Why Veterans Make Great Entrepreneurs

November 11 is Veteran’s Day, but at Arkansas Capital, we’re celebrating the brave men and women who have served our country all week. From our Lunch and Learn for veteran entrepreneurs later this month to our “This One’s On Us” veteran celebration at Flyway Brewing on Friday, we want to take every opportunity we can to honor those who have spent time in the armed forces.

Today, we’re honoring a special type of veteran that we have the special privilege of doing business with from time to time: veteran entrepreneurs. Small business and startup owners with a military background are some of our favorite to work with because of their wide range of outstanding qualities. Here are a few of those qualities we find most in veterans, and why they are invaluable in the entrepreneurial world.

Veterans know the value of a well-thought out risk.

Working in the military requires evaluating, managing and mitigating risk in order to take full advantage of valuable opportunities. While civilian small business owners may be tempted to avoid risks altogether, veterans often have a keen ability to readily tackle those worthwhile risks that are necessary to grow a business.

Veterans are no strangers to a disciplined life.

Starting a business requires a relentless commitment to a goal and the necessary discipline to reach it. Many startup owners have never taken on any task that requires such dedication, while veterans already have plenty of experience living with this level of devotion to a project.

 Veterans work well under pressure.

For most entrepreneurs, starting and running their own business is the most high-pressure situation they have ever been in, while veterans are trained to make smart, effective decisions under immense amounts of pressure. This ability helps them to avoid mistakes other entrepreneurs typically make due to stressors.