Veterans Small Business Week Conversation Starters Conversation Starters

What does your business do, in the words a customer would use?

How long have you been running your business?

What's the story behind your business name?

What's the best part of your work week?

What brought you to this event today?

Where's your favorite place to get work done outside the office?

What's a tool or app your business couldn't run without?

Who's your ideal customer right now?

What's something you're celebrating in your business this year?

What's a local business you love to recommend?

What's a skill from your service, or your spouse's, that shows up in how you run your business?

What was the moment you decided to go out on your own?

What resource or mentor made the biggest difference in your first year?

What's the hardest part of finding good people to hire?

How do you find new customers when word of mouth slows down?

What's one thing you wish you'd known before applying for funding or contracts?

How has moving or deploying shaped the way you built your business?

What kind of referral would make your month?

What's a mistake you made early that you'd warn others about?

Who in this room should you be talking to, and how can I help connect you?

What does success look like for your business five years from now?

What's been harder about entrepreneurship than anything you faced in service?

How do you protect your time with family while building something of your own?

What does it mean to you to be a veteran- or spouse-owned business?

When did you almost quit, and what kept you going?

What would you tell someone leaving the military who wants to start a business?

What's a value you've refused to compromise on, even when it cost you a deal?

Who carried you when the business was struggling?

What part of your identity has changed most since becoming an owner?

What legacy do you want your business to leave in your community?