In many ways, the military is a good training ground for future business owners. Ideally, the skills a service member learns while serving will help him or her create a startup, enter the family business or contribute to the success of a big company.
Since Sunday was Veteran's Day, it seems appropriate to take a look at how Florida does at employing veterans.
Recently, Gov. Rick Scott sent out a press release touting Florida as having the third-largest number of veteran-owned businesses in the country, behind Texas and California. The numbers cited by the governor's office came from a U.S. Small Business Administration study that was released in March.
However, Florida has a large number of veterans, so as one Orlando reporter pointed out, the percentage of Florida businesses that are owned by veterans is actually smaller. In that field, Florida comes in 39th.
However, the reporter notes that number should be taken with a grain of salt, too. He observed that because the state has so many people overall, the percentage of businesses that are owned by any one demographic is likely to be small.
So, in other words, it seems that Florida is doing well with veteran-owned businesses, but not spectacularly. This is likely to be an issue in the future as more veterans return home from overseas and look for ways to support themselves. These men and women put their lives at risk for the safety of all of us, so they certainly deserve to experience success in their civilian lives.
Source: Orlando Sentinel, "Florida ranks third (precisely what you'd expect) for number of veteran-owned businesses," Jim Stratton, Nov. 12, 2012
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