For many servicemembers Veteran’s Day is the one day of the year we don’t feel weird for “bragging” on ourselves and our military service. Many veterans operate day-to-day with their heads down, not walking around publicly touting their military service. To be completely honest, I personally know veterans that don’t know how to respond when people say, “Thank you for your service”.
(For the record I say, “Thank you for your appreciation.”)
Around 9% of all American businesses are owned by veterans, and I know for a fact that my time in service continues to shape my entrepreneurship life. I learned a lot during my years in the military, here are five lessons I learned about entrepreneurship from the Army.
- If you say you’re going to do a job, do it. Period. Lives may not be at stake if you don’t show us for work in your business, but it should be important enough (to you) to take it seriously. Let’s be honest, it’s easy to be lazy, why not set yourself apart by following through on your promises?
- Leadership matters, because the bottom line of your business depends on it. As a business owner you have to lead yourself, your team (if you have one) and your customers/clients. Strong leadership leads to profitable organizations, and it’s a privilege for people to follow and support you. I try to take advantage of every opportunity to improve my leadership skills, and I read books on the topic to keep learning.
- Embrace the suck. Sometimes, the soldier life sucks…I don’t miss spending weeks in the field and don’t get me started on ruck marching. Everything sucks at some point on this entrepreneurship journey, so get yourself used to it now and decide that the suck will not beat you.
- Train as you fight. I believe that the way you do anything is the way you’ll do everything, so it’s important to develop productive habits NOW so you’ll be prepared to handle increase later. The armed forces trains, trains and trains some more, do you know why? Because when the fight is real, nobody has time to consult a manual! You’ve got to know what to do! If your goal is to have thousands of customers/clients one day, train yourself by handing the ten you have now with care and discipline.
- Strategy is EVERYTHING. If you want to win in business you have to operate in two frames of mind at once – the now and the future. Strategy is evaluating where you are now, deciding where you want to go and figuring out the steps that will get you there. Business owners hire me and buy my products to help them with their strategic thinking and planning, thanks for the skill, Army!
Military training conditions you to be humble about your sacrifice, we’re not “supposed” to walk around showing off what we’ve done, but I allow the soldier in me to shine through every single day I show up as a business owner. These Army entrepreneurship lessons will stick with me for the rest of my life.
To do anything else would be the opposite of HOOAH…..