CY6 - Check Your Six

Craig Leysen rejoined me this week for the 112th episode of the Check Your Six podcast after being away for a bit. It was great to have him back in talking about veteran stuff. Most of it was talking about the benefits that veterans have available to them without even knowing it simply because we don't know where to start. We talked about using the https://www.va.gov site to get started in looking for the resources in your state. Using https://www.archives.gov/veterans/benefits to do a deeper dive into specific benefits and how you can obtain your service records. Using the VSO through your state VA department to start the process and a lot more. We just want to encourage veterans to use the benefits that you have earned through your service and get the help you need!! #veterans #military #VA #benefits 

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Air Force Veteran Trish Murphy stopped by GRP Studios for the 111th Episode of the Check Your Six podcast to talk about a couple of business topics. The first is her business, Marketing Smarty Pants that deals with you guessed it, marketing for your business. Obviously not just marketing, Smarty Pants covers a lot of the concepts and programs that help your business become more visible and appealing to potential clients. We also talked about her involvement with FAVOB, the Florida Association of Veteran Owned Businesses, its development and growth especially over the last couple of years. How FAVOB is working at bringing those nearly 200,000 veteran owned businesses into one place that civilians, government contractors and other businesses can find Veteran owned companies to work with. With 5 branches at the time of this broadcast, the sky is the only limit to what could happen with FAVOB!
You can check out her work with Smarty Pants at her website, https://www.marketingsmartypants.com

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The 110th Episode of the Check Your Six Podcast brought Jason Quint into the GRP Studios to talk about kitchens both as the owner of Signature Kitchens and The Outdoor Kitchen Guy! Jason talked about his transition from the CFO of companies like Home Depot and Bed, Bath & Beyond to owning and running his own business. Like many entrepreneurs, Jason was sure that his experience and expertise in being the CFO of national chains would make this simple, if he could not double the business  in XXX amount of years, he was not as good as he thought. Well again, like many entrepreneurs, most of us were not prepared for what happened in 2020 in regard to business. Jason talked a lot about his strategy in building the business, how they pivoted and changed direction with some of his actions, all to help the business adapt and grow!!

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Episode 109 looked back at Season 3 of the Check Your Six podcast and the guests that have either been in the studio or have been out on location. It has been very different without my Air Force cop buddy Craig with me in the studio hosting the podcast with me, hopefully we can get him back in for some special guest host episodes in this next season. It was a pleasure having all of the people take time out of their day to some in and sit down for a bit to tell their story, I am honored that they took the time to do that and also look forward to what is next for this podcast. Thanks to everyone that has joined in and if there is ever anything that you would like to discuss, let me know and we will see what we can do!!

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Brian Fitzpatrick stopped by the GRP Studios for Episode 108 of the Check Your Six podcast to talk about his business, The Discerning Detailer. Brian had moved to Central Florida from the Boston area and decided he had enough of the corporate life and after some research decided to open his mobile detailing business. He talked about why he chose this business, the things he continues to learn every day about his business and how best to promote and grow it. He also talked about the challenges of operating this type of business in Florida with the sun, the heat, sea salt, love bugs, tree debris and a variety of other things that can his job even more challenging.

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For those of us that live in Central Florida, I4 is more often than not, a long and torturous travel. However, the i4 Web Services owned and operated by Ed Pisani is anything but a long and torturous journey. He stopped by the GRP Studios for Episode 107 of the Check Your Six podcast and shared a glimpse of what he does and how he operates. There is so much ground to cover in the web design/web development space that we did not get even close to covering all of the topics but I loved hearing how he works, his "why" in regards to clients, family, community and so much more. It really was an honor to sit and listen to him talk about he much he values those he works with and interacts with on a regular basis. We both agreed that our friendship with Sean Esler is something to be treasured and we are both honored to consider him a friend, even if he doesn't like the computer platforms I choose!!

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Robin Nutter-Coleman, the owner of Luxury Pop Up Picnic Company stopped by the GRP Studios for 106th Episode of the Check Your Six podcast. Robins business is not really new and there are others do similar things but I had never really thought about how it would all work for her as an event planner. We talked about some of the challenges that she had in starting the business, including trying to explain exactly what it is that she does. Her desire to connect people and give everyone just a little bit of time to break away and enjoy a few moments of event that they don't have to think about. She also talked about some of the things she felt in some of her first meetings with other business owners in networking groups and how she does those meeting now. 

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The Check Your Six podcast made a visit to Mayweather Boxing and Fitness to speak with Army Captain Jocelyn Thomas about operating and managing a fitness facility. 
We covered several issues, many of them directed at the differences between leading and directing in the military vs the same functions in the civilian world. While many have not served and may not understand why there is a difference, a different mindset, dedication, drive and other factors that determine how we as veterans are motivated. She talked about being a servant leader, leading by doing, the difference between authority and influence and how she approaches that in the civilian world. She also gave shout out to Bodies By Design University in Atlanta where she received her certification and her instructors Mr. Cory and Mr. Doug!!

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The 104th Episode of the Check Your Six podcast brought Tony Smith into the GRP Studios to talk about his business Auto Lawn of Orlando. Robotic mowing is still fairly new to the states but evidently in other parts of the world they are pretty common, especially in Europe. Tony talked about his start in the industry, getting his business set up, some of the challenges in getting people to really look at this as an option for lawn maintenance as well as some other subject that involve robotic lawn services. Especially as we get older, this sound like a pretty good option to keeping a nice evenly cut manicured lawn with something that is among other things, an eco friendly solution. You can check out his website at autolawnoforlando.com for more details or to contact him about what he does.

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The 103rd Episode of the Check Your Six podcast brought Maria Hewitt into the GRP Studios to talk about her business, financial coaching. We talked about the experiences that she had that led her to do what she is doing today, the difference between a financial planner and a financial coach. Finding a path to financial freedom, the misconception about budgets being restrictive, an update on the old envelope system for cash called Qube Money, you can get 3 months free with this link, https://qubemoney.com/influencer/hewitt-coach/?affiliate_id=1218&transaction_id=102f2f42e5e2ea37a7bfb3cc1b6a15&affiliate_name=Maria+Hewitt+Financial+Coaching some of the excuses that people use for not getting a financial coach and so much more. There we so many things that we did not get to about finances that I may have to bring her back and discuss more. Maria has such a passion for helping people find that path that will lead to being more financially secure without have to make a lot of money. Great conversation today about things that most of us are just not aware of!! You can check out what she does at http://www.hewittcoach.com/ and see if she can help get you in fis-a-cal shape!!

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