Veterans trying to start their own businesses could use more support to get their businesses off the ground, small business advocates told lawmakers last week, Military Times reported.

“We need something akin to a health care network, where we can manage the coordination and the navigation of veteran-owned businesses through [available] resources,” Michael Haynie, executive director of the Syracuse University Institute for Veterans and Military, told the House Small Business Committee. “It starts at the local community level, extends to the state level and then available increased federal resources, primarily from the Small Business Administration.”

Haynie also said that larger private sector companies could help veteran-owned businesses succeed.

“We often look at government contracting as the objective for veteran-owned businesses,” he said. “But the reality is, if you look at the supply chains of this country’s largest private sector businesses, they represent a remarkable opportunity to grow and catalyze veteran-owned business in this country.

SBA estimates that there are about 2.4 million veteran-owned businesses in the U.S., according to the article.

Air Force photo of a veteran-owned brewery by Airman Miranda A. Loera