Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | November 17, 2025 | Worcester Business Journal 13 Oct. 27 press release from the WBDC. is financing included a fee waiver through the National Association of Development Companies' VetLoan Advantage program. e military could step up its efforts to prepare veterans for entrepreneurship opportunities as they prepare to leave service, Nickerson said, even though it's not exactly in the military's interest to make leaving the service more appealing. "I went to TAPs class," he said of the Training Assistance Program, classes which prepare transitioning service members for civilian life. "ey tell you about the VA. ey tell you how to interview, how you should dress, but it's very-high level, cursory kind of stuff." At the state level, Massachusetts has seemingly fallen short in support of veteran business owners as well. A 2025 GBH report found the state has yet to meet its promise to make sure more state contracts were being awarded to veteran-owned businesses. In 2015, the state announced an effort to have 3% of state agency discretionary budgets go to veteran businesses, but has yet to meet that goal in any year in the decade since. "e big state jobs, that's where I think they could do something more to help veterans more there," Nickerson said. "We have a lot of post-9/11 vets that are coming up. ey could use the help I was givin in the 80s." From Fields' perspective, the Veterans Business Outreach Center, an effort by the SBA to provide resources to veterans, was an important boost to his transition into being a business owner. He stressed the importance of finding time to grab coffee with new faces and growing connections to the local business community, who he said has been eager to support veter- an-owned businesses. "What I found is a lot of people just want to help," Fields said. "I had a few great conversations with mentors and people that I respected, and the next thing you know, I'm connected to some- body that has a program with a bank that veterans can utilize." Veterans supporting veterans Cifichiello's advice to veteran busi- ness owners is to research the existing available support and to have all their paperwork in order, potentially to allow them to be certified as service-disabled veteran-owned. is designation allows for more access to federal contracting dollars. Buying an existing business is a promising way for veterans to get into ownership roles more quickly, he said. "ere's over $10 trillion in busi- ness assets that are held by people who are retiring or need to transition their business," Cifichiello said. "If you're a veteran, and the company that you're buying will be at least 51% owned by a veteran, your fees on the SBA are lower than a civilian." Nickerson, whose company's move to Sturbridge was supported by SBA funding facilitated by the WBDC and Rockland Trust, recommended prospec- tive veteran business owners turn to that federal agency for support. As he prepares to hand over the keys of N&T Mechanical Contractors to the next generation of leadership, Nickerson said his next mission is doing more to support the next wave of veteran-owned businesses. "I have been trying for two years to get into the government to talk about this stuff," Nickerson said. "Now that I'm turning this business over to my sons, this is my new passion." VETERANS IN BUSINESS F O C U S Veteran-owned businesses in the U.S. The top four industries for veteran-owned companies Sector # of veteran-owned companies Professional, scientific, and technical services 52,167 Construction 47,307 Health care and social assistance 33,663 Retail 26,288 Source: U.S. Censu Bureau, 2022 Annual Business Survey Peter Cifichiello, a partner at Worces- ter-based law firm Bowditch & Dewey who served in the U.S. Navy Member FDIC To learn more, contact: Peter Staiti SVP, Commercial Lending Center Manager 100 Front Street, Worcester, MA 508.769.5725 Peter.Staiti@RocklandTrust.com All loans and lines of credit are subject to credit approval and standard underwriting, which may require collateral and personal guaranties. Other terms and conditions may apply. Inquire with a Banker to learn more. Supporting local businesses. Building lasting relationships. $3,825,000 Owner-Occupied Real Estate Acquisition SBA 504 Loan Sterling, MA $8,622,000 Hotel Acquisition SBA 504 Loan North Smithfield, RI $3,904,500 Single Family Home Development Land Acquisition, Development & Construction Financing Southborough, MA $920,000 Equipment Financing Boylston, MA We don't focus on hiring veterans Veterans Day on Nov. 11 honored the 16 million military veterans in the U.S, including those who own 5.4% of all businesses in the country. The U.S. Small Business Administration does afford veteran entrepreneurs support services and training through its Boots to Business and Veterans Business Outreach Centers, although more calls are being made to help veterans transition to civilian life, including founding their own businesses. When polled online, the majority of WBJ readers said their companies don't focus on hiring veterans, although they are open to it. Do you seek out military veterans as potential employees for your company? Yes, they tend to be high-quality employees. 29% No, although we're open to hiring veterans, it's not something we focus on. 63% Yes, they provided our country with a great service, and we like to reward them. 7% COURTESY OF PETER CIFICHIELLO

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