Military Influence on Entrepreneurship!

From navigating the highs and lows of entrepreneurship to the unique lessons learned from military service, this episode is a raw, inspiring journey into the mindset of a veteran-turned-business owner. We’re not just talking about plumbing—we’re uncovering the grit, resilience, and values it takes to succeed when the stakes are high and the safety nets are few. If you’re ready to dig into what drives people to push past fear and embrace freedom, this conversation is for you.

📌 Key Takeaways:
✅ Military Lessons Applied to Business: Discipline, resilience, and the “figure it out” mentality are key to overcoming challenges in entrepreneurship.
✅ Ethics and Community Focus: How transparency and treating customers like family can lead to lifelong relationships instead of one-time sales.
✅ Growth Through Struggles: From low credit scores to failed licenses, embracing failure as a stepping stone to success.
✅ Balancing Contentment and Ambition: The ongoing journey of being grateful for what you have while striving for more.
✅ The Comeback of Skilled Trades: Why plumbing and other trades are becoming increasingly appealing in a changing economy.

🎬 Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to Ryan Diamond's Journey
05:06 Military Influence on Entrepreneurship
09:56 Starting Water Pro's Plumbing
15:09 Challenges and Insights in Plumbing Business
19:52 Growth Strategies and Community Support
31:33 Mindset Transformation Through Military Experience
36:55 The Value of Diversity in the Military
41:35 Resilience and the Warrior Ethos
47:58 Building Community and Ethical Business Practices
53:17 The Importance of Transparency and Trust in Business
58:37 Finding Freedom in Entrepreneurship
01:02:45 Learning from Mistakes as a Parent and Business Owner
01:04:14 Embracing Individuality in Parenting
01:05:48 The Shift Towards Skilled Trades

Transcript

Alright, sweet. Well yeah, we just got done recording with Ryan Diamond, the Water Pro's plumbing. I know you've met him once before, but this is first time you got to really dig deep into his story. So what were some of your takeaways from talking to him? Well, didn't really like him, I just started a business five months or so ago. I I knew it was new, I I met him two or three months ago. And I knew his business was new, but I didn't know it was that damn. And, just to see how they're growing and how everything's going, delete my face that he took, you know, say I'm quitting my job or going to his wife. I think I'm going to my job and start a business. We'll the rest for the podcast. well, I'm from that. mean, I think he came out with a good card and a rule that you know all of us should probably put into practice you know if we're not already. That's one thing that I'm definitely working on. So yeah I thought that was interesting obviously.

Talked a lot about the military and how his background with the military has helped him with business. So I think that's a good thing to see and talk about because... I'm a big believer that the military makes better entrepreneurs than people realize. People in the motor, like I mean, I've got business books all over. This is even all of nearly all of them. you know, I got a hundred something audio books that I've listened to and a lot of it. like, so that's what I was doing in the military. So having him tie those two together, I think was probably one of biggest things. again and don't have to shift all the way down. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, he mentioned some things about, you know, confidence versus, you know, you're being overly confident and the good aspects of it. And then also, you know, what gets you out of the funk when you're just down in the dumps about things, you know, because they're the entrepreneurial journey is so many highs and lows and ups and downs. I think I think we dug really deep on what gets you back out of that, you know.

You know, he talked about some of the ethos that you learned in the military and how those are applicable to all things in life and, you know, how he applies those to his business, you know, combined with the golden rule. And I know you took note right there that's been a reoccurring theme in my life over the last week or two that I just keep reiterating. to read that note? hear the nugget that he dropped, it's right at the end, so that's one of last things. So it was, like you said, it's actually, I don't know how many episodes we recorded, 15 or so, it's the first time I've wrote down a note to take out. So I think it's a good one. it's just a reminder, know, just something small, but I think it's powerful message you if you take it to heart so. Absolutely and I mean we got a lot deeper than I expected to go and that's part of one of the the excitements about starting this podcast is giving people that no one would ever go out of their way to ask for an interview you know and just giving them the stage to in the platform to tell their story and talk about the things that they're struggling with and you know things that they've overcame and principles that they put in their business that are leading them towards this journey of financial freedom. Yeah. And that's one of the things that, you know, you and I've talked about as far as growing the podcast and like you have to get people that are above you on the podcast to grow your podcast. But we also want to bring people, use our platform as we grow to bring other people up. And I you said he's been in business five months. 

All right. But how do we, how do we, help them. He's learning, he's growing, he's using things from the military that he's done for years to help him succeed in business and grow his business. It's good to get people laid out a platform and maybe a year two years from now we'll bring him back and see where he's at. Six months from now we'll bring back. be good to see people as they grow and give them a platform to inspire others. Absolutely. And he had many different, you know, sideways and, you know, going from having 500 credit score and, you know, learning the Dave Ramsey method and where he's at now. And, and, you know, some of the struggles of going through the military and business working for someone else, you know, the, I feel like one of the best quotes is, not even a quote, but one of the principles is that I see entrepreneurs have this somewhat imposter syndrome combined with this inflated ego. And it's just those two wolves are trying to battle each other at all times. which, which wolf survives? The ones you feed. That's right. Well, speaking of feeding, we'll turn it over and let them feed on this episode of podcast. Welcome Brian Diamond from Water Press Point. Welcome.

Alright Ryan, well, yeah, thanks for coming to join us. You know, we've been friends for a while now and you've done some work for us and we kind of got to know each other. Obviously we have the Army connection. You've been in the Army for a time and now go on the entrepreneurial route. So we'd love to hear more of your story and just how your pursuit of financial freedom and the familial freedom and also the freedom for the country, how that's all played a role in where you're at now. Yeah, definitely. I'm excited to be here. Thanks for having me good time. We have had, we started working together what maybe two or three months ago now and it's been just full pace like full send all the way from there. So I look forward to going all the projects. So I look forward to keeping it going. So yeah, I don't know what's what do you guys want to talk about? Where's the, what do you guys want to start with? So are you from, I don't know you. So we met one time.

What's Let's kind start off a little bit of your background. So I'm from Papillion, born and raised, was born in Colorado on an army base, Fort Carson. So that's kind of where the military started with me, my dad, retired master sergeant. So I kind of got that in my blood, if you will. I live in Grantland now, that's kind of where I like to do the majority of my work, or it's where I want to like my target, but really all of Omaha.