The Building of the Veteran Women's Enterprise Center (VWEC) Dallas, Texas: The Heart of the Center - Part 2.

THE BUILDING OF THE VETERAN WOMEN'S ENTERPRISE CENTER (VWEC) Dallas, Texas

Part 2: The Heart of the Center 

I know we stated we were going to discuss the development of the Conference Center; however, the difficult task, and the most important element of the VWEC is the coworking space, designed as the foundation for our collaborative community. 

The Dallas VA Team’s initial renderings were very different from what I had envisioned for the VWEC.  Gathered around that table listening to their perspectives, I imagined my dreams turning into a real nightmare, but there was one other woman in the room who could sense my dismay, and inquired about my opinion on the design:  I had to share it wasn’t really what I had in mind. She suggested I could provide some examples of what I had envision. She opened the door for me to share my dream of a unique, and collaborative work space for entrepreneur women associated with the military (EWAM). 

ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING: 

We already knew we would be offering our CEO Suite of Services, which originally stood for Co-working, Enrichment Activities, and Opportunities for Expansion and Advancement. Our Enrichment Activities included our work life balance program “Mondays In Motion” a series of activities designed to jump start our women's day and set the stage for a productive week. Our Opportunities for Expansion and Advancement included the “Entrepreneur Expansion Initiative” and quarterly “Pipeline for Professional Advancement" workforce development series. 

Revenue ready women veteran business owners would be given the opportunity to apply for our 12-month Entrepreneur Expansion Initiative, including but not limited to: an intensive revenue review, management make-over, marketing mechanics, technology tactics, and a strategic sales strategy to increase revenues and scale their business for success. The program is designed to transform selected candidates into well-managed, profitable, sustainable businesses that create a significant economic impact within their community.  We fast-tracked this program during COVID to create our Next Level Business Transformation (NLBT) Cohort.

Our Pipeline for Professional Advancement is a supplement of the Entrepreneur Expansion Initiative, matching unemployed and underemployed women veterans with small businesses positioned for expansion through contracting and/or investment opportunities.

Our enrichment programs promoted relationship development, work life balance, personal empowerment, and creativity, offered in partnership with local business owners, and veteran service providers included but where not limited to: Talk it Out Tuesdays, Walk in Wednesdays, & Thursdays Thoughts. 

Today, we’ve upgraded our CEO Suite of Services offering to consist of Center amenities (co-working, conference space, our café lounge and mentoring room); a quarterly schedule of Engagement programs/activities; and Other relevant business support resources that promote our slogan, "Connecting You Is What We Do!".  The VWEC, is a national initiative designed to create an entrepreneur ecosystem where EWAM could literally build their businesses. The model facility in Dallas; VWEC’s headquarter, is an application driven, female exclusive, collaborative environment with structured programs to continually nurture EWAM with ongoing access to financial/social capital. 

This brochure never went into print because as soon as we finished our website, we went completely sustainable, directing interested parties to our website for regularly updated information. Now we have even eliminated printed business cards and enhanced our digital presence. More on program changes in Part 5.

INITIAL DESIGN: 

I wanted a place that as soon as the ladies entered they felt like successful executives, they felt empowered, supported; and something not often experience by women veteran, they felt special. A place that set the stage for business growth, a high-end modern décor, designed with collaboration in mind. 

I provided a number of eclectic furniture concepts that I felt would allow each business owner to create their own individual work space, yet be inspired to support the collective development and growth of the community we were building. 

We knew we had a relatively small space, but wanted to provide as many creative options as possible. Personally, I am a very private, and never really like the purely open co-working set up, so I wanted to provide some sense of privacy for similar individuals interested in joining our community. My suggestions included collaborative spaces, individual desks, and privacy cubes, so everyone could find their perfect work environment. 

Below are some of my suggestions. 

The coworking space is the heart of the VWEC, where it all begins. Entrepreneur women associated with the military are selected based on their business growth potential, and commitment to the collective--women helping women. Limiting business industry representation, so that there are viable B2B, and collaborative contracting opportunities for each member of the community.

We needed to transition the original space into our vision of a collaborative community. 

TO THE DRAWING BOARD: 

I worked for months with Marcus Crawford, Dallas VA Lead Designer for this project, reviewing furniture, and color options to create just the right combination of an inspiring, but functional décor.  The coworking is the heart of the VWEC, this is probably where the entrepreneurs will spend the majority of their time.

We explored colors that supported VWEC brand awareness, while still promoting a great work environment. Although VWEC’s primary colors are black, white, and gold, a darker yellow (some might call a even a mustard) was a good close match. In reviewing the psychology of colors, yellow is the color of sun and fun, it is welcoming and energizing. It’s best used in creative, active environments, known to stimulate optimism, while encouraging focus and direction. Yellow is considered to promote enthusiasm, positivity, mental clarity, creativity, and decision-making abilities while creating an invigorating atmosphere. It has been suggested that the color yellow may amplify productivity by influencing moods and perspectives. Some psychologists have found that yellow can aid memory, self-esteem, and optimism, so featuring this color in our coworking could be motivational, and aid our entrepreneurs in simply feeling good in their surroundings. The color is considered to actually boost innovation, while keeping individuals receptive to feedback. Yellow is known to help inspire entrepreneurs to remain optimistic about business endeavors. It’s an engaging color, which can increase efficiency without overstimulation or overwhelming the senses. 

The color mustard is a darker shade of yellow, and it’s considered to be one of the most popular shades of yellow, often used in interior design, clothes, and fashion. It is noted that mustard yellow is ideal for those that appreciate brighter colors; particularly if they are looking for something more sophisticated, classy, and perhaps respectable. A perfect base color for the VWEC’s coworking. 

We coupled mustard yellow with some deep reds, known to make people feel that a room is warmer than it actually is. Red works well in spaces that involve physical activity, it also increase brain wave activity, boost heart rate, and blood flow.  Some psychologists associate the color red with high energy and strength, often well-suited for fast-paced work environments—an entrepreneur home away from home. The color red can contribute to increased alertness and efficiency, inspire mental and physical energy as well as endurance.

You might think, we’ve gone too far, but orange became another perfect color to add to our palate. Some researchers have found that orange is a great color to integrate into an environment if you're looking to increase productivity. Orange may invoke feelings of enthusiasm, activity, and perseverance, which may help promote efficiency and inspire performance. Remember orange is a combination of red and yellow, so it may add to the same boost in activity and physical endurance as red, while having the mood-boosting ability of yellow. Including orange tends to prevent boredom, while promoting engagement and focus. Researchers have found that orange can yield strong emotions, so our ability to balance this combination of colors was essential. 

Finally to balance these bright combinations, we incorporated the color gray known to invoke feelings of neutrality and reliability, and considered to be beneficial in professional settings. Some psychologists argue that light gray can be uplifting and motivating as well as produce feelings of calm. In the coworking space, we selected carpet with a gray base and some simple color highlights to anchor our color combinations. 

FINDING THE RIGHT FURNITURE: 

Color where important, but the functionality of our furniture was essential. Would the pieces be comfortable for a long day of work, easy to move in and out of, durable, and functional. Identifying furniture that decreases fatigue, and increases comfort was critical to our entrepreneur environment indictive of long hours of work. 

For example, ergonomic furniture is supposed to be inclusive by design embracing different body types. We wanted furniture that would accommodate various body types, distribute their weight uniformly, as well as contour their body at the right points to offer great comfort and support. Ergonomic designs are considered to respect diversity, and increase productivity by increasing the user’s comfort levels. EWAM represent every ethnicity, race, gender, and age groups, so we needed a welcoming environment to everyone that might enter our doors. 

We also wanted to give each entrepreneur options, to work sitting or standing, to increase their level of privacy via two unique coworking cube designs, and a high-bar. Each furniture type was reviewed to ensure it would adequately support our female veteran entrepreneurs, offering space for their personal belongings, additional lighting, and true comfort during their work day.

Designed for female veterans by a female veteran, I wanted only the best for my sisters-in-arms!

We faced some limitations, first we could only select from VA approved vendors; and of course, we had a budget. Nevertheless, Marcus identified several local providers we could engage, we visited different facilities, and were able to literally try out many of the furniture options, as well as review fabric concepts for durability and comfort. 

We wanted a warm, but rich décor, so we selected light wood grained adjustable standing desks, deep orange, and red ergonomic chairs with a black base, a walnut wood high-bar, as well as privacy cubes with similar color combinations keeping the room consistently vibrant. Coupled with the natural lighting, our room burst with a welcoming warmth. 

As the furniture we selected slowly arrived, our décor design started to come together, and we knew we had made a great combination of furniture styles and colors to inspire a truly collaborative community. 

The privacy cubes white screens arrived later and can be seen below. These cubes also have an inside storage area perfect for a large purse or other personal belongings as well as additional directional lighting that can be positioned as needed.

The process of literally designing the VWEC brick and mortar model facility was truly challenging, but so inspiring. I do not have any experience in interior design, but Marcus was a great teacher, and partner in this process. As you can see we had to make a few changes, primarily the collaborative set up was extremely expensive, and was cut from the design in exchange for more adjustable standing desks. However, all our walls are writable, so the ladies can leave note on events, location, and B2B needs for other members of the community.

Now as I look at the final result, what we accomplished here is simply amazing, and I am truly excited to see what the future holds as we continue our journey forward!

ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND:

In accordance with the VWEC mission, I established a long-term strategic alliance with Ken Watterson, Executive Director, for the Homeless Veteran Services of Dallas (HVSD), which manages the Veteran Resource Center (VRC) facility owned by the Dallas VA. This strategic alliance resulted in securing a 2,700 square foot facility, which is the physical location for the VWEC’s model center now offering 16 modern executive co-working spaces, a 50-seat auditorium style conference center, a spacious café lounge for continual networking and business balance. The VWEC also offers coded lockers and free parking to create a safe environment for EWAM to grow their business.

It should be noted, that the VWEC is our nation’s first and only state of the art brick and mortar facility dedicated solely to providing in-depth, application based, substantive, outcome-oriented business services specifically for EWAM. The VWEC has consistently engaged a large population of socially and economically disadvantaged women business owners connecting them to the resources they need to succeed and a pave through the pandemic. 

WHY 4900 SOUTH LANCASTER ROAD?

This address is a great location for business development. The VWEC at 4900 South Lancaster Road is positioned in a HUB Zone, on a LMI track, and in an Empowerment Zone, creating a variety of potential for the businesses coworking long-term at the VWEC to access unique contracting, investment, and growth opportunities.

The Building of the Veteran Women's Enterprise Center (VWEC) Dallas, Texas: Part 1.

THE BUILDING OF THE VETERAN WOMEN'S ENTERPRISE CENTER: Part 1.

VWEC is remembering our journey then and now. We have always pondered what to use as our official anniversary date? Is it January when we signed our MOU with HVSD; is it our Groundbreaking on June 12th; or our soft opening featuring the VWEC’s first annual conference? We’re still pondering those options, so we work to make each date as special as possible. This is the VWEC's fifth year of existence; and as challenging as it continues to be, we are grateful to be able to celebrate our clients' successes, we’re thankful for our sponsors and partners that make our work possible, and we’re still passionate about the journey forward!

These actually were not our first renderings with the Dallas VA. It took months of research, and creative sessions to get to this final design, which ended up truly being a perfect space for our CEO Suite of Services designed for Women Veteran Entrepreneurs. There is nothing like watching your dream become a reality, and our design concept is almost exactly what we have today. This was no quick process, it took nearly 18 months of negotiations on the selection of furniture, flooring, wallpaper, paints, etc. It took months of believing, regardless of all the setbacks, and contract changes, we could make this happen and we did!

---

The Introduction:

I remember being a part of HCC's Veteran Entrepreneur Program, while developing this concept for a business center for Veteran Women after coordinating an entrepreneur workshop for our first Dallas Roll Call. During this period, I had the opportunity to share my vision with Charlyn Johns, Founder, Battle Buddy Info, and she introduced me to Ken Watterson, Executive Director for the Homeless Veteran Services of Dallas (HVSD).  Ken also manages for the Dallas VA the building complex called the Veteran Resource Center (VRC). Charlyn shared that Ken had expressed an interested in developing a women veteran program. In late November 2016, I met with Ken and his team sharing my concept focused on a group of women veterans often overlooked, but definitely in need of support: women veteran entrepreneurs. 

During the tour, Ken Watterson originally offered one of the larger spaces as an office for the program, and I remember responding without thinking "No, I have a plan for the whole space." You could have heard a feather drop; and no one said another word.  We just finished the tour and Ken said he would get back to me. A couple of weeks passed, and I hadn't heard from Ken, so I reached out to Charlyn to thank her for the intro, but told her I felt Ken wasn’t interested. Charlyn being a woman of faith, told me to be patience because Ken was actually on vacation. About a week later just before the holidays in December 2016, Ken finally reached out to say they liked my concept, and wanted me to develop the Veteran Women's Enterprise Center at the VRC. I was immediately given the space, and began planning for the building of the VWEC.

HVSD took us under their wings, and allowed us to function under their 501c3 doing business as the Women Veteran's Enterprise Center Initiative, (this is why you may see some older references to our name and logo as the Women Veteran Enterprise Center), while we awaited our 501c3 paperwork to be approved with our official/current name Veteran Women's Enterprise Center (VWEC).

We signed our MOU with the Homeless Veteran Services of Dallas, January 2017, and held our official Groundbreaking on June 12th in honor of Women Veterans Day, which was signed into Texas law by Governor Abbott on June 9, 2017.  

Were you here? 

We invite you to share your expereince on our social media!

Over 200 veteran women, sponsors, partners, and community leaders attended our full day event, and many traveled from across the state of Texas to support the development of this one-of-a-kind brick and mortar facility for women veteran entrepreneurs. 

In September 2017, the VWEC received our 501c3 status, and started our own banking relationship with our first major sponsor Legacy Texas Bank, (now Prosperity Bank) who presented us with a check for $15k at our Groundbreaking.

All we had were the renderings below and a vision of what this space could be. The VWEC is not just a coworking space, it’s really more of an incubator focused on identifying a unique, collaborative community of entrepreneurs that support the collective growth of the group. It's important that internally we create an ecosystem that allows for, and progressively supports, collaborative contracting, and B2B revenue generations. This vision is still to be realized, but will never be compromised!

In Part 2. of our journey, learn how this space was converted into the current VWEC CONFERENCE CENTER.

THEN:

NOW:

Valuable Experience Working with VWEC to Redesign the Website

I am Claire Chang. My fellowship as a web designer and developer for VWEC has been a really rewarding and motivational experience during my time as a student at the University of Texas at Austin. I collaborated closely with VWEC and the RGK Center’s CONNECT program to leverage my web design skills to give VWEC’s website a new look.

Working with such compassionate and supportive people, this experience helped me achieve my goal to elevate my competency in web design and development. Because of the valuable lessons I learned during this project, I am confident that I will continue to grow and develop professionally and in my personal endeavors. Within this fellowship project, there were two distinct learning experiences that stood out to me as the most influential aspects of my development: collaboration and professional skills. 

Working closely with VR and Alyssa (from the CONNECT program) has helped me to develop the ability to collaborate in a fast-paced, dynamic, and creative environment. I have honed my ability to work together, and communicate clearly with stakeholders. Not only did my collaboration skills improved greatly, but I also developed skills in project management related to coordinating daily and weekly progress goals, to meet the desired completion timeframe.

Through iterating on design solutions, I became more proficient in many aspects of web design, including thinking strategically to deliver the website, building the content and navigation structure, defining UI components and interfaces, and providing solutions under technical limitations. After the new-looking website was published, I was so happy to hear the positive feedback from our user testing results.

This experience definitely motivates me to pursue more in this field. I would not have the knowledge or skills I have today if it were not for this fellowship project experience with VWEC and the CONNECT Program. I look forward to where my career in web design takes me in the future!

Veteran Women’s Enterprise Center Founder and CEO VR Small named 2021 Women Veterans Trailblazer by the Veteran Administration

DALLAS, TX – The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) Center for Women Veteran’s (CWV) 2021 Trailblazers: Women Veterans Leading the Way campaign has tapped Navy Veteran and CEO and Founder of the Veteran Women’s Enterprise Center (VWEC), VR Small, as one of their honorees.

Announcing the Veteran Woman Entrepreneur Grant - TWU CWE

As a member of the Advisory Committee for TWU's Center for Women Entrepreneurs (CWE); on this Good Friday, I am proud to help share their new "Veteran Woman Entrepreneur Grant" that at a maximum distribution of $10k, will allow a minimum of 25 Veteran Women Entrepreneurs to access needed capital and technical assistance, and supports our national mission to help women veteran entrepreneurs scale for success.

The VWEC's 2021 Next Level Business Transformation (NLBT) Cohort offering a $5k fixed grant will be limited this year to referrals and interviews/applications by invitation only. Our Spring candidates will be selected and announced during our Women Warriors Winning the Business Battle, Wednesday, April 21.

Therefore, we encourage Veteran Women Entrepreneurs across the great state of Texas to apply to the Veteran Woman Entrepreneur Grant, when it opens on April 14.

We hope other institutions will follow TWU's lead, and answer our call to action for Veteran Women Entrepreneurs, to ensure they have access to the resources they need to succeed.

Ladies here’s how to get connected! https://twu.edu/news-events/news/cwe-to-launch-250000-grant-program-for-women-veterans-/

Kudos to our other CWE Advisory Committee members if they were able to contribute to this endeavor.

Our leadership cannot wait to support this program as a presenter or mentor.

The Veteran Women's Enterprise Center in Partnership with Southern Methodist University Conducts National Focus Groups

The VWEC seeks to provide real-time data for additional funding and resources for women veteran entrepreneurs

The data collected from our focus groups will offer metrics that clearly identify how women veteran entrepreneurs are driving our economy”— VR Small, CEO and Founder, Veteran Women's Enterprise Center

DALLAS, TX, USA, March 17, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Veteran Women’s Enterprise Center (VWEC) has announced through its partnership with the Hunt Institute for Engineering and Humanity’s Global Development Lab at Southern Methodist University, they have extended their ongoing Women Veteran Entrepreneurs, National Focus Group Initiative.

Veteran Women’s Enterprise Center: Dedicated to Shepherding Female Soldiers to Financial Success

The Veteran Women’s Enterprise Center (VWEC) is providing business and financial support to women entrepreneurs associated with the military, inclusive of veterans, active duty, reservists, and female military spouses across the nation through education, funding, access to critical technical assistance and vital business resources. The VWEC is laser focused on decreasing the disparity between the entrepreneurial success that exists between male and female veteran business owners.

North Dallas Gazette - February 25, 2021 - Online & Print

Annual Business Survey Release Provides Data on Minority-Owned, Veteran-Owned and Women-Owned Businesses

JAN. 28, 2021 — The U.S. Census Bureau today released new estimates on the characteristics of employer businesses. According to the 2019 Annual Business Survey (ABS), covering reference year 2018, approximately 18.3% (1.0 million) of all U.S. businesses were minority-owned and about 19.9% (1.1 million) of all businesses were owned by women.

Additional statistics released include:

• In the United States, the four sectors with the most businesses were Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services; Construction; Health Care and Social Assistance; and Retail Trade. Combined, these estimated 2.8 million businesses employed about 51.1 million people and had an annual payroll of approximately $2.6 trillion.

• Veteran-owned businesses made up about 5.9% (337,934) of all businesses, with an estimated $947.7 billion in receipts, approximately 3.9 million employees, and about $177.7 billion in annual payroll.

The Veteran Women’s Enterprise Center (VWEC) based on a segment of our mission to “advocate for relevant research, services and funding” we will be digging deeper into this data to identify the specific statistics related to women veteran owned businesses and how we can use this data to help women veteran entrepreneurs access the resources they need to succeed.

In the meantime review our Phase 1. Moments that Matter Report in collaboration with the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank as well as the Women-Veteran Entrepreneurs Face Hardships Made Worse by Pandemic comparative analysis and/or participate in our series of Women Veteran Entrepreneurs National Focus Groups working to change the narrative and bring the voices of women veterans out of the shadow, email info@veteranwomensec.org to schedule your private group session.

AT THE BUSH CENTER, WE BELIEVE THAT LEADERS LIKE VR SMALL ARE CHANGING THE WORLD — AND WE WANT TO HELP THEM DO IT.

We thank the George W. Bush Presidential Center for highlighting the Veteran Women’s Enterprise Center, Founder/CEO VR Small. If you missed the opportunity to give on North Texas Giving Day, you can support our organization year round with a generous donation. Your tax-deductible contribution will help us continue to ensure women veteran entrepreneurs have the resources they need to succeed.

VR SMALL

STAND-TO VETERAN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

VR Small serves as Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Veteran Women’s Enterprise Center, a national initiative launched in 2017 in southern Dallas to help women-veteran-owned businesses (WVOBs) scale for success. COVID-19 brought an unexpected challenge to the Veteran Women’s Enterprise Center. In a time of uncertainty and change, Small has helped the nonprofit thrive with new, unique programming dedicated to helping WVOBs succeed. In the second quarter of this year, this new programming supported nearly 500 women.

Small is a member of the 2019 Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program class. She is working to enhance the impact of her "Moments that Matter" research project designed to provide a local report on the status of WVOBs, and, ultimately, create a survey tool that can be used both regionally and nationally to assess and connect with WVOBs.

“As a Bush Institute Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program Scholar, I've had and continue to have the opportunity to learn from and engage some of our most prominent national leaders, leading the charge for new and enhanced policies and strategies to effectively engage and support our veterans. These encounters and learning experiences are an invaluable resource that has helped us continually review, revise and focus our veteran service strategies.”
—VR Small

Women Veteran Nonprofit Connects Dallas Students to New Business Opportunities

While some businesses have spent time downsizing and reducing budgets, the VWEC has overcome both financial and social challenges and has continued successfully serving clients. In fact, VWEC’s commitment to the community has increased tenfold, even onboarding an inclusive and diverse team of UT Dallas students.

Filling the Professional Gap

Before the pandemic hit, many university students were lined up with professional experiences, ready to jump-start their careers. Due to COVID-19, many of these students faced delayed internships and volunteer work, with some ultimately being canceled, thus leaving a gap to fill.

VR Small, VWEC’s CEO, recognized this gap and offered student volunteers and interns a once in a lifetime opportunity to help an expanding nonprofit rise above challenges during these tough times.

For the UT Dallas students, this partnership means another chance at gaining invaluable professional working experience from the safety of their homes. Every week, the team gathers together and discusses capacity-building strategies to improve the center. On any other given day, VR Small conducts personal meetings with each student to give one-on-one attention to their performance outcomes that week. Sometimes these meetings have VR and the students meeting up till ten at night. This feat goes to show how committed the VWEC team is to serve their clients!

When asked about her experience with VWEC, Robbie Fernandez, the student volunteer team lead, had his to share: “Working with this organization has been great, and has allowed me to be productive remotely, which has helped with keeping me busy while gaining valuable research experience.”

Working with a Diverse and Inclusive Team

Diversity has become the forefront of many movements and businesses these days. Fortunately for VWEC, its student-lead team incorporates a variety of backgrounds and expertise.

Beginning their work in June, the VWEC student-led team offers experiences ranging from information technology to marketing. There is even a supply chain major in the mix!

Additionally, the UT Dallas students hail from several different cultural backgrounds, bringing in several perspectives and problem-solving strategies.

When asked about the students and their diverse expertise, VR Small, emphasized that “the VWEC, is fortunate to have partnered with students that understand; and emerge from university, where diversity is encouraged and truly reflected in their student population.”

VWEC’s inclusive work culture directly echoes the nonprofit’s values of empowerment, innovation, and proactivity.

Hearing From the Students

The Veteran Women's Enterprise Center is a national initiative designed to help women veteran-owned businesses (WVOBs) scale for success. From its renowned female exclusive co-working space to tailored networking opportunities to a range of critical business support services, VWEC acts as a pillar in the Southern Dallas community, empowering its clients, and now students.

For its UT Dallas interns and volunteers, this gives them the chance to liaise with VWEC’s CEO and manage several projects throughout their partnership. All students work on tight deadlines, with responsibilities such as coordinating purchases, conducting market research, streamline finances, and more.

Each student has tasks designated to them based on their marketing, information technology, or supply chain expertise, ultimately contributing to growth in their career fields.

“Given the current climate,” Maraiah Bangoy, the Public Relations Intern explains, “it’s understandable that companies are downsizing. I’ve even heard from some of my friends that their jobs were rescinded because of the current state of the economy. Luckily, I was fortunate enough to get connected with VR and that VWEC has been able to match the demand for work experience by students.”

Other members of the VWEC team expressed their gratefulness regarding the unique circumstances in which the nonprofit/social enterprise has allowed them to help others.

“Working as a Marketing Intern for the VWEC,” Victor Garcia-Knab explains, “I have the pleasure to help a nonprofit when it needs help most. Even through COVID, we are pushing hard to create a memorable organization.”

Maliha Khan, another student volunteer, details her experience. “Many businesses have taken a hit due to COVID-19 and through the VWEC I’m glad that I can advertise helpful services to those who have selflessly served the country.”

As a whole, the student volunteers and interns are thankful for the support VWEC and its CEO, VR Small, has afforded them. While other students may be scrambling for summer jobs to complete their university requirements, the VWEC student team is stepping up and transforming communities.

Serving those Who Served Us

Oftentimes, women entrepreneurs—and especially women veteran entrepreneurs—are overlooked. Though their businesses are constantly growing, according to a 2007-2012 Survey of Business Owners (SBO) Census Bureau collecting 2007-2012 Survey of Business Owners, the media doesn’t shine enough of a light on this growth.

This is where VWEC has stepped in, not only highlighting women veteran success but contributing to it.

“At VWEC,” VR Small explains, “we’ve built an uplifting community aimed at empowering and serving women who have served in our military and/or are part of our military community. As a female veteran, it is important for me and my team to provide a safe, supportive space for women. When women truly come together there’s an atmosphere of sisterhood, unity, and commitment that creates this air of self-confidence and empowerment—a fragrance that tells the senses anything is possible.”

Furthermore, VR Small and her student-led team are excited to expand VWEC’s impact in Southern Dallas, with consistently reminding them that “by helping our women veteran entrepreneurs become self-sufficient, we ultimately strengthen our family structures, empower our communities, and literally fuel our nation’s economy. We’re not just building businesses—we are transforming lives.”

By: Maraiah Bangoy, Press Relations Intern - July 31, 2020

Veteran Women Start Businesses at an Unprecedented Rate. Why Aren’t They More Successful?

When military veterans come home, many start businesses. Those businesses, from Walmart to FedEx, are some of the largest in the world. And they’re also almost exclusively started by men.

Only 3% of businesses led by female veterans have managed to hire an employee, according to research published by the National Women’s Business Council. It's a rate not only lower than their male counterparts but also significantly less than women-led businesses in general.

And yet, the number of businesses started by former servicewomen is skyrocketing. According to the latest data available, their numbers nearly quadrupled from 2007 to 2012. It’s the fastest-growing demographic. This raises the question: Why aren’t those businesses growing?

No one seems to know the answer. Not the multiple federal agencies tasked with researching the issue. Not the National Women’s Business Council. Not Veterans Affairs.

“There's a big lack of data. Just Google ‘women veteran-owned businesses,’ you pretty much get nothing,” said Anna Crockett, an analyst at the Dallas Fed.

Now, she’s partnering with VR Small to figure it out. Small is the founder, executive director and sole staff member of the new Veteran Women's Enterprise Center, which opened last year in East Oak Cliff. Its focus is on helping veteran women scale their businesses. Small is designing the survey while Crockett will summarize the results in a report to be released early next year.

It’s a multipurpose initiative. For Crockett and the Dallas Fed, it's an opportunity to shine a light on an underserved business community.

“I think it's easy to forget that they are our neighbors. They're our clients or customers. They work for us. They are our bosses. We want to put a face to those businesses,” Crockett said.

And for Small, the results will be used to tailor the center’s programs to the community’s needs. If clients need financing, she will connect them to bankers. If they need help with contracts, she’ll bring in lawyers.

Right now, the center holds events, offers a mentorship program and is helping a cohort get certification as veteran-owned businesses. Nearly 1,000 women have so far participated in one of the center’s programs. But Small has bigger plans. She’s opening up a co-working space, complete with ergonomic desks and free coffee and snacks, later this year.

“I think it's easy to forget that they are our neighbors. They're our clients or customers." — Anna Crockett

Eventually, she wants to expand the model to centers across the nation.

But first, she needs to hook up the internet. Because of the center's location — the building used to be an armory before it was renovated by the VA — getting wireless through the walls has been a challenge. And then there’s the issue of funding.

So far, Small hasn’t been paid a dime. “I do it out of heart,” she said. Still, her savings are dwindling, and she’s been writing grant proposals to hire staff and eventually pay herself a salary.

Small's experiences echo those of her clients. She grew up a military brat. Her father was stationed in Colorado, Alaska and then Dallas, where she spent her formative years. When Small was 17, she joined the Navy with dreams of becoming an officer or a journalist.

Instead, a recruiter talked her into going to hospital corpsman school. She graduated with honors, served for five years and eventually made it to New York to work in finance and consulting. When she was laid off in 2015, she sold her condo, moved back to Dallas and put everything she had into starting the Enterprise Center in an effort to share the lessons she learned with other veterans.

So far, she’s collected a roster of high-profile allies. Jessica Flynn, CEO of a PR agency and a member of the National Women’s Business Council, came to the center in October for an event. She sang Small’s praises.

“The VWEC is focused on the right things, and they have an enthusiastic and visionary leader who doesn't take no for an answer,” Flynn said. 

Flynn's organization has long lobbied policymakers to support the work of centers like Small’s. There’s a lot of resources out there — “this whole mix of acronyms,” she said — but most people simply aren’t aware that they exist. “We need on-the-ground centers like the VWEC to help connect the dots for people.”

Anna Baker, manager of the Texas Veteran Commission's Entrepreneur Program said Small’s facility is the first of its kind in the Dallas area, and one of only a few in Texas that cater to this demographic. She said it’s badly needed, and explained some of the challenges facing these women as they go out to raise capital to grow their businesses.

Baker told the story of an investor speed-dating event attended by her business partner, a woman. As she went table to table, she kept hearing, “Honey, you need a rich uncle. You need to quit your job and live in your car.”

“She was a single mom with two kids in college,” Baker said.

Baker is helping to distribute Small’s survey across DFW, and she hopes the data will provide incentive for investors to step forward and help.

“Anybody sitting at the head of the conference table deciding who’s going to get money and who's not is going to make their decisions based on numbers and data,” she said.

For Small, it's about more than just helping other veterans succeed.

“We're not just building businesses. This is literally nation building.”

She explained: “When these community businesses are growing, what are we doing? We're building thriving communities — because they're going to give back to their school, to their churches, to their nonprofits.”

She lets out a sigh before going on.

“How do we miss that?”

If you are a woman veteran running a business or know someone who is, the online survey is available here.

Lucas Manfield is an editorial fellow at the Observer. He's a former software developer and a recent graduate of Columbia Journalism School.

• CONTACT: Lucas Manfield

• FOLLOW:Twitter: @Lucas_Manfield

Women Veteran Business Owners: We Want to Hear From You

The number of businesses owned by female veterans in the U.S. more than tripled in a five-year period, but little is known about these enterprises.

It's Time to Turn Up the Volume on Women Veteran-Owned Businesses

1 Oct 2019

Military.com | By VR Small

VR Small is a Navy veteran, founder and executive director for the Veteran Women's Enterprise Center (VWEC).

Veteran-owned businesses are getting a lot of attention these days. But a subgroup of veteran entrepreneurs must contend with misaligned resources, a side effect of stereotypes in the general public about what it means to be a veteran.

With six women veterans in office on Capitol Hill, efforts are finally being made to bring long-overdue women veteran issues to the forefront. The creation of the Servicewomen and Women Veterans Congressional Caucus and the launch of the House Veteran Affairs Committee's new Women Veterans Task Force are a start at bringing these issues into focus.

But women veteran-owned businesses remain in the shadows. The problem is seen in the statistics. Women veteran-owned businesses (WVOBs) made up 15.2% of all veteran-owned businesses in 2015, according to Census Bureau statistics. About 97% of those businesses have no employees, but the 3% that do employ more than 100,000 workers and reported over $10 billion in receipts over a five-year reporting period.

That data, says the National Women’s Business Council, shows that growth in the sector is happening, but is only a fraction of what it could be.

"If veteran women-owned employer firms generated receipts proportional to their share of veteran-owned employer firms (3.3 percent), these firms would have receipts that stood at about $29.3 billion," the National Women's Business Council said in a 2017 report based on the Census Bureau's Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs. The council further found that for every dollar a male veteran makes in his business, a female veteran makes just $.07 in hers.

Why? One reason could be that resources available from various business-focused organizations and federal agencies often don't meet the immediate needs of WVOBs. Service types and locations are often not designed specifically with women in mind. And many agencies seem unwilling or unable to effectively and regularly engage WVOBs in developing the social and financial capital necessary to scale their businesses.

When we fail to effectively engage WVOBs, we lose the added value to our society of this highly diverse population that represents nearly every ethnicity, race, gender orientation and age group.

Statistics also suggest that support for WVOBs impacts more than just the business owner and their employees. According to statistics from Refinery29 and Chase, women in general are the primary breadwinners in 40% of households. This suggests that supporting women-owned business growth and self-sufficiency will ultimately help build stronger families, support thriving communities and add fuel to our nation's economy.

The time is now to turn up the volume so we can hear and respond more effectively to the often silent voices of female veterans.

These military women are trained to accomplish the mission using whatever resources are available, and they will rarely be the squeaky wheel that gets the oil. Instead, most will struggle in silence, never being given the opportunity to articulate what they truly need to succeed. And because many female veterans don't self-identify, the local business community assumes that women veteran-owned businesses represent a limited population. But that is yet to be proven.

There is a movement in the right direction. For example, one project taking on the charge of strengthening the voices of WVOBs is the Veteran Women's Enterprise Center (VWEC)'s "Moments that Matter" research project, in collaboration with the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank.

The Moments that Matter local survey focuses exclusively on engaging women veteran-owned businesses in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. WVOBs in all 13 counties are encouraged to turn up the volume and let their voices be heard by taking the survey.

While several surveys have been conducted for veteran-owned businesses in general, this local survey is designed to capture data that will clearly define transitional moments in these WVOBs' entrepreneur journey. That, in turn, will help identify and connect them to the resources they need to effectively scale their businesses. Those steps will ultimately help them build a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem that supports consistent access to essential social and financial capital.

The survey is also the VWEC's pilot project for the development of a regional and national tool that can be used to provide an annual report on the status of women veteran-owned businesses, keeping the volume up and tuned into their ongoing challenges and successes.

When we consider funding support to and for our veteran communities, we should consider women veteran-owned businesses' silent contributions as a potential gold mine, and it often pays to dig deeper, and invest more, if you really want to strike gold.

And as we work toward equality for all women, we must ensure that equity is instituted across the board. To effectively acknowledge and engage this group, we have to change the narrative.

When we say "veteran," we need to immediately envision men and women who have faithfully served our nation.

-- The opinions expressed in this op-ed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Military.com. If you would like to submit your own commentary, please send your article to opinions@military.com for

Survey hopes to set the record straight when it comes to female veteran business owners

ELIZABETH HOWE SEPTEMBER 13, 2019 - 1:09 PM CONNECTINGVETS.COM

Are you a female veteran business owner in Dallas, Texas? This survey wants to know about your needs — so it can help female veterans everywhere succeed. 

The Veteran Women's Enterprise Center — an organization that helps women veteran-owned businesses (WVOBs) scale, strategize, and succeed — is hosting a survey called "Moments that Matter" in partnership with the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank to examine the entrepreneur journey of WVOBs in Dallas. VWEC hopes the results of the survey will help WVOBs everywhere to be better understood and supported. 

And that's no longer a small population. A 2007 to 2012 Census Bureau survey of business owners found that WVOBs had grown from 4 percent of all veteran-owned businesses to 15.2 percent — nearly 400,000 new businesses. 

"It's not a Dallas thing," said VR Small, the founder and executive director of the VWEC. "It's something that we feel — based on the number of women veterans across our nation who are starting businesses — that this is something that women need across the nation and are looking for. Women veterans don't self-identify. We need to give them a voice."

When Small returned to the Dallas area, she found little to no established support for female veteran entrepreneurs there. 

"We didn't even have a women's business center in the city of Dallas at that time," Small said. "All the programs I reached out to who said they helped veterans proclaimed they didn't have anyone in Dallas who could support me. We wanted to meet their needs and give them a place where they could come and have camaraderie, connect."

Small worked to establish VWEC in the area and is now looking to do more for both Dallas-based and national WVOBs with the "Moments that Matter" survey. 

"The survey is really in-depth. It really digs deep. And we designed it that way because we really want to try to make this a regional and eventually a national tool that not just my organization can use but any organization that wants to know what's going on with women veterans. They can access this tool and use it," Small said. 

The results of the survey will help the general population to understand the unique needs of WVOBs. Eventually, the results will be used to create an annual report on the status of WVOBs, "keeping the volume up and tuned into their ongoing challenges and successes," Small explained But it will only succeed if enough female veteran business owners participate in the survey. 

"If they don't take the survey, then the assumptions will continue — assumptions that we don't really exist, that there isn't really a business here," Small said. "They'll go on and on with all these assumptions that really hurt female veteran business owners."

WVOBs in the Dallas area can access the survey through the VWEC website or the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank website to participate. 

Calling All Women Veteran-Owned Businesses in Dallas County

Calling All Women-Veteran-Owned Businesses in Dallas County - Take the survey!

Businesses owned by women veterans grew from 4 percent of all veteran-owned businesses to more than 15 percent between 2007 and 2012 and more than 383,000 as of 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners. The businesses without employees had receipts of $7.1 billion, while those with employees had receipts in excess of $10.7 billion and a total workforce of more than 100,000. Even so, this group of women business owners has not received much attention.

In 2015, the National Women’s Business Council issued a recommendation that more programs are needed to engage women-veteran business owners. This recommendation was echoed by the Small Business Administration’s Advisory Council on Veteran Business Affairs—specifically noting that more local research is needed to assess the needs of women-veteran entrepreneurs and design relevant programs to support this population. For Dallas County, it is an opportunity to support a thriving entrepreneurial community and learn how to effectively engage and support these businesses.

The Veteran Women’s Enterprise Center (VWEC), a national initiative launched in southern Dallas, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas are currently conducting research exclusively focused on the “Moments That Matter” for businesses owned by veteran women in Dallas County. With a focus on identifying the most impactful issues and situations encountered by these businesses, the primary goals of the project are to:

• Determine whether the experiences of Dallas County’s women veteran-owned businesses are comparable to those of women-veteran entrepreneurs nationally.

• Highlight the “Moments That Matter” during start-up, growth and expansion efforts.

• Identify gaps in support services for women-veteran entrepreneurs.

The data-gathering process of this project is twofold, beginning with an online survey to collect basic information on the women and their businesses and concluding with a series of focus groups to capture their unique stories of business successes and challenges. Once the data are collected, the Dallas Fed and VWEC will produce a report that illustrates the state of women-veteran-owned businesses in Dallas County.

How can you support this effort?

1) Women-veteran-owned businesses: Take the survey, sign up for a focus group and share this information with your network.

2) Community partners: We invite chambers, certification agencies, business-support and veteran-services organizations to help identify and engage women-veteran-owned businesses by sharing a unique partner link via their communications vehicles (newsletters, emails, website, social media, etc.) In turn, we will provide partners with the opportunity to host their own focus group sessions and/or receive tailored data reports reflecting the responses of women-veteran business owners in their organizations.

3) All others: If you know of an organization that would be a good fit to support this research project, please share this information, email VWEC Executive Director VR Small at veteranwomensec@gmail.com or call 214-489-7984.

Moments that Matter Research Project Launch Lunch

The Veteran Women’s Enterprise Center (VWEC), a national initiative launched in southern Dallas, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas are conducting a research project exclusively focused on the “Moments That Matter” for women veteran-owned businesses in Dallas County. With a focus on identifying the most impactful issues and situations encountered by veteran women-owned businesses in Dallas County.

WELCOME LILLIAN GREGORY AS VWEC'S PREMIER BLOG CONTRIBUTOR

Lillian Gregory, Member of Forbes Coaches Council and Forbes Contributing Writer, is now VWEC's premier writer and blogger on topics covering entrepreneurship strategies, organizational culture, change management, and design thinking. 

Lillian is also the Founder and CEO of The Institute for Human and Leadership Excellence, a non-profit organization that is PASSIONATE about inspiring leaders to reach their full potential.

As a passionate advocate for 21st Century Leadership, Lillian is a #ChangeAmbassador focused on #LifeWorkIntegration for Women in Leadership, Women in Technology, and US Veterans and Spouses. She provides research, strategies, tools, workshops, and events to help close leadership, life-work, and career strategy gaps.

Her work is grounded in #ICorePrinciples - Intellect. Integrity. Influence. which guarantees Excellence in Leadership. Over the years, she earned a reputation for seeing things differently, for providing expert analyses and strategies that deliver outstanding results. 

Lillian applies her 21st Century thoughtful leadership expertise to help drive change that transforms organizations or careers into a 21st Century marvel. Why? Because change is constant.

Lillian is a US Air Force Veteran and has also produced articles for the Huffington Post and other media outlets. Sign up for the VWEC Blog to receive Lillian's latest insights on the entrepreneurship journey and innovative strategies for success!

Connecting You Is What We Do: Get Connected to Innovative 21st Century Strategies!

The VWEC listed as one of 15 Amazing Female-Focused Coworking Spaces Across the Nation

Last year, the U.S. dropped to last place on a list female participation in the labor force in leading industrialized economies, falling behind Japan. This development marked a dramatic shift for the U.S., which was in a leading position in the late 1990s―with roughly 76.7% of women ages 25-54 actively participating in the workforce―to last place in 2017, after losing 1.7% of working age women. What’s holding women in the U.S. back?

American women find themselves juggling work and family, often forced to sacrifice the former because of the scarcity of affordable childcare options. According to the National Study of Employers, 41% of U.S. companies provide access to information to help parents find daycare centers in their community, but only 7% have either an on-site daycare or one near the workplace. Several coworking offices have stepped in to support young mothers and parents who cannot afford to drop out of the labor market by providing daycare and other services.

Many women are also held back by less access to mentors, resources and opportunities to advance their careers, or feel ill at ease within the bro-culture of their workplace. Female-focused coworking offices seek to address some of these issues by providing amenities suited to women’s needs, as well as a calmer, safer environment for them and their families.

Review the complete blog for the full list of great coworking spaces for women.

Women Veterans Day 2018 — A Texas First

BY: Lillian Gregory, Change Ambassador for Organizations and Careers | Veterans Advocate | Author

I woke up yesterday in anticipation of Women Veterans Day 2018. Events were planned all over the state, but I chose to participate in the City of Dallas.

The city’s events were driven by a partnership between Representative Victoria Neave (author of Women Veterans Day legislation) and Women Veterans Enterprise Center’s VR Small, a US Navy veteran. Last year’s events were groundbreaking — literally. It would be an understatement to say that this year’s celebrations were spectacular!!

From Dallas City Hall (morning) to VFW 6796 (evening), Women Veterans from all branches and all wars were recognized with an all-female color guard, historical reflections, a fallen comrade table, prayers, speeches, role calls, flags, flowers, certificates, handshakes, photos, and long overdue acknowledgement for heeding the call to serve our nation. Since I attended both events, my name was called twice which was totally unexpected.

Corporate sponsors included AT&T, Pepsi, and many others who provided food, door prizes, discounts, and giveaways for Women Veterans.

If you were downtown Dallas at dusk, you would have seen buildings light up in red, white, and blue with the US Flag waving across the Omni Hotel in tribute to Women Veterans — a fitting end to a spectacular day.

We will move forward in solidarity as we continue to shine the spotlight on Women Veterans…

State’s First Women Veterans Day Has Roots With Dallas Politician, Entrepreneurs

BY HEATHER NOEL • JUN 12, 2018

Texas has the largest population of female veterans than any other state and legislation to designate the first day honoring their service started in Dallas.

**************************************************************************************************************

If there’s anything Marija Roberson learned from her seven years in the military, it’s how to be adaptable.

“Don’t stop, keep pushing, and identify ways to make it better with limited resources,” Roberson says.

The instilled lessons from her strategic planning and operations management work with the U.S. Air Force and Army, have carried over into civilian life.

And, now as an entrepreneur, the Little Elm resident is putting that knowledge into Lean Evolution, a process improvement consulting and training firm launching later this summer.

“Don’t stop, keep pushing, and identify ways to make it better with limited resources.”

Marija Roberson

She always knew she wanted to be a business owner, but for Navy veteran Cristie Campo it took some major life changes and multiple jobs before she figured out paving her own career was right for her.

Through her Blue Dragonfly Creative Agency, Campo uses her background in graphic design to develop websites, logos, and other materials for nonprofits, for-profits, and doctors offices alike. Recently, the Gulf War medic lent her design expertise to develop the logo and website for the first Women Veterans Day in Texas.

At more than 177,000, Texas has the largest population of female veterans overall in the country — a figure that wasn’t lost on State Rep. Victoria Neave of Dallas.

She authored legislation last year to make June 12 Women Veterans Day. The date is a nod back to the passage of the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act, which President Harry S. Truman signed into law on June 12, 1948. The act permitted women to serve as permanent, regular members of the U.S. armed forces. Women, of course, have been serving in the military in some capacity dating back to the beginnings of the nation’s military.

TEXAS CELEBRATES FIRST WOMEN VETERANS DAY

In 2017, Texas Senate Bill 805 officially designated June 12 as a statewide day to honor female military veterans. Tuesday will be the first time Women Veterans Day is observed.

“It means a lot to me as a veteran especially being a second generation Army vet,” Roberson said. “[Knowing that my mom] and other female veterans are being recognized for all their hard work and dedication. They paved the way for me and others within my shoes.”

From Austin and Houston to Lubbock and Killeen, groups have planned special events to celebrate.

“We have a very long and proud history of serving our country, but we also have some very unique struggles that are not identified, that are not talked about.”
VR Small

“We’re very excited that cities all across Texas are honoring their women veterans. It’s amazing to see how the legislation has come to life,” Neave said.

In Dallas, Neave teamed with the Veteran Women’s Enterprise Center, a forthcoming facility in south Dallas to help female veteran entrepreneurs grow their small businesses. 

This morning, an event in the Dallas City Hall Flag Room recognized women veterans and this evening, there will be a reception for women veterans and their families at the VFW 6796 in Dallas featuring U.S. Marine Corps Master Sgt. Rebecca Leal. Little Elm and Lake Worth hosted events last week.

“We have a very long and proud history of serving our country, but we also have some very unique struggles that are not identified, that are not talked about,” said VR Small, executive director of the Enterprise Center.

Small was one of many female veterans across the state who spoke out in favor of the bill last year. The six-year Navy veteran has experienced first hand how people don’t immediately think of women serving in the military.

“I’ve been out with my friends, got my Navy veteran shirt on, and If we’re with the guys, they’ll shake all the guys hands and act like we’re their wives or girlfriends. The guys will have to say, ‘oh no, they served, too,’” Small said.

Women Veterans Day is the time to honor female veterans for their service and share their untold stories, she said. Neave also hopes the day can open dialogue on issues that women face in the military such as sexual assault and an increased likelihood of homelessness after they serve.

ENTERPRISE CENTER FOR FEMALE VETREPRENEURS COMING THIS FALL

For Small, being involved with Women Veterans Day fits right in with the work she’s doing to support female veterans with the Veteran Women’s Enterprise Center.

“We believe in supporting women veterans; we believe in this opportunity for our history to be recognized and discussed,” Small said.

Between 2007 to 2012, the number of female veteran-owned businesses in the U.S. increased from 4 percent of all veteran-owned firms to 15.2 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2012 Survey of Business Owners. In that latest Census business survey, Texas had one of the highest number of so-called vetrepreneurs — both female and male — placing second to California.

“Our program is meant to be the bridge between when they startup and then getting to that next level of being that six-figure company.”

VR Small

The enterprise center will be a pilot facility centralizing resources for female veteran entrepreneurs with coworking, a conference center, and coffee and cafe lounge. It joins other North Texas programs oriented toward veteran entrepreneurs such as Momentum Texas and Honor Courage Commitment, through which Roberson and Campo have received training.

The Veteran Women’s Enterprise Center is expected to be in full operation by this fall. It will focus efforts on helping women grow their businesses.

“Our program is meant to be the bridge between when they startup and then getting to that next level of being that six-figure company,” said Small, who has a background in organizational development and starting her own ventures.

In the future, Small hopes the model can be replicated across the state and the U.S.

“We want to make sure that once we produce this model, we show how it works, we show that we can help these women really scale and keep their businesses alive, then we want to be able to replicate that in other areas where the need is represented,” Small said.