Ted Adair | Oath and Oaks | Veterans Growing America

In this episode of the Veterans Growing America Podcast, hosts Coach RL Simmons and Donnell Johns welcome Ted Adair, U.S. Army Veteran and Founder of The Oath and Oak, a purpose-driven organization helping veterans transition through community, storytelling, and upskilling for the AI economy.

Ted shares how four generations of military service shaped his values, how networking changed his post-military career trajectory, and why he launched The Oath and Oak to help veterans “stay rooted and find their outpost.” With a mission to empower veterans through mentorship, local connection, and emerging tech, Ted outlines how The Oath and Oak is bridging the gap between service and civilian life.

 Key Takeaways:

• Ted is a 4th-generation Army veteran who served as a field artillery officer after commissioning from Villanova ROTC.
• The Oath and Oak is a Leesburg-based veteran-owned business helping veterans transition through storytelling, entrepreneurship, and AI upskilling.
• The program offers three tracks: entrepreneurship support, operational leadership training, and AI skill-building for workforce reintegration.
• Community, mentorship, and networking are crucial for a successful military-to-civilian transition.
• The future of veteran work involves adapting to and integrating AI tools—without losing the human connection.
• Veterans need to shed rigid military norms and embrace curiosity, flexibility, and relationship-building in the business world.

 “The military gave me everything I have—but transitioning was tough. The Oath and Oak is my way of giving back.”
— Ted Adair Learn more about Ted and The Oath and Oak: https://www.theoathandoak.com Instagram: @theoathandoak Join the waitlist for 2026 workshops and AI cohorts. Want to grow with VGA? veteransgrowingamerica.com → Click Directory to hire and support a veteran-owned business. Register for Coach RL’s Kwanzaa Financial Reset: yourmoneygoat.com/events

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:15

Welcome, welcome, welcome to the Veterans Growing America podcast. I am one of your co-hosts, Coach R.L. Simmons. I am here with my illustrious co-host, Donnell Johns, and we have another special guest for you today. We have Mr. Ted Adair. He is an Army veteran and he is the founder and president of The Oath and Oaks.

SPEAKER_00 0:37

Welcome to the show, sir. Hey coach, thank thanks for having me, Donnell, once again. I can't thank you enough for the friendship and the connectivity and outreach. I'm I'm thrilled to join you guys.

SPEAKER_02 0:47

I'm excited to hear your story and for people to know and understand about your business. So tell us a little bit about you and your military experience and background.

SPEAKER_00 0:56

Yeah. So, you know, Donnell, we got a chance to connect. I I think I I became a member of Veterans Growing America maybe about two or three months ago. And uh I, you know, I gotta start with how you and I connected because I reached out to you out of the blue. And I know that I'm supposed to be explaining who I am, and I'll get to that in a second. But I gotta tell you, if you're a veteran and you are, you know, interested in getting connected and talking about entrepreneurial journeys and being around other people who are, you know, positive and reinforcing and supporting, you gotta seek out Donnell because again, you know, he just picked up the uh the phone one day when I rang. But uh so I'll do my intro now, right? So Ted Ted Adair, I am uh the founder and president of a uh veteran-owned small business that I launched on Veterans Day, and it's called the Oath and Oak. And we are focused on telling veterans stories, and we're anchored in downtown Leesburg. And really the big aim is to help veterans chart their next path, whether they want to be an entrepreneur, uh, whether they want to go and upskill on things like artificial intelligence or upskill and uppower their their networking. We're we're we are anchored downtown and we've got a bunch of events and activities planned for 2026. And Donnell, a lot of what we're doing candidly is, you know, somewhat similar, or at least a uh uh you know a riff off of uh of your great adventures. So I gotta say that a good friend of mine, uh Carl Bedell, actually was the one that said, Hey Ted, I hear what you're you're working there on Oath and Oak. You need to reach out to to Donnell. So, you know, I just wanted to give that shout out there to you know your your journey has been, I think, a positive mark for a lot of folks out there. And uh thanks for answering the call when I when I pinged you randomly.

SPEAKER_02 2:35

No, it's important that we are there for each other, especially during the entrepreneurs uh entrepreneurial journey. There's not many people that will answer the phone that want to sell you something, but you know, how do they help you move forward? And so I want really people to really get to know you. So tell them about your military experience and background.

SPEAKER_00 2:52

Yeah, so I I got a chance to share this with you as well. So I'm a I'm a proud fourth generation combat veteran. My my great-grandfather fought in in World War I, and I don't know if you can see it on the on the shelves there, but um, you know, he he was uh uh immigrant and came to the US and uh fought in the Big Red One, uh, was in the Musargon and was a machine gun platoon leader. So our family history goes goes way back. Uh fast forward, my grandfather also teted air, was a uh infantryman out of West Point and served in uh post uh uh Japan post-uh bomb Japan. And then from there, he went and taught at uh the academy and was an uh English instructor up there where my dad was born. And then my dad spent 30 years in the army as an artillery guy. So I kind of took up the uh the family, the family baton and uh I served. Uh I took my own path. I went to Villanova up in Philadelphia and did Army R O T C there, commissioned as a uh an artillery lieutenant way, way, way back in in 2000. And uh there's a little bit of a connection there to the name Oath and Oak. You know, I took I took my oath to the Constitution right in front of Independence Hall, and I can't think of a more appropriate place. Uh it was May, uh May 14th, 2000, and my dad was there and all of the uh the other cadets uh in our unit went out and and had a I was actually looking more forward to that event than I was getting a diploma. I mean, I'm I'm proud of my the education that I that I was able to get, but you know that that moment there as a as a family you know extension was uh super meaningful. And then I've got uh a younger brother who also served, he's 10 years younger than I am, and he's an army guy. Uh went up to uh West Point and played some lacrosse up there for Coach Albarisi. So we're we're uh we're an army family through and through. Sad to see them lose the Navy the other day. That was a heartbreak. That was tough. Yeah, it was rough. It was rough. But that's that's that's kind of the long and the short of uh of the the army connections.

SPEAKER_02 4:43

I was actually at the game on Saturday, so it it really hurt. But I heard you say that your grandfather was Ted Adair as well. So how many how many generations are you like the third, the fourth, the the fifteenth? What?

SPEAKER_00 4:55

Yeah, I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm the fourth, I'm the fourth generation. So you got uh Gerwin, then Ted, Theodore Fadden, Gurwin Adair. My mom, my mom calls him the uh the shortest man with the longest name on the planet. And then from him, it goes to my my dad, uh Larry Adair, and then then there's me and then my younger brother John. Wow. I love that. I love that.

SPEAKER_01 5:17

That's a legacy, man. I got a question for you though. So we talk about your time in the army. How did your military experience influence your journey into entrepreneurship?

SPEAKER_00 5:27

Yeah, I appreciate that one. So I would say that, you know, I I I knew that service was important from the moment I I connected with the ROTC program on campus at Villanova all the way through my tours overseas and and back. I'd say that I I wouldn't be in this frame of of mind right now where I where I would put myself out there in this in this way. And I think that military service teaches us all the things that you've probably talked about on this podcast many times, right? It's it's the grit and adaptability is uh, I think a sense of brother and sisterhood, and certainly it is a is a commitment to a mission greater than yourself. And I found that uh, you know, in a in a meaningful way in in the military. And what I'm looking to do now is kind of create that. You know, a lot of us uh we get out and and uh that transition is not easy. And and I do a lot of mentoring. I think uh hopefully there are folks that that see this know that uh when they've reached out to me, I've I've done everything that I could to either you know make it, send an email on their behalf or a phone call or text and get them connected to uh to other veterans. It's it's not easy to make that leap. And you know, I did it way back in 2005 after my my second deployment. I made a family decision to uh to get out and finally, you know, grow grow roots. And in fact, one of our our uh you know our catchphrases here at Oath and Oak is uh you know, stay rooted and find your outposts. You know, I'm looking to really grow roots here in uh the Leesburg community, and and we've been able to do that. You know, my wife is a she's a high school history teacher here in in Loudoun. I'm super proud of her, you know, and I think moving around as an army brat, and and I think, you know, Donnell, I'm certain that you've seen this too with the folks that you either recruited into the military or folks that you serve, but it's home is where the army sends you. And we we've always felt that. I've felt that from my my parents all the way through through my entire family. But I'm really making a commitment here to um connecting with veterans here locally. And that's what the the Oath and Oak is is all about. We're gonna focus on helping veterans identify and tell their own story and understand their own values, but then how do they translate that directly into work that has meaning and purpose? And we're very, very big on artificial intelligence and the emerging economy. And so we've got a bunch of programming coming up in 26 that's gonna focus on upskilling veterans on artificial intelligence.

SPEAKER_02 7:51

You know, I I love that. I was just playing with an app today that used my likeness and my voice. I'm gonna put I'm gonna put a couple videos out there to see if people are people know the difference between me and my AI. So tell me a little bit about where did you get the entrepreneurship bug? You know, that's not not everybody could be an entrepreneur. Sure. In fact, people say they want to do it until they start doing it. And then it becomes really hard and they quit.

SPEAKER_00 8:18

Yeah. Um, you know, it's one of those things where you kind of go, all right, well, why why would I why would I work, you know, 10, 12, 13 hours a day for for somebody else when I can work for myself 24 hours a day and you know. Nobody told me about the uh, you know, late, late nights and and prepping for the next day. I mean, uh that comes part and parcel to how we we we function in the military. I think the difference here is is I jokingly call it Irish Airlines, right? Like I'm the pilot, the co-pilot, the ground crew, I am the baggage handler, I'm you know, I'm doing it all. It's marketing, sales, business development. But where did the bug come from? I would say that I've had the good fortune of working for some of the larger consulting firms here in the the DC metro area. I grew up at uh some of the uh I would call them vaunted uh name brand organizations. And I learned a ton about business, business development, and growth. And that's where I've been living for the last 20 years is doing sales and BD and the high technology end. And I always wondered what it would be like to be able to branch out and and build something, not just to build something. And that, frankly, that's why I hesitated and didn't start until recently. I I needed to have a mission and a purpose that I knew was going to keep the flame going, right? And it couldn't be just, all right, I'm gonna go sell a widget, or I'm gonna sell a piece of technology, or I'm going to go and and just be very narrow in one area. What I want to be able to do is help other veterans as they transition so that they they kind of get the benefit of not just my knowledge, but we're putting together a faculty and mentors that are really gonna coach veterans as they they go through their own transitions. And when I say transition, it could be, hey, I don't care if you're a specialist that's getting out uh, you know, after your four or five years, or you're a three-star and you're retiring and you've done 35 years. That transition, I don't care what rank you are. It's it's not easy. And you gotta have, you gotta have a network, you gotta have a support group. And so that's that's really where we're uh we're focused.

SPEAKER_02 10:18

I think transition is one of the ultimate equalizers. You know, no matter what your rank is, you have to start all over again. Yeah. And I think sometimes a private may have an advantage over a senior guy.

SPEAKER_00 10:31

Yeah, I think you're right. I've had I've had a couple of sergeant majors and I've had a couple of general officers even say, hey, I had to reframe my thinking. I had to go and I had to treat myself as if I was going through boot camp, as if I were just joining up in the in the military from from day one. And I think that that's the other thing, is many of the veterans that I've interacted with, I think, approach it with that level of understanding and humility, which I think is a good thing. But sometimes also that can be a disadvantage in terms of veterans jumping into either the first job that they get and not really knowing and testing what the culture is. You know, we're so used to an order coming in and you process it and then you execute, and you really don't you don't question it because lives are on the line. You know, it's different. It is, and you've probably Donnell, I know that you figured this out. It's it's it's in the business world, there's there's there's transactions that take place and you get a vote, right? You get a vote in is this a place that is a cultural fit for me? Are my values going to resonate and work inside of this environment? And can I can I grow? Can I learn? Can I can I be better inside of uh that organization? And I've had the good fortune of working for several companies that that do uh behave like that. There's there's ones out there that that that don't.

SPEAKER_01 11:44

Yeah. So I I want to hear like all of the nuts and bolts. So we talk about uh the Oath and Oak. What is the unique business proposition? When somebody steps in the door, gives you a phone call, what does that look like? Tell us about the business.

SPEAKER_00 11:58

Yeah, sure. So right now we're doing a couple of things. One is um our curriculum is nearly done. And after the first of the year, we're gonna be switching it on. Um, what we do is take veterans through a series of cohorts that will help them uh, number one, understand their own internal um, you know, values and understand what their skill sets are and then how they can translate. So it's not disciplinary, there are a ton of great VSOs and organizations out there that really focus on the transition piece. But the next level of this is really it's the networking and the intimacy. So we're anchored in downtown Leesburg. And my thesis is a couple of things. One, there's 3,000 veterans in Leesburg, there's 22,000 veterans in the Loudoun, Northern Virginia corridor, and then there's about 790,000 veterans in Northern Virginia. And these high-dense military veteran locations, I think, are prime for a place and an organization like the Oathinoak, where we will bring in veterans in a very small-scaled environment and surround them with the teaching, the coaching, and mentoring that will get them to where they're upskilled. And again, I keep saying AI, you know, because I just I see this wave of the new economy coming. And there are going to be jobs that are about to be created that that none of the the you know the group of us that are on this call right now can can even predict. And we we are gonna focus on three tracks. Track number one is if you're a veteran and you've got an entrepreneurial idea, and we're gonna surround you with either the the mentor, the technologist, or the what I'll call like executive coach, somebody that's very, very good on the people dynamics. Uh so that's track one or number. You got an idea. And I don't care if it's a you are artistic and you have something that you want to put out there, or you are a technologist. Uh, we will put the right people around you. The second track is I have a thesis that veterans can make very, very good operational number twos in burgeoning organizations. And my hope is that what we can build out is not only a network to surround these veterans as they're growing and transitioning, but also it is the coaching that's going to allow them to airdrop into an organization and be that operational number two, upskilled on AI. So imagine you know, you're you're an entrepreneur and there's not enough hours in the day because you're doing Irish airlines like me. Well, then you'll be able to hire a veteran that can come in and they're already trained up on how to build out AI agents to help you run the internal business functions. And I think those are the skills that are going to be highly sought after here. And then the third track is upskilling you so that you can be more marketable in the marketplace. It's no question that uh we're seeing larger firms are making deep cuts and and you know it's because they're putting AI at play inside of their organizations. And what I want to see is veterans to be hyper competitive for those positions. I mean, let's just, I'm making an arbitrary number here, but let's take a hundred job openings inside of any organization, whether those are intended for new college hires that are gonna come in and be analysts or you know, MBAs that are coming in. If there's only a hundred jobs, well, if I'm that business, I really only need to hire 15 out of that hundred. And those other 85 foot, where where are they gonna go? And what kind of jobs are they gonna have? And that's why I'm very, very big and high on getting upskilled on AI. And it's not just so that you can sit behind a computer and not connect with human. That that's not the intent at all. AI needs to be in either the passenger seat or in the back seat, right? It's you driving the car and it's you figuring out what your destination is. These are just enablers and and tools. But the most important piece is it's gonna get folks to where they can spend less time on the mundane tasks and more time interacting with their clients and their customers and and and really having that that human connection that Donnell, I know, is at the heartbeat of what you do at uh Veterans Grown America.

SPEAKER_02 15:51

Yeah. I mean, we all have to transition, no matter what it is. We transitioned out of high school, transitioned into the military, transition out of the military, and the world has changed, you know, from the time that we've come in to the time that we get out. So I love the idea of you helping them transition in some of the latest and greatest technology. What are some of the challenges that you face in transition and how are you going to help people that go through your program deal with the same challenges that you dealt with?

SPEAKER_00 16:21

Yeah, I would say the biggest thing for me was the networking. And fortunately, you know, I may not have been, you know, the sharpest kid in the on the block, but I I've always been decent with people and you know, connecting and interacting. So I think networking is huge. And and I think that veterans, sometimes when we get out, we we feel like either our service or the resume should speak for itself, but but it doesn't. And it doesn't, especially to if you're on the other side of the table from somebody that hasn't hasn't served 15 days without a shower and and been in hard, dangerous. And that's not to say that I mean, these were choices that we all made. We all raised our hands and said this is something we're gonna go do. But I think the networking piece, you know, I I talk to veterans once a week, and folks are like, hey, I, you know, I've I've I've tightened my resume so much and I've I've gotten it and it's in, it's in, I've submitted it, and and I'm not hearing back. And I'm like, you gotta get out and have coffee with people. And it's not because the person you're speaking to is gonna say, Oh, great, Donnell, you're here. We we had this job, just it was waiting for you. We were waiting for you to show up. It's not that. It is that you are seeking advice and insight. You've got to cure you gotta have a passionate curiosity about other people and the problem, the business problems that they're facing, and then going in and just having conversations with them to figure out what it is they're working on and how you can you can help. You know, I think that there's a big thing about uh the service. It's in service of other people, it's being in service of somebody else's pain point and figuring out how to crack the code on it and alleviate somebody else's suffering in a strange way. It's I know it's kind of a little bit of a cheesy way to say it, but I think that that's there's a lot of truth in that.

SPEAKER_02 17:59

No, I like that because it's networking. You know, that you hear the the the phrase, your net your network is your net worth.

SPEAKER_03 18:06

Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:07

Well, people really don't understand the fact that that individual that knows them is their representative when they're not in a room. And that person can be speaking about your organization or things that you do while you're not there. I posted today um on LinkedIn that we won an award. And then there was a post under it that said it tagged a person and said, this is the organization that I was telling you about. And so that just told me that there's an another person out there speaking about Veterans Growing America on our behalf when I wasn't there. But if I wouldn't have built this network, if I wouldn't have networked in order to get people there, that opportunity wouldn't be there for that person that they tagged.

SPEAKER_00 18:49

And it's such a simple act, right? In this day and age, to be able to just tag and say, and this is so that's gotta feel good for you, right? Because I think it's it's validating of the mission and the effort, and you know, it's benefiting somebody else. Or like, hey, by the way, go check them out, right? Absolutely. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 19:05

I love it. Hey, so Ted, let me ask you this over time, building out this business, time and service, kind of putting those two things together, were there any like key lessons that you learn um as you were transitioning into business that you got from the military? And can you share some of those with us?

SPEAKER_00 19:23

Yeah, I think it's one, you know, uh don't be bashful about asking for help. I mean, who how many of us have been in the motor pool and we're like, man, the vehicle is deadlined. I gotta go. And where where am I gonna get a Humvee tire at the level that will you better have a great relationship with not just your motor sergeant, but the motor sergeant next door, right? Absolutely. And I think that those being in those really kind of tight situations where you're you and it's all mission focused, right? Like you're trying to go go, but but not being bashful about asking help. I think too many times, you know, veterans feel like, you know, we sometimes we put the vet bro or broet kind of you know persona on and we we think that we can kind of handle it on our own. And and that's not true. And that's why these kinds of conversations and the veteran network is so important. So even if you're not like I I've worked with great, great folks, unbelievable professionals who never served a day in uniform and would still go out of their way to to help me out, right? But my I've said this on on other, you know, in other conversations, my trust factor for for humans, I'm generally an optimistic person. My trust factor starts out at about 80% if I know you're a veteran. It starts out at about a 40% if you're not. But it's you know, there's there's room to to to improve. And that goes back to the to the Humvee tire comment. And I'd say that, you know, as you're transitioning, don't be bashful about reaching out, because I guarantee you there are people who have gone through the same turbulence that you have. If you're a veteran and you're having a hard time, you know, just just reach out, reach out to your to your battle buddies, reach out to folks who who've been there and can shine a light.

SPEAKER_02 20:54

Speaking of people who've been there, name one person that's been there for you on this side of the journey that you can pick up the phone at any time. Excluding me, that you can pick up the phone and call and be like, hey, I have this business burning business question. Who is that one person that you call and how did they get that position in your life?

SPEAKER_00 21:14

Yeah, so a couple, I mean, there's almost three different answers to that question. First of all, when when I have that burning question about anything in life, I'm very fortunate. I call my dad and my mom. And I know that there are a lot of veterans out there that that don't have that. So I'm very, very fortunate in terms of the family that I grew up in and around. That's that's numero uno is is family. There's a great guy, uh, Mike Marty is a uh an old family friend, and he was a captain when I was a lieutenant. And uh he's gone on and had an an amazing uh, you know, and uh he's a person that in especially in this this entrepreneurial journey, I reach out to him. One, because of the military connection. I mean, two, this is a person who has gone and worked for organizations like care.com and um yeah, is is now heavily into data analytics and marketing for major, major events. And, you know, it's just, it's I think it's I think once you lock in with a mentor somewhere, you know, that there's just you should seek out other people that that you know have the same values and standards that you have, but also folks who are going to challenge you and make you better. So those are the folks. And then the third category is it's just the folks that I served with in the in the military. You know, I don't know that I'm I'm going and ask s some of the the those guys for business advice, but I'm asking for for life advice and I'm also checking in on them, you know, at least once a week.

SPEAKER_02 22:36

Also, I don't know when this is going to air, but we're in the holiday season. What what is one bit of advice that you have for veterans during the holiday season? Because it this could be you know a rough time for people.

SPEAKER_00 22:48

I think that you have it's human connection. I think we've seen that because of COVID, right? There's this just just coming out of that time frame and especially if you don't have a ton of family or friends, service, get out volunteer. I've done a ton over the years with Bouldercrest Foundation, which is based out in um uh Blue Mont, Virginia, you know, they focus on post-traumatic growth. It's a wonderful, wonderful organization. I think that volunteering, and not only that for you just feel good after after that, but also it's it's demonstrating that for for my kids. So if you are you know kind of stuck in a cycle and you're there's there's there's a thousand organizations out there within you know a mile of your house that could use your help. So get out. And frankly that's one of the things that inspired me to launch uh Oath and Oak is to get more engaged with with the community. I've as I'm an army brat and I might be repeating myself here, but moving around every two years and then really going into some some hard hard work here as as a as a consultant and an IT business development and sales guy. I spent all of my time either traveling or you know in and around the area and and not not a lot got time was spent downtown Leesburg in the uh in the community. And there's just a there's a ton of organizations down there that that are doing great work. And I would encourage you um you know in the show notes you could probably hit up uh you know Bouldercrest Foundation is is one there's probably I don't know a dozen other that we can all throw your way before the end of the episode. I love it.

SPEAKER_02 24:15

So let's talk a little bit about your VGA experience. Why did you become a member of VGA?

SPEAKER_00 24:21

You know, a couple. One was Carl you know he said that uh hey Donnell's got uh you know a great community that he's built and you probably want to get plugged in and and connected and you know coach you and I were talking about this later or earlier before we before we really started but I think there's something to you know putting yourself out there and doing some things that you you normally wouldn't and it's not you know I'm actually an introvert despite being you know kind of out and engaging and and I thought well okay this is a great opportunity to get out and see what other veterans are doing. And you know when I saw the website and I saw what you were posting about it it felt different than um a tech startup incubator or you know it just felt a little bit more homegrown and that's what appealed to me because of the local community aspect. And I'd say that growing up on a military post, you know, moving every two years I I'm a Kaleen kangaroo. I graduated from Kaleen high Fort Hood was born there went back for second and third grade graduated high school there was back as a lieutenant you know living on posts there, it was it was a good place to be I mean it was and I'm I I've always searched for that kind of community again home is where the army sends you and trying to recreate that in a in a strange way after deciding to only do my my five years and and getting out. So I when I saw what you were doing I thought okay there's something that has the DNA of of something that that uh that appeals to me.

SPEAKER_02 25:43

I love that because we are connected locally big time through now we're connected to the governor's office, our local senators, our local supervisors and mayors and and local organizations that help out entrepreneurship. And so you know the the the one thing that I felt was important is that we get involved in the local community and then show the value of our veteran community. So thank you for being a member of Veterans Growing America. And the the cool part is we're partnering to make sure we extend the growth of both of our organizations. In fact all three of our organizations are working together now.

SPEAKER_00 26:20

That's right. That's right. So I got to give a shout out and say thank you for that that first day that I came out and and met with you I got a chance to meet with Sergeant Major Mark Riley and and and you know he's he that guy is is doing amazing stuff with you know music and veterans and I would never have gotten a chance to connect with him and and meet with him if if you weren't hosting you know your regular cadence of of of get togethers. And I just I told my wife I was like hey I'm I'm going out to this thing and I know I'm in Leesburg so it's funny Donnell you're probably like Ted you live on the moon and and I proved it when I made you drive all the way out to do my my podcast with me out here and it was uh but it was great to host you that that day because that that morning I had had a couple of other veterans cycle through and I just I didn't appreciate how many veterans there were in my local community until I got out there and started you know connecting and networking and I thought well if everybody was going to do what what what I was originally doing was just kind of sitting back then nobody's gonna connect nobody's gonna meet. So I'm I'm glad that that VGA was there for for a place for me to come and connect with other veterans. It was great. So uh coach RL so check it out I went out to uh what was the name of that bar?

SPEAKER_02 27:33

Rebellion. Rebellion. Yeah so I went to rebellion and it's small townish but it's big city is at the same time.

SPEAKER_03 27:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:41

And so you walk in there and it's this quaint little bar and I went and I asked for him and they said oh you know he's upstairs and he took me to this door that wasn't a door you had to knock twice kick spin around a couple of times back in the speakeasy huh? Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah and they let you in the back I wasn't paying attention that day but I I had to drive all the way out there and I'm like I thought it was gonna take me um you know like 20 minutes but it ended up taking me an hour to get there. I was like oh my God where am I going? And so I didn't I didn't plan on that but at the same time it was definitely worth it. He had a great camera crew out there. It was a great great experience and then I got this cool hat.

SPEAKER_00 28:24

I forgot to bring it up here I was gonna don it while we were here but yeah I should have brought mine I yeah I'm I'm still working on my uh marketing game I got I told you it's it's Irish airline I'm I'm I'm spinning a couple of different plates but um yeah what what the next time if we do if if I get invited back for another episode I'll make sure to have some some swag prominently you gotta have it you gotta have like I have the VGA shirt on you got you got to have the swag on you got to be in front of the people at all times. Yeah it's it say never get caught slacking man that's true not wrong hey so let me ask you this though like first of all really appreciate you sharing your um time and experience um and then hearing what you're doing we understand that you are trailblazing so as a trailblazer and I'm asking you this question as a trailblazer do you have some final thoughts and words for the viewers and listeners and those that either may be following your path or maybe transitioning soon that's me and people that are people that plan are planning to do some of the things that you've already done what are some advice that you would have for them yeah I go back to that that networking theme you know that that's the thing I always say that the army gave me all the good things that that I have in in my life it also taught me some some tough lessons and I think that that veterans whether it doesn't matter which branch you are it you've got to figure out how to shed the yes sir no sir yes ma'am no ma'am you know rigid like there's always respect there right for for any any veteran or senior you know you know still maintain that but as you transition into the civilian world it's not that rigid right and so you've got to be able to figure out how to to to navigate those those subtleties and read the room and but it's the networking piece that I go back to you know the only reason I'm here having this conversation with you all is because I was fortunate enough to have many networking conversations with folks that are veterans, that are entrepreneurs, with retired senior folks from you know World War II all the way to present. So I'd say that in the last kind of year, I've I've wanted to do this for for 10 years, but in the last year the amount of no power networking that I've done with people not because I am trying to sell anything or anything like that, just the I'm seeking out advice and insight from a ton of folks and there have been few people that have said no I you know and so what I would say to you if you're a veteran you're transitioning and you need to to get connected then then reach out to folks they will make the they will make the time because a lot of us have been there and gone through exactly what you're going through.

SPEAKER_01 30:55

And it's one question that generally gets asked I thought Donnell was going to ask it but I I didn't want to slide past this one. What is your superpower?

SPEAKER_00 31:03

Ooh uh this is I hate to say like likeability I guess is it's it's a feature not a flaw you know I have always had this I'm genuinely interested in other people and I think that my parents taught me that it doesn't matter what walk of life, where you come from, you treat everybody with with respect because you have no idea what you could learn from somebody. And I think that's one of the things I really value and appreciate from my time as an Army brat, my time in the military is you know connecting with folks from all over the country. And I think it's just that superpower is that that that like ability but it only comes from being genuinely curious and interested in in other people. I love that.

SPEAKER_01 31:47

Before we get out of here I want the people to know how to get a hold of you. So do you have um socials, email, or how can people get a hold of you?

SPEAKER_00 31:54

Yeah so start with the uh website uh sign up to join the uh the wait list and in twenty six uh we're gonna go live with uh several of our our upcoming podcasts uh you can find me on Instagram it is uh at the Oath and Oak Facebook and you know uh the YouTube site will also go live but I'd start start with the website that's the easiest place so you can spiral and and and go down the rabbit rabbit hole from there. But I did want to do a quick plug you know we've got um happy hours that are going to be starting up uh in and around uh some of these these places in Leesburg that that Donnell you you've you've gotten introduced to we've got several workshops that that'll be uh in the works and we've got uh something cooking with uh with mark riley and the washington tattoo here in Leesburg that's gonna be a lot of fun yeah hit hit uh hit all of that up and uh of course folks can always always reach me through uh DMs on uh through the your Instagram or the the website love it truly truly appreciate your your time well thanks for uh thanks for having me this was super awesome i i you know super excited to to spend some time with you guys I love it Donnell um before we get out of here can you let people know how to get a hold of VJ and how to continue to support her well you know I'm gonna I'm gonna pass it back to you because they need to know how you can support them and the great things that you do.

SPEAKER_02 33:07

So if you could share with our audience a little bit about Coach R.

SPEAKER_01 33:11

L Simmons hey man I first first and foremost I I really do um appreciate you always put me on a platform. I know I started this to to continue to help veterans but for you to say hey we have this platform um I want you to share it. I I truly appreciate that so at the GOAT business the GOAT legacy what we do is we help you simplify finances and business a lot of times people get lost in the translation even on YouTube and and TikTok and people get misinformation and sometimes when you get a certified financial professional they are going to regurgitate information as if they got it out of a book and it's really hard to understand it. Finances aren't that complicated and it is just an evergreen thing. And so what we want to do is help simplify finances and business so you can reach us at the two websites for the business is your moneygoat.com excuse me for the finances is your moneygoat.com and then for the business is thegoat business dot com and we are here to help and support you back to you Donnell y'all contact him veterans growing america so our our tagline is you're in business for yourself but not by yourself.

SPEAKER_02 34:25

And as you see we're on this podcast with three dynamic individuals if you want to get connected with these individuals you can go to veteransgrowing america dot com click on our directory and you'll find a plethora I don't even know how to spell that a plethora veteran entrepreneurs on our directory you'll find blogs and all kinds of information but you know people say thank you for your service all the time unfortunately we can't eat that but the way that you can support is by supporting a veteran business. And by doing that you're truly saying thank you for your service and we truly appreciate that. You could also find out all the information that you want on our socials Veterans Growing America on every platform except TikTok there's no reason why we don't have a Veterans Growing America TikTok it's just that we don't have one but follow us on our social media page and then also come out to Veterans Growing America in Woodbridge and shop baby I gotta make I gotta schedule it into the calendar I'm gonna come see you.

SPEAKER_00 35:29

There we go.

SPEAKER_01 35:30

I love it and again Ted thank you for joining us and thank you for sharing your um experience truly appreciate it. Much appreciated coach thank you we are over and out we did it