SCORE Infographic: Veterans Twice as Likely to Own Businesses

Veteran-owned businesses employ 5.8 million and generate $1.1 trillion in sales

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Nov 10, 2016, 10:10 ET

WASHINGTON, Nov. 10, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In honor of Veterans Day, SCORE, the nation's largest network of volunteer, expert business mentors, has gathered statistics that show veterans are twice as likely to own a business as their civilian counterparts. Veterans, who make up eight percent of the U.S. population, are also 50 percent more likely than civilians to own two or more firms.

As of 2015, America's 21.4 million veterans own 9.2 percent of all U.S. firms:

In honor of Veterans Day, SCORE, the nation's largest network of volunteer, expert business mentors, has gathered statistics that show veterans are twice as likely to own a business as their civilian counterparts.

20 percent of all veteran-owned firms have employees.
Collectively, these firms employ 5.8 million people, and make $1.1 trillion in sales.
Veterans with 20+ years of service have higher rates of self-employment, and officers are more likely to be self-employed.

Veterans tend to work in technical industries, with the top five being:

Professional, scientific and technical services: 16.9 percent
Construction: 15.5 percent
Repair, maintenance and other services: 9.9 percent
Real estate: 8.9 percent
Retail: 8.1 percent

Most vetpreneurs rely on themselves to fund their businesses:

69.2 percent use personal or family savings and assets.
12.9 percent use credit cards or home equity loans.
9.8 percent use business loans from financial institutions.
1.9 percent use business loans from family or friends.
1.2 percent use government guaranteed/originated loans.

Helpful business resources for veterans include:

SBA Boots to Business
Department of Veteran Affairs
Office of Veterans Business Development
Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC)

Download this infographic for more data on the state of veteran-owned businesses in 2016. Veterans and civilians alike can connect with a SCORE mentor today for personalized help with starting or growing a small business.

About SCORE
Since 1964, SCORE has helped more than 10 million aspiring entrepreneurs. Each year, SCORE's 10,000+ volunteer business experts provide 350,000+ free small business mentoring sessions, workshops and educational services to clients in 300+ chapters nationwide. In 2015, SCORE volunteers provided 2.2+ million hours to help create more than 45,000 jobs and 55,000 small businesses.

For more information about starting or operating a small business, call 1-800-634-0245 for the SCORE chapter nearest you. Visit SCORE at www.score.org. Follow SCOREMentors on Facebook and Twitter.

Contact Information
Betsy Dougert
800-634-0245
[email protected]

Info - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161109/437628-INFO

SOURCE SCORE Association