Equipping War Veterans for Business

Federal program helps former military people become entrepreneurs
by Charles Erickson

Economic development officials say many former soldiers, sailors and airmen often seem to have keen entrepreneurial instincts.

"Veterans bring a certain skill set to small business. They have a hand up in being successful," said Bernard J. Paprocki, director of the SBA's Syracuse district, which includes the Capital Region.

"There is the discipline for working harder, for longer hours," he said. "They have a drive instilled in them that fits with the trials and tribulations of starting and operating a business."

The SBA modeled Patriot Express after its own Express Program, which expedites the agency's lending process by reducing paperwork and leaving approval to the participating financial institutions. The SBA doesn't actually lend any money; it backs the loans given by banks and other lenders, thereby removing some of the risk associated with the loan…

Under the Express Program, prospective businesspeople are not required to hang near their telephones or post boxes for the next month. "This is a fast process," Paprocki said. "The approvals are done at their end."

Beyond the importance of small business to the state and national economies, and beyond the need for helping small firms grow into larger ones, officials say Patriot Express was not developed solely for its possible bottom-line benefits.

"We have a responsibility to assist our nation's service vets in any way we can," Paprocki said.

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In June, the SBA introduced the Patriot Express Pilot Loan Initiative with the aim of getting more veterans into businesses.

Amounts: Program guarantees loans up to $500,000

Uses: Start or expand business Eligibility: Open to veterans, active-duty personnel about to be discharged, reservists and members of the National Guard. Spouses and widows of veterans also eligible.

Web: http://www.sba.gov/patriotexpress/

Mail: Small Business Administration, Syracuse District Office, 401 S. Salina St., 5th Floor, Syracuse, NY 13202

Phone: (315) 471-9393 Fax: (315) 471-9288

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Approved lenders

Two Patriot Express loans — both to veterans in the Syracuse area — already have been granted by the Syracuse office of the SBA. Banks with Capital Region operations approved as Patriot Express lenders by the SBA include:*

Adirondack Trust Co., Ballston Spa National Bank, Bank of America, Citizens Bank, First National Bank of Scotia, First Niagara Bank, Glens Falls National Bank, and Trust Co., HSBC Bank USA, KeyBank, M&T Bank, NBT Bank N.A., TD Banknorth, Trustco Bank N.A.

* New York Business Development Corp., a small-business lending consortium supported by more than 150 banks statewide, also is an approved Patriot Express lender. *

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Small businesses have long been considered the backbone of the U.S. economy — and New York's too.**

424,000: number of small businesses (fewer than 500 people on payroll) in New York

482,000: total New York businesses

3.75 million: employees involved in small businesses in New York

52%: small firms' share of New York's non-farm private sector

** As of 2004, most recent year available Source: U.S. Small Business Administration; lender list as of Aug. 17

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