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Historic Battleship USS Iowa hosted a Launch Event to Commemorate the Grand Opening of the Los Angeles Regional Veterans Business Outreach Center. The event takes place during National Veterans Small Business Week and highlighted contributions made by veteran small business owners and entrepreneurs.
(Photo by contributing photographer Chuck Bennett)
Tejon Woods, who has a doctorate in nursing practice, owns a mental health clinic in Arcadia. He is considering expanding his practice, he said, to help patients from low-income and often-underserved communities who may need counseling in Spanish, Tagalog and Mandarin.
But commercial units costs several thousands dollars a month to rent. So Woods said he wants to apply for a $1 million loan backed by the Small Business Administration — so he can purchase a property to expanded his practice.
Woods is also a retired Air Force captain.
And on Thursday morning, Nov. 2, he and dozens of business owners with military experience, as well as local government officials, attended a ceremony officially celebrating the SBA’s expanded Veterans Business Outreach Center, a regional resource and educational hub aimed at providing programs to help veterans and their families succeed as small business owners.
During the event, SBA representatives also offered information to veterans about services provided at the VBOC.
“I want to serve underserved communities,” Woods said before the ceremony began, especially those “who have been neglected.”
While the ceremony took place on the USS Iowa Battleship in San Pedro — an appropriate backdrop given the center’s goal — the VBOC is actually a designation the SBA gave Long Beach City College.
Through the nationwide Veterans Business Outreach Center program, the SBA — the only cabinet-level federal agency fully dedicated to helping small businesses — offers support for active service members and veterans, as well as their families and dependents, as they enter the world of business ownership by providing resources such as funding programs, training and federal contracting opportunities.
LBCC was designated a VBOC in May and was also one of the six organizations to receive a $375,000 SBA grant because, according to an announcement at the time, the college has demonstrated a commitment to addressing challenges that veteran-owned small businesses face and helping them succeed.
The initial designation was to help service members nearing the end of their time in the military who want to become business owners. But the SBA recently announced City College as an expanded VBOC — meaning it now helps active service members, veterans, their families and dependants.
SBA Administrator Isabel Guzman celebrated the expanded VBOC designation aboard the Iowa on Thursday, vowing to allocate enough resources to help veterans transition from active service to civilian life by offering training, one-on-one counseling and help getting their businesses certified so they can bid for federal contracts.
As an expanded VBOC, Long Beach City College will support veterans searching to launch their own micro and small businesses and find loans to grow or invest in enterprises in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, Santa Barbara and San Diego counties.
Funding VBOCs has become a priority for the Biden administration, Guzman said, as the pandemic uncovered segments of economic and social neglect among veterans, their spouses, and the communities in which they live and work.
“There are 2 million veterans around the country with businesses (worth a combined) $2 billion,” which both powers the economy and makes it more competitive, Guzman said. “They are great entrepreneurs and employers.”
In less than four years, Guzman said, VBOC hubs have grown from 1,200 to more than 1,600 across the nation. The goal is to not leave veteran-owned businesses behind.
Jordan Kirby, president of Krieger Gaming, a nonprofit online gaming and mental health support community for veterans, said he attended the morning event to establish contacts and learn about financing opportunities to expand the organization.
Krieger Gaming, Kirby said, offers a platform for veterans to beat depression and feelings of isolation by turning on video games to relax, build camaraderie with others and stay in touch with friends.
“We help service law enforcement, dispatchers, veterans,” Kirby said. “Video games and camaraderie help fight mental depression.”
Herlinda Chico, president of the Board of Trustees for the Long Beach Community College District, said veterans enrolled at the two-year college have a graduation rate three times higher than that of the general population. She also underscored that through education and professional support, veterans will succeed in their business endeavors.
“We believe in the power of education to transform lives and in the conviction of men and women to secure our mission,” Chico said. “Veterans play a key role in regional economic development in Los Angeles. Let’s make sure we serve veterans not only in LA, but across the six Southern California counties.”
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