The major goal of the Veteran Small Business Support Program is for its member veteran entrepreneurs to bring their businesses into a solid trajectory of development and growth, sustained by being part of a supportive community of mentorship, peer-advisement and ongoing educational opportunities.
A long-term goal is accelerating the growth of a vital veteran-owned business presence in the region that will contribute its leadership to enhancing civic and family life for veteran families and in the broader community
SERVICES THE PROGRAM PROVIDES:
For the past ten years the Worklife Institute team has noted that an increasing number of our veteran clients have wanted to try out business ideas for which they have a passion. To meet client need, Worklife Institute partnered with Texas Veteran Commission’s Entrepreneur Program beginning in 2012 and with the SBA’s Veteran Business Outreach Center since 2013. Worklife Institute joined TVC to provide its Introduction seminars, bringing two of them to Houston and hosting the TVC Academy program, the SBA’s Boots2Business Reboot and the Veteran Business Outreach Center’s Entrepreneur Training Program courses.
With Harris County attracting the largest veteran population in the State and beyond, veterans want to access resources available where they are or hope to become established. The Worklife Institute’s Resource Center provides a good home base for training and advisement resources and ample space for our veteran families to work on their projects. We now have ten years of growing our entrepreneurship program and providing on-going support for its “alumni”.
The majority of our clients have service-connected conditions that also prompt their mid-life evaluation of prior employment conditions and tasks. And the major impacts within the past several years of Hurricane Harvey, COVID-19 and ice storm Uri have accelerated their interest in the independence of business ownership. This program is designed to support their aspirations.
Worklife Institute Small Business Support Project consists of three components to provide a solid foundation for veteran-owned small business start-up and growth.
Upon entering the program, each client’s business concept and progress is evaluated. Recent training, with the WI-TVC-VBOC collaboration or elsewhere, is reviewed and a program roadmap is constructed.
The Training component includes Foundational Certification Courses, at least one of which all clients must complete: the SBA VBOC ETP in October or March at Worklife Institute, the SBA Boots-to-Business Reboot and PeopleFund’s small business training seminar. Worklife Institute’s weekly Workshops include year-round small-business-related topics to reinforce foundational training. Clients are also referred to the SBA’s Small Business Development Center’s workshops and TVC’s webinars.
The Development and Growth component includes required mentoring by Worklife Institute, TVC, SBA’s SCORE or VBOC and assistance with business certifications, including TVC’s Veteran-Owned Business logo. Our Veteran CEO Roundtable monthly meetings will be restarted. Equipment, software and related products of under $2,000 are offered to qualifying participants.
The Advanced Stage includes working with small business lenders - the SBA, PeopleFund and Lift Fund, and banks, PTEC for contracting and sponsorships to IVMF’s V-WISE and Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) to which we send our achieving clients. At the end of 5 months, business health and progress checks are conducted.
OUTCOMES:
Worklife Institute tracks engagement and performance following the required training, which consists of the Foundational courses, specialized weekly workshops including financial matters and business planning, and required mentoring. This includes membership in the Veterans CEO Roundtable and other business organizations such as the Houston area Veterans Chamber of Commerce, seeking assistance with business technologies and request for participation in more advanced bootcamps and internships.
Worklife Institute also tracks qualitative measures, including written and verbal feedback about life satisfaction using the SurveyMonkey questionnaires. We track their perceived work / life and family balance and civic engagement, since these areas present challenges for many of our veterans as they become deeply absorbed with their small business start-ups.
