for that National Guard and reserve member program is Endureandgrow@syr.edu.
We also have 160 microlenders who provide loans up to $50,000 along with business counseling. We have a special 7(a) program called Patriot Express that guarantees financing for veterans, service-disabled veterans, reservists, transition assistance eligible service members, spouses, and for the widows or survivors of a veteran who died in service or who died of a service-connected disability.
Now, for Reserve Component Members we also have a special disaster loan. It’s a direct loan from SBA called the Military Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Loan. So if your business may or does suffer economic damage from a Title 10 activation you may be eligible for that if you’re the owner or if you’re the essential employee in a small business.
We have other 7(a) and what are called 504 and small business investment programs and surety-bonding financing. Again, instead of getting into a lot of detail, talk with your Veterans Business Development Officer at your closest local district office and they can provide you guidance on all of those programs. We also manage the government-wide procurement programs and we provide online 24/7 distance learning courses including assistance in navigating the whole Federal procurement arena.
Ron Johnson: Bill, this sounds like great news for veterans. Is there anything else you’d like to share with us in closing?
Bill Elmore: Well, I think if a veteran small business owner currently has an SBA or direct or guaranteed loan, you can ask for repayment deferrals, interest rate reduction and other assistance from our lending partner, the Banker Community Credit Union or Savings and Loan or from SBA if you have a direct loan. If the Title 10 activation also occurs and you as the business owner are in the 8(a) or Small Disadvantaged Business program, we will let you transfer the day-to-day management to another individual while you’re activated so you will not be disqualified from program participation. And lastly, if you’re an individual that is employed by a HUBZone company and called to active duty, the HUBZone firm can continue to count U.S. and employ to help meet their HUBZone residency requirement.
Ron Johnson: Our thanks to Bill Elmore, Associate Administrator of SBA’s Office of Veterans Business Development. SBA has a long list of resources available to help the National Guard, our reservists, and their families who own a small business. Because you serve our Nation, the SBA is ready to serve you when duty calls.
Now, for more information, call 1-800-ask-sba, that’s 1-800-ask-sba, or visit www.sba.gov/reservists. Until next time, this is Ron Johnson with the U.S. Small Business Administration, Your Small Business Resource.
[End of transcript]
