BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT FRANCHISES
Legislation Expected to Boost Veteran Small Business Ownership and Create Jobs
T
he International Franchise Association (IFA) praised Rep. Aaron Schock (R-
Ill.) and Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) for intro- ducing H.R. 2888 and S.1540, the Help Veterans Own Franchises Act, legislation to boost small business ownership by U.S. veterans as they re-enter the civilian econ- omy.
“As tens of thousands of service men and women return from deployment in Afghanistan and Southwest Asia, expand- ed opportunities are needed to ensure vet- erans and their families are able to transi- tion into the civilian economy,” said Steve Caldeira, IFA’s President & CEO. “Not only is this critical for the economic and social stability of veterans and their fami- lies, but it is an important component of the U.S. economic recovery.” IFA has launched a renewed campaign,
initiated after the Gulf War, to assist U.S. veterans at this unprecedented time. IFA’s VetFran campaign will help returning ser- vice members access franchise opportuni- ties through mentoring, financial assis- tance, and industry support. With its rapid training opportunities, scalability, and need for operational exe- cution and excellence, franchising has proven to be an ideal structure to enable veterans to become leaders of and produc- tive participants in the U.S. economy. Over 400 IFA member companies par- ticipate in VetFran, offering financial in-
centives, training and mentoring. Nearly 2100 veterans are already franchise own- ers. Thousands more are successful in franchising as executives, managers and staff. A recent IFA study found that one out of every seven franchise businesses are owned and operated by veterans of the U.S. military, according to census data es- timates. More than 66,000 veteran-owned fran-
chise businesses in the U.S. provide jobs directly for 815,000 Americans, and gen- erate more than $41 billion in GDP, the study found. Franchising is a major con- tributor to the U.S. economy in terms of jobs and economic output. Over 825,000 franchise businesses in the U.S. are re- sponsible for nearly 18 million jobs and $2.1 trillion in economic output. The bill introduced September 13, 2001
provides a tax credit, equal to 25 percent of franchise fees, to veterans who become franchisees, as an incentive to veterans to become small business owners. IFA hosted a reception honoring all ex- isting veteran franchise small business owners during its 12th
Annual Public Af-
fairs Conference in Washington, D.C. Sept. 14, to galvanize support and raise awareness and encourage lawmakers to support the HVOF legislation. A new web site,
www.vetfran.com was unveiled to help veterans find ownership, training, and
career path opportunities in franchising. “Franchise
businesses’ structured,
scalable model offers veteran small busi- ness owners a greater likelihood to suc- ceed than going it alone,” said Caldeira. “In franchising, you’re in business for yourself, but not by yourself.” VetFran receives no government fund-
ing but is officially endorsed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Center for Veterans Enterprise, which helps pro- mote small-business ownership for veter- ans and named IFA a Champion of Veter- ans Enterprise in 2003. The award-winning program was also recently tapped by the American Society of Association Execu- tives to receive its Award of Excellence for creating an “outstanding program which has resulted in a significant benefit to American society.” In 2010, IFA formed a partnership with
the U.S. Army Reserve to help broaden employment opportunities for reservists by including franchise ownership as a ca- reer option and funneling veteran fran- chise prospects toward VetFran. Franchise businesses find that veterans make great franchise owners because of the skills and experiences they have ac- quired through their service. Company details and their incentives for veterans may be viewed at
www.vetfran.com.
Source: International Franchise Association
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