Thursday, April 29, 2010

VetFran: An Entrepreneur’s Idea Becomes the American Dream for Veterans

From April 2010 Franchising World Magazine

What began as the idea of one entrepreneur who had served in military uniform today has become a path to the American Dream for veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces.

Watching the events of the Gulf War unfold in 1990, the president of The Dwyer Group, Don Dwyer, decided he had to do more for veterans than just cheer them on from the safety of his living room. He considered the traditional ways of support, but saw nothing that captured the spirit on the scale he envisioned.

A short time later, while attending the International Franchise Association’s 1991 annual convention, he conceived the ideal solution: help veterans live the American Dream by owning their own franchised small business.

Initially, his idea drew skepticism, but he persisted, even funding a lobbying and information campaign with his own finances. As franchisors learned more about the idea, they signed on to support the “Veterans Transition Franchise Initiative,” today known as “VetFran.”
Just before Veterans Day, 1991, the program was officially launched during a press conference in Washington, D.C. and soon, more than 100 franchise systems were participating as partners in the effort, providing financial incentives for honorably-discharged veterans.

Fortunately, the conflict in the Gulf was short-lived, but when the attention on military action and returning veterans waned, so did support for the program.

But the terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, re-ignited military action in the Middle East, this time on a much larger scale. Leaders of IFA quickly revitalized the program and VetFran was activated with the official support of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Since its re-launch in 2002, VetFran has become a popular path to smallbusiness ownership by more than 1,700 veterans who use financial incentives and support services offered by nearly 400 franchise systems and numerous members of the IFA Supplier Forum.

The participating companies and the discounts they offer can be viewed at www.franchise.org   under “Businesses for Veterans.” Incentives range from reduced initial franchise fees to waivers of training costs and free product inventories.

VetFran gets no government funding but is officially endorsed by the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs’ Center for Veterans Enterprise which helps promote small-business ownership for veterans and named IFA a “Champion of Veterans Enterprise” in 2003.

The award-winning program was also tapped by the American Society of Association Executives to receive its Award of Excellence for creating an “outstanding program which has resulted in significant benefit to American society.”

Congress is also displaying interest in helping veterans become franchisees. New legislation designed to aid veterans in buying franchises was introduced recently by U.S. Reps. Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa) and Aaron Schock (R-Ill.). The Help Veterans Own Franchises Act, H.R. 2672, would provide a tax credit for franchise businesses that offer qualified veterans a discounted initial franchise fee. See page 14 for more details.

VetFran, like the ideas of entrepreneurs that become global business enterprises, began as the idea of one franchise entrepreneur–Don Dwyer–whose concern about the postmilitary futures of those who serve to protect and defend their nation propelled him into action.

Fittingly, not only does the VetFran program continue to grow and achieve its original mission, but the program originator’s daughter, Dina Dwyer-Owens, CFE, who now serves as chairwoman and CEO of the franchise system he founded, has long been a strong supporter of the initiative and recently announced a significant milestone reached by The Dwyer Group. In February, the holding company of six residential and commercial franchise service brands topped the $1 million mark in VetFran discounts awarded to veterans.

“Don Dwyer truly had a million-dollar idea,” said Dwyer-Owens. “Providing careers for veterans has been the best way to honor the men and women of our U.S. Armed Forces for the service they have given to our country. And my father would be very proud of the opportunities that have been created in our franchise family to help them transition to civilian life as business owners.”

The Dwyer Group has also expanded its resources to veterans through its own Department of Veterans Entrepreneurship and the introduction of its complementary P.A.V.E. (Program for Assisting Veteran Entrepreneurship) Program, which offers educational and financial resources to veterans and transitioning military personnel who want to buy a franchise.

SBA’s Patriot Express Loan Initiative Available

Program focuses on military community, including veterans, service-disabled, active-duty in transition, Reservist and National Guard, as well as spouses and related groups.

The U.S. Small Business Administration offers the new Patriot Express Pilot Loan as the latest extension to the financial, procurement, and technical assistance programs the agency provides to the military community. Patriot Express is a streamlined loan product based on SBA’s successful SBA Express Program, but with enhanced guarantee and interest rate characteristics.

With military activations and extensions having a profound impact on entrepreneurs in the military community, SBA is committed to helping America’s service men and women. Patriot Express, supported by SBA’s other services, goes directly to the needs of those who wish to start businesses, and in the process encourages job creation and growth.

Patriot Express is available to military community members including veterans, service-disabled veterans, active-duty service members participating in the military’s Transition Assistance Program, Reservists and National Guard members, current spouses of any of the above, and the widowed spouse of a service member or veteran who died during service, or of a service-connected disability.

The Patriot Express Loan is offered by SBA’s network of participating lenders nationwide and features SBA’s fastest turnaround time for loan approvals. Loans are available up to $500,000 and qualify for SBA’s maximum guaranty of up to 85 percent for loans of $150,000 or less and up to 75 percent for loans over $150,000 up to $500,000. For loans above $350,000, lenders are required to take all available collateral.

The Patriot Express Loan can be used for most business purposes, including start-up, expansion, equipment purchases, working capital, inventory or businessoccupied real-estate purchases.

Patriot Express Loans feature SBA’s lowest interest rates for business loans, generally 2.25 percent to 4.75 percent over prime depending upon the size and maturity of the loan. Local SBA district offices will have a listing of Patriot Express lenders in their areas. Details on the initiative can be found at SBAs’ Web site under “Patriot Express.”

SBA has expanded through an expansion of its Veterans Affairs Office, increased local outreach and goaling in its district offices and participation in U.S.Department of Labor job seminars.

The small-business agency provides programs and services for veterans and members of the military community wanting to establish or expand small businesses.

SBA has veterans’ business development officers in district offices in every state and territory able to provide military community members full access to the SBA’s range of programs and services. There are also five Veterans Business Outreach Centers located in Albany, N.Y; Pittsburgh; Lynn Haven, Fla.; Edinburg, Texas; and Sacramento.

In addition to district offices, SBA’s resource partners SCORE, Counselors to America’s Small Business; Small Business Development Centers; and Women’s Business Centers provide local and online assistance with: writing a business plan, financing options to start or grow your business, managing the business, expanding the business and selling goods and services to the government.

For those who are already small-business owners and expect to be recalled into active duty, SBA and its resource partners have expertise to assist with preparing their businesses before deployment, managing their businesses, selling goods and services to the government, obtaining other SBA financing and financial assistance, and obtaining loans for economic injury–Military Reserve Economic Injury Disaster Loans–loans of up to $1.5 million are available for small businesses sustaining economic injury because an owner or essential employee has been called to active duty as a military reservist.

The SBA and its Office of Veterans Business Development provides comprehensive assistance, outreach and support to veterans. Each year the SBA assists more than 100,000 veterans, servicedisabled veterans and Reserve Component members. The Center for Veterans Enterprise is an organization within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that reports to the Director of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization who is the department’s advocate for small-business concerns. The mission of the center is to improve the business climate for veterans, to minimize access barriers and to inform the public about the benefits of working with veteran-owned small businesses.

CVE creates opportunities for veteranowned small businesses by collaborating with like-minded individuals and organizations who passionately believe that veterans in business are still serving the United States. Its partner organizations provide local support to veterans through local business and face-to-face meetings on the belief that such encounters are imminently better when considering business ownership, seeking financing or making marketing calls.

CVE supports acquisition teams through procurement coaching, free market research, awareness briefings and awards for noteworthy achievements.

With its strategic partners, the center continually seeks to stretch performance and improve benefits for veterans in business.

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