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BTU #129 - Veterans & Franchises (John W. Francis, aka "Johnny Franchise")

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BTU #129 - Veterans & Franchises (John W. Francis, aka "Johnny Franchise")

John W Francis runs Next Level Franchis, Inc in Minnesot, where he helps franchisors, franchisees and supplier companies with their business issues by offering perspective, experience, advice and connections to help move them forward. He started back in 1' helping in his family business, The Barber’s Inc, which a the franchir of Cost Cutters, City Looks, and We Care Hair Salon. Over the next 5+ years he elped to grow he business internationally, eventually selling to the Regis Corporation in 1999. Since then he has directly worked with franchises, as well as served as an advisor, board member, consultant, and speaker to any people and companies in the franchise world. He is known as “Johnny Franchise” and is a Franchise Expert.

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Skills #6 - A Framework for Anticipating Your Transition from Active Duty (6 Human Needs)

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Skills #6 - A Framework for Anticipating Your Transition from Active Duty (6 Human Needs)

In this episode, I go through a framework for looking at the needs that are met for most veterans by serving in the military, and the needs that they will most likely miss immediately upon their transition from Active Duty to a civilian career. This is a different take on Skills #1 – Empathy & Non-violent communication (NVC) that may be easier to apply in you civilian and military career.

If you haven't yet had a chance to leave a positive review in iTunes, please take a minute to do so here.

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BTU #127 - Preparing on Active Duty for a Career in Financial Planning (Forrest Baumhover)

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BTU #127 - Preparing on Active Duty for a Career in Financial Planning (Forrest Baumhover)

Forrest anticipated his transition very early on and prepared for starting his own company in a very proactive way. This is also my first interview with a financial planner, and may be an interesting career path for other veterans.

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Skills #5: Interviews (Part 1)

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Skills #5: Interviews (Part 1)

In this episode I share advice from the Beyond the Uniform community about how Veterans can best prepare for and excel at a civilian interview. This is a new experience for those on Active Duty, and one of the most cited challenges that veterans face in their transition. 10 different members of the Beyond the Uniform community weigh in with their advice and recommended resources.

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BTU #126 - Airlines, E-Learning & finding excellence in VERY different industries (Nicholas Loudon)

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BTU #126 - Airlines, E-Learning & finding excellence in VERY different industries (Nicholas Loudon)

In this interview we discuss a variety of topics relevant to veterans in any industry. Nick has great advice for veterans about checking one's ego at the door, rolling up one's sleeves and doing whatever it takes to improve whatever task you're given. He shows how a willingness to learn has allowed him to transition - and be successful in - wildly different industries. And how a mindset of happiness, learning and humility can make all the difference.

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BTU #122 - Army to CEO of Skullcandy (Jason Hodell)

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BTU #122 - Army to CEO of Skullcandy (Jason Hodell)

Jason Hodell is the CEO of Skullcandy, which markets headphones, earphones, speakers and other products. Skullcandy was founded in 2003 and acquired in October 2016 by Mill Road Capital for $200 million. Jason started out at West Point, after which he served as an Infantry Officer in the US Army for five years. After the Army, he picked up his MBA at Wharton.He had an impressive career prior to Skullcandy, which we’ll discuss in the interview, and joined the Skullcandy team initially as their CFO & COO.  Since that time the company has grown revenue from $210M to approximately $300m, and he was appointed as the CEO of Skullcandy  about one year ago.

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Skills #3 - Civilian Terminology (Part 1) (BTU #121)

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Skills #3 - Civilian Terminology (Part 1) (BTU #121)

In my interviews, we often use business jargon and terminology without explaining it. As Jason Hodell (BTU #122) said, "you've got to know the lingo." So, in this episode I dive into some of the most common civilian business terms I've had on the show. This is Part 1, so if there are other terms you'd like explained, send me a note about what terms you'd like me to cover for Part 2.

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BTU #120 - Traveling the world for 4 years after Active Duty Navy (Tim Patterson)

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BTU #120 - Traveling the world for 4 years after Active Duty Navy (Tim Patterson)

Tim Patterson started off at the Naval Academy as part of the mighty class of 2002. He served as an officer onboard nuclear submarines for 8 years. After his transition from the military, Tim spent over four years traveling the world. Two of these years were done by BMW motorcycle, where he rode over 28,000 miles along the Pan-American highway, from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina. Studied Spanish in Guatemala. Survived Arctic weather, flat tires, and Colombian soldiers.

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BTU #117: Jim Vesterman: Marine Corps to Search Funds and Buying a Company to Run

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BTU #117: Jim Vesterman: Marine Corps to Search Funds and Buying a Company to Run

Jim Vesterman is the CEO of Raptor Technologies, which is the nation's leading provider of integrated safety technologies for K-12 schools. He got his undergraduate degree at Amherst College, after which he worked at both the Monitor Group and for a software startup. He deferred his MBA to join the Marine Corps as part of 3rd Force Recon Company. After he got his MBA from Wharton, he started an entrepreneurial vehicle called a search fund - which we’ll get into - called Liberty Place Capital. Liberty Place Capital ultimately purchased Raptor Technologies in 2012 and he has been running that company for 5 years.

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Skills #1 - Empathy & Non-violent communication (NVC) - BTU #118

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Skills #1 - Empathy & Non-violent communication (NVC) - BTU #118

Usually, I interview military veterans about their civilian career. Today, instead, I'm going to dive into a specific skill I think would be helpful to veterans in their civilian career: Empathy. This has come up in many episodes as something that veterans have needed to develop to progress in their civilian career. A tool that I have found to be extremely helpful in my own life in building up empathy is something called: Non-Violent Communication (NVC).

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BTU #116 - Finance, Founding team at Live Ops, and starting High Ridge Global (Patrick McKenna)

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BTU #116 - Finance, Founding team at Live Ops, and starting High Ridge Global (Patrick McKenna)

Patrick is the Founder and Managing Partner at High Ridge Global, which is a private investment and advisory firm. He started out as a ROTC student at the University of Southern California, after which he served as a Signal Corps Officer in the Army for four years. After his service he got his MBA at Georgetown. He has worked at JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, was part of the Founding Team of LiveOps (a company that grew to over $100M in revenue), and has founded, invested in, and served on the board of multiple companies.

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BTU #115 - Network Marketing & Residual Income While on Active Duty (Ray & Samantha Allen)

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BTU #115 - Network Marketing & Residual Income While on Active Duty (Ray & Samantha Allen)

Ray and Samantha Allen are both 2009 Naval Academy Graduates. After graduation, Ray went to flight school & became a Navy Helo pilot while Sam became a Marine. Samantha served as a Marine for 5 years at Marine Special Operations Command (2nd MSOB) and weapons training Battalion. Ray is an HSC pilot now instructing at the Naval Academy. The two live in Annapolis, MD with their three daughters, and have been building their business together for four years.

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BTU #114 - Founding an Inc 500 Company While Traveling Southeast Asia (Justin Cooke)

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BTU #114 - Founding an Inc 500 Company While Traveling Southeast Asia (Justin Cooke)

Justin Cooke is the Founder at Empire Flippers, a company that helps others buy, sell, and invest in profitable websites and online businesses. He started out in the Navy, where he spent 6 years as a Sonar Technician 2/C (STG2). Empire Flippers is an INC 500 company - Justin runs a 22 person team and has $27M+ In Online Businesses Sold.

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BTU #113 - Army to Goldman Sachs, and President of the Florida Panthers (Matthew Caldwell)

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BTU #113 - Army to Goldman Sachs, and President of the Florida Panthers (Matthew Caldwell)

Matthew Caldwell is the President and CEO of the Florida Panthers and Sunrise Sports & Entertainment. Matthew started out at West Point, after which he served in the U.S. Army for five years, conducting combat operations in Iraq and peacekeeping operations in Kosovo. Matthew worked as a Vice President at Goldman Sachs in their Investment Management Division, and then transitioned to Chief Operating Officer for the Panthers before being elevated to President and CEO. Matthew holds a JD/MBA from Northwestern University School of Law and the Kellogg School of Management

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BTU #112: Growing Black Rifle Coffee from $1.8k to $20M in 2.5 years (Evan Hafer)

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BTU #112: Growing Black Rifle Coffee from $1.8k to $20M in 2.5 years (Evan Hafer)

Evan Hafer is the Founder & CEO of Black Rifle Coffee, a small batch coffee roasting company. He started out at the University of Idaho, after which he spent 14 years in the U.S. Army as an infantryman, a Special Forces soldier, and a CIA contractor.I came across Evan in a 2016 Forbes Article about the Top 25 Veteran Founded Startups in America.