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FAITH
LEAP OFlaunching your own business can be downright scary.
The uncertainty of
Learn the secrets of a few vetrepreneurs who’ve successfully made the leap.
by Kelly Crigger
Nick Palmisciano, founder of Ranger Up
(www.rangerup.com) and Randy Couture
mixed martial artist from the Ultimate
Fighting Championship (UFC)
WHAT TO EXPECT
Nick Palmisciano, founder of Ranger Up, makers of
military and patriotic apparel, wants to make sure
prospective vetrepreneurs understand that starting
and running a business is hard work.
Hank Salmans
“It’s not going to be easier than your corporate
Founder of Barons
Brothers – makers
job,” Palmisciano said. “Everything will cost more,
of Devil Dog Brew and take longer, and be harder than you expected. It
Sniper’s Brew co ee will likely be a while before it pays you what you put
www.devildogbrew.com into it. You might never see that money back.”
Palmisciano insists that vetrepreneurs also un-
derstand personal accountability. “The failures are
yours - you can’t cop out and blame someone else,”
Palmisciano continued. “You can’t blame your cus-
tomers for not liking your product. It’s all on you.”
It’s also important to remember that you never
go home. Being an entrepreneur is a 24/7 gig. It’s
not for those with a shaky foundation at home.
“Leaving the stability of the corporate world is
IN A TURBULENT ECONOMY, casting o your lines from a solid pier and BEFORE YOU LEAP like the rst time you jump out of an airplane,” Pal-
setting sail on USS Entrepreneur is akin to Odysseus leaving Calypso’s Hank Salmans, founder of Barons Brothers – misciano said. “You know other people have done
island. The initial hurricane that wrecked his raft is but one obstacle to makers of Devil Dog Brew and Sniper’s Brew cof- it, you know everything should work, but you still
overcome on the way to harmonious self-employment. Believing in your- fee, maintains that passion, above all, is essential. are leaping into a place where you know one little
self enough to risk everything to chase a dream is a leap of faith to say “Be passionate,” Salmans said.” The number screw up will make your life exponentially worse...
the least, but the rewards are soma for the adventurous heart; an elixir one aspect of an entrepreneur is that you must oh, and you have a family and employees counting
that lls the soul with the grati cation of besting the naysayers. nd something you believe passionately in and on your parachute!”
So what should you know before tossing everything o your desk, never quit until you succeed.”
kissing that pretty receptionist like it’s VE day, and walking o the job Starting a small business solely to make
never to return unless it’s to aunt your success in the face of those who money is a sure path to the opposite end of the SO WHY DO IT?
sco ed at you? Here are some expectations, pitfalls, and rewards from a nancial spectrum-bankruptcy. You also have By this point you’re probably asking why anyone
couple vetrepreneurs who have successfully made it home to Ithaca. to be passionate about what you believe in, would leave the stability and security of a cushy job
Salman continued. to be self-employed? Because, the grati cation of
Salman said that even the best laid plans success is comparable only to the rapture of leading
sometimes require a course correction. “Be ex- Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, or Marines. For those of us
THINKING ABOUT TAKING THE ible, and change the approach if necessary, but with the “lead from the front” gene, it’s one of the
VETREPRENEURIAL LEAP? never quit,” Salmans said. “The one element few ways to replicate the feeling leaders had while in
The NaVOBA Small Business Toolbox has you covered. that seems to transcend the corporate and en- uniform.
Whether you’re looking to start a small business in your home- trepreneurial lifestyles is discipline. We all learn “Owning a business requires a daily gut-check,”
town, purchase a Military-Friendly Franchise concept, sell to it in the military and it never leaves us. A mis- Palmisciano said. “You’ve got to ask yourself every
federal state or local governments or partner with major cor- sion statement, vision, and command philoso- morning if you’re willing to do what it takes.”
porations, this toolbox provides you all the resources you need phy serve the same purpose in a small business If you do have the intestinal fortitude to keep
to get started. Visit www.navoba.com/toolbox today! as they do for a military unit.” your eye on the prize and ignore the risks, then you
might just be a vetrepreneur…or Odysseus.
54 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010 | VETREPRENEUR NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010 | WWW.NAVOBA.COM 55