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SBA kicks off National Veterans Small Business Week

The U.S. Small Business Administration will celebrate the accomplishments of veteran, service member, and military spouse small business owners nationwide during National Veterans Small Business Week (NVSBW), which runs today through Friday. This year marks the seventh annual NVSBW.

“As we celebrate National Veterans Small Business Week, I am proud to be a part of a network that serves the entrepreneurial needs of veterans, military members transitioning to civilian life, and their spouses through SBA programs and outreach so that they may start and grow businesses of their own,” said Acting District Director J. Adalberto Quijada.

This year’s NVSBW theme is #VetBiz Resources in Your Local Community, which highlights the breadth of free to low-cost entrepreneurial resources that veteran and military entrepreneurs can access right in their neighborhood – from seeking business counseling services from the Hawaii SCORE chapter or the Hawaii Small Business Development Center (SBDC), to visiting the Veterans Business Outreach Center of the Pacific (VBOC) for help formulating a business plan. During the week, the SBA will highlight and connect veterans nationwide to resources available to help them accomplish small business success.

During NVSBW, each day will be devoted to a different topic related to veteran entrepreneurship. National-level events include topics in transition assistance, entrepreneurial training, stakeholders and resources, access to capital, and government contracting.

The SBA Hawaii District Office encourages veterans, service members, National Guard and Reserve members, and military spouses to register now for local NVSBW events sponsored by the Veterans Business Outreach Center of the Pacific:

Wednesday:

9 a.m. — Doing Business with the Government

Thursday:

9 a.m. — Boots to Business Reboot PISBDC Guam

9 a.m. — Things to Consider When Building a Mobile App Based Tech Business

Noon — Adapting Your Marketing During COVID-19

Friday:

10 a.m. — Access to Capital Options and Preparing for Financing

For more information about National Veterans Small Business Week and national-level events, visit www.sba.gov/vetbiz. For more information on the resources available for veteran entrepreneurs, visit www.sba.gov/veterans.

More than 20 million Americans to relocate amid rise in telework

As many as 23 million Americans plan to relocate to a new city as working from home becomes more popular, according to a new survey from online freelance company Upwork Inc.

More than 11% of households surveyed said they plan to move, implying U.S. migration rates will be three to four times higher than normal, according to Upwork, which polled 20,000 people for their report. These Americans are likely to move within the next year, said Adam Ozimek, Upwork’s chief economist.

The coronavirus pandemic has dramatically disrupted cities across the U.S. and highlighted the risks of transmitting the disease in crowded places. With so many Americans working from home, a recent report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas found there’s less demand for housing in or near dense cities.

The housing market, a bright spot in the U.S. economy, has surged as more Americans seek homes in smaller and cheaper locations. More than 52% of Americans are looking to buy a new home that costs 10% less than their current one, according to Upwork, which also stands to benefit from the rise in telework.

The surge in relocation could have lasting economic consequences for large cities, Ozimek said.

“This is an early indicator of the much larger impacts that remote work could have,” said Ozimek. “Expensive places used to have a monopoly on the access to their valuable labor markets, and as work goes remote, they no longer do.”