One of the superpowers of small business owners is often the ability to bring skills and ideas from one area of their lives into their products or services. Justin Bellamy is a great example of this and, today on the podcast, we talk to him about how he started TAC 11, a tactical gear manufacturing business, and the influence that his time in the military had on his entrepreneurial philosophy. In our chat, we get into some of the important moments in Justin’s journey and the learning process we go through as new business owners. Justin talks about a lot of things related to mindset and value, as well as how how prioritizes building the right kind of relationships to facilitate growth and success. We also hear about why he loves the entrepreneurial lifestyle and the irreplaceable feeling he gets from this type of work. Towards the end of the episode, Justin shares some of the more intimate moments from his time in the military in Iraq and how a particular series of events was actually turned into a docu-drama series by National Geographic, called The Long Road Home. To hear all this from Justin and get a dose of inspiration on finding a purpose in the working world, listen in with us today!
Key Points From This Episode:
- Snow versus heat; today’s icebreaker question with Justin!
- Justin’s personal background, time in the military, and path into entrepreneurship.
- The period Justin spent in car dealership and his natural affinity for sales.
- Difficult lessons and tricky transitions; some of the things that Justin had to go through early in his business journey.
- The value of finding the right people to help with the technical aspects when starting out.
- Justin comments on some of the issues with door-to-door sales and cold calls.
- The links between bad business practices and signs of personal unreliability.
- How Justin started TAC 11 and his important early contacts and contracts.
- The quality standards that Justin and TAC 11 require for their products.
- How the products needed in the early stages gave Justin a revenue bump during COVID!
- Thoughts on brick and mortar, stocking, and why Justin has gone the direct sales route.
- Customization options from TAC; Justin unpacks what is available when purchasing.
- Justin’s experiences in Baghdad that were turned into a National Geographic series.
- Some of the connections that Justin has maintained from his platoon and what these relationships mean to him.
- How he struggled at first to find purpose in his post-military life before starting his business.
- The proposed tag line for TAC 11 and how this ties into Justin’s business mentality.
Tweetables:
“The level of success that I have been able to have so far is because of people I know feel comfortable about recommending me and the brand, because they know I don’t waiver in certain areas, and they can trust that.” — Justin Bellamy [0:10:53]
“Growing as an individual has been huge to be able to maintain some of these relationships.” — Justin Bellamy [0:24:30]
“There is not a CEO or business owner out there that hasn’t had a failed business.” — Justin Bellamy [0:24:48]
“If you have no integrity, you have no relationships.” — Justin Bellamy [0:35:38]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
