Returning service members and veterans who are interested in owning their own home-based or other small business, business opportunity, licensee opportunity, distributorship or franchise will now have assistance from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Launched this month, Operation Boots to Business: From Service to Startup is a national U.S. Marine Corps pilot program designed to help service members and veterans to become entrepreneurs and create jobs.

Co-sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD), SBA’s initiative will enable veterans
to connect with its extensive resource partner network, which includes Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), Women’s Business Centers (WBCs), SCORE and Veterans Business Opportunity Centers (VBOCs). These organizations stand ready to provide support to program candidates throughout the life-cycle of their new businesses.

The program will pilot in four locations, including Quantico, Va., Cherry Point, N.C., Camp Pendleton, Calif., and Twenty-Nine Palms, Calif. SBA anticipates nationwide expansion in fiscal year 2013, with the ultimate goal of providing similar entrepreneurial support services to qualified candidates from all branches of the military in the very near future.