CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – If you’re a military veteran and a business owner, or thinking about starting a business, there is a local nonprofit organization in Clarksville-Montgomery County, Bizvets Connect, offering support for veteran businesses.
Media Intern/Media Coordinator, for Bizvets Connect, Alexander Thomas, said the organization is essentially a place for veteran owned and veteran friendly businesses who are members, to connect with each other and refer to other businesses.
Bizvets Connect Founder, Tim Shank, said the organization is based on three principles. First, every month Bizvets members connect with each other to build relationships and through building relationships you can build a stronger economy through business interactions.
Second, Shank said every month we transact with each other to grow our community together, and help grow our businesses and grow our community and make money because that is what businesses do.
“Third, and probably the most vital and important situation is that everyone has a sphere of contact ranging from our family, our friends, to our professional acquaintances,” Shank said.
Shank emphasized that there are no fees in the group for people to participate. He added there are members of Bizvets who also belong to other local business organizations which are great relationships to foster and grow and Bizvets believes the more connections you have the better.
Erica Jennett, one of the owners of Ravenwood Coffee and a member of Bizvets Connect said the organization has helped their business in a number of ways. Ravenwood didn’t have the funds for a lot of advertising so they developed a relationship with Bizvets Connect.
There was a meeting at the coffee shop and other business owners came and tried their coffee and word spread and Jennett said their business boomed because we connected with these people.
Roger Lewis is the owner of A&A Lock Service, and also serves as a board member on the Bizvets team, adding that he has been with the organization since the beginning with A&A Lock Service having been around since 2002.
Lewis said they have been focused on reaching residential properties and since they have been with Bizvets we have started getting more into the automotive areas and Bizvets has really picked that up.
Lewis added that Shank’s has also spread the A&A Lock Service name in surrounding counties, and he has gotten calls from those areas. “Bizvets has been a real boost and a real good help,” Lewis said.
Brittany Hart co-owns Freedom Clean with her husband who is a veteran. Freedom Clean is a cleaning and laundry service in Clarksville which opened in January 2020 as laundry service and soon expanded to cleaning homes.
Hart said they are Bizvets members, and it is their favorite networking group in the community. Hart added that she was grateful and blessed with the support that Bizvets and Shanks has offered her business.
To learn more about Bizvets Connect or to become a member visit bizvetsconnect.com or call Tim Shanks at 931-449-9728.