Q.: I recently purchased a small tool-and-die business that I would like to expand. I’m told that, as a veteran, there are programs available to help me accomplish this. How can I take advantage of my veteran’s status?

A.: If you’ve planned your new small business well, you’ve learned a lot about your prospective customers even without meeting them. You know where they’re located, what their needs are, their buying habits and what influences them, and why they may be attracted to your products and services.

For this last facet, entrepreneurs who are veterans or were disabled in service to their country also enjoy another advantage. Federal agencies and private businesses are required to utilize veteran- and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses to satisfy government contracting requirements. Many private-sector businesses and individual customers also give veteran-owned enterprises priority when purchasing goods and services.

Of course, just being a veteran-owned business is not enough to start generating revenue; you must still offer products and services that are competitively priced and provide a level of expertise, quality and reliability that sets you apart from competitors.

It’s also essential that customers know about your veteran-owned business and what you have to offer. This can be particularly challenging, given that you may be entering a market that is large and diverse in both size and geography, and want to focus your limited start-up resources on the most promising marketing opportunities.

Fortunately, several online channels specifically developed for veteran-owned businesses make it easy to spread the word for little or no cost.

For example, there are the Vendor Information Pages of vetbiz.gov, managed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Center for Veteran Enterprise. With this free service, VA-verified businesses can register and create profiles that spotlight their location, size, experience and other features that may be of interest to customers.

Two other valuable online directories are buyveteran.com, part of National Veteran-Owned Business Association’s Buy Veteran campaign that seeks to promote veteran-owned businesses to both public- and private-sector consumers, and veteranownedbusiness.com. Both include easy-to-use search features that allow users to identify veteran-owned businesses that meet specific needs.

In addition to online directories, there are many trade shows and exhibitions designed to help veteran- and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses connect with prospective customers and each other. The largest of these is the National Veteran Small Business Conference and Expo, held each year at a different location around the country.

Sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs, in partnership with the Veteran Federal Interagency Council, the event combines a small-business conference with training on a variety of topics and an exhibit hall for displays and networking. The 2011 Conference and Expo, held in New Orleans, attracted more than 4,000 attendees and more than 420 exhibitors.

Other exhibitions spotlighting veteran- and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses are held on a local and regional basis. Internet searches and local VA offices can provide information about these, including location and registration/exhibition requirements.

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This column is brought to you by the Merrimack Valley Chapter of SCORE, with nearly 70 current and former business executives available to provide free, confidential, one-on-one business mentoring and training workshops for area businesses. Call 666-7561 or visit merrimackvalley.score.org for information on mentoring, upcoming workshops and volunteer opportunities. SCORE is a national, nonprofit organization and a resource partner of the U. S. Small Business Administration.

Have a question? Email it to info@score-manchester.org, with “Ask SCORE” in the subject line.