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We have been touting the advantages of franchising for military veterans nearly as long as we have been blogging here, and we were very interested to read a recent release of some hard facts about the veterans and franchising from the IFA.

Last week, the IFA released figures which suggest that more veterans than ever are turning to franchising. Here’s some of the material that they have released:

• Since March, 129 veteran-owned franchises have been opened using IFA provided discounts.
• There are now 1,499 veterans who operate franchises via the VetFran program.
• Almost 400 IFA companies now offer discounts to honorably-discharged military veterans
• The 10 leading sellers of franchises to veterans are Matco Tools (177), The Dwyer Group (167), The UPS Store (146), Dunkin’ Brands (84), CruiseOne (68), Meineke Car Care Centers (48), PostNet International (41), Sport Clips (33), Mr. Handyman (32) and Maui Wowi Smoothies (29).
• There are 228 VetFran franchise agreements pending at the moment, which will presumably bump the number of VetFran sponsored initiatives over the 1,500 mark.

This all shows the gathering strength of the veteran franchise market. The IFA also announced it is supporting the bi-partisan The Help Veterans Own Franchise Act, which is being put before Congress. The bill would provide a tax credit for veterans, with a cap at $25,000 per unit.

“Given the current economic climate, many franchised businesses are finding it harder to access the capital they need to open new stores and recruit new investors,” said Dina Dwyer-Owens of VetFran. “The Help Veterans Own Franchises Act is a natural compliment to IFA’s Veterans Transition Franchise Initiative.”

This bill will only help more veterans become franchisees and we hope that this will be quickly ratified into law.

We’ve been celebrating franchise opportunities for veterans for months now so we  couldn’t let this fascinating post go by with drawing your attention it.

Joe Lindenmayer, a franchise owner and a former Marine, has shared his thoughts on the varying experiences of both fields in a column for Entrepreneur.com. Lindenmayer asks readers to contrast two different scenes: a chaotic, terrifying moment on the battlefield with the fear of a chemical weapons attack and a mid-afternoon run-in with an irate customer. just after one of your employees botches a deal.

For most people, these two situations are world’s apart, but Joe, thankfully, has survived both events. In his article for Entrepreneur.com, Joe states that the lessons he learned on the battlefields of Kuwait and Iraq have only helped him when he has had to operate his small business. In some sense, it seems that comparing fighting in a war to running a small-business almost trivializes Joe’s heroism and courage in risking his life to fight for America. But Joe has found that his second life in business has only benefited from his experience in the Marine Corps.

We have been trumpeting our belief that a military background is the ideal training ground for running a franchise. But it’s important to hear Joe’s explanation for how his military background is working for him:

Decisiveness: Business owners must not only wear many hats, they also have to fund those hats. Decisions constantly need to be made, and many times you don’t have the luxury of time to digest all the information. Your staff looks to you to be firm in your decisions and provide the resources necessary to accomplish the objective set forth.

Skills: There are so many skills that are critical to business success–sales skills, accounting acumen, communication, leadership, etc. But the bottom line is that you have to be able to accomplish the task at hand, whatever that may be at any given time. The ability to learn and adapt is a trait some have and others simply do not. A good franchisor will give you a system to follow, an operations manual or training program to learn from and ongoing seminars or classes to develop your skills.

The training members of the military gets is designed to make them into weapons with many facets. They are taught a code of conduct that establishes their baseline, and on top of that they’re taught their military occupational specialty, leadership development, and other skills that they can lean on in business.

Perseverance: Every business owner should realize that between successes and accolades there are dark days. When those dark days come, will you be able to keep going and push through to the end or will you give up when the going gets tough? If owning a business was easy, everyone would do it, but being the boss isn’t for the faint of heart.

A veteran franchisee understands that commander’s intent is critical to any operation. This means defining the goal and the primary milestones or objectives in accomplishing that goal–and learning to keep your focus and continue to strive for that goal even when you face unforeseen obstacles or impediments.

These are all pertinent points that Joe makes. Congratulations to Joe on his franchise success and other veterans looking to start a franchise will find many opportunities with Franchise Direct.

There are signs that franchisors are reaching out to military veterans like never before.

In the last week alone, there have been three interesting developments. AAMCO announced that it is cutting $8,000 off its franchise fee for military veterans. At the same time, Atlanta-based franchise Maid Brigade have announced that they are giving away franchises to veterans. 7-Eleven is looking to open 200 new franchises this year and they’re slashing franchise fees to veterans so that they can lead the way.

Are all of these stories coincidental? We don’t think so. It’s clear that franchisors who are looking to expand see military veterans as exactly the kind of people to be opening new units. We expect to see more and more developments like this over the summer and urge veterans to keep an eye on the blog, not to mention what’s happening over at VetFran, to learn about the latest franchise offers for military veterans.

If you’re a military veteran looking to purchase a franchise, Franchise Direct will guide you to the best opportunity.

We’ve always considered military veterans and franchises to be a perfect match. Veterans bring the discipline and know-how to get a small-business off the ground, while franchising offers a veteran returning to civilian life a simple start into a working business.

It turns out there’s a few people up on Capital Hill who agree with us. People like Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Ill., and Rep. Leonard Boswell, D-Iowa, who are have introduced the clearly-titled  Help Veterans Own Franchises Act.

Congressman Boswell, a 20 year veteran of the US Army, explained why he co-introduced the bi-partisan bill.

“I am proud to introduce this bipartisan legislation to spur economic growth, create jobs and give life to the entrepreneurial spirit. This thoughtful legislation will help veterans in Iowa and across the nation become business owners. As a new generation of veterans returns home from Iraq and Afghanistan, I hope others in Congress will join me and my Republican colleague from Illinois in supporting this legislation putting Americans to work and making the dream of owning a business a reality for these brave young Americans.”

Dina Dwyer-Evans, whose father helped launch VetFran, supports the measure and calls for its introduction into law.

“Over 900,000 franchise businesses in the U.S. are responsible for 21 million jobs and generating $2.3 trillion in economic output.  By helping veterans purchase franchise small businesses, this bill will help stimulate the economy and put the country on the road to economic recovery.  We thank Congressmen Schock and Boswell for leading this important effort.”

This is a very important piece of legislation. If passed, it will provide military veterans with tax incentives for starting franchises. It’s also nice to see bloggers like the Peoria Pundit in support of it as well.

Write your congressman or congresswoman today to assure this bill becoms law.

In this week’s Franchise Update we are wishing Little Caesars a Happy Birthday, as well as reporting on the success of a Minuteman Press franchisee.

Click here to download this week’s Franchise Update, or watch in the player below:

Little Caesars recently celebrated their 50th Birthday. The food franchise was originally started by husband and wife duo Michael and Marian Ilitch and today is one of the largest pizza restaurant franchises in the US.

Joanne Miner has been announced as one of Broward County’s 100 outstanding women. Ms Miner is a Minuteman Press franchisee and is a celebrated businesswoman in Broward County.

Thanks for watching.