Franchising 4 Vets provides free franchise consulting for veterans. The service is an affiliate of Business Alliance Inc. (BAI), one of the oldest and largest companies in the franchise consulting arena. The affiliation gives the service access to approximately 300 pre-screened highly rated franchise companies. The franchise companies fall into three broad categories:

1. “Brick and mortar” food, retail and service establishments

2. Mobile businesses that go to the client often in a van or other vehicle

3. Work at home businesses where most transactions occur via telephone or the internet.

Franchising 4 Vets acts as a matchmaker by listening to the veteran’s lifestyle, business, physical and financial goals and limitations to find franchise opportunities that offer a good chance for success as defined by the veteran.

To help combat soldiers from the current wars, the service helps them return to civilian life. The emphasis is on finding business opportunities that the combat soldier or Marine can operate successfully and pointing him or her to funding sources that can make starting the business possible.

Many franchise companies offer discounts to veterans either through the VetFran program of the International Franchise Association or quietly on their own. Some franchise companies actively pursue veterans and see military service as an excellent training ground for working within the defined business model of a franchise.

Franchising 4 Vets also helps veterans find public and non-public benefits such as SBA expedited loan programs, governmental preferences for veteran owned businesses, and hidden grants and benefactors. The service also points the veteran to financing tools such as a method for tax free and penalty free use of retirement funds or seeking equity funding opportunities from family and community members.

Starting a franchise business is not a guarantee for success, but it greatly enhances the odds over starting a new business from scratch. For people returning from the military or for the veteran approaching classical retirement age, it can offer opportunities for success that are not available in the current tight job market.

Gary Canant, founder of Franchising for Vets, adds “When I returned from Vietnam, nobody counseled me on business alternatives. My wife and the GI bill got me through college, but I had a hard time finding my first job because back then companies did not value military service. We should not let that happen again; it is time to help all veterans know and find their best business options.”
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