While combat veterans face countless challenges in their transitions back to civilian life, Justin Bajema and many of his peers credit the military with giving them the courage, discipline and determination to start businesses according to a story The New York Times.
They believe even harrowing experiences, if managed and overcome, can lend perspective and fearlessness in commerce and provoke that “healthy discontent with the status quo” that galvanizes entrepreneurs.
In 2008, Bajema returned to Grand Rapids, Mich., his hometown, and began buying and renovating foreclosed properties with money he had saved while in the service. He was trying to regain the confidence he lost when he was injured in war. “I was sick of taking orders,” he said. “I was looking for a bigger purpose.”
“The Marine Corps instilled a lot of things I’ve applied to the business world,” said Mark Llano, who fought in Operation Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf and who, in 2003, founded Source One Distributors, a company based in Wellington, Fla., that simplifies the procurement of tactical equipment by government and law enforcement agencies.
Like Llano, many veterans who become entrepreneurs cultivate as clients government agencies that give preference to businesses owned by veterans, especially if they are disabled. “If you have served in the military and you understand the government, you have knowledge other people don’t,” Llano said. “If you can apply that niche to business, it’s a home run.”
Photo by flickr.com.