Drop and Give Me 20: Recent Episodes
Lindsey Germono
The military community is full of successful business owners, managers, and leaders across all industries, military and civilian. Time to show them off and learn from their experiences! Hear stories of active duty members, military spouses, and veterans as host Lindsey Germono shines a spotlight on their challenges, triumphs, and the insights learned through determination and best business practices. Join Lindsey and guests in insightful discussions of what it takes to be a leading military entrepreneur.
Series Finale! Drop and Give Me 20 has created an avenue to meet fantastic guest speakers and get inspired by their real-life stories of trials and triumphs; as well as, glean insights into the business world. Throughout the series, we got the chance to see through the lenses of these influential military entrepreneurs as they gave us lessons to remember.
In this final act, join our host Lindsey Germono as she looks back and give thanks to everyone who has been a part of this fantastic podcast. We also get a chance to sneak peek into what’s next for her in her podcasting journey.
Ending this show doesn’t necessarily mean that this is goodbye, more like, see you later. With that, we would like to offer this finale as a parting gift to our avid listeners. Enjoy and we’ll see you around!
Highlights
- [1:53] Goodbyes? More like, stay tuned for what’s next.
- [2:14] Lindsey’s takeaways and reflections towards the Drop and Give Me 20 Podcast.
- [4:40] Looking back to the podcasting journey and saying thanks to everyone for all the love and support.
- [5:02] What are the opportunities that Drop and Give Me 20 Podcast has brought throughout the years?
- [6:12] Bidding goodbyes (for now)
Quote
- [6:21] “Thank you for being a listener and a huge supporter of Drop and Give Me 20, it has been an incredible opportunity to share these messages with you.” - Lindsey Germono
Resources
- Germono Advertising Company on Youtube
- Drop and Give Me 20 Facebook Group
Drop and Give Me 20 brings Annie Peguero in for a discussion on success coaching for self and career development. She focuses on her clients’ journey in breaking toxic cycles and generational trauma. Join us as we take a peek into her holistic vision of becoming your highest self.
Keep tuned to this episode, and find out how Annie achieved her transitions and milestones.
Highlights
- [1:23] We get to know more about Annie and her background, her niche, and her podcast aimed at inspiring other women and their abilities.
- [3:20] On her life before marriage, upon meeting her husband, and the transition after tying the knot.
- [9:28] She enumerates the struggles of military spouses and her experiences of overcoming some.
- [11:15] She emphasizes that life, let alone being a military spouse, entrepreneur, or mother, can be messy, imperfect, and does not follow a blueprint.
- [17:38] On her educational background and her first job
- [20:31] She leaves us with the message to remember: “You are enough.”
Quote
- [11:02] “The idea that you are whole. What you have to share with your community is going to help them. Let's not be selfish and keep it trapped in our bodies. Let's get it out there for people to use.” - Annie Peguero
Links
- Annie Peguero’s Website
- Annie Peguero’s LinkedIn
- Annie Peguero’s Facebook Page
- Annie Peguero’s Instagram Profile
- Adventures with Annie Peguero Audible Podcast
- Adventures with Annie Peguero Apple Podcast
Welcome back to another episode of Drop and Give Me 20! Joining us today is a distinguished guest, Tiffany Haywood, better known as Mrs. Tee, the brand builder, social media creator, and blogger extraordinaire. She runs a blog site and a brand consultancy for entrepreneurs and small business owners.
She shares the process of her brand consultations, and how these improve the skills of business owners with regards to their branding.
Tune in to this episode and learn more about this multifaceted influencer as she imparts her wisdom in making the most out of one’s uniqueness and abilities.
Highlights
- [1:17] Introducing Tiffany
- [2:08] She endorses her lifestyle blog: The Mrs.Tee.
- [5:48] On constructive criticism during her consultations.
- [11:49] Find what makes you unique and make that work for you.
- [14:05] Having a plan and strategy before you show up online
Quote * [11:30] I stay in my lane; this is where I thrive, this is what's working, this is where I see my engagement, or this is where I see feedback, so this is what I'm going to do. - Tiffany Haywood
Profile
- The Mrs. Tee Blog
- Tiffany Haywood's website
- Tiffany Haywood on LinkedIn
- Tiffany Haywood’s Facebook Page
- Tiffany Haywood on Instagram
Germono Advertising Company on Youtube
Drop and Give me 20 Facebook Group
Welcome back to another episode of Drop and Give Me 20! Our guest for today’s episode is Melanie Simon. Melanie is an entrepreneur, magazine editor, and director of Candy & Valor Magazine.
Like many of us, Melanie struggled in the military world and shares the obstacles she’s overcome while launching her beauty company. She is also the proud author and director of beauty magazine Candy and Valor.
Highlights
- [01:12] - Introducing Melanie
- [02:52] - Melanie’s life story and how she got to where she is now
- [04:00] - How military life affected her business
- [08:27] - What pivoting looks like in her entrepreneurial path
- [11:29] - How her business thrived over the past two years
- [14:20] - What is she currently working on
- [17:18] - Overview of Melanie’s magazine
Quote
- [13:14] “Have a game plan. Your business plan is way more important I think, in this lifestyle, than any other area that you can think of beginning a business and like, what are you going to do when those challenges happen? And you're going to go back to it.” -Melanie Simon
Links
- Candy and Valor Magazine
Welcome back to another episode of Drop and Give Me 20! For today’s episode, our guest is Andy Nelson, a lawyer passionate about providing military community entrepreneurs the legal advice that protects their brands.
Listen as Lindsey and Andy discuss legal ramifications, perspectives on trademarks and copyrights in business, and how individuals and companies can protect their brands.
Highlights
- [01:32] Introducing Andy
- [02:41] Andy’s career as a lawyer helping military entrepreneurs
- [05:56] Discussions on trademarks and copyrights in business
- [11:55] Differences in business concerns between military and civilian entrepreneurs
- [16:05] Getting to know more about Andy’s life and career
- [19:49] Andy’s advice in the legal aspect of entrepreneurship
Quote
- [20:00] “Insulate your personal assets from liability. Two ways to do it: (1) have the right commercial insurance, (2) organize an entity.” -Andy Nelson
Profile
- Andy on Facebook
- Andy on Instagram
- Fortis Law
- Andy Nelson on LinkedIn
Welcome back to another episode of Drop and Give Me 20! Our guest for today’s episode is Lindsay Helm, CEO and Founder at Empower Employ.
Lindsay’s journey is unique because she is a military spouse and is also a veteran. From serving the military, she now helps her fellow military spouses and vets, working hard on her organization that aims to bridge the wage gap on underemployment for military spouses and veterans.
Check out this session with Lindsay and be inspired by her experiences as a spouse, a veteran, and a business owner.
Lindsay’s journey is unique because she is a military spouse and is also a veteran. From serving the military, she now helps her fellow military spouses and vets, working hard on her organization that aims to bridge the wage gap on underemployment for military spouses and veterans.
Check out this session with Lindsay and be inspired by her experiences as a spouse, a veteran, and a business owner.
Highlights
- [1:07] Introducing Lindsay
- [2:29] Lindsay’s Empower Employ organization
- [6:42] Struggles when starting to form her organization
- [9:54] Lindsay’s business perspectives
- [11:33] Lindsay’s advice
Quote:
- [10:35] “We talked about the struggles of what it’s like to do your own thing. It’s exhausting. You have to learn to run your business, don’t let it run you. I’m guilty of both.” - Lindsay Helm
Profile
Empower Employ
Empower Employ Facebook page
Empower Employ on Instagram
Empower Employ on Twitter
Empower Employ on LinkedIn
Germono Advertising Company on Youtube
Drop and Give me 20 Facebook Group
Welcome back to another episode of Drop and Give Me 20! For today’s episode, our guest is Holly Vega, the president and co-founder of Military Hearts Matter.
Military Hearts Matter is a 501c3 nonprofit organization with a vision to help educate, support, and create programs for the military heart community. Together with a board, volunteers, and ambassadors of military spouses and veterans, the organization is paving the way to fully support our military heart community. Together we will help educate, support, and create programs for the military heart community. Check out this session with Holly and learn more about her experiences as a spouse and mompreneur. Highlights
- [1:06] Introducing Holly
- [3:26] Learning Holly’s why
- [3:52] Being a military influencer
- [8:22] Building network and connections
- [15:16] Holly’s insights in the military community
Quote:
- [19:32] “…Sometimes your base recognizes you and sometimes, they don’t. And I got to listen. Listen. And then reach out and say, I see you.” - Holly Vega
Profile
Military Hearts Matter Military Hearts Matter Facebook page Military Hearts Matter on Instagram Military Hearts Matter on Twitter Military Hearts Matter on LinkedIn Germono Advertising Company on Youtube
Drop and Give me 20 Facebook Group
Welcome back to another episode of Drop and Give Me 20! Our guest for today’s episode is Kaylee Mitchell Daisy, a rockstar graphic designer of her own enterprise, Lazy Lemons.
As a young student in high school, Kaylee was tasked with preparing their yearbook and that was when her passion for designing came into the picture. She realized that this was something she wanted to do in the future and now has grown her business to include employees and work all across the states.
Kaylee loves her way of life so sharing some of the best practices is always part of what she advocates: being an empowered career woman and entrepreneur, despite obstacles within the military community.
Highlights
[2:59] - Introducing Kaylee
[5:54] - The importance of focus in a career
[9:20] - The struggles in the military community
[13:22] - Adapting to changes
[23:02] - The best places to look for clients
Quote:
- "And sometimes I’ve had to work with clients and it took them a little bit to trust me like ‘Okay, she knows what she’s doing. I understood it. I understand now that she’s good at what she does.’ And so now, year after year, it is so much easier working with them and it just keeps getting better because they have built more trust with me...” - Kaylee Mitchell Daisy
Profile
Kaylee on LinkedIn
Lazy Lemons on LinkedIn
Lazy Lemons
Lazy Lemons on Facebook
Lazy Lemons on Instagram
Germono Advertising Company on Youtube
Drop and Give me 20 Facebook Group
Welcome back to another episode of Drop and Give Me 20! Our guest for today’s episode is Stephen Colon, a fellow podcaster and founder of Knucklehead Media Group. Stephen Colon is the Director of Business Development of Knucklehead Media Group which runs his podcast show, Knucklehead Podcast. He served in the Marine Corps for several years. After leaving the military, he entered the business world. Many of the principles he uses in business came from the hardships he faced in his life. From his life experiences, he learned persistence, the ability to adapt, the importance of having a mission and putting your mission into action (“bust your knuckles a little bit”). Highlights: * [1:05] Introducing Stephen Colon * [4:05] Stephen shares his military background * [7:18] Things he learned in the Marines that apply to business * [11:26] Thinking of life after military service * [16:47] Explaining about his being observational and his self-awareness * [21:43] The importance of having a support system * [24:47] The best to contact or to connect with him * [25:23] The last opportunity he turned down
Quote: [14:30] “You’ll learn over time that there are different ways to access capital. There are different ways to access different deals. And, there are certainly different ways that you can go make things work, and sometimes it doesn’t.” - Stephen Colon Links: Knucklehead Podcast on Instagram Knucklehead on Facebook Knucklehead on Twitter Knucklehead on LinkedIn Profile: Stephen on LinkedIn Stephen on Knucklehead Germono Advertising Company on Youtube
Drop and Give me 20 Facebook Group
Welcome back to another episode of Drop and Give Me 20!
Jessica Hall of United Through Reading joins us in today’s episode. As the Director of Marketing and Communications, Jessica strategically leads United Through Reading’s marketing and communication efforts. She has over ten years of experience working in publishing and nonprofits, creating content and managing communications strategies across digital platforms. Highlights:
- [2:54] Introducing Jessica Hall
- [5:36] Jessica shares the first time she had to quit a job
- [9:44] The reality behind remote work
- [12:17] The inter-state hiring crisis
- [15:01] Bridging the gap between being a parent and employee
- [17:22] The importance of organizations
- [21:39] Getting rid of toxic mindsets in groups
- [28:09] Words of wisdom for listeners
Quote:
- [25:08] You don’t want to burn bridges. - Jessica Hall
Profile: Jessica Hall on Instagram Jessica Hall on Twitter Jessica Hall on LinkedIn Work: United Through Reading on Facebook United Through Reading on Instagram United Through Reading on Twitter United Through Reading on LinkedIn Germono Advertising Company on Youtube
Drop and Give me 20 Facebook Group
Welcome back to another episode of Drop and Give Me 20!
Kellie Artis is the COO of Millie. Millie helps military families move with a network of people who've been in your shoes and are ready to help before, during and after your PCS. As a seasoned military spouse, Kellie understands all of the ups and downs of military moves and how it affects families, including work and career advancement. She shares insights to alleviate the stress of military families based on her experience. Highlights:
- [3:33] Introducing Kellie Artis
- [10:19] The importance of having allies
- [12:21] Bear in mind your personal and business values
- [13:07] Do not be afraid to make mistakes
- [13:49] Being happy with what you do
- [17:12] Being involved in military groups
- [22:44] Fast talk with Lindsey
Quote:
- [18:48] Find the people that know things that you don't. And be really good friends with them. - Kellie Artis
Link:
022: MILLIE Profile: Kellie Artis LinkedIn Profile Kellie’s Websites
Virtual Veterans Community Germono Advertising Company on Youtube
Drop and Give me 20 Facebook Group
Welcome back to another episode of Drop and Give Me 20! Corey Henderson from Stars and Stripes joins us in today’s episode.
Corey Henderson is a multimedia consultant with Stars and Stripes, a notable media outlet among the military community. Listen to Corey’s experience as a mover and shaker in the military community and his advice on how to connect your business with media partners. Highlights:
- [1:27] Guest introductions
- [3:06] Corey’s background
- [4:11] Corey explains the art of pitching the right news stories
- [5:14] Corey shares the perfect way to build media relations and networks
- [6:26] Identifying the right media channel that resonates with the audience
- [18:12] Fast talk with Lindsey and Corey
Quote:
- [07:35] “Make a comment or a reaction a reporter has posted on Twitter, and then you can position yourself as having an angle on it, having expertise on it. And you can grow that relationship and you may even become a source that a reporter goes to next time for more information on that story.” - Corey Henderson
Profile: Corey Henderson’s LinkedIn Germono Advertising Company on Youtube
Drop and Give me 20 Facebook Group
Wrapping up an awesome season with Claire Yanta-O’Mahoney as a co-host. Claire has been part of the podcast as a guest and it’s been an honor to have her on. In Claire’s business, Fleur de Lis Fitness, she helps women feel that they are the bosses of their bodies. She is a trainer and nutritionist with a master of science in psychology, bringing the special sauce to the wellness world.
In this episode, Claire and Lindsey reminisce about some of the highlights from the conversations in Season 5.
Listen and enjoy!
Highlights:
- [1:28] Claire on being part of the podcast
- [02:53] How they came up with the theme for Season 5
- [03:26] Some highlights of Season 5
- [03:35] Common themes from the guests: resiliency and creativity
- [05:05] Significance of being military affiliated on resiliency
- [07:15] Knowing that you belong to a community
- [07:50] Closing thoughts from Lindsey and Claire
Quote:
- [09:36] "There's room in the sandbox for everyone to play…there are different ways that we can all find room in an audience to serve." - Claire
Links:
- Drop and Give me 20 Podcast
Claire Yanta-O’Mahoney
- Fleur de Lis Fitness
- Claire Yanta-O’Mahoney on Instagram
- Email Address: claire@fdlfitness.com
Germono Advertising Company on Youtube
Drop and Give me 20 Facebook Group
Welcome back to another episode of Drop and Give Me 20! Corie Weathers and Tammy Meyer joins us in our first episode for 2021!
Corie Weathers is a military spouse, a licensed professional counselor (LPC), a sought-after speaker, consultant and author of Sacred Spaces: My Journey to the Heart of Military Marriage. She has focused her career for the last 20 years as a counselor specializing in marriage, divorce, women's issues, PTSD, and substance abuse.
Tammy Meyer is a military spouse, a certified Life Coach, a certified Purpose Clarity Life and Career Coach, and a Health and Wellness Advocate and Educator. She helps military spouses keep their own identity, enjoy a thriving career, and pursue their personal best in health and fitness.
Highlights:
- [02:33 Guest introductions
- [03:35] Corie and Tammy shared how they came to know each other via Armed Forces Spouse of the Year
- [06:35] Not needing any labels and not feeling the need to only associate with someone in the same branch
- [08:35] Career transitions and opportunities
- [17:29] Things from 2020 that they would like to carry on to 2021
- [28:35] Word/mantra that they will take in to 2021
Quote:
- [11:24] "That's the great thing of being an entrepreneur, you can be portable. You can take it wherever you want to go. You can change and shift or pause, take a break. You just have that full control and have that full creative control too of whatever you want your business to be." - Corie Weathers
Links:
Corie Weathers
- Corie's website
- Corie on Instagram
- The Life Giver Directory
- Sacred Spaces: My Journey to the Heart of Military Marriage
Tammy Meyer
- Email Address: tammymeyerlifecoach@gmail.com
- Tammy on Instagram
Claire Yanta-O’Mahoney
- Fleur de Lis Fitness
- Claire Yanta-O’Mahoney on Instagram
- Email Address: claire@fdlfitness.com
Germono Advertising Company on Youtube
Drop and Give me 20 Facebook Group
Welcome back to another episode of Drop and Give Me 20! Our friends Katy Stevick and Nadia Anac are joining us to talk about staying motivated and goal planning.
Katy Stevick is a financial advisor at Align Financial Planning and the owner of the MacPherson House. Katy was the 2018 Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year for Fort Bragg.
Armed with a law degree, a background in business entrepreneurship, and a thorough understanding of the real estate market, Nadia uses the most up-to-date tools and proven, timeless methods to help her clients navigate through the buying, selling, or investing process.
Highlights:
- [01:40] Guest introductions – we go wayyy back
- [07:06] Things we developed in 2020 that we want to carry in 2021
- [14:10] On their business finances
- [17:14] Staying motivated in a constantly changing industry
- [24:50] Advice to those who are starting their business
Quote:
- [18:13] “My job is to figure out what it is they want to do and how do we get them there. But I can’t really do it for them.” - Nadia Anac
Links:
Book
Atomic Habits by James Clear
Katy Stevick
- Katy on Instagram
- Katy on LinkedIn
- The MacPherson House
Nadia Anac
- Nadia Knows Real Estate Facebook Page
- Nadia on LinkedIn
- Nadia Anac Website
Claire Yanta-O’Mahoney
- Fleur de Lis Fitness
- Claire Yanta-O’Mahoney on Instagram
- Email Address: claire@fdlfitness.com
Germono Advertising Company on Youtube
Drop and Give me 20 Facebook Group
Welcome back to another episode of Drop and Give Me 20! Today’s episode features Michaela Rosales and Melissa St. Clair.
Michaela Rosales is a transitional life coach and the founder of Honest Talk International. She shares her experiences as military entrepreneur who is passionate about connecting, relating and encouraging women to grow in confidence.
Melissa St. Clair is a military spouse and the Chief Worker Bee at Paper Chaser, providing online office support for a variety of small businesses as a Virtual Assistant (VA). She strives to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses by taking over their tedious tasks and increasing their productivity.
Highlights:
- [02:10] Introductions
- [03:58] 2020 and Michaela and Melissa's businesses
- [09:11] Biggest struggles for them and their clients
- [12:20] Advice they would give to someone in the military who is thinking of starting a business
- [17:00] Setting the foundation at the beginning of how you can find the moments of self-care
- [23:04] The loneliness of entrepreneurship and ways to overcome it
Quote:
- [09:34] "You have to remind yourself that you can't do it all, all the time," - Michaela
Links:
Michaela Rosales
- Honest Talk International
- Michaela on Instagram
- Email Address: michaela@honesttalkinternational.com
Melissa St. Clair
- Melissa on LinkedIn
- Paper Chaser
- Paper Chaser on Twitter
- Paper Chaser on Facebook
Claire Yanta-O’Mahoney
- Fleur de Lis Fitness
- Claire Yanta-O’Mahoney on Instagram
- Email Address: claire@fdlfitness.com
Germono Advertising Company on Youtube
Drop and Give me 20 Facebook Group
Welcome back to another episode of Drop and Give Me 20! Today’s episode features two guests who have very lateral educational backgrounds!
Sally Ann Zoll is the CEO of United Through Reading. Sally serves as the chief guardian and spokesperson for the organization’s vision and mission, builds and sustains relationships with stakeholders and partners, and leads programs, finances, and internal team. Sally is an army spouse of more than 30 years and her son, an army reservist, has served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Zoie Hoffman is a passionate educator, air force wife, and the owner of Hoffman Tutoring Group. She helps students in grades K-8 get the personalized online tutoring they need by connecting them with qualified educators. These educators are able to meet your child's specific learning needs by planning instruction and learning activities.
Highlights:
- [02:00] Introductions
- [04:55] How 2020 has been for Zoie and Sally
- [06:42] The status of United Through Reading during this pandemic
- [10:00] On Sally being worried and taking care of her team
- [11:36] How Zoie is doing and how the pandemic has affected her organization
- [12:15] Zoie on being a new mom of twins
- [14:40] Advice the guests would give to someone who is thinking about starting a business or to someone leading an organization
- [17:25] Importance of patience
- [20:18] On disconnecting
Quote:
- [17:25] "Patience is what I tell my team is like water in a rock. It drips, drips, drips and all of a sudden you see it made an impact." -Sally
Links:
Zoie Hoffman
- Hoffman Tutoring Group
- Hoffman Tutoring Group on Facebook
- Zoie on Instagram
Sally Ann Zoll
- United Through Reading
- United Through Reading on Facebook
Claire Yanta-O’Mahoney
- Fleur de Lis Fitness
- Claire Yanta-O’Mahoney on Instagram
Welcome back to another episode of Drop and Give Me 20! We have two very special guests in this episode, Lauren Hope and Rachel Brenke.
Lauren Hope is the owner of owner, designer, and artisan behind Hope Design, Ltd ®. As a military spouse herself, she carefully hand crafts unique, military jewelry and accessories to honor our country's service veterans and heroes. Lauren also founded the ShopMilitary Movement. #ShopMilitary is a national movement to support military spouse and veteran entrepreneurs.
Rachel Brenke is a master business coach and lawyer for photographers and online entrepreneurs (bloggers, speakers, etc.) operating the brands TheLawTog®, bloglegally, and fitlegally. She is the founder of the Business Bites podcast. She is also a mother of five, wife to an Army veteran, a practicing lawyer, an author, a cancer survivor, and a Team USA athlete.
Highlights:
- [01:43] What to expect from the round table discussion with these military entrepreneurs
- [02:44] How they are doing
- [03:04] On being an entrepreneur and a parent
- [03:34] How as military business owner you are in constant unplanned motion
- [04:45] Reconnecting as a family through the pandemic
- [05:15] Learning that emotions are temporary
- [06:00] People wanting to start businesses in relationship to the pandemic
- [11:10] A better trajectory by simplifying and focusing
- [13:40] Their advice on new military spouses who want to start their business
- [20:04] Be careful who you work with
- [20:30] Information that new military entrepreneurs should be aware of
- [30:08] Just because they wear a uniform, does not mean they are a good person.
Quote:
- [11:22] "...Having the space to be vulnerable and surrounding yourself with the people and even within your own mind. Identifying "I have these emotions. It's temporary either I am frustrated or I am excited" and getting back to really the core of what's important. It sounds so cliche but my word for the year has been "appreciation". I've really learned appreciation but to get to that, I have to simplify the process." - Rachel Brenke
Links:
Lauren Hope
- Hope Design Ltd.
- Shop Military
Rachel Brenke
- Rache Brenke's website
Claire Yanta-O’Mahoney
- Fleur de Lis Fitness
- Claire Yanta-O’Mahoney on Instagram
Welcome back to another episode of Drop and Give Me 20! Trish Alegre-Smith and Adam Bird are our first guests for this new season.
Trish Alegre-Smith is featured as a Standout Air Force Veteran and Spouse in Military Officer Magazine in 2018 and a featured entrepreneur on Hiring America TV in 2019.
She is a professional headshot, branding, and event photographer in the Washington, D.C. Metro Area. She teams with other photographers, videographers, and stylists to customize each photography session for her clients and their specific needs.
Adam Bird is an Army veteran and the founder of Heroes Media Group and co-founder of several other projects.
Heroes Media Group (HMG) is a digital media, branding, and publishing platform committed to providing a voice for community heroes and those who support them. HMG is dedicated to providing education, entertainment, and empowerment to active duty service members, veterans, firefighters, first responders, law enforcement, educators, medical professionals, and the clergy.
Highlights:
- [00:55] Introductions
- [01:50] This season's concept
- [03:30] Changes on Trish's business
- [04:19] COVID-19 impacts
- [06:20] Adam on making pivots and transitions in business and how the military prepared him for it
- [09:45] How both Adam and Trish are really doing with their businesses as military entrepreneurs
- [17:50] Advice to new veterans who are thinking of starting a business
- [23:20] Experiencing the impostor syndrome
Quote:
- [22:59] "There are some things in life better permanent. Yes, but there are many things that aren't." - Claire
Links:
Adam Bird
- Heroes Media Group
- Adam on LinkedIn
- Adam on Facebook
- Adam on Instagram
Trish Alegre-Smith
- Trish on Twitter
- Trish on Instagram
- Photography by Trish Alegre-Smith
Claire Yanta-O’Mahoney
- Fleur de Lis Fitness
- Claire Yanta-O’Mahoney on Instagram
Join us for another season of Drop and Give Me 20! In this season, Lindsey will be joined by her co-host, Claire Yanta-O’Mahoney, founder of Fleur de Lis Fitness. Both are military entrepreneurs and can’t wait to share the experiences of other military entrepreneurs with listeners.
In this introductory episode, we have a round table discussion focusing on how people are REALLY doing. We talk about how people practice self-care, how their businesses affect their lives, and more.
Highlights:
- [01:19] Introducing Claire Yanta-O’Mahoney
- [02:10] Claire and Lindsey’s history
- [03:22] About Fleur de Lis Fitness
- [04:35] How COVID-19 is affecting their businesses
- [05:08] Connecting with other people
- [07:00] Their concept for season 5 of Drop and Give Me 20
- [08:20] On mental health and mental awareness
- [12:15] What drives us to do the things we love
- [16:30] What is a perfect day for them
Quote:
- [05:45] "Staying connected and listening to things that are uplifting, hearing people's stories and learning from them is something that I always find important. I think more than ever, now we are looking for the stories, for the inspiration and the beautiful way humans connect and because that is what we are meant to do."
Links:
Zoom
Claire Yanta-O’Mahoney on Instagram
Drop and Give me 20 Facebook Group
In the Drop and Give Me 20 season finale, Lindsey Germono and Bobbie Anne Williams walk listeners through the steps on running a podcast!
In part 1, Lindsey discusses the steps leading up to the recording. Then Bobbie Anne Williams, our Marketing Assistant, shares her steps in communicating the podcast out.
Highlights:
- [01:15] Things to think about before starting a podcast
- [02:20] Steps in recording a podcast
- [02:32] Finding a guest
- [04:20] Recording and editing
- [05:40] Publishing
- [07:00] Marketing
- [07:17] Distributing to all social media channels
- [08:09] Making sure to tag guests on every platforms
- [08:30] Partnering the podcast themes with the marketing themes
- [08:50] Repurposing the podcast episodes
Quote:
- [02:32] "The very first step is to find a guest. I have toyed with a couple different formats, a couple different themes over the course of the years and I think that that's a great thing to do as well. I was very nervous about changing the format in season 2 but every single seasons, I've done them a little bit different."
Links:
Zoom
Google Forms
WordPress
Libsyn
Profile:
Drop and Give Me 20 Facebook Group
Germono Advertising Company Facebook Page
Germono Advertising Company on Instagram
Germono Advertising Company on Twitter
Germono Advertising Company on LinkedIn
Drop and Give Me 20 Podcast on LinkedIn
Germono Advertising Company Youtube Channel
Drop and Give Me 20 on Spotify
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20 Season 4, Lindsey interviews Amanda Huffman. Amanda is a veteran, author, and speaker. She is also the creator of Airman to Mom and the host of Women of the Military Podcast.
Amanda served in the Air Force for six years as a civil engineer and was deployed to Afghanistan as part of a provincial reconstruction team. She traded in her combat boots for a diaper bag and stayed at home with her two boys.
Women of the Military podcast started out of the idea that women want to tell their military stories. And while there are podcasts that focus on military stories, she felt there was a missing piece as most people don’t know what it’s like to be a woman in the military.
Amanda interviews women who have served in the military or are currently serving in the military. She also shares certain aspects of her military experience as an Air Force officer, military spouse, veteran, and mom.
Highlights:
- [01:34] How Amanda transitioned from blogging to podcasting
- [02:10] What her blog and podcast are all about
- [02:35] Women of the military story
- [03:38] Categorizing her topics by different themes
- [04:58] One of the many challenges she faced after transitioning from active duty to military spouse
- [06:58] Opportunities that came her way because of podcasting
- [08:25] How Amanda approached a major television station with her story
- [09:47] Amanda's process for podcasting
- [17:20] Amanda's advice to those who want to try podcasting
Quote:
- [09:09] "What's the worst that will happen though? They'll say NO or they don't respond? It just takes a little bit of your time and so I just try and look at it that way."
Links:
Squadcast
Calendly
Anchor.fm
Profile:
Women of the Military Podcast
Airman to Mom
Amanda on Instagram
Amanda on Twitter
Amanda on Facebook
Amanda on LinkedIn
Women of the Military: A Compilation of Stories from American Women Service Members by Amanda Huffman
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20 Season 4, Lindsey interviews Pam Chavez. She is a military spouse and a certified holistic nutrition consultant.
Pam Chavez is an award-winning Certified Holistic Nutritionist who helps military spouses lose weight and uncover their deeper purpose. Her signature, down to earth approach teaches them how to prioritize themselves, discover their own personal mission, and break through the loneliness that can accompany military life.
She is the founder of Health On the Homefront, an online media and publications site which aims to help military spouses learn how to prioritize themselves, discover their own personal missions, and break through the loneliness of military life.
Highlights:
- [1:39] Who Pam Chavez is
- [2:30] How she started her business
- [3:45] The gap she bridged in South Korea
- [5:08] How she brought a group of military spouses together
- [5:20] The impacts of a healthy diet
- [8:03] On the concept of quality over quantity
- [9:33] Her target audience or clientele
- [9:59] The social media applications she uses for her business
- [12:21] How she treats business competition
Quote:
- [6:24] "I jut wanna empower them step up and take their health as a priority as well because I know how easy it is to just put everybody else first because the lifestyle demands us to do that.”
Links:
Military Spouse Success Facebook group
Health on the Homefront
Pam on Instagram
Pam on Pinterest
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20 Season 4, Lindsey interviews Raymond "The Marine Rapper" Lott. He is a U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Raymond's music has been featured in different music platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, Range 15 Movie Soundtrack, VET TV, and the Oscar Mike TV series on the Go90 network.
He also has 10 years experience in public affairs, marketing and advertising, community relations, entertainment business, and social media. In this episode, Raymond talks about how that experience led him towards influencer marketing and how to be authentic as an influencer.
Ninja Punch Music, founded by TMR, is an online media platform that promotes projects created by military veteran recording artists of all music genres from around the world.
Highlights:
- [02:10] Who Raymond "The Marine Rapper" is
- [03:00] On realizing the power of social media
- [03:33] How Raymond started going viral
- [05:14] Raymond started to make rap videos and decided to enroll in a music school
- [06:52] The authenticity of his music and how people start to gravitate towards it
- [08:15] Applied for Bunker Labs and started to have a business-mindset
- [09:27] On influencer marketing
- [10:35] Difference between real versus fake influencers
- [13:00] On the validity built by different relationships
- [14:41] Finding who you are in the business community
- [15:42] Sharing your authentic self
Quote:
- [23:43] "If you live your passion and you go for it, all the followers, all the influence, all the connections in the community and all the smiles will come."
Links:
Raymond Lott on LinkedIn
The Marine Rapper on Facebook
The Marine Rapper on Twitter
The Marine Rapper on YouTube
The Marine Rapper on Instagram
Ninja Punch Music
Gems Collins is a business strategist, entrepreneur, and military spouse. Her husband is an American service member. Gems is originally from the UK but moved to the US when she became a military spouse.
Gems helps military spouses discover their purpose and create their own businesses. In this episode, Lindsey and Gems talked about authenticity and entrepreneurship. Gems also shared her experiences dealing with authenticity in entrepreneurship, finding one's why, and many more.
Highlights:
- [01:32] Who Gems Collins is and what her business is all about
- [02:32] How she started her business of helping other people
- [04:42] Her thoughts on authenticity and entrepreneurship
- [05:35] Gem's past experience struggling with authenticity and entrepreneurship
- [08:33] What authenticity means
- [09:06] On focusing more on the message that you are giving people and how you want to help them
- [11:02] Difference between being relatable and trying to change who you are
- [12:02] On finding your tribe
- [15:12] Learning how to cut out the noise
- [18:30] Finding and understanding your WHY
Quote:
- [08:35] "Authenticity to me is showing and being your true self without any concern or repercussion for what other people see than us. So, it is being comfortable in knowing who you are and sharing that with people regardless of how you think they may think about it."
Links:
Gems on Instagram
Gems on Facebook
Gems on LinkedIn
Gems Collins website
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20 Season 4, Lindsey interviews Katelyn Tinsley of Homefront Room Revival.
Katelyn Tinsley is an Air Force veteran and the founder of Homefront Room Revival. This nonprofit was created to help enhance the military life cycle by creating home comfort. Katelyn is also a military spouse at Seymour Johnson AFB. She was awarded the AFI Air Force Spouse of the Year in 2019.
Homefront Room Revival is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with a mission to provide military families with creative outlets to improve resiliency and enrich the military life cycle. In this episode, Katelyn talks about the purpose and mission of their organization and how they built a community of volunteers.
Highlights:
- [02:27] Katelyn's background and how she started her organization
- [04:05] Dec’ the Deployment Program
- [06:55] Importance of having a presence on base
- [09:30] Building a community of volunteers and showing appreciation
- [12:20] The reason she created the organization
- [13:00] How Katelyn got key leadership spouses to support her
Quote:
- [11:20] “ . . . it’s the sisterhood, the brotherhood, and camaraderie that comes out of the studio and out of the collaboration of the projects . . . ”
Links:
Homefront Room Revival
Homefront Room Revival on Facebook
Homefront Room Revival on Instagram
Email Address: kate@homefrontroomrevival.org
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20 Season 4, Lindsey interviews Lacey Langford of The Military Money Show.
Lacey Langford is a U.S. Air Force veteran, military spouse, financial coach, speaker, and writer. Lacey is an accredited financial counselor with over 15 years of experience in financial planning, counseling, and coaching.
Lacey is also the military money expert and the founder of LaceyLangford.com, a personal finance blog specializing in the unique world of the U.S. military. She is the creator and host of “The Military Money Show,” a podcast dedicated to helping the military community with personal finance.
In this episode, Lacey shared how her interest and passion for personal finance developed, how she got frustrated and felt like she has lost her identity, and how she saves time and plans ahead.
Highlights:
- [02:24] Why Lacey started her business
- [03:13] On feeling like losing her own identity as a military spouse
- [04:49] On figuring out her business and learning to blog and podcast
- [05:53] The importance of saving time and planning ahead
- [09:00] The process of setting goals
- [18:35] On creating strategic partnerships
Quote:
- [07: 35] "To get it in your budget, you need to get in their budget."
Link:
Airtable
Profile:
Lacey's website
Military Money Show by Lacey Langford
Lacey on Twitter
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20 Season 4, Lindsey interviews Becky Hoy of Brave Crate.
Becky Hoy is an Army spouse and the founder of Brave Crate. She believes that deployment is one of the best things that has ever happened for the growth of her marriage and her own personal development. Brave Crate is a deployment care package for military spouses.
In this episode, Becky shared the top 3 apps that has helped her run and organize her business. She also shares how others can use the apps effectively.
Highlights:
- [03:44] Creating systems and being efficient and productive
- [04:21] How she got the idea for Brave Crate
- [05:30] What the packages contain
- [07:15] Apps that can help you run your business and stay organized
- [08:00] On Asana, a project management and task scheduling app
- [10:44] On RescueTime, a time management software that helps you figure out where you are spending time on the Internet
- [13:11] On Toggl, a productivity tool and simple time tracker with powerful reports
- [15:10] On Planoly, an app that can help users manage, plan, and schedule Instagram posts from their computers and mobile phones
- [18:00] Platforms that provide analytics
- [20:52] On Tiktok, a social media app that lets you watch, create, and share videos
Quote:
- [08:50] "And I think the real gold in Asana, Trello, or any of the project management tool really is being able to pseudo-automate your tasks."
Links:
Asana
Trello
RescueTime
Toggl
Planoly
Stories edit
Coschedule
Later
Hootsuite
Facebook for Creators
Canva
Tiktok
Profile:
Brave Crates
Brave Crate on Facebook
Brave Crate on Instagram
Drop and Give Me 20 is in it's 4th season!
Today, I am very excited to be joined by Adam Bird. Adam is an Army veteran of 9 years and now an entrepreneur. He started his company, Heroes Media Group, about 4 years ago.
Heroes Media Group (HMG) is a digital media, branding and publishing platform committed to providing a voice for our community heroes and those who support them. HMG is dedicated to providing education, entertainment, and empowerment to active duty service members, veterans, firefighters, first responders, law enforcement, educators, medical professionals, and the clergy.
Highlights:
- [02:54] On starting podcasting and making a book
- [04:45] On meeting new people at events
- [05:37] On feeling reserved and being in the army
- [08:59] Tips to those people who might be introverted
- [14:05] Veteran community versus the military spouse community on entrepreneurship
- [18:35] On not being afraid to ask for help
- [19:20] On worrying about the business and not worrying about other things
- [22:00] Determining people who should be in your network
- [26:29] On growing your business through LinkedIn
Quote:
- [05:13] "When you go to an event, step out of your box and get to know as many people as you possibly can. It's not always what you know but who you know.”
Links:
Heroes Media Group
LinkedIn
Adam on LinkedIn
Adam on Facebook
Adam on Instagram
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20 Season 3, Lindsey invited Jessica Bertsch, founder of Powerhouse Planning.
Jessica gave us updates on what's going on with her business right now. You will also hear some messages from people she has made an impact on.
Highlights:
- [02:06] What's new with Jessica
- [03:18] The testament to being a business owner
- [04:56] The other element for this podcast
- [05:30] First letter for Jessica
- [07:13] Who Randy is
- [07:59] Second letter for Jessica
- [08:27] The top 10 things that the messenger love about Jessica
- [12:03] Third letter for Jessica
Quote:
- "Non-profit certainly need help."
Links:
014: Powerhouse Planning
Powerhouse Planning
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20 Season 3, Lindsey invited Elizabeth Boardman, the Chief Dreamer and founder of The Milspo Project.
Elizabeth gave us some updates on what's going with her business since the last time we spoke to her. You will also hear messages from people she made an impact on.
Highlights:
- [01:00] The tendency to not hear feedback when working alone and not having someone to report to
- [03:33] What's new with The Milspo Project
- [04:11] What The Milspo Project is
- [06:50] Redefining their mission
- [09:45] First letter for Elizabeth
- [12:45] On navigating fundraising
- [14:10] Second letter for Elizabeth
- [17:00] Stepping back and working on things when running a business
Quote:
- "Elizabeth owns everything she does and doesn't do. That doesn't mean that every interaction is perfect and every decision is the exact right one. And I'd always, every time, rather work for someone who owns up to mistakes and loses and not just wins."
Links:
001: The Milspo Project
Milspo Project
Milspo Project on Facebook
Milspo Project Membership
In this episode, Lindsey's guest is Kathy Stoddard Torrey. In today’s show, you’ll hear about Kathy's life now, the people who are always there to support her, and letters from her loved ones.
Topics:
- [02:30] What Kathy has been up to
- [05:41] On whether or not she’s still taking clients
- [07:50] The people who are always there to support to her
- [11:43] Letter from her youngest son
- [14:08] Letter from her friend
- [17:44] Letter from her sister
- [25:42] Lindsey's failure with employees
- [31:33] How to connect with Kathy
Quote:
- "I couldn't just toss everything over to somebody."
Links:
- Ep 010: Tapfer Consulting
- Kathy on Facebook
- Kathy on Instagram
- Kathy on LinkedIn
- Kathy's website
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20 Season 3,Lindsey's guest is Claire Yanta-O'Mahoney. Claire has been a guest in season 1 of the podcast.
She is the founder of Fleur de Lis Fitness. Lindsey read letters from Claire's loved ones and Claire shared her thoughts on them.
Highlights:
- [2:36] What is new with Claire and Fleur de Lis Fitness
- [4:43] The first letter for Claire
- [6:02] Claire’s sister's response to Lindsey's question
- [7:18] Third letter for Claire
- [9:16] Claire's thoughts on the emails
- [9:48] How Lindsey and Claire met
- [10:34] Lindsey's two cents for Claire
- [13:02] Purpose of season 3
Quote:
"Successful entrepreneurs only sight failure as one of their most stabilising steps on the path to success."
Link:
013: FLEUR DE LIS FITNESS
Fleur de Lis Fitness
In this first episode of Drop and Give Me 20 Season 3, Lindsey visits with Katie Christy. Katie was a guest in Season 1 of Drop and Give Me 20.
Katie hears how she has made an impact on those around her, listen as Lindsey reads these letters!
Highlights:
- [03:44] The reason Katie wasn't able to continue her business
- [07:33] Katie's mom shares how her daughter has inspired those around her
- [11:09] Josh's replies to Lindsey, but Lindsey screws this up
- [14:28] Abi's words of reflection about Katie
- [17:55] Tips to listeners
Quote:
"It's so easy for us to shy away from our natural strengths because they come naturally to us, right? We think everyone's good at because we're good at them. And so I think one of the things that we really deny ourselves is that ability to accept praise to refill that tank..." - Katie Christy
Link:
006: [MINI-SERIES] ACTIVATE YOUR TALENT with Katie Christy
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey interviewed Dan Dwyer, the founder of Vet2BizLife, and Amy Uptgraft, a playwright who wrote the play "I Will Wait" and the founder/artistic director of The Veteran's Spouse Project.
Dan Dwyer is a U.S. Army Veteran of 22 years, a husband, father, leadership coach and veteran entrepreneur. Dan's Vet2BizLife Podcast is dedicated to the boots to the business advancement of all veteran entrepreneurs.
Amy is a proud military spouse. Her husband, LTC Jamie Uptgraft is the commander of 1-501 INF (ABN) out of JBER, AK and is currently deployed with his unit to Afghanistan in support of Operation Resolute Support. Amy is actively involved in various Army volunteer organizations. Amy's play focused on stories of veteran spouses across generations. She aims to give voice to the experiences of military spouses across the generations using music, drama, dance, and expressive arts.
Important topics they discuss:
- [01:48] Who Dan is and the kind of business he has
- [03:18] Who Amy is
- [04:38] How Amy came up with the idea for the Veteran's Spouse Project (VSP)
- [05:02] How Dan came up with his business
- [05:49] How Dan helps people who seek his business advice and guidance
- [07:29] What authenticity means for Amy
- [08:57] On turning down opportunities/relationships from others that doesn’t feel right
- [15:49] Their advice to the listeners
Quote:
"I think authentic people are high-character individuals that don't just talk the talk, they also walk the walk." - Dan Dwyer
Social:
Dan Dwyer -
Vet2BizLife's website
Vet2BizLife Podcast on iTunes
Vet2BizLife Podcast on Google Play
Vet2BizLife Podcast on iHeartRadio
Vet2BizLife Podcast on Stitcher
Dan on LinkedIn
Dan on Facebook
Dan on Instagram
Dan on Twitter
Dan's Email Address: dan@vet2bizlife.com
Amy Uptgraft -
Amy's website
Amy's Facebook Page
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey interviewed Stephanie Lincoln, the owner and CEO of Fire Team Whiskey Military Health and Fitness and Charlynda Scales, a speaker, mover and shaker, and the founder of Mutt's Sauce.
Fire Team Whiskey® is the vision of Former Army Captain Stephanie Lincoln. She was inspired by her work with the Florida Army National Guard Wellness Program and also her many years working with Military Medical. She observed the steady decline of the fitness and health of Military Service Members over the last 10 years. CPT Lincoln created and published a unique eating plan, a specialized line of nutritional shakes, bars, and other performance supplements and a fitness program that requires no equipment and minimal time. Fire Team Whiskey® encompasses all of those intangible things that a Military Member and First Responder is driven by: Duty, Comradery, and Mission.
Charlynda Scales is a Tennessee native who spent 11 years active duty in the U.S. Air Force. While still on active duty a few years ago, Scales founded a Dayton-based business called “ Mutt’s Sauce,” producing an all-purpose sauce based on a family recipe her late grandfather bequeathed to her.
They talked about how they started their businesses, their products, tips on making products at home, how they help other people, and many more. This episode is a must-listen, so don’t miss it!
Important topics they discuss:
- [01:49] Charlynda's background and how she came up with the Mutt's Sauce business idea
- [02:47] Stephanie's background
- [05:30] How Charlynda started her business
- [06:16] How Charlynda found a company she first ordered from
- [07:38] Stephanie’s products
- [11:03] Mistake Stephanie made
- [11:51] Charlynda’s take on co-packaging
- [13:04] Mutt's Sauce recipe's consistency and how it almost got ruined
- [14:58] Inventory of their products
- [17:18] On people who make products from home
- [20:40] How long they have been established
Quote:
"I would encourage you to talk to somebody who is maybe two or three steps ahead of you. And in this business maybe start it out at home and kind of work out from there so you can kinda not make all the mistakes that I did." - Stephanie Lincoln
Links:
SCORE
Amazon
Fisher House
Social:
Stephanie Lincoln -
Fire Team Whiskey
Fire Team Whiskey on Facebook
Fire Team Whiskey on Twitter
Fire Team Whiskey on Instagram
Fire Team Whiskey on Youtube
Fire Team Whiskey on Amazon
Charlynda Scales -
Mutt's Sauce Website
Mutt's Sauce on Facebook
Mutt's Sauce on Instagram
Mutt's Sauce on Twitter
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey interviewed two of her friends, Dianna Flett of Girl Smarts and Carl Churchill of Alpha Coffee.
Dianna Flett is a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel and has served 21 years in various positions as a military intelligence officer. Girl Smarts is a series of workshops designed to give our young girls motivation and skills to move forward with confidence and strength in the years ahead.
Carl Churchill is the Co-Founder and Chief Coffee Officer of Alpha Coffee. Carl is a combat veteran with 21 years of service as both an enlisted soldier and officer. Alpha Coffee is a veteran and military-spouse co-owned and operated company dedicated to offering our customers amazing coffee, promoting the warrior lifestyle, providing the highest levels of service, and giving back to our military and veterans.
They're going to talk about their backgrounds, Carl giving bag of coffees to deployed service members, managing employees, and more. Tune in and enjoy!
Important topics they discuss:
- [01:24] Diana and Carl's background
- [04:24] For every bag of Alpha Coffee purchased, a cup goes to deployed service members
- [05:56] Tips for those who have employees
- [10:59] What After Action Review (AAR) is
- [15:01] What gave them an opportunity to learn as a leader
Quote:
"Sometimes I think people who have their own business has stopped working on their own leadership, and we can't do that, we have to stay keen on our own leadership skills." - Dianna Flett
Links:
Deputy
Social:
Carl's Alpha Coffee
Carl's Email Adress: carlc@alpha.coffe.com
Dianna's Girl Smarts
Dianna's Email Address: info@girlsmarts.com
Dianna's Facebook Page
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Erin interviews Doug Nordman, author of The Military Guide to Financial Independence and Retirement and The Military Financial Independence and Retirement Pocket Guide.
He spent 20 years as part of the Navy's submarine force. And now he's an enthusiastic surfer, a martial art student, and a veteran of many chaotic home improvement projects.
Among other things, they’ll be discussing how to maximise Facebook groups. He’ll also share how he got into Facebook groups and how it grew. They'll also tackle building audiences, answering other people's questions on posts, getting into other groups, handling controversial comments or posts accordingly, and many more.
If you are one of those people who spends a lot of time on Facebook, you’ll surely enjoy this episode!
Important topics they discuss:
- [01:56] What got him working on Facebook groups and how it grew/evolved
- [02:42] Building audiences
- [04:11] Answering people's questions
- [05:32] How he keeps people engaged
- [07:50] Getting into other groups
- [11:32] How he handles controversial posts or comments
- [14:07] What a beginner who wants to start a Facebook group needs to know
Quote:
"Whenever I'm answering a question, I try to provide a link to the reference and I get pretty good at this after 8 years of writing and blogging and so I know where too look, and that make sure that the subject that's been discussed has the right answers has the right information and the people can act on it later on." - Doug Nordman
Links:
Personal Finance for Military Service Members and Families (Facebook group)
MilitaryTimes
Snopes
Military FIRE (Facebook)
Dave Ramsey Military
Social:
The Military Guide
The Military Guide to Financial Independence and Retirement by Doug Nordman
Military Financial Independence and Retirement Pocket Guide by Doug Nordman
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey is joined by two of her friends, Judy Davis and Lauren Cecora, to talk about becoming an author.
Judy Davis is a military spouse and a successful entrepreneur. The motivational speaker is known nationwide as the Direction Diva. The published author and co-founder of DASIUM is also considered an authority on military life and small business success and is leading the way in depression, addiction, and suicide prevention in teens/young adults.
Lauren Cecora is a military spouse and the author of the book Past-Partum: From Shattered to Sane. Lauren is a postpartum mentor. In 2015, after the birth of her daughter, she was diagnosed with postpartum depression and later postpartum anxiety. In her book, Lauren shared her postpartum depression and anxiety story as well as her sanity saving tips to help any mother regain their sanity.
Important topics they discuss:
- [01:24] Getting to know Lauren and Judy
- [03:00] Judy's books
- [04:06] What made Judy start writing a book
- [04:45] How depression hit her son
- [05:04] Her motivation in writing her book “Warning Signs”
- [06:14] Lauren's book
- [07:11] Some of the sanity saving tips
- [10:50] The traditional way of publishing
- [11:45] Tips on finding a publisher
- [13:57] Self-publishing
- [17:19] Process of getting your book published
- [20:08] On marketing
- [21:22] On having a vast audience
- [23:21] People's review/feedback
Quote:
"There's no better joy than holding your published copy when it's all done. I don't think there's a better feeling other than the first time you hold your baby. It's one of those things but writing the book is only a fraction of what it means to even have a publisher or self-publish. It's just the beginning." - Judy Davis
Links:
Hands Free Mama by Rachel Macy Stafford
CreateSpace
Social:
Judy Davis:
The Direction Diva
DASIUM
Right Side Up by Judy Davis
Warning Signs by Judy Davis
Lauren Cecora:
Lauren's Website
Lauren Cecora - The Sanity Saver Facebook Page
Lauren on Instagram
Past-Partum: From Shattered to Sane by Lauren Cecora
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey interviewed two of her online friends—Kristen Smith and Moni Jefferson. They talked about the concept of collaboration and how it works.
Kristen is the founder of Blog Your Genius, an online education community for women who are looking to create out of the box professional opportunities. She's also a longtime blogger and digital marketer.
Moni is an entrepreneur, PR professional, and accidental app creator. She runs a public relations and social media agency and is also the brains behind MilSpouse Creative, a virtual global networking community for military spouse entrepreneurs to connect, collaborate, and create relationships. Plenty of gold nuggets in this episode so don’t forget to tune in!
Important topics they discuss:
- [01:32] Kristen's background
- [02:20] Moni's background
- [04:20] Business relationships
- [08:29] Advice to people when a collaboration is not working
- [12:05] On giving each other a heads up
- [13:06] On divorcing if things don't match up
- [14:52] What to do first when collaborating
Quote:
"As you grow and you go through different stages with your business, you are going to need relationships, you're gonna need other people to talk to and support you to point you in the right direction." - Kristen Smith
Social:
Asana
Trello
Kristen's Website
Moni's Website
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey invited Anna Blanch Rabe and Rebecca Alwine to discuss a complicated topic—business compliance.
Anna Blanch Rabe is the founder and CEO of Anna Blanch Rabe & Associates LLC, a communications consultancy specialising in shaping and executing the communications strategies for law firms, social enterprises, and socially responsible businesses who see the growth of their local community as intertwined with their profits. She’s a proud USAF spouse, who has served as a key spouse and is currently a key spouse mentor.
Rebecca Alwine is a freelance writer, army wife, and mother of three. Her writing experience include military family topics, research pieces, guest blogging, and much more. Rebecca’s work can be found in over 28 publications including PCSGrades, Military OneClick, and ScaryMommy. She was also a contributing writer for ARMY Magazine and has also been published in Ms. Magazine and The Atlantic’s City Lab.
Important topics they discuss:
- [01:09] Anna's background
- [02:03] Rebecca's background
- [03:24] On operating remotely and hiring employees
- [03:53] Hiring a W-2 military spouse employee
- [05:00] Military spouses can have tax residency, not a home of record
- [06:48] Anna on hiring employees
- [08:33] Rebecca on hiring employees
- [10:54] Tips and advice
- [15:57] Each state has a definition of what they call a business nexus
- [18:25] Staying compliant
- [20:47] Why you should not be operating as a sole proprietor or straight partnership
Quote:
“We need to talk about it with people who are making a difference and we need to outsource to military spouses to do these things for us.” - Rebecca Alwine
Social:
Anna Blanch Rabe's Website
Anna on LinkedIn
Anna on Twitter
Anna on Instagram
Anna on Facebook
Rebecca Alwine's Website
Rebecca's Full Portfolio
Rebecca on Facebook
Rebecca on Pinterest
Rebecca on Twitter
Rebecca on Instagram
Rebecca's Email Address: whatrebeccathinks@gmail.com
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey interviews Jen Griswold and Mike Dugan. They were hand selected because they both bring incredible insights to a very interesting topic that we all have to talk about as we run our businesses and that is—SALES.
Jen Griswold is a veteran, an entrepreneur, and an author. An Air Force veteran by trade, Jen is the proud author of the new book Mission: Entrepreneur. This book is for busy people who are on the hunt for a flexible career. Mission: Entrepreneur is a compilation of stories from entrepreneurs who’ve used lessons learned from military life—work ethic, vision, passion, and resilience—to start and grow profitable businesses.
Mike Dugan is a former Navy fighter pilot and now a licensed advisor for Sales Xceleration, an organization dedicated to helping small and medium-sized businesses break their all-time sales records. Mike brings with him over 25 years of experience as a successful sales executive ranging from large Fortune 500 companies to smaller entrepreneurial businesses.
Important topics they discuss:
- [01:54] Jen's background and how she started her business
- [03:27] Mike's background and his current career
- [04:49] How they see sales and why it scares people
- [08:16] Eighty-five percent of the buying process occurs online
- [08:42] Consumers needing insights through professional sales people
- [09:46] Is sales something you can teach?
- [14:40] Dos and Don'ts in sales
- [18:27] Additional thoughts on sales and how it pertains to military entrepreneurs
Quote:
"The military is a great training ground for any business. And it is especially made for sales because at a young age both officers and enlisted men and women are given a high degree of responsibility . . . and that what sales is." -Mike Dugan
Social:
Mission Entrepreneur, by Jen Griswold Facebook Page
Mission Entrepreneur, by Jen Griswold on Instagram
Mission Entrepreneur on Twitter
Jen on LinkedIn
Mission Entrepreneur
Mike Dugan on Sales Xceleration
Mike on LinkedIn
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey interviews Molly Winkle and Janine Boldrin about knowing when to fold. In military-related business, we see some switching from one focus to another.
They shared their experiences as military spouses and how they came up with different and difficult decisions.
Molly Winkle is a veteran whose husband and son are on active duty and are currently deployed. She is a realtor specializing in military and long-distance relocation.
Janine Boldrin started Military Kids Life after working as a freelance writer in the military space for over a decade. She is currently the managing editor of Military Spouse Magazine. Her husband is in active duty in the army.
Important topics they discuss:
- [02:00] Molly's military background and what her business is all about
- [03:04] Janine on starting Military Kid's Life back when she was a freelance writer
- [03:10] Military Kid's life as the first print magazine for military kids
- [03:24] Janine's family and job background
- [04:05] Knowing when to fold
- [04:20] How Janine felt when they had to sell the project she spearheaded
- [05:20] Molly's experience making a switch from one focus to another
- [06:53] How she ended up doing real estate
- [07:46] How Janine knew it's over and it's time to let go of the business and how she felt about it
- [09:54] When Molly realized the business is not worth pursuing
- [11:25] The impact being a military spouse has when trying to fold from something
- [15:00] The possibility of picking back up later the entrepreneur effort they've put behind
- [17:40] Tips for those who are in the same situation they are in
- [20:58] Advice to those who are thinking about folding their business
Quote:
“. . . you’d think that you just have to work harder. And it's hard to figure out what that balance is or that tipping point of ‘Is my hard work going to catapult this or is my hard work in vain?’ and identifying that moment where you can figure out is it really just 'I need to go a few more weeks or a few more months, or even a year, or even I put it in a year . . . it’s really not going to be where it needs to be . . . ” - Janine Boldrin
Social:
Molly Winkle on Facebook
Molly's Email Address: molly@mollywinkle.com
Military Influencer Conference - MIC 2018
Military Spouse
Janine's Email Address: janine.boldrin@militaryspouse.com
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Erin Ward interviews Laura Renner, Founder of Freedom Makers and Diana Jaquith, Co-Founder of WISE Advise + Assist Team.
Freedom Makers’ mission is to support military spouses and their families by creating a path to stable, uninterrupted employment and income. Their virtual assistants are military spouses who, due to their association with the military, understand how to be flexible and deliver top-notch service.
The Wise Advise + Assist Team helps businesses to strive, strategize and accelerate growth, while both empowering and employing military spouses.
They will be discussing how to run a remote business and how to manage both the clients and the business. Today’s episode is a must listen. Tune in and enjoy!
Important topics they discuss:
- [02:02] Their remote businesses
- [03:26] Running a remote business for military spouses/veterans is a good fit
- [06:41] People who want to do onsite works
- [08:46] Sticking to the model of doing things virtually
- [10:26] Tools they're using to make things easy for them
- [12:20] Writing paper notes
- [14:36] Managing their team remotely
- [16:34] The reason Laura's team is called "Freedom Makers"
- [18:54] Something they're doing that might be unique from a remote aspect
- [19:43] Things Diana and her team does to build that sense of culture and desire to stay in the organization
- [25:50] Their biggest light bulb moment while creating their remote business
Quote:
"In the virtual environment, what we do is we put out our why. Why do we exist? We exist because we believe that everyone should be able to have a career life and family... For our clients, we want them to be able to grow their business and spend more time with their families, and have a life..." - Diana Jaquith
Social:
WISE Advise + Assist Team
Freedom Makers
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey interviews Michele Bradfield and Curtez Riggs. Both had successful conferences namely Military Spouse Wellness Summit (Michele) and Military Influencer Conference (Curtez).
The Military Spouse Wellness Summit is a nonprofit fundraiser for InDependent. A portion of every VIP ticket will go to help fund the development of health and wellness programs for military spouses.
The Military Influencer Conference is an exciting, dynamic event that brings together hundreds of military spouses, military and veteran community leaders, entrepreneurs, influencers and business owners who are united by a mutual passion for the military.
In this episode, they talked about how both conferences went, the difficulties, and the lessons they learned. They also shared beneficial tips when planning an event.
Important topics they discuss:
- [02:50] Number of speakers both conferences ended up having
- [03:27] Scheduling difficulties
- [04:47] The point in the planning phase where they looked for sponsors
- [05:39] Lessons Michele learned when she hosted an event
- [06:28] How Curtez will do things differently the next time around
- [07:40] Influencer/affiliate program for their event
- [11:35] Saying NO
- [12:30] Tips/recommendations on launching an event
- [14:35] The next Military Spouse Wellness Summit
- [15:11] The next Military Influencer Conference
Quote:
"My number 1 tip for any event organizers is to get together an ambassador group influencers. Even if it's five to ten people, it doesn't have to be very many, that they need to have a strong influence in whatever community you are trying to reach..." - Michelle Bradfield
Social:
InDependent
Military Spouse Wellness Summit
Military Influencer Conference
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey interviews Britni Miltner of OakTree Network and Channel Milbourne of Milspo Biz Connect. With the new talk-show format, they discuss about building your network, their experiences on networking, and some tips on how to grow your network.
Britni Miltner is the owner of OakTree Network. It was created to encourage military spouse entrepreneurship and to connect local spouses with service Talents to share with other nearby military spouses.
Channel Milbourne is the founder of Milspo Biz Connect. It connects local consumers with military spouse owned businesses to strengthen and grow communities. Don’t miss this episode!
Important topics they discuss:
- [01:14] Britney's tips on how to build your network and how she connected with Channel
- [02:10] Channel on meeting Britney for the first time
- [02:45] How similar their businesses are and how they help each other
- [03:30] How referral system would be advantageous if you are networking with each other
- [03:55] Some of the things Channel does in building her network
- [04:55] Do your research first before taking a referral
- [05:56] How they avoid replying in sales mode when there's a post or a question in a social media group
- [07:05] Social media platforms they use to grow their network
- [08:33] Some of Britney and Channel's favorite organizations that are helpful to their personal and professional growth as they're networking as military spouses
- [10:43] The difference between Channel's conversation with the chamber and her conversations in military networking group
Quote:
“Really mix and mingle because you'll be surprise of what people know and how they can help you grow." - Channel Milbourne
"Everybody has something to offer, to teach you. You can learn something from just about everybody." - Britni Miltner
Social:
OakTree Network Website
OakTree Network's Facebook Page
OakTree Network on Instagram
OakTree Network for Military Spouses on Google Play
Milspo Biz Connection Website
Milspo Biz Connect on Instagram
Milspo Biz Connect Facebook Page
Channel Milbourne on Twitter
MilSpouse Creative Community
The Inspired Women Mini Group
Internet Marketing Association Website
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey interviews Paul A. Dillon, a veteran and the owner of Dillon Consulting Services. Dillon Consulting Services LLC provides project management and business development services for clients in the service industry.
Paul talks about his experiences during his active duty and he shares his passion in helping his co-veterans become entrepreneurs themselves.
Important topics they discuss:
- [01:39] Paul’s active duty Army background
- [04:56] How Paul transitioned into consulting
- [07:17] Facts and figures veterans face in relation to entrepreneurship
- [10:23] How Paul’s company facilitates those interested in entrepreneurship
- [13:53] How Paul overcomes the obstacles in his business
Quote:
“Every problem has a solution, it takes merely intelligence to find it, and then the courage to act on it." - Paul A. Dillon
Social:
Dillon Consulting Services LLC
Paul's Email Address
Paul's LinkedIn
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey interviews Dwayne Paro, a speaker, an author, a Veterans Coach with Landmark Life Coaching, and a podcast host of Charlie Mike Podcast. Landmark Life Coaching specializes in career, leadership and time management coaching. Dwayne Paro started Charlie Mike Podcast as a passion project. In Charlie Mike Podcast, Dwayne interviews combat veterans who have taken their experience from the battlefield and translated that into building a successful business as an entrepreneur. Dwayne is a veteran who served in the military for 8 years.
Important topics they discuss:
- [01:34] About Charlie Mike podcast
- [03:07] How Dwayne formed Landmark Life Coaching
- [05:40] Struggles Dwayne faced while starting up as entrepreneur
- [07:32] How Dwayne uses social media to get known within the veteran community
- [10:40] What it means to create original content
- [13:40] Dwayne’s recommended resources
- [16:43] Meeting competitors in mastermind groups
Quote:
“I just decided I really wanted to do something again that would serve a higher purpose than my own career.” – Dwayne Paro
Social:
Charlie Mike Podcast
Landmark Life Coaching Website
Dwayne's LinkedIn
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey interviews Corey Christman, a retired Special Agent, a criminal investigator, a combat veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, a wine maker, and an amazing leader who developed a company called Vethos. Vethos is a Human Capital Leadership and Executive Strategy firm. They help in creating leaders, building cultures and growing revenues.
Corey also talks about how he became an entrepreneur and shares some tips on the process of hiring the right people.
Important topics they discuss:
- [01:21] What is Vethos all about
- [02:08] From a retired special agent, a criminal investigator, a combat veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom to being an entrepreneur
- [03:08] What made Corey become an entrepreneur
- [03:38] How Corey’s learning in the service helps Vethos
- [05:03] How to hire the right people the first time
- [08:08] Tips on what the company can do to make sure that the newly-hired employee is going to stay
- [10:59] Being a wine-maker
- [12:50] Thoughts on entrepreneurs having more than one business
- [14:28] Advice to those interested in entrepreneurship
Quote:
“Basically, it’s bringing value to companies that have a disconnect between where they are today and where they want to go tomorrow.” - Corey Christman
Social:
Vethos
Corey Christman's LinkedIn
Corey's Twitter
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey interviews Megan Hall, a podcaster and a military spouse entrepreneur. Megan has a wonderful community tailored to helping woman called Inspired Women Community.
Megan talks about her journey as a military spouse to becoming a successful entrepreneur and helping women through life coaching.
Important topics they discuss:
- [01:30] Megan’s backstory
- [03:08] About Life Coaching
- [04:23] How to connect with a life coach
- [05:03] What makes Megan stand out
- [06:43] Megan’s journey as a military spouse and as an entrepreneur
- [09:22] Coaching clients
- [10:40] Megan’s advice to other military spouse entrepreneurs
- [11:55] Running a business at home
- [15:36] Two years from now, where will Megan Hall be
- [16:06] Building a team
Quote:
"So with military spouse and being an entrepreneur, it was about finding my people - finding the people I can connect with, I can resonate with and those who are going to support me, but also maybe I can support them as well." - Megan Hall
Social:
Inspired Women Community
Inspired Women Podcast Website
Inspired Women Podcast Facebook
Inspired Women Podcast's Instagram
Megan Hall's Website
Megan's Facebook Profile
Megan's Instagram
Megan's Twitter
Megan's Linkedin
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey interviews Esther Avant, a Nutrition Coach, a Personal Trainer and the owner of Esther Avant Wellness Coaching.
Esther talks about how she overcame the struggles of having a virtual business as a military spouse. She also shares her ways of bringing in new clients.
Important topics they discuss:
- [01:14] About Wellness Coaching
- [02:39] Esther’s struggles to overcome in the business
- [06:04] Advice to other military spouse business owners/entrepreneurs
- [09:29] Esther’s role model
- [09:55] One thing Esther’s clients struggle with
- [10:47] Esther’s business five years from now
- [12:02] Bringing in new clients
Quote:
“You didn’t graduate college and end up a CEO. You had to show up everyday and put in to work and overtime you got to where you wanted to be… and it’s the same thing with business.” - Esther Avant
Social:
Esther Avant
Esther Avant Wellness Coaching Facebook
Esther's Instagram
Esther's Twitter
Live Diet Free Facebook group
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey interviews Jean South who spent 9 years as a FBI Special Agent and is now the CEO of Hire Served. Hire Served helps military-passionate employers in recruiting, hiring and on-boarding top veteran talents.
Jean talks about the challenges of being a CEO. She also shares her life as an entrepreneur and a military spouse.
Important topics they discuss:
- [01:01] Jean’s backstory
- [02:50] Hire Served services
- [03:33] Defining their industry
- [04:08] How they compete in a crowded industry
- [06:13] The challenges of entrepreneurship
- [09:17] Managing as a CEO
- [11:30] A day in a life of an entrepreneur
- [17:10] Fun Fact about Jean South
Quote:
“… I never really recognized that that’s the role of the CEO - to be the expert at the vision.” -Jean South
Social:
Hire Served
Hire Served's Twitter
Hire Served's Facebook Page
Hire Served's Instagram
Jean South's Youtube Channel
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey Germono speaks with Meghan Alonso, who is known for her medical device podcast and is the woman behind Imua Services.
Imua Services works with entrepreneurs and start-up companies in the medical product space. They focus on medical and diagnostic product development by offering convenient training, education, and connections to key development partners specific to their clients' needs. **Important topics they discuss:**
- [01:13] What Imua Services provide and offer
- [02:15] Meghan’s medical background
- [03:50] Military wife experience
- [05:15] Cash Flow management
- [10:48] Finding new clients
- [13:10] Meghan’s podcast
- [17:00] Finding people that serve your audience
Quote:
“But a lot in times in life, the lessons are the best if you actually experience it.” - Meghan Alonso
Social:
IMUA
IMUA's Facebook Page
IMUA’s LinkedIn Profile
IMUA's Twitter
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey interviews the amazing ladies behind The Hive & Co, a company that offers online marketing services for small business owners. Meet Miranda Perales and Shiang-ling Bissonnette. They share how their partnership started and the challenges they face as they grow with their business.
Miranda and Shiang-ling also talk about what it's like to be military spouse business owners and how their differences helped them in handling their business. Don’t miss this episode!
Important topics they discuss:
- [01:10] What Miranda and Shang-Ling do
- [02:16] How Miranda and Shang-Ling started their business together
- [04:26] Challenges they experienced as partners
- [06:10] Tips for virtual business owners
- [08:05] Tips for military spouses on finding their people
- [11:17] Dealing with vulnerability and rejection
Quote:
"The partnership we have is a great thing because we have somebody to fall back on. But we also have to keep in mind that we are constantly balancing each other out and having to make sure that we are always in line because that’s something important for us to be successful." - Miranda Perales
Social:
The Hive & Co.
The Hive & Co's Facebook Page
The Hive & Co's Instagram
The Hive & Co's Pinterest
The Hive & Co's Twitter
The Hive & Co's LinkedIn
The Hive & Co's Email Address
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey interviews the women behind MadSkills, a company that allows you to outsource all your business needs to highly skilled military spouses. Meet Erica McMannes and Liza Rodewald as they share how their passion of providing opportunities for military spouses led them to starting MadSkills. You’ll also learn the ins and outs on how to start a business and form a partnership that works!
They have created an awesome business that not only helps military spouses, but also provides opportunities to empower them to earn income from anywhere in the world! Don’t miss this amazing episode!
Important topics they discuss:
- [1:15] Who are Erica and Liza and what is MadSkills
- [2:09] Why MadSkills?
- [4:35] Common misconceptions about virtual and remote work
- [6:05] Events and Happenings that they are working on
- [8:14] Why business partnerships are like marriages
- [10:22] The future of MadSkills
- [13:00] Issues with candidates who work from posts
- [14:50] Some personal questions
- [17:15] Advice for fellow military spouses who want to start a business
Quote:
"Spouses are a force to be reckoned with, more people should know about you all. And that was like a light bulb in my head, people need to know more about us outside the military community…" - Erica McMannes
Social:
MadSkills
MadSkills Facebook Page
Erica’s LinkedIn Profile
Liza's LinkedIn Profile
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey speaks with Jason Dempsey and Ken Robbins of GoMillie. They share their backgrounds, how they established an effective partnership, and their vision for the military community.
Important topics they discuss:
- [1:25] Background of Ken in the army
- [3:46] How the business led to finding Amy and Lauren
- [7:10] Why a partnership makes sense
- [8:19] Challenges of working with new partners
- [12:08] Their exit strategy
- [15:00] Tips for those who wants to get into starting a business
Quote:
"In some point, you don’t know what the future is going to be. So you got to decide is what I’m holding to right now, what I want, and do I want to take this leap of faith..." - Ken Robbins
Social: Agent Hero Gomillie.com
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey speaks with Amy Shick & Lauren Rothlisberger of Millie to find out what it was like to sell their business, Military Property Project. This is part 1 of a two part Millie series.
Important topics they discuss:
- [1:20] Where Amy & Lauren are today in their entrepreneur journey
- [2:00] What are their roles with Millie
- [4:22] How they met and their mutual passion
- [6:30] When Project Hero approached them about selling
- [8:00] The idea of creating Millie and combining companies
- [9:50] The emotion process of “should we sell’
- [11:45] Lauren on removing the emotions when selling
- [15:09] Amy on getting to focus on their strengths at Millie
Quote:
“It really doesn’t matter about us personally, it what matters for Military Property Project & Scout and the resources we’ve created, giving them the best chance to helping as many military families as possible” - Amy Shick
Social:
Agent Hero
Gomillie.com
scout.gomillie.com
Facebook
Twitter
Lauren@gomillie.com
Amy@gomillie.com
This segment is the fifth and last of a 5 part series dedicated to our active duty service members transitioning out of the service and starting their entrepreneurial journey. Lindsey Germono interviews marine veteran Jim Friddell.
Important topics they discuss:
- [01:22] What Jim does and his time in the service
- [3:34] What motivated him to start a business
- [5:04] Investing and having savings
- [6:44] What it was like working for someone else
- [11:10] The current investment industry setup
- [13:09] From one coffee to a business
- [15:11] Finding great partners
- [18:20] Mistakes he made along the way
- [19:00] Results and revenues
Quote:
"When you start making a lot of money and you’re not use to making money. You don’t know what to do with it." -Jim Friddell
Social:
Thrift Savings Plan
Jim's Linkedin Profile
Jim's Company Website
Email Jim
This segment is the 4th of a 5 part series dedicated to our active duty service members transitioning out of the service and starting their entrepreneurial journey. Jonny Coreson is active duty Navy and provides Career counseling services to transitioning service members.
Important topics they discuss:
- [1:06] Jonny is active duty Navy and provides Career counseling services to transitioning service members
- [1:39] How he formed Bluejacketeer
- [3:23] Career counseling in 2013
- [4:38] Be realistic when pursuing entrepreneurship
- [5:00] Advice: Go research and use resources available.
- [7:38] Elevator speech to communicate what you want to do.
- [8:28] Using creative financing and bootstrapping
- [9:00] Passion to support the navy
- [10:10] Boots to business
- [12:31] What type of business should an active duty service member form?
Quote:
"Answer the basic questions and be confident in your way forward and plug into these resources early and glean. Just be a sponge." -Jonny Coreson
Social:
National Military Family Association Facebook Page
Inc 5000
Inc 5000 Conferences
StreetShares
BlueJacketeer
BlueJacketeer Facebook Page
Email Jonny
Facebook Group - Drop and Give Me 20
This segment is the 3 of a 5 part series dedicated to our active duty service members transitioning out of the service and starting their entrepreneurial journey. Lindsey Germono interviews Anthony Williams, Army veteran and founder of SAW Contracting, Inc. Listen as Anthony shares how he took what he learned while active duty as preparation for his future commercial construction business.
Important topics they discuss:
- [1:20] His Old Dominion University ROTC days
- [2:13] Anthony’s experiences during his deployments
- [5:10] He became asst. project manager, learned the ropes and moved up 6 years
- [6:00] Didn’t think he’d own a business, joined Army to travel the world and get away from home
- [7:20] What does he use from the military in his business today?
- [9:19] Piece of advice he’d give to his younger self
- [11:18] His dreams of ice cream and opening a dog rescue
- [13:08] What his construction business looks like
- [14:17] Tips to any military who’s starting a business
Quote:
"We’re a government contractor…everything has to be organized, prepared properly, communicated properly'" - Anthony Williams
Social:
Old Dominion University
Saw Contracting
Saw Contracting Facebook Page
Anthony's LinkedIn Profile
Facebook Group - Drop and Give Me 20
This segment is the second of a 5 part series dedicated to our active duty service members transitioning out of the service and starting their entrepreneurial journey. In this episode, Lindsey Germono interviews Kevin Bemel of The Bemel Company. Learn about Kevin’s 5-Step process catered to veterans to help them land a high paying job or start a business!
Important topics they discuss:
- [1:30] All about Kevin and what led him to this venture
- [3:40] Started an entrepreneurship bootcamp for veterans
- [6:43] The so-called military-civilian divide
- [9:04] Teaching veterans to ‘fish’
- [9:59] The 5 Step Process
- [15:16] Getting your part of the American Dream
- [17:29] Getting the most of this process
- [19:06] Definition of a job board
- [22:05] Major struggles veterans face using this process
- [24:27] View on civilian care and support to veterans
- [26:24] The issue of entitlement
Quote:
"This is the heart of any entrepreneurial venture, 'How can I add value to other people’s lives?'" - Kevin Bemel
Social:
Bemel
LinkedIn
Facebook
Twitter
Facebook Group
Facebook Group - Drop and Give Me 20
This segment is the first of a 5 part series dedicated to our active duty service members transitioning out of the service and starting their entrepreneurial journey. Lindsey Germono interviews motivational speaker, Frank Shankwitz, Air Force veteran and founder of Make-A-Wish Foundation. Listen as Frank shares his life experiences, values and ethics that’ll definitely set you on the right track to running a successful organization.
Important topics they discuss:
- [1:19] Frank’s experience serving the Air Force
- [2:55] Franks career with Arizona Highway Patrol as a homicide detective
- [03:05] The story behind Make-A-Wish Foundation
- [04:50] Sharing how the Make-A-Wish foundation was first initiated
- [10:40] Insights on starting a business
- [12:45] Frank’s advice: Stickability
- [13:55] Making the best of your situation
- [18:00] Why it’s important as a business to get involved in causes
- [20:20] Discussing his movie, “Wishman”
- [21:00] “Wishman” the book
Quote:
"They say to surround yourself with experts, people that are smarter than you and I knew to do that. And that’s what we did and that’s the people that made it grow to what it is today.” - Frank Shankwitz
Social:
Make a Wish Foundation
Frank’s Website
Wishman Movie
Wishman Book by Frank Shankwitz and Kitty Shankwitz
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey Germono speaks with Cameron Cruse, co-founder of R. Riveter.
Important topics they discuss:
- Creating a company that provides military spouses with employment they can take with them when PCS'ing.
- The Shark tank experience and partnering with Mark Cuban
- "I think Shark Tank was one of the more terrifying things that we had done just because it forced us to look at who we are, what we're trying to do with this company, and how do we best support our military spouses."
- As military spouses, so many times we're pulling that double duty- we have so much going on in our lives.
- We started with the why- this is the glue.
- Benefits of having a partner in business.
- The future of R. Riveter.
Quote:
"Understand where you want to be and where you are and don't be afraid of the in between." -Cameron Cruse
Social:
Website
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey Germono speaks with Jessica Bertsch, founder of Powerhouse Planning. Powerhouse Planning (Powerhouse) guides companies toward initiating and instituting high-IMPACT business plans that succeed in the forms of growth, recognition, efficiency, and new opportunities.
Important topics they discuss:
- [2:07] All about Powerhouse Planning
- [4:48] The five pillars of Powerhouse Planning
- [5:23] How Jessica taps into the skills of military spouses and veterans to build her team
- [8:28] Jessica’s biggest mistake in the beginning of launching her business
- [10:01] Jessica’s letter to new CEO’s
- [10:45] The benefits of having a professional mentor
- [12:08] The importance of giving back when running a business
Quote:
“We don’t want to lose our professional identity, want to continue to flourish and do awesome things as well over a 20+ year career.” – Jessica Bertsch
Social:
LinkedIn
Facebook
Pinterest
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey Germono speaks with Claire Yanta-O’Mahoney, the Founder of Fleur de Lis Fitness. Claire.
Important topics they discuss:
- [1:47] All About Claire and Fleur de Lis Fitness
- [3:26] How Claire’s transition from a military spouse to a veteran spouse impacted her business
- [7:20] Challenges Claire has faced and overcome
- [9:02] Do It In the Morning: Time management skills for military entrepreneurs -
- [10:26] Advantages of working with a personal coach
- [13:09] Lindsey’s Personal Story
- [13:09] Tips Claire wished she could have told herself before she started her business
Quote:
“Try to silence the self doubt. There’s this voice in the back of our head wondering if this is the right way to do it and what someone might say. These fears are there but that doesn’t mean you need to listen to it.” - Claire Yanta-O’Mahoney
Social:
- Fleur de Lis Fitness
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey Germono speaks with Brian Richardson, the Founder of The Company Project. He works with small businesses in the firearms industry to define strategies for their products and services so that they can find, motivate, and keep profitable customers.
Important topics they discuss:
- [1:14] All about Brian and The Company Project
- [3:07] Niche, niche, niche: Brian goes from small business to focusing on the firearms industry
- [7:17] Obstacles in the transition from military to entrepreneur
- [8:23] Understanding how business partnerships work
- [11:25] How to find, motivate, and keep profitable customers
- [15:58] Does your website measure up?
Quote:
“Passion will get you through some lean times but it won’t necessarily make you have a successful business..the good stuff happens at the intersection of passion and ability.” - Brian Richardson
Social:
- The Company Project
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey Germono speaks with Bill Lockard. Bill is the Founder of 227 Financial Coaching. He helps military families reduce debt and build wealth.
Important topics they discuss:
- [1:03] All About Bill
- [3:19] Year One - The hardest year most business owners ever face
- [5:20] Don’t go into battle without a plan: Bill’s financial tips for entrepreneurs in 2017
- [10:18] Christmas ideas for the military entrepreneur who has everything
Quote:
“Going into business without a budget it like going into battle without a plan.” - William Lockard
Social: * 227 Financial Coaching * Bill's Book * Email (info@financial227support.com) * Phone: 678.850.7985
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey Germono speaks with Kathy Stoddard Torrey founder of Tapfer Consulting. Kathy is a life and relationship coach with an MBA who trains, assesses, facilitates, builds teams and coaches.
Important topics they discuss:
- [2:00] All About Kathy and the history of Tapfer Consulting
- [4:24] Why did Kathy launch her consulting business
- [6:23] Baby steps get you moving: Advice for new entrepreneurs on how to start
- [11:52] How Kathy handled changes and challenges as an entrepreneur
- [16:43] Perfection is the enemy
Quote: “Perfection...It is an entrepreneur’s worst enemy. We want it to be perfect so we never end up sending it out the door...80% out the door is better than 100% sitting on your desk!” - Kathy Stoddard Torrey
Social: * Tapfer Consulting * Email (kstorrey@tapferconsulting.com) * Twitter (@kstorrey) * Instagram (@kstorrey)
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey Germono speaks with Jeremy Paris, ten year Army veteran and podcaster. Jeremy hosts the Veteran Resource Podcast and co-founded the only kid-focused podcast network, Podcast Playground.
Important topics they discuss:
- [1:02] All About Jeremy
- [5:00] The Veteran Resource Podcast
- [5:40] Jeremy’s Tips for 2017 - Networking & Processes
- [8:42] Advice Jeremy offers to Non-Profits - Niche, Niche, Niche
Quote:
“There’s not way we could accomplish all we do if we didn’t have the processes in place to automate, outsource and batch.” - Jeremy Paris
Social:
- Veteran Resource Podcast
- Podcast Playground
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey Germono speaks with Laura Petersen, co-founder of Podtent Marketing, Podcast Teachers, host of Copy that Pops and author of the Amazon Best Seller, Copywriting for Podcasters.
Important topics they discuss:
- [1:28] The Power of Podcasting
- [3:07] How to DIY Your Podcast
- [5:25] How to Get Help Starting Your Podcast
Quote:
“Podcasts are the only type of content that an audience can consume while multitasking. Jogging the park? You can’t watch a video and you can’t read a blog article. You can really get in someone’s head with a podcast though.” - Laura Petersen
Social:
- Podtent Marketing
- Podcast Teachers
- Copy that Pops
- Copywriting for Podcasters
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey Germono speaks with Lt. Colonel Matt Butler, founder of Rollors, a unique and fun outdoor game featured in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Fox and Friends, and The Today Show.
Important topics they discuss:
- [2:00] What is Rollors and where did it come from?
- [4:10] Advantages of working with specialty retailers
- [5:40] Focusing on veterans and military spouses
- [10:30] Making the jump from retailing to wholesaling
- [16:15] Marketing, Marketing, Marketing
Quote:
“I had my first retail buyer ask me about wholesaling. I had no idea and had to research what price point to use where everyone comes out ahead.” - Matt Butler
Social:
https://rollors.com/
https://www.youtube.com/user/rollors1
https://twitter.com/rollors
https://www.instagram.com/rollorsgame/
In this special four part mini-series of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey Germono focuses on closing out 2016 with a bang! Join the discussion as Lindsey invites experts to share actionable tips to help you prepare for a successful 2017.
In this mini-series episode, Lindsey Germono speaks with Katie Christy, Founder and CEO of Activate Your Talent and Empower Military Spouses, two companies helping individuals and businesses leverage their natural talents to improve effectiveness.
Important topics they discuss:
- [1:02] All about Katie
- [3:05] Katie’s tips as your planning for 2017
- [4:30] How to build your Personal Leadership Philosophy (PLP)
- [11:58] How a PLP benefits your business
Quote:
“If you’re involved in an organization or team, it’s important that you take the organization's mission and make sure it meshes with your leadership philosophy. If they are going in two different directions, not only will you be confused, but so will those around you.” - Katie Christy
Giveaway!
http://germono.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Developing-a-PLP.pdf
Social:
katie@activateyourtalent.com
https://www.facebook.com/activateyourtalentllc/
http://empowermilitaryspouses.com/
http://activateyourtalent.com/
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey Germono speaks with Rocky Harrigan, co-founder of Unbranded AR, an internet-based provider of firearms focusing specifically on high-quality parts for the AR15.
Important topics they discuss:
- [2:28] Women really do have everything they need to succeed
- [4:20] How Rocky works with people who have a different perspective around guns
- [5:20] Rocky's personal story about safety and security because of her training with firearms
- [7:42] Challenges Rocky faced starting her company
- [12:22] Bootstrapping and readjusting
- [15:00] What to look at before starting your business
- [15:35] Retail challenges, guidelines, and regulations
Quote:
“We look at the numbers every day. What actually sells? Not what you think will sell. What do my numbers show me?” - Rocky Harrigan
More: Shownotes
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey Germono speaks with Marc Bethel, the founder of Commonwealth Creative Marketing. CCM is an ad agency that helps companies and entrepreneurs with both digital media and offline advertising. From web design, SEO, and hosting to graphic design, business cards, and vehicle wraps, CCM delivers big league creative and interactive solutions to small-midsize businesses looking for quality at a fair price.
Important topics they discuss:
- 4:02 - How ad agencies make money
- 5:02 - How Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can help your business
- 7:36 - Packaged websites versus organic design for small businesses
- 9:25 - How much should solopreneurs or small businesses spend on a custom designed website?
- 12:30 - Hot website features and plugins
- 15:15 - Entrepreneurial advice
- 18:00 - All about Marc
Quote:
“Buckle Up! It takes the right kind of person but...military entrepreneurs are more prepared for this than a lot of other people.”
Marc Bethel
Social:
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey Germono speaks with Kristen Smith, the Owner of Barks and Bows. Barks and Bows creates all natural dog treats, hand-crafted collars, and other pet accessories.
Important topics they discuss:
- Kristen’s biggest challenge right now [3:22]
- Kristen’s approach to staying positive during the workday [5:35]
- What Kristen would tell someone moving into entrepreneurship [7:04]
- How Kristen balances being a parent, being a military spouse, and building a business [8:09]
- Kristen’s thoughts on working with Etsy [10:57]
Quote:
“Etsy is a great starting point for small businesses before jumping into your own site.” - Kristen Smith
Connect:
https://www.instagram.com/barksandbows/
https://www.etsy.com/shop/barksandbowsllc
barksandbows.etsy@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/TheBarksandBows/
In this episode, of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey Germono speaks with Jonathan Hudgins, the Co-founder and President of Flying Scarfs. Flying Scarfs is a social business creating intelligent solutions for peace, stability, and economic freedom in developing countries.
Important topics they discuss:
- Jonathan’s background and his role in Flying Scarfs [2:07]
- How the idea developed between the founding team [4:47]
- The biggest challenges they’ve faced [8:38]
- His approach to combating the “education” challenge [10:46]
- How he navigates the balance between building his business and being active duty [15:35]
Quote:
“You only have so much time to capture the consumer’s attention and their willingness to support you.” - Jonathan Hudgins
Social + Connect:
Website
In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey Germono speaks with Elizabeth Boardman, the Co-founder and Executive Director of The Milspo Project. The Milspo Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that helps military spouses start and grow businesses through programs like events, meetups, and workbooks.
Important topics they discuss:
- Elizabeth’s background and what The Milspo Project does
- How far The Milspo Project has come in two years since its founding
- Her biggest challenge as a military spouse entrepreneur
- Her views on self-doubt and how it affects other entrepreneurs and creatives
- Her approach to dealing with challenges as a military spouse entrepreneur
- Her advice for military spouse entrepreneurs
Quote:
“The growth we’ve seen has been very humbling and so wonderful to be a part of.” - Elizabeth Boardman
Here we go! Welcome to Drop and Give Me 20! As you might expect or know personally, the military community is full of successful business owners, managers, and leaders across all industries, military and civilian. Time to show them off and learn from their experiences! Hear stories of active duty members, military spouses, and veterans as host Lindsey Germono shines a spotlight on their challenges, triumphs, and the insights learned through determination and best business practices.
In this, the debut episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey Germono talks about:
- Why she started the show
- Who should be listening
- How long she plans to podcast for
- What problem she is trying to solve
- How she’s finding her guests
“Drop and Give Me 20 was created to highlight the real life of a military entrepreneur.” - Lindsey Germono