Veterans Business Programs
Serving the Veterans of New York State

The NYS SBDC Veterans’ Business Outreach Program and the Veterans Services and Assistance Program work in coordination to provide targeted training, counseling, and mentoring to help veterans start and grow a small business. SBDC Business Advisors help veteran small business owners improve profitability, expand market share, explore export opportunities, and provide valuable assistance in terms of establishing businesses on stronger organizational and financial footing.

NYS SBDC Veterans Impact: 1999-2010
Veterans Counseled:	15,349
Vet Training Events:	189
Vet Training Attendees:	15,814
2009 Success Story Augustine Xavier of Legend Limousines, Inc., worked with Farmingdale SBDC Veterans Business Advisor John Narciso.
Links for Veterans
Publications for Veterans: Veterans' Business & Resource Planning Guide Calling All Veterans, 2009 EntreSkills for Veterans, 2011 Patriot Express Loan Initiative

The Veterans Business Advisors provide:

• One-to-one advisement sessions
• Pre-business plan workshops/training
• Business concept assessment
• Business plan development assistance
• Comprehensive feasibility analyses
• Business-to-business commerce
• Assistance with funding sources

The NYS program has Veterans’ Business Outreach Centers in Buffalo, Albany, and Farmingdale (Long Island) staffed by Business Advisors who are veterans dedicated to helping fellow veterans. In nine years, the award-winning program has provided advisement to more than 10,000 veterans and located more than $160 million in investment funding for veterans. The U.S. Small Business Administration has called the New York SBDC program a national model for providing business assistance and targeted outreach to veterans.

The Veterans Services and Assistance Program is staffed by a dedicated business advisor who is responsible for providing veterans business services within the five boroughs of New York City.

EntreSkills for Veterans™

Another innovative development within VBOP is the creation of a web-based/CD-ROM-based interactive educational program that teaches veterans to be successful entrepreneurs. EntreSkills for Veterans™ is based on the successful EntreSkills™ program developed by the SBDC Office of Entrepreneurial Education (OE2). VBOP Business Advisors assisted in an upgraded and targeted version of these materials based on a simple premise: military training and experience can be an excellent preparation for starting your own business. The self-paced program helps veterans refine and develop a concept, address legal and marketing issues, prepare financial statements, and ultimately, manage and run a business. Each section includes self-correcting quizzes, an abundance of links to useful business-related websites, and entrepreneur case studies. The sections build cumulatively toward the preparation of a finished business plan. EntreSkills for Veterans™ operates in tandem with one-on-one business counseling by VBOP Business Advisors. The SBDC is working with the New York State Office of Veterans Affairs to qualify EntreSkills for Veterans™ for veterans’ educational credit.

If you and/or your business is outside New York, look to these other Veterans Business Outreach Centers.