The Challenges Of Running A Small Business From A War Zone

As all small business owners know, running your own company is to say the least extremely time consuming. Between balancing invoices, managing payroll, providing customer service, billing, product development and employee problems, there is hardly a spare moment for much else. Many find themselves working in the wee hours of the morning just to keep their small business afloat.

Unbeknownst to most people there are quite a few small business owners currently serving in the United States military. They are managing all types of businesses, from dentist offices and engineering firms to day-cares and construction companies. With the increase in overseas deployments for both the active, reserve and National Guard components of the military many small business owners find themselves with the almost insurmountable task of keeping their company alive during their overseas deployment.

In addition to being thousands of miles away, quit often connectivity with the rest of the world via email or phone is sporadic at best. The inability to communicate quickly and effectively only adds additional stress to an already stressful situation. For reservists and guard members the survival of their business during this 6 month to 1 year tour is essential to their and their familys future. They find themselves fighting a battle on two fronts; one for survival in a combat zone and another a struggle for the preservation of their future employment.

While some of these soldier led businesses are able to weather the storm, sadly many of these companies dont make it. The lack of communication, the inability to receive any type of contact via phone or return important phones calls at the right time, quite often proves to be an insurmountable problem. With the 10 to 12 hour time difference between the Middle East and the United States, these soldiers find themselves doing military work during the day and handling home business matters at night. This intense 18-20 hour work schedule quickly wears down the toughest warriors. Without a strong support network at home, someone who knows and understands all the ins and outs of the business, many critical and time sensitive business issues get overlooked. Even with much of modern day business matters being conducting exclusively online, the sporadic internet connectivity experienced in the Iraqi and Afghanistan war zones has proven to be a formidable enemy, not to mention the loss of the all important personal touch of face to face contact. The government has taken steps and enacted laws to protect the civilian jobs of deployed National Guard and reservists who are employed in the private of public sector but has done little for the self employed soldier. The number of deployments a self employed soldier has done over the past 5 years is not a factor taken into consideration for future deployments. Nor is the fact that the soldier is self employed. A large number of excellent officers and soldiers have been forced to choose between serving their country for a second or third time in Iraqi/Afghanistan or providing for the financial future of their families. Many have found themselves on year long deployments 2 to 3 times over the past 5 years. You will hardly ever hear one of these soldiers complain, they joined the military to serve and protect this nation. However, many are beginning to worry about how much their home businesses, not to mention their families, can take before they crumble. Sadly the military is losing many of its hardest working and ambitious soldiers and officers. Their families and their business just cant survive another year without them.