ERLANGER, Ky. — As dozens of veterans from across the country gathered last week for an intensive business bootcamp at the Disabled American Veterans headquarters in Erlanger, local small business owner Kisiah Cole was ready to build up her massage therapy practice.
Cole, who served in the Army National Guard, founded Calming Souls Massage with a mission to help people live pain-free. She attended the three-day Patriot Boot Camp to learn how to better run her business.
"I realized there was a demographic that really needed this help consistently, and those were athletes, you know, they're constantly beating their bodies up quite similar to how I did when I was in the army," Cole said.
The bootcamp, which has been running since 2012, addresses a unique challenge veterans face in entrepreneurship. Unlike traditional entrepreneurs who often start businesses in their 20s and 30s, many veterans were serving their country during those crucial years.
WATCH: Hear more about the bootcamp and how it's beneficial to veterans
"Veterans aren't traditional entrepreneurs. They were serving their country when a lot of people were starting their businesses. So this kind of levels the playing field for them," said Dan Clare, DAV spokesperson.
The program connects veterans with experienced CEOs who share their expertise and help participants avoid common early business mistakes.
"We get these CEOs who want them to avoid some of the mistakes they made early on, and it just kind of makes entrepreneurship accessible to these veterans who have served and sacrificed for the country," Clare said.
Air Force veteran and High Beam Marketing owner Chandler Lyles, who has mentored at the event multiple times, emphasized the importance of clarity in business planning.
"I think the best piece of advice for anybody out there looking to start their own business is to be really clear on who you serve and what problem you serve for them," Lyles said.
The bootcamp provides participants with actionable 30-day implementation plans designed to help them avoid becoming part of the 50% of businesses that close within their first five years.
"The plan these guys get here during this event is actually gonna help them avoid becoming just another statistic and actually help build the American economy going forward," Lyles said.
For Cole, military service taught her valuable lessons that translate directly to entrepreneurship.
"Definitely perseverance. I mean, being an entrepreneur, it's definitely challenging and it definitely pushes your limits for sure and forces you to be mentally strong," Cole said.
Her business, Calming Souls Massage, connects with other wellness organizations around the Tri-State area and provides educational services alongside massage therapy.
"It's very important that people know that being in pain doesn't have to be your norm, and we want people to do the things that they love pain free," Cole said.
The DAV's commitment extends beyond the three-day bootcamp, with participating CEOs continuing to mentor veterans for months or years after the initial program concludes.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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