Boots to Business pilot gathers feedback, gives preview of upcoming transition assistance program

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Austin M. May
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing public affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  A new program designed to help service members transition from the military to owning their own small business wrapped up its pilot session here Nov. 29, 2012.

The two-day workshop, called "Operation Boots to Business," helped potential entrepreneurs decide whether or not small-business ownership is an appropriate career opportunity for them once they hang up their military uniform for good.

According to Patricia Cotton, RAF Mildenhall Airman and Family Readiness Center team lead, Boots to Business is one of three new approaches to the Transition Assistance Program already in place for retiring or separating service members. It will become a permanent presence by the end of fiscal 2013, joining a similar program geared toward education and preceding one focused on vocational technology that has yet to begin its pilot period.

The core TAP course will remain a mandatory part of military retirement and separation, but the new courses will give veterans a more specialized set of resources for the follow-on path they choose. Once all three programs are up and running, service members will be able to choose which courses they want to take, and can take all three if they wish.

Veterans have a variety of options available to them once they finish their military careers, but until now all Airmen were given the same set of transition resources regardless of their future plans. Each track of the new TAP is being tested through pilot programs, like the one here, at U.S. military bases worldwide, with a consistent final product as the end goal, according to Cynthia Harrison, RAF Mildenhall A&FRC chief.

"Someone taking the course at an Army base should be getting the same quality resources as someone taking it at an Air Force base," she said.

Only two Air Force bases were used in the pilot program for the Boots to Business track; McConnell Air Force Base, Kan., and RAF Mildenhall.

Boots to Business has three main objectives. It aims to assist participants with understanding the process of launching a business as a post-military career, help them figure out how a business may or may not align with their personal goals, and provide fundamental training on tools and strategies associated with launching a new business.

Starting a new business may not be for everyone, and helping veterans make that decision is one of the goals of the program. Harrison said by the end of the two-day workshop, most attendees should walk away with a definitive feeling of whether or not they want to give small business ownership a try. Some may decide they need to spend some time in the workforce before making that step.

For those who do want to take their entrepreneurship to the next level and start a business, additional follow-on courses are available. And for those who decide to take another route, the two other TAP tracks will be available.

At RAF Mildenhall, about two dozen people attended the workshop, which was taught by Mike Haynie, Ph. D, Syracuse University Department of Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises Whitman School of Management assistant professor Entrepreneurship, and Ray Toenniessen, MBA, Director of New Initiatives & External Relations, Institute for Veterans and Military Families, Syracuse University. The program was a collaborative effort of the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Office of Veteran's Business Development and Syracuse University.

Chief Master Sgt. Christopher Powell, 100th Air Refueling Wing command chief, attended the workshop and said it was "time well-spent."

Although not certain if he wants to start a small business after retiring from the Air Force, the chief said the event was a worthwhile endeavor for any military member even considering the option.

"A lot of veterans start small businesses and are extremely successful," he said.

Several distinguished visitors from command-level organizations attended the workshop as observers. Their feedback and course critiques from the attendees will impact the final version of the program when it becomes permanent and is implemented across the Air Force next year.

Harrison said she feels confident the Boots to Business program, along with the other new TAP tracks, will go a long way in giving veterans a better chance at being successful in the world outside the military.

"According to the instructors, 6 percent of the U.S. population is veterans, yet veterans own 13.5 percent of the small businesses like Nike, FedEx and Little Caesars. I think this program will increase the number of veteran-owned businesses so in the future maybe one in four will be owned by a vet or their immediate family members," she said.

Until the program becomes permanent, anyone who would like more information on starting a small business after their military career ends should contact their local A&FRC.