Small Business Center For Veterans Opens In Rocklin

The Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce will open its first center to help veterans start small businesses Tuesday.

The goal of the Small Business Development Center at Sierra College in Rocklin is to teach veterans about loans, budgets and job creation.

Scott Leslie is with the chamber and is the director of the centers.

"They're not going through Sierra College just to get a degree," says Leslie. "They want to get back to work and they want to assimilate back into society and be productive citizens.  If we can help even one veteran start a small business and provide for their family and for their future, that'll be a big success."

Leslie says there are 600 veterans on campus.

"A lot of the returning veterans don't necessarily know what it means to start a  business," he says. "But, they've acquired some skills through their military training, leadership skills, management skills, and to be able to articulate that into how to run a successful small business, I think we could have a really good impact."

There is no cost for the services provided.

This will be the ninth Small Business Development Center to open in the greater Sacramento region in the past year.

The chamber says the existing centers have helped people create 23 businesses.