Latest / Military Broadcast Radio | MBR Talk / Oscar Mike Radio 503 – Julie Austin – Dog Tags to Ownership

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Oscar Mike Radio 503 – Julie Austin – Dog Tags to Ownership · Military Broadcast Radio | MBR Talk

1:00
Irene, I say again. Irene.
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3:07
The brain to perfect for the body.
3:15
Am I in your arrest? He results in innocent man in
3:18
front of his wife and baby groom.
3:21
Do you remember any of that? Does the defendant have any
3:24
priors? Resisting arrest, DUI, assault.
3:28
Hey, my client has been awarded a Purple Heart and a bronze star
3:32
medal for his combat service. I'm ordering you to undergo a 60
3:35
day outpatient rehabilitation program.
3:38
Good luck. No, I'm not doing that.
3:42
Do you know what the Fias put me through?
3:44
If you have a brain in your head, you're going to listen to
3:46
me right now. Because the next time you try to
3:47
provoke a lethal response from law enforcement, you might not
3:50
have an Angel sitting on your shoulder.
3:52
The courts think that you're going to fix me.
3:53
I hate to disappoint you, but I can't fix you.
3:56
That's your job, not mine. Did you know that your father
3:59
got out? He's a dangerous man.
4:01
Calvin, be careful. We came back and they spat on us
4:06
at the airport. No home calling parade, no
4:09
celebrations. You can't pretend like you have
4:12
any idea what it's like to be in combat.
4:15
No, but what I do know is this field of work that I've
4:18
dedicated my life to has helped a lot of people.
4:21
When you got back, something was different.
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It wasn't that you'd changed, you'd been replaced.
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You lose your morality when you go to war, and the hard part is
4:34
coming back to a civilian society that doesn't have any
4:38
idea what's going on in your head.
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It's hard to believe my enemy. He's the man I used to.
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Be. I bet you wonder where's my
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tribe? And I ain't talking about no
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friendship neither. I'm talking about brotherhood.
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What is it that you truly want, Calvin?
4:58
I just want to wake up in the morning and feel something.
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My pain is relative, son. Sometimes we got to fall apart
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to find ourselves all over again.
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Wait for me there. Wait for me.
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There you are willing to give your life for your country.
5:19
Now maybe you can try living for it.
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What are you feeding this guy? Look like that.
5:29
What do you want? I did 4 tours.
5:31
Of The Cheesecake Factory. Oh, OK, Little spicy, little
5:35
spicy. None.
6:14
The movie, music, news, television, promos, trailers,
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the use, including whether such uses of commercial nature or is
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for nonprofit educational purposes. 2 The nature of the
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copyrighted work 3. The amount and substantiality of
6:37
the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole
6:41
4. The effect of the use upon the
6:43
potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
6:48
What does a life after service look like?
6:51
Kicking back, taking it easy. We believe it looks a little
6:57
different. It looks like leading for all
6:59
veterans, helping shape policies to make certain they get the
7:03
benefits they've earned, and ensuring every veteran's voice
7:07
is heard. It looks like advancing to meet
7:10
today's veterans where they are, lifting them up and
7:14
strengthening the bond that unites us.
7:17
It looks like rolling up our sleeves, serving those in need,
7:21
and cleaning up our communities to make them better for
7:24
everyone. Because a veteran's mission
7:28
never truly ends, and neither does ours.
7:34
Thevfwstillleadingstilladvancingstillservinggetinvolved@stillserving.org. Hello and welcome to OM Radio.
7:56
My name is Travis, Marine Corps veteran and your host OM Rios Co
8:01
producer since 1 productions. What's your podcast doing?
8:05
I want to thank my sponsors TNT Pin company, Outright dot AI and
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Lead spot and my supporters case on shaving company, Exceptional
8:13
Parent magazine and Fight Camp be your strongest combination.
8:19
It's a fantastic year 2026. We're just Ronald wide open the
8:25
missiles in flight, we're tracking down the target.
8:28
And my next guest embodies all of that.
8:30
And it's a cool story how he met.
8:32
It's a cool what she does. And I can't wait for you all to
8:36
meet her. I'm going to, I'm going to, I'm
8:39
not going to do it. I'm not going to do it.
8:42
Julie Austin, you know, senior officer, business owner,
8:48
podcaster, you know, baseball coach, exceptional mom
8:52
extraordinaire. Welcome to us, Micradio.
8:56
Thank you, Travis. Thank you for having me and I
8:58
appreciate you not calling me ma'am and calling me because I
9:04
am retired and do not see myself as an Army officer anymore.
9:08
So OK. OK, one of the.
9:11
People. One of the people.
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It's hard. You got to understand.
9:14
It's hard, but I'll do it. I'll do it just for you.
9:17
Thank you. All right, we had a cool, like,
9:21
origin story, you know, and we became like part of this
9:26
Triforce, not dynamic duo because, you know, we had, you
9:29
know, the other veteran there helping us out.
9:31
I forget her name. Ashley.
9:33
Thank you. Yeah.
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Ashley, Jesus, I'm so excited. Sorry.
9:36
Sorry, Ashley. I, I, I you're in print on my
9:38
mind forever. But it was a triforce.
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It wasn't a dynamic duo. It was a triforce.
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And there we were, military Queercon in Arlington, TX, doing
9:46
it. And, and ladies and gentlemen, I
9:48
had never met Julie in my life. I had no idea what was
9:52
underneath the hood here. But just very quietly and
9:56
smoothly kind of came in and things started getting organized
9:59
and things start happening. And I'm like, you know, this is
10:02
pretty cool, you know, I mean, you get to know her.
10:04
And then she started talking to me.
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And for whatever reason, I have no idea why she decided I was
10:09
pretty. OK, here we are.
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And so now we're talking about her, her military history, we're
10:15
going to talk about her podcast, we're going to talk about her
10:18
business. I just these kind of things were
10:21
cool because again, we didn't know each other.
10:24
We met this conference and conferences are hit or miss for
10:27
me, honestly. But you know, it was, it was
10:30
funny because we weren't actually doing a panel together.
10:32
We weren't doing a speech together.
10:34
We were working the registration gift table.
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And that's how we kind of like gelled.
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And so it was very cool in that respect.
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It was a different way to meet somebody at a conference.
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So here you are. You're on the show now.
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I'm so excited. Yes.
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And I, I would just want to add one thing that I don't know if
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either of us knew that we were going to be working at the
10:57
registration gift table. I think Mara just kind of looked
11:00
like she was overwhelmed and needed help and we were both the
11:03
two of us and Ashley were like, OK, we're going to help you
11:06
because you look like you need it.
11:07
So shout out to Mara for needing help because if without that, we
11:13
would not be here today or been able to sit and talk a lot
11:18
during that that great conference and that weekend.
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So I I appreciate that. Absolutely.
11:23
Absolutely. So you served in the Army.
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Tell me about, you know, you're in the Army now.
11:28
You're not behind a plow. You'll never get rich.
11:30
They're going to ditch. You're in the Army now.
11:33
How'd that start? OK, so I'll go back a little
11:37
ways. So I am a military child.
11:41
Both of my parents served in the military.
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I don't usually talk about this a lot, but I'll talk about it
11:47
with you, Travis. So my dad was drafted for
11:49
Vietnam. He served in Vietnam and he
11:56
search first enlisted and then they said that he was smart and
11:59
they sent him to Engineer OCS, which is a pretty cool story.
12:03
So he did Engineer OCS at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, which is also
12:07
my last duty station in the Army.
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So he went to Engineer OCS, became an engineer officer.
12:13
He is in the Engineer Hall of Fame, and he retired after 33
12:16
years from the North Carolina National Guard as a Colonel.
12:21
And then my parents met in the North Carolina National Guard,
12:25
and my mom is the first female general officer for the North
12:30
Carolina National Guard. Major General retired Elizabeth
12:34
Austin and she made history as the first female general in
12:40
North Carolina National Guard and retired as a two star.
12:43
So my parents both military. So I am a military child.
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I tell people, yes, I served in the Army for 20 years myself on
12:52
active duty, but really I've served for 42 years because my
12:54
whole life has been the Army. I never wanted to go in the
12:59
Army. When I was graduating high
13:00
school. All I ever wanted to do is play
13:02
sports, play soccer. I was recruited for a bunch of
13:08
different teams to go play soccer.
13:09
I ended up going to the Citadel because I knew it was the only
13:13
place that I would probably actually graduate College in
13:16
four years because I needed structure and I need a
13:19
discipline. So I went to the Citadel on a
13:21
soccer scholarship, joined contracted as a cadet my junior
13:26
year because I wanted to figure out how really what I want to do
13:31
is I was a sports management major and I, I wanted to be a
13:33
sports agent. That's that's why I went to
13:34
college. And I didn't know how I was
13:36
going to pay for law school. And so Army ROTC got me.
13:42
They're like, hey, come, if you do three years, the Army will
13:46
pay for you to go to law school. So I did one in the Army as a
13:50
military police officer. First duty station was Fort
13:52
Campbell, which was also my dad's first duty station.
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So a pretty cool story there. And then ended up loving it and
14:00
stayed for 20 years and finished my time in the Army as a
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battalion commander, Director of Emergency Services at Fort
14:08
Belvoir, Virginia here just recently just finished finished
14:11
my time. So that's, that's my Army origin
14:14
story and why I joined the Army and, and all that in between, I
14:18
guess. Wow.
14:22
Let me say it backwards. Wow.
14:23
But but more than that, I mean, it must have been something
14:28
going to army and then realizing, Oh yeah, I mean, you
14:31
know, my parents set the bar pretty high and and but you also
14:37
had the benefit. A lot of them go into the
14:39
military and don't have that close mentorship.
14:43
Example follow. I'm just curious how how did you
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and your mother interact during your time in the army?
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Was she a a guiding light or was she like, you know what you got
14:55
figured out kid? So we really didn't talk a lot
14:58
about Army. Yeah.
15:01
I, I'm the type of person that I'm not going to use my, my
15:05
parents or any of those things. I'm going to do it myself.
15:09
Most people would tell you if they described me to others is
15:12
I'm stubborn and hard headed and I'm just going to figure out and
15:16
do it. And and that's what I did.
15:18
Sometimes I would call my parents like if there were, you
15:21
know, things going on just to ask advice or, or things like
15:25
that. But a lot of a lot of the time
15:26
when I was in the Army, my mom was still serving.
15:28
My mom retired in 2018. So while I was serving, she was
15:35
still in and for a while there she was deployed.
15:38
So she was over in Kuwait, in Iraq, in the CENTCOM AOR as the
15:47
Arsent G4 over there. So during that time I was
15:52
actually in company command at Fort Bragg and from North
15:55
Carolina. And so I would go home and and
15:58
hang out with my dad because he was at home by himself.
16:01
But really like we didn't have a lot of opportunities to talk
16:04
necessarily about military things.
16:07
But the one thing I will say about it is I was a battalion S3
16:12
or XOI, can't remember which one, but we did an exercise down
16:15
in Anniston, AL And so when my mom came in the military, it was
16:21
during the Women's Army Corps, like that's when she came in the
16:24
military. And things I didn't know was
16:28
that that where the women went when they first came in, when
16:32
you're part of the WAC was in Anniston, AL God, what's that
16:36
base called now? I can't remember.
16:38
Fort McClellan. That's it.
16:39
Fort McClellan, AL And so we were down there at Fort
16:42
McClellan for an exercise and there's the wack Chapel and the
16:47
barracks and all that stuff. So I sent a picture in it to my
16:49
mom and I was like, because she had told me like she was at Fort
16:52
McClellan and I sent that to her and she was like, Oh my gosh,
16:54
that's bringing back so many memories.
16:56
That's where I did boot camp because my mom went through
17:03
basic training and AIT and all that.
17:04
And that's where she went was for the Women's Army Corps, was
17:07
at Fort McClellan. So I'd send her like a picture.
17:10
We had to go to like the Chapel and I sent her a picture and she
17:12
was like, I used to go in there to hide sometimes just to like
17:16
figure myself out. And so it was really, it was
17:19
really cool, like a full circle moment because at that moment
17:22
she was already retired. And it was just, it was
17:25
something that like, I never thought until I was sitting
17:28
there in that Chapel and I'd sent it to her to think back,
17:31
you know, 40 years ago, my mom was sitting here as a private
17:37
coming into the Army, not a lot of women, still part of the
17:41
women Army Corps. And then where she went from
17:44
there and and then where she went and retired as a two star
17:49
general. So pretty cool story, but we
17:52
just really didn't talk about it.
17:55
And it's just one of those things like, you know, they did
17:59
their career, I'll do my career and we'll, we'll see how it all
18:01
ends. We could, you know, spend the
18:05
whole podcast just on you developing your leadership
18:08
style, leadership challenges, you know, things that you know
18:11
officers have to do. It's not easy being officer, is
18:17
it? No, it's not.
18:19
I think a lot of people think it is.
18:22
There are things that are, are easier, right?
18:24
I think both enlisted there's easier things, officers, there's
18:27
easier things. But I think for officers, it's
18:32
you have to know who you are to be a good leader.
18:35
And you, it's hard sometimes to develop that quality and to know
18:40
who you are as a brand new second Lieutenant.
18:43
And a lot of times it takes other officers, other NC OS to
18:46
help you figure out who you are and the leader that you're going
18:49
to be. And, and one of the things that
18:53
knowing some officers, you know, some majors, you know,
18:56
Lieutenant colonel's colonels is the, the, the one aspect is OK.
19:02
It might be a Sergeant or in my case, a Lancelot by myself doing
19:07
that activity. I didn't realize until I started
19:10
talking to some of you all that yeah, I'm doing it.
19:13
I'm turning the ranch, I'm running the cable, I'm engaging
19:15
the aircraft. But that officer is truly on the
19:19
hook for everything I do. We might not hear about the
19:24
illicit side, but make no mistake, that officers taking
19:28
the brunt of the of the consequences before it rolls
19:33
downhill. And it really kind of changed
19:37
how I thought, you know, why some officers wanted checklist
19:41
done, why, you know, things had to be explained the way they
19:44
are, why things took as long. And you know, I'm curious, you
19:50
know, just for the sake of this one podcast, you know, what is
19:54
your leadership style and how do you approach leadership as a
19:58
person now and as an officer? So for me, the way I've always
20:02
approached leadership, and it's something that my dad taught me
20:05
actually growing up, is it at the end of the day, we're all
20:08
human beings. We all put our pants on the same
20:12
way, one leg at a time. And so we're all behind the
20:15
uniform, behind the rank, behind everything.
20:17
There's a human being there. So I've always been the person
20:20
to really try to get to know my people and by getting to know
20:25
them, understand how they tick, how they, you know, want to be
20:30
LED. And by doing that, it's enabled
20:33
me to build, build teams. That that is my favorite part
20:38
about being a leader, about being an officer, is building a
20:41
team to accomplish the mission. So the only way I know and the
20:47
way I do it as a leader is by getting to know the human, the
20:51
person behind the uniform, so that I understand what are their
20:54
strengths, what are their their weaknesses.
20:56
And then how does that then build into the team that we need
21:00
to be able to accomplish the mission that that's at hand?
21:06
Whether we're a private or in general, we all come in the
21:11
military and we all get out. And I think we joked during the
21:16
conference. And like, you know, officers
21:18
have it so easy. There's a limo pulls up with a,
21:21
you know, red carpet and, you know, horns like I'm out, I'm
21:25
here. Jobs just come out of thin air.
21:27
And I could be wrong in your case, but I think, you know, you
21:30
had you had a chuckle like you are now.
21:32
But seriously, what was the transition experience like?
21:37
So for me, the transition has been really interesting.
21:40
I would tell your listeners and followers, or if they're out
21:43
there and they're thinking about transition, don't transition out
21:47
of a hard job like I did. So my transition was difficult
21:50
because I was in battalion command and I was also the
21:54
director of emergency services for Fort Belvoir.
21:56
So there was a lot of things that people needed me for and
22:01
there wasn't a lot of time for me to take care of me and my
22:04
transition process. So things like, you know, we
22:10
have the transition assistance program now.
22:13
So yeah, I was able to do it. Was I able to really be present
22:15
for it? No, not really because I was
22:18
getting phone calls or having to answer emails or, or whatever it
22:20
may be. So I would just, for me,
22:24
transition was difficult in that aspect of it, like the time that
22:28
is needed to, to do to go through that process.
22:32
But also for me, I'll, I'll say this is that I knew pretty early
22:38
on in my battalion command time that I was going to retire after
22:41
command. And so because I knew that I was
22:45
already thinking about, OK, what's the next thing that I'm
22:48
going to do and thinking about, OK, once I do transition out of
22:52
this job and transition out of the Army, how am I going to set
22:54
my family up for success? And that's always been the big
22:58
thing for me is the day that you leave, whatever branch of
23:03
service it is, is that your family standing next to you.
23:06
And I want to make sure that I had everything set up for them
23:09
to be able to, you know, stand next to me one, but two, for us
23:12
to be successful during that transition.
23:15
So and, and that's where, you know, just thinking about, OK, I
23:21
know in two years I'm going to be transitioning out.
23:23
So kind of sitting down with your mayor, if you're married,
23:26
sit down with your spouse, hey, this is what I'm going to do or
23:28
I'm not going to do and really outline what that looks like.
23:32
And I think for me that was beneficial because I wasn't able
23:35
to take advantage of a lot of the transition assistance
23:39
programs that are out there that the military offers because of
23:42
my tight timeline and when I decided I was going to get out.
23:45
One thing that came to mind as we talked in Arlington and now
23:49
is you have a sports background, you have a management
23:53
background, you have legal background, you have done
23:57
disaster preparation, so on and so forth.
24:01
It wasn't like you had one or two things to pick from.
24:06
It seemed like you had a variety of things that you could have
24:09
gone into. Did it almost seem like it was
24:13
an overwhelming choice to pick one thing?
24:16
Or was it just you know what? I want to transition out, catch
24:19
my breath, and figure it out? I think for me, it's been I want
24:24
to transition out, catch my breath and figure it out.
24:29
And I've also for me so, so my biggest, so my number one
24:36
priority in transition is my family.
24:39
So my wife Katie, she still has six years left.
24:42
We have a three-year old son. And so the thing for us is I
24:47
want to be present for my family.
24:49
I want to be able to pick Atlas up from daycare early and take
24:52
him places. So it is.
24:56
I want to be able to sit still. I'm not very good at sitting
24:59
still so but I want to be able to sit, catch my breath and you.
25:04
Made me tired in Arlington. Do the do the things that I want
25:07
to do. And that's, that's where, yeah,
25:10
there's a lot of things I can do and I know they're they're there
25:14
if I want to do them, but I want to do something that I'm
25:17
passionate about. And that's what's really driving
25:19
me now after transitioning is is doing the things that I'm
25:24
passionate about, which is one of my family, but then to the
25:27
veteran and military community. Well, if we can, let's start
25:32
with family and motherhood. It almost seems like you know
25:36
what I get a chance here to be there for.
25:39
And Alice is a cool name. Like I wish I'd thought of that
25:41
name for one of my kids, but you know, my name is Alice.
25:46
Anyway, you get a chance to really be there as a mother
25:52
during these times you can't get back.
25:55
That's got to make you feel complete in the way that you
25:58
can't really describe. Yeah, it really does.
26:03
As a kid, I grew up with, you know, 2 parents who were in the
26:06
military. They were either deploying or
26:09
TDY or on some type of training exercise as a dual military
26:14
family. So I only got time with one of
26:17
my parents usually at a time. And so now for me, and, you
26:22
know, the reason Katie and I want to have kids later in life
26:26
is so that we could be there for our kids and experience it with
26:30
them and not be, you know, running around on the next
26:35
deployment or on the next TDY or whatever it may be, but to
26:38
really be present and be there for our kids.
26:41
And so that's, you know, we today we had baseball practice
26:46
his opening day and we're both coaching his team and it's, it's
26:50
exciting, it's fun. And we're able to really be
26:53
present and be there with him as he's growing up.
26:57
And and that's, that's what that's why I retired is to, is
27:00
to be able to do that and, and be there for, for my, my family.
27:05
You can't get that first opening day T-ball game back, can you?
27:08
If you'd missed it. Nope, you can't.
27:11
And how, if I may ask, how, how old's your son?
27:14
He's 3. Oh, it's almost the best, right?
27:19
They don't really know what's going on, but they're they'll
27:22
all chase the ball at the same time.
27:24
It's organized chaos. It's, it's the best, isn't it?
27:27
Yeah, it was pretty funny. Two kids collided and all
27:31
stopping each other and like, all the parents were just
27:34
laughing. But it's one of those moments
27:36
where you'll never forget it. Like that first game and just
27:40
being able to be there, right? Because there's so many people
27:43
out there who are serving our country who aren't able to do
27:46
that. And for me, I just feel very
27:49
lucky that I am able to do that and I am able to be there with
27:55
them, but also had a great career prior to that.
28:00
So you're out, you're, you're doing, you know, spousal duties,
28:04
motherhood duties, you're, you're doing all this.
28:06
And then I meet her in Arlington and, you know, she doesn't sit
28:11
still, folks. I mean, it's almost, it's Julie.
28:13
It's almost incapable for you to sit still.
28:16
I, I, I think you can't, but I can't.
28:19
I'm no problem. But anyway, we're sitting there
28:21
talking when you finally, you know, took a minute to catch
28:24
your breath and you're telling me about this thing you were
28:28
doing with dog tags ownership and why you felt that was so
28:33
important for her that the veteran experience.
28:36
And I was surprised at first because I thought is this got to
28:41
be some kind of nonprofit thing. This has got to be every veteran
28:44
wants to do a nonprofit, which I'm trying to.
28:47
We'll talk about that later, but what led you to say, you know
28:51
what? I'm I've got time between all my
28:54
things going on, my obligations and things I want to do.
28:58
What led you to explore this part of your life?
29:02
So my friends and my family will tell you I get a lot of ideas
29:08
and believe it or not, it's part of my not being able to sit
29:12
still, but I have a lot of ideas.
29:13
Well, we were on vacation, we were visiting some friends for
29:18
veteran's day weekend a few years ago, 2024 and driving.
29:23
And this idea just popped in my head because I knew I just
29:27
dropped my retirement papers and I was like, I'm going to be
29:30
transitioning soon. You know, I have some businesses
29:33
already, but I really like want to learn more.
29:36
And I know that there are others out there that want to learn
29:38
more about business ownership after transitioning.
29:42
So I, I, you know, did some research, couldn't find really
29:46
anything out there already. That was a one stop shop type
29:50
thing to help those transitioning one with
29:53
transition, but also getting into business ownership.
29:56
And so the idea popped in my head.
29:58
I'm a consumer of podcast and I was like, let's start a podcast.
30:02
So I texted one of my best friends that I met as a second
30:04
Lieutenant at Fort Campbell, Matt Kane.
30:08
And I texted him and said, Hey, we're going to be we're going to
30:10
start a podcast and it's going to be called dog tags ownership.
30:14
And we are going to become the the one stop shop for military
30:20
members, veterans, military connected who want to get into
30:25
entrepreneurship and business ownership.
30:27
He texted me back and I was like, what are you talking
30:29
about? Is this one another one of your
30:31
stupid ideas that's never going to actually go?
30:33
And so everybody, his wife, my wife, like we're all laughing.
30:37
We're in a group text. And so everybody just thought
30:41
like, OK, this is one of Julie's ideas.
30:42
It's not going to go anywhere. I ended up buying podcasting
30:45
equipment, booking our first guest and he was like, oh crap,
30:49
this is real. And I was like, yes, it is real.
30:51
We're doing this. We did some calls, introductory
30:55
calls with, with a few folks. And I'll give a big shout out
30:59
here to Joe Byerly. I emailed Joe, Joe called me,
31:02
him and I talked for like an hour about starting a podcast
31:06
and, and he really like helped me with it.
31:09
And then we just, I said, all right, Matt, July 7th, it was
31:14
the first Tuesday I think of I think it was July 7th of or
31:17
January 7th of 2025. That's going to be our first
31:22
episode. And so we dropped our first
31:24
episode. And last year we did one episode
31:27
every week, so 52 episodes and then new episode drop every
31:31
Tuesday. And our goal with the podcast is
31:33
if we can help one person who is transitioning or thinking about
31:39
entrepreneurship through the stories that others tell, that
31:43
we tell, turn their dog tags into ownership, then that's then
31:49
we've done what what we set out to do.
31:54
Why do you think so many veterans you're either a on the
31:59
cusp of starting a business and never do it or start a business
32:04
and never really get it going. I.
32:07
Think a few reasons I think so for a lot of military members,
32:12
veterans, it's scary, right? So when you're transitioning out
32:16
of the military one, it's, you know, however long you serve,
32:20
35102030 years, it's scary when you come out because you're
32:28
indoctrinated in the military lifestyle, the military culture,
32:32
and to go and do something on your own because no matter what
32:35
rank you are, someone is always your boss and always telling you
32:39
what to do, where to be and how to do it.
32:42
To come out of the military and say, OK, now I'm going to be
32:46
that boss. I'm going to tell people what to
32:49
do, how to do it, where to do it based off of a business.
32:52
And then, oh, by the way, you're responsible for their lives.
32:56
I think that's where it becomes scary for people in my opinion.
33:02
And but I think I believe wholeheartedly the military
33:08
members, veterans, military connected.
33:11
We are the best demographic to start businesses.
33:15
Why is? That.
33:17
Because of the skills that we've learned from the military, when
33:21
it comes to our leadership skills, the military, the United
33:25
States of America has put hundreds of $1000 into each of
33:30
us. That's you, Travis, me, Julie,
33:33
whoever, into each of us for leadership skills and qualities.
33:39
And those things don't go away. And no one, there's no other
33:45
corporation, anything in America that teaches the leadership
33:50
skills that we've been taught through service.
33:53
And I think to own a business, you have to be a leader.
33:57
And those skills translate so well.
34:00
The other things that translate really well too for us is
34:03
stewardship. So being able to serve something
34:06
bigger than ourselves, even when the uniform comes off, it
34:08
doesn't mean we don't want to serve a purpose bigger than
34:10
ourselves. And that purpose can change into
34:13
serving a business that helps your neighborhood, your
34:16
community, your industry. And then the the third thing I
34:20
think is, is the resilience. The resilience because all of us
34:24
have that have served in the military, have failed at
34:27
something, but we've had to get back up and, and keep pushing
34:31
forward. And that's what business
34:32
ownership is. It's yeah, you're going to,
34:34
you're going to have some failures along the way, but how
34:36
are you going to pick yourself back up and continue with the
34:40
business that you want to have? So those are the three big
34:43
qualities that I, I believe really translate well for
34:48
military members, veterans and even military connected to, to
34:52
get into entrepreneurship. Is is that leadership,
34:57
stewardship and resiliency? What started happening to you,
35:04
to your spouse and to Matt when this started going and you all
35:08
realized, hey, you know what, there is a need that we're
35:12
feeling here and Oh my God, this was actually a good idea.
35:18
What started happening to you all?
35:20
So that's a really funny question.
35:22
So I get really excited about things and I talk a lot about
35:26
it. And so I anywhere we would go, I
35:29
would tell people about the podcast, about what we are
35:32
doing, what we are building. And I think so much like, well,
35:36
I know. So my spouse would be like, Oh
35:38
my God, just shut up. Like just just shut up.
35:41
Like, but the cool thing was it started.
35:45
We had guests come on. I was reaching out to a ton of
35:48
people to ask them to come on the podcast.
35:50
And then halfway through our first season, people started
35:53
reaching out to us that wanted to come on the podcast and that
35:57
wanted to tell their story and tell their journey and just
36:00
provide that actionable insight and advice to others who wanted
36:05
to get into business ownership. And, and that was the coolest
36:09
part was it wasn't just, it was becoming a movement, right?
36:14
Where it wasn't just me emailing these people that I would find
36:18
on social media or LinkedIn or whatever it may be.
36:20
It was people were reaching out to us and then you know, some of
36:25
the podcasting like interview valet that's out there reached
36:29
out of hey, we have some people that we think would love like
36:32
would be a great fit for your podcast.
36:34
We would love to put you guys in our in our Rolodex of podcasts
36:40
for folks to go on to. Like are you guys interested in
36:43
that? We're like, yeah, for sure.
36:45
Right. And those are things that I
36:46
never I didn't even know about when we got into this.
36:49
So just learning more and more and learning from other people.
36:54
So as we've, you know, been going through our interviews and
36:58
talking with folks, it's learning about, yes, some
37:02
journeys are, are similar, but they're also different in many
37:05
ways. And how people really get into
37:09
their entrepreneurialship journey, Whether it's they have
37:12
a side hustle while they're in the military and then they take
37:14
that side hustle and, and make it into something bigger.
37:17
Or they get out and they do something completely different
37:21
than what they ever did in the military.
37:23
But it's something that they're now passionate about and want to
37:28
to succeed at. Let's play a game.
37:33
OK, let's do it. You have somebody like, you know
37:37
what, Julie, I'm, I'm trying to start a business and they come
37:42
to you and they say, you know what?
37:43
I got an idea to start this card business because I got so upset
37:50
when I realized, you know, Hallmark cards at $7.00 a pop,
37:53
Julie $7.00 a pop are made in China.
37:57
And I don't think about business.
37:58
I don't think about cards. I just want to do it.
38:01
I, I've done a couple mocks. I've got some people to buy
38:03
cards. When someone comes to you and
38:07
says, hey, I, I, I, I've got this idea.
38:10
I want to get it going. What's the first things you
38:14
start looking for? What's the best practices?
38:17
You know, how should, how should we structure what we're trying
38:21
to do? So I think it I'm going to use
38:24
your example, but I think it depends on the on the business
38:26
and how you should structure it. But for you, right, with the
38:30
cart, we'll use the cart example.
38:33
So for you, I would say, hey, that should be a sole
38:35
proprietary business, right? Set that up.
38:39
Use one of the great services that are out there to help you
38:41
set up that sole proprietary business.
38:45
You can go through the VA, they can help you set that up for
38:47
free. Or there's some great apps out
38:50
there. We, I use in business, not
38:52
trying to plug them, but that's why I used to set up all my
38:54
LLCS. So I would say do that.
38:56
If you already know that you've sold, sold some business cards
38:59
and you've done that, then set up some type of legal entity to
39:04
help protect you in the future. I'll always say that to begin
39:08
with. And then from there, look at
39:11
where your market is. So depending on where you've
39:15
been selling your cards, assuming in your local area, so
39:19
are there some type of little like hobby type stores within
39:24
that local area or local stores that have local Knick knack type
39:29
things within their their marketplace?
39:32
If, if the answer is yes, go approach that business owner,
39:35
say hey, I'm a veteran. I have these cards I would like
39:38
to sell them. I believe that these can really
39:41
help at the mother's daytime or at Christmas time.
39:45
Would you mind putting them in your store for me to sell?
39:48
You can get, you know, and come up with a good price that they
39:51
would be able to get back for that so that you're still making
39:55
a little bit of a profit. And as you build that out, then
39:58
look at, OK, how do I scale that from there and how do I build
40:01
from there? If you want to go national or if
40:04
you want to go statewide, then you're going to have to look at
40:06
how do you scale to build more cards or to produce more cards
40:11
in mass. Not Massachusetts and Mass to be
40:17
able to get them out into stores or retailers across the state.
40:21
But there are many places within your state, whether it's at your
40:28
VFW, American Legions, Veteran Resource centers, Small Business
40:34
Administration offices that you could go to and find out, hey,
40:37
where are some places where I could sell some of these
40:40
products across the state to get my name and my product out
40:43
there. So that's, that's how I would do
40:45
it. And then a lot of it is about
40:47
networking. You know, we had the former
40:53
Secretary of the Army, the Honorable Patrick Murphy on our
40:55
podcast this year and his big take away that he he said when
40:59
we asked him like, what's one piece of advice you would give
41:00
people? And a lot of people say this,
41:02
but it's your net, your network is your net worth.
41:05
So it's all about the networking opportunities to find the places
41:10
to build and scale your business as you want to, as you want to
41:14
do that well. Sounds like the term what kind
41:17
of of of business with us in LLC.
41:20
So retirees ship as Corp and then get the legal stuff done
41:24
first all the the boring stuff. Get all that stuff done 1st and
41:29
then figure out where your market is and then serve your
41:32
market. And then it, it sounds like 2
41:34
that you know, if we want, if we, we should look at resources
41:39
from the VA and other veterans centric resources to help us
41:43
along. Yes, there are tons of resources
41:46
that are out there that are to help veterans with
41:51
entrepreneurship. And depending on the type of
41:54
business that you want to do, there's also different types of
41:56
loans and grants that you can tap into as a resource to help
42:02
you build your business and also scale it.
42:05
There's also other programs that are out there through IVMF,
42:10
through Syracuse University to have entrepreneurship programs.
42:14
There's also the Disabled American Veterans, DAV, they run
42:19
the Patriot Boot Camp, and so you can go there and learn
42:23
about, you know, your business and how to help improve your
42:26
business. And there's some other ones out
42:28
there as well that have different entrepreneurialship
42:33
programs to help veterans really turn their dog tags into
42:36
ownership. So you've been at the podcast
42:40
for what, almost a year? Year and a half.
42:42
Year and a half, Yep. Fantastic.
42:45
I mean, nicely done. In that time, has there been a
42:50
story that has really stuck with you and given you a sense of
42:54
like, we are definitely here for the right purpose.
42:58
Someone came to you, came on your show and you, you, you saw
43:02
your your idea work in real time.
43:06
Yeah, so there's been, there's been.
43:07
I'm going to do 2 things here. I'm going to talk about two
43:09
things. So we also host the last
43:13
Thursday of every month at 8:00 PM Eastern.
43:16
It's called Dog Tags Connect. It's a online Google Meet where
43:23
anybody can come on. No slides, no agenda, just
43:26
candid, honest conversations about business ownership.
43:29
And during that time, over these past six months, we've done,
43:33
we've done one every month. Actually, I take that back, we
43:36
did not do one in June because of a lot of different things
43:39
going on, but we've done, you know, January, February, March,
43:42
April, May, and then we'll start back up in July.
43:44
So for those of you out there, if you want to join, let me
43:47
know, send me an e-mail and I'll add you to the Google Meet.
43:50
But during that time, we've had folks come on to to Dog Tags
43:55
Connect who had just an idea of a business and from January to
44:01
May, they have already set up their LLC, have a business plan
44:06
and already networking and marketing their business for
44:09
when they retire. So to us, that is a win.
44:13
We that is a mission accomplished.
44:15
That is what we want to do. That is that is what Dog Tags to
44:20
ownership is all about. And then the one podcast that
44:23
really sticks out for me, and it might not for other people
44:26
though, but is a recent episode with Keith Cole.
44:33
He is the only Vietnam veteran that we had on our podcast so
44:38
far. But his story to me it stuck out
44:42
the most is because it reminded me so much of my dad and my
44:46
father-in-law. So Katie's dad is also a Vietnam
44:49
veteran who served in in Vietnam and continue to serve.
44:55
And him telling his story, I was able to connect him with my
45:00
father and with my father-in-law and just understand them more
45:04
because of what he was talking about and what he had done in
45:08
his life since coming home from Vietnam and some of the trauma
45:12
that he experienced and how, you know, he got to a place of
45:15
burnout and how he moved on from that.
45:18
And that was just one of those stories that it showed you from
45:24
someone who grew up from humble beginnings, who went to Vietnam,
45:29
had trauma there, had some family stuff, set up a old
45:33
school business with he was he's a tax guy doing taxes for
45:39
people, hustled his way through that, set up a business, did
45:42
great and then wrote a book and now, you know, is promoting his
45:46
book. But it's just one of those that,
45:48
you know, you know, he's probably in his 80s now, late
45:53
70s, early 80s, that I want to be like that, right?
45:57
Like, I want to be a person who continues to help veterans all
46:02
the way into my late 70s, early 80s.
46:05
And it's just one of those stories that really touched me,
46:08
I guess, that we got to here. We meet at Military Creator Con
46:14
2026 and you know 2027 planning is already underway.
46:19
Do you anticipate yourself coming back to MCC because of
46:24
the experience there? Yes 100% military creator con
46:29
was one of those moments. I think I, I caught myself
46:35
because maybe day 2 where we got done wrapped up and it was
46:42
before the, we all headed over to the steakhouse, I think.
46:47
But I called myself in my room just being like, wow, this is
46:51
where I'm supposed to be. These are the people that I want
46:55
to be around. These are the people who are
46:57
doing the work to help our community.
47:00
And these are the people who I know that if I needed something
47:04
tomorrow, I could give them a call and they would be there.
47:08
And that's what I think is, is so special about Military
47:11
Creator Con is that it's, it's one of those conferences that's
47:15
not too big. It's a it's a great size where
47:18
you're able to meet everyone there.
47:21
I think I met almost every single person that came to
47:24
military Creator con, at least like said, hey, and just talk to
47:28
him for a second. And, and that was the the best
47:31
part about MCC is that you were able to have real conversations
47:37
with people and not just these passing type conversations.
47:41
So yes, I will definitely be at MCC 2027 and I can't wait
47:46
because I know James and Mara are just making it even bigger
47:49
and better for next year. What is next for you then in the
47:55
podcast or in the business now? You said you had multiple
47:59
businesses already. Is there a new business venture
48:02
you have coming or is it still developing the foundation
48:06
structure around the current podcast?
48:10
So we do. We have some big news coming
48:12
out. We are launching Forces Brands
48:16
USA. It is the only online
48:20
marketplace for veteran owned businesses, products, services
48:25
and podcast. So that is launching the
48:28
beginning of July and we have a huge campaign marketing campaign
48:34
strategy that we're going to start at the beginning of the of
48:36
July and it's called the Replace One challenge.
48:40
So we are challenging all Americans to replace one item in
48:46
their home or one service that they use on a regular basis with
48:51
a veteran owned product. And my biggest point to that is,
48:57
you know, with America 250, you wouldn't have America 250 if it
49:00
wasn't for the military. So instead of saying thank you
49:03
for your service when it comes to 4th of July, buy something
49:08
veteran owned and replace one thing in your house with the
49:12
Replace One challenge. But yes, that's our next big
49:15
thing is forces Brands USA and a one stop shop for veteran owned
49:20
businesses in a marketplace. So you can go in there and you
49:22
can get, you know, your favorite coffee or your favorite shirt or
49:28
your favorite candle from a veteran owned business.
49:30
Put it all in one shopping cart check out and then it's a drop
49:34
ship or direct to consumer from that company.
49:37
You can also go in there and find, you know, in your local
49:40
area, a business, a veteran owned business that you would
49:43
like to use utilize there or you can go to our podcasting hub and
49:48
find your favorite veteran military connected or military
49:52
podcast to listen to. Fantastic, fantastic.
49:57
Well, I mean, Julie, I, I can't wait to become a part of this
50:03
network and you know why not what I mean, you have like Bass
50:07
Pro Cabela's, you know, Dick's Sporting Goods for that stuff.
50:11
And why shouldn't there be a veteran of forces brand USA?
50:18
It's it's very you're not going to forget that anytime soon.
50:21
Yes, that's, that's, that's what we hope.
50:23
And we hope that, I hate to say hope, because hope never gets
50:28
you a lot of places, but we hope that we're able to show America
50:32
what veterans really bring to the table and the businesses
50:36
that they bring and how they can really help build back our
50:41
neighborhoods, our communities and our industries.
50:44
Because veterans serve far after they take the uniform off.
50:49
Absolutely, absolutely. How can people connect with dog
50:54
tags ownership podcast with you? What's the preferred way, Julie?
50:59
So dog tags the ownership. We have a website,
51:02
dogtagsownership.com, you can go there.
51:05
You can look us up on social media, Instagram, Facebook,
51:08
TikTok. Dog tags the ownership and you
51:12
can reach out to me via e-mail as well.
51:15
Julie at dogtagsownership.com we are always wanting to talk to
51:20
others, hear your story and learn more about your journey
51:24
and turning your dog tags to ownership.
51:26
And I would be remiss if I didn't say this dog tags
51:29
ownership has a 2 prong meaning it's dog tags to ownership.
51:33
And yes, starting a business after after the military, but
51:38
it's also about owning your life after service.
51:41
And for a lot of us out there, it's you know, that that takes
51:45
time. And so we do want it.
51:47
We want to hear those stories. We want to know how you are
51:50
owning your life after service and if you could be a help.
51:53
Or if someone needs help in that transition, we want to be there
51:57
to help you with that. Fantastic, fantastic, Julie.
52:00
Well, last question here. I one can't help but notice that
52:04
you're in your Washington Nationals gear are you're a die
52:08
hard fan. I am.
52:10
I am a die hard Washington sports fan.
52:13
We have season tickets to the Washington Commanders.
52:15
I don't want to hear anything from any of you Eagles Cowboys
52:20
fans. I don't know, Barry, if you're
52:24
if you're listening, Barry from MCC, yeah, Cowboys, whatever.
52:28
But yes, huge Washington sports fan, huge Nats fan.
52:33
We'll see. We're we're over 500 right now,
52:36
though. We'll see how the season goes.
52:37
We'll probably tank it after the All Star break.
52:40
Well, next time we meet in person, I will tell you a funny
52:42
story about my first time at a Redskins game.
52:46
So, you know, we'll make a deal there.
52:49
Ladies and gentlemen, again, just an example of a veteran who
52:53
served, you know, her country for a long period of time at a
52:57
very high level and then gets out and has an idea like a lot
53:01
of his veterans do, and then takes a process and and follows
53:05
it and then is able to add value back to our community.
53:10
Julie, I just again, I want to thank you so much for talking
53:13
with me. And how crazy is it that just a
53:16
simple conversation and, you know, filling out some forms and
53:20
doing the the merch table led to this friendship?
53:23
I I'm just excited to see where this goes next.
53:26
Same, Travis, and thank you for having me.
53:28
I really appreciate it. And I love OM Radio and what
53:31
you're doing and how you're telling stories of of our
53:34
veterans as well. So thank you.
53:36
Absolutely, absolutely. There you have a folks.
53:39
I will have all the links to dog tags to ownership in the OM
53:43
radio show post. If you're a veteran, check it
53:45
out. And if you're not a veteran,
53:48
look, come buy our stuff. We work very hard at it.
53:50
Let's go, let's do it in the USA #250 I'm going to be there.
53:56
And I cannot wait to see what we do next.
53:58
Remission flight. Every generation, every
54:04
sacrifice, our nation's service members have stood up for our
54:07
freedom, our families and our future.
54:10
Now it's our turn to stand up for them.
54:12
This year, you can honor their service in a deeply personal way
54:15
by sponsoring a $17.00 Veterans Wreath.
54:18
Each wreath is more than a symbol.
54:20
It's a heartfelt tribute to the heroes who served and to the
54:23
families who carry their legacy. Visit wreathsacrossamerica.org
54:27
to sponsor a wreath today. This isn't just a wreath.
54:30
It's a personal gift to an American hero.
54:34
Thank you for listening and watching OM Radio where our
54:38
active duty service members and veterans are in action and the
54:42
mission is in flight. OM Radio is an oversized load
54:50
coast list of one production. If you are a veteran or you're a
54:55
veteran who needs help, please dial 988 and press one for the
55:01
Veterans prices line.