National Veterans Small Business Week

In a community like Abilene, you can’t tell our story without mentioning Dyess Air Force Base. The two have become synonymous with each other since members of our community took the promise of a military installation to Washington, D.C. and convinced the Defense Department to invest in a base here.

Abilenians have recognized what the base has meant to our community over the last six decades and have invested their time and resources to show their appreciation. Surely you’ve heard of the Abilene Trophy? Along with the Abilene Trophy, our community was honored as one of five communities named to the 2020 Class of Great American Defense Communities. 

Just as important as Dyess is to Abilene, we can’t overstate the importance of our local airmen and their families. These folks are a part of our community and make Abilene what it is today. Some are here for a short time before they move on to their next stop, but others decide to end their Air Force careers here and transition to civilian life.

In transitioning, some discover their entrepreneurial spirit and open their own small business. Not only does Abilene love Dyess and our military, but we also love our small businesses!

Did you know there are over 1,200 veteran owned small businesses in Abilene? I believe this speaks to our community’s commitment to making Abilene the easiest place to do business.

This week is National Veterans Small Business Week, and we wanted to highlight some resources that our veterans can tap into when they decide to launch and grow their own small business:

• America’s Small Business Development Center at Texas Tech – Abilene: America’s SBDC at Abilene is hosted by Texas Tech University to provide no-cost business consulting and low-cost training to new and existing businesses. Small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs can come for face-to-face business consulting and at-cost training on a variety of topics.
• Boots to Business: Boots to Business (B2B) is an entrepreneurial education and training program offered by SBA as part of the Department of Defense’s Transition Assistance Program (TAP). B2B provides participants with an overview of business ownership and is open to transitioning service members (including National Guard and Reserve) and their spouses. Classes are held monthly at Dyess.  Click HERE to view class schedule.
• Veteran Owned Business Resources from Texas Economic Development Office
• Vets First Verification Program: The Vets First Verification Program affords verified firms owned and controlled by Veterans and Service-disabled Veterans the opportunity to compete for VA set asides.
• Northwest Texas Procurement Technical Assistance Center: Northwest Texas PTAC (NWT PTAC) provides training and technical assistance to businesses interested in contracting with federal, state, and local governments.
• New Veteran Owned Business and Texas Franchise Tax Exclusion: A qualifying new veteran-owned business is not subject to franchise tax for its initial five-year period.

Our team is standing by ready to assist and help the dreamers start up and grow. Should you have any questions on how to get started, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team.