The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will host in the Virgin Islands an entrepreneurship training for veterans known as “Boots to Business: Reboot.” The two-day course will be held Aug. 23-24 on St. Thomas, and Aug. 25-26 on St. Croix.
“We know veterans make great entrepreneurs,” said Wayne Huddleston, SBA senior area manager. “In fact, nearly one out of 10 businesses in the U.S. is veteran-owned. Veterans have leadership skills, tenacity, and the discipline required to start and grow businesses, but most haven’t applied those skills in a business context before. Boots to Business can help them prepare for success and evaluate the opportunities and challenges of entrepreneurship.”
A two-step entrepreneurship training program open to veterans of all eras (service members, including members of the National Guard and the Reserves) and their spouses, Boots to Business: Reboot adapts the curriculum from SBA’s very successful program — Boots to Business: From Service to Startup.
Step one is the two-day, in-person workshop. After completion, participants continuing to pursue business ownership are encouraged to enroll in step two, which is an eight-week online course offered by the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University as well as a consortium of entrepreneurship professors and practitioners.
In addition, participants are introduced to SBA resources available to access start-up capital, technical assistance and contracting opportunities, as well as its network of Veterans Business Outreach Centers (www.sba.gov/vboc).
Any veteran, service member (including members of the National Guard and Reserves) or spouse considering business ownership is eligible to enroll.
To register for either the St. Thomas or St. Croix Boots to Business Reboot class, visit: www.boots2business.org/reboot. For more information about the program, call the SBA Virgin Islands Office at 718-5381.
To learn more about opportunities for veterans available through the SBA, visit www.sba.gov/vets.
