Program prepares disabled veterans for careers in business

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Program prepares disabled veterans for careers in business

By Dave Hodges
DEMOCRAT BUSINESS EDITOR


As members of the armed services conclude their tours and rejoin civilian life after serving their country, Randy Blass has a business proposition he'd like to make.

A College of Business faculty member at Florida State University, Blass is the newly named director of the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities, which will take place for the first time in Tallahassee this June.

In short, he's looking for veterans with disabilities who also have business aspirations and could use an intensive training program as a means of getting started.

"It makes perfect sense that FSU host such a program," said Blass. "We have a first-rate entrepreneurship program here in the College of Business."

The idea for a business bootcamp actually originated with Syracuse University, which held its first session last year for 20 veterans with disabilities resulting from military service in Iraq and Afghanistan. This summer, FSU, Texas A&M University and UCLA are working with Syracuse to expand the successful program across the country.

The program brings together world-class faculty, entrepreneurs, disability experts and business professionals to train the veterans in the finer points of small-business ownership. There is a nine-day residency at FSU, online study and 12 months of support from faculty experts. The participants will attend workshops that cover how to write business plans, raise capital, attract customers and develop a marketing strategy.

Blass figures that the program will cost $5,000 for each veteran, including air fare, housing, transportation, all meals, events and hopefully a few outings in the area as a breather from the bootcamp sessions.

Your company can offer in-kind services or you can help sponsor a veteran. Blass says he's figuring on one night, in fact, to have sponsors attend a recognition event with the trainees. He stresses that the bootcamp is funded only with private support.

"We are not looking for any federal money," he added. "We are raising the money the old-fashioned way." He needs enough to cover the cost of an anticipated 30 trainees and some incidental expenses for bringing some of the guest lecturers to town.

With the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the number of disabled veterans continues to increase. There are now more than 40,000 U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines who were wounded in the war on terror.

Blass says the FSU bootcamp may be a small contribution by comparison, but it's an opportunity to aid these disabled veterans at a pivotal time when they are deciding their future careers. "The main thing is to empower them with knowledge and confidence that they can chart their own destiny," he says.

To apply or to obtain more information, visit http://whitman. syr.edu/ebv or contact Blass at (850) 644-7859. His e-mail address is rblass@cob.fsu. edu.

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Reference: http://www.law. cornell.edu/ uscode/17/ 107.shtml