As a veteran, you are uniquely ready to become an entrepreneur. You understand the importance of sacrifice, dedication, and leadership skills better than most, and it takes all of those to run a successful company. It can be challenging to adjust to civilian life, but that’s all the more reason to do it on your terms and be your own boss.
What’s more American than someone who’s fought to protect the American Dream getting the opportunity to realize it for themselves? If you’re a veteran interested in starting our own business, then you already have all of the skills to succeed. Keep reading to see what business ideas are best suited to retired military veterans.
Franchising Opportunities
As a military veteran, you may be starting with less capital than entrepreneurs who’ve been in the private sector for their entire lives. The good news is that even if you haven’t amassed a fortune through your military career, you can still start a successful business—you just have to think differently. The most cost-efficient way to get your foot in the door as a business owner is to become a franchisee.
When you own a chain in a franchise, you get the benefit of opening a business that already is a household name. You’re merely bringing that business closer to another community. As a resident of your community, you know what your part of town needs most. What have you had to drive across town to get to and thought to yourself, “I wish we had one of those around the corner,”? That’s the franchise that you should bring to your neighborhood or part of town.
Franchise ownership is different from building your own company from scratch because you get to take on the business model of a successful franchisor. All you have to do is implement the same strategy that’s worked for the franchise everywhere else. Who’s more equipped to do that than vets?
UPS Store
One of the best franchises for veterans to open is a UPS Store. They provide incentives to veterans like $10,000 off the franchise fee and 50% off the application fee. Most importantly, UPS recognizes that military veterans make the best franchise owners because of their experience as leaders and working as members of a team.
Dream Vacations
Dream Vacations is another excellent franchising opportunity for military veterans. Starting your own travel franchise with them allows you to build a lucrative business from the comfort of your home for under $4,000. In addition, vets get 10% off of the franchise fee.
Cruise Planners
Sticking with the home-based travel franchise theme, Cruise Planners is another great travel agency franchise for veterans. They offer tons of incentives that are only available to vets, and Cruise Planners provides the lowest initial franchise fee of any company in the franchise 500.
Outside the Box Opportunities
If your military service has taught you anything, it’s taught you that you’re only limited by what your mind can conceive. The most successful business people did what others were scared to try and created a service that people came to believe that they need. Your military experience has given you the fearlessness it takes to be a trailblazer in the business world, so don’t fear the unbeaten path.
One of the best ways to turn a profit as an entrepreneur is to provide products or services to other businesses. For instance, with customer relationship management (CRM) call-center software like that offered by Brightpattern.com, you can start your own call center.
The best thing about Bright Pattern’s call center software is that it’s provided as software as a service (SaaS)—meaning you don’t have to worry about any IT solutions associated with it. You don’t even have to own a call center—your customer service reps can perform all call center functions from the comfort of their own homes. Bright Pattern contact center software will give you the ability to build a customer service juggernaut that other businesses will want to turn their customer relations solutions over to.
