The 5 Keys to Becoming a Veteran Entrepreneur

“It’s the veteran saying, ‘OK, I want to start this business, but I need a job now,” said Amoroso, who provides free counseling through her center. “It takes a village to raise an entrepreneur. Most VBOCs have the culture to know where they come from and where they're going — a hand-holding aspect is a key they can hold onto. They are never left alone.”

4. Assemble your team

“One of the most important resources an entrepreneur should have is a BAIL team: banker, accountant, insurance, lawyer,” Melissa Bird, project manager for the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF), told AARP Veteran Report. IVMF offers free and low-cost entrepreneurship training programs to service members, veterans, reservists, members of the National Guard and military spouses.

“Those four individuals should be part of the business foundation and conferred with regularly as your business grows and policies, laws and opportunities evolve,” she said.

Your team can help you determine an appropriate business structure for the next round of action items: Apply for an employer identification number (EIN), apply for licenses and permits, open a business bank account, apply for business insurance and register your business to make it a legal entity.

5. Leap!

Once you’ve done the groundwork and tweaked your business plan along the way, it’s time to jump in, while using skills of flexibility and versatility you honed in the military. And don’t be discouraged if the first venture doesn’t quite make it.

“Failing forward and learning from it to pivot is the key to building a scalable business,” Jay Jayamohan, founder and executive director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Harrisburg University, told .

His center is creating “launchU for veterans,” a new hybrid program focused on innovating and managing products. After completing the program, alumni can apply to a CIE incubator to access office space, infrastructure and legal, funding and other partners for 18 months.

“Understanding the market need and building the right solution at the right time is more important than chasing the newest technologies,” said Jayamohan.

As you launch, remember that entrepreneurship is a journey, not a destination. Build a supportive community of peers and mentors and tap into free resources such as SCORE business mentoring and small business development centers. And don’t forget that AARP's Small Business Resource Center can help.

You can subscribe here to AARP Veteran Report, a free e-newsletter published every two weeks. If you have feedback or a story idea then please contact us here.