If you’re a local veteran or even married to a veteran, there is an exciting opportunity coming up in Chattanooga.
On March 20, a Veteran Resource Fair will take place to assist those who served our country to create a successful small business.
“We have done thousands and thousand of hours of education at Pathway Lending, a bulk of that is to our veteran community,” said Rob Corrigan.
Corrigan is an army veteran and the Director of Veterans Business Outreach Center for Tennessee and Kentucky.
It’s a program through Pathway Lending to serve underserved communities.
“Through the Veterans Business Outreach Center and organizations like Pathway Lending there is a ton of education and assistance and financial help that we can provide, they just don’t know we’re there,” said Corrigan.
That’s where the Veteran Resource Fair comes in. Corrigan says those who attend will get connected to resources, like grants through the Small Business Administration, or SBA, and hear from other successful veteran business owners.
“It’s a place where people can come from the community and speak directly to a representative from the SBA and ask what’s out there for me,” said Corrigan.
Corrigan says he finds it interesting that roughly 3% of the U.S. population are veterans but 6% of all businesses are owned by veterans.
“It’s the same characteristics that most veterans have, the flexibility, the resilience, just the determination, things like that are the same characteristics that it takes to be successful in business,” said Corrigan.
He encourages anyone, even if you’re not sure if you want to start a business, to stop by and see what they have to offer.
The workshop will be on Wednesday, March 20th, from 8:30 am to 3:00 pm located at 100 Cherokee blvd.
If you have any questions, you can contact Rob Corrigan at vboc@pathwaylending.org.
