Veterans make up only 8% of the US population, but they’re twice as likely to own a business as their civilian counterparts.
Learn more about this growing group of small business owners in our latest infographic, “Vetpreneurs: Leading the Way”
As of 2015, America’s 21.4 million veterans own 9.2% of all U.S. firms
• 20% of all veteran-owned firms have employees
• They employ 5.8 million employees
• And make $1.1 trillion in sales
They are 50% more likely than non-vets to own two or more firms.
Veterans with 20+ years of service have higher rates of self-employment, and officers have the highest propensity to become self-employed.
They tend to work in technical industries:
- Professional, scientific and technical services 16.9%
- Construction 15.5%
- Repair, maintenance and other services 9.9%
- Real estate 8.9%
- Retail 8.1%
- Administration and support 7.2%
- Transportation and warehousing 6.5%
- Finance and insurance 5.5%
Vetpreneurs generally secure funding on their own
- 69.2% use personal or family savings and assets
- 12.9% use credit cards or home equity loans
- 9.8% use business loans from financial institution
- 1.9% use business loans from family or friends
- 1.2% use government guaranteed/originated loans
- 0.3% get investments from venture capitalists
- 0.1% earn grants
Here are some helpful business resources for veterans:
- SBA Boots to Business
- Department of Veteran Affairs
- Office of Veterans Business Development
- Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC)
And don’t forget SCORE! Find your mentor today.
