Onondaga Community College was the place to be Thursday for veterans hoping to develop their entrepreneurial knowledge. The college hosted the Small Business Administration's 7th annual “Operation: Start Up & Grow” conference for veterans and other members of the military looking to start or expand their own businesses.
Keynote speaker and Marine Corps veteran Lee Buttolph ended up buying his family’s lumber company in 2010. He says resources from the SBA and his military experience in Iraq prepared him for this new battle.
Lee is now the third-generation owner of Buttolph Lumber Company based in Phoenix, New York. Mike Otis is a Desert Storm veteran who also knows a few things about adapting.
He began Media One Communications after spending 22 years with Syracuse's 174th Fighter Wing, and some time in radio and TV. He agrees that the military provided him with some of the skills and determination to succeed in business.
The SBA's Veteran-Owned Business Award this year went to Bo Singh. He bought credit risk management company T. Gschwender and Associates in 2008 several years after retiring from the Air Force.
He says that’s where he learned critical leadership qualities, people skills, and banking expertise.
Singh says the SBA has been there every step of the way, guaranteeing loans to buy and run the business. More information about veteran and other business support is at sba.gov.
