TAMPA, Fla. — Starting your own business can be very challenging, that’s why there’s a group of veterans working together to turn ideas into realities.
These men and women have spent their lives defending the American Dream, but now it’s time for them to focus on their own dreams.
“We are going to help you understand that you are not alone, you’re not the first person to have an idea, you won’t be the last person to have an idea, but you’ll be the person to have an idea and execute it,” said Kishima Garcia, Executive Director of Action Zone.
Every quarter the nonprofit organization opens up its doors to a new group of vets to pitch their ideas. For Michael Chavarria, it’s woodworking.
“Just the courage to move forward, everyone has ideas and just their commitment and their teachings showed that it’s possible,” said Chavarria.
The light bulb went off in Stacy Moser’s head for beer-flavored dog treats. Now Stacy is not only making treats, she’s making money.
“Knowing where to go, how to develop who a customer is, where to start,” said Moser.
“So it’s always good to kind of feel like no one is judging you,” said Garcia. “We have open sessions where we just talk about our ideas, we get that feedback and it’s amazing what you’ll get from having these sessions with other people.”
The key to Action Zone is camaraderie, just like being back in boot camp.
“The understanding, the support, the love, the desire to really help the veteran grow in their business it’s priceless,” said Tammy Foster-Knight, founder of Optional Solutions LLC.
While not every idea turns into a business, that’s okay, the first step to becoming an entrepreneur is putting yourself out there.
“If you have a business idea, you’re not really sure if it can happen, just reach out to us at Action Zone and we’ll be more than happy to walk you through the next steps,” said Garcia.
For more information go to www.actionzonetampa.com.
