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Red Rope Policy: See How Woman Business Owner Pepper Wooten Employs It

CEO, CEO Mindset, CEO Rockstar, Veterans Florida, Woman Business Leader

Pepper Wooten CEO of Woo10 LLC @JULOstrategy Pepper Wooten is the CEO for Woo10 LLC, which specializes in creatively developing, optimizing, and enhancing all types of instructional content. Alongside her husband and co-founder, Steve Wooten, they offer businesses and individuals consultation on their training needs and design and develop the course work of businesses needing assistance with high turnover, low productivity, recurring issues, and companies wanting to educate their workforce.

Graduating from UMass-Lowell with high honors, Pepper is a certified copy editor, interior designer, and volunteer extraordinaire. With years of experience as an educator, editor, and event coordinator, she takes functional chaos and turns it into eye-catching design that speaks to a large audience. She enjoys reading, cooking, volunteering with the Sea Turtle Preservation Society, hand lettering, spending time with her family, going to the beach, and anything that sparkles. She has even sung in Carnegie Hall and the Grand Old Opry! Believe it or not, Pepper is her actual birth name, and she ran a high-ranking book blog that reviewed 389 books in a single year. And all while running a business? That’s what we call Getting. Shit. Done.

Her husband being a Veteran, Pepper heard about our CEO Mindset course through our partners, Veteran’s Florida and FAVOB. She was able to take the class alongside her husband, Steve, and knew it would benefit them both to attend. Being a volunteer for 20 years, she knew there was a lot to learn about being a CEO and wanted to give Woo10 and their dream the best chance possible to succeed. Pepper felt she undervalued her time, talents, and efforts, therefore limiting herself. She learned to let go of controlling the business so much and automating, delegating and eliminating tasks. As a result, the company has restructured their process on increasing their fees and revenue and are working on hiring new employees.

You have proven you know what it takes to be a CEO, Pepper! We are excited to see your business taking off, and we look forward to continuing with you on your journey to success!

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

October 30, 2020/by Juliann Nichols

Executive Protection: The Natural Transition To This Decorated Army Veteran CEO, JayR McIntyre.

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

JayR McIntyre Rat Pack Worldwide Security Consulting @JULOStrategy CEO Mindset Alumni JayR McIntyre is the Founder and CEO of Rat Pack Worldwide Security. A veteran-owned business, Rat Pack specializes in executive protection, event protection, and special missions protection. All security agents are military veterans who are trained, licensed, and certified with the ability to provide operations and logistics support from planning to execution of the client’s security mission.

A driven professional with a proven track record of success in leading, coordinating, and managing progressive enforcement, intelligence, and security operations in the United States Army, JayR is a Trained Executive Protection Agent and Close Protection Agent. Experienced in managing all aspects of security, anti-terrorism, and force protection initiatives, including all logistics, methodologies, and technologies; knowledgeable in preparing risk management plans, anti-terrorism measures, organizational preparedness, personal defense systems, security force management, anti-terrorism/force protection, emergency services & initial response teams, and domestic terrorism defense measures.

During his tenure in the United States Army, JayR McIntyre served in the 1st Infantry Division in Germany from 2002-2005 with his First Deployment to Tikrit, Iraq from 2004-2005 Operation Iraqi Freedom and Served in the 1st Cavalry Division from 2005-2008 with his Second Deployment to Mosul, Iraq from 2006-2008 for 15 months. JayR also served in the 1st Armor Division from 2009-2011 with his third deployment to Mosul, Iraq 2010-2011 for 9 Months.

He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Combat action Badge, and Numerous Army Achievement medals. Air Assault Qualified. JayR Holds a B.S in Sports Medicine and an Associates in Sports Medicine and is a graduate of The EBV UConn School of Business 2019. He also serves as the President of Student Veterans of America at Keiser University and is a Veterans Treatment Court Mentor, both in Tampa, Florida.

During a private security deployment to Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria, JayR and business partner, Remi Rivera, saw the industry sacrifice both quality and agent safety in the name of profits. They started RatPack in 2018 knowing they could provide top-of-the-line security services while hiring transitioning veterans. Today, RatPack has 15 employees, and 75 contractors working across the country, and is committed to its agents as much as its clients. RatPack pays 50% above the industry average and helps ensure its veterans receive VA care and other benefits.

JayR heard about our CEO Mindset course through one of our partners, Veterans Florida. Like many other people who attend the class, he wanted to understand how to be a better CEO. He realized he was wearing too many hats and learned how to delegate tasks to other employees. Since taking the course, JayR and his company landed a huge deal as an approved security vendor for the next year’s Super Bowl LV in Tampa. They opened a new office and training facility in Tampa and formed the most elite educational training in the security industry. They’ll provide executive protection and event security on the world’s biggest stage. We love to see how much you have accomplished, JayR, and we can’t wait to continue your journey into our CEO Mindset Phase Two class!

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

October 22, 2020/by Juliann Nichols

Social Media Marketing: This Air Force Veteran and CEO is a Total “Smartypants” Marketer

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

Trish Murphy is the owner and CEO of Marketing Smarty Pants, an online marketing company with an emphasis on content marketing. Content Marketing is the secret weapon to making your business stand out in the crowd. Trish helps businesses create and promote valuable content that connects with customers and builds brand equity. Trish is applauded for her fun and informative marketing presentations and providing simple content marketing solutions that fit any sized business as a content marketer.

An Air Force Veteran, Trish was born and raised in Orlando, Florida. She was stationed in Alaska for five years, which was quite the experience for her. The tremendous change in nature and culture captivated Trish, and she visits quite often. “The nature is just breathtaking, absolutely breathtaking. I think going to Alaska is probably the closest you can get to Mother Nature, the closest to visiting another country without actually leaving the United States.“

After having her daughter, Trish decided to part ways with the Air Force and stayed home with her children for years. After her youngest was born, she decided to get her marketing degree, where she fell in love with digital marketing. “It was fairly easy to do from home, or at least remotely, so I did not have to be face to face with people all the time.“ Having friends who owned their own business, Trish was able to test her marketing skills by offering free help and, over time, learned the ins and outs by doing on the job training.

Small businesses are one of Trish‘s key clients. “Small businesses have excellent why. They all have a passion. They do what they do because they love it. They have a great story to tell, so it makes it easy for me to connect with them.“ Some of her biggest tips for small businesses are not to feel like you must do it all. Somebody else may tell you completely different, and that‘s okay. “If you do everything, you’re going to reach a point of diminishing returns if you spread yourself thin. Evaluate your social media marketing, how much you want to do on your own, then hand off the rest to somebody else to execute, then streamline what you are doing.“

Something that we talk about in our CEO Mindset™ courses Automate. Delegate. Eliminate. Trish came to JULO Strategy‘s Phase I course to define and implement a strategic plan to gain more monthly clients. “I realized the current approach I have been taking isn‘t going to get me there. Something must change!“ She learned that not just in personal relationships but in business relationships, she was drastically undervaluing herself. Collaborating with other like-minded business owners was rewarding, especially when they would all come together to tackle a challenge. As a result, she increased her fee structure and learned to delegate the execution of client work to someone else. “CEO Mindset™ dives much deeper into concepts AND leaves the business owner with tangible tools that will help them adjust and grow their business in the future.“

Easily bribed with a glass of wine and a good book, when she’s not being a Smartypants, you can find her at the barn riding her horse or keeping “the boys” largely out of trouble. She is also Chairman of the Orlando Chapter for the Florida Association of Veteran-Owned Businesses, one of our JULO collaborating partners. Trish is currently finishing up our CEO Mindset Phase II course and has proven she knows how to Get. Shit. Done. Congratulations on all your success, Trish. We are so happy to be a part of your journey!

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

October 15, 2020/by Juliann Nichols

Pure, Clear Craft Ice: Full Transparency With Clifton Fischer – Veteran CEO & Co-Founder Of Doggery Craft Ice

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

Clifton Fischer, CEO of Doggery Craft Ice, provides wholesale and retail large format clear ice products and ice sculptures for Central and South Florida. Expertly filtered, carefully frozen, and neatly stored, their ice undergoes an intricate process to ensure that taste and clarity are unbeatable.

Originally from North Hollywood, California, Clif enlisted in the Air Force in 1986, where he began a career as a C141b Aircraft Loadmaster. By 1988 he was one of the youngest members of the Prime Nuclear Airlift Force and, in 1992, became the first trained airdrop instructor loadmaster for the 6th Airlift Squadron. He left active duty in 1996 to join the Reserves as a tactical instructor loadmaster compiling more than 3400 flying hours during his career. Clif retired from active duty/reserve in September 2012.

After his 27-year career in the Air Force, Clif was searching for a business opportunity he could be passionate about. Celebrating his wife‘s birthday at a Chicago hotel, they ordered a couple of cocktails that had these perfectly squared clear ice blocks in them.

Back home in St. Pete, Florida, he and his business partner, Jake, had been obsessing about ice, experimenting with inexpensive freezer molds and dropping them in whiskies, bourbons, and rums. As it turns out, Craft ice is a booming business in metropolitan areas, or anywhere people care about the aesthetics of their cocktails. It dilutes the beverage less, therefore keeping the cocktail cold longer, preserving the drink’s integrity. “The idea is to sell to craft cocktail bars, that‘ll definitely be our meat and potatoes. Then you‘ll have your large corporations – restaurant chains, hotels, things like that.“

Clif originally joined our CEO Mindset™ course to expand his horizons as far as trying to figure out how to build, scale, and expand his business. Working in the business with his partner, Jake, who is also his son-in-law, they were doing different things in different directions and needed to focus on what was needed to move forward. A big a-ha moment for him was realizing that he needed processes and procedures in place, so anyone brought into the company would know what was asked of them.

Communication with his business partner was a key part of overcoming any obstacles they were facing and setting core competencies as partners, whether wholesale, retail production or taking care of the bills and setting up step by step processes.

After completing the course, Clif saw revenue increase, especially after bringing in another employee. “It allowed us to go out and get business rather than staying in the warehouse and doing everything behind the scenes. We had more time to be productive, therefore bringing in more revenue.“

Trusting in the process and not second–guessing every decision they made was an obstacle he overcame. Learning to go with his gut instinct and not ponder too much on the little things helped them expand, which is why they now have gone retail and have six stores in Florida and one in Georgia.

Congratulations on your continued success Clif! We look forward to seeing where your Craft Ice business takes you!

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

October 8, 2020/by Juliann Nichols

Decorated Sailor, Veteran CEO and Founder of Triad Leadership Solutions: Enrique Acosta Gonzalez

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

Enrique Acosta Gonzalez, CEO of Triad Leadership Solutions LLC, has served as an Executive, Veteran & Advocate, Board Member, Non-Profit Administrator, Speaker, Mentor, Coach, and Avid Volunteer. Over the past 20 years, Enrique has held numerous executive advisor and senior positions while serving in the United States Navy and civilian sector. Through education and training, he helped strengthen organizations, providing sound decision support and creating open communication at all levels. Enrique also helped formulate and implement policies concerning morale, welfare, job satisfaction, discipline, and training of personnel.

Enrique was originally born in Ponce, Puerto Rico in a neighborhood called: Sector Los Chinos, Clausells. Known for its many beautiful neoclassical buildings and facades, Ponce is referred to as: La Perla del Sur (Pearl of the South) and is potentially the most important city of them all as it pertains to the history of agricultural business development. It’s the largest city.

After graduating from Alfredo M. Aguayo High School Enrique joined the Navy where he served for 26 years. He is the recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal. He was named 2013, 2014, and 2017 Mentor of the Year, and recipient of the inaugural 2014 Chief John Dungan Jr. Oceanographer of the Navy Award. He was also awarded The Arnold Fletcher Award and inducted into the SALUTE National honors society for his academic achievements. He remains involved in the Armed Services as an active volunteer for various projects and non-profits, earning him the esteemed Bronze, Silver and Gold President’s Volunteer Service Award.

Enrique is involved in several national and local organizations; namely Veterati, CFDC Veterans Business Initiative (VBI), Camaraderie Foundation Mentor Leadership Program, and Navy League of Central Florida. He graduated from the Command Leadership Course, Navy Senior Enlisted Academy, holds an A.S. from Excelsior College, a B.A. in Natural Sciences and Mathematics from Thomas Edison State University, and is currently completing his M.B.A with Herzing University.

Enrique started Triad Leadership Group in 2018 with the goal of providing leadership, management, and career development consulting. Their motto is taking first-time and struggling leaders from ‘SucKcess to Success’ through coaching, assessments, trainings and mentorship.

Enrique attended our JULO Strategy’s CEO Mindset™ course for one simple reason, “Learn what I need to know to make my business successful.” Completing Phase I made him realize he was a worker, not a CEO, and helping him learn to be clearer on his processes and procedures, he was able to delegate more and have better clarity, vision, and purpose. “It is hard to go somewhere when you are not clear where you are going and why. The ‘Why’ is clear now.”

He continued to Phase II and grew exponentially, seeing immediate results from everything he had been taught. “I was able to reprogram my mind to see my company from a CEO perspective and go from working in my business to working ON my business.”

JULO loves seeing everything you have accomplished, Enrique, and we look forward to seeing you and your business succeed!

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

October 1, 2020/by Juliann Nichols

Making Sole-Proprietor Healthcare Easy Is Only One Of Keith Giles Super Powers

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

Keith Giles, CEO of Verus Health Partners, has been helping business owners, individuals, and family members for over ten years beat the high cost of healthcare and sort through all the confusion in the industry. He has served many roles in the industry over the years, including advisor for the public sector and non-profit businesses.

The 23-year United States Air Force Veteran has a diverse background, including Aircraft Maintenance, US Secret Service Communications Support, Superintendent of Education. His favorite assignment was Program Manager for the Office of Defense Cooperation at the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. After leaving the service, Keith pursued his dream in the engineering field as a Systems Engineer. After a few years in the industry, he ran into an old friend who was a prominent director of communications with a large contractor in the area and left the industry to start his P & C agency. He recommended Keith do the same. The rest is history.

His passion is to roll back time, where access to quality care started with your primary care doctor and was the norm. Some of his major accomplishments are reducing pharmacy spending in the public sector and, in most cases, reducing sole-proprietor healthcare costs by over 40%.

Keith is a respected speaker and has been a guest on local radio and cable channels. His ongoing research, education, and advocacy in the under 65 marketplaces, the Medicare arena, the Self Insured Space for small and large groups, and his favorite “Veteran Healthcare integration into the private sector” has led him to conduct numerous educational workshops with Chambers of Commerce and professional associations. He believes his entrepreneurial spirit comes from his diverse background in the military and civilian sectors, where thinking outside the box is, and should be “the norm” in the problem-solving process.

Keith was the first Certified Healthcare Reform Specialist in Brevard County, Florida. He currently holds an Advanced Self-Insured Certification and is currently seeking his Certification in Pharmacy Benefit Management. His professional associations include State and local Space Coast Florida Association of Veteran–Owned Businesses and Ambassador for Florida Association of Veteran–Owned Businesses.

Keith joined our CEO Mindset™ Phase I course to stop being run by the business. He wanted to stay focused and pinpoint his direction to develop a five-year plan to increase revenue to over 5 million. “I hope to get organized, focused, and surround myself with successful people.” He learned that his potential and worth were key to his business success, and giving away his net worth diminished his value. After completing Phase II, he nearly doubled his clientele and increased his fees and revenue.

Keith has a soft side and gets a little emotional when it comes to dog and animal rescues, spending time fostering dogs in need, and adopting dogs that have “stolen” his heart. He currently is serving as an animal rescue transporter for fostering/adopting families. Ask him about his “Dingo” foster experience.

He has been married to his lovely wife, Pam, for over 23 years. They have four sons, one daughter, six grandkids, a sweet chocolate lab, and one grand-dog.

Today Keith works with clients on how to beat the high costs of healthcare and help businesses, individuals/families, Medicare clients, and transitioning veterans strategically plan for a sustainable future.

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Program expenses for all participants will be covered through funding provided by the Florida Legislature and Veterans Florida.

September 22, 2020/by Juliann Nichols

Tailgate Game Changer: Learn More About the Veteran CEO Thinking BIG!

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

If you love football and tailgating, Jay Parsons, Founder, and CEO of Big Time Tailgate, is your guy. Born in Miami, Florida but raised in West Melbourne, he played as a football running back from fifth grade through his senior year of high school. After graduation, he and his father launched a small vending machine and arcade game business together. Some of the vending machines sold hot popcorn, so Jay started selling this at his alma mater’s Friday night football games. If you knew Jay or went to his school back then, that guy you saw in the giant yellow foam cowboy hat and marketing himself as the Sunshine Popcorn Man? Yup, that was Jay! Even at 18, he was already thinking BIG!

The onset of the video game craze allowed Jay and his father to expand rapidly. But just as quickly it vanished, so they sold the business to a larger company. After selling, Jay enlisted in the Marines and served four years of active duty. Upon returning home, he partnered with a platoon mate, starting an auto detailing business applying Teflon finish to cars, boats, and planes. The business was short-lived, and Jay and his partner parted ways to enlist in the Marine Corps Reserve. Jay’s time was cut short due to an injury during active training. After recovering, Jay discovered boat building. He began to learn the ins and outs of building boats by working overtime and volunteering in many projects.

Throughout the years, he gained the knowledge and experience to launch Big Time Helmets™. The inspiration came in 2001 after hearing a radio ad about tailgating. Jay thought, “Wouldn’t tailgating inside a giant football helmet be an awesome way to party?” Uh, we think so! From there, the idea grew, and the design of a helmet cabin mounted on a trailer became the goal. Big Time Tailgate, LLC, was born.

Inside the cabin is a wrap-around settee that comfortably seats six adults around a football-shaped table. A satellite antenna mounted on the roof supplies four televisions tuned to four different channels. Two 40″ flatscreens and a 55″ curved screen is mounted inside with a 55″ flatscreen outside on the rear of the trailer. WOW, sounds like a dream. But wait! There’s more! An AC/Heat pump keeps the spacious interior cool in the summer and warm in the winter. A Kegerator (oh yes!) and a Minifridge/Microwave are also options. Cabinets and under-seat compartments provide storage as well. There is a 4-burner gas grill on the outside. It raises and lowers on linear actuators enabling the grill to be stored below the countertop when not in use. Can we park this baby in our backyard?

While Jay had a “Big Time” product on his hands, he needed a little direction on how to get himself in the right mindset to make better decisions to be successful in business and life. He came to the CEO Mindset Phase I course to learn these practices and better enable his goal of becoming the CEO he had in mind for himself. “To be more effective, I need to implement proven practices that enable me to make better decisions.” The worksheets given in class and one-on-ones with Juliann Nichols were the most rewarding takeaways for him, especially brain dumping. “This helps me sort out my thoughts and eliminate the chatter, fostering better planning and decision-making.”

Jay is currently attending our Phase II course and believes the next six weeks will better improve his management skills and help him learn to have a structured and proven approach to solving problems. We love your drive, Jay, and look forward to seeing your Big Time Helmets™ at every stadium!

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

September 17, 2020/by Juliann Nichols

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!

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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