ROUND ROCK, Texas — A Round Rock veteran turned a struggling business into one of the best pizza places in town thanks to local lenders seeking to help veterans.
Studies show fewer and fewer veterans are starting their own businesses. One reason is that many find it hard to get the finances they need, which is why Air Force Veteran Edward Youmans sought the help of PeopleFund.
Making pizzas comes easy because he learned all this at a young age...
"As a kid in New Jersey growing up making pizzas for five years before moving to Texas,” said Edward Youmans, owner of Pizza Delight.
From delivering pizzas as a teenager to now owning his own restaurant, Youmans has come a long way.
"We've almost doubled our sales,” said Youmans. “I don't think we could be at this point if it wasn't for the fact of understanding and applying military values to a workplace.”
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He said he joined the U.S. Air Force at 22 years old and is now in the reserves, but Youmans realized a few years ago he was ready to do his own thing full time. So, in 2016, he bought Pizza Delight in Round Rock with the help of a local lender and Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) called PeopleFund.
“It was just a matter of filling out paper work, turning in some bank statements, tax forms things like that,” said Youmans.
“We help them build their business plan,” said Grant Bennett with Veterans LLC and PeopleFund. “We help introduce them to mentors. We help them with their financial projections.”
Bennett said they've noticed the sharp decline in veteran entrepreneurs.
"If you look at WWII veterans, 50 percent of them came home and some point opened a business. That rate of entrepreneurship had been steadily on the decline," said Bennett. "It’s something that we’ve noticed. It’s something that we’re trying to kind of curb and help build.”
He said they do what they can to help by providing lower interest loans and educational tools because they know the challenges veterans face.
“You're moving from state to state, from country to country, and it's really hard to set roots,” said Bennett. “It’s hard to build credit, so when veterans look to open small businesses, they don't necessarily have credit history that normal people do that weren't in the military."
With a growing business that was named one of the best pizza places in Round Rock, Youmans hopes his story helps other veterans become business owners too.
"I would highly recommend that any veteran strongly consider being their own boss,” said Youmans. "My advice is to start early ... really get your finances in line and start probably 24 months from your service commitment ending or prior to your retirement date. Really funding and capital is one of the most critical things. Most people underestimate the amount of money it takes."
Bennett said PeopleFund lent $9 million to veterans last year. Youmans hopes to continue to grow his business and be able to rent a larger space soon.