Boca Raton, F.L. – The South Palm Beach chapter of SCORE, America’s premier source of free and confidential small business advice for entrepreneurs, recently launched a new business grant and training program designed to ease the transition for the large population of veterans returning home from service abroad, a number expected to increase by 40,000 following the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2011. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, veterans who left military service in the past decade have an unemployment rate of 11.7 percent and those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan face an especially high rate of 15.2 percent, both well above the overall U.S. jobless rate of 9.1 percent. The “Pathway to Business Success Foundation” grant and training program seeks to close this gap by offering expert business counseling and assistance in business plan development to recently returned service members starting or growing an entrepreneurial venture…

Read more about the South Palm Beach chapter’s Veterans Business Grant and Training Program at SCORE

In his Proclamation naming this Small Business Week, the President explains that “small businesses are the backbone of our economy and the cornerstones of America’s promise.” Veterans increasingly make up part of that backbone as entrepreneurs translating their service-related skills into job-creating companies.

The number of Veterans early in their careers is on the rise: 74 percent of service-disabled Veterans over the last 10 years are under 30 years old. They are equipped with unique skills as a result of their service, and their Veteran status offers distinct business advantages…

Read more at whitehouse.gov

SCORE Award winner and Military Veteran, Dr. Dolly Garnecki, featured in Asian Fortune

Dr. Dolly Garnecki is a chiropractic physician and CEO of Spinal Health & Wellness. She is based in Charlottesville , Virginia . But she is known locally and internationally, through her work, speeches, and the articles and books she has co-authored. She belongs to an elite group of doctors capable of reducing scoliosis curvature without the use of bracing or surgery.

Recently, she received the Outstanding Veteran-Owned Small Business from SCORE. Dr. Garnecki used to fly combat missions in Iraq . The award is sponsored by Insperity.

Read more about Dolly’s success story at AsianFortune.com

For the men and women of the U.S. military, returning to civilian life is often bittersweet.

Veterans who have left the U.S. military in the past 10 years are contending with an unemployment rate of 12.1 percent in October, up from 10.6 percent a year ago and well above the overall U.S. jobless rate of 9 percent, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And more than a million service members are projected to leave the military between 2011 and 2016…

…Veterans can access training to become entrepreneurs through the Veterans Fast Launch program, which SCORE (formerly the Service Corps of Retired Executives), launched in partnership such organizations and companies as American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Hewlett-Packard. The program offers free software, mentoring and training to veterans, active-duty personnel and their families. Discounts on services like getting incorporated are also available to participants, as are scholarships to attend SCORE’s Simple Steps for Starting Your Business workshops at 360 SCORE chapters across the U.S.

Read more about the Veteran Fast Launch Initiative today over at Entrepreneur.com