Broward SCORE Helps Veterans' Small Businesses Succeed

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL, May 24, 2012

Broward SCORE, -www.broward.score.org- a premier local source of free and confidential small business advice for entrepreneurs, is accelerating veterans' ability to succeed as small business owners through the "Veterans Fast Launch" national SCORE initiative.

The program aims to ease the transition for the large population of veterans returning home from service abroad, a number expected to increase by 40,000 following the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2011.

Broward SCORE also targets its Simple Steps business boot camp series to veterans and their families. They receive a special scholarship to attend the workshop series that's geared to testing business ideas. The scholarship is available to all current and retired members of the U.S. military. National Guard or Reserve; Retired Guard or Reservist and their family members.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, veterans who left military service in the past decade have an unemployment rate of 11.7 percent and those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan face an especially high rate of 15.2 percent, both well above the overall U.S. jobless rate of 9.1 percent. Working closely with the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Small Business Administration's Veterans Business Outreach Centers, SCORE offers services to thousands of military members making the transition back to their everyday lives and seeking to support themselves and their families through a small business venture. A complete package of services, the Veterans Fast Launch program includes scholarships and free software as well as SCORE's proven mentoring program.

One of the many veterans to have benefitted from the dedicated and knowledgeable mentors at SCORE is Dr. Dolly Garnecki of Spinal Health and Wellness LLC in Charlottesville, VA.

The 2011 SCORE Award Winner for Outstanding Veteran-Owned Small Business, Garnecki encourages other veterans to take advantage of SCORE's free services saying, "SCORE is fantastic because no matter how difficult the hardships of wartime, you don't learn how to run a business in the military or in your professional industry's graduate school - I didn't get that in chiropractic college. But SCORE filled my weaknesses in business. These are people who have a wealth of experience, who can hold your hand and help you do what you need to do."

SCORE CEO Ken Yancey says, "We have an obligation to offer our Veterans every opportunity to reach their goals because of their service in support of country. SCORE's Veterans Fast Launch program provides Vets the information and education they need to successfully start and grow a small business." Yancey adds, "We sincerely appreciate the sacrifice made by our veterans and their families. I hope that they will take advantage of this powerful program to support them in fulfilling their entrepreneurial aspirations."

The program was created with the support of a $500,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation and the help of major business sponsors including AICPA, AVG, Cisco, Constant Contact, DocStoc, HP, Intacct, Microsoft, Salesforce and Square.

To register for this program, or for more information, go to http://vetsfastlaunch.org.

Since 1964, SCORE has helped more than 9 million aspiring entrepreneurs. Each year, SCORE provides small business mentoring and workshops to more than 375,000 new and growing small businesses. More than 13,000 business experts volunteer as mentors in 364 chapters serving local communities with entrepreneur education to help grow 1 million small businesses.

For more information about starting or operating a small business, contact Broward SCORE at 954-356-7263. Visit Broward SCORE at http://www.broward.score.org. Connect with Broward SCORE at http://www.facebook.com/BrowardSCORE and http://www.twitter.com/BrowardSCORE.