The Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs secures a grant of $175,000 a year for the next five years from the Small Business Administration to establish a Veterans Business Outreach Center in the state. The VBOC will fund entrepreneurship training, counseling and technical assistance at no cost to veterans, active-duty service members and their families. Secretary Charlton Meginley notes that currently, the closest one from Louisiana is in Starkville, Mississippi.
“I think they’re seeing the potential for veterans to have businesses locally, and we want to make sure they have all the opportunities,” Meginley said.
Meginley says the VBOC will be established and operated by The Boot, an organization dedicated to attracting, retaining and advancing military talent across the state.
“When you look at what The Boot is doing for veterans as they transition out of the military, that’s a very critical point that we saw; that The Boot may be the most optimal place to house the VBOC,” Meginley explained.
The Boot CEO Ben Armstrong says the organization will assist entrepreneurs at every stage of business ownership.
“If you’re a service member, a spouse or a dependent that’s in military or military-adjacent and you’re interested in starting a business or you have a business; and you’re interested in growing that business or you’re trying to figure out how to gain customers or capital, we want to be the front door for that,” Armstrong said.