The Department of Defense, in partnership with other federal agencies, offers options to help budding entrepreneurs within the military community start and sustain their businesses.
Most American families, including military families, would prefer to have two breadwinners in the family to make ends meet. But given the unpredictable nature of military life, traditional employment may not be an option for some military spouses. For them, becoming an entrepreneur and starting their own business may be the best way to have a second source of income that can travel with them from deployment to deployment.
Military spouses, service members and veterans from the Capital Region who are interested in running their own businesses gathered Monday at the Military Entrepreneurship Summit at the Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, Virginia, to learn more about starting a business.
Ronald Keohane, Under Secretary of Defense for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, speaking on behalf of the Department of Defense, said military life, either as a service member or a military spouse, requires many of the same personality traits as an entrepreneur.
“The title of today’s event is ‘From Service to Success,'” Keohane said. “The discipline to assess, mitigate and manage risk, leadership and the desire to make your mark on the world are all hallmarks of both military service and entrepreneurship.”
Military spouses also share key characteristics with successful business owners, he said.
“If you’re a military spouse, your risk tolerance, problem-solving skills and adaptability are well-suited to entrepreneurship,” he said.
Patricia Barron, assistant secretary of defense for military community and family policy, said starting a business is an ideal opportunity for military spouses as a way to ensure a double income for their family.
“Just because someone is married to someone in uniform doesn’t mean they’re not a good fit for a dual-income family or shouldn’t be someone who can use their talents and skills to bring additional resources to their family,” Barron said. “The Department of Defense takes this very seriously, and we want to support and empower military spouses to realize their career dreams and employment options.”
One of the ways the Department of Defense supports military entrepreneurs is through its Spouse Education and Career Opportunities program. Through SECO, the Department of Defense offers “Entrepreneurial Coaching Packages” to military spouses.
“This is with a professional, no-nonsense career coach who is really focused on the entrepreneurial journey that you’re on, and they’re going to guide you through that journey and help you create a 90-day plan for your business,” Baron said.
The entrepreneurial coaching package also includes an assessment to help aspiring entrepreneurs gauge their own readiness, Baron said.
“They assess where you are. You take something called the Entrepreneur EDGE Assessment, which gives the coach an opportunity to see where you are,” she said. “And then [there]they start explaining the process.”
Through the SECO program, career coaches assist spouses with a variety of business needs, from creating marketing plans and researching laws, regulations and permits to managing finances and taxes. They also help budding entrepreneurs access partner organizations such as the Small Business Administration, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and nonprofits that support the military-connected entrepreneurial community.
The SBA and USPTO partnered with the Department of Defense at the summit.
Interested spouses can access the program on the Military OneSource website.
Ashish S. Vazirani, who currently serves as Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, said Friday ahead of the summit that entrepreneurial opportunities like those available through Military OneSource, the Small Business Administration and the Patent and Trademark Office are a critical part of the Department of Defense’s mission to care for its most important asset: its people.
“Taking care of our people is a top priority for the Department of Defense, and ensuring that our service members, spouses and families are able to achieve not only their professional goals but their economic goals is critical,” he said. “We [U.S. Patent and Trademark Office] And the Small Business Administration aims to ensure that military members and their families have the tools they need to succeed or continue to succeed through starting their own businesses.”
