West Virginia July Highlights

WV Veterans Business Summit

The West Virginia Chapter of the Elite SDVOB Network will co-sponsor the first annual WV Veterans Business Summit to be held on Septemebr 14, 2010 in Fairmont at the West Virginia High Tech Consortium. AGENDA

The SBA in West Virginia has designed a dual strategy to inform veteran and service-disabled veteran business owners about opportunities in government contracting and new business formation services for veterans exploring small business ownership.

The largely rural nature of West Virginia demands a more multifaceted approach to reaching these target markets. Therefore, the SBA is advocating a veteran’s business summit in the fall, preceded by a series of smaller, geographically targeted veteran’s business events in the state’s more rural areas.

According to SBA’s Office of Advocacy, there are approximately 6,000 veteran-owned businesses in West Virginia. However, a mere 221 are currently registered in Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS) and only 63 have been designated as SDOVSBs. This means that only 4% of our veteran-owned businesses are taking advantage of contracting opportunities, in a time when federal contract officers are actively searching for VOSBs and SDOVSBs with which to do business.

According to the West Virginia Veteran's History Project, approximately 202,000 veterans reside in West Virginia out of a population of 1.8 million, making it a state with one of the highest number of veterans per capita in the nation. The National Veteran Owned Business Association (NaVOBA) holds that military experience makes vets more likely to be business owners than their non-military contemporaries. Nationally, one of four working age veterans, or 25%, operates their own small business. However, in West Virginia that number is only 11%. Additionally, West Virginia’s unemployment rate is currently 11%, thus underscoring the need to encourage both returning veterans and unemployed veterans to create opportunities for self-employment.

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Mountaineer Mobile Homes

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Micah Systems, LLC
AXA-Advisors

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Azimuth Incorporated

Wally Howerton
President