JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas –
The Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph Airman and Family Readiness Center hosted a U.S. Small Business Administration-sponsored "Boots to Business" workshop Aug. 20-21 for active-duty members, veterans and civilians who are interested in entrepreneurship once they are done serving in or for the military.
Boots to Business is an intensive two-day, three-step, introduction to an entrepreneurship training program. It was developed to introduce and train transitioning service members for business ownership. The course ensures participants have access to a standardized entrepreneurship training track and exposes them to potential opportunities for their post-military careers.
In August 2011, according to SBA's website, President Barack Obama announced his comprehensive plan to address this issue. Shortly thereafter, he signed the Vow to Hire Heroes Act of 2011, which included steps to improve the mandatory Transition Assistance Program for service members. The Boots to Business program was one of the three additional training tracks offered.
"To put it simply, this track is an orientation to business ownership," Ray Ramos, 902nd Force Support Squadron community readiness consultant, said. "You'll also have the opportunity to plug into a network of veteran entrepreneur-individuals who have walked this path and found success as a business owner."
Those in attendance of the two-day course learned what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur.
"This class was a great experience for me," Tech. Sgt. Erik Herrera, Air Education and Training Command chaplain assistant, said. "I learned a lot about the challenges of being an entrepreneur as well as some tricks of the trade."
According to the Small Business Administration's latest research, veterans often have more difficulty finding jobs in the civilian workforce because of a cultural divide.
"There are an incredible amount of skills that are easily transferable from the military to the civilian world," Ramos said. "However, the art of translating military language and skills into terminology that a civilian employer can understand can be rather difficult to perfect."
Success in entrepreneurship is achievable, but it does not come easily. According to Terry
Sutherland, SBA Press Office director, it takes incredible commitment and a lot of hard work to become and remain successful as an entrepreneur in the civilian world.
"To be a successful entrepreneur and own your own business, you have to be a self-starter, disciplined and be able to hold yourself accountable, which I think are three core qualities of the military," Master Sgt. Anthony Witak, 902nd Force Support Squadron, customer support superintendent, said. "Although I'm not set to retire until next year, I'm glad I took this class. I've found this track to be very helpful in my future success as an entrepreneur."
For more information about the program, visit http://boots2business.org/about.aspx
or call the JBSA-Randolph Airman and Family Readiness Center at 652-5321.