Life after the military: it’s a journey that thousands of men and women make each year as people transition from years of dedicated military service to a future of open-ended civilian life. With it comes many life-changing questions: where will I live? what will I do? And, more specifically, what am I equipped to do?
As it turns out, franchising has provided an attractive answer. Growing numbers of veterans are trading in the uniform they wore for their country for a uniform they now wear for their business. In doing so, they bring with them valuable skills, training and experience. Helping them make that transition in the U.S. is a program called VetFran.
Originally founded in 1991 as a way to thank veterans returning home from the first Gulf War, VetFran was re-launched after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks by the International Franchise Association as a way to help assist U.S. veterans and their families.
Bringing an unmatched skill set to the table, veterans represent ideal partners to trust with a franchise concept. With years of discipline, training and good old-fashioned hard work behind them in their former military careers, veterans are willing to go the extra mile, follow the system, and accomplish a mission successfully.
Ideal partnership
Creating the ideal partnership, the franchising business model, in return, provides a proven system to follow, comprehensive training opportunities, scalability, and the need for excellence in operational execution. This is where military veterans excel, learning a system and executing it to perfection. Equipped with these different tools and a little bit of determination, a veteran can succeed within VetFran and franchising, just like franchisee Joey Buchino.
Buchino served in the Army for 13 years, where he rose in the ranks to a Sergeant First Class. Since he has returned to civilian life, he took on the mission of becoming a Restoration 1 franchisee. Every day he utilizes skills he learned in the army. He works with a team to accomplish tasks, stays organized as a small business owner and ultimately gets the job done no matter how dirty or how long it takes. And he does it right.
So, here’s a note to franchisors looking to expand with true talent. Look at your military veterans with resumes at the ready. Embrace the vision of an entire labor pool trading combat boots for work boots and you’ll find that veterans utilize their gifts in a positive way to do business.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gary Findley is the CEO of Restoration 1®, one of the fastest-growing and most-trusted restoration franchises in North America, which is headquartered in Waco, Texas.
