While protecting our country and way of life, U.S. military personnel learn key lessons along the way. Thanks to their military training, those veterans who choose to run their own businesses can often have an advantage over the competition.
From leadership lessons from the military to discipline and the power of teamwork, the skills honed during service can often prove to be a game-changer. The following veteran business owners have found the lessons they learned during training and service have translated to entrepreneurial success.
The Power of Intense Focus
Training in the military concentrates a great deal on being prepared. Military service members are taught that preparation can require intense focus. This is especially important when it comes to protecting and saving lives.
Gregory Rada served in the U.S. Air Force as a cargo aircraft loadmaster. His job entailed loading and unloading the planes, calculating weight and balance to ensure safe flights, and performing in-flight duties such as taking care of passengers and scanning for enemy threats. This work took him on more than 150 missions into Iraq and Afghanistan.
After leaving the Air Force, Rada obtained a law degree and today is a veterans benefits attorney with his company AfterService.com. He has found his military training shaped the way he approaches difficult challenges, and that directly translates to running a small business.
“In the military, especially as a loadmaster, maintaining an intense focus on the task at hand was vital,” says Rada. “Whether it was calculating weight and balance or scanning for enemy threats, any lapse in concentration could result in a catastrophic failure. What I learned during my service has been instrumental in how I handle all aspects of my law practice.”
Better Teamwork
Team collaboration is imperative for those serving in the military. Those who join the armed forces immediately learn from military leadership training the concept “there is no I in teamwork.” Service members discover early on that one of the most important leadership qualities is being able to bring together the team and encourage cooperative work.
Joseph Gutheinz learned vital team building strategies during his service with the U.S. Army as an intelligence officer and aviator. Today, he runs Gutheinz Law Firm, LLP with his law partners and sons, who both also served. The father and sons team dedicated the business to the memory of his late father, their grandfather, who also served and was a lawyer.
“We owe our law practice’s success to the fact that the military taught us to work together as a team,” says Gutheinz. “We each have classic type A personalities, but serving instilled discipline and gave us the skills to reign in our oversized personalities and egos for the sake of the mission, which is to successfully defend others while making a good living doing it.”
Advanced Leadership Skills
With a focus on military preparedness and excellence, leadership skills can be a natural byproduct of serving. The military strives to develop strong leaders, and that translates well to running a small business.
“Leadership is something I carry with me every day in my personal and professional life thanks to my military service experience,” says Charlie Watkins, owner of Waters Edge Winery & Bistro of Etown. He served in the U.S. Army for 22 years, including several deployments around the world.
“As a leader, I hold my employees to a high standard and keep them accountable for their actions,” says Watkins. “In the hospitality industry, you must adapt and adjust to satisfy each guest. I pride myself in training my employees to understand their strengths and weaknesses to set them up for success with all their interactions.”
Adaptability
Navigating the diverse environments common during military service teaches adaptability and agility. When you’re traveling unknown terrain or faced with new situations, you can learn to become flexible. And that flexibility can often lead to business success.
This has been the experience of Luvyna Mantle, who owns Mantle & Co., a CRM (customer relationship management) tech setup company for small- business owners. She is also co-owner of her family’s beef production farm Dutch Creek Cattle Co.
Mantle has worked for the U.S. Air Force and was an U.S. Army spouse. Her military background included being stationed in Germany for several years at a large NATO training base.
“My military experience transformed me, teaching me strength, the ability to adapt and change quickly, and incredible teamwork skills,” says Mantle. “These skills have been crucial to the success of my two businesses. As a result of my military training, I'm not afraid to pivot and try new things when something doesn't work. I know I can accomplish just about anything I set my mind to. That mindset is 100 percent thanks to the military.”
Superior Decision-Making Skills
Those who embark on a career in the military discover that much of their work can be results driven. They also find that a superior decision-making process is key to achieving those results. This focus on making good choices includes zeroing in on employee output and the productivity of employees.
Paul Cucinotta, who served with the U.S. Marine Corps for three decades, owns the business consulting company ZeroMils with his partner Kevin Schmiegel, also a former Marine. Their company name is derived from the term used in the military to describe a state of perfection that accounts for accuracy and effectiveness. ZeroMils’ mission is to connect corporations and nonprofits that support military and veteran-connected families.
“The entrepreneurial nature of small-business ownership can often feel like you are in crisis mode, especially in the early days when you’re trying to build a business from the ground up with a small team,” says Cucinotta, whose service included multiple combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. “My time in the military taught me to manage crises daily, and these universal lessons have helped our company thrive while we work tirelessly to make our vision a reality.”
Cucinotta uses the detailed planning process he learned in the military to chart business decisions and moves. “I learned to conduct Operational Risk Management, which is a process to recognize, assess, and mitigate, or in some cases avoid, the risks associated with military operations,” he says.
“One of my former commanders simplified it as a ‘what if analysis,’” continues Cucinotta. “I learned to be constantly thinking about the environment in which I am operating and the associated risks. As the environment changes, or even more so in anticipation of environmental changes, I learned to do what-if different scenarios, so when crisis strikes, I’m ready to respond. The old adage, hope for the best and plan for the worst doesn’t really hold true. Instead, leaders should plan for the best and plan for the worst, and the likely scenarios in between.”
Resourcefulness, Flexibility and Persistence
Having to think quickly on one’s feet, devise alternative strategies, and forge on no matter what are hallmarks of military service. Tim Dobbs has also found these traits to be the keys to success for his business Alpine Rings, which carries unique wedding bands for men.
Dobbs joined the Air Force shortly after 9/11 and volunteered for his first deployment to Iraq, serving in four other combat deployments during his service, as well as being assigned to Okinawa, Japan with the 353 Special Operations Group.
“I learned a lot of valuable lessons during my time in the military, but the one that has helped me the most through my journey in business is perseverance,” says Dobbs. “Even the best businesses have challenges to overcome and having the ability to push through those times is crucial.”
In the early years, one of his biggest challenges occurred when a trusted supplier went out of business with no warning. “I had built my company around several core products from the supplier,” says Dobbs. “When that happened, it had the potential to ruin everything I had worked for. I knew if I refused to give up and push past the problem I could build better relationships with more reliable suppliers and I'd have a stronger business on the other side. Five years later, my business is stronger than it's ever been and that lesson continues to be reinforced every single day.”
The Ability to Harness Processes and Procedures
When it comes to processes and procedures, the military excels. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) can be required for just about every task, from combat to administration.
Annette Harris harnessed the power of methodical operations during her time in the U.S. Army when she served for eight years in the logistics field. Her role was to ensure that necessary supplies were available to complete the current mission, including for Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
“The military taught me a lot about processes and procedures that I have instituted in my business Harris Financial Coaching,” says Harris, an Accredited Financial Counselor. “In the logistics field, there is a requirement that you follow SOPS and ensure the organization is financially responsible with the procurement of assets and supplies. That training translated into my business. I learned that without processes and procedures, a business can go awry and not succeed.”
Extreme Discipline
Discipline can be the key to business achievement. This attribute is something that veterans in business can be known for having in abundance. It is discipline that can help veteran entrepreneurs achieve their goals and effectively lead their companies.
For John Rose, who served for two decades as a U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant, it was the discipline he learned during his time in the military that inspired him to start his athletic training facility D1 Training at Alamo Ranch.
During Rose’s service, the Air Force encouraged preventative healthcare and taking care of your body. “Through that discipline, physical training had become a habit and an integral part of my lifestyle,” he says. “Now I own a business in an industry I am passionate about and use all I learned in the military to motivate others.”
Apply Military Service Experience in Business
Those individuals who have served our country have a unique opportunity to use the distinctive training acquired in the military to reach great heights as small-business owners. Skills such as discipline and adaptability can foster productivity and business development. By harnessing the power of superior leadership, decision-making, and teamwork, veterans can enjoy business success.
“The military takes regular people, trains them on how to do a job, and empowers them to do that job at a very high level,” says Dobbs. “Watching this happen is immensely powerful to a person's confidence and shows you that if you give something 100 percent of your energy and keep pushing even when it's tough, you can accomplish anything. I believe that is the most important quality to have as a small-business owner.”
A version of this article was originally published on November 08, 2017.
Photo: Getty Images
