Community.
Then one day, it takes it away.
Because eventually, we all leave the military.
And when we do, the shift happens all at once.
One day, you're surrounded by people who understand you.
The next day, you're not.
One day, you have a built-in community.
The next day, you're starting from scratch.
Then many veterans do something even harder.
They become entrepreneurs.
And entrepreneurship can be one of the loneliest journeys you'll ever take.
No team.
No chain of command.
No squadron.
No platoon.
No one to bounce ideas off of.
No one who truly understands the weight of building something from nothing.
That's why community becomes even more important as a business owner.
Not because you need more followers.
Because you need more people.
People who understand what you're building.
People who can challenge your thinking.
People who can share lessons learned.
People who can open doors.
People who remind you that you're not doing this alone.
The most successful veteran entrepreneurs I know aren't building in isolation.
They're building inside communities.
They're attending events.
They're joining masterminds.
They're investing in relationships.
They're getting around people who make them better.
Business grows faster when you're connected.
And life gets better too.
That's one of the reasons that I teamed up with to build the Veteran Business Community. Because it's also about who you're surrounded by.
And sometimes the breakthrough you're looking for isn't another course, another book, or another AI tool.
It's a community.
Who are the veteran entrepreneurs that have had the biggest impact on your journey?