University Letter

UND's faculty and staff newsletter

Veterans Business Outreach Center plans events for Veterans Small Business Week

Each year the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) celebrates, connects, and empowers service members, veterans, National Guard and Reserve members, and military spouses during National Veterans Small Business Week (NVSBW). This year marks the seventh annual NVSBW.

Regionally, Veterans Business Outreach Center of the Dakotas (VBOC), one of the SBA resource partner programs, has a slate of events planned for the week, focusing on veterans, the issues they face, and options for starting or sustaining a small business.

Kicking the week off is a Boots to Business Reboot in conjunction with the South Dakota District Office. This national curriculum provides an introduction to entrepreneurship. There will be a second Reboot event held later in the week that is being targeted to current UND students, alumni and their family. Both events are free and being offered virtually via Zoom.

“We have an exciting week of events all centered around small business,” said Wendy Klug VBOC of the Dakotas program manager. “While this is an important week and celebrated nationwide, our team also wants you to know we are here to assist you with your business year around. We want to help you succeed.”

Additional events throughout the week include virtual workshops on home based business, marketing your business for the holidays, and doing business with the VA. Members of the VBOC of the Dakotas team are also presenting2020 NVSBW VBOC Events as part of a national Business Beyond the Battlefield event.

Registration links for all events can be found on the VBOC website. The full schedule is available here.

All events during the week are free of charge and open to people with and without military connections. While the VBOC program is aimed toward military members and their families, as one of the SBA resource partners, the program welcomes all attendees to most of their events.

The VBOC program is a one-stop shop for service members, veterans, and military spouses looking to start, purchase, or grow a small business. A primary focus is facilitation and delivery of the Boots to Business training workshop both on and off the military installations across North and South Dakota. On base, Boots to Business is part of the Transition Assistance Program preparing service members whose service time is soon ending. However, the course is open to non-transitioning service members and military spouses as well, depending on class seating availability. Boots to Business Reboot is the off-base equivalent for veterans of any era, National Guard, Reservists, as well as spouses.

VBOC of the Dakotas is part of the Center for Business Engagement & Development in the Nistler College of Business and Public Administration. The program works closely with the other programs in that department, the ND SBDC and the ND PTAC.

Learn more about VBOC of the Dakotas, see a schedule of training events, and register for service at www.UND.edu/DakotasVBOC. Follow VBOC on social media – Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.