Civilians are concerned about the upcoming deluge of returning soldiers. Reports of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are on the rise. How will they assimilate into our communities? Can the work force, already hurt by the recession, absorb even more unemployed men and women?

We were recently in Upstate New York speaking at Syracuse University to the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities and their Families (EBV-F). During our visit we heard about a new and exciting project called Clear Path for Veterans, founded in 2011, that provides veterans and their families with support services to help them successfully reintegrate into civilian life.

We were hosted onsite by Melissa Spicer, President and Co-Founder, with whom we spent a lovely afternoon learning more about Clear Path. Melissa, a successful entrepreneur in her own right, has created and sold many businesses. She has demonstrated a level of risk tolerance envied by even the most seasoned entrepreneurs. But now she has literally bet the farm on a new type of enterprise, a non-profit social enterprise. She believes that the right environment, services, and community support can provide the bridge veterans and the community needs to work and live together to their mutual benefit.

Located on a beautifully forested hilltop, with bucolic panoramic views, the setting is peaceful and calming. A graciously rustic lodge provides the heart of the estate surrounded by gardens, strawberry farms, dog training facilities and a 9-hole golf course. Inside the main lodge are classrooms, project rooms, training facilities, with a lounge, library, dining hall and kitchen. Much of the work is done by volunteers and all of it is supported by donations. And as much as it seems Clear Path should be a government project, it isn’t. What about the USO? It’s mainly a lounge in airports these days.

Clear Path is really a first of its kind “transition facility” where the community can come to buy products and services produced by the vets, and vets can decompress and receive the training and connections they need to get on with their lives.  More importantly, it’s a place where the vets can experience support groups, learn skills needed in civilian life, and meet, get hired by, and return to the community.

Clear Path is strategically located within an hour of several military facilities and on the northern outskirts of the greater Syracuse metro area. This enables easy access by the vets and immediate adjacency to customers, housing and jobs. The center currently offers a Dog2Vets Program, an Outreach Program (for employment, legal, housing and other assistance), a Wellness Program including complimentary alternative medicine, a Wingman Program that provides peer support to “navigate” the civilian system, a Recreational Program which offers a wide variety of outdoor sports (including hiking, picnicking, horse shoes, basketball and golf), and a Culinary Program that offers lunch and culinary training. All of these offerings along with many other services are free to the veterans.

We discussed several future initiatives with Melissa, including speakers from the local business community to enlighten and encourage the vets and provide vital connections, a new green house project to provide fresh vegetables during the winter to local restaurants, and a residential volunteer initiative to provide immediate temporary housing for vets who volunteer to help out at the center.

Melissa was the initial investor and catalyst for the Clear Path concept in Upstate New York, but her vision is much larger. She views this as a pilot project to develop best practices and create a model for other communities throughout the country. Do you need a Clear Path for Veterans in your community?  For more information, check out www.clearpathforvets.com .

Who We Are

Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey co-authored the New York Times bestselling business book, The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand. The book has been selected as recommended reading in the CEO Library for CEO Forum, the C-Suite Book Club, and numerous university classes on business and entrepreneurship. It chronicles their humble beginnings from the laundry room of a rented Sonoma County farmhouse to the board room of E&J Gallo, who ultimately acquired their brand and engaged them as brand consultants. Barefoot is now the world’s largest wine brand.

Beginning with virtually no money and no wine industry experience, they employed innovative ideas to overcome obstacles, create new markets and forge strategic alliances. They pioneered Worthy Cause Marketing and performance-based compensation. They built an internationally bestselling brand and received their industry’s “Hot Brand” award for several consecutive years.

They offer their Guiding Principles for Success (GPS) to help entrepreneurs become successful. Their book, The Entrepreneurial Culture: 23 Ways To Engage and Empower Your People, helps corporations maximize the value of their human resources.

Currently they travel the world leading workshops, trainings, & keynoting at business schools, corporations, conferences. They are regular media guests and contributors to international publications and professional journals. They are C-Suite Network Advisors & Contributing Editors. Visit their popular brand building site at www.consumerbrandbuilders.com.

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

The post Clear Path for Veterans – Supporting the Journey Home appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.

It is our hope that the lessons we learned will help them achieve their goals of owning and growing their own successful businesses. We will concentrate on the critical and practical aspects of business philosophy we discovered – not generally taught in school.

We focus on the guiding principles we collectively call the “Barefoot Spirit.” This is a set of business standards to hold their business decisions up against.

But first, we want to acknowledge them for their sacrifice on our behalf. These folks were disabled in the line of duty. That duty was to protect and preserve our way of life including the freedoms we take for granted and the opportunities we enjoy, unequaled in the world. Those freedoms and opportunities have resulted in the most fertile conditions for entrepreneurship, the real driver of our economy, employment and standard of living. It is most appropriate that we help and encourage these vets to be successful.

We think these folks already possess three of the most essential qualities of any successful entrepreneur:

1. Guts! They have already proven that they have what it takes to succeed in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges. It takes a bold individual to set out on his or her own into the unknown. These vets have a great amount of self-confidence and an “I can do it!” attitude. That attitude of self-reliance is what allows and supports the kind of risk taking successful entrepreneurs require.

2. Tenacity! They have already demonstrated an integral ingredient in entrepreneurial success – the ability to stick to it, no matter what. Unlike what we have been told by the get-rich-quick stories that pander to our desire to work less and shortcut the system, most successful businesses are the result of get-rich-slow schemes. Success take years, and sometime decades. These vets have already shown by their sacrifices that they are willing to delay gratification for an ultimate reward.

3. Freedom and Opportunity! The country they served and sacrificed for was worth it! It provides entrepreneurial opportunities like no other. Common folks like us could have never built a blockbuster brand like Barefoot in any other country. Here, suppliers, creditors, and customers will take a chance on a new product or service. We live on the leading edge of world entrepreneurship.

We know what it takes to be successful. Starting out in a laundry room with no money and no real understanding of our industry, these two challenges turned out to be exactly what we needed to become resourceful, forge strategic alliances, and revolutionize our industry. Today Barefoot Wine is an American icon – worldwide. We hope our experience will demonstrate that, with a certain amount of guts and tenacity and in a country that supports the entrepreneurial spirit, it’s possible to start your own business and succeed.

To all our returning veterans who aspire to become entrepreneurs, we say thank you for what you gave us here at home to protect our way of life, our standard of living, our freedoms, and the promise that everyone has a chance to make it. You will make it and we are excited to be giving you a big head start with our quarter century of entrepreneurial experience. We are deeply grateful to you, and are proud to be of service.

Michael & Bonnie

Who We Are

Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey co-authored the New York Times bestselling business book, The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand. The book has been selected as recommended reading in the CEO Library for CEO Forum, the C-Suite Book Club, and numerous university classes on business and entrepreneurship. It chronicles their humble beginnings from the laundry room of a rented Sonoma County farmhouse to the board room of E&J Gallo, who ultimately acquired their brand and engaged them as brand consultants. Barefoot is now the world’s largest wine brand.

Beginning with virtually no money and no wine industry experience, they employed innovative ideas to overcome obstacles, create new markets and forge strategic alliances. They pioneered Worthy Cause Marketing and performance-based compensation. They built an internationally bestselling brand and received their industry’s “Hot Brand” award for several consecutive years.

They offer their Guiding Principles for Success (GPS) to help entrepreneurs become successful. Their book, The Entrepreneurial Culture: 23 Ways To Engage and Empower Your People, helps corporations maximize the value of their human resources.

Currently they travel the world leading workshops, trainings, & keynoting at business schools, corporations, conferences. They are regular media guests and contributors to international publications and professional journals. They are C-Suite Network Advisors & Contributing Editors. Visit their popular brand building site at www.consumerbrandbuilders.com.

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

The post Disabled Veterans Have the 3 Essentials for Entrepreneurial Success appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.