Why Veterans Make Great Business Owners (And Don't Know It)

I had super bad imposter syndrome when I got out of the Marine Corps.

Eighteen years in signals intelligence. Led over 600 analysts. Know the Marine Corps really well. Know nothing about business. Know nothing about anything else. How was I going to compete with people who actually went to business school, who grew up in entrepreneurial families, who had real experience?

Turns out I was asking the wrong question.

Ben Wespi spent 20 years in the Marine Corps before buying Ellington Industries, a mechanical insulation company in eastern North Carolina. Zero background in construction. Zero experience in mechanical insulation. When we sat down for The Owner's Playbook, he told me the same thing I'd felt: "I had super bad imposter syndrome."

But a year into running his company, Ben's learned something that I've seen over and over again talking to contractors and small business owners: the two things that matter most in business are leadership and creative problem-solving. Not industry expertise. Not an MBA. Not connections.

Leadership and creative problem-solving.

And veterans have been training in both for years.

The Skills You Already Have

"When you're in the military, you end up doing a lot of creative problem-solving because there's a lot of ridiculous stuff that pops up," Ben says. "And leadership's hard to come by. So don't discount the value of that experience."

That experience isn't just the good stuff. It's the bad stuff too. You've seen terrible leaders. You know exactly what not to do. I think that's actually the best learning experience—you see a lot of good examples and a lot more bad examples, and you just carry forward what works.

That's what makes us able to stick around long enough to retire from the military. And it's what makes us capable of running businesses.

Technical Expertise Can Be Hired

Ben didn't need to know how to wrap pipes and ducts. He needed to know how to lead the people who do.

"Technical expertise you can find. You can hire that," he explains. "If you're a skilled worker—a good plumber, a good electrician—you don't necessarily need to be a leader to be good at that trade. But when you get promoted into management positions, you might not have all the tools necessary to run a crew."

I've seen this exact dynamic play out. When I started my gym, I had no idea about running a gym or any of that stuff. But it worked because I could lead people, and the people who knew the technical side wanted to help.

That's what leadership does—it makes experts want to work with you. The guy who came up through the trades and now runs a crew? He might be an incredible technician and a mediocre manager. That's not a knock on him—he was never trained for it.

You were.

Leadership Pays Real Dividends

Ben shared a story that stuck with me. He recently hired several workers from a competitor who was struggling. These guys took a pay cut to come work for him.

Why? Because the other company's leadership was difficult. Workers didn't want to be there. So that company had to pay $3-4 more per hour just to keep people around.

"There's a premium that you get off of just being a good leader in this industry," Ben explains. "If you take care of the crew, they will make you money. But you need to show them and demonstrate to them that you actually care about them."

In the Marine Corps, this is drilled into you: mission first, Marines always. Take care of your people and they'll accomplish the mission. It's required in the military—there's not a choice. But in the civilian world, it's rare. And that makes it a competitive advantage.

I've talked to a lot of contractors who say keeping skilled workers is their biggest challenge. They always frame it as a compensation problem. But what Ben's proving—and what I believe—is that it's actually a leadership problem. Culture beats compensation.

The Imposter Syndrome Is Lying to You

Most veterans getting out don't feel like they have "tangible skills." They look at business owners and think they're missing something fundamental.

They're not.

"Leadership goes so far because it makes people that are experts want to help you," Ben observes. "There should be a lot more vet entrepreneurs. The skill set that you get from the Marine Corps in terms of leadership is what you need to run a business."

If you're a veteran thinking about starting or buying a business, here's the truth: you've already spent years developing the hardest skill to find. Everything else can be learned or hired.

Yes, it will be difficult. Ben doesn't sugarcoat that. "Know that it is not as easy as it looks. You're going to work hard."

But you'll figure it out. You'll adapt. You'll overcome.

You've done it before.

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Ben Wespi is the president and CEO of Ellington Industries, a mechanical insulation contractor serving eastern North Carolina. This article is based on his conversation on The Owner's Playbook podcast.