Making the transition from military life to civilian life is a challenge
every veteran faces at some point. One of the ways veterans try and cope
with going back to a more “normal” way of life is by starting their own
businesses. In fact, just over 9% of all small businesses in the U.S. are
veteran-owned, while this statistic is inspiring those businesses are only
able to survive with the support of their local communities.
There are several reasons to support veteran-owned businesses, first small
business owners, in general, tend to purchase from other local businesses
whenever possible so the dollars you spend in local businesses tend to stay
in the community longer – which is good for everyone!
In addition to that, as the business grows, so too does its demand for
employees since veterans tend to hire other veterans, your dollars spent at
a veteran-owned business has twice the effect in helping the veteran
community.
In this article, we will outline some ways to show your support for those
veteran business owners that have worked hard to serve their country and
now struggle to serve their local communities.
*Awareness*
You can’t support a business if you don’t know it’s out there. Veteran businesses
face the same challenges many new businesses face – no one knows they exist.
The first way you can support veteran businesses in Fort Wayne is by simply
searching for specifically veteran-owned businesses. Many sites like Yelp
give you the option to filter on veteran-owned businesses. But even a
simple Google search for “Veteran-owned businesses near me” will help you
to quickly identify those businesses in your area.
*Promotion*
The second way you can help support veteran businesses in Fort Wayne is by
promoting them. These days, it is quite simple to promote a business on
your favorite social media platform. Just a quick mention and a link to the
business can help to create quite the buzz, and if you can provide a quick
personal review or recommendation about the products or services and that
“quick mention” can be a powerful and valuable marketing piece to a
veteran-owned business.
Word of mouth has proven to be one of the most reliable a successful
marketing channels for any business, so while it might seem a small thing
anything from an Instagram post to a Google review can be very helpful to a
veteran-owned business.
In the spirit of helping local veteran-owned businesses, one that we really
like is Household 5 Soap Company – they make some amazing, natural soaps
and skincare products for men and women.
You can check them out at website or stop by their retail
location in the Georgetown shopping center!
