New Venture Business Training Class Free For Veterans At EMU Livonia
DETROIT -- The Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center and Eastern Michigan University said Monday they will offer a free New Venture program to veteran entrepreneurs starting Saturday, Oct. 13 at the EMU Livonia campus.
The New Venture class normally costs $700 per participant, but costs are being covered for veterans through a federal stimulus grant to Michigan State University.
Working in conjunction with VetBizCentral, the New Venture program will be aimed at aspiring and early stage entrepreneurs through the 10-week business development class featuring the nationally acclaimed New Venture curriculum. This program helps entrepreneurs evaluate business opportunities and develop an action plan for owning their own business.
"Our veterans have earned our gratitude for serving our country," said Richard King, Regional Director of the Southeast Michigan Region of the MI-SBTDC. "We support the efforts of those veterans that want to leverage their military service and other experiences to become entrepreneurs. Hopefully, this free program will play a part in their success."
As military men and women begin the next chapter of their lives, entrepreneurship is an appealing option. Officials said studies show 45 percent of veterans start their own businesses after their military service is completed -- and that veterans share traits with successful entrepreneurs, such as commitment to excellence, attention to detail, strategic planning skills, and focus on success.
The program is available to all veterans, not just recently serving veterans.
Veterans who have interest in the program can apply online at this link http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e66geq0uh4zt6g5w/start or by calling (734) 487-0355. Eastern Michigan University is host to the Southeast Michigan Region of the MI-SBTDC and is home to one of the largest veteran student populations in the state of Michigan. The EMU Military and Veterans Resource Center serves the educational needs of veterans on campus and beyond. In 2012, EMU was named one of the country's top "military friendly" schools by GI Jobs magazine for the third year in a row. The magazine's list recognizes the 15 percent of universities and colleges that best serve veterans nationwide.
VetBizCentral, also known as the Michigan Veterans Business Resource Center, provides training, education, mentoring, counseling and advocacy for our nation's veterans. The Center helps Veterans establish working relationships with other agencies and enterprises which, in turn, assist veterans in accomplishing their entrepreneurial goals.
The Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center (MI-SBTDC) is a statewide business assistance program that provides one-on-one counseling, training, and research support for Michigan small businesses. The Southeast Michigan region serves Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties. It is headquartered at the Eastern Michigan University College of Business in the Center for Entrepreneurship, with full service locations at the EMU Business Development Center at TechTown in Detroit, the Schoolcraft College Business Development Center in Livonia, the Oakland County Business Center in Waterford and the Macomb County Business Center in Mt Clemens.
