Mark Schmitt accompanied by SBA representative Craig Jordan during the National Small Business Week
Cochise College was awarded $250,000 in grant funding for a Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC).
The grant, offered by the Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Veterans Business Development, enables Cochise College to provide entrepreneurial training, comprehensive business assessment, and mentoring to active-duty service members, veterans and service-disabled veterans, National Guard, and Reservists, and military spouses interested in starting a small business.
Currently, the closest VBOC for Cochise County is in Sacramento, with there being only 17 regional VBOCs nationwide.
The SBA’s Office of Veterans Business Development is designating a total of $1.5 million in grant funding for six additional Veterans Business Outreach Centers, which will bring the total number of VBOCs to 19 nationwide, including Cochise College.
Dr. J.D. Rottweiler, president of Cochise College, said, “I am pleased to see that Cochise College will be able to assist our veterans and their families with the support of the Veterans Business Outreach Center. Since Cochise College was established, we have supported the educational goals of our servicemen and women, and I am excited that Cochise College will continue to be a resource for them as they develop their careers and help advance our community.”
Mark Schmitt, Cochise College SBDC director, submitted the grant proposal for the VBOC earlier this spring with the help of Sandy Bryan, dean of institutional effectiveness, and with the help of Dr. John Walsh, director of library services.
Schmitt says the VBOC will be instrumental in the development of the community and help aid in the expansion of programs like Boots to Business, which helps with resume writing and educational programs, and more advanced topics, such as small business development.
“Some of these people getting out of the military don’t want to go to school,” Schmitt explained. “They might already have a master’s degree. Some don’t want to work for a company; they want to start their own company. [VBOC] will allow our transitioning military population to open a business or improve an existing business through entrepreneurial training and mentoring, which, in turn, accomplishes our mission to provide high-quality, high-impact services…”
The VBOC will be located in the new Cochise College Downtown Center, right next to the Cochise College Small Business Development Center in Sierra Vista.
VBOCs are directed by the Small Business Act (Title 15 U.S.C. sec 637 (b)) to participate in the Defense Department’s Transition Assistance Program. Since 2013, the Boots to Business program has trained more than 40,000 transitioning service members, Reservists and National Guard members, and military spouses. The VBOCs also counsel and mentor approximately 60,000 veteran clients each year.