Veteran Owned Business Project Celebrates its Fourth Anniversary

We at Veteran Owned Business love a great celebration, especially when milestones are being reached and the passion and vision continues to flow at full throttle.  As Thanksgiving Day approaches and we enter our fifth year of business, we would like to take a moment to reflect on our past, to share some of our immediate goals and, especially to thank our Veteran Owned Business members and other supporters.

It seems like it was only yesterday when VOB’s publishing company (eWareness)  launched the Veteran Owned Business project (VeteranOwnedBusiness.com) as an online communication tool and resource hub for veterans, active duty military, reservists, service disabled veterans and their families.

Brief History of The Veteran Owned Business Project:

Veteran Owned Business (.com) got its start on Veteran’s Day 2008.  VOB provides veterans with useful information on business, marketing, contracting, financing, hiring and many other relevant topics.  Since its inception, the number of verified and approved Veteran Owned Business members has grown to nearly 15,000 members with almost 5,000,000 visitors to the Veteran Owned Business website viewing some 25,000,000 pages.  Facebook Fans are also liking Veteran Owned Business; as of Veterans Day 2012, the number of “Likes” has nearly exceeded 15,000. We have received over 50,000 direct requests for VOBs/SDVOSBs that have come from government contractors, government procurement personnel, sub contractor and every day consumers.  We’ve received direct contact from some of our nation’s most respected companies including Microsoft, Boeing, Proctor and Gamble and Delta.  We have also been working closely with numerous government agencies to help our members grow their respective businesses including the Department of Homeland Security, The White House, Department of Education and the Department of Veterans Affairs just to name a few.

The future for Veteran Owned Business Is Very Promising:

We have numerous things (both minor and major) planned for the future. Besides increasing the amount of visitors, pages viewed and sign ups, we have a plethora of updates that will help VOB continue to grow in a way that helps empower military veterans who own businesses to grow, hire fellow veterans and give back to military veteran organizations that directly impact the service men and women (and their respective families) who proudly serve(d) our great nation (read VOB’s Mission Statement).  Here are just a few of the things we are working on to help our great military community:

1. We are currently building the Veterans Hire Veterans^TM employment site.  What started two years ago as a resource section for veteran business owners and veterans looking for work has grown into a large community of those looking to hire and those looking for employment where the commonality between the two is their military experience.  We are taking this great resource to the next level where veteran employers and veteran job-seekers will be able to easily network, post resumes, add jobs, search for jobs and search resumes. For the time being, please “Like” Veterans Hire Veterans^TM on Facebook to be kept up-to-date on the progress of VHV (currently over 16,500 “Likes”).
2. We are also in the process of forming a 501C (6) nonprofit organization.  Similar to a Chamber of Commerce, the nonprofit status will allow us to conduct training, to hold conferences and to serve as an umbrella agency for state, regional and city-wide veteran owned business networks.  The status will also allow us to apply for and distribute grants, to obtain more government contracts which can then be shared with our members and to lobby on behalf of veteran owned businesses
3. We have identified some potentially strategic partners affiliated with universities and veterans’ groups; through these new relationships, we are in the process of applying for research grants for studies that relate to veteran’s issues and workforce development;
4. We are identifying Veteran Owned Business members who were impacted by Hurricane Sandy. One of our staff members will soon be contacting those businesses and exploring ways we can assist;
5. We are developing a new training series to help you market your business while maximizing your veteran status;
6. The Veteran Discount Coupon Directory is in progress.  Watch for details on our website.

“I am very excited about all the possibilities within the VeteranOwnedBusiness.com Portal.  Our vision for VOB keeps growing while our main goal is to keep identifying needs within the veteran community–especially when it comes to providing communication services and tools,” said Brian K. St. Ours, founder of the Veteran Owned Business (.com) Project.
“Meanwhile, our heart especially goes out to those in the northeast who are trying to cope and rebuild in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy,” St. Ours added.  “We believe the veteran community at large can, and will, pull together to help us help them.”

The staff of VeteranOwnedBusiness.com wishes you a very Happy Thanksgiving!  We would also like to send out a very special “thank you” to everyone for your support and dedication in helping make the Veteran Owned Business Project and our community of veteran business owners such a huge success.

Lastly, we give thanks to all our veterans, active duty military and military families for your sacrifice and duty to the greatest nation on this planet. It is because of our military heroes that the United States continues to be a beacon of light for hope and freedom around the globe!