Interested in starting your own journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with VR Small, Founder and CEO of Veteran Women's Enterprise Center (VWEC), located in Dallas, TX, USA.
What's your organization, and who are your members?
The Veteran Women's Enterprise Center (VWEC) is a national initiative launched in southern Dallas based on research and recommendations from the National Women's Business Council, the Interagency Task Force on Veterans Small Business Development, and the Advisory Committee on Veterans Business Affairs.
Our mission is to empower entrepreneur women associated with the military (EWAM), inclusive of veterans, active duty, reservists, and military spouses, to scale for success. We achieve this by:
- Establishing a long-term strategic alliance for the development of our brick-and-mortar facilities
- Leveraging public and private contracting/investment opportunities
- Advocating for relevant research, services, and funding while simultaneously providing onsite the personal/professional resources they need to succeed.
Each VWEC launched will offer its CEO Suite of Services consisting of Center amenities (co-working, conference/copy center & a cafe lounge), a quarterly schedule of Engagement programs/activities (inclusive of our four signature programs Next Level Business Transformation (NLBT) Cohort/NLBT: Fast Track to Contracts/Financial First & Technology Tactics), and other business support services to ensure they have access to all the resources they need to succeed!
Our CEO Suite of Services creates an internal ecosystem that supports continued business development and growth. Our clients are integrated into an entrepreneur ecosystem that actively supports identifying and utilizing collaborative business relationships to reduce costs, enhance marketing, audience reach expansion, and generate revenues. In addition, VWEC's quarterly schedule of enrichment activities offers clients the opportunity to assess their work-life balance with strategies to develop a healthy balance for themselves and their families.
VWEC is designed to be more than just a center but strives to be the "Center" for business success across our nation. Our model facility in Dallas, designed by me, a Female Veteran, offers entrepreneur women associated with the military an upscale, modern, executive-style business support facility that supports continued growth and development.
Tell us about yourself
Interestingly enough, when individuals inquired how or why I started the Veteran Women's Enterprise Center (VWEC), I have to admit it was a situation of being in what I thought was the right place at the right time. When I returned home to Dallas in 2015, my goal was to continue teaching as a full-time professor, pursue my doctorate, write my book, and share my findings.
However, through involvement in a variety of female veteran-focused events, I learned about the challenges facing women veteran entrepreneurs and their need for business support. I had personally launched and ran a successful business as well as an executive women's networking group in New York, so with my background in business, organizational, and program development, the ability to meet this need felt like a natural fit. However, securing 2,700 square feet of in-kind space, along with between $250k-$500k in renovation support—sealed the deal and set me on my journey toward building the VWEC.
Unfortunately, I have always been a bit of a workaholic, although I strive daily to control my habit of putting in 15 to 18 hours a day; it's difficult when you love what you do. Work has never been just a job or another career move; it has always needed to be purposeful, intentional, and fulfilling. As a self-proclaimed change agent, I actually enjoy change, problems are simply a new challenge, and I love a challenge! At the end of the day, my work needs to be impactful, so I know that doing my part to create the change I want to see and, ultimately, make our world a better place.
I strive to live my personal slogan, "Changing the way we see the world and do business." In my opinion, a substantial barrier to success is how we perceive ourselves and others, and that perception, can move us forward, hold us in place, or literally push us backward. I believe when we learn to work collaboratively, accept, and respect our individual and collective values, we can truly experience the magic of diversity: making positive change inevitable.
What's your biggest accomplishment as an organization?
In relation to the VWEC, during the COVID 19 pandemic, I was able to expand our actual service reach nationally into 26 states, quadrupled our funding, and launched the first DFW grant program exclusively for entrepreneur women associated with the military (EWAM), empowering women to recover, stabilize, and grow their business: and in other words we helped these businesses do more than survive, they literally thrived! Major institutions followed our lead, creating similar funding streams and training opportunities indicating the innovative leadership being provided by the VWEC. Today, the VWEC is thrilled to continue to set the standard for best practices, with a commitment to delivering impactful programs that create access to needed social and financial capital because our clients’ success is our success!
What's one of the hardest things that come with being an organization?
When a solid business strategy just doesn’t work, you as the business owner are not the only one impacted; your clients suffer too, and when it’s your job to help others, not being able to achieve that goal can be a major blow. The fact is no plan is perfect, and failures are literally an opportunity to learn, but sometimes, these learning experiences can come at a tremendous cost to your mental, physical, and financial health. As a business owner, you have to know when to simply stop, take a step back to review and/or rethink your strategy and create a new plan of action when necessary.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow an organization today?
- Start with the end in mind. If you know where you're attempting to go, you can effectively create a solid roadmap to reach your final destination. You may experience some detours, but they won’t completely throw you off track because you know exactly where you want to go. Therefore, are you creating a legacy business for your family, building a business to sell, creating the foundation for a franchise, or looking to expand globally? Once you know your ultimate goal, you can explore all your options and select the best path forward.
- Know yourself. Take the opportunity to conduct your own self-assessment and/or participate in a structured entrepreneur assessment to determine if you are up to the challenge of starting, managing, and growing your own successful business. There are few unicorn businesses with overnight success, so you should be ready for the long haul. Moreover, being the boss comes with an array of decisions, disappointments, expenses, and even successes, all of which create their own unique set of mental, physical, and financial challenges. Are you really ready, willing, and able to take on the responsibilities of owning your own successful business? One question you should definitely be able to answer before you start this process.
- Do your market research and create a business plan. Researching your industry should be one of the most exciting experiences in your business development process. The research will open your mind to many possibilities and/or barriers you need to be aware of before launching your business. Proper research will provide you with a clear understanding of your SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats), positioning you to plan accordingly. In fact, you may literally feel more self-confident because you have a more strategic understanding of your industry. Research will equip you with the relevant data to drive the development of a solid business plan, which will keep you on track during your entrepreneurial journey. As they often say, if you fail to plan, you almost certainly plan to fail!
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
At the VWEC, we often remind people that we are not working with a “thing” but a “human being,” so we take a holistic approach to our engagement strategies. To this end, we are not just building businesses; we’re transforming lives! We invite you to become a part of the transformational process by getting and staying connected through our website.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://veteranwomensec.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/veteranwomensec/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/veteranwomensec/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/veteranwomensec
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vrsmall/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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