SCORE Lancaster Introduces Veteran Fast Launch
Veteran Fast Launch is a new SCORE initiative to benefit veterans wanting to start a business. In 2009, First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden jumpstarted Joining Forces, an initiative spearheaded to give our service members and their families support in the areas of employment, education and wellness. Veteran Fast Launch is one program that hatched from the original Joining Forces initiative.
This new SCORE program is funded through the Wal-Mart Foundation, which has made a five-year, $10 million commitment to support veterans, active duty personnel and their families who wish to start a business. Other well-known companies have signed on as technology and business partners, including AICPA, Constant Contact, HP, Microsoft, Salesforce.com and others. SCORE’s educational partner, the SBA’s Office of Veterans Business Development, provides business training, counseling and assistance through its Veterans Business Outreach Centers.
“It is my hope that as many Lancaster County veterans and active duty personnel as possible take advantage of the many resources being provided to them at low or no cost by SCORE and its partner organizations to start a business,” says Rhonda Kleiman, VP of Advocacy for SCORE Lancaster. “This is a wonderful opportunity for veterans wanting to embark on the road to self-employment.”
Some of this program’s benefits include:
- Free software and online services;
- Scholarships for veterans and their family members to attend SCORE’s Simple Steps for Starting Your Business workshops for free. The five, three-hour sessions cover Start-up Basics, Business & Concept Development; Marketing Your Product, Service & Company; Creating Financial Forecasts & Reports; Funding Your Business;
- SCORE Lancaster will also make available its First Step FastTrac® 12-week workshop series at the reduced cost of $75. This workshop series is based on the Kauffman Foundation’s adult peer-learning model, an interactive program where series participants work in small groups with assigned coaches; and
- Web-based workshops, tools, templates and white papers for starting a business and free business advice from SCORE mentors.
SCORE Lancaster, located at 313 Liberty Street in Lancaster, will offer Veteran Fast Launch as an ongoing initiative. All that is necessary to register is to click on the Special Offers link on the Veteran Fast Launch website, www.vetsfastlaunch.org and a link to a coupon will be sent via email. The coupon must be presented to the local SCORE Chapter for discounts on their workshops.
To sign up for workshops at SCORE Lancaster, interested veterans and their families need to sign up online at any of SCORE Lancaster’s existing classes. Simply go to the "Workshops" tab on the left side of the screen and click on any of the tabs below the "Veteran Fast Launch" tab.