Veteran Business Owners Capitalize on Military Service

For two years Joe Santoro has owned and operated Personal Property Managers, a business that provides a number of property management, operations and rental services for both B2B and B2C. His son Nick is president of the business.

Nick is also a service-disabled veteran of the Iraq war. As a Marine he served three tours in Iraq over four years, until he was wounded and medically retired. Just recently this father and son team was able to grow their business by turning Nick’s service in the military into a business advantage.

Joe and Nick learned of Vetwork Your Business, a program offered through the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce (GPCC). "I was impressed that the program even existed," Joe Santoro said. "The Chamber made a commitment to vets so we made a commitment to the Chamber. That’s why we joined."

During the same time period, the Santoros also joined the Chamber’s Supplier Network, Vetwork’s parent program, which is designed to better qualify smaller companies to do business with larger corporations. The Vetwork program takes the concept one step further by specifically focusing on the advantages that Veteran-Owned Businesses (VOB) and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Businesses (SDVOB) have when dealing with regional corporations and government agencies looking to satisfy their supplier diversity goals.

Initially not knowing what to expect, Joe Santoro was exhilarated after attending his first Vetwork event. "It was like a window being opened that we didn’t even know existed, with fresh knowledge coming in," he said. "As an entrepreneur, I see real value in the continuing education offered by the Chamber that you really can’t get elsewhere." In addition, the Chamber acts in a "matchmaker" capacity by facilitating networking among a variety of veteran-owned businesses and procurement officers with larger entities.

In the time that they have been with GPCC, the Santoros said they have been able to place their business "firmly on the radar screen" of several of the Chamber’s Supplier Network supporting companies, including Lockheed Martin and AstraZeneca, and have been officially designated as a service provider for Merck and Prudential. They have also developed business relationships with another veteran-owned business. "You really learn the power of doing business with other Chamber members," Joe Santoro said.

The Santoros plan to use what they have learned to grow their business and provide opportunities for other veterans. "Simply stated, we would not have the freedoms we have without the people who put their lives on the line for it," Joe Santoro explained. "Freedom is not free."

About Vetwork Your Business
Vetwork Your Business was developed for those who bravely served our nation by the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and proudly sponsored by Lockheed Martin Corporation, Merck and Centocor. It is an off-shoot of the Chamber’s Supplier Network, a program designed to better qualify smaller companies to do business with larger corporations through comprehensive training and networking sessions. Vetwork takes the program a step further by identifying Veteran-Owned Business (VOB) and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business (SDVOB) vendors that want to capitalize on their classification, and connecting them to regional corporations and government agencies that want to satisfy their supplier diversity goals. The Vetwork program is free for Chamber members. Visit vetworkyourbusiness.gpcc.com.

About the Supplier Network
As an educational and networking series supported by Citizens Bank, the Supplier Network (SN) program designed to better qualify smaller companies to do business with larger corporations. It prepares small to mid-size supplier businesses to pursue bids from large companies and government agencies, and develop relationships with regional procurement officers from SN supporting corporations. The program features comprehensive training sessions, ongoing exposure to procurement officers, exclusive networking events, special designation and online visibility, and advanced workshops. There is a one-time fee of $250 for Chamber members, good for the duration of a Chamber membership. Visit suppliernet.gpcc.com.