In honor of Veterans Day, SCORE, the nation's largest network of volunteer, expert business mentors, has gathered statistics that show veterans are twice as likely to own a business as their civilian counterparts. Veterans, who make up eight percent of the U.S. population, are also 50 percent more likely than civilians to own two or more firms.

As of 2015, America's 21.4 million veterans own 9.2 percent of all U.S. firms:

• 20 percent of all veteran-owned firms have employees.

• Collectively, these firms employ 5.8 million people, and make $1.1 trillion in sales.

• Veterans with 20+ years of service have higher rates of self-employment, and officers are more likely to be self-employed.

Veterans tend to work in technical industries, with the top five being:

• Professional, scientific and technical services: 16.9 percent

• Construction: 15.5 percent

• Repair, maintenance and other services: 9.9 percent

• Real estate: 8.9 percent

• Retail: 8.1 percent

Most vetpreneurs rely on themselves to fund their businesses:

• 69.2 percent use personal or family savings and assets.

• 12.9 percent use credit cards or home equity loans.

• 9.8 percent use business loans from financial institutions.

• 1.9 percent use business loans from family or friends.

• 1.2 percent use government guaranteed/originated loans.

Helpful business resources for veterans include:

• SBA Boots to Business

• Department of Veteran Affairs

• Office of Veterans Business Development

• Veterans Business Outreach Center