Boots About Business

Jason Marchant won’t tell you to not get a degree, but he will tell you don’t let not having one prevent you from applying for a job.

That’s how he did it. And in a couple years, he went from a veteran in transition, and wondering what he’d do with his life, to having a career in sales and business card with the title of “president” of a franchise.

Today he leads a sales team for a company called Fine Tune. When he hires, he doesn’t require a college degree. Instead, he looks for people willing to put in the effort, and he’ll train them on the skills needed.

Jason is a former Marine that later served in the Army Reserve and deployed to Afganistan (there’s a lot of former Marines in the Army Guard and Reserve). On this episode, he shares how he wound up with a career in sales.

Show links:

1) Fanatical Prospecting by Jeb Blount

2) The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes

3) The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson _

After leaving the Army Starr Corbin took a job for which she felt she was overqualified. But she took it anyway and excelled. In few years, she was running the shop that eventually led opportunities with companies like CapGemini, iHeartRadio, and eventually her own consulting company.

Today she leads the software team for a robotics startup in Austin, TX. On this episode she describes how she made a career out of tech – and how she still relies the principles of project management and “servant leadership” she learned in the Army.

After Chuck Kluball transitioned out of the Army, he spent months applying for jobs and sending out resumes. In fact, he says he submitted about 400 applications and received no responses.

Zero.

Home Depot was at the top of his most wanted list and he sent some 40 applications to positions there and had the same result: No call backs. No interviews. And no job offers.

Still, he preserved, and he obviously is working for Home Depot today. On this podcast he explains what the experience taught him, how he finally landed a job, and shares advice he has for veterans seeking jobs in business.

Links discussed on the show:

Chuck Kluball on LinkedIn

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 things that helped him to be successful with a small business, are things he learned in the service – like an “insane” work ethic and organizational skills.

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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 development and operations. Today he’s a program manager at SERVEPRO, which is currently owned by the private equity firm Blackstone. He also gives back to the veteran community by supporting a charity called Legacies Alive.

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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 organizations big and small, with companies like AttackIQ and Northrup Grumman. Today he’s a senior cybersecurity executive at a large financial institution

While we’ve covered cybersecurity a couple times on the show, there is opportunity here because it’s a growing sector. And Chris has a truly unique background and a lot of stories, so I think listeners will enjoy it.

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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 Veterans Chamber of Commerce. There he works with an “ecosystem” of partners that build networks, programs and connections to foster business opportunity for veterans.

Having worked with many veterans and the organization that hires them, he shares some tips for veterans in transition on this episode.

Show links:

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 the Army – after he got out – to make that point.

Today he’s the vice president of Customer Experience at Bricata, which is a network security provider. In this episode, he shares how his uniformed experiences as an infantryman and paratrooper have influenced his career. He also describes how he got into cybersecurity and shares his advice for other veterans considering the field.

Show links:

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 a company– and also explains how his training in the Air Force lends itself to business.

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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 is a Senior Manager of Military Talent Acquisition for Amazon.

Amazon is a company that also strives to attract people that get things done. In fact, one of its leadership principles is all about getting things done: bias for action. He talks to us a little bit about that and describes some of the programs Amazon has in place to attract military veterans.

Links discussed on the show:

Beau Higgins on LinkedIn