Photo By Candy Pafford | Kissena Sheets, a VBOC facilitator, veteran, and entrepreneur, teaches the...... read more read more
NAS JRB Fort Worth (OCT 26, 2022) – The Naval Air Station (NAS) Joint Reserve Base (JRB) Fort Worth Fleet and Family Support Center (FFSC) along with the Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC) hosted a two-day “Boots-to-Business” entrepreneurship workshop Oct. 19 and 20 at the installation.
According to their website, VBOC is sponsored by the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), and they provide collaborative, hands-on interactive learning opportunities for transitioning veterans, disabled veterans, National Guard, active and reserve component members, and their spouses through a community of entrepreneur resource partners nationally, locally and across U.S. Small Business Administration Region VI (SBA). Through training programs, one-on-one business counseling, accredited university courses, practical seminars, relevant workshops, expert referrals, and veteran-focused outreach activities, UTA VBOC serves the SBA for veterans in Arkansas, Oklahoma and North/Central Texas.
Kissena Sheets, a VBOC facilitator, veteran and entrepreneur, said the Boots-to-Business Workshop is business counseling and resources provided to veterans, retirees, service members and their spouses who are interested in going into business for themselves.
The Boots-to-Business Workshop allows the participant to get, “a high-level view of whether or not they want to be a business owner or entrepreneur,” said Sheets. “We teach them from taking an idea and going into the harvest— all the steps that are needed, taking your idea and putting it on paper. VBOC provides you with the resources and tell you exactly what you need to do to be successful,” said Sheets.
Workshop participant, Aviation Machinist Mate First Class Tasha Stoliker, assigned to Fleet Readiness Center Reserve Midwest, said she plans to start a business with her husband but had no idea where to start. Stoliker said she took the class before by herself, but she wasn’t ready to continue then. “This time, my husband and I are taking the class together. My biggest takeaway from this class is knowing there are a lot more resources out there than I originally thought. This is an amazing class, albeit a starter class. You can choose to continue to the next level course or take workshop courses online, said Stoliker. While building your business plan, if you run into an issue and can’t get it solved, this workshop provides you with the resources and people you can go and talk to and help you move around that issue.”
The Boots-to-Business Workshop focuses on teaching “upfront” elements such as marketing, the competitive advantage, client strategies—who the target client is or should be, the business model and planning, funding and more, said Sheets. “The upfront research helps you understand what is required to be successful. A lot of business owners don’t do that only to find out they have wasted a lot of money, or they have closed their doors because the upfront research and marketing wasn’t completed.”
Sheets said when she left the military, this type of workshop was not available, and like her back then, a lot of veterans are not aware of what is available to them after their military service has ended. VBOC not only gives veterans the tools they need to start their own businesses, but they also connect veterans with different organizations that cater just to veterans. There are veteran-based funding and loan options, government contracting options and specific state options available to veterans. “Texas veteran business owners can get registered with the state for free, the $300 fee is waived, and they can have unlimited access to how many businesses or entities they want to open,” said Sheets.
This workshop is a prerequisite for the next level of training with VBOC called Revenue Readiness, a six-week course that goes deeper into the individual business plans and financial options. “One course builds on the other. Its not just take this class and then you're gone. We want to be with you every step of the way,” said Sheets.
NAS JRB Fort Worth FFSC’s Transition Assistance Manager and Coordinator, Al Starks said the Boots-to-Business Workshop is one of the options transitioning service members have as part of the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) and is given quarterly at the FFSC. The SBA is a helping agency in partnership with the Department of Defense (DOD), that aids the DOD in helping veterans find employment, said Starks. “The Boots-to-Business Workshop is a collaborative effort from the SBA and DOD to help veterans have gainful careers after they leave the military,” Starks said.
Master-At-Arms Second Class Marshall Boykin, assigned to NAS JRB Fort Worth Security Department, said the workshop was “highly beneficial and teaches that there are more options, especially for veterans, to start their business without diving into their own savings and going into debt. VBOC helps you at all different levels, from the idea phase to the full-blown plan and business model. This workshop has helped streamline each one of my ideas and get them on track,” said Boykin.
Another workshop participant, Staff Sgt. Grant Stanford, assigned to Dallas Recruiting Battalion, said he has researched starting a business on his own and found many different types of resources that all say different things about how to start a business. “It was hard for me to pinpoint what to follow,” said Stanford. However, attending this workshop, a source that gives you the information for free but also provides mentorship options was most valuable to him.
“All the tools out there cost, and half of the time the tools you pay for do not come with counseling and may not necessarily be the tools you need. Whereas with VBOC, you not only get the tools and resources you need, specifically for your business, but you receive mentoring options, for free. I am excited to find out who my mentor will be and get started,” said Stanford.
“If you have the slightest inclination that you want to start your own business, Boots-to-Business is a great, free way to get an overview of what a business could look like, what is required, and what’s needed to be successful,” said Sheets.
| Date Taken: | 10.26.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 10.26.2022 17:26 |
| Story ID: | 432069 |
| Location: | FORT WORTH, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 123 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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