Minnesota-based database promotes veteran-owned businesses
MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) - You've probably heard of Angie's List, a database of businesses with customer reviews. But now there’s a database based in Minnesota that focuses only on veteran-owned businesses.
The database TrustVets.com helps a lot of veterans get on their feet after their service is complete by promoting their businesses.
“It's all veteran-owned businesses in the Twin Cities, it's kind of like Angie's List for the Twin Cities,” veteran Shaun Riffe said. “Everything is veteran owned."
We all have junk that we need hauled away, and that’s where veteran Shaun Riffe and his business Junk 360 come in.
“No you don't go to college and say ‘I'm going to be a junk hauler,’ but it's a business that fit all the things we wanted and we're having a lot of fun doing it,” Riffe said.
Riffe retired from the army after 25 years and he and his wife needed to find a new way to make money, but starting a new business is tough. And that's where Trust Vets came into the picture to promote Junk 360.
“I think when you talk to people they are surprised how many businesses there are,” Riffe said. “Painters, landscapers, artists, the whole gamut of businesses are out there."
The founder of the site knew that there were people out there who would seek out veteran-owned businesses as a way to say thank you -- and this is a brilliant way to bring them all together.
"They want to give back in some way, and by using a veteran-owned business this is their party to say thank you,” Riffe said.
Trust Vets is based in Minnesota but represents more than 200 businesses in 15 states. And beyond handy work, you can find veteran-run businesses for anything from greeting cards to chocolatiers.