Commander's Brief

Business ideas, jobs for veterans, and other cool stuff for ex-military.

Author

Mark Delaney
June 27, 2025

In partnership with

Veterans can struggle with impostor syndrome.

We feel like we don’t know enough or haven’t earned the right to do something yet.

Here’s a helpful idea:

No one knows what they are doing.

Everyone is literally figuring it out as they go.

Why do I say this?

You don’t need it all figured out right now.

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Your membership includes LLC and S Corp formation, payroll, monthly bookkeeping, quarterly tax estimates, annual business tax filing and more.

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Veteran Business of the Week

I recently had William Treseder on the podcast. He is an absolutely awesome dude.

He’s a former enlisted Marine who hustled his way into Stanford (danced, actually….it’s a whole story) and then started a business that is doing super well. He is a truly smart guy and very plugged into the veteran entrepreneurial community.

He took everything he has learned about startups and why he thinks prior enlisted are especially great in them into a new book, Startup NCO.

If you are a former enlisted and get sick of all the officers getting the attention in the business world, you might want to check this book out. Written by a guy who has been here and done that.

Resource of The Week

I have coached youth lacrosse a few times and, let me tell you, it‘s fun.

It was always great to see kids having fun, growing, and getting more confident. Sports are a truly wonderful place.

So if you want to get involved in coaching, I suggest checking out Soldiers to Sidelines.

“Soldiers To Sidelines provides the training, resources, and support you need to become a character-based sports coach and inspire the next generation of leaders.”

Business Idea of The Week

Last week, I asked you all to share your ideas with me.

So here we have one, directly from the crowd:

A cardboard shredder

Here is the problem: we all get a lot of cardboard. Anyone with an Amazon Prime account gets what I am saying here.

I also remember when I got married and started getting wedding gifts in the mail and then also when we had a baby and started getting baby stuff….it felt like out house was SWIMMING in cardboard. A good day of packages could fill up my recycling bin.

So in comes the cardboard shredder. Take those boxes and shred them into a manageable size.

What do you all think? Would you use this? What would you want to see? How much would you pay?

Just answer to this email and I will share the responses with the veteran who submitted this idea.

Go crush it,

Mark

💼 Open Positions:

Director of Operations – Honolulu, HI (On-Site)
$150K–$200K + Bonus
Command aviation operations at a strategic Pacific post. Manage compliance, lead crews, and liaise with the FAA — reporting directly to a veteran VP of Ops.

(Mark's note: This is a really awesome role with a company that lists all the major global logistics companies on their client list. Can be a direct pivot for someone transitioning from the military who has an aviation background. Did I mention it is in Hawaii??)

Sales Representative – Northern IL or Southern WI (On-Site)
$100K+ Year 1 | $150K++ by Year 2–3
Represent a legacy brand in luxury boating. Integrity-driven sales, strong client relationships, and a team that values veterans.

(Mark's note: This is a sales floor role perfect for someone who loves boats and the lake life. The company has been family-owned for 50+ years and has a stellar reputation. They truly value veterans and have hired multiple GMs from us in the past.)

Sales Representative – Hyperscale (Remote/Flexible)
Base $100K–$120K | OTE $200K–$250K
Step into the world of hyperscale tech and green energy. Sell high-value solutions with a mission-focused team led by a former F-18 pilot.

(Mark's note: Company started US operations in 2018 and is already at $100M+ revenue. Their service is a "need to have" for anyone trying to rapidly scale up data use. So basically every tech company. This is also not a "hard sales" role but much more about partnering with a client to engineer a solution. People with engineering backgrounds, large-scale IT project management, or who know about data center power management could be good candidates.)

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