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SANDY — A cooperative effort between business, government and one of the state's public academic institutions aims to help veterans address the challenges of starting a new business head-on.
The Utah Veteran Owned Business Coalition hosted the Utah Veteran Business Conference on Friday to connect current and former military members who are entrepreneurs — or aspire to become business owners — with the resources they need to be successful in the marketplace, explained Gary Harter, executive director of the Utah Department of Veterans Affairs.
"What we're trying to do is allow (veterans) to grow and talk to the people that will help them if they need financing or have issues about marketing or business planning, or whatever it is," he said. "We want to give them the skill sets that allow them to be successful with their small businesses and prosper in Utah."
He noted that many prospective entrepreneurs may lack the knowledge of where to find resources that can help them get their ideas or ventures off the ground. The conference is a way to connect them with the contacts and information that will help them become more educated about business planning and development, he added.
During the one-day event, a panel of resource partners discussed a variety of topics including business plans, marketing, funding and government contracting, among others. Held on the Miller Campus of Salt Lake Community College in Sandy, attendees were also given the opportunity to visit with the resource partners for one-on-one coaching, explained Jackie Hobson, business adviser for the Veterans Business Resource Center and Small Business Development Center at Salt Lake Community College.
Because they often deal with stress in the military, veterans have the ability to cope with almost any circumstance, she said. Since being a business owner frequently involves stress, entrepreneurship can suit veterans very well in many cases, she said.
"You really learn how to mitigate risk and make good decisions in the military," Hobson said. "So you're good under pressure."
She added that business owners typically have to learn to wear "a lot of hats," which is something veterans learn over their careers. However, she said that new business owners have to avoid the common trap of trying to do everything by themselves.
"You have a whole network of resources that are available in Utah that can help you," Hobson said. "There are a lot of free services that can help you out."
As a veteran and successful entrepreneur herself, she also noted that "surrounding yourself with people who are smarter than you or better than you" will help increase your likelihood of success, something she was unaware of years ago when she started her business career.
"When I owned businesses, I didn't know of any of the resources and I was (still) able to be successful," she said. "But if I would have known, I would have been more successful."
One of the major advantages of events such as the Utah Veterans Business Conference is the vast amount of knowledge that is readily accessible to new or aspiring entrepreneurs, said retired Air Force Col. Reggie Hall, director of business development for Haight Bey & Associates, an engineering and security services firm in West Haven. Hall was an attendee at the conference.
"There is so much information that is provided by some of the experts, whether it's taxes, accounting information or establishing your business plan, leveraging social media or marketing," he said. "All of that information that is available from the agencies — and it's free of charge — is invaluable."
He also noted the networking opportunities with other small businesses to "pick their brains" as one the numerous positive attributes of the event that were helpful to him.
"You find out the things they've done and some of the mistakes they've made along the way," he said. "We're all trying to help each other prosper."
U.S. Army veteran Kenneth Favor had been considering attending the event in previous years and finally was able to make it. He said learning how to become an entrepreneur is something he's considered for quite some time.
"I've been thinking about starting a business since I got out of the military, but never took that step forward to do it," he lamented. "Now is the time."
He said the information he learned at the conference will go a long way toward helping him achieve his goal of entrepreneurship.
"Being here is going to point me in the right direction," he said. "Knowing where to start and just going from there."
He said the event provides information for prospective small-business owners at varying stages in their development, from idea to established enterprise, something that will help him and others as they progress.
"For me, it's where to start and who to talk to," Favor said. "That's the most impressive thing, the education."
