Government programs for veteran business owners
The federal government provides extensive assistance to small enterprises that want to enter the public sector. This includes veteran-owned firms, businesses owned by people from underrepresented groups, and small enterprises run by women. Winvale is proud to work with multiple Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSBs), and we’d want to draw attention to the help that’s out there for them as they explore the federal market. If you are a veteran-owned business and a GSA Schedule contractor, use the resources provided by the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Small Business Administration (SBA), two of the many government agencies that encourage veteran entrepreneurship.
Veteran-Owned Small Business Programs Under the SBA and GSA
To ease veteran-owned small businesses’ transition into the federal marketplace, the SBA and GSA offer several specific programs. There are many ways in which they are the same and many ways in which they are different. Supporting Veteran-Owned Small Businesses and Veteran Entrepreneurship is the only mission of the SBA’s Office of Veterans Business Development (OVBD). The OVBD is there to help veterans start their businesses by providing them with loans and business. In addition, it facilitates veteran business owners’ access to the federal market and commercial supply chains, where they can find competitive pricing.
Veterans interested in starting their businesses can use the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) array of customer curriculums, both in-person and online. These are grounded on business ownership and the resources available to veteran-related small companies regardless of where they operate. Most of these initiatives are made possible by grant money to provide formal training for budding business owners. Women, disabled veterans, military spouse entrepreneurs, and veterans, in general, are all welcome to participate in these programs.
Training for Veteran-Owned and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned businesses across the country that are interested in or currently involved in federal procurement is the focus of the Veteran Federal Procurement Entrepreneurship Program, which the GSA created.
Qualifications for Becoming a Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB)
It is the responsibility of the contractor or potential contractor to self-certify as a Veteran-Owned Small Business if they believe they meet the requirements. The Systems for Award Management (SAM) Record, also known as your Small Business Profile, is where you’ll complete this self-certification. Once your organization has been granted a special status, that fact should be prominently displayed in all promotional materials, capability statements, and government-related online forms. Since you are a Veteran-Owned Small Business, you can sell to the federal government.
The Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Program
Both the SBA’s Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Program and its Federal Surplus Personal Property Donation Program are designed to help veterans start or expand their businesses. We’ll start with the Small Business Administration’s Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Program.
To guarantee that all small firms in the federal market receive their fair share of labor, the federal government sets specific objectives. To achieve this goal, the federal government gives Small Disadvantaged Businesses about 10% of all federal contract funds or about $50 billion in contracts. One of the four types of small business set-asides eligible for these benefits is those owned by disabled veterans who have served in the armed forces.
Qualifications for the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program
We need to verify that your company meets the requirements for participation in this program before we can go further with the perks available to you as a small business. One of the requirements for participation in the Small Business Administration’s Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Program is that the business’s primary owner or controller be a veteran with a service-connected disability.
Rules
- Get certified as a small business.
- At least 51% of its ownership and control held by disabled veterans.
- Put in charge of day-to-day operations and long-term decisions, one or more disabled veterans.
- Veterans who meet the eligibility standards must have a handicap directly attributable to their time in the armed forces. If you’re unsure if you meet the requirements, you can read the specifics in Title 13 Part 125 Subpart B of the Code of Federal Regulations.
Benefits Awarded to Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses
Each year, the government tries to give at least 3% of all federal contracting monies to small businesses that service-disabled veterans own. A federally allocated budget puts you ahead of the competition for a contract.
Consistently, the government prefers Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program participants when awarding contracts. While someone under this program is welcome to compete for contract awards under qualifying socio-economic programs, you may also compete for set-aside contracts.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) awards a sizeable portion of its annual contracting money to for-profit companies owned and operated by veterans. During the procurement process, the Small Business Administration (SBA) operates a specialized program called the Veterans First Contracting Program, which gives preference to veterans’ businesses. The Vets First Verification Program will determine whether or not your company is qualified to participate in the Veterans First Contracting Program (Veterans First Contracting Program).
The Federal Surplus Personal Property Donation Program
The GSA’s Federal Surplus Personal Property Donation Program makes government-owned surplus items available to veteran-owned small businesses. Once used by the federal government, this property is no longer in government hands since being abandoned. The General Services Administration (GSA) coordinates the sale, trade, or donation of surplus federal property. The State Agency for Surplus Property and the General Services Administration jointly manage this (SASP). SASP distributes federal surplus property to Veteran-Owned Small Businesses in the state where the business is headquartered or where most of the property will be used. However, getting this property is dependent on meeting certain conditions. To qualify as a Veteran-owned small business, your company must:
- Be based in the state and run from within it.
- Possess 100% ownership and control by a veteran, service-disabled veteran, or surviving spouse.
- Have a “confirmed” registration in the VETS First Verification Program database maintained by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) of the United States of America.
- Will put the land to business in the regular course of its operations (personal or non-business use is prohibited).
- Without written consent from SASP, GSA, and SBA, you may not sell, transfer, loan, lease, encumber, or otherwise dispose of the property during the limitation period.
- Before permanently taking the property from the state, we will seek approval from the giving SASP.
- A promise to put the item to its intended use within a year of receipt.
- For as long as the federal period of restriction for the donated property is in effect, the VOSB will be eligible with the VA and SASP.
- You agree to let the SBA, GSA, and SASP inspect your building and any related documents.
If your VOSB breaks any of the agreed-upon conditions, it must return the property to the giving SASP at your expense, which must be stated in writing. Federal Surplus Personal Property Donation Program eligibility conditions are published on ecfr.gov if you need further information.