The Veteran (Semi) Professional

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Alex went from flying fighter jets to running an e-commerce company, living abroad, and investing in real estate.  

He is one of the coolest cats I've met-enjoy!

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Alex is a first-year MBA student and founder of Organic Grit, a CBD company. 

We talk about founding a company on active duty, applying to MBA programs, and choosing a purposeful career. 

Resources mentioned:
Veteran's Adventure Group (veteransadventuregroup.org)

Outdoor Education Adventures & Wilderness Programs | Outward Bound | Outward Bound

Leading Veteran CBD Company. One Farm | One Strain | Organic Grit

Team-Based MBA Admissions Consulting | Stratus Admissions (stratusadmissionscounseling.com)

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I've had a number of franchisees and business owners on the show, but Mike is the first from the side of a franchisor (think: corporate).  He is the CEO of CertaPro Painting, where he gets to see how locations across the country perform inside their $700 million business. 

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First- Austin would be on my short list for Most Interesting Man in the World. 

- Air Force SOF
- Casually mentions going to Ukraine (during the war) 
- Tillman Scholar 
- Researched medicine for NASA

Plus he's just a legit dude.  

This is my first interview with a veteran pursuing medical school and there is a lot to learn here for any of you future MDs out there. 

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Shawn spent time in law enforcement and retired from the Navy and then decided he wanted to own his own business.  He partnered with WIN Home Inspections and has been loving every bit of it. 

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Today's guest is Stephanie Dasher, executive director of Warrior Surf Foundation (WSF), a Charleston nonprofit founded in May 2015. WSF works to provide free surf therapy, yoga, wellness classes and community to Veterans struggling with PTSD and other mental health challenges. Stephanie is a Veteran herself, having served in the U.S. Navy for five years, and would love to speak to you about the unique challenges that Veterans face and why they need our support now more than ever.

WSF’s 12-week Surf Therapy program strives to enhance the psychological and physical well-being of Veterans, active duty service members and their families, and teaches resiliency, positive psychology and goal setting. Stephanie has also been instrumental in organizing countless community-building and fundraising events, including a Golf Classic that raised over $310k this past spring.

Last year, WSF provided over 2,545 hours of direct support. To date, WSF has served more than 700 Veterans.

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Brian left the army and moved back home, eventually buying a small financial services firm and growing it.  We talk about how that helps tie him into his local community and how he uses his network and business to give back to other veterans. 

Brian McCarver, CFP®, CIMA® | Stonebridge Financial Group (stonebridgefg.com)

DOD SkillBridge Program (osd.mil)

Veterans Outreach of Pennsylvania | Harrisburg PA (veteransoutreachofpa.org)

Tunnel to Towers Foundation (t2t.org)

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Afterburner Fighter Pilots - Motivational Keynote SpeakersDown Range: A Transitioning Veteran's Career Guide to Life's Next Phase: Murphy, James D., Duke, William M.: 9781118790151: Amazon.com: BooksGet Expert Advice Instantly - Minnect

Jim "Murph" Murphy, the Founder and Chariman of Afterburner, Inc., has a unique and powerful mix of leadership skills in both the military and business worlds. After graduating from the University of Kentucky, Murph joined the U.S. Air Force where he learned to fly the F-15. He has logged over 1,200 hours as an instructor pilot in the F-15 and has accumulated over 3,200 hours of flight time in other high-performance jet aircraft. As the 116th Fighter Wing's Chief of Training for the Georgia Air National Guard, Murph's job was to keep 42 combat-trained Fighter Pilots ready to deploy worldwide within 72 hours. As a flight leader, he has flown missions to Central America, Asia, Central Europe and the Middle East. 

After years in the military, Murph returned to his love of business. Prior to his service in the U.S. Air Force, Murph had a successful career in imaging equipment sales, where he helped increase his company's sales by 500%. Years later, Murph became Director of Sales for a small paint company. Realizing that the concepts of the Flawless Execution model could be applied to business, he engaged the proven model — "Plan. Brief. Execute. Debrief." — and increased his company's sales from $5 million to $52 million. Realizing that many companies could benefit from these same concepts, Murph started Afterburner in early 1996. 

Through his leadership, Afterburner has landed on Inc. Magazine's "Inc. 500 List" twice. Murph has been regularly featured in such publications as The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, Inc. Magazine, Newsweek, Meetings & Conventions Magazine and has appeared on CNN, Fox News, and Bloomberg news to name a few. He has also been named as one of Atlanta's top 50 entrepreneurs by Catalyst Magazine. To date, the Afterburner team of elite military professionals has led over 1 million executives, sales professionals, and business people from every industry through Afterburner's Flawless Execution Model, and its unique, high-energy programs. Afterburner notable clients include the Who's Who of the Global 1000 list of companies. Murph's groundbreaking book Business Is Combat, is now in its third printing, and his latest book Flawless Execution was released May 1st, 2005 by Harper Collins publishing. Murph has spoken at the world’s notable business schools to include Harvard, Wharton, Cornell, Emory, and Duke. 

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Erik is the first stock trader I've had on the podcast and he talks about how he got started in investing and why he loves this path for building wealth.

CORE Leadership Program | Deloitte US

The Intelligent Investor Rev Ed.: The Definitive Book on Value Investing: Benjamin Graham, Jason Zweig, Warren E. Buffett: Amazon.com: Books

esInvests | Investing without the BS

 esInvests - YouTube

Erik @esInvests (@esInvests) / X (twitter.com)

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Jon is a prominent voice in the business acquisition community and got his start in buying businesses after leaving the Air Force. 

Resources Mentioned: 

Ep. 150: Enlisted Marine to Working at the VA, Supporting Veteran Entrepreneurs, and Founding a Veteran-Focused Marketing Firm with Barrett Bogue (buzzsprout.com)

Ep. 154: Working in Finance, Taking the Leap, and Connecting Veterans with Capital: Bill Militello from Localvest (buzzsprout.com)

Ep. 120: Army NCO to Business Owner by Acquiring a Small Business with John Hubbard (buzzsprout.com)

Buy and Sell Online Businesses & Websites - Empire Flippers

Jon Stoddard | LinkedIn