Veterans Transfer Skills Learned on the Battlefield to Running BusinessesNovember 19, 2010

 

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Brian Iglesias served as a Marine in Iraq where the intense fighting made him wonder if he would live to see another day. He did survive and returned to the United States where he parlayed his survival skills as a soldier into becoming a successful entrepreneur.

"Every day is a struggle," both in battle and in running a small business, he says in an article in U.S.A. Today.

It turns out that Iglesias' career move from soldier to entrepreneur is a common trajectory, according to the article. One in seven U.S. veterans launches their own businesses or is self-employed, says U.S. Small Business Administration administrator Karen Mills, because "they have leadership skills and decision-making skills." About quarter of veterans express interest in starting or buying their own businesses, and the government now provides loans and other support for interested vets.

Mills, however, says that more needs to be done. "We need to be more aggressive about going out and providing access and opportunity for those who are leaning toward [being] an entrepreneur," she told U.S.A. Today. "We need to give them the tools they need to turn their raw aptitude into a successful business."

If veterans are involved in procurement and operations in general, they will be able to leverage that experience in a broad sense, says Lawrence Gelburd, a management and entrepreneurship professor at Wharton. He notes, however, that corporate culture differences can be an issue.

While former soldiers easily harness the skills learned in years of military training, like leadership and organization, some of the softer skills can elude them.

"It's a different culture that they're moving into," Alex Galenes told U.S.A Today. Galenes had 27 years of military service before launching his own business. He now serves as a coach at the San Diego chapter of the non-profit entrepreneur mentoring group SCORE. "You have to drop the jargon, start calling people by their first name, stop saying 'yes, sir' and 'yes, ma'am' — and let your hair grow out a bit."

Veterans do have greater opportunities for networking, says Gelburd, through organizations tasked with helping them and by tapping fellow soldiers they served with.