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CNN Live At Daybreak

How Having Military Background Can Give Edge

Aired July 01, 2003 - 05:51   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: For veterans, finding work once they leave the military can be difficult, especially for those with very little civilian experience to fall back on.
But in our series Forgotten Heroes, CNN's Rhonda Schaffler explains how having a military background can give them the edge.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): (AUDIO GAP) war...

CHIP CONNELLY, VETERAN ENTREPRENEUR: You put a little bit more air in there and tighten them logs up.

SCHAFFLER: ... but the tour of duty can feel like a grind. Yet Chip Connelly is up to the challenge. The former Navy man has traded in his uniform for a new adventure -- running his own business.

CONNELLY: There's no way without a military background that I have, being a veteran, it just gives you so much more of a foundation of basics and understandings that you wouldn't have otherwise.

SCHAFFLER: Connelly retired from the Navy last year after 24 years and decided to open a specialty coffee shop. But he added a twist, a serving of his own homemade barbecue pork.

Connelly is just one of the estimated four million U.S. veterans who own a small business in the U.S. He says being a veteran gives him a clear advantage.

DAVID CLAGGETT, VICE PRESIDENT, VETERANS CORP.: I'm a little more sure and confident of myself and what I'm doing because of my military background. I've seen a lot of things and overcome a lot of obstacles in my military career.

SCHAFFLER: David Claggett, a retired Army colonel and vice president at the Veterans Corporation agrees that the training veterans receive is important, and adds his non-profit gives them more of an edge.

CLAGGETT: Fast track entrepreneurial training. This is of a 45 hour course that provides the veteran with classes on entrepreneur subjects.

SCHAFFLER: Claggett says there have been 80,000 graduates of that program since 1999 and 77 percent of them are still in business. Deputy Administrator of the Small Business Administration, Melanie Sabelous, sees that as a growing trend.

MELANIE SABELHOUS, SBA DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR: What's happening in America today, and we all see it, is there's a great downsizing of large business. What's happening, we've got this cadre now of new entrepreneurs, many of which are vets. And what they're looking for is the opportunity. What do I do? Where do I go? And where do I grow it? How do I start it?

SCHAFFLER (on camera): Many of those questions are answered at veterans business seminars like this one here in New York, often a key step in knowing how to get financing.

(voice-over): In 2002, the SBA approved loans totaling $1.5 billion. This year, the SBA has already given more than $780 million in aid to veterans, a 31 percent increase from last year.

SABELHOUS: You know what the best thing is? They're coming back with a lot of, I guess, resolve in their hearts. They're feeling great about serving their country and they're ready to jump in. And there's not a greater dream in the world to achieve than starting your own business, the American dream.

SCHAFFLER: But for Chip Connelly, it's not just the potential for profits that he finds rewarding.

CONNELLY: I really believe that this gives me an opportunity to continue to serve the American public and the American people in general. It kills me to write checks on most days, but on pay days I do enjoy writing the pay checks because I know I get to make a difference in somebody's life.

SCHAFFLER: Out of the military but still looking to serve.

Rhonda Schaffler, CNN Financial News, Inwood, West Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired July 1, 2003 - 05:51   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: For veterans, finding work once they leave the military can be difficult, especially for those with very little civilian experience to fall back on.
But in our series Forgotten Heroes, CNN's Rhonda Schaffler explains how having a military background can give them the edge.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): (AUDIO GAP) war...

CHIP CONNELLY, VETERAN ENTREPRENEUR: You put a little bit more air in there and tighten them logs up.

SCHAFFLER: ... but the tour of duty can feel like a grind. Yet Chip Connelly is up to the challenge. The former Navy man has traded in his uniform for a new adventure -- running his own business.

CONNELLY: There's no way without a military background that I have, being a veteran, it just gives you so much more of a foundation of basics and understandings that you wouldn't have otherwise.

SCHAFFLER: Connelly retired from the Navy last year after 24 years and decided to open a specialty coffee shop. But he added a twist, a serving of his own homemade barbecue pork.

Connelly is just one of the estimated four million U.S. veterans who own a small business in the U.S. He says being a veteran gives him a clear advantage.

DAVID CLAGGETT, VICE PRESIDENT, VETERANS CORP.: I'm a little more sure and confident of myself and what I'm doing because of my military background. I've seen a lot of things and overcome a lot of obstacles in my military career.

SCHAFFLER: David Claggett, a retired Army colonel and vice president at the Veterans Corporation agrees that the training veterans receive is important, and adds his non-profit gives them more of an edge.

CLAGGETT: Fast track entrepreneurial training. This is of a 45 hour course that provides the veteran with classes on entrepreneur subjects.

SCHAFFLER: Claggett says there have been 80,000 graduates of that program since 1999 and 77 percent of them are still in business. Deputy Administrator of the Small Business Administration, Melanie Sabelous, sees that as a growing trend.

MELANIE SABELHOUS, SBA DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR: What's happening in America today, and we all see it, is there's a great downsizing of large business. What's happening, we've got this cadre now of new entrepreneurs, many of which are vets. And what they're looking for is the opportunity. What do I do? Where do I go? And where do I grow it? How do I start it?

SCHAFFLER (on camera): Many of those questions are answered at veterans business seminars like this one here in New York, often a key step in knowing how to get financing.

(voice-over): In 2002, the SBA approved loans totaling $1.5 billion. This year, the SBA has already given more than $780 million in aid to veterans, a 31 percent increase from last year.

SABELHOUS: You know what the best thing is? They're coming back with a lot of, I guess, resolve in their hearts. They're feeling great about serving their country and they're ready to jump in. And there's not a greater dream in the world to achieve than starting your own business, the American dream.

SCHAFFLER: But for Chip Connelly, it's not just the potential for profits that he finds rewarding.

CONNELLY: I really believe that this gives me an opportunity to continue to serve the American public and the American people in general. It kills me to write checks on most days, but on pay days I do enjoy writing the pay checks because I know I get to make a difference in somebody's life.

SCHAFFLER: Out of the military but still looking to serve.

Rhonda Schaffler, CNN Financial News, Inwood, West Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com