By Debbie Gregory.

For many years, military veterans have become entrepreneurs at a much higher rate than non-veterans. There are a number of military strategies that serve entrepreneurs well, contributing to their successful transition.

First and foremost, military training has taught servicemembers to lead with a clear vision and plan. Strong leaders have the right assets and tools in place to build trust and confidence in any situation. A leader should be a visionary and have more foresight than an employee. A leader should have higher grit and tenacity, and be able to endure what the employees can’t.  And finally, a leader should have higher endurance and ability to accept and embrace failure.

Next comes your team. Your team is the lifeline of your business, so it would serve you well to make sure you have the right talent in the right place, and empower them to use their strengths to help your company succeed. The sense of camaraderie will help you through difficult times that are sure to pop up along the way.

Know your mission and break that mission down into smaller tactical goals. Keep mission focus at all times, but allow your people to innovate.

Chart your financial future. Have a detailed start-up business plan and overhead costs for two years to serve as a cushion.

Take advantage of resources available to you such as the SBA’s Boots to Business program for current military personnel, as well as their ReBoot program for veterans who later decide to pursue entrepreneurship.

It’s no easy feat navigating the road to entrepreneurship. But if you’re a veteran considering this path, you already embody the courage and commitment it takes to begin this journey. It may not happen overnight and certainly not without a little grit, but the end reward will be well worth it.

By Debbie Gregory.

The base-model holsters for the Army’s new Modular Handgun System (MHS) will be supplied by Atlantic Diving Supply (ADS). The firm-fixed-price contract for the Modular Handgun Holster came it at $49 million

The holsters will be used with the Modular Handgun System M17 and M18 pistols.

The Sig Sauer M17 handgun is the U.S. Army’s replacement for the aging M9 Beretta, which has been in use since the 1980s. The M18 is a more compact version with a shorter barrel for use by military police investigators and other positions that require a smaller frame.

What began as a local dive shop, ADS grew into a large military equipment supplier by striving to outfit the military and first responders with the most advanced gear and equipment available. According to Bloomberg Government’s annual Federal Industry Leaders report ADS had $1.6 billion worth of federal contracts in 2017, making it the 42nd largest contractor.

The Virginia Beach, VA based company beat out five other companies to secure the contract.

ADS will supply the tan-colored Safariland Group holster that features a dual locking system. The locks can be released with the shooter’s firing hand thumb.

The Army also plans to field a light-compatible holster in the future that will allow soldiers in infantry and other direct-action units to carry the MHS with a weapon light mounted on the pistol’s accessory rail.

The service intends to have soldiers from operational units evaluate both light models. If all goes well, it would then assign each light model with a national stock number so unit commanders could purchase them with unit funds, according to Army officials.

The Army intends to field about 238,000 MHS pistols.

In September 2017, ADS was sued by the US Government for False Claims Act violations, including illegal bid-rigging. The case was settled out of court with ADS paying $16 million.

According to the award announcement, ADS beat out five other companies for the winning bid. Issued through the U.S. Army Contracting Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, the contract is expected to run through 2023.

By Debbie Gregory.

Firearms maker Sig Sauer has been awarded a $48 million DoD contract to create a suppressed upper receiver group (SURG) based on its MCX system for the service weapon, an upgrade to the current M4A1 Carbine, a fully automatic version of the M4 Carbine that went into service in 1994.

According to an August 7th release on the SIG SAUER website, its MCX Rifle System outperformed the competition in order to secure the contract.

“The SIG SAUER suppressor withstood the stringent stress and torture requirements set by DoD for firing specifications, vibration, sound, and temperature requirements to ensure soldier safety.”

SOCOM has been developing its requirements for the M4A1 SURG since 2015, the Firearm Blog reports. The SURG upgrades the current M4A1 lower receiver assembly used by SOCOM.

The contract award comes as the Marine Corps continues to pursue suppressed firing capability for many of its infantry troops. Troops who deployed in early 2017 with suppressors  said that the devices, previously reserved for elite units, enabled better battlefield communication and reduced fog-of-war “tunnel vision.”

“The requirements set by DoD for the SURG procurement demanded significant improvements in reliability, thermal characteristics, and durability that went well above anything we are currently seeing in the industry,” said Ron Cohen, Sig’s president and CEO. He continued, “We worked very hard to develop the MCX SURG System to specifically meet and exceed the DoD requirements. I am extremely proud that our hard work paid off, and endured the stringent and demanding military testing requirements, to ultimately gain the confidence of DoD to support their operations in the field.”

Headquartered in Newington, New Hampshire, SIG SAUER is an ISO 9001 certified company with over 1,200 employees that strives to meet the needs of their military, law enforcement and commercial markets worldwide.

The project is expected to be completed by July 2023

By Debbie Gregory.

Many veterans transition out of the military with the skills and attributes necessary to succeed as veteran business owners. Often times, the main roadblock for these entrepreneurs is financing their new mission: to become a veteran business owner or a service disabled veteran business owner.

Investing in your business operations doesn’t always have to come with a big price tag, as there are some cost-efficient ways to invest in your small business to get it going and growing.

Begin by identifying your strengths and weaknesses. Invest in personal growth, so that you can turn those weaknesses into strengths. Take classes. Do your research on the web. Seek out tutorials. Don’t overlook the value of a digital marketing platform. Make sure you have a website.  Utilize Facebook, LinkedIn, Google AdWords, Instagram, etc. There are plenty of free resources available to help you navigate these waters.

If there are skills that you can’t or don’t want to do, and you don’t have the staff to do them, outsource! Perhaps tax returns, web design and the like are best left in the hands of the experts. You might even be able to barter services. And for those occasions when the work load is on an upswing, don’t rule out freelancers or temporary workers.

But when it comes time to assemble a staff, your hiring strategy should be based on talent, not functions. If your team is versatile with diverse talents, they will be better positioned to grow with the business.

Identify your business’s core values and build a team aligned with them. Having your values in place will give your business purpose and direction, and will in turn provide a culture for your employees to be proud of. Along with values, don’t underestimate the value of a corporate identity. You want to be your own company, not just a “light’ version of another company.

Have a rainy-day reserve account. As a business owner you’re probably thinking, “How in the world can I save for this?” The key is to start small and build up. This safety net will get you through rough times, which are inevitable.

Invest the time in writing Standing Operating Procedures, a set of step-by-step instructions to make sure there is a “Bible” for routine operations. Answer what tasks need to done? Who needs to do them? What are the best ways to approach these tasks?

By Debbie Gregory.

Army Green Beret turned coffee brew master Evan Hafer started Black Rifle Coffee Company to provide a high-quality, roast-to-order, coffee to the pro-2A and veteran communities. Between deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, he was working on refining both his coffee roasting and his firearms skills.

Hafer’s love affair with coffee started 20 years ago. His deployment to Iraq began his roasting career when he catered to the caffeine needs of his fellow servicemembers.  From that passion grew a company that supported Hafer’s missions: to roast great coffee, have a business that allowed him to hire veterans, and the resources to support the causes that he championed.

One of Hafer’s first hires was a soldier who served alongside him in Afghanistan. With 86 employees, 60 percent are veterans. That was a big part of Hafer’s vision.

“It’s not PR – it’s who we are,” Hafer said.

As with many veteran entrepreneurs, Hafer’s time in the Army served him well.

“In the military, you have to push yourself past mental and physical limits, every day to the point where you’re almost desensitized to the work,” he explained. “Now I feel like I have an endless capacity to just always work. The military gave me the context to reach into basically a bottomless well of endurance.”

Black Rifle Coffee Company roasts over a million pounds of coffee per year and grosses over $30 million annually. The company seems to have approached the box, but prefers to stay outside. The company offers a coffee club that allows consumers to get their coffee delivered to their doors. It also offers the chance to win tactical swag and discounts by teaming up with rifle and tactical gear companies such as LaRue, LWRC, Hodge Defense, Vortex Optics, Tactical Tailor, Freedom Group, Readyman and Article 15 clothing. If exclusive Black Rifle Coffee Company swag is what you crave with your coffee, the company has discount codes for that too.