Barbara E. Carson Testimony to House Small Business
Archived source: Hhrg 115 Sm00 Wstate Carsonb 20171108 Pdf A66dcf04515d4084. Captured from www.congress.gov.
Cited in: Barbara E. Carson
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Testimony of Barbara E. Carson
Associate Administrator
Office of Veterans Business Development
U.S. Small Business Administration
Before the
Small Business Committee
U.S. House of Representatives
Chairman Chabot, Ranking Member Velázquez, and distinguished Members of the
Committee, good morning, and thank you for the opportunity to testify today on the U.S. Small
Business Administration’s (SBA’s) continuing efforts to empower veteran entrepreneurship and
small business ownership through programs and policies that maximize the availability of SBA
services for veterans, service members, and their spouses. I am honored to work at the SBA and
to empower veterans to be the next great generation of entrepreneurs.
As a former small business owner, current member of Air Force Reserve, and the spouse
of an Air Force officer, I know the challenges and excitement that come with both military life
and entrepreneurship. I know firsthand that entrepreneurship can be an incredibly rewarding
endeavor.
Many military members have the skills to start and grow small businesses and the SBA
provides resources for them to do just that. Today we will cover some of the great things
happening at SBA, thanks to your support, and to our team of district offices and resource
partners around the country. Those include the Veterans Business Outreach Centers (VBOCs)
and their increased participation in transition assistance, as well as SBA’s grant programs for
service disabled veterans, women veterans, and those seeking opportunities in federal
procurement. We have a number of success stories which I will highlight where these programs
have made a real difference in helping veterans launch or grow small businesses.
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The SBA is dedicated to serving aspiring and existing veteran business owners. About
2.5 million businesses are majority-owned by veterans, and nearly all veteran-owned businesses
are small businesses and contribute approximately 1.4 trillion dollars to the nation’s total
sales/receipts per year. Many veteran business owners have gained important skills and
leadership abilities that are often directly relevant to business ownership. The SBA promotes and
supports veteran small business ownership by administering programs, formulating policy, and
administering grants to Veteran Business Outreach Centers and other partners. The Agency
ensures resources are accessible and available to veterans, active duty, National Guard and
Reserve service members, and veteran or military spouses.
The SBA provides direct assistance to veterans through our veteran business development
officers stationed in 68 district offices and indirectly through a network of 20 Veterans Business
Outreach Centers. As part of the Transition Assistance Program (TAP), provided alongside the
Departments of Labor and Veterans Affairs, SBA serves transitioning service members through
the Boots to Business (B2B) program. SBA also provides assistance to veterans of all eras
through the B2B Reboot program. SBA also assists veterans through three grant programs: the
Service-Disabled Veteran Entrepreneurship Training (SDVET) program, the Women Veteran
Entrepreneurship Training (WVET) program, and the Veteran Federal Procurement
Entrepreneurship (VFPET) program. In addition, SBA conducts outreach to connect veterans,
service members, military spouses, and members of the Reserve and Guard with
entrepreneurship resources and stakeholders, and by leading SBA’s National Veterans Small
Business Week.
Veteran Business Outreach Centers
The VBOC program provides entrepreneurial development services such as business
training, counseling, and resource partner referrals to transitioning service members,
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veterans, National Guard and Reserve members, and military spouses interested in starting or
growing a small business.
Since 2014, VBOCs have taken a larger role in B2B training, and thanks to your increased
support, the number of VBOCs grew from 15 to 20 in just three years and B2B participation has
increased by 12 percent from FY 2015 to FY 2017. Their role within the resource partner
community has also been growing, as they are a source of referrals for clients to our other
partners. SBA has instituted performance goals for the VBOCs to better align and track
participation in transition assistance programs, the primary mission of the VBOC program. The
VBOC performance goals track B2B participation, B2B and B2B Reboot events, and counseling
interactions (including referrals to resource partners).
In FY 2017, VBOCs extended their reach by instituting local initiatives such as VBOC on the
Reservation (Native American Outreach), Commercial Supply Chain training, and VBOC on the
Road (Rural Communities) while also incorporating technology platforms to provide consistent
and meaningful support across their entire coverage area. To assist with this effort, SBA has
launched the VBOC 2.0 initiative. VBOC 2.0 is a one year pilot program that will provide select
VBOCs with tools to help them better provide services across their geographic coverage areas
and track client referrals to local SBA resource partners.
Overall, in FY 2017, VBOCs provided counseling and training to more than 54,800 veteran
small business owners and entrepreneurs. The centers are unique in their ability to address
veteran-specific challenges while integrating SBA services and referring clients (when
appropriate) to other organizations that provide specialized and needed services. VBOCs bring
together local and regional service networks that are most effective in creating small business
ecosystems and help augment SBA district office efforts.
One challenge for VBOCs is the ability to provide counseling and training to veterans across
assigned coverage areas with a total of 50 VBOC advisors nationwide. While the services that
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the VBOCs provide have resulted in many success stories and contributed to local economic
development through business starts, approved loans, contracts awarded, and jobs created or
retained, the average VBOC is responsible for service coverage in at least three states. To
address this challenge, VBOCs are leveraging the support of, and reciprocal referrals among,
other SBA resource partners, district offices, and non-profit, academic, and private organizations
that serve veteran entrepreneurs.
Boots to Business Program
The Boots to Business (B2B) program is an entrepreneurial training program offered by the
SBA as a training track within the Transition Assistance Program. In FY 2017, the SBA
continued to sustain and develop the B2B Program; more than 17,300 veterans, service members,
and military spouses at military installations worldwide benefited from the B2B Introduction to
Entrepreneurship course. In total, nearly 70,000 participants have benefited from B2B since the
program began in 2013.
In FY 2017, the SBA conducted a competitive funding opportunity for the B2B program and
sought proposals for curriculum development, outcomes assessment, follow-on training, and
overseas instruction. Upon evaluating the eligible proposals, SBA determined no award was
necessary to an outside vendor for curriculum development and outcomes assessment as those
could be conducted with existing SBA resources, allowing us to focus on the other areas of need.
The SBA awarded funding to two nonprofit organizations to provide follow-on training and
overseas instruction:
• Syracuse University’s Institute for Veteran & Military Families (IVMF) in partnership
with the Cornell University’s Johnson College of Business. IVMF provides B2B
instruction to service members and military spouses stationed overseas at 34 military
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installations in nine countries. Additionally, IVMF has partnered with Cornell University
to provide B2B follow-on entrepreneurial instruction which will include market research
and business fundamentals to be delivered globally via Cornell University’s eCornell
platform. IVMF and Cornell University work with SBA to develop specialty business
development tracks such as franchising or federal procurement based on participant
demand and market opportunity.
• Mississippi State University (MSU) delivers B2B follow-on entrepreneurial instruction
with a new online training course, B2B Revenue Readiness. Based on curriculum that
MSU developed as part of their 2016 SBA award for the “Lean for Main Street”
challenge, participants in this program will learn how to develop a clear vision of their
individual business model and a multi-faceted business plan.
Experience has shown us that a best instruction practice is teaching B2B modules with more
than one instructor (“team teaching”), which often results in a more dynamic learning experience
and helps foster class discussion. The B2B program encourages this practice as a way to
introduce the transitioning service member population to the wide variety of SBA resources and
partners throughout the nation. Eligible instructors include advisors drawn from SBA’s resource
partner network. SBA is refining the B2B curriculum by leading a collaborative effort to tap into
the existing subject matter expertise among SBA’s extensive resource partner network and
instructors.
In FY 2017, we developed a learning agenda with specific research questions which provides
a framework for the B2B program’s evaluation activities. As part of this effort, the B2B program
continues to collect outcomes and course quality assessment data. To date, survey findings
indicate that B2B graduates started over 400 business that have succeeded in staying in business
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for at least a year. This result beats national averages that indicate eight out of ten small business
fail in that same time period. 1 Additionally, B2B survey results indicate:
• 92% of respondents are motivated to start a business;
• 87% of respondents are confident in starting a business; and
• 57% of respondents participated in some form of follow on training.
Also, in FY 2017, the B2B program began two different types of program evaluations:
• In partnership with SBA’s Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO), the B2B
program is undergoing a formative evaluation that aims to use predicative analysis to
determine how program design elements and activities affect B2B course participation.
• The US Military Academy at West Point (specifically, the Office of Economic
Manpower Analysis or OEMA) is conducting an impact evaluation of Army transitioning
service members and veterans who have used B2B services in order to determine the
program’s impact on transition success by looking at employment, education, and small
business start-up numbers. (Historically, the Army is the largest customer of B2B
services, compared to other service branches.) OEMA has a number of established
interagency memoranda of understanding which can be leveraged to inform OEMA
analytical projects.
Challenges remain with data sharing between SBA resource partners and other federal
agencies and with the longitudinal tracking required to measure outcomes in the entrepreneurship
domain. SBA continues to work with the DOD’s Defense Manpower Data Center to refine a
data-sharing business case , seek a unique identifier for individuals participating in SBA
programs or counseling, and pursue other interagency agreements or research projects that will
ensure the ability to study longitudinal outcomes on an individual level.
1
U.S. Small Business Administration, White Paper: Operation Boots to Business Veteran Entrepreneurship Assessment,
Syracuse, N.Y., Jun. 2016 (https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/b2b_vet_entrepreneurship_assessment.pdf)
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Veterans Entrepreneurship Training Programs
Veterans play an important role in stimulating economic growth in local communities. The
SBA offers a variety of entrepreneurship training programs designed to assist transitioning
service members, veterans, National Guard and Reserve members, and military spouses in
developing the skills and knowledge needed to start, grow, and succeed in business. In addition
to the broader assistance provided via the Agency’s VBOC and B2B programs, in FY 2017 SBA
administered three grant programs that serve veteran entrepreneurs in specially targeted
demographic and business sectors:
• Service-Disabled Veteran Entrepreneurship Training Program (SDVETP)
• Women Veteran Entrepreneurship Training Program (WVETP)
• Veteran Federal Procurement Entrepreneurship Training Program (VFPETP)
SDVETP 2 provides service disabled veterans, military spouses, and caregivers with
entrepreneurial training, business development assistance, and counseling and management
assistance.
WVETP 3 provides entrepreneurship training to women veterans and service members, as
well as to women spouses of service members and veterans, who are interested in starting,
growing and diversifying new and established small business concerns.
VFPETP 4 is a vital component of the Agency’s efforts to assist veteran and service-disabled
veteran small business owners and entrepreneurs in securing federal government contracts. The
2
Release No. 16-72, US Small Business Administration (SBA Provides Grants to Support Entrepreneurship Training
Opportunities for Service-Disabled Veterans (9/26/16), https://www.sba.gov/about-sba/sba-newsroom/press-releases-media-
advisories/sba-provides-grants-support-entrepreneurship-training-opportunities-service-disabled-veterans).
3
Release No. 17-43, US Small Business Administration (SBA Awards Funding to Nonprofit Organizations Providing “Boots to
Business” Entrepreneurship Training (6/19/17) https://www.sba.gov/about-sba/sba-newsroom/press-releases-media-
advisories/sba-awards-funding-nonprofit-organizations-providing-boots-business-entrepreneurship-training)
4
News Release 17-53, US Small Business Administration (SBA Awards Funding Grant for National Veteran Federal
Procurement Entrepreneurship Training Program (9/6/17) https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USSBA/bulletins/1b56ebb)
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three-day certification program is designed for veteran-owned companies to increase their ability
to win government contracts by establishing best business practices.
OVBD’s Role in Government Contracting Oversight
Small businesses are more likely to engage in federal contracting when barriers to entry are
removed and the process is simplified. The federal government is the largest procurer of goods
and services in the world, averaging $90 billion in small business contracts each year between
FY 2006 and 2016. 5 SBA provides support to veteran-owned small businesses (VOSB) and
service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSB) who want to participate in the
federal market through entrepreneurship training and counseling services, mentor-protégé
programs, innovative research, set-aside programs, and engagement opportunities at the local
level. SBA also works with other federal agencies to expand opportunities for small businesses
to compete for and win federal contracts. 6 SBA’s oversight role reaches beyond merely
monitoring and assisting other agencies in achieving the government wide goal of awarding 23
percent of all federal contracts to small businesses, to also helping ensure that 3 percent of all
federal contracts are awarded to SDVOSBs. For the fourth consecutive year, federal contract
awards to SDVOSBs surpassed the mandated 3 percent goal, resulting in 3.98 percent of all
government contracts being awarded to SDVOSBs for a total of about $16.34 billion in federal
procurement dollars. 7
In addition to overseeing the programs detailed above, SBA’s Associate Administrator for
the Office of Veterans Business Development also advocates for full consideration of veterans in
5
Small Business Agency Scorecards 2016. U.S. Small Business Administration, May 2017
(https://www.sba.gov/contracting/finding-government-customers/see-agency-small-business-scorecards) .
6
News Release 17-38, U.S. Small Business Administration (The Federal Government Achieves Small Business
Procurement Contracting Goal for the 4th Consecutive Year, May 18, 2017, https://www.sba.gov/about-sba/sba-
newsroom/press-releases-media-advisories/federal-government-achieves-small-business-procurement-contracting-
goal-4th-consecutive-year) .
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Id.
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all of the Agency’s programs. 8 In this role, SBA ensures that SDVOSBs and VOSBs have access
to a wide range of resources to help them succeed in the federal marketplace.
SBA’s All Small Mentor Protégé Program (ASMPP) program and the VFPETP grant are two
areas where SDVOSB participation is experiencing notable growth. The ASMP program was
established to develop strong protégé firms through mentor-provided business development
assistance, and to help protégés successfully compete for government contracts. SDVOSBs are
taking full advantage of this program. In its first year of operation, SDVOSBs make up the
majority of protégé firms in the ASMP program.
The VFPETP provides business development and technical assistance support for SDVOSBs,
both at the prime contractor and subcontractor levels. Program graduates have reported recent
success in competing for awards on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs $25 billion
VECTOR IDIQ contract. 9 Of the 68 VECTOR awardees, 23 (over one-third of all awardees) are
VFPET graduates.
The SBA is committed to expanding business development opportunities for veterans, and
convenes two federal advisory committees that provide guidance on veteran-owned small
business development policy issues. The Interagency Task Force on Veterans Business
Development and the Advisory Committee on Veterans Business Affairs meet regularly in public
forums to address issues such as access to capital, federal procurement opportunities, barriers to
marketplace entry, and entrepreneurial development and growth opportunities.
In FY 2018, SBA will continue to support military community outreach to connect veterans,
service members, military spouses and members of the Reserve and Guard with entrepreneurship
8
The Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act of 1999, Pub. L. No. 106-50 (Aug. 17, 1999)
9Federal Business Opportunities.gov
https://www.fbo.gov/spg/VA/AFMLOVASS/VASSMD/VA119A16R0349/listing.html
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resources by participating in national and regional entrepreneurial programs offered by
stakeholders, and leading SBA’s National Veterans Small Business Week.
One area of concern is access to capital for veteran-owned businesses. Many entrepreneurs
or small business owners do not have the same access to credit as larger businesses, especially on
a new or innovative product. 10 Veteran entrepreneurs often rely on personal savings or credit
cards to sustain their business. 11 SBA offers many loan programs for underserved populations,
and assists veteran-owned small businesses by offering fee reductions, or zero-fees, on certain
SBA loan products.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify before your committee today. I welcome any
questions you may have.
10
Access to capital among young firms, minority-owned firms, women-owned firms, and high-tech firms. US Small Business
Administration Office of Advocacy, April 2013 (https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/files/rs403tot(2).pdf).
11
Veteran-owned businesses and their owners – Data from the Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners. US Small Business
Administration Office of Advocacy, March 2012 (https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/393tot.pdf).
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