Welcome to Veterans Business Base
Opening pathways for Veterans into Self-Employment
Veterans Business Base (VBB)
Is a unique and highly proactive charity with a proven track record of transforming the life chances of veterans throughout England and Wales by opening pathways into the world of self-employment and business start-ups.
Founded by husband and wife team Malcolm and Bridget Jones in 2009 as a result of involvement with the Beacon Veterans Specialist Centre at the Catterick Garrison, VBB has provided immediate, personalised and sustained support for more than 300 veterans.
Since its inception, the reputation of VBB has spread by word of mouth throughout the veteran community and, during the first COVID lock-down between March 2020 and March 2021, it received 73 enquiries from veterans seeking business advice.
VBB is now seeking external funding for the first time to scale up user engagement by developing a network of advisors who can work with many more veterans throughout the UK.
What is the point of Veterans Business Base?
There are over 1800 regional and national UK veterans charities. These charities typically focus on housing, debt management, rehabilitation and health issues. Some also offer training schemes designed to secure jobs for the unemployed.
Veterans Business Base is one of a small number of charities which offers veterans concentrated support on self-employment and business start-ups. It differentiates itself by its agility, responsiveness, personalised engagement and long-term commitment to its users.
After 13 years of operation, we have established a comprehensive evidence base that shows that, with the right support, the skills and experience that veterans acquire during their service careers can be translated into successful self-employment and business startups and that the Veteran Business Base approach can often play a critical role on that journey.
Successful veteran businesses are not only an inspiration to the veteran community; they also provide numerous benefits to their own wider communities and to the country as a whole by contributing to the tax base, offering employment opportunities for staff and removing pressure on the NHS.
Our Supporters
