An Officer and a Businessman

Capt. Brian Moss served as a Naval officer for 30 years, during which he oversaw military construction of bridges, buildings and other projects, and commanded two aviation squadrons and a shore command.

As owner of Marco Bay Consulting on Marco Island, Moss uses the leadership, discipline and people skills he developed as a military leader to operate his construction consulting firm.

 

"If you are going to manage a number of people, you want an institutionalized process so that they work when you’re not there," Moss says. "What makes a business successful is its people. The more authority that you can give your organization at the lowest levels, the more processes they have at their fingertips, the better they’re going to perform."

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is working to aid members of the military community who believe they have the skills to be successful entrepreneurs but need funding to get started. More than 14 percent of businesses in America are owned by veterans, and 23 percent of veterans leaving the military express a desire to own their own business, according to the SBA.

"There is a fairly good-sized pool of eligible veterans and eligible military personnel," says John N. Dunn Jr., SBA assistant district director for lender relations.

The Patriot Express Pilot Loan Initiative (www.sba.gov/patriotexpress) offers up to $500,000 in aid for veterans, Reservists and National Guard members, active-duty service members participating in the military’s Transition Assistance Program, and spouses of service members or of veterans who died in service or of a service-connected disability. Five businesses in the South Florida district had taken advantage of the program as of August, although none are in Southwest Florida. Loan amounts ranged between $8,000 and $100,000.

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