Veteran Business Owner - JULO Global

fayVen is Becoming Vendors FAV Place to Connect With Venues: Meet CEO & Founder of fayVen April Caldwell

CEO, CEO Mindset, CEO Rockstar, Veteran Business Owner, Woman Business Leader

April Caldwell is Founder and CEO of fayVen, which offers a brokerage between venues that have additional space to rent out and mobile vendors that need a place to sell their goods and services. She is a ten-year Air Force veteran, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and is currently obtaining her MBA for Small Business Entrepreneurship.

Previously, April owned The Princess and The Popper – a gourmet popcorn company. In 2018 she launched her company fayVen. fayVen solves the needs that mobile and home-based vendors have when trying to find space to sell their goods and services who can’t afford their brick and mortar. “We solve venue owners’ issues of lacking revenue to keep their rent paid by helping them find complementary businesses to rent out space to.”

The name fayVen came from a combination of two target markets: VENdors and VENues, their fayVorite way to connect! April’s mother, Faith, was also a big inspiration. “I wanted to give the nod to her with the company name. She passed away in January this past year.” The company logo, a lightning bolt, is a God-given symbol for April. She associates lightning with bright light in a dark world. Coincidentally, Tampa is also the lightning capital of North America, which worked out nicely.

April has a wide array of accomplishments, including the previous supervisor at The Department of Veterans’ Affairs; Veterans in Residence with Bunker Labs; Action Zone Ambassador; alumni to Action Zone’s Action in Motion program; Event Coordinator for Military Spouses Professional Network Tampa via Hiring Our Heroes; Institute for Veterans and Military Families alumni for Veteran Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship (V-WISE), EDGE, and STRIVE; alumni of VETtoCEO; alumni of JULO Strategy, CEO Mindset; featured on Military.com; Austin Angels Ambassador; and Children’s ministry at Champion City Church.

April was selected to be the Vice President of the Filipino American Heritage Group while stationed in Germany. She did a lot of their folk dances for their cultural heritage shows. “No, I am NOT Filipina; I just love the people, culture, and of course…the food!”

April attended JULO Strategy’s CEO Mindset™ course to network with like-minded entrepreneurs and learned new skill sets to deal with difficult decisions. “I want to be able to speak in front of people more comfortably and confidently and work on my pitch for investors and competitions.” After completing Phase One, she learned that she didn’t need a HUGE crowd to be successful; she just needed the right people/target market to believe in her and her business.

“It was eye-opening to learn how much I valued myself as a CEO and learn what I needed to do to start making the revenue I need to reflect that. I enjoyed being able to hear the issues other CEOs were having, a lot which mirrored things from past and current experiences. I’ve since been able to pivot my business model to create new revenue streams.” April Caldwell fayVen A-ha moment from CEO Mindset

April has since completed our Phase Two program and has increased her fees, improved her target market, and gained new clients. We love seeing you and your business succeed, April, and can’t wait to see where it takes you!

Apply to CEO Mindset ™

Psst! Want to do some online shopping with an array of great vendors?
Click Here to get your tickets to fayVen’s next event!

Program expenses for all Florida veteran participants are covered through funding provided by the Florida Legislature and Veterans Florida

September 10, 2020/by Juliann Nichols

Why I Shifted From Employee Mindset to CEO Mindset: Steve Wooten Veteran CEO and Founder of WOO 10 LLC

CEO, CEO Mindset, CEO Rockstar, Veteran Business Owner

Steve Wooten, CEO, and founder of Woo10 LLC, is a former Army Interrogator who specializes in creating, managing and delivering learning content that enhances performance for organizations and individuals. Steve is a certified techno-enthusiast who has dedicated over 20 years to combating industry stagnation by challenging the expectations for what can be accomplished.

A pioneer in digital design, Steve’s company specializes in creatively developing, optimizing, and enhancing all types of instructional content. They take calculated risks to go beyond current boundaries to create wildly successful clients. Building quality systems and genuine relationships with clients’ long-term growth is their focus. They are creative, using their drive, commitment, and passion for encouraging, energizing, engaging, and inspiring others is how they do their thing ‘really well’ so that you can do your thing ‘really well’!

Steve’s expertise spans from Dept of Defense, Dept of Education, Nuclear, Oil and Gas, Healthcare, to Biopharma drug development platforms. He is a thought leader for “what is next” and continually optimizes his operations to stay at the top of his field.

He is a lifelong learner who stays exceptionally active. He’s been married 21 years with a 20-year-old and a 16-year-old. His family moved to the Space Coast five years ago to experience rockets, beaches, and perpetual sunshine. He volunteers with the Sea Turtle Preservation Society flagging new nests along the beach. He enjoys hiking, riding bikes, and trying new things that gets his blood pumping. He’s developed augmented reality experiences, polished stones, made beer, hiked the Grand Canyon, taught himself Braille, mastered Arabic, hatched butterflies in his flower garden and learned to play the guitar. Steve quips, “I totally dork out over rocket launches, new technologies, and Krispy Kreme donuts…although I’m trying to be gluten-free, so that’s a struggle.”

Steve attended JULO Strategy’s CEO Mindset™ course to switch his mindset from employee/business owner to actual CEO. “I hoped to learn some effective techniques for growing my business and networking in my community.” He continued to the Phase II course to further his knowledge effectively engaging his target market while increasing confidence as a CEO. By the end, he learned the necessity of documenting processes so he could position himself to outsource tasks later. It gave him the focus to sort out the competing priorities and helped him identify time-wasting customers.

We love seeing how much you and your business have grown, Steve, and cannot wait to see you thrive as CEO!

Apply to CEO Mindset ™

Program expenses for all Florida veteran participants are covered through funding provided by the Florida Legislature and Veterans Florida

September 3, 2020/by Juliann Nichols

The Story Behind a Veteran Business Owner: Jay Wirth’s Climb to CEO.

CEO, CEO Mindset, CEO Rockstar, CEOs, Veteran Business Owner

Jay Wirth, CEO and Veteran Business Owner of D’Ogee Pet Waste Service, was raised in Pensacola, Florida. He joined the US Navy in 1993 and was an Air Traffic Controller until separating from service in 1997. Jay attended and graduated from Florida State University with a BS degree in Communications. He worked at FSU for 12 years, then left to pursue the life of an entrepreneur.

That’s when he decided to start D’Ogee Pet Waste Services in 2018. The idea was to help dog owners keep their yards, and the environment clean. “Dog waste can be hazardous to people, dogs, and the water we drink. I saw a need that people either don’t like to remove the dog waste, don’t have the time, or can’t because of physical restrictions.”

Since starting, Jay and his company have removed more than 4 tons of pet waste from residential, apartment buildings, condos and commercial buildings. They are currently looking to expand into government contracts. By keeping people’s yards, community and general green spaces clean of dog waste, they reduce the chance of spread of bacteria that can cause sickness.

“My business is a conversation starter! I get the best laughs out of people when I tell them about my company… We are the #1 in your dog’s #2 business! It is very unconventional, but people like to know about it!” He currently resides in Tallahassee, FL with his wife Aimee and two daughters, Ansley and Eliza, and their dog, Wally.

Jay attended JULO Strategy’s CEO Mindset ™ course to expand on opportunities and seize new growth. He learned that talking with the other veterans and hearing he’s not alone in how he was running his business was a rewarding experience. He continued into the Phase II program and learned how to grow his business and run it like a CEO, and not as an employee, by following processes and steps to get shit done! He increased his clientele by 10% and revenue by 5%.

We think you are a Rockstar Jay and we look forward to seeing how you and your business grow!

Apply to CEO Mindset ™

Program expenses for all Florida veteran participants are covered through funding provided by the Florida Legislature and Veterans Florida

August 28, 2020/by Juliann Nichols