Why Veterans Are Well-Suited to Become Business Owners—And the Lessons You Can Learn from Them

By Robert Irvine
U.S. Small Business Administration
Published: November 21, 2019

Entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone. The average worker bee might complain about their lousy boss or the inefficiency of their company and muse on how much better things would be if they were in charge, but the fact is few people have the rare combination of energy, guts, and determination to actually go out and create a business of their own. In short: most people would rather deal with a situation they hate than do what’s necessary to become their own boss.

I understand why.

I’ve been my own boss for many years now, but the path to get here wasn’t easy. For one thing, when I was starting out, I didn’t know how to write a business plan. For another, managing a civilian staff is a far cry from managing other servicemen and women who must explicitly follow orders. And of course, when you’re cooking on a military base or on a Navy warship, you’re the only game in town. In the civilian world, folks who don’t like your restaurant are welcome to eat elsewhere.

Nevertheless, my time in the British Royal Navy taught me plenty of valuable lessons that I was able to take with me into the civilian world and spin into a tale of success so broad that, quite honestly, I didn’t see it coming all those years ago. In addition to the three restaurants that bear my name—including one at the Tropicana in Las Vegas and one within the walls of the Pentagon—I have a protein bar and snack company (FitCrunch), a prepared food line (Robert Irvine Foods), a live stage show (Robert Irvine Live), a digital magazine, four published books, plus partnerships in dozens of other exciting projects.

None of this would have been possible without three foundational lessons I learned in the military. Anyone who served in any branch of the armed forces is already in possession of these lessons, but the good news for those who didn’t serve is they’re readily available to learn right now.

They are:

Work backward from the goal

Every soldier, sailor, and Marine approaches each mission with the same question, “What’s the objective?” Once they have the answer to that, they can work backward on how to get there, create a mission plan, and follow it. But all of it starts with using the power of imagination to see a future success that is not yet real. You can do this, too. Begin by…[MORE]

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To read the entire article by Robert Irvine on the U.S. Small Business Administration website, visit: Why Veterans Are Well-Suited to Become Business Owners—And the Lessons You Can Learn from Them