COLORADO SPRINGS — Veterans owning small businesses got the opportunity to participate in an annual conference geared toward educating new business owners and those wanting to expand their current business.
The owner of Dart Wars is one of the entrepreneurs who attended the Veterans Small Business Conference as he works to grow his business.
"I think things like this put on by the SBDC and other organizations out there really help from the entrepreneurial side," said Dylan Neuman, the Owner of Dart Wars.
Dylan Neuman got out of the Air Force as a Major in 2018. He tried working an office job, but knew he wanted to start his own business.
"So March of 2019 I opened up Dart Wars and have been going ever since," Neuman said.
The process hasn't always been smooth.
"You have to sell yourself, you have to get yourself known out there and then prove yourself, which that was the most difficult part," said Neuman.
Helping with those difficulties and unique challenges is what Aikta Marcoulier with the Pikes Peak Small Business Development Center says the conference is all about.
"Not only are you getting those workshop trainings, but you also have an opportunity for one on one consulting with one of our consultants, but what's nice is it's focused on our Veteran community," Marcoulier said.
This workshop comes at a perfect time for Neuman as he's beginning to expand his business.
"I'm learning a lot about growing my brand, Dart Wars, into a national brand so it's going to be neat," said Neuman.
He plans takes the knowledge he's gained from this conference and from other resources long into the future.
"I'm just hyper focused on my current store, surviving COVID, keeping it going and the building process and the expansion process of opening a new store," said Neuman.
Roughly 80 small business owners were registered to attend the conference in person.
