Making it Easier to Hire Veterans with Robert Woods

Chris Albert 00:00:00 (link to this point)

What's going on, Welcome to the Warrior Soul podcast, and this is where we empower The US military veteran community and anybody else who's willing to listen to live their best lives, utilizing the tools, tactics, and strategies that we introduce so that they can become smarter, stronger, and more resilient human beings who are going to shape the future of this country. We hear from numerous sources that doubt the direction that this country is going in. And what I will tell you is this, we can't rely on some group of politicians. We can't rely on fate. It's gotta be up to us.

If we wanna fix things, if we wanna shape society, we've all got to step up and that's why I do this show. So normally what I do when I bring on a guest, it's somebody we've had, you know, New York Times bestsellers. We've had very accomplished entrepreneurs. We've had actors. We've had filmmakers.

We've had athletes. We've had on so many different accomplished guests. And this next month is gonna be no different. We've got Robert Greene, the author of the 48 laws of power and the laws of human nature coming on. We've got Craig Ballantyne, really master entrepreneur who has also mentored some of the greatest entrepreneurs in the space today.

And we've got Nick Koumalatsos, the marine corps raider and filmmaker coming on all in September. What I wanna start doing on Fridays and on the weekends is starting to bring on some veteran entrepreneurs, people who are out there in the grind trying to make something happen. And particularly, I'm interested in speaking to veteran entrepreneurs who are bringing something back to the veteran community. And today, I'm bringing on mister Robert Woods. Robert is a US Air Force veteran and when he got out went to school and got into the working world what he discovered was that there were numerous programs out there that were run by the federal government that could help him to make more money and help his employers to make more money.

The problem is that a lot of businesses just don't want to do all the paperwork and this is where Robert comes in. He gets the paperwork set, he gets the workplace set, he sets them up for inspections from the federal body that runs this, and he helps that business to get the money and he helps that veteran to get the money. And this is particularly useful for those of you who might be in school and might need to work while you're in school. Alright. If you're doing a a workplace and education program or if you're doing an internship or anything like that, this could be a really good way to get yourself paid.

Those of you out there who are journeymen apprentices, maybe you are are trying to learn a trade. This is also perfect for you. So I want to start bringing more of this information to you guys, and I think that you're gonna get a lot out of this conversation because what I do is I talk to Robert about the problem he saw and how he got to the point where he could develop a solution around this. And that's what business is really about. You have to notice a problem.

It has to be a problem that people know they have, and then you deliver a solution that people want. Right? And that's really what it's all about. That's how you start a business idea. So hope you get a lot out of this, and that's about it.

Just a couple of quick announcements. I already mentioned that this is the Warrior Soul podcast. You know, we're on here every week and this movement is growing. Our downloads, our listening audience is growing every week. And you know, we're putting a lot of information out there.

All we really ask for you in return is that you spread word about the show. You know, let other brothers, other sisters know that we exist. And you could do that in a number of ways by sharing an episode over, by writing a review for us up on iTunes, and it just really helps us to spread the word, and it helps me to get amazing guests like Robert Greene or Craig Ballantyne or Dale Dye is another guest we've had on. Chris Bell, Les Stroud, the survivor man, Sal DeStefano from Mind Pump Media, Ben Greenfield. We've had so many awesome guests on here, and my goal is to bring more.

I wanna get Dan Crenshaw from Texas on here, the US Navy SEAL and Congressman. I believe I can get General Mattis on here, but I need your help to do that. And in order to get those types of guests, we need to grow this audience. So that's my ask for the day. I also wanna let you know that if you're looking to support the podcast, financially, we do have an amazing clothing line.

We've made marine corps based shirts and military based shirts, since the start. And my brother Albert Carrasco up in up in Santa Barbara, he prints those. He's a marine. Everybody who works at the shop is a marine. These are marine designed, marine printed, marine manufactured shirts.

So definitely check those out. They're up at warriorsoul.shop. And the last thing is this, I'd be nowhere without our amazing sponsors. You don't make a lot of money doing a podcast like this, and a podcast actually costs a lot of money to produce. So our good friends over at F Bomb Nutrition, they've helped us out out with that, and they have an amazing company.

They make delicious packets of fats, macadamia nut butters, pecan butters, and they also make low carb, high fat snacks that you can carry out with you like pork sticks, and they've got cheese crisps. So amazing. Great company that's sending this stuff out to the troops overseas. And if you wanna get 20% off your first order of f bombs, head over to www.dropanfbomb.com. Use the code Warrior Soul at checkout.

That's all I've got for today, guys. I wanna thank you for listening to this episode, and let's get into this conversation with mister Robert Woods. Alright, Robert. Welcome to the show, man.

Robert Woods 00:07:03 (link to this point)

Thanks. Thanks. How are you doing today?

Chris Albert 00:07:05 (link to this point)

I'm doing well. I'm doing well. I was like I was telling you before we hit record, it's about to be a 110 degrees out here in a little bit, but but I could be could be worse. I could be freezing cold. Right?

Robert Woods 00:07:18 (link to this point)

Right. Or or outside.

Chris Albert 00:07:20 (link to this point)

Yep. Yep. And for those of you at home, I have a lawnmower right outside my window. And then Robert is in New York City. So you might hear some cop cars go by and things like that.

So so just bear with us on this. But Robert, number one, again, thank you for coming on. Number two, really interested in talking about your business. For those of you who don't know or didn't listen to the intro, Robert helps businesses get certified through the VA so that they can help veterans to make more money. And Robert, you started out as an Air Force veteran, right?

Robert Woods 00:07:59 (link to this point)

Yeah. So I was in the Air Force for five years as a dental technician and I focused on oral surgery at that last half of my career in the Air Force learned a lot. I stayed in one base though. It was Columbus air force base, Mississippi the whole time. So I went straight from Columbus, Mississippi up to New York because I really wanted to, you know, continue to pursue my education.

I went to a Fordham University. After that, I went up to work for an investment bank in the HR space at Guggenheim Partners. And after that, I enrolled into a real estate development program at Columbia University and learned a lot there too. So it's been kind of a winding road that might not make sense to everyone, but it made sense, you know, to my vision.

Chris Albert 00:08:49 (link to this point)

So it's all good, man. I I think the days of saying, okay, I'm gonna do this, and then I'm gonna do this, and then I'm gonna go on this set career path. I think those are over. There there's so much opportunity out there. There's so many different things to learn.

And you know, of the things I tell people is try to get a breadth of experience in different areas just to see what you like because you know, the way the economy is going and the way things well the way economy has been historically right now it's really good but you never know when things are gonna change, right?

Robert Woods 00:09:22 (link to this point)

Yeah, definitely. And I think it's always good to have a couple of have a degree or some sort of certification in your back pocket. And I think that's one of the reasons why LinkedIn even is coming out with certifications and things like that. And we were talking about Khan Academy. It's so easy to learn, learn new things nowadays.

So it's awesome.

Chris Albert 00:09:42 (link to this point)

Absolutely. And that's one thing I've been noticing. I mean, there's just so many opportunities for free education. I mean, ranging from being able to take like MIT courses on YouTube versus to to we were talking about Udacity before this. Right.

You will actually learn tech, learn coding, learn project management, things like that. And you know, that that's really awesome. So when you were in the Air Force, when when when you joined, did you have a set plan in mind that you were going to be in the Air Force for a little bit and then head off and grab the education or what was that like?

Robert Woods 00:10:21 (link to this point)

Well, I really got into the air force mainly because well, I knew what the lifestyle was gonna be like because my brother and my parents were both in the military and also couldn't pay for college. The time I was in, I was attending Howard University's School of Business and I was in my first semester and I'm like, how am I gonna pay for next semester? So I kind of joined just so, because I knew that they were gonna provide a scholarship for Air Force ROTC. So that's kind of what I pursued. So yeah, no, I didn't plan on it really, but it became like the best option for me at the time.

Chris Albert 00:11:02 (link to this point)

Wow. And so did did you go through the ROTC program and become an officer?

Robert Woods 00:11:07 (link to this point)

I didn't. I didn't. I actually didn't make it through that program. I actually got disenrolled in the fourth year due to academic, you know, issues. And, but I eventually went back to finish the following year.

But I mean, I think that's just, it kind of goes to show like, you know, I didn't even wanna be in the air force, but I got my education paid for. So it kind of goes to show like, you know, it's not always gonna be perfect, but you can, you can still, you know, rise above your challenges.

Chris Albert 00:11:40 (link to this point)

Absolutely. And, you know, one of the things about the military in general, I think, is that when you especially for enlisted men, I think it's actually a really good deal. You know, you might have to deal with a little extra b. S. You know, we in the Marine Corps, we called it the big green weenie. But, you know, the thing is for for for those years you're in, you're young, you you don't have a lot of bills to take care of or anything like that. You I have a whole heck of a lot to worry about and you get some you get some great leadership training, some great training in general.

And, you know, I know you were stuck on a base in Mississippi, but, you know, you get a chance to travel. That's a bonus too.

Robert Woods 00:12:19 (link to this point)

Exactly. Exactly. Yeah, that's how it is sometimes.

Chris Albert 00:12:24 (link to this point)

Absolutely. And so when you're in the Air Force, did did you know, did you run into like what types of lessons did you learn there as far as, you know, carrying yourself, where you wanted it to go in the future and things like that?

Robert Woods 00:12:41 (link to this point)

The kinds of lessons I learned is, you know, you everybody's watching is one of the phrases that I I like to hear and say. We work it was a small installation, so essentially everybody knew you, and everybody knew your business a little bit. So, there was that aspect of a scene. I knew, you know, at 23, '24 that I really had to be on my Ps and Qs and be on point, especially in the dental clinic where everybody has to go.

So, you know, and also in addition to that, since it was a small office, everybody had to learn every part of the job from radiation to the infection control, to running your own programs and following up with the, you know, 20 to 100 patients every single day, every single week, making sure you know, so so many things that one person had a responsibility for. And I think that's kinda where I I stretched myself a little bit to become, you know, that top 10%, top tier, that top tier airman at that time. It was fun.

Chris Albert 00:13:50 (link to this point)

That's awesome.

Robert Woods 00:13:51 (link to this point)

Yeah.

Chris Albert 00:13:52 (link to this point)

And it is fun. It's fun looking back at it. Right. It's not so fun while you're doing it. Right.

Robert Woods 00:13:57 (link to this point)

Exactly.

Chris Albert 00:13:58 (link to this point)

Sometimes it's like, sports. This again, it's like Groundhog Day, blah blah blah. But, you know

Robert Woods 00:14:03 (link to this point)

Yeah.

Chris Albert 00:14:04 (link to this point)

You know, it's you look back on it and you look back on times like that, you gotta appreciate them for what they are. Right? And to to the young guys out there and girls out there who are still in, you know, appreciate these days because someday, I promise you, you might not think it, you're gonna miss them. Right?

Robert Woods 00:14:21 (link to this point)

Exactly. There's this phrase that, like, from a meme that I remember just said, I wish I was as fat as I was when I thought I would I wish I was as skinny as I was when I thought I was fat. You know, I think the same thing could go for, you know, time management or aging and all these other things, but like your perspective is always skewed. And I think it's really important for us to frame things, just in a positive frame of mind, whenever you can, really.

Chris Albert 00:14:49 (link to this point)

Absolutely. And so when you got out of the air force, did you go straight to Fordham?

Robert Woods 00:14:53 (link to this point)

Yeah. Well, so there was a gap there. I I eventually worked for a hospitality company called Convene and fortunately they hired me the day after I landed in New York City, which was a blessing seriously. So I happy to get a job, but it wasn't the highest paying job for me at the time, of course, because I didn't have experience in that field. I was actually an AV technician.

So before Fordham started, I was accepted, but before Fordham started, there was a four month gap where, I was essentially, you know, just an AV tech and working working part time to full time, and the schedule was kind of, not necessarily consistent at the time. And so, that was kind of a rough transition for me a little bit, especially trying to pay bills in New York City.

Chris Albert 00:15:49 (link to this point)

Well, yeah. I mean, did you grow up, around New York City at all or or or did you grow up someplace else?

Robert Woods 00:15:55 (link to this point)

I grew up in, well, I grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. That was kinda where we we, we set settled down essentially, Atlanta, Georgia. But my father being in the in the army for about thirty years, we moved around a lot too. So yeah. Atlanta is where I got the southern accent from.

Chris Albert 00:16:16 (link to this point)

I can't you know, I can't tell actually. Can't tell you the southern accent. I've been to Atlanta. It's a great city, and New York's a great city too. But like you said, it's extremely expensive.

I mean, like, Manhattan is basically like a giant shopping mall. And Yeah. You know, when when I when I was growing up and when I was younger and working in the New York City area, you know, it was interesting to me because the people who lived there, I I thought they had to be exorbitantly rich in order to survive. And I always dreamed of living in the city, but really couldn't make it swing.

Robert Woods 00:16:56 (link to this point)

Yeah. No. It's it's it's good to have my fiancee here with me because we're kinda working as a team here. And, fortunately, got a two bedroom apartment, which doesn't really happen in in in this part of the the neighborhood, but it's really good, you know, so it helps to have a partner too.

Chris Albert 00:17:15 (link to this point)

That's awesome. That's awesome. Yeah. And so you land in New York City, you get the job, and and so were you working through school and everything like that?

Robert Woods 00:17:26 (link to this point)

Yep. So I was working through school, and eventually got the job, at the investment bank that I mentioned. And, fortunately the program was on the weekends and so I could work like a full time schedule and then go to the class on the weekends from nine to five on Saturday and Sunday. So long weeks, but it's good.

Chris Albert 00:17:48 (link to this point)

Absolutely. And and again, it's worth it while you're young, go out there and and grind because when you get to old like me, you don't wanna have to go

Robert Woods 00:17:58 (link to this point)

You're not old. Right? You're not even no. That's crazy. I Oh, really?

Chris Albert 00:18:04 (link to this point)

Yeah. Yeah. A few weeks ago. I know I don't look it, but

Robert Woods 00:18:08 (link to this point)

Happy birthday. Right. You still got your hair and everything, man. How you doing? Yeah.

Chris Albert 00:18:13 (link to this point)

I'll never lose the hair. It's just going gray. So you you're working this job, and you you you heard of this program, right, with the VA where they could sign up and you can make a bit more money. And so you go to them, and what did they tell you?

Robert Woods 00:18:32 (link to this point)

See. So at the time, my my bosses at the time said, well, Robert, it seems like a good opportunity and a good program, but thanks, but no thanks. We we're not gonna do that. And so I immediately thought, wow. You know, was frustrating for me at the time as much as I appreciate and love those guys, you know, I still like them.

But, at the time, it was so frustrating because they didn't really know how much that $4,000 meant to me at the time, you know, and to have that in addition to your salary, wow, you know, that really could help you bridge the gap in between your, you know, just just that transition when you're when you're training up and trying to work toward that that next position, that middle middle tier position that a lot of us are qualified for by the time we we transition out. In between that time, it will be good to good to do that. So, yeah. And that's part of the reason I started Banneret, to help basically raise more awareness around programs like that. And there are a couple of of companies doing it, but not too many.

Chris Albert 00:19:33 (link to this point)

Wow. And so so let's talk about that program for a little bit. What's it called and and what can veterans get from it? I know it's it's you'd mentioned before that all the universities do this so that they can get money. Right?

Robert Woods 00:19:46 (link to this point)

Right. Exactly.

Chris Albert 00:19:47 (link to this point)

But but companies don't realize that they can do this as well to to get more money for for their workers, who are veterans and as well get more money as a company. Right?

Robert Woods 00:19:58 (link to this point)

Exactly. So, so it's called the Veterans on the Job me. Veterans Affairs on the Job Training Program, And it's also called an apprenticeship program as well. There's two different designations and it just depends on the curriculum that's created for these, you know, these positions. But essentially, I guess I'll put it in the context of a job, let's say a person that's working as a financial analyst and he really wants to make it the financial, you know, the finance associate, which is that next level, a business like Wells Fargo or Merrill Lynch can go ahead and file paperwork with the military excuse me, with the Veterans Affairs and for the financial, associate position to say that, hey.

For the next year or the next six months or up to two years, this veteran will do this particular curriculum. And for this particular amount of time, he'll be getting that, you know, $3,700 of BAH per month in addition to what he's making, with with the company right now. So it's really just a few signatures and sign offs from, you know, upper manage upper level management. And, you know, you put the paperwork through the VA, and that will take time, a little bit of time. But after that, I mean, you know, you you've created a lane and an opportunity for everybody else behind that that veteran to go ahead and take advantage of that opportunity.

Chris Albert 00:21:30 (link to this point)

Let and let's repeat that. That's 3,700 extra dollars per month to live in a place like New York City. Right?

Robert Woods 00:21:37 (link to this point)

Right. Yeah.

Chris Albert 00:21:38 (link to this point)

And that changes around around the country depending on where you're at. But that's extra money, and that money could mean the difference between, you know, living a normal life and living off of, you know, a cup of soup every single night. Going to school and trying to grind it out. Right?

Robert Woods 00:21:57 (link to this point)

Exactly. And, that amount does decrease by 20% every six months while you're in that program. But, you know and and just like anything, it's not for everyone, but, I think a perfect market of veterans that is for is, I would say officers or or, people that already have degrees when they get out of the military because most officers, they go out, or they transition out and then, they'll get an MBA. But that MBA is two years long and they're sitting there with twelve months of GI bill, ready to go. And that's about almost like 40 that's about $40,000 So, you know, and then they have to leave that on the table just because 99% of businesses in the country aren't registered.

Chris Albert 00:22:44 (link to this point)

The 99% of businesses in the country are not registered for this one.

Robert Woods 00:22:49 (link to this point)

Are not registered. Yeah. And that's it's kinda crazy. So, yeah, about, 33,000 businesses are registered and then about 29,000 of them or excuse me. 29,000,000, businesses aren't.

Chris Albert 00:23:04 (link to this point)

And so when you're talking about the business owners who get into this program, what kind of benefits can the business owners get from being a part of the program and hiring veterans?

Robert Woods 00:23:17 (link to this point)

So, it's something that I don't necessarily say upfront because it, it doesn't sound like the best thing, but, a business owner could actually pay a veteran up to, 50% less of what they would normally pay a veteran during this transitional period because the VA is essentially going to be making up that difference. So that's kind of a monetary benefit that the business could take advantage of, but most business owners won't take advantage of that opportunities because, you know, they want their workers to be happy and, get compensated well. In addition to that, there's workers tax credits, which allow a veteran that has been unemployed for at least ninety days to, get a 10% deduction or an up to, $10,000 of of tax credits, for hiring a veteran that's unemployed. So those are just a couple of the things.

Chris Albert 00:24:11 (link to this point)

Well, here's the thing though. I mean, like, for for for smaller businesses, you know, people who are just they're trying to hire people, but, know, the tax situation here in California and and I know New York as well Right. A lot of times it's not smaller businesses get new position where they can't hire people.

Robert Woods 00:24:30 (link to this point)

Right?

Chris Albert 00:24:30 (link to this point)

Mhmm. Because and and that means less jobs, less jobs out there. But if they register for this program, and it's not like the veterans gonna be working for for for for nothing. They're they're gonna make up the difference. The veteran will be whole as far as, as salary is concerned.

Right. And this could mean more jobs in general for veterans. You know?

Robert Woods 00:24:50 (link to this point)

Exactly. Exactly. And it's the perfect opportunity for for businesses and veterans really that, you know, wanna work together. And I know a lot of veterans wanna start businesses as well. And I think, you know, veterans, we have we think in a certain way.

So, well, not I don't wanna generalize, but a lot of us where we wanna do things systematically and, you know, we're cost conscious, just like they made us be when we were in the military. And so when we think like that as entrepreneurs, it just sounds like a perfect opportunity for somebody that just, that really does wanna hire another veteran to work with them.

Chris Albert 00:25:30 (link to this point)

A 100%. So when you're working with a business to get them certified, what types of P's and Q's do they need to mind in order to actually get certified through the VA?

Robert Woods 00:25:43 (link to this point)

So they need to make sure that there's a place for the vet the veteran to learn and operate within the business. And so even if it's in essentially like a home office or something, there has to be enough, has to be, you know, right resources for them there, the computers, printers, all these normal things. In addition to that, they have to take the curriculum that they're gonna be learning on the job seriously because, you know, this is government funds and you you know, if you're gonna be if you're gonna have a financial analyst, you can't say that they're gonna be doing you can't actually have them taken out trash only or something like that.

Chris Albert 00:26:25 (link to this point)

Right. Right. Right. And they need to be actually learning how to do financial analysis. They need to actually be doing what this job description entails.

Right?

Robert Woods 00:26:33 (link to this point)

Exactly. And there will be, you know, intermittent, visits, site visits and things like that. In in the beginning of the process, there's definitely gonna be a site visit a site visit to the office in order to approve the program before the process is approved.

Chris Albert 00:26:53 (link to this point)

Awesome. Awesome. And so any as far as tips for for business owners and getting started, you know, if if we had a business owner out there who wanted to get certified through the program, where would they go? What what would they do? What do they need to get in line besides everything you just mentioned?

Robert Woods 00:27:15 (link to this point)

They would just email me at robert@banneret.org. No. I'm just kidding. But, you could Absolutely. Absolutely.

But, no, you could go to, you know, your your VA's website for your specific city. So there's the, you know, the VA Resource Center. There's a lot of resources and people that are actually assigned to do just that, assigned to help you with the process on a step by step basis. The only thing is they're not necessarily incentivized to follow-up with you to make sure you finish it. So a lot of times companies will start it, but then they won't finish it.

And that's one of the reasons why I, you know, try to step in between that process to say, Hey, you know, you just need this, this and this, you're almost there. Let's go ahead and do this, and things like that. But yeah, just your VA website for your city or your county is really all you have to do and go from there.

Chris Albert 00:28:15 (link to this point)

Awesome, awesome. And when you're working with people, so you're taking them through this process, you're helping them with the paperwork, You're making sure you're helping them get their business in line in order to make sure that they meet the standard necessary to make this happen. Right?

Robert Woods 00:28:31 (link to this point)

Yep. Yep. And so we're in the process of doing that with two businesses right now. And, know, it's kind of a slow, it's actually, it takes between thirty and ninety days to go ahead and get it done. And sometimes it falls, off the wayside because companies are like, ah, that's not a priority right now.

But, know, if you wanna make it a priority, it's definitely doable. And that's why I'm, you know, talking to different business owners to try to help them out.

Chris Albert 00:29:04 (link to this point)

Yeah. And we're talking about the government here. I mean, the government doesn't make anything fast or easy. So that's a big service to business owners who wanna get this done, who wanna get this extra money, who wanna be able to take it on these employees. And and so and then the other aspect of this is if there are veterans out there who are doing on the job training, you know, there's a lot of opportunities for them to go to their bosses and say, hey, listen, you're gonna be able to get this extra money.

I'm gonna be able to get paid more. It's a win win situation. Let's call Robert and get this done. Right?

Robert Woods 00:29:42 (link to this point)

Yeah. Exactly. And, I don't want to, you know, some people have said, oh, well, you're trying to make people waste their GI bill, and that's not the case at all. Just trying to, you know, educate people or, you know, put that awareness out there that they can use it as a tool, in another way that's other than, just traditional education?

Chris Albert 00:30:03 (link to this point)

Well, absolutely. And and the thing is, you know, talk about education. I mean, there's a lot of ways you could waste your GI bill out of four years. Right? And then you could go and you could study, I don't know, dog park studies or something like that.

Come out with out any verifiable skills. Right. But but on the job training, I think is is where things are going. I mean, far as far as things go, I mean, you know, university prices are just so exorbitant right now and and yeah. And and you don't necessarily get a return on investment for a lot of degrees now.

Robert Woods 00:30:41 (link to this point)

Yeah. Not necessarily. I do also wanna mention another program called the SkillBridge program. If you haven't heard of it, it, just allows veterans to go to work at a company for the last ninety days of their active duty enlistment, and that was considered an internship. And so you actually still get paid your active duty service wages.

Just, you just basically get a TDY. You probably already heard of that, right?

Chris Albert 00:31:10 (link to this point)

I've definitely heard of it. Definitely heard of it, but it's definitely a good reminder. Yeah. There's there's just so many things we could be taking advantage of. But but it's like we said before, the government doesn't make it so easy, and they don't really advertise a lot of this stuff either.

So Exactly. That's a big thing to remember. So with this business, you you said you've been doing this for about three years now. Yep. Where are you taking it?

How how are you getting the word out? Obviously, coming on to shows like this and things like that, but but, are you are you doing things over social media, LinkedIn, and things like that?

Robert Woods 00:31:50 (link to this point)

Yeah. Social media and link LinkedIn, especially I have a podcast called the Knight's Tale podcast where we talk to, military veterans about their experiences and their stories. Also business leaders about the things they like to see in their talent and things like that. And word-of-mouth, know, people that know me know that I'm doing this, but yeah, like you said, those programs aren't advertised at the Super Bowl. So a lot of times people don't really know about it, and that's kinda why I'm, you know, trying to do this.

Definitely need to get the word out more though, for sure.

Chris Albert 00:32:26 (link to this point)

Absolutely. And, you know, the thing is, it's these days with the social media, things are a lot more difficult to get out because Yeah. The algorithms, you know, they they just because you post something up on Facebook doesn't mean that everybody's gonna be able to see it. Right?

Robert Woods 00:32:44 (link to this point)

Exactly.

Chris Albert 00:32:45 (link to this point)

So so things like networking, they're still important. Going out there, actually meeting people, doing things like this, where where you're coming on the shows, getting broadcasted and and and things like that really, really important. And so for you you new business owners out there, you gotta remember that the the the art of networking is definitely not dead. Right?

Robert Woods 00:33:09 (link to this point)

Exactly. And I think some of the, and, you know, that's one of the reasons why I a lot of people do discredit the whole, and I I do agree some of the the traditional education stuff is pretty bad. But, you know, when you use the school as a as a platform, then I think the opportunities are endless because there's more people that are gonna have access to you to have a connection to a specific school like Baruch University or NYU or whatever, wherever you go, you'll know, you'll be able to attach yourself with something that, someone else can can know, like, and trust. Therefore, they transfer that energy to you.

Chris Albert 00:33:49 (link to this point)

Absolutely.

Robert Woods 00:33:50 (link to this point)

That's my thought process at least.

Chris Albert 00:33:52 (link to this point)

Absolutely. Let me ask you this.

Robert Woods 00:33:54 (link to this point)

Yeah.

Chris Albert 00:33:55 (link to this point)

Just considering the move to New York City and everything like that. We got a lot of veterans who listen to this who don't really wanna be within a 150 miles of a major city like New York, Los Angeles, or anything like that. Are there opportunities out there for people who who live in more suburban or rural areas as well?

Robert Woods 00:34:15 (link to this point)

Yeah. There's opportunities there, I think. But the the BAH is just gonna be a little bit less. And I think if you can live with that, then you'll be perfectly fine. I think the scale of it just depends on what your rent is and things like that.

But, you know, extra money is always good.

Chris Albert 00:34:35 (link to this point)

Yeah. And that's all scalable too. I mean, if you're living in if you're living in New York and you're paying $2,000 for rent, you you're living in a closet. Right? Pretty much.

Robert Woods 00:34:46 (link to this point)

Pretty much. Yeah.

Chris Albert 00:34:47 (link to this point)

But if you if you if you're paying, you know, $1,000 for rent in in some place in Kansas, it could be you'd living in a really nice place. I mean, it's it's all scalable.

Robert Woods 00:34:59 (link to this point)

Kansas, Denver, North Carolina, you know, the rent is lower. It's awesome.

Chris Albert 00:35:04 (link to this point)

Indiana, Tennessee, all those places. Great places too.

Robert Woods 00:35:07 (link to this point)

Exactly.

Chris Albert 00:35:08 (link to this point)

Exactly. And as far as cities and things like that, are there other cities out there that you think yield a lot of opportunity? And and, know, I was in Austin a few years ago, and that place looked like it's absolutely amazing. Are there any other cities on your radar as far as places that might yield a lot of a lot of opportunity for veterans?

Robert Woods 00:35:27 (link to this point)

From what I've seen, San Francisco, especially, you know, if you're a tech in that tech, the tech money there, San Francisco, I would say for sure. And Washington DC is also, is the number three yes. The number three, location for your, you know, to make the most, impact in terms of your BAH dollars. There's a lot of opportunities with the government as well, in that DC and Virginia area.

Chris Albert 00:35:57 (link to this point)

Really? That's that's pretty and there's a lot of places to live down there that don't necessarily you don't necessarily have to be in the middle of DC. They got a great great transit city great transit, system down there. I mean, from Alexandria, Maryland, all over the place. Right?

Robert Woods 00:36:14 (link to this point)

Crazy. Yeah. And the trains are super clean. I mean

Chris Albert 00:36:17 (link to this point)

Yeah. Was down there two weeks ago, and the trains were absolutely awesome.

Robert Woods 00:36:21 (link to this point)

It was like, this is beautiful. You know? And I was when I lived there ten years ago, it wasn't necessarily like that, so it was good to see it, change.

Chris Albert 00:36:30 (link to this point)

Definitely transitioned. I I was in I was staying in a place in not in Northwest. I was in Northeast, which Mhmm. You know, when I lived there ten ten, twelve, fifteen years ago, it was it was, you know, had problems walking down the street. Now it's it's it's it's a lot better, a whole lot better.

Robert Woods 00:36:50 (link to this point)

So Yeah. You know, that's a part of that g word that people don't like to say a lot of times, but, it's good. I think in a in a in a way,

Chris Albert 00:37:00 (link to this point)

it can be good.

Robert Woods 00:37:01 (link to this point)

Absolutely.

Chris Albert 00:37:02 (link to this point)

Absolutely. And, so the we talked about those areas. And, you know, what sectors in your mind do you think will have the most opportunity right now? Obviously, tech is one. Are there any others out there?

Robert Woods 00:37:17 (link to this point)

In my opinion, it's, finance and hospitality. I think that's where a lot of our our grit I think, you know, as a veteran, you have the transit the transferable skills to just get things done. And in finance and hospitality, that are really operations centric, and people centric, I think that's where I think the opportunity is. And, you know, in addition to that, the big banks really do want veterans. They have the veteran programs.

That was, actually a way for me to get into, the investment bank, that I worked at Guggenheim Partners, which has a great veteran transition assistance program. Then there's a Bank of America that has the VAP program, veteran associate program. I think PwC has one as well. So I think those opportunities are just fantastic for people that are interested in, you know, being the next Wolf of Wall Street. And then, in hospitality, you know, Hilton, all of those those hotels, they're always looking for top tier talent.

And I think it's important to try to go after those those two.

Chris Albert 00:38:25 (link to this point)

What types of careers within hospitality are there? Because it's always been a sector that, like, I look at seems pretty awesome, but, like, never really knew what types of careers existed in in that sector.

Robert Woods 00:38:39 (link to this point)

Yeah. So, you know, they'll they'll just call it operations, but, operations are, hospitality management. So, actually managing the facility on a day to day basis. And then on the corporate side, there's just so many, but, I think the the operations is is really what they typically call it, you know, operations analyst or or things like that.

Chris Albert 00:39:04 (link to this point)

Mhmm. And it's it's that that type of stuff definitely fills into the skill set of a lot of veterans organizing, managing, creating systems and things like that. Definitely big time there. And then on the finance side, are we talking like iBanking? Are we talking like investor relations?

What types of things are over there?

Robert Woods 00:39:26 (link to this point)

Yeah. So finance, it's usually investment banking. So, the the, the client facing roles, but I've also seen them, in something that I didn't really know about before, which is called, prime brokerage, which, is not necessarily well known, but they have a huge floor of people working hard every day in that sector as well. And then there's, you know, the traditional financial analysts, financial associate, then there's credit associates and things like that. So there's so many opportunities that I probably, you know, can't name them all, but I think if you really attack the veteran centric programs, you'll always end up hitting some people that you will click with and they might not it might not create an opportunity immediately, but if you just continue to connect with those people, which is it's a very tight knit community, in the the veteran finance sector, you you're you're bound to find something.

Chris Albert 00:40:28 (link to this point)

Absolutely. Again, it's about reaching out to people, getting to know people. You know, being likable and trustable is a huge factor in today's world. A huge it's always been a huge factor, but I think it's actually more important now than it ever was.

Robert Woods 00:40:45 (link to this point)

Yeah. Definitely. And, you know, I think that's another thing. I was actually watching the show, and this is no, I'm not making generalizations or anything, but sometimes people do think that, empathy is a character flaw. And I think that's one of the things that we have to realize, like, in in the military, it's just, like, get it done, you know, keep your bearing, shut up, do the work.

But, know, when you get on, you know, maybe a trading floor or another field of work, you know, people have feelings and people don't really wanna be talked to a certain way. So that's another that's like an adjustment that we all have to kinda have to make. I think it's just it's just one of those funny and interesting things that we just have to, be cognizant of.

Chris Albert 00:41:32 (link to this point)

Well, yeah, absolutely. I mean, it's it's about being able to understand people and read people and know where they're coming from. I mean

Robert Woods 00:41:39 (link to this point)

Exactly.

Chris Albert 00:41:40 (link to this point)

One one of the problems I ran into when I got onto a college campus was I've I've always been very direct. And when I it was actually a thing transitioning from the East Coast to the West Coast. Mhmm. Because, you know, those of us who grew up in the Northeast, we speak a certain way. We talk very fast.

Robert Woods 00:41:59 (link to this point)

Yep.

Chris Albert 00:42:00 (link to this point)

And we're pretty direct about what we have to say. But all in certain other parts of the country on the West Coast don't really nothing against people from California. I love California. I love California. But, you know, a lot of us from from the New York City area, we always rub people the wrong way.

Robert Woods 00:42:21 (link to this point)

Right.

Chris Albert 00:42:21 (link to this point)

So my my mother is from North Jersey. So she's she's extremely direct. Extremely direct.

Robert Woods 00:42:30 (link to this point)

Nice. She the accent too?

Chris Albert 00:42:34 (link to this point)

Strong accent. She never lost it. Strong accent. But yeah. Yeah.

She's she'll never leave that area. I don't think she's still in she's in Fairfield County, Connecticut. But Oh, nice. It's interesting. Well, Robert, man, I I really appreciate what you're doing here. I think it's a a great business to be in. How do people get in touch with you?

Robert Woods 00:42:56 (link to this point)

You can email me at robert@banneret.org, or, you know, of course, please follow me, on LinkedIn, or Instagram. In Instagram, I'm at robsangle. Not much not much, business content going on there, but, LinkedIn, definitely, reach out if you ever have any questions.

Chris Albert 00:43:16 (link to this point)

Yeah. We'll get all those links up on the show notes for this episode. And, is there anything you wanna end with?

Robert Woods 00:43:23 (link to this point)

Yeah. There's there's one thing. If there's anything that you wanna do, you can do it. I think, it's just a matter of just having a vision and applying yourself to that. There's a lot of things that we can all learn from each other.

So, you know, I'm really, appreciative of you, Chris, for having me on the show, and, thank you.

Chris Albert 00:43:46 (link to this point)

Absolutely. And and that's the thing. We're we're all on this path together. Every single one of us. And, you know, you can get a million people on social media telling you they got this car or that car.

They could get in front of their house or anything like that. And trust me, I've run into a lot of these people. I've gotten to know them. Most of that stuff is not real. Most of that stuff is not real.

Everybody's struggling in some way. Everybody is trying to get to a better place in some way. And don't let yourself be brought down by other people who wanna be negative, who wanna tear you down, and who wanna lie to your face too. So that's a big thing. And so, Robert, it's great that you're on the path.

I like love what you're doing here, and and people should definitely contact you and get to know you and and and try to get their their places of employment in on this program because it could mean a lot of good things for a lot of good people. So

Robert Woods 00:44:42 (link to this point)

Absolutely. And appreciate it. Thanks for having me.

Chris Albert 00:44:46 (link to this point)

Awesome. Well, thanks again, Robert. And everybody out there who's listening, get out there and live your best lives while you can.

Robert Woods 00:44:55 (link to this point)

Boom.