Studies have shown that veteran entrepreneurs have more difficulty finding the financing needed to succeed in their ventures. While the discipline and skills learned in the military can help you start your own business, you will need the proper funding to get those ideas off paper and into fruition.

Build Your Brand

One of the most likely reasons veterans find it more challenging to secure funding is that they are trying to get a bank loan before starting anything else. It can be difficult to build credit scores and savings for business ownership in the military, but you can begin building your brand for free with some research and work. For instance, if you want to open a restaurant and need financing for a location, you can start by catering parties from your kitchen or even buying a food truck. Once you have a customer base, you can incorporate it into your business plans and show the loan underwriters that your brand is a good investment.

Look Outside Traditional Funding

Veteran entrepreneurs often have access to more forms of financing than others due to grants, loan programs and competitions explicitly designed to help servicemembers to open businesses after leaving the military. There are also some non-traditional ways of generating funding, such as crowd-funding and investors. Chances are that you know someone from your prior service who can help you get in touch with the right investors, educational resources and funding options, so remember to work your network to find the funding you need.

Keep Learning

One way to ensure that you have the best chance of securing the financing needed for your company is to connect with educational resources dedicated to training new entrepreneurs in all aspects of business. You can increase your education while building your brand and applying for funding options in many ways. You can find advice blogs and free online classes to teach you the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and business financing, and you can keep your industry-specific knowledge current by studying recent inventions, innovations and trends. You can even keep abreast of changes in the financial markets, which may help you secure that additional funding you need.

Veteran entrepreneurs often have a more difficult time securing business financing. To increase your chances of improving, you can build your brand and business plan well before applying for a loan, look for non-traditional financing options, and connect with educational resources for veterans and business owners.