E-Source Updates, Franchise Lifestyles®
Veterans with Career Ownership Goals Choose Franchising
Military Veteran Deploys Career Ownership Coaching™ to Achieve Goals.
Military veteran John Holland relies on skills acquired during his tenure as a Marine coupled with advice from a Career Ownership Coach™ with The Entrepreneur’s Source® to ensure his new business succeeds.
Dissatisfied with the trajectory of his career, Holland opted to join the U.S. Marine Corps to fulfill his career goals and serve his country. He spent 20 years, primarily as an infantryman, in the Marines. During his tenure, he was stationed in Cuba, North Carolina, Kansas and Virginia. He was sent on two deployments to Iraq and one to Afghanistan. He also spent six months at sea deployed on a med float. Once he opted to retire, Holland continued to do contract work for the U.S. State Department for the next three years, spending most of his time on the ground in Baghdad. During one of these years, he spent 330 days away from home.
Time away from his wife and children as well as various physical injuries were taking a toll on Holland. He decided to make a change and started attending virtual career fairs for inspiration. It was at one of these career fairs that he met Jason Madden, a Career Ownership Coach™ for The Entrepreneur’s Source®. Prior to starting his career with TES, Madden spent four years as an infantryman with the Marines and more than eight years with the U.S. Army. The pair formed a quick kinship through their military backgrounds. Madden helped introduce Holland to the different opportunities that were available to him. He helped Holland discover his goals and develop a path to self-sufficiency.
“I had a couple of interviews with companies, and they said they were veteran-friendly. But, I would get to the final interview, and I’d always lose out to some guy who had more experience and wasn’t a vet. That got frustrating,” said Holland. “Working with Madden helped me discover entrepreneurship was the right answer for me.”
There are 2.52 million businesses owned by veterans in the United States, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Veteran-owned small businesses employ more than 5 million people in the United States and generate revenue of $1.14 trillion, according to a report from the U.S. Small Business Administration. Veterans account for seven percent of the U.S. population, but at least 14 percent of franchisees served in the military, reported VetFran, a strategic initiative of the International Franchise Association designed to provide franchising information to veterans.
Many veterans turn to franchising as a way to pursue entrepreneurship. Military experience requires strong leadership and motivational skills. “Many people think being an infantryman is just all about busting through doors, but it requires extensive organizational skills, drive and focus. Plus, my time in the service led me to deal with a lot of different types of people and personalities. Understanding how people tick is important when running your business,” Holland said.
Members of the military constantly work to improve processes to accomplish their mission. Similarly, successful franchisees lead their employees to accomplish the business mission as a team. Executing systems and following procedures is a big part of military training as well as in franchising. “Running a franchise business requires learning a system and process. The military focuses on teaching critical and creative thinking to leverage existing processes and improve them. Military veterans make great franchisees because they focus on taking existing procedures and making them better,” Madden said.
The Entrepreneur’s Source® helps military veterans discover the possibilities to find financial freedom once they retire from the service. Career Ownership Coaches™ can help veterans discover their path forward as they tackle the challenges of civilian life. The Entrepreneur’s Source® helps potential entrepreneurs reach a place of clarity at no cost. Madden helps individuals discover their Income, LIfestyle, Wealth and Equity™ goals to determine what their Career 2.0 will be. “TES helps bridge the gap in veteran education and help service members understand the options for their future and their goals,” Madden said.
Holland is hitting the ground running with his new Ace Handyman Services business. During the coaching process, Holland realized his main goal was to build a business that could provide careers for military veterans. His Ace Handyman Services unit makes it a priority to hire veterans.
“I knew I wanted my business to give guys getting out of the military an opportunity that I feel some of the other companies don’t give them,” said Holland.
If you are a veteran who is interested in discovering a path to financial freedom, visit www.theentrepreneursource.com to learn how to take ownership of your career with the help of a trained coach, or check out our new guide, “Your Career 2.0®: A Survival Guide for The Battered Career and Investor Syndrome®.”