Texas A&M-Corpus Christi President Flavius Killebrew signs a Strategic Alliance Memorandum with the the Small Business Administration during an event Sept. 8 at the Coastal Bend Business Innovation Center. A program to help veterans start their own businesses, will be run out of the center as part of the agreement. Courtesy photo
Boots to Business Reboot is a program designed to help military veterans open and operate their own businesses. Now available in the Coastal Bend through a partnership by Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and the Small Business Administration, the program will be conducted from the Coastal Bend Business Innovation Center at 10201 South Padre Island Drive. It will be operated by TAMU-CC’s College of Business.
Officials of both organizations signed a Strategic Alliance Memorandum on Sept. 8 during an event at the innovation center.
“Veterans are integral to the growth of America’s small businesses,” said SBA’s South Central Regional Administrator Yolanda Garcia Olivarez. “These small businesses can create two out of every three new jobs.”
As a first step, participants attend a two-day training program. Boots to Business Reboot provides an overview of business ownership, training in how to produce a business plan and how to recognize opportunities, and an introduction to available public and private resources. Eligible service members include National Guard and reserves as well as spouses.
Next comes an eight-week online Foundations of Entrepreneurship course.
The memorandum is intended to spur economic development by helping create more small businesses, providing greater access to capital and expanding technical assistance and access to procurement programs for veterans.
“I have enjoyed working with the University for the past several years to help businesses start and expand,” Olivarez said. “Now, I’m even more honored to applaud the Island University leadership for their commitment to support entrepreneurship among our veterans who play a key role in what makes this country great.”
