Boots About Business
Support for our military veterans has never been higher than it is today. Many businesses have an interest in employing veterans, but they don’t know how to connect, and they don’t really understand the skills veterans can bring to their business. Something similar can be said about veterans in transition and their understanding of the business world. Hi, I’m Frank Strong, I’m a veteran, I’ve worked in businesses of all sizes, small-, medium and large, today I’m a business owner and now, I’m hosting a podcast called “Boots about Business.” We interview business leaders, executives and entrepreneurs that all started their careers wearing boots in service of the US armed forces. This podcast will be equal parts about sharing great stories, helping veterans, helping businesses and ultimately helping them both understand each other. The show is available wherever you get your podcasts. Keep an eye on the show’s website for show notes and links resources discussed on the show.
Episodes
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Many of the lessons Michael Winters applies to his small business, he learned in the Army. He and a buddy started researching what it take to open a landscaping business while he was still wearing the uniform. In fact, they started mowing lawns part-time, in off duty hours, to get things going. It wasn’t easy, but then Mike says a lot of the th...
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It was 9/11. That’s what gave him the motivation to join the service. DJ Faldowski went on to graduate from Annapolis and serve in the Navy SEALs. He spent nine years in the Navy and multiple deployments before he decided to transition out.
He wound up working in private equity, which is an elite aspect of finance. He later moved into business d...
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Christopher Kennedy joined the Marines as a communications officer, and almost by accident wound up in cybersecurity. Cybersecurity was still a nascent industry then, but the experience served him well over his career.
He’s worked in high profile cybersecurity gigs across multiple vertical markets, including government and finance, and also in o...
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Adam Braatz joined the Air Force to play the piano. A professional trained musician, he was among the few that audition and selected for the Air Force band. That experience took him around the world – before transitioning to a Military Training Instructor (MTI).
Today he serves as Vice President, Communications & Programming at the Wisconsin ...
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Some veterans struggle with finding purpose after military service. It’s hard to match the idealism of uniformed service – that is being part of something bigger than oneself.
Kent Wilson, however, found purpose in his work in cybersecurity. The mission is very real every day, but it took a dinner with some old buddies that were still serving in ...
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Some of the conventional popular food delivery services are missing important elements: tamper proof measures, temperature control technology and other food safety issues. That’s a big part of where Timothy Dance sees a niche for his business idea. An Air Force veteran turned chef and entrepreneur, he walks us through his plans as he builds out ...
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One of the skills Beau Higgins says veterans bring to business is an ability to operate in chaos. That is when things are chaotic – veterans learn to focus on getting things done.
For 25 years, Beau got things done in the Marine Corps. He’s a retired colonel that held roles from intelligence to Marine Recon and went all over the world. Today, he ...
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Nathan Iglesias joined the California Army National Guard right after 9/11 – and after graduating college he essentially spent the next six years on active duty. He was trained as an intelligence officer, attended the military’s language school where he learned Dari, and later deployed to Afghanistan.
He eventually came off active duty and wa...
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When Jaime Chapman married into the Army, she experienced firsthand how difficult it is to find a job or maintain a career. While she did find work as a DoD contractor running programs for veterans in transition, the contract nature of the work meant her employment was subject to budget constraints.
Despite three promotions, when she was laid of...
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Craig Hatcher joined the Navy as a Nuclear Machinist Mate looking after the reactors and associated equipment that powered the nuclear ship to which he was assigned. He later got out, and worked for UPS, until his wife’s interest and budding career in real estate drew him in as well. Today, Craig runs his own real estate brokerage.
On this episo...
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When Herb Thompson was getting ready to retire from the Army, he had no idea what he would do next in his career. However, the uncertainty is something he was trained to deal with, and he used those skills to start planning his next mission to the civilian world.
He didn’t know much about LinkedIn, but he got on it and just reached to people askin...
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Todd Connor is a Navy veteran that has really done some interesting things. He’s worked for big companies like Booz Allen, he’s run his own consulting firm, and he’s even run for elected office. However, two of the things that he’s done that we’ll talk about on the show is an organization he founded called Bunker Labs and a book he has coming out w...
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November 10, 2020 • 4 min
My friend Tom Deierlein posted an update to LinkedI (https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6732017553482235905/)n that reads:
To all my Veteran friends:
When people thank you for your service tomorrow and all days. Don’t say "you’re welcome." Tell them how you really feel:
"It was my honor and a privilege."
Tom was the first interview for this podcast series -- so it you haven't listened yet, g...
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Veterans are quick learners that are loyal and perform well under pressure. They have a sense of integrity, selflessness, teamwork and resiliency. However, articulating these things and other transferable skills onto a civilian resume one of the hardest things for veterans in transition to do.
So says Elliott Marks who has had two careers in rec...
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Joshua Wilson is a Corporate Relationship Manager at America's Warrior Partnership. The organization is a non-profit aimed at empowering communities to empower veterans. That involves many different things, but Josh is focused on helping businesses set up military affairs programs.
Military affairs programs are designed to help businesses attr...
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When Gable Eaton saw how many pizzas his peers assigned to Marine Barracks at 8th & I ordered, he saw an opportunity. The (then) young Marine came up a plan to open a Dominoes Franchise nearby…but there was one barrier: as an active duty Marine, he’d need the Colonel to sign off on his paper work, and he didn’t quite see the opportunity the sam...
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Sometimes veterans struggle to translate what they did in uniform into skills that make sense in the civilian world. Ruthie Bowls spent eight years in the Army working in intelligence. When she got out of the service, she went to work for a government contractor doing much the same thing.
Still, she wanted something more and one thing the Army ...
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There’s a talent shortage in cybersecurity and it’s been that way for several years. Because of that shortage, some analysts forecast millions of cybersecurity roles will go vacant over the next few years.
One source of cybersecurity talent is veterans because they have a natural inclination to protect information and gauging risk. That’s accordin...
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He was certain he’d drafted for Vietnam in the next 90 days. Rather than wait for the notification, he decided to shape his destiny and volunteered to join the Army. That was many years ago, but today, Bill Williams helps veterans shape their destiny when they decide to leave the service and transition back to civilian life. He runs a small compa...
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She went West Point and he went ROTC at the University of Alabama. They both wound up as military intelligence officers that first met at a pizza shop where they were stationed. Over time, that meeting grew into marriage, and the partnership would extend beyond the service when the pair went into business together and opened up a law firm...
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