Veterans Honorably Serve Our Country and Can Transition From Military Service to Entrepreneurship

Veterans honorably serve our country and often play a valuable economic role. According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), veterans in the United States own over 1.6 million businesses and employ nearly 3.3 million Americans. For vets transitioning from military service to entrepreneurship, a wealth of resources exists, including free training, education, funding and networking opportunities to help ensure their new venture succeeds.

Here's a walk through the essential steps veterans can take when starting a business and resources that can help every step of the way.

Hey Women Entrepreneurs, You've Got This!

Whether you’re thinking about starting a business of your own, or you just need a little extra inspiration in your professional life, this roundup of the best business advice for women should do the trick!

And if you are thinking about taking your business global, don't forget to visit Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.

Entrepreneurs Always Spot Opportunity, Especially In Times of Disruption

The COVID-19 pandemic, in particular, has presented both dramatic disruption and unique opportunities. In fact, more American entrepreneurs report seeing increasingly more business opportunities despite the economic challenges of the pandemic, according to research from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM).

Read on to examine entrepreneurship – positive perceptions of starting a business and a world still rich with opportunities.

Experience and Wisdom Matters When Starting a Business

There is no deadline for success, period. As the the Fast Company article says:

For some entrepreneurs, figuring out their ideal industry and starting their own gig didn’t happen until they had already blown out 40 (or more) candles on their birthday cake.

Yes, entrepreneurship can happen at any time.  Tune in to these 3 dynamic women entrepreneurs who launched their businesses after 40 to hear their stories.  Don't wait.  Be inspired.

Photo by rawpixel for Unsplash

Starting a Business As a Route Into a Career in Music

Taking place at Nottingham’s brand new venue Metronome on Wednesday, October 10, leading female entrepreneurs will share valuable insights into starting a business as a route into a career in music.

There will be an impressive all-female line up of speakers running successful businesses across the music industry who will be looking to inspire the next generation at Women In Music’s next event.

“Music is about creating something new and celebrating that creation. Having more women in music would breathe new life into the industry, so encouraging females to choose our path is something I personally get passionate about and that is why I am part of setting up our Women In Music activities such as this," [says Katie Muckle, DHP Family’s Head of HR].

Read more here.

How One Idea Can Lead to Another When Starting a Business

What does Birmingham, U.K-based Katjes Magic Candy Factory do that no other factory can:  make customer-designed sweets using a specially engineered 3D printer.

Here's the scoop.  The idea came to Melissa Snover while she was in the process of growing her first confectionary startup, Goody Good Stuff, a pioneer in the market for vegan sweets.

The company started as a business-to-business model leasing the 3D printers, licensing software, and ingredients that would allow customers in stores to design bespoke gummy candy. It has since added two more revenue streams: consulting about 3D food printing and marketing to the entertainment industry (which included an appearance at an after-party at last year’s Grammy Awards). The company turned a profit by the 18-month mark, and revenues are forecast to double annually.

How about that for a turn of events?  It goes to show you how one idea can lead to another when starting a business.

What I Wish I'd Known When I Started a Business

Ready to start your business?  Good.  Today we look at a few factors to consider before you launch.

MPR News host Kerri Miller asked three women entrepreneurs to share what they wish they'd known when they started their own businesses.  Here's a snapshot of what came out of the discussion.

1. Go with the flow.
2. Have some risk-taking in you.
3. Look at the big picture, not the day-to-day stuff.

There's more.  Read the entire interview about what you should know before taking your idea and turning it into a business.

Buying Versus Starting Your Own Business: Pros and Cons

As you contemplate running your own business, should you start it from scratch or buy one?  Here are some pros and cons to both.

Read more:  Buy a business or start your own?

Starting a Business Can Begin At Any Age

Zandra Cunningham is the owner and creator of New York-based Zandra’s Beauty, a line of all-natural, luxurious bath and body products.  She is 14 years old.

It was one of five small businesses selected for free retail space last year in the Market Arcade through the pilot program, Queen City Pop Up. The West Side Bazaar has carried her products since 2013. A 1,300-square-foot production space in the Pierce Arrow Commerce Park on Elmwood Avenue is the company’s base. 

Find out how she got started here.  Starting a business can begin at any age.

Screenshot courtesy of:  Zandra

Are You A Female Entrepreneur With Style?

Stephanie Burns along with her business partner Jody Coughlin run Chic CEO, a free web resource for female entrepreneurs that provides all of the fundamental information women need to start a business, from how to write a business plan to how to invent a new product.

Finances, funding, and marketing -- Chic CEO has got it covered. Together with her business partner Jody Coughlin, Stephanie has created a platform for women to find the answers to help them make their dream a reality.

Chic CEO Walks Women Through the Practical Steps of Starting a Business

Visit:  Chic CEO (as illustrated)

Expect To Succeed and You Will

Rachel Leavy, 24 years old, didn't expect to start a business nor did she expect to do well running it but she has.

She teaches obedience classes at night and holds doggy daycamp three days a week.  The idea sparked to start Miss Rachel's School For Dogs when her dog Dixie was hit by a car.

Find her on Twitter and visit her site.  You never know when your next big idea will strike.  Be open to it.

Illustration credit:  Miss Rachel's School for Dogs

Just Start Something in Your Life

Whatever it may be -- running a race, taking a photograph or starting a business -- confidence is key.

According to the article below:

... women actually develop confidence through the process of launching a business, which in turn helps their endeavors grow. "Just start something in your life … you will have a happier life, you will feel more confident, and that's what it's all about" ...

Read the entire article:

Women Starting Businesses - Oprah.com

Photo:  Jean Chatzky

Live Life On Your Own Terms: Start a Business

Many women start a business because they want to develop their own schedules, on their own terms. 

Starting a business explicitly to raise children sounds like one too many projects, but a growing number of women make it work. Being behind the steering wheel of their own ventures allows women to take detours (to the school play, doctors and grandmas). In fact, integrating work and family is one of the top reasons why women start businesses, according to research. 

Learn more about the realities of starting a business while starting a family here.

Illustration credit:  Becky's Pet Care Inc. (as noted in article)

Going It Alone and Making It Work

You can graduate from college and get a "real job." But after a couple of years, are you really happy?

Have you thought about pursuing your passion? That's what Emiko Abe did when she went after her love of music.

But going it alone as a self-employed DJ and music consultant was a bit more difficult than she expected.

Not the business end of it. Abe made fast connections and was soon able to leave her old job to undertake her new venture full-time. She now compiles and manages music for places such as spas and upwards of 700 hotels, along with traditional DJ duties at weddings, fashion shows, hockey games and other events.

Read more about Abe's story and how she became comfortable being by herself.

Going in business for yourself, and making it work

Mandatory Reading for Anyone Considering Starting a Business

That's according to 800 CEO Read and based on Carol Roth's new book, The Entrepreneur Equation:  Evaluating the Realities, Risks, and Rewards of Having Your Own Business.

Find out if entrepreneurship is right for you!

One Woman's Career Revival After Two Decades Out of Pocket

Here's one of the world's longest running pieces about stay-at-home moms returning to work but there is one remark (you have to look carefully) touching on what this blog covers ... starting your own business:

If you do look at the costs against your project income alone, you may have a couple of break even years at the beginning, but those are an investment for the profitable years to come. Over time, your income will grow, either through raises and promotions, you do consulting work and then take a conventional full time job with one of your clients, or make money through an entrepreneurial venture.

Nice to see that someone thought of this idea in the course of a rigorous discussion about one woman's career revival and that it is a serious option for talented women who don't think it's worth returning to work as it was but rather as they want it to be for their new lifestyle.

Why just look at the face of this woman, Amy Beckett, riding the elevator (pictured above) to a job interview. Does she look happy? I should say not. But it appears she ended up taking a job at Passman & Kaplan.

Read the entire discussion related to the article here. Oooops, read the original article here.

It's Never Too Late To Start a Business

JoAnn Cardin (pictured) is 75 years young and has opened a new consignment business in Leachville, Arkansas. She named her new shop Twice Around Treasures. Here's what she has to say about it:

"This is my first time in retail and it is the first time I have owned my own business," she said.

The is making plans for the future but now has mostly clothes and shoes for all members of the family and a large variety of purses.

Congrats to JoAnn! Read more about her business here.

Photo credit (Town Crier photo/Revis Blaylock)

Realize a Dream

Lee Anne Carmack is doing a job she loves.  She launched Yardsalefrog.com March 6th.

Giving her son’s eulogy and encouraging others to do something they always wanted to do gave Carmack the motivation and the focus to start her own business.

Read more here.