Episode 9: From the Corps to Coaching — Finding Purpose After the Uniform

Guest: Brandon Smith — Former U.S. Marine, Entrepreneur, Coach

Host: Mike Wish

Runtime: ~29 minutes

Episode Summary

Brandon Smith spent six years as an enlisted Marine — motor transport operator with an artillery unit — before stepping into the civilian world and discovering that a 9-to-5 wasn't going to fill the void the Corps left behind. After stints at FedEx and an e-commerce company, he found his way to entrepreneurship as a path to restore purpose and serve others.

Now Brandon coaches veterans and first responders through the hardest stretch in business: going from zero to one. He runs Mental Momentum, a Skool community built around helping people land their first clients and transition into entrepreneurship.

In this episode, Mike and Brandon dig into the post-military identity crisis, why most new entrepreneurs focus on the wrong constraint, what 141 one-on-one calls and 20 straight rejections taught him, and why charging for your value isn't at odds with serving others.

Key Timestamps

1. [0:00] Intro and background — Brandon's Marine Corps service and transition out
2. [2:50] Why entrepreneurship? The identity gap after the military
3. [5:00] Lost sense of purpose and how entrepreneurship became the vehicle to serve
4. [6:00] Service and entrepreneurship are not incompatible
5. [6:45] Why veterans struggle to charge for their value
6. [8:00] Brandon's two-year journey and leading with free value too long
7. [9:30] Building teams to solve problems — the parallel between the Corps and business
8. [10:00] Who Brandon helps: veterans, first responders, and beyond
9. [11:30] The #1 problem: overwhelm — and how to create space before building a business
10. [13:00] Case studies: a former border patrol agent and a single-mother nurse
11. [15:00] Holistic coaching — health, relationships, mental bandwidth, and business are interconnected
12. [16:30] The real constraint: getting in front of people, not perfecting the product
13. [18:00] Every business is a people business — canvassing still works
14. [19:30] Mike's failed student coaching business and lessons from falling flat
15. [20:30] Brandon's rejection story: 141 calls, 20 consecutive nos, then the first sale
16. [22:00] The psychologist who required 100 rejections before entry — fear vs. reality
17. [23:30] Jocko Willink: "Besides death, all fear is psychological"
18. [24:00] Catastrophization — catching the spiral in students, clients, and yourself
19. [25:00] Where to find Brandon — YouTube, Skool, Mental Momentum
20. [26:00] Final question: What's the one thing you can't get wrong?
21. [28:30] Closing — why vets build communities

Key Takeaways

The zero-to-one gap is the hardest part of entrepreneurship. Most people get stuck because they focus on building and improving products instead of getting in front of people. The constraint is almost always distribution, not the product itself.

Post-military identity loss is real — and entrepreneurship can be the antidote. When structure, routine, and brotherhood disappear overnight, the void is deep. Building something of your own can restore purpose, but only if you're intentional about it.

Create space before you build. Brandon's coaching method starts with time management and eliminating noise — especially for people juggling jobs, families, and limited bandwidth. You can't grow a business if you don't have the mental capacity to think about one.

Rejection is the cost of entry. 20 nos before a yes. 141 calls in a year. The fear of rejection stops more people than rejection itself. Getting comfortable with "no" is a prerequisite, not a setback.

It's okay to charge for your value. Veterans especially tend to undervalue their expertise. Leading with free value is smart. Staying there forever is not. Your experience, your failures, your time — they're worth something.

Connect with Brandon Smith

1. YouTube: @BrandonSmithx
2. Skool Community: Mental Momentum

Connect with the Show

1. Website: teachcoachmentor.org
2. Host: Mike Wish — Educator, Coach, Entrepreneur