Military Veterans and Spouses Can Explore Benefits of Franchise Ownership
VetFran, an outreach program of the International Franchise Association (IFA), has scheduled a free webinar, “Franchising 101 for Veterans and Military Spouses,” at noon EDT on July 17. This virtual event is designed for aspiring entrepreneurs who don’t want to dive into business ownership and operation alone. Participants will hear why franchises and veterans make great teams.
And that’s not just the assessment of the IFA and VetFran. A U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs webpage lists reasons why veterans become high-achieving franchisees while noting that about 15% of franchises are veteran-owned. Among those factors are: The systems within franchising provide excellent education, training and ongoing support so owners don’t necessarily need industry experience; the low cost for veterans to launch many franchise businesses; the array of industries that offer franchise ownership; and the diverse franchise coaching services available for veterans. The latter includes the Small Business Administration’s Boots to Business program, Syracuse University’s Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans, and The National Veteran Small Business Coalition that helps veteran-owned businesses obtain federal contracts – but those are just a few.
The IFA and its member brands outline the webinar’s underlying philosophy: Franchisors are successful when their franchisees are successful, and veterans have a great track record as owners of franchise businesses.
Veteran Success
Webinar speakers will be Justin Ghadery, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who is on the board of advisers for Best Life Brands, and Ron Bender, a certified franchise executive and vice chairman of the IFA’s VetFran initiative. VetFran itself has a twofold goal: to educate veterans and franchisors about the advantages of veterans as franchisees and also to provide veterans with wide-ranging supplemental support as they become business owners. VetFran guides veterans, including those with disabilities, to the franchise best tailored to their desires, skills and budgets.
Bender says the VetFran webinar will be “a basic intro to franchising” that presents information tailored to veterans and their spouses. He and Ghadery will discuss “why veterans are great for franchising, why franchising is great for veterans, and how to choose the best franchise for you,” Bender says. The webinar will also present resources and discounts that are available exclusively for veterans, he adds, specifically mentioning franchise fee discounts along with business loans and discounts from suppliers. “Many franchise brands also offer mentoring by successful veteran owners already in the network,” Bender points out.
Veteran Challenges
One key challenge for veterans transitioning to civilian life, he says, is “the loss of their mission of serving their country and their loss of camaraderie” that is woven into military life. Bender says another speed bump is that veterans aren’t always ready to find a job, and even when they are, they are handicapped by having few connections within business and social communities after they conclude their years of military service.
Franchising eliminates some obstacles, Bender says, while capitalizing on veterans’ “transferable skills in leadership and team-building, being trained and training others. They have experience in executing standard procedures, in managing people and other limited resources, and in the sharing of best practices with other teams. They are great at following a system [a must in franchising]; they’re used to hard work; and are adept at completing the mission regardless of the challenges.”
He says that within franchising, veterans and military spouses “can find a new mission in serving their customers and their community. They build camaraderie with other franchisees in their network — especially with other veterans — and with business leaders in their community.”
Franchise Education
“Our mission with the webinar is to educate veterans and military spouses about career opportunities within franchising and get more of them into franchise ownership,” Bender says. “This will be a dynamic presentation with Q&A and takeaway resources.”
The webinar will not feature any brand favoritism, he emphasizes. “We are brand-agnostic, and VetFran is a nonprofit educational program. We’ll talk about the veteran-specific benefits of franchising, different industry and business model options, how to choose a franchise that matches their goals, skills and financial situation, and available resources for veterans.” Among those resources is an online directory of VetFran’s 500-plus participating companies, all with incentives for veterans to invest.
VetFran, which has helped more than 6,300 veterans enter franchising, plans additional webinars to educate veterans about the opportunities in franchising. Bender says one future focus will be “success stories of veterans in franchising.” Click here to register for the “Franchising 101 for Veterans and Military Spouses” webinar at noon on Wednesday, July 17.
