Military Veterans Enjoy Success in Small Business Ownership After Service To Country
VetFran Program Offers Financial Incentives to Encourage Ownership
San Diego, CA—August 1, 2006 Being in the military and running a business have a lot in common: discipline, commitment, management and work ethic, just to name a few.
PostalAnnex+, a one-stop resource center for packaging, shipping and office supply needs, has several military veterans on its list of 300-plus franchisees. These franchisees, in particular, have proven to be very effective and competent in running a business.
Edgar Harris of Oceanside, CA is one of these franchisees. With two PostalAnnex+ stores under his belt, Edgar is proof of what PostalAnnex+ has believed since its inception: military veterans make great business owners.
“From managing time and personnel to waking up and getting to work on time, having experience in the military has really benefited me in this business,” Edgar says. “Everything you are taught in the military is very valuable to being a business owner.”
Edgar spent 22 years as a U.S. Marine. During his time with the Marine Corps, Edgar learned to control planes and sell homes as an entrepreneur. He says he chose PostalAnnex+ over his other options because of the simplicity of the business. He says working with the equipment in a shop like PostalAnnex+ beats working with perishable food items.
PostalAnnex+ offers an incentive to veterans who want to join the franchise. In February, 2005, PostalAnnex+ joined VetFran, a program designed to offer discounts and incentives to veterans who own a franchise business. The franchise companies work with VetFran and the individual owners to decide what incentive will be made. For example, a company may offer discounts on franchise fees or pay for franchise-related training. With PostalAnnex+, all veterans receive a 20 percent discount on their initial franchise fee (that saves them nearly $6,000!). Since its inception, 29 percent of all new PostalAnnex+ franchisees have entered the system through VetFran.
Frank and Beverley Tobias are two other veterans who have joined the business. What’s unique about the Tobias’, however, is they have opened up three stores on military bases.
Frank joined the U.S. Air Force in 1961 and has been stationed all over the world including Texas, Michigan, Virginia, Vietnam and Illinois.
In 1966, he met Beverley who was serving as a nurse in the U.S. Air Force at the time. They married a year later. Frank continued to serve in the Air Force until he retired in 1981. Beverley went on to pursue her nursing degree at Belleville Area College and San Jose State University and her master’s degree at Pepperdine University. She now works as a director of Occupational Health and Safety at Stanford University.
The Tobias’ opened up their first on-base PostalAnnex+ store in December 2004 at Fort Ord in California. They followed up that opening with stores at McChord Air Force in Washington and Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. Frank says they aren’t stopping at just three locations. He says they have plans on opening up more franchises.
“Our original plan was to open up five stores on five different bases,” he says.
Although all three stores are located on base, they are open to the public. Frank explains anyone who can get on base is welcome in their store. He says a lot of his customers at Fort Ord are college students who live in the area and have no problem entering the base.
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