In This Issue:
- Message from Managing Director, Noah Harris
- Veteran Company Spotlight: Bootstrap Kombucha
- Advising Corner: Seasonal Business Can Manage Cash Flow
- CivCom: Connecting Employers and Veterans
Friends,
Among many other things, our military training teaches us to see the bigger picture, which is incredibly valuable in business. Particularly if your small business is seasonal, planning and preparing is critical to keep your business thriving all year round. Our advising corner this month focuses on how planning and systems can create more stability for your small business.
Although it’s not possible to foresee everything, having a backup plan is important to keep your business afloat during challenging periods. Our veteran company spotlight this month features Bootstrap Kombucha. Owner James Farnworth told us that the process to get his business open (permits, inspections, etc) took longer than they planned. Their loan supported them as they faced delays and enabled them to open despite these challenges.
We offer resources to those businesses pursuing a loan at Veteran Launch to help support their goals. In addition, we work with partners who offer additional resources that can help you take your idea and develop or refine a business plan.
If you’re not sure about your next step, give us a call. We can help you get connected to the right resources to help you take your business to the next level.
As always, thank you for helping us spread the word about Veteran Launch and for your continued service to our communities as small business owners.
Noah Harris
Managing Director
Veteran Launch
Meet Our Clients: Bootstrap Kombucha
Bootstrap Kombucha, located at 4085 Pacific Coast Highway, Suite 105B in San Diego, is a company that brews real kombucha. They use ancient recipes, good quality water, and organic ingredients, believing that kombucha is best when served fresh, local, and on tap. The result is an honest and authentic product that’s tasty, refreshing, and good for you.
Advising Corner:
Seasonal Businesses Can Manage Cash Flow
- Establish a reserve operating fund or emergency fund. This is solid, prudent planning — you want to make sure you put money away for a rainy day rather than spend it all when you get it.
- Anticipate major expenditures over the next several years, such as equipment that needs to be upgraded, new leases or technology. Allocate for these expenditures so that you’ll have the full amount available when you need it.
- Reward key employees who contributed the most to the company and ensure they understand the bonus or profit-sharing plan is a function of the company’s success and is discretionary. This is a great way to retain key employees and make sure everyone’s incentives are aligned.
- Understand the key drivers of your business success; consider reinvesting a portion of the profits to increase investments in marketing and sales in those areas.
Click here to read the full post and learn more about how to support your seasonal business.
CivCom: Connecting Employers and Veterans
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One veteran who utilized this service while stationed in Japan is Brandon Trama. Brandon served in the Army from June 2006 to May 2015 and is now a student at Wharton. Brandon remembers that the transition services available were heavily focused on helping service members pursue an undergraduate degree or federal employment. “At the time I was transitioning, the resources available from the Army weren’t helpful for the transition I was trying to make. I wanted to pursue a career in energy-focused finance, but I didn’t know how to get started,” remembers Brandon. “Yulee’s personal transition from the Navy into his career reflected the kind of transition I wanted to make,” explains Brandon. “Working with Yulee enabled me to get a sense of the different types of roles in the finance and energy sectors and make connections inside those industries.”
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Veteran Launch, in partnership with Main Street Launch, hosts an Entrepreneur in Residence program to support start-up ventures accelerate and monetize their companies. Our first EIR company is CivCom, a nonprofit connecting military families to employment opportunities. Their goal is to make sure all military families have a job before leaving the military by 2021. This will eliminate all new cases of veterans unemployment. Approximately 5% of veterans, or about a half million people, are unemployed in the United States. CivCom offers servicemembers and their spouses mentoring, training, networking, and job matching help. This service also saves time and money for companies who prioritize hiring veterans.
