VETREPRENEUR RESOURCES: FAVOB Launches Jacksonville Chapter

Vetrepreneur Resources

A New Tool for Veteran Business Owners on the Liberty Coast

by Christina Swanson

According to both the U.S. Census Bureau and the Small Business Administration, one in ten U.S. businesses are Veteran-owned. Florida is home to approximately 187,000 Veteran-owned businesses (VOBs) generating over $57 billion in annual revenue.

Already well suited to be business owners, Veterans wanting to start or grow a small business on The Liberty Coast have a new tool to help build a successful business.

FAVOB Jacksonville Chapter. Founded in 2014, the mission of The Florida Association of Veteran-Owned Businesses, or FAVOB, is to create opportunities for Veteran business owners to grow and thrive. FAVOB’s singular focus is on supporting VOBs to do business with each other, while creating opportunities to work with local government agencies and for-profit supplier diversity programs that can increase revenue and profits.

Currently the organization has 350 plus Veteran business owner members and supporters across Florida in four chapters – Orlando, Tampa, the Space Coast and the Panhandle and, now, in Jacksonville.

Additionally, FAVOB promotes and shares the “value of the Veteran-owned business” with other Veterans, the business community and legislators as well as providing professional development events so members can grow their business.

Trish Murphy, founder and CEO of Marketing Smarty Pants and FAVOB Florida Chair, emphasized all that FAVOB has done for her business stating, “In the last three years my company has garnered more than $120,000 in revenue from other VBOs or those met through a FAVOB event.”

Even more impressive, FAVOB has documented more than a million dollars in business from FAVOB companies and patriotic trustees over the last three years.

“And we can’t forget the importance of networking and connecting with likeminded VOBs and supporters because, everything comes from that…networking, supporting, learning, growing,” said Douglas Cochrane, a retired Navy captain and the inaugural Jacksonville Chapter Chair.

“There’s a ton of Veteran organizations out there and this is the only one I know of that focuses on the entrepreneurial spirit and the ability to start, grow and scale a business,” said Cochrane. After a 28-year military career as a naval officer, helicopter pilot and commanding officer of Naval Station Mayport, Cochrane has worked in the financial services industry and has been looking to help a Veteran-based non-profit ever since.

Cochrane and Jacksonville Vice-Chair Jason Pryor’s (owner of Teal City Home Inspections) overall goal for the chapter is to meet in-person, once a month, with a speaker or topic of timely educational value. “Being a part of FAVOB can boost small business opportunities and create networking with some great people, and it’s a lot of fun,” said Cochran. Learn more about FAVOB at FAVOB.Net.

Federal Contract Eligibility. Another Vetrepreneur tool for business growth is the Veteran Small Business Certification (VSBC), required to compete for federal contracts. Beginning in 2023, the Small Business Association (SBA) will begin a VSBC certification program and accept new applications.

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