Veteran On the Move

George Diaz is the founder and Manager of Sua Sponte Design LLC a Graphic Design Screen Printing & Embroidery company out of Visalia California.  George founded 2 companies specializing in Graphic Design, Screen Printing, Embroidery and Friction Wrist Wraps. Tune in to his story, learn classic insights on business, and hear where you too can avail of his products!

George Diaz- From Military to Contract Work

George spent a total of 6 years in the army. He spent his last year with a long range reconnaissance unit in Texas. The army was trying to reenlist him, but he was ready to try other things.

So, he went home and did contract work for 2 years. His first work was installing a CRM system, and the second was doing diplomatic security. Eventually, he decided to end contract work and return home to be with his family.

“I started watching youtube videos about printing shirts and different things.  That is how I came up with the idea and when I got home I bought my first press and haven’t looked back since.” - George Diaz

The Start of a Business

George had the business idea while he was still in Afghanistan. He already had a lot of experiences in the business sector. His friend advised him to do something unique.

That was when he thought about printing shirts that sent out a message. By 2012, he started his own company called Sua Sponte which means “of its own accord”.  Additionally, he has another brand called Memorial Wraps.

Memorial Wraps, Hats, Jackets, Promotional Products

Memorial Wraps is the primary brand and is a fitness brand.  They manufacture friction wrist wraps to honor fallen soldiers, policemen and firefighters.  George has a dedicated machine to this brand as it is a lot of embroidery. This is the standard method of producing the wraps.

Now the business has expanded into hats, jacket, promotional products as the business has grown.  This includes a direct to garment printer and sublimation printer, new technology that produces a more durable print.

“The great thing about business is you really only need to be right one time.  You can fail a thousand times but if you get it right one time that is all that matters.” - George Diaz

To hear about more about Sua Sponte Design with Army Veteran George Diaz, download and listen to the entire episode. Leave us a 5-star rating and review if you enjoyed the show. We would love to hear from you!

Don’t forget to leave us a 5-star rating and review if you enjoyed the show. We would love to hear from you!

George Diaz links:

SuaSponteDesign.com

MemorialWraps.com

LinkedIn

Phone: 559-358-8357

Office: 313 North West Street, Visalia, California

Download Joe Crane’s Top 7 Paths to Freedom or get it on your mobile device. Text VETERAN to 38470.  

Show Sponsor

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Check out Veteran on the Move on Facebook to connect with our guests! It’s a great place where you can stay in touch with other veterans who are transitioning to entrepreneurship.  Get updates and free gouge on the people, programs and resources to help you in your transition to entrepreneurship.

Billy Vaughn has been involved with helping people in crisis his whole life. His family was involved in outreach ministry when he was growing up Arkansas, and as a United States Marine for 21 years he helped people in crisis all over the world. For the last nine years he has been involved in multiple recovery contexts in churches, rescue mission, and prisons and specializes in helping people recover from the effects of trauma. For five years Billy served as a Chaplain and Director of Guest Services at the Union Rescue Mission on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles. There he managed a staff of over 50 people and provided services and resources for over 700 guests per night experiencing homelessness.

Billy Vaughn- Unique Perspective

Presently Billy and his wife own a farm in northeast Arkansas and started a non-profit called Sanctuary Farm & Rest House (www.sanctuaryfarm.org). They plan to grow and sell organic farm products, have therapy animals, and help rehabilitate men and women who have experienced trauma, to include veterans, by teaching them organic farming and other self-supportive skills. They hope to welcome their first guests in 2019.

Billy served as an infantry Marine for 21 years, 11 of those enlisted and 10 as an officer.

“It gives you a unique perspective.” – Billy Vaughn

Transitioning

During Billy’s last year in the Marine Corps, he decided he would retire.  After retirement, he wanted to go to Seminary. His transition was pretty easy with little idle time between retirement and Seminary training.

“It was kind of like trading one identity for another.  I put being a Marine behind me and my new identity was being a Chaplain.” – Billy Vaughn

Sanctuary Farm and Rest House

Billy and his wife purchased farmland that was in their family and started the non-profit Sanctuary Farm and Rest House.  They wanted to help people in a different and simple way. His wife’s background is in horticulture and they paired that with the recovery experience.

“So we started this nonprofit that centered on the farm and bringing people,  veterans, people who've experienced different forms of trauma, to include people with addiction issues.  Maybe they'd been incarcerated, maybe they just have a hard time working or maybe they have a hard time transitioning from the military to do something else that it can be kind of like a soft place for them to land while they come here and spend time on the farm with us working with the animals, working with the land.” – Billy Vaughn

To hear more from Billy Vaughn and Sanctuary Farm and Rest House, download this episode.

Don’t forget to leave us a 5-star rating and review if you enjoyed the show. We would love to hear from you!

Billy Vaughn links:

Website

Download Joe Crane’s Top 7 Paths to Freedom or get it on your mobile device. Text VETERAN to 38470.  

Sponsor

Bench Bookkeeping is this episodes sponsor.  Being an entrepreneur, bookkeeping is a necessary evil.  To put your bookkeeping needs on autopilot check out Bench Bookkeeping and get one month free at veteranonthemove.com/bench.

Join the Veteran on the Move on Facebook!

Check out Veteran on the Move on Facebook to connect with our guests! It’s a great place where you can stay in touch with other veterans who are transitioning to entrepreneurship.  Get updates and free gouge on the people, programs and resources to help you in your transition to entrepreneurship.

Veteran On the Move podcast has published over 250 episodes. Our listeners have the opportunity to hear in-depth interviews conducted by host Joe Crane . The podcast features people, programs and resources to assist veterans in their transition to entrepreneurship.  As a result, Veteran On the Move has over 1,000,000 verified downloads through Stitcher Radio, SoundCloud, itunes and RSS Feed Syndication making it one of the most popular Military Entrepreneur Shows on the Internet Today.

Deborah Stegmaier is owner of New World Wellness and Founder and CEO of Well-Being for Warriors, Inc, a non-profit organization offering free holistic and energy medicine services to veterans with PTSD. She is an Army Veteran, entrepreneur, businesswoman, educator, holistic physical therapist, life coach and soon to be published author with over 38 years experience using integrative holistic therapies and energy medicine helping to heal mind, body, spirit of thousands of clients. She is passionate about changing lives to make a difference in this world.

Deborah Stegmaier- Passion for Helping Soldiers

Deborah started her journey at the University of Connecticut in ROTC and studied Physical Therapy.  Deborah was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant and served as a Physical Therapist for the Army and absolutely loved it.  She was stationed at Fort Knox and Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma after doing work in Texas.

“ We had the opportunity to work with doctors and do all kinds of testing, evaluations and screenings.  We were the TMCs, we saw the military guys before the docs even saw them. So I had freedom to learn and to help these soldiers.” – Deborah Stegmaier

Transitioning

When Deborah got out of the Army she had a rude awakening transitioning into Physical Therapy in the civilian world.  She didn’t have the freedom she had in the Army. Deborah had to learn another way since there were more rules and structure.  She stayed in the Army Reserves and started studying holistic therapy, manual therapy using her hands.

“I learned early on in my career that what I learned in school wasn't enough.  I was working with people with acute and chronic injuries and pain illnesses, disease processes.  And I just saw that there was so much more to healing that needed to be learned and used to help these people truly heal. ” – Deborah Stegmaier

Well Being for Warriors

Deborah used  her passion for  helping people and  holistic medicine to  start wellbeing for Warriors,  a nonprofit helping veterans with  PTSD.  Her heart and soul is committed to helping veterans with PTSD, mild traumatic brain injury, chronic pain and military sexual trauma.  

“We offer free, absolutely free holistic services to veterans, active duty and veterans who have a diagnosis of PTSD, mild traumatic brain injury, chronic pain or military sexual trauma.  And we offer a variety of things because everything we do is about mind, body, spirit, and energy because of who we are as human beings. We need to look at the whole person.” – Deborah Stegmaier

To hear more from Deborah Stegmaier and how she serves our military community download this episode.

Don’t forget to leave us a 5-star rating and review if you enjoyed the show. We would love to hear from you!

Deborah Stegmaier links:

Well Being For Warriors

Download Joe Crane’s Top 7 Paths to Freedom or get it on your mobile device. Text VETERAN to 38470.  

Sponsor

Bench Bookkeeping is this episodes sponsor.  Being an entrepreneur, bookkeeping is a necessary evil.  To put your bookkeeping needs on autopilot check out Bench Bookkeeping and get one month free at veteranonthemove.com/bench.

Join the Veteran on the Move on Facebook!

Check out Veteran on the Move on Facebook to connect with our guests! It’s a great place where you can stay in touch with other veterans who are transitioning to entrepreneurship.  Get updates and free gouge on the people, programs and resources to help you in your transition to entrepreneurship.

Veteran On the Move podcast has published over 250 episodes. Our listeners have the opportunity to hear in-depth interviews conducted by host Joe Crane . The podcast features people, programs and resources to assist veterans in their transition to entrepreneurship.  As a result, Veteran On the Move has over 1,000,000 verified downloads through Stitcher Radio, SoundCloud, itunes and RSS Feed Syndication making it one of the most popular Military Entrepreneur Sho...

Tom Schwab, Navy veteran helps you promote your business by becoming a great podcast guest.  In this noisy digital world, you can’t break through the noise, you just add to it. Instead, you need to get in on the conversation where your ideal customers are already listening. As a Navy veteran who ran nuclear power plants, and an inbound marketing engineer, Tom Schwab has a refreshingly unique approach. He focuses on time-proven strategy, then supercharges it with today’s technology and podcast interview marketing. An author, speaker, and teacher, Tom helps you get more traffic, leads, and raving customer fans by being interviewed on targeted podcasts.

Tom Schwab- Extended Experience

Tom went to the United States Naval Academy and earned a BSME in Mechanical Engineering.  He served aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln and was a nuke. Tom can trace the highlights in his life back to his time in the military.  It taught him that just about anything can be systematized, taught and refined.

“I always tell people, I've done two major things in my life.  One was run a nuclear power plant and the other one's running a small business.  And one of those was easier because it came with an instruction manual.” – Tom Schwab

Transitioning from the Navy to Corporate America

Tom transitioned from the Navy to a fortune 500 company in 1992.  He loved working there but found that his work community was quite small and he wanted something larger.  That caused him to go from the engineering side to the marketing side.

“But one of the things that really struck me probably within the first 18 months is that, I felt like I was on a submarine, right because my world was so small.  I used to joke that if I didn't work in the same building as you, go to the same church as you, or our kids didn't go to school together, I didn't know anybody.” – Tom Schwab

Interview Valet

Interview Valet is the leader in Podcast Interview Marketing (PIM), using targeted podcast interviews to talk directly to your ideal customers. As the premier full-service concierge level service, Interview Valet takes care of everything but the speaking. Podcast guest appearances are a cost effective, fast and scalable way to reach your ideal prospects. in just 30 minutes, listeners get to know, like and trust you. They arrive at your website ready to engage. That is why traffic from podcast interviews converts 25x better than blogs. Interview Valet goes beyond just making a connection between host and guest. They build an online marketing machine that turns listeners into leads. All you have to do is be the guest; they take care of the rest.

“You know, the interview is the one thing you can't outsource Sinatra only saying. But with that we can teach them, we can give them the professional equipment.  We can teach them the best practices and give them feedback.” – Tom Schwab

To hear more from Tom Schwab's journey and Interview Valet, download this episode.

Don’t forget to leave us a 5-star rating and review if you enjoyed the show. We would love to hear from you!

Tom Schwab links:

Linkedin

Interview Valet Website

Download Joe Crane’s Top 7 Paths to Freedom or get it on your mobile device. Text VETERAN to 38470.  

Sponsor

Bench Bookkeeping is this episodes sponsor.  Being an entrepreneur, bookkeeping is a necessary evil.  To put your bookkeeping needs on autopilot check out Bench Bookkeeping and get one month free at veteranonthemove.com/bench.

Join the Veteran on the Move on Facebook!

Check out Veteran on the Move on Facebook to connect with our guests! It’s a great place where you can stay in touch with other veterans who are transitioning to entrepreneurship.  Get updates and free gouge on the people, programs and resources to help you in your transition to entrepreneurship.

Veteran On the Move podcast has published over 250 episodes. Our listeners have the opportunity to hear in-depth interviews conducted by host Joe Crane .

Meriwether Ball, USMC historian and journalist, has provided pro-bono public affairs effort for Dr. Eugene Lipov since her successful treatment, relieving her of 50 years of symptoms.  Dr. Eugene Lipov is the pioneering anesthesiologist who developed the Lipov Block, the stellate ganglion block for treatment of PTSD.

“I don't have flashbacks, nightmares anymore and I have to tell you that it was so unfamiliar.  The first thing I said, Greg asked me how do I feel and I said, it's so noisy in here. He said that’s something, a lot of people who have had the block experience that the noise in your head is so loud.  I didn't realize that flashbacks had audio.” – Meriwether Ball

Meriwether Ball- Navy Reserve Cut Short

Meriwether went into the Navy Reserve in 1999 for just a few years as it was cut short.  She loved her time in the Navy and it was pivotal for her life. Meriwether wrote for the wire and was at a rate they no longer have, JO 3rd Class Petty Officer.  

“I was attached to the Quincy, Massachusetts Depot and they had a lot of, actually news on there.  A lot of visits from dignitaries and brass and some pretty interesting stories were written out of that little office in that little season of my life.” – Meriwether Ball

Transitioning From the Navy

Meriwether had a traumatic event in her family with her very young child when he was five years old.  She was serving in the Navy on a single parent waiver and had just gotten a divorce. The Navy couldn’t help Meriwether during this difficult time so she fought for and received an honorable discharge.  Over the years she has seen the Navy improving their support for families and children unlike when she served.

“I learned so much about military journalism in that short time and it changed me.  Being an AP correspondent before that and afterward my whole view of news writing shifted while I was in the navy reserve  .” – Meriwether Ball

PTSD Relief

Meriwether has had PTSD since she was a small child due to horrific childhood trauma.  She didn't want anybody to know especially in her professional life because she thought that it would work against her.  People that have PTSD want to be normal and fit in. She had an awful childhood and then went through domestic violence and a divorce.  Additionally, terrible trauma happened to her child and then a random act of violence occurred. Meriwether heard about the Stellate Ganglion Block and knew she had to be on the list.

“I don’t care if I have to sell the house, I will be in Chicago when you can have me.  It’s the only place that he performs it in his office in Chicago. I got an email back and one thing led to another and six weeks later on the 14th of July, 2017 I got my Stellate Ganglion Block.  And that moment that I woke up from that I have been a completely different person, completely different brain sets.” – Meriwether Ball

Corps Stories

Ordinary Marines. Extraordinary Lives.

“As head and founder, I launched Corps Stories to make inspiring feature stories of ordinary Marines available without cost or registration to the USMC community worldwide. My Board and I staunchly stand by our brand of transparent journalism - no story is written or runs without the approval of the story subject. We have no interest in harm and nothing to hide.  Semper fidelis.” - Meriwether Ball

To hear more from Meriwether Ball and her journey with PTSD and the Stellate Ganglion Block, download this episode.

Don’t forget to leave us a 5-star rating and review if you enjoyed the show. We would love to hear from you!

Meriwether Ball links:

LinkedIn

Corp Stories

Download Joe Crane’s Top 7 Paths to Freedom or get it on your mobile device. Text VETERAN to 38470.  

Sponsor

Bench Bookkeeping is this episodes sponsor.  Being an entrepreneur, bookkeeping is a necessary evil.  To put your bookkeeping needs on autopilot check out Bench Bookkeeping and get one month free at veteranonthemove.com/bench.

Kevin Lambert currently works as the Program Development Administrator for NEADS, World Class Service Dogs. He was the first veteran NEADS provided a dog to for PTSD in 2009. Previous to his current role, Kevin worked as the Director of Special Populations Programs and Services for the MA Department of Veterans' Services. Kevin is a combat veteran from the United States Army Infantry. He served with the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team out of Fairbanks Alaska and spent 16 months in IRAQ from August 2005-December 2006.

Kevin Lambert- Extended Experience

Kevin joined the United States Army and served from December 2004- December 2007.  He was based out of Fairbanks, Alaska and was infantry out of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team.  Kevin was a despondent machine gunner and served in Mosul, Iraq August 2005-2006. They were then extended the day the were to fly home to Baghdad as the initial surge from August 2006-December 2006.

“Some of our guys and girls were already back home in Alaska. Some were in Kuwait, my company was one of the last with boots on the ground and that night or early the next morning set to fly out. It was one of the rumors we never heard that we were getting extended so it was quite the shock.” – Kevin Lambert

Transitioning Cultures

When Kevin returned home from war, they discovered that he had fractured his L-4 bilaterally in his spine so his service quickly came to an end.  He had just reenlisted for 4 years and no intentions of leaving the Army.  Kevin was able to transition into a veteran program that understood the military culture and the needs as veterans come home from war.

“I was very fortunate that I was coming back to Massachusetts, I had previously connected with our Secretary of Veteran Services in the state who was a Medal of Honor recipient from Vietnam, Thomas Kelly. Through our connection as I was getting out he encouraged me to apply for a job in one of the new programs the department was forming to help prevent suicide and getting a job like that was crucial to my transition.” – Kevin Lambert

NEADS World Class Dogs

Kevin was working for the MA Department of Veteran Services and through some of his outreach he had met with staff at NEADS.  It was one of the first organizations to provide service dogs at Walter Reid for some of the physically disabled and hearing impaired disabled veterans.  NEADS wanted to create a program for veterans returning from war with PTSD.

“They were training dogs to assist veteran with the PTSD symptoms; I was fortunate enough that they said if I wanted to participate in their research program we’d be happy to have you.  It was the right time, right place, said yes to the right thing. I ended up accepting the first dog that they gave to a veteran during the research program in July 2009.” – Kevin Lambert

To hear more from Kevin Lambert and how NEADS serves our military community with PTSD, download this episode.

Don’t forget to leave us a 5-star rating and review if you enjoyed the show. We would love to hear from you!

Kevin Lambert links:

NEADS World Class Service Dogs

Download Joe Crane’s Top 7 Paths to Freedom or get it on your mobile device. Text VETERAN to 38470.  

Sponsor

Bench Bookkeeping is this episodes sponsor.  Being an entrepreneur, bookkeeping is a necessary evil.  To put your bookkeeping needs on autopilot check out Bench Bookkeeping and get one month free at veteranonthemove.com/bench.

Join the Veteran on the Move on Facebook!

Check out Veteran on the Move on Facebook to connect with our guests! It’s a great place where you can stay in touch with other veterans who are transitioning to entrepreneurship.  Get updates and free gouge on the people, programs and resources to help you in your transition to entrepreneurship.

Veteran On the Move podcast has published over 250 episodes. Our listeners have the opportunity to hear in-depth interviews conducted by host Joe Crane .

Aaron Walker, Big A, is a 39 year entrepreneur, business owner, Dad and Husband. He leads a group of men in a Mastermind called ISI (Iron Sharpens Iron). As author of View from the Top, he outlines his journey in this episode.  

Aaron Walker-God, Character and Integrity

Aaron grew up in a very poor household but his dad taught Aaron about character and integrity.  He started working in a pawn shop at 13 years old. At age 18 Aaron approached two men with money and proposed that they open a pawn shop together and they formed a business.  God blessed the business fourfold and Aaron eventually sold his business and was retired at 27 years old. But retirement wasn’t what he thought it would be. He lost his way.

“We got to fill a sense of productivity.  We’ve got to have a sense of meaning; we’ve go to have a sense of purpose in our lives.” – Aaron Walker

Pivotal Moment in Life

Aaron's life came to an abrupt halt on August 1, 2001 when he struck a pedestrian crossing the street with his car and killed him. Aaron was devastated.  He took five years off after selling the business again and went to counseling.  He then started a construction company and retired after 8 years.  Eventually Aaron created a Mastermind, ISI that now has 132 members from 9 different countries.

“I am a creator, developer, I am not a maintainer manager.” – Aaron Walker

Iron Sharpens Iron Mastermind

How it started:  Aaron was at a Mercy Me concert and Dave Ramsey, a friend of his was sitting in front of him.  Dave invited Aaron to join his mastermind group. Aaron didn’t know the first thing about masterminds but he joined.  He went week after week and was hooked!  He found that the more significant that he was with others the more successful he has become. 

“They taught us that you need to vulnerable, and honest, and authentic transparent and I had never been in that environment.” – Aaron Walker

Having a Growth Mindset

Aaron wants everyone to be encouraged to have a can do attitude.  With education, training and a growth mindset your life will become a positive journey.  Don’t live a life of being afraid. Eliminate the fear in your life and you will be successful.

“Don’t ever measure yourself against anybody else because you will always be sorely disappointed; do your own thing, stay in your own lane and do what you’re called to do.” – Aaron Walker

To hear more about Aaron Walker’s business journey, download and listen to the episode!

Connect with Aaron Walker

Facebook

Website

Twitter

Book:  A View From The Top

Download Joe Crane’s Top 7 Paths to Freedom or get it on your mobile device. Text VETERAN to 38470.  

Sponsor

Bench Bookkeeping is this episodes sponsor.  Being an entrepreneur, bookkeeping is a necessary evil.  To put your bookkeeping needs on autopilot check out Bench Bookkeeping and get one month free at veteranonthemove.com/bench.

Join the Veteran on the Move on Facebook!

Check out Veteran on the Move on Facebook to connect with our guests! It’s a great place where you can stay in touch with other veterans who are transitioning to entrepreneurship.  Get updates and free gouge on the people, programs and resources to help you in your transition to entrepreneurship.

Veteran On the Move podcast has published over 250 episodes. Our listeners have the opportunity to hear in-depth interviews conducted by host Joe Crane . The podcast features people, programs and resources to assist veterans in their transition to entrepreneurship.  As a result, Veteran On the Move has over 1,000,000 verified downloads through Stitcher Radio, SoundCloud, iTunes and RSS Feed Syndication making it one of the most popular Military Entrepreneur Shows on the Internet Today.

Copyright © 2019 Veteran on the Move

David Burnett was born and raised in Parker, Colorado. After a few semesters of college he decided it wasn't for him and he enlisted in the Army in 2008. He was stationed with 563rd ASB as a 15U (Chinook Helicopter repairer). After realizing his job in the regular Army wasn’t as fulfilling as he had hoped, he applied for 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment SOAR. Making it through the unit's five week selection process he began his journey as a Special Operations crew chief. He went through countless years of training and deployed with the unit five times before deciding he wasn't going to reenlist. David currently has written and published a best selling book about his time in Special Operations titled Making a Night Stalker. He also founded a company, Tac-Clamp, which is based on a quick reaction clamp he invented and patented to be used to aid soldiers on the battlefield

David Burnett- Early Days in the Army

David was  a struggling  college student studying  aviation technology in Denver  and wanted to  pursue something  in the rotary wing  industry. He joined the  army in the hopes of flying  helicopters. David wasn't actually  a pilot but did end up working on maintaining  the CH-47 Fox model Chinook. He then transitioned  over into the special operations community and was  a crew chief on the MH-47 Gulf Chinook with 160th shore.  David finished off his military career was with 160th and that's  primarily what his new book is about.

How The Book Came To Be

While David was transitioning out of the service ran into some issues and ended up going to the VA to mitigate the issues through counseling.  The counselor said to write stuff down, so at the onset this wasn't going to be a book. As he started writing things down his paragraphs turned into chapters and then the chapters manifested into about 30,000 words.

“And at that point, you  know, everything was chronologically laid out and I said,  well this is kind of taking on the shape of a book, so I'll  just, I'll just write a book. So that was in 2014.  Fast forward to the end of  2017, I finished the book December 2017 and then submitted it to the Pentagon in January 2018.  And at that point I knew I was going to self publish, so I needed a, I needed funding to cover costs of cover art, formatting, editing and everything that goes into self publishing a book. So I launched a crowdfunding campaign on the kickstarter platform and a failed miserably.” - David Burnett

Raising Funds

The majority of the funds were raised from David’s instagram audience and he was able to track where the backers come from on instagram.  David had built his instagram following from just around 500 to a thousand followers to 10,000 followers after the second launch.

“And that was a main contributing  factor - building your audience around an idea  before you actually launch the campaign. I would fathom that was largely contributed to the success of the second go around.” – David Burnett

Author and Inventor

When David got out of the army he started thinking about a time on the flight line from Afghanistan.  They would have guys come on board and attempt to hang their gear weapons system from the seat rails in the Chinook.  Of course that works under the flight line floodlights,  but when they go to land on a target where the inside of the helicopters all blacked out, they would see guys struggling to unhook what they had just hook hooked up to the seat rails.

“So  I said  I'm going to invent something to where you can clamp it on the inside of the Chinook, whether it's vertical or horizontal or where however you want to annotate it and hang whatever  you need to hang from it.  And then have a quick release pull tab that whatever's hanging from it when you pull that tab drops whatever's hanging from it and the user can exit the aircraft.  And so that was the concept, the idea and the solution to this problem.” – David Burnett

Don Hutcheson is a lifelong entrepreneur, inventor, author and coach. He hosts the podcast: “Discover Your Talent—Do What You Love,” three days a week, which he created to help you find your true talents and use them to build a career of success, satisfaction and freedom. He’s never had a “boss” and has created 6 innovative companies in advertising, publishing, coaching and career planning—and now on the Internet—over the last 40 years.

Don Hutcheson- Lifelong Entrepreneur

Don was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia.  He was educated there in public schools and attended Emory University.  Don served 3 years in the United States Army in Military Army Security Agency.  He was set to take a teaching job when a friend of his started a magazine and asked him to join him in the magazine field.

“After 6 companies later in the fields of publishing, advertising and career planning and now on the internet I have been a lifelong entrepreneur.” – Don Hutcheson

Strategically Transitioning

Don has learned over the past 45 years as an entrepreneur that you must first answer the question “who?”  Most start with their “why” or their “purpose.”

“If you don’t know your who and you don’t know who you are from every perspective possible, not just your skills, but your abilities and your values and your personal style your stage of adult development. If you don’t know who you are and how you engage the world it is virtually impossible to then do that strategy to figure out your why your how and your when.” – Don Hutcheson

In order to find out who you are there is an assessment that will tell you what your innate abilities from the inside out.  It is a 3 hour test that can tell you your innate problem solving communications and learning styles that no other assessment does.  Don has also put together another assessment to figure out your innate abilities .

Discovering What You Are Good At

Using the assessment that Don talks about in his interview also helps a person figure out what they are good at.  It is likely that younger people could learn early on their strengths and weaknesses to lead them in a more practical and applicable pathway that fits their abilities.  

“A person who knows the range of his abilities is better able to use them in his life and work and in his relations with others, including his fellow workers..” – Don Hutcheson

To hear more from Don Hutcheson download this episode.

Don’t forget to leave us a 5-star rating and review if you enjoyed the show. We would love to hear from you!

Don Hutcheson links:

LinkedIn

Download Joe Crane’s Top 7 Paths to Freedom or get it on your mobile device. Text VETERAN to 38470.  

Sponsor

Bench Bookkeeping is this episodes sponsor.  Being an entrepreneur, bookkeeping is a necessary evil.  To put your bookkeeping needs on autopilot check out Bench Bookkeeping and get one month free at veteranonthemove.com/bench.

Join the Veteran on the Move on Facebook!

Check out Veteran on the Move on Facebook to connect with our guests! It’s a great place where you can stay in touch with other veterans who are transitioning to entrepreneurship.  Get updates and free gouge on the people, programs and resources to help you in your transition to entrepreneurship.

Veteran On the Move podcast has published over 250 episodes. Our listeners have the opportunity to hear in-depth interviews conducted by host Joe Crane . The podcast features people, programs and resources to assist veterans in their transition to entrepreneurship.  As a result, Veteran On the Move has over 1,000,000 verified downloads through Stitcher Radio, Sound Cloud, itunes and RSS Feed Syndication making it one of the most popular Military Entrepreneur Shows on the Internet Today.

Luis Reyes Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Luis Reyes is the Senior Enlisted Advisor for the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (Exchange) headquartered in Dallas, Texas. In this capacity, he serves as the focal point for communications between Exchange leadership and Army and Air Force active duty, Guard, Reserve, family members and retired patrons. He travels to Army and Air Force installations worldwide to present updates on Exchange activities and provides feedback on issues affecting customers. The Exchange is a non-appropriated fund entity of the Department of Defense. Established in 1895, the Exchange today is the 61st largest retail organization in the U.S. With annual revenue of $8.6 billion, the Exchange employs approximately 35,000 associates, including military personnel. In 2017, the Exchange produced $376 million in earnings, all reinvested into the military community.

Luis Reyes- Experience in the Air Force

Luis has been serving for 21 years.  He is in communication career field and started off in Oklahoma City as a Tactical Telephone Switch, then to Camp Humphreys in same type of job, next to Aviano Air Base where he worked in a comm center.  Luis also did a couple of Embassy tours in Turkey working in comms and then headed to Spain. Everything in his whole career has dealt with communication.

“It has adapted, with cyber and the whole landscape of the internet has drastically changed.” – Luis Reyes

We Go Where You Go

At AAFES, Luis is the focal point between the civilian leadership and the customer base. From active duty to veterans, he is there to provide feedback that he gets from the field.  Luis works at command fields to make sure they have what they need to serve the greatest military in the world. From online services, to hiring employees with military connections AAFES is there to take care of its customers wherever they are.

“When you’re overseas, you want that taste of home and AAFES brings that.” – Luis Reyes

Employees Volunteer to Deploy and Serve

Luis is most proud of the 4,500 members from the Exchange that have deployed to go down range.  These are volunteers and they want to be there to serve and take care of the customers. 85% of AAFES  employees have a military connection.

“Every time I hear that I get goosebumps, I get excited to know that they want to be there to serve and take care of our service members.” – Luis Reyes

To hear more from Luis Reyes and how AAFES serves our military community, download this episode.

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Luis Reyes links:

LinkedIn

Exchange Website

Download Joe Crane’s Top 7 Paths to Freedom or get it on your mobile device. Text VETERAN to 38470.  

Sponsor

Bench Bookkeeping is this episodes sponsor.  Being an entrepreneur, bookkeeping is a necessary evil.  To put your bookkeeping needs on autopilot check out Bench Bookkeeping and gety one month free at veteranonthemove.com/bench.

Join the Veteran on the Move on Facebook!

Check out Veteran on the Move on Facebook to connect with our guests! It’s a great place where you can stay in touch with other veterans who are transitioning to entrepreneurship.  Get updates and free gouge on the people, programs and resources to help you in your transition to entrepreneurship.

Veteran On the Move podcast has published over 250 episodes. Our listeners have the opportunity to hear in-depth interviews conducted by host Joe Crane . The podcast features people, programs and resources to assist veterans in their transition to entrepreneurship.  As a result, Veteran On the Move has over 1,000,000 verified downloads through Stitcher Radio, Sound Cloud, itunes and RSS Feed Syndication making it one of the most popular Military Entrepreneur Shows on the Internet Today.