Lessons Learned for Vets
Lessons Learned for Vets
Highlighting Mentorship and Entrepreneur Education with Leslie Coffey
Leslie Coffey, Vice President of Military Engagement for American Corporate Partners (ACP), joins us to shed light on the importance of a mentor in the military transition process, whether you intend to join the corporate world or open your business. As a military spouse herself, Leslie brings firsthand knowledge and empathy to the discussion, focusing on the challenges and opportunities for veterans and their families. ACP is not just tackling underemployment but offering a path where skills and experience can truly shine, breaking away from the notion of entry-level setbacks.
Imagine boosting your salary by 67% just by connecting with the right mentor. With the ACP program, that's not just a dream but a reality for many veterans and their spouses. We share personal stories and insights into how mentorship has propelled careers in various fields, from corporate desks to entrepreneurial ventures. ACP has recently launched ACP Ventures, a program that offers one-on-one mentorship to aspiring veteran and military spouse entrepreneurs as well as the ACP Village, where military connected entrepreneurs can find free resources, support and community.
ACP can link veteran entrepreneurs and job seekers with top industry experts across a diverse array of specialties. Whether you're charting a path in marketing or aiming for academia, ACP proves that the right guidance can unlock incredible potential.
Leslie shares many stories of success in the episode, from an inspiring spouse caregiver who, through ACP's support, transformed her rural life story into a viral sensation to astronauts and zoologists.
No matter what your post-military goals may be, ACP knows that tailored mentorship can be a powerful catalyst for success. With ACP Ventures, veterans are equipped to navigate the business world with savvy and confidence, reducing the risks of entrepreneurial pitfalls. From strategic networking to leveraging one's unique experiences, this episode is a testament to how military transitions can indeed be launchpads for future success.
You can learn more about all the programs that ACP offers at: www.acp-usa.org
Connect with Leslie Coffey on LinkedIn at: www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-coffey/
The Lessons Learned for Vets Podcast is sponsored by Seek Now and their Drive Academy. Seek Now is the property inspection industry's leading business and they created Drive Academy DoD SkillBridge and CSP internships to teach transitioning military service members and veterans skills that prepare them for lucrative and rewarding careers in the property inspection and insurance industries. You can learn more and apply today at www.internwithdrive.com.
Welcome to the Lessons Learned for Vets podcast, your military transition debrief. I'm your host, lori Norris, and I've helped thousands of military service members successfully transition out of the military since 2005. Thanks for tuning in to hear the after action reports and real stories of your fellow veterans, who are here to help guide, educate and inform you as you navigate your own military transition. By the way, if you find value from today's episode, please share it with others, leave us a review and post about us on social media. Well, on today's episode of the Lessons Learned from Vets podcast, I'm excited to welcome my friend, but also a very important person, Leslie Coffey. She is the Vice President of Military Engagement for American Corporate Partners and she is a seasoned professional with 15 years of experience in guiding transitioning service members and spouse towards successful post-military careers. As a military spouse herself for 28 years, Leslie understands the unique challenges of the military community and is passionate about empowering others to find and grow great careers. So thank you for joining me on the show today, my friend. Thanks.
Leslie Coffey:Lori, I feel like you know I'm not a veteran, so I'm hopeful that it's still relevant and here to help our community.
Lori Norris:You know what Me either, but that's okay, because I have a feeling we're going to bring lots of value. And you may not be a veteran, but you are the backbone of a very important veteran as his spouse. And so not only do you have that perspective which we're going to talk about today, because you just went through a transition with your spouse, you have helped thousands, literally thousands of people transition out of the military, just like me. So I have a feeling we have lots of good stuff to talk about. So, uh, we had rich, uh, the who is now the COO of the organization on. I think it was back in season one, if I remember correctly. So we have talked about ACP before. We've talked about your mentorship program on the show, but can you just tell us a little bit about the program and then also how it's evolved, since you've been in business for 16 years now, right?
Leslie Coffey:Right, oh wow, every day's different, so it's much more than just the 16 years. So, acp, what we focus on is combating underemployment, and we do that one veteran and one spouse at a time. The tool we use is customized mentorship, so it is one mentor to one veteran or one mentor to one spouse for a year. It's a year-long journey together. What everyone is working on is completely customized to the individual. Some may be wanting to gain meaningful employment, some may be wanting to open or launch a business, some may be wanting to go back to school and they're looking for guidance to make sure they're studying something that is emerging and not, you know, going obsolete or replaced by AI, right. So it's learning from somebody in the career path season or two ahead that they can just learn the ropes, and also they are incredible sounding boards and help them to really tailor specifically to that industry or career path.
Lori Norris:From what I understand, your process is very personalized too. You actually speak with the mentee, talk about what they're looking for and really customize your matches correct.
Leslie Coffey:Absolutely so. Actually, our process is completely human driven. We have a staff of nearly 80 and everyone that comes to our program is provided a point of contact. We get them on the phone. We understand you know their background, their goals, their interests, their personality. If they want to stay in the similar career path that they were in the military, or if they want to completely pivot, or if you're like my spouse and you have no idea, totally undecided, regardless of where you are in the journey, mentors can help. As a matter of fact, I'm an alumna of the program and my mentor was instrumental six years ago. I'm still in touch with her and we helped with. She was very helpful with the career exploration piece and we helped with. She was very helpful with the career exploration piece. She actually called it window shopping, comparing different jobs. So, regardless of you know where they are, their season of life, what they're trying to do. We're going to customize our search for the best mentor based on that conversation.
Lori Norris:That's great. I think that's the important part is, like it's great to have a mentor, but to have someone who is kind of custom developed for you, where you go out and vet those people, I think that makes a big impact and it's a year long relationship If that is the program that they decide to participate in too, which is awesome. You mentioned underemployment and I don't. I don't think we talk about that quite enough. You know, veteran unemployment hovers in that usually 3% to 4% range right now, which is really less than the non-veteran population, and so everyone's like, yes, we're winning, we're doing great, our veterans are employed, but I just don't think we talk enough about underemployment. And so what do you do at ACP to combat underemployment and just tell us a little bit about kind of what your view of underemployment means and just what you're doing about it.
Leslie Coffey:Yeah. So our our view is that folks can get jobs right, but it's really about making sure that you're at the right level based on your skillset and based on your years of experience and the millions of dollars that the government pours into you for training. I want to make sure you're not coming out at a level that's entry level when you already have these years of experience. So whether even if it's pivoting you still have transferable skills to make you not have to start at the ground level, if you will. So that is where our primary focus is and we work with our mentors. Our mentors actually not only have their own network, if you will, and their own experiences, but we have an orientation for them.
Leslie Coffey:There's a handbook. We have get togethers where they learn from each other. A handbook we have get togethers where they learn from each other. We call it mentor coffee and conversation so they can talk about best practices for breaking into a career field or best practices for transferring or translating military experience it's such a great job as well as their point of contact to ACP. So if there is a gap in knowledge, if the mentor has a question or something they're not familiar with, they can always ask their point of contact to ACP because we've got 16 years worth of resources that we have built in our internal library that we can help to provide support. So we're there to facilitate and nurture the relationship along the way.
Lori Norris:Okay, and I think that is really important and I just I feel like just talking about that concept of underemployment is important. I feel like some of the times, sometimes it's because veterans don't know how to assess their value and their worth, you know, or they don't know how to translate their military terminology and skills so that other people can see their value and worth, and I think it comes sometimes, I think it comes out of fear, right, like you take that first job offered to you and maybe that first job is awesome, but, you know, maybe it's not. And you know, I think they people fail to keep looking and they're, you know, you feel loyal because this person has offered you a job and you want to take it and just stick with it. And so I think there are a lot of reasons and I love what you're doing to combat that and I just want to kind of also open up awareness of that underemployment issue out there and make sure that we're trying to tackle that too.
Leslie Coffey:Yeah. And if I could speak to the spouse side of the underemployment, so yes, it is a problem with the veteran population, maybe even a prevalent problem, but for spouses underemployment is upwards of 70% in many studies. When we especially when you're compared to your non-military connected peers I mean we are higher educated, and it's just staggering. So I'll give you an example. Actually, when I came through ACP, we were stationed in the middle of Mojave Desert. Not a lot there, as a matter of fact, chick-fil-a was like 96 miles away, so that's kind of what I consider civilization. And there was a spouse that worked at the front desk of the hotel, you know, checking people in who had a PhD.
Leslie Coffey:Wow, that is a glaring example of underemployment. That is a glaring example of underemployment, and I was grossly underemployed then as well. But that was just. You know what the economic landscape looked like from the middle of the Mojave Desert, and remote work wasn't big. Covid hadn't happened. So you know, really, it was just what was in driving distance. And I will tell you, my mentor helped me increase my pay by 67%. So that's learning from somebody who has years of experience, or on the other side of the table often, so they can help you to craft that value proposition. They can help you with your resume. They can help you to get ready for your interview and especially with salary negotiation, helping you with the compensation package to go over the different elements, things you had never even considered.
Lori Norris:Yep, absolutely. I think that's great that you had that support and 67%. I don't know anybody out there that doesn't need a 67% salary increase. So I think, incredible resources that you're providing to people. And I love that you mentioned the military spouse, because I think oftentimes we forget that the military spouses can take advantage of ACP services too, right.
Leslie Coffey:Yes, absolutely yes For spouses. We can help any active duty spouses, gold star surviving spouses or disabled, post-9-11 veteran spouses.
Lori Norris:Okay, that is great to know. All right, we will definitely. We'll put the ACP website in the show notes, but just let's drop it a couple of times in the episode that we're recording. So can you give us that website for us right now?
Leslie Coffey:Yes, it's acp-usaorg acp-usaorg.
Lori Norris:Okay, thank you for that. So anybody can go there and see all the different resources that are available. Sign up for the program, whether it is you, as the transitioning service member listening, or your spouse who it's time now that they get to focus on their career as you're going to land in some somewhere permanently, hopefully.
Lori Norris:So okay, you have some pretty impressive lists of names and companies on your mentor list, like fortune 100 corporations. But you know, just because you've got someone from you know I get it. I could. I could throw out all kinds of cool names, right, but just because there are these large companies, fortune 100 companies, is your program only for somebody that wants to be in the corporate world?
Leslie Coffey:Oh, I love this question, lori. I love this Absolutely not. It does not matter what you're trying to do next. I'd say, put the onus on us to go on the hunt for the right mentor. I mean, we have CIA station chiefs, so you know. Protective services, social workers, academia, healthcare entrepreneurs, you name it, we have it. I had a spouse who wanted to be a zoologist and we found her a mentor. I had somebody that was going in for their PhD at George Mason and we were able to. We had a mentor that hadn't been with us for eight years came back in specifically to help them not only get in for their PhD, but also helped them with their thesis. So yes, I will. It does not have to be corporate, it's not have to be white collar, it's completely based on what you're interested in.
Lori Norris:Okay, all right, I think that's amazing, and I we're going to talk about a new program here in a minute, but that you know, like you said, entrepreneurs as well, and so that's something you're you're expanding into is supporting the entrepreneur program. So so, even if a veteran doesn't want to connect with a mentor for a year, maybe they just want to pop in and ask questions or build their network in a specific area. Do you help? Do that as well, kind of that. Maybe you're not looking for that year-long relationship.
Leslie Coffey:So if you're just looking for one-off conversations, your best bet would be part of our new program, which is ACP Village. So ACP Village is a village of supporters where you can look through all of those that are there, and there's many mentors there. It is normally for entrepreneurs, however, there are mentors there that have a background in marketing or taxes or legal. They have various backgrounds, not just entrepreneurs, so you could go and message them directly and see about a one-off conversation. Now, when you're in our program and you have that customized mentor, we can actually introduce you to other mentors for information calls. So like, for example, my spouse.
Leslie Coffey:We settled down in an area that was not our last duty station. We did not have a network here, so, in addition to his customized mentor, he actually asked for introductions to mentors in the area where we were going to be locating and that led to some incredible conversations. One led to five and it led to many more. So that is something. Or maybe you have that mentor. In your interest in learning something about a specific company, you can ask for an introduction to a company mentor from somebody in that company that might be separate from your own mentor. Or, you know, maybe after you've narrowed the scope and you know what you want to do now. Introductions to those type of mentors okay.
Lori Norris:So I mean, I just what I really love about acp is how dedicated you are to making sure you're meeting every individual's needs and um. So I think you know if someone listening is like, oh, they're not going to have anybody for me, I think we've proven that that you will go out and find them.
Leslie Coffey:You know from those who are just have an astronaut. So how many astronauts. We even have an astronaut a mentor.
Lori Norris:that's pretty cool. I really I love that. I love that you probably have just so many interesting conversations with people as you're out searching for mentors too, so, okay, so we alluded to it earlier, but ACP last year launched a program for veterans who want to be business owners, right? So your program was created by a veteran who is an entrepreneur. Can you tell me a little bit about this program, what's it called, and tell me a little bit about it?
Leslie Coffey:Yes, so ACP Ventures. Actually, we launched it in partnership with the VA. They coined it as groundbreaking and it's a three-part pillar support system for those that are either launching or growing a business. In addition to their year-long mentorship you know the customized mentor, specifically with an entrepreneur mentor you also have a repository of resources that are best in class on demand. So if you're building the thing at 11 at night or six in the morning, you have access to these resources and they're from our partners, such as Visa and Wells Fargo and Bank of America, Amazon, Travelers, Google, Veterpreneur, McKinsey, Goldman Sachs, SBA, the courses that they have to provide.
Leslie Coffey:Like to support entrepreneurs they've actually given them to us to house in the village. Like to support entrepreneurs? They've actually given them to us to house in the village. So you can filter by your stage of business, like, hey, I'm just planning, I'm building, I'm launching, I'm growing. You can filter by your medium of choice. I prefer podcasts or I prefer webinars or videos or articles and you can filter that way. And then, in addition to those on-demand resources, there's a village of supporters so you can ask questions, learn from other entrepreneurs how they were successful. There are live events, there's meet and greets, there's round tables by certain topics and there's even orientation, and the round tables have been really, really successful. They typically have at least three CEOs, and so one might be about funding your business, One might be about marketing your business, the next one's going to be about legality, so you know, with the legal aspect. So always something to learn and it's a great networking opportunity.
Lori Norris:What about? So?
Leslie Coffey:this program is also open to male spouses and I think you told me that also dependents. Is that right Not for dependents? Yet, although we are actively trying to get a grant to help with supporting dependents.
Lori Norris:Okay, so if you are a military dependent, then it's something you can come back and keep checking on that program.
Leslie Coffey:So okay, definitely check back. We've been actively working with another ally in this space to try to achieve something where we can collaborate specifically for those adult children caregivers that are adult children, gold star kiddos those are what. That's the populations that we're working to try to earn an opportunity to support next and you know, lori, we have 36,000 alumni really, and where are today? Some, you know, came through 16 years ago and so we're going to really lean on those alumni to come back and help those gold star kids or come back and help those adult children caregivers.
Lori Norris:Okay, so you mentioned the village earlier where someone could come in and ask a question. You mentioned that the Ventures Program has a lot of resources and education materials. Are they also being paired with an entrepreneur mentor?
Leslie Coffey:Yes, yes, that is the. They'll have the original flagship of the year-long mentorship and then the resources and the village of supporters.
Lori Norris:Okay, all right, and can you maybe tell me a little bit about, maybe just an example of, someone who's in the program and who they're working with and you know, obviously we don't want to talk about their business or anything but just give me a sense of what kind of mentorship they're receiving.
Leslie Coffey:Oh, my goodness, we see everything from barber shops to, you know, bakeries to. I mean. The ideas are just fascinating. I just love it and what they're learning. One of our mentors is actually also within UPS and was able to spotlight his protege's company throughout UPS, able to spotlight his protege's company throughout UPS, and so that was, yes, that was fantastic. But I'll tell you one that's really near and dear to my heart.
Leslie Coffey:She's a spouse caregiver and also a home. She also homeschools her children. They moved rural onto a farm to really help with her, her service member, her disabled veterans well, healing, if you will and so he's a hundred percent disabled. She's a hundred percent in-home caregiver, was really concerned about needing to supplement the income, was worried about you know, what happens if something happens to him, what happens to our other sources of income, and so, again, they're very rural. As a matter of fact, they live on a farm. They have 44 animals.
Leslie Coffey:So she came to us and said I want to start a blog which? A blog? About her farm, not one of those corporate America type of positions as you think of, right? Well, we did a lot of digging. We said, okay, this is niche, give us a couple of weeks We'll see what we can find Ended up finding a producer at ABC who had a background in vlogging and they worked together and you know he really encouraged her, just got a broker out of her shell to start posting and just start doing every day Lori or vlogs on chickens, and she got 2 million views in three months of working together. Wow, it went viral. But I'll tell you, she just lights up when she talks about her mentor Because for the first time, I think in a long time, somebody was focused on her and her goals, whereas normally it's the veteran or the kids right With the homeschooling and the caregiving.
Leslie Coffey:He was just focused on her and helping her achieve those milestones. And so they still. They're, um, doing great and she's actually utilizing the village, which is the resources and the supporters, and she's asking questions like hey, should I turn into an LLC? Hey, should I do this? Hey, should I do that? And so other mentors are responding that are maybe tax professionals. Let's, let's, hop on a call and talk through this. Let me tell you about the pros and cons. So she's even gaining additional mentors, if you will, by asking questions, being active and involved within the village by asking questions, being active and involved within the village.
Lori Norris:That's amazing. I love that. That is a great story, and I'm sure that you know, had that not happened, had that connection not happened, like who knows if she would even just still be thinking about it right, and so I love that. The mentorship not only helped her take action, but also gave her resources that she probably didn't have access to before. So it's really cool.
Leslie Coffey:Yeah, she was actually before then she was on the hunt for 10 years.
Lori Norris:Wow, that's okay, and looking for a role that could work around everything before just saying, okay, I love me, I just gotta.
Leslie Coffey:I've got to open my own business, I gotta put it in my own hands. Okay, I love me.
Lori Norris:I just got to, I just got to open my own business, I got to put it in my own hands. Yeah, that's crazy. That's. That is a great story. I love that. Thank you for sharing that, because I think that that really demonstrates the power of the impact of the program and what you're doing. So you know, when you and I first talked, you shared some statistics with me, and I want to talk about some of those, because some of them are kind of shocking. It's that only 52% of small businesses remain open past their fifth year, and so I think that's you know, as someone who just recently celebrated 20 years of small business ownership, I just I'm still kind of surprised at that, honestly. But tell me about what you're doing through the ACP Ventures program just to help improve that statistic.
Leslie Coffey:Well, first of all, it starts at the beginning and honestly, that's the whole reason that we even developed this and even launched Ventures. We really want to help empower veterans and spouses to make informed decisions and prevent catastrophic mistakes. So, probably 18 months ago or so, our founder, he had received an email from a veteran. The veteran was a truck driver and he had been in the red for three years. He over leveraged his house, he put up a hundred thousand dollars against his house, he had hired a spouse, he had hired another family member to try to help run it, you know, with the HR and the books and whatnot, and he never gotten out of the red. Well, as the sole income earner with the truck driving business, he had to have back surgery so he was going to be laid out back and he emailed saying I need a mentor. And it was that by doing that and researching some of the gaps in the space so many times.
Leslie Coffey:There are entrepreneurship programs out there and we're actually work really well, we collaborate really well with them, but they're synchronous learning. It's kind of apply, be accepted, and then synchronous learning, and then you know you kind of go on your own way and then you kind of go on your own way, and what we're trying to do is the ACB Village. There's no expiration, like it doesn't end when your long mentorship ends, so we want you to have that entrepreneur mentor to bounce ideas off of. Many come to us and they have five or six business plans like five or six ideas, so they need that mentor to help them to do the market research. Come up with a business plan like five or six ideas, so they need that mentor to help them to do the market research. Come up with a business plan and see which ones are viable. So it's all about making informed decisions and preventing catastrophic mistakes. That is the goal and that's why we give them each one person to kind of walk that journey.
Leslie Coffey:And you know, think through things that have experience. I was just online this morning with a city official from New Jersey and she was talking about how many years she owned a business and it made her think about a veteran that she had just spoke with last year. She said his business was not even open eight months. Had just spoke with last year. She said his business was not even open eight months and he had to close the door and she was so sad that he she hadn't heard back from him, um, and so that that's an example. You know he poured everything into there and then what happens when you're in those situations? Then you have the snowball effect with the mental health and where those things can lead. So we're trying to be upstream of that and try to help them and prevent some of that.
Lori Norris:I really like that. Like you said, the informed decision-making right, because sometimes we're out there as an entrepreneur, as you mentioned, like the 11 o'clock at night, working on something and you're Googling. You know, we all know that Google is great, but are we getting the right information? And I think, working with a mentor and people who have been there and and done that at even a grander scale than we, have some something that's really important to get their advice and information. So I like that a lot, so, um, so you also had a statistic that said like one in 10, or more than 2 million really, businesses are owned by veterans, and so one in four veterans desire to start a business, a small business, after the military. And I was talking with someone yesterday and he's like I just am not made for the corporate world and so and I think that that's sometimes is the case, and so what do you think makes entrepreneurship a good fit for veterans?
Leslie Coffey:You know, I think they're just such self starters. They, they just want to go out and they're fearless because think of what they've been through, you know. So they just, they have this ambition and desire and they just want to crush the world, if you will, on the corporate side, or how slow things may move, or different red tapes, just so many things like that where they really can just take it at such a faster pace because they're they're just motivated to get after it. So I think I think that's really where the desire comes from, is just's just, they see a problem, they're problem solvers, they want to fix it and they're used to just taking the hill.
Lori Norris:Yeah, and, like you said, they're self-starters, you're adaptable, you know you can overcome challenges because you're just think about all the things you have overcome in your military career. And I just think that, like, the corporate world isn't for everyone. There's nothing wrong with going and working in a corporate role and there's, you know, there's nothing wrong with being self-employed. They're very different and I think both avenues are not for everyone, Right, and so I would have people say like I want to be my own boss, I want to start my. People say like I want to be my own boss, I want to start my own business, so I can just be my own boss and no one can tell me what to do. You're, you have as many bosses as you have customers, so just be aware of that, but yeah, so I I really like that.
Lori Norris:I think that's something to think about and really assess if business ownership is even for you, and I'm going to guess that you have some of those tools in the village, like assessing whether or not you're Absolutely.
Leslie Coffey:Yeah, okay, absolutely. You know it's kind of like again there are different phases that you can filter by. So even if you're in the planning and sort of that planning, is this right for me? So whether you're planning, building, launching or growing, there's tools by that and it's not just one resource, it's many companies coming together putting their resources together in a one-stop shop.
Lori Norris:Yep, okay, that's great, and I think, like you said, it depends. You maybe already are in business and you want to grow, you want to expand. You're not having the success that you were hoping for.
Leslie Coffey:So yeah, um lori. I can give you an example. I was speaking with this lieutenant colonel who's actually got out of the military before retiring because his podcast was doing so well of the military before retiring, because his podcast was doing so well. So his podcast was off and he's like you know what? I need to just focus on this and leave the military. Now he actually wasn't looking for an entrepreneur mentor. What he was looking for, he said you know what I'm having my biggest challenge is the marketing piece. So he asked specifically for marketing and he is paired with the director of marketing for NASCAR. So what's awesome is they actually bet at races and things. But imagine learning like marketing tricks from NASCAR for your podcast.
Lori Norris:That's incredible, wow, very cool. I mean I love these like actual stories of how you can learn and who you can learn from. It's just, it's really cool. We talked about it earlier. We alluded to it. Right, you are a military spouse of a veteran who recently retired very recently, it went just last year, right.
Leslie Coffey:Yes, yes, last year.
Lori Norris:I remember he was a listener of this show.
Leslie Coffey:Yes, he was going through his transition.
Lori Norris:So tell me, you went through that process recently. I just want to get some of your input as a military spouse who helped him support his transition and I just wanted to see, like, what advice would you give to our married listeners as they're kind of getting ready to navigate the bumps of the military transition that might come their way?
Leslie Coffey:Yes. So it was tricky as far as my knowledge of transition in the space, but then also giving him enough space to let him own his own journey, to not be, you know, not a helicopter mom but a helicopter spouse. So that was a little bit of a tricky tightrope, I would say. But the biggest news, you know, if there's spouses listening, please encourage them to start early. We started his process about three years or out and I had a list of books and he kind of went in order and then, you know, we started having conversations and building his network. But the medical process alone was more than two years. So starting that you don't want to wait until the last six months to do that.
Leslie Coffey:His providers were very thorough. They actually, the way they did it, his PCM kind of went by. You know we're going to do neck up and all the referrals that have to do, whether it's throat or head or eyes or you know, every ears, everything neck up we're have to do, whether it's throat or head or eyes, or you know, every ears, everything neck up. We're going to do those referrals first and then go through all that process and then we're going to do here to here and then it went like that next thing. You know it's like waist down. So then you got your knees, your ankle, your whatever. Um, that was the way that his PCM went about it, to try to not overwhelm. But again, again, because we had the grace of time two years systematically following through and going through and getting all these final checks and results and whatnot, so that he could do the BDD process.
Lori Norris:I think that you know we talk a lot about time here and how important it is to start early, and I hope that people listening have heard that and are listening to this. You know two, three years out, but if, if you're not, and you don't have two years, you only have six months, three months, whatever it is that you have, how can they speed that process up in your, in your mind and your with your advice?
Leslie Coffey:What do you think? Yeah, so I think it would depend on, I guess, what they're wanting to speed up the medical. It's kind of like you're at the mercy of not only the providers but sometimes the location and availability. Now, when you're going through the employment piece, get you some force multipliers, get definitely, get you a mentor, but make sure that you're telling everybody, everybody you come in contact with, because they're force multipliers as far as ears of opportunity, eyes of opportunity. Have them, be on the lookout for you.
Leslie Coffey:And the other thing about time, laurie, is you really need to build the network before you need it, because networking like if I'm going to give you a referral to my company, I'm putting my name on the line, I'm putting my reputation. I've worked four years within my company to achieve and so I'm not going to just give that to a random person. I just meet on LinkedIn without actually establishing you and I have known each other. So we have this relationship, we have this foundation of trust. I know your work ethic, I know your character, I know the value you'd bring to a team where I would feel comfortable putting my name behind you. It's not just as easy as a quick connect and you put somebody's name in a bucket for a referral. So it's really important to build these relationships, and it is. You know, networking is a two-way street. It's not just a one-way street, but building it before you need it.
Lori Norris:So that's another reason why you need to start earlier yep, I really I agree with you, and I love the idea of the force multiplier and just having conversations with everyone around you and telling them very specifically what you're looking for and how they can help you get there. And that's the hard part, right is we? We often talk about here's what I need, but we don't talk about like here's the help I could use from you. And so don't forget that part, because people want to help you, but sometimes I have no idea how. So if you give them specific needs that you have, I think that can be really impactful.
Leslie Coffey:And get on board with an acp mentor absolutely, because you know what if they're in that career path you're trying to get into, guess what their whole network is in their network is, if you're trying to get an, it and your mentor's it gets what their most of network, is it right?
Leslie Coffey:So that that's. That's another thing, and and my spouse was also very fortunate to achieve a skill bridge to achieve a skill bridge and he was actually it did land a role, his skill bridge, and within 90 days he received a promotion in the first 90 days. I think that's probably important. Something else that we should speak to, lori, is that sometimes it's just getting your foot in the door and then your leadership and what the value really bring to a team will stand and will go above some of those peers. It will be obvious, and that will so don't be, you know, frustrated if that first position is not the level you're trying to get, because oftentimes you'll get fast, you'll get promoted at a much faster rate than some of your peers. And actually for my team, I see that with our spouses, the spouses on my team, they get promoted at a, at a, at a faster rate because just of their loyalty and their adaptability and their just the teamwork. You know, just put me in coach, I'll do whatever is needed for the mission.
Lori Norris:And I think you know we talked under employment earlier and now we're saying, well, get your foot in the door. And so what? I think when we're we don't want to talk out of both sides of our mouth and say, avoid underemployment, but get your foot in the door and move up. But I think what we're really talking about with underemployment is when you stay stuck below what you're capable of, right and or feeling like, once you have that role, that that's it. You have to stay there, and and so again, you've got to be your own career manager and if you have an organization where you really want to work or an industry that you really want to break into, there is nothing wrong with starting getting your foot in the door, starting somewhere, gaining some industry knowledge and experience, working toward getting promoted, moving forward. But if that doesn't happen in your current role, then use that as a launch pad for the next role that you go that you land right.
Lori Norris:So I think that, yes, sometimes you do have to to start a little bit lower and show them what you're capable of, just to get that industry experience. We just don't want you to stay stuck there and just settle for that underemployment where you're not utilizing the full breadth of your knowledge, experience and skills and education, right? So okay, yeah, well, I really appreciate you coming on the show with me. I know it's been a journey to get this recorded and I appreciate you sticking with me and let's in getting it done. I'm excited to get this information out there. The program sounds amazing.
Leslie Coffey:Wonderful. Thank you so much for the opportunity to speak to your speak to your audience, especially as not a veteran. So I greatly appreciate you thinking outside and bringing me in. But we, you know, I would say if there's one thing I could say, it'd be like don't self-select out of this opportunity. So many times I hear from veterans and spouses both, that they don't want to waste somebody's time, that they don't know what they would have to bring these conversations and I promise you're not wasting anybody's time, you are worth it. You've sacrificed enough wasting anybody's time. You are worth it. You've sacrificed enough. Allow somebody to actually pour into you, which can be a little awkward, you know, but you don't have to walk this journey alone too. That's the other thing. When you're in transition, both sides I mean even the kids, even the milk kids when you're in transition, it's such an individual experience and everybody's is different and and you know so it's still so isolating. Make sure you have somebody to be that accountability partner with you along the way.
Lori Norris:And just know you don't have to do it alone. You absolutely can, and I learned that really the hard way this last year of how important it is to reach out and ask for help. And the only way this podcast is back today because I had to walk away from it last year in June and the only way it's back is I had to be willing to accept help from volunteers who stepped up, from sponsors who stepped up and helped us bring it back, and so I know how hard it is to say I need help, especially if you're someone who's always giving to others and helping others, and so just know that amazing things can happen if you do open yourself up to those opportunities. Thank you for sharing that wonderful. All right, we're gonna wrap up for today. We could probably you and I, I think, could probably keep talking for another hour, but you might have some work to do so. Leslie, thank you so much for sharing all the resources with us today oh, thank you again.
Leslie Coffey:I really appreciate it and I can't wait to see you know who it says that they heard about us from you, Excellent.
Lori Norris:Thanks for listening to today's episode. My goal is to give you actionable strategies to help you learn to market your military skills and smooth your transition to the next phase of your career. If you learned something valuable today, share it. Subscribe to our podcast and our YouTube channel, leave us a review and write a post on social media about the lessons that helped you today from this episode.