After serving in the U.S. military, what’s left for veterans to do? Some run for office, others write books, many blend into their communities as a husband or father and some start their own businesses.
For Saratoga County veterans with the entrepreneurial spirit, the Chamber of Southern Saratoga County is reaching out a helping hand with the Veteran Entrepreneurial Training Program (V.E.T.).
The Chamber wanted to find a way to help assist in all the good programs we’ve heard about, like Return the FAVOR, said Pete Bardunias, Chamber president and CEO. `This seemed like something we could do that would utilize our strengths of helping businesses to succeed and work with existing membership.`
V.E.T. gives new veteran business owners a one-year free Chamber membership and free tuition in the Chamber’s StartUp Smart program, an educational seminar series that teaches business skills needed to succeed, like writing a business plan, monitoring cash flow, preparing budgets and increased profitability.
`We’re hoping to get as much publicity as possible tot let people know,` said Bardunias. `Right now it’s word of mouth.`
Robert Hogan is the first veteran to take advantage of V.E.T. He served in the Navy during Desert Storm and now he helps people sell items on eBay with his internet sales company, Excelsior Exchange.
`A lot of times people’s schedules are busy and they’re unfamiliar with shipping costs or don’t have the supplies to pack something up and ship it, so that’s where I come in,` said Hogan. `It makes it a one stop shop.`
Sellers bring their items to Hogan’s office at 1487 Saratoga Road, Suite 70 in Ballston Spa. There, he’ll give them a rough appraisal to determine if the item is worth enough to even be put up for sale. Then he takes a photo of the item, lists it on eBay and when it’s sold, ships it out and mails the original owner a check.
`Around six months ago, I talked about it and it seemed like a good business concept; not something that I see anyone doing, especially in this area,` said Hogan.
Hogan gets 30 percent commission on the first $300, 25 percent commission on anything greater than $500 and 10 percent commission on anything over $500. If something is more than $20,000, the rate is negotiated.
The advantage to selling an item on eBay through Excelsior Exchange instead of solo is that it’ll save and sometimes even money. That’s because the business is actually located inside Phoenix Shipping and Office Center.
`The unique combination of being located inside an actual shipping center makes it possible, when something sells, I actually ship it right from this location. As soon as it’s dropped off, I can list it and ship it from the same location,` said Hogan.
Hogan doesn’t classify his business as strictly an eBay seller because for some items, particularly larger ones, he sells it on other websites.
`Like with a horse trailer [I have right now], those you don’t sell on eBay and ship it. Generally with large items is they get put on Craigslist here locally and then that way the person comes here, looks at it, picks it up and it’s a local sale,` said Hogan.
That aspect of his business makes it a good time for people to consider selling big items they weren’t sure what to do with before, said Hogan.
`A lot of the reasons why people don’t do it themselves is because a lot of people don’t want to sell things out of their house where they have people coming to their house that they don’t know,` said Hogan. `It’s a safety thing.`
Excelsior Exchange has been open for a couple months and seen limited customer traffic, though that’s increasing each week. Hogan has sold collectibles, tools and sporting gear so far.
The V.E.T. opportunity is something Hogan said he hopes will be invaluable.
`I receive free entrepreneurial training and it puts me in contact with membership networking opportunities,` said Hogan. `The things I plan to learn most from [StartUp Smart] is business plan creation, budgeting and sales forecast analysis.`
Hogan is currently the only employee but he hopes to change that someday.
`That would be my hope, that I would get big enough to have a warehouse and multiple locations that would be considered intake centers,` said Hogan.
The name of his business even suggests bigger and better things, said Hogan.
`’Excelsior’ means ‘even higher’ an even higher exchange,` said Hogan. `I want to be able to do better than most and be the best at what I do.`
Excelsior Exchange is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. More information is available at excelsiorexchange.com. More details about V.E.T. is available at www.southernsaratoga.org.
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