Welcoming veterans

BY MEG MCSHERRY BRESLIN

Eric Rivera of West Chicago, a23-year U.S. Air Force veteranand now an Air Force reservist,

was called up in 2008 to serve as a lo-gistics commander in Afghanistan.Naturally, parting was a difficult mo-ment for him, his wife and his twoyoung children. But he went overseaswith one worry off his mind: Hewould have a job when he returned.

His employer, Sears Holdings Corp.,promises its employees in the armedforces that, regardless of economic or

any other circumstances, their jobswill be secure while they’re called upfor military duty. Sears also matchedhis pay while he wasaway and extendedhis benefits for up to60 months. His su-pervisor called Mr.Rivera’s home tocheck on the familywhile he was over-seas. And when Mr. Rivera returnedafter seven months, he was promoted.

“My supervisors were behind me100%,” says Mr. Rivera, 43, now the

project manager of inventory man-agement systems and support atSears’ Hoffman Estates headquarters.“The reason I’m still with Sears is thefact that they do support us 100% andthey really do listen to my needs.”

About 10% of Sears’ workforce—some 30,000 employees—is in thearmed forces, and the company hasbeen recognized by veterans groupsand human resources organizationsas a model military employer. Severalother major Illinois employers alsohave been recognized as leaders, in-cluding Aon Corp. of Chicago; Bloom-

ington-based State Farm Mutual Au-tomobile Insurance Co.; Navistar In-ternational Corp. of Warrenville;Chicago-based SeatonCorp., and J. P.Morgan Chase & Co., the largest bankoperating in Chicago.

Keeping positions open while em-ployees are on military duty presentsa challenge for the managers andpeers left behind—a difficulty largecorporations often find easier to ab-sorb than smaller employers. But lo-cal employers that have made acommitment to hiring and retainingmilitary veterans say the payoffsusually outweigh the difficulties.

“I’d been told what to do for 10 years. I thought maybe I’d try to do what I wanted to do.” Ryan Kuhlman, Page 27

MORE ONLINE

VETERANS IN THE WORKPLACE

See VETS on Page 22

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • NOVEMBER 7, 2011 21

Diehards How Sears is going the extramile for veterans.

Hiring our heroesSo many of those who haveserved are out of work.

ChicagoBusiness.com/veterans

Welcoming veterans homeSears, State Farm, Navistar and others show how to bring military veterans on board

ONLINE VIDEO:At a local job fair,employers scopefor veteran hires.ChicagoBusiness.com/veterans

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Eric Rivera says hisemployer, Sears Hold-ings Corp., supportedhim 100% when hewas called up by theAir Force Reserve in2008 to serve inAfghanistan.

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22 NOVEMBER 7, 2011 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS

“We’re currently hiring about10 veterans a day since March,”says a spokesman for J. P. Mor-gan Chase. “It’s just the rightthing to do given the huge sacri-fices our service members havemade for this country. But weknow that we’re also getting a lotout of it, given all of their skills.”

Corporate outreach to veter-ans lately has taken many forms:Some local companies havejoined forces with charities tobuild homes and support sys-tems for disabled veterans. Oth-ers have become more aggres-sive about hiring veterans, ap-pointing recruiters with the spe-cific task of reaching out to un-employed veterans or to thosejust returning from active duty.In other cases, companies areenhancing benefits for reservistsand National Guard members.Still others have launched men-torship programs so veterans inthe workforce can help thosejust starting their careers.

Despite these efforts, the un-employment rate for those whohave left service over the pastdecade is higher than the nation-al average. For veterans of Iraqand Afghanistan, unemploymentis in the double-digits, and insome states, such as Minnesota,it’s at nearly 20%, notes Kevin

Schmiegel, vice-president of vet-erans employment programs atthe U.S. Chamber of Commercein Washington, D.C.

Advocates say one of thebiggest reasons veterans strug-gle to find jobs is that they don’ttranslate for employers justhow their military experienceapplies to a corporate setting.

“They need to understand thevalue they bring and communi-cate their value,” says Jack Am-berg, senior director of veteransinitiatives at the Chicago-basedMcCormick Foundation. “At thesame time, we’ve got to educateemployers. I still get (employers)worrying” that veterans might notfit into their corporate culture.

Mr. Amberg says some employ-ers buy into stereotypes, believingthat veterans may be prone to vi-olence or may struggle with emo-tional baggage from their experi-ence. But he contends that veter-ans who have endured the ex-treme stress of a wartime situa-tion are well-suited to handle thedaily demands of a corporate job.

The Employer Support of theGuard and Reserve, a group setup by the Department of Defensein 1972 to work with civilian em-ployers to ease conflicts causedby an employee’s military com-mitment, recently stepped up itsefforts to help Illinois veteranswhose jobs disappeared in the

economic downturn. ESGR vol-unteer leaders are participating inmore local job fairs and helpingcoach veterans for job interviews.

“For a lot of the people who hadrecently been deployed, a lot ofthem returned home and didn’thave a job waiting for them,” saysretired Brig. Gen. Jay Sheedy, whocommanded three Illinois Na-tional Guard units and is now em-ployee outreach chairman for theIllinois ESGR Committee.

The U.S. Chamber is makingsimilar moves, forming a nation-al veterans employment advisorycouncil to highlight the bestpractices of companies likeSears, Seaton, Chase and StateFarm, which are effectively re-cruiting and retaining veterans.The council is putting a specialemphasis on mentoring.

Vets welcomed home to workVETS from Page 21

PERCENTAGE OF UNEMPLOYED ADULTS

TOUGH TIMES

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Other service periods

Iraq, Afghanistan era (Sept. 11, 2001-present)

Gulf War era (1990-August 2001)

World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War

All veterans

Non-veterans9.4%

8.7%

8.3%

7.7%

11.5%

8.4%

◗ Be aggressive about recruiting veter-ans. David Dahler, director of human re-sources at Chicago-based Aon Corp., saysthe company is a leader in the nationalWounded Warrior Project, which supportsinjured veterans and connects them withjobs. Aon has sponsored several WoundedWarrior events around the country, invitingdozens of other companies to take part.

“We had a Wounded Warrior event herein Chicago, and we brought disabled veter-ans and other veterans here,” Mr. Dahlersays. “We showed them how to rewrite theirrésumés, with the help of an outplacementcompany. We know that we can take thegreat skills they bring from the military andconvert those skills and accomplishmentsto what companies are looking for.”

The Wounded Warrior work promptedAon to think harder about other oppor-tunities it could offer veterans. Aon hassince relocated its crisis managementcenter to Chicago. All the employeesmanaging that call center are veterans,including many who were wounded whilein the service.

At Warrenville-based Navistar Interna-tional Corp., veterans make up close to20% of the workforce in the defense divi-sion. The company attends job fairs and en-gages in other efforts to find veteran candi-dates. “We work with the Wounded WarriorProject and Operation Support Our Troops,and we’re connecting all the time with vet-eran-friendly groups,” says Mike Macko, aNavistar recruiter. “We want to target thefolks in this area and get them hired.”

◗ Beware of stereotypes. Jack Amberg,senior director of veterans programs at

the McCormick Foundation, served 26years in the U.S. Army, including as direc-tor of U.S. Army Public Affairs for the Mid-west. He says veterans and employershave some work to do in confronting vet-eran unemployment.

“Veterans need to understand thevalue they bring and communicate thatvalue,” Mr. Amberg says. “At the sametime, we need to educate employers. Istill get people worrying, ‘Are they goingto go postal on me?’ . . .There’s a cultur-al stigma out there.”

◗ Create a resource group to give vetssupport and advice. At Aon, the resourcegroup not only mentors military employ-ees but also works with the company’s re-cruiting team to find other great job candi-dates. “It’s a group that has been throughthe same kinds of experiences, and theycan really help each other navigate thecorporate world,” Aon’s Mr. Dahler says.

◗ When sponsoring a job fair, have realjobs to fill; veterans should be pre-pared. Kim White, director of the Commu-nity Career Center in Naperville, had atleast 80 employers commit to an Octoberjob fair for veterans, but she insisted thatthe companies have real jobs to offer. Thecenter also offered résumé-writing andjob-searching tips to the veterans before-hand so they would come prepared to im-press. “They have to be ready to translatehow working in Afghanistan has helpedthem, and how they can now lead peopleat a civilian company,” Ms. White says.

Meg McSherry Breslin

Looking to recruit vets? Some HR how-tos

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • NOVEMBER 7, 2011 23

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Showingveteransthe ropesAon program aims to ease the transition

Matthew Kirschenman was aU.S. Marine intelligence spe-cialist in Asia and the MiddleEast for five years, helping facili-tate the first democratic elec-tions in Iraq and earning medalsfor his leadership and drive.

But when it came to knowingwhat to say and do for a job in-terview backin the U.S., hewas at a loss.

“I never hada corporatejob,” says Mr.Kirschenman,29. “I neededsomeone to translate what mymilitary experiences meant . . .and show me how to dramaticallyimprove my résumé and inter-viewing skills.”

That person was Andrew Miller,director of global marketing atChicago-based Aon Corp. and amentor at New York-based Amer-ican Corporate Partners, a nation-al program that helps veteranstransition from the military to thecorporate world through mentor-ing, career counseling and net-working. Aon, one of dozens ofcompanies involved with ACP,has about 50 employees workingas mentors.

Military advocates say pro-grams like ACP can be invalu-able in getting unemployed orunderemployed veterans on theright career track after theirservice. Mr. Kirschenman, now agraduate student at the Univer-sity of Chicago’s Harris Schoolof Public Affairs, says Mr.Miller’s advice clearly helpedhim secure offers, including forhis current job as an intern inthe government affairs office atJ. P. Morgan Chase & Co. inChicago. The two interacted somuch that they’re now friends.

“I’m very passionate aboutsupporting those who’ve servedour country,” Mr. Miller says.“These are people who’ve sacri-ficed a lot . . . and I absolutelyfeel it’s my duty to help them.”

Meg McSherry Breslin

Since complet-ing his servicein the U.S. Marine Corps,MatthewKirschenman,left, has beenmentored byAndrew Miller,an Aon Corp.executive.

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ONLINE VIDEO:How one vetturned a coach’swords into action.ChicagoBusiness.com/veterans

AMERICA’S VETERANS—WE SALUTE YOULe

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26 NOVEMBER 7, 2011 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS

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BY ROBERT LOERZELMilitary boot camps aren’t

designed to turn out entrepre-neurs. Those young men andwomen in uniform are beingtrained to follow orders, not tostart a business.

Yet, many veterans say theirmilitary experiences instilled inthem discipline and drive—qual-ities that came in handy whenthey got out of the armed forcesand became entrepreneurs.

“The experience you get in themilitary is very fast-moving, withlots of responsibility,” saysRichard Gengler, 38, a veteranwho is CEO of Prevail Health So-lutions LLC in Chicago. “It makesyou think quickly on your toes.”

Gerald Paulsen, 54, a veteranwho owns Paulsen ProductionsInc. in Elgin, concurs: “Whatyou get there is priceless to usethe rest ofyour life.”

And whilethe military isall about thechain of com-mand, manyveterans say they are ready towork outside a command struc-ture. In the business world, theycan be an “Army of One,” to bor-row the old recruiting slogan.“You don’t need someone to con-stantly tell you what to do,” saysveteran Marty Pickering, 43, own-

er of DinPak Packaging Solutionsin Bolingbrook. “The militaryhelped motivate me to be a self-motivated person.”

U.S. veterans are more likelythan average to become businessowners, according to a 2011 studycommissioned by the U.S. SmallBusiness Administration. But the

study found no clear explanationfor why. One educated guess fromthe study’s authors: “After years offollowing orders, the prospect ofbeing one’s own boss may be anattractive proposition.”

According to the Bureau of La-bor Statistics, 7.1% of all employed

veterans in the U.S. were self-em-ployed in 2010, compared with6.3% for people without militaryservice. The numbers vary de-pending on era of service. Morethan 10% of employed veteranswho served in Vietnam and earlierwars are self-employed. But thatfigure is just 2.1% for veterans whoserved after 2001.

“Most of the younger kids com-ing out today don’t have the finan-cial resources to start a business,”says Mr. Paulsen, who served inthe 1980s and early ’90s. “They’rejust trying to survive in the econo-my. They don’t have enough timeto think about how much capital ittakes to start a business.”

One younger veteran, RyanKuhlman, 29, owner of QualityCar Center in Buffalo Grove, sayshis buddies from the Iraq warsometimes ask him if they shouldbecome entrepreneurs, too. “I tellthem, if you’re doing somethingto get rich quick, it’s not going tohappen,” he says. “Everything hasto come out of your pocket. It’s atough economy to do anything. Ifyou really want to do somethingand you have an idea, put in thetime and research.”

RESOURCE GUIDEResources for starting busi-

nesses—counseling, set-asidesfor government contracts, spe-cial loan guarantees—are avail-able to veterans of all ages. Thatdoesn’t mean it’ll be easy. Likeanyone launching a business,veterans face the challenge ofgetting financing.

The SBA guarantees somebusiness loans for veterans, butit’s the bank’s call whether tomake those loans, explains SteveKonkle, a veterans business de-velopment specialist at the SBAin Chicago: “The banker ulti-mately makes the decision.”

Veterans who are thinkingabout a business loan can get ad-vice at Small Business Develop-ment Centers around the Chica-go area, including at GovernorsState University.

“Our role here is basically toscrub somebody up pretty good,”says Bob Rakstang, who overseesthe program at Governors State.“I’m reasonably blunt. You’drather have me be blunt with youfor free than get turned down for aloan. We look for what’s missingin a financial plan and help aclient really understand what theyneed to do to be bank-ready.”

Not all veterans are ready tobe entrepreneurs; some face dif-ficulties adjusting to civilian life.But Mr. Rakstang, who is a Viet-nam veteran, says he hasn’t en-countered Iraq and Afghanistanveterans whose combat experi-ences are hindering them fromgoing into business.

DinPak’s Mr. Pickering is con-fident that many of his fellowveterans will become fellow en-trepreneurs.

“I do believe there are a lot ofgreat men and women who cur-rently serve in all of the branch-es who you will see becomemovers and shakers in entrepre-neurism,” he says.

Some vets plunge into entrepreneurship

An Air Force MP for 10 years, RyanKuhlman says, “I couldn’t be a cop anymore,” due to an injury while in the service. So he bought a business,Quality Car Center in Buffalo Grove.

“THE MILITARY HELPED MOTIVATE METO BE A SELF-MOTIVATED PERSON.”

Marty Pickering, owner, DinPak Packaging Solutions

PERCENTAGE OF SELF-EMPLOYED ADULTS Excludes agriculture

SELF-STARTERS

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Other service periods

Iraq, Afghanistan era (Sept. 11, 2001-present)

Gulf War era (1990-August 2001)

World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War

All veterans

Non-veterans6.3%

7.1%

10.9%

3.8%

2.1%

7.7%

A new twist on the ‘Army of One’

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • NOVEMBER 7, 2011 27

© 2011 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved.

*G.I. Jobs Magazine

AT&T salutes veteransMore than 800,000 veterans call Illinois home. And for more than 85 years, AT&T has remained dedicated to supporting active military personnel, their families and veterans.

Our support of the Army Reserve

Employer Partnership, the Army

Career and Alumni Program

and Army Spouse Employment

Partnership are just a few reasons

why AT&T is one of the Top 50 Most

Military-Friendly Employers.*

No longer taking ordersRyan Kuhlman, a military police officer in the U.S.

Air Force for 10 years—including five tours of duty inIraq—says he was ready to do something that didn’tinvolve being ordered around.

“I’d been told what to do for 10 years,” he says. “Ithought maybe I’d try to do what I wanted to do.”

Mr. Kuhlman, 29, is service-disabled, with a footinjury from a vehicle accident that limits whatjobs he can do. “I couldn’t be a cop anymore,” hesays, so he decided to start his own business.

In 2009, Mr. Kuhlman and his father, Bob, boughtQuality Car Center, an auto repair shop and carwash in Buffalo Grove. “I own well over half, buthe’s a partner of mine and a big supporter,” Mr.Kuhlman says. “I don’t think I could’ve done it

without him. He has a great network. He knew a lotof people who were instrumental in helping putthis together.” Mr. Kuhlman used a small-businessloan to get started, but, he says, getting the loan“had nothing to do with me being a veteran.”

Mr. Kuhlman says his military background pre-pared him for dealing with the stresses that comewith being a business owner. As he oversees nineemployees, he sometimes has to remind himselfthat he isn’t in the Air Force anymore.

“I’ve got to realize that my guys are not in themilitary and they’re not troops,” he says, laughing.“You can only put so much on them.”

Robert Loerzel

A startup that aims to give a helping handJO

HN R

. BOE

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After flying F/A 18 Hornet fighterjets in Iraq for the U.S. Navy,Richard Gengler started a Chicagobusiness that helps other veterans.

Prevail Health Solutions LLC,where Mr. Gengler is CEO, is cre-ating a new way for veterans to getmental-health treatment. Its web-site allows them to remain anony-mous as they describe their prob-lems and ask questions.

“The majority don’t seek anycare,” says Mr. Gengler, 38. ForPrevail, he says, “the drivingmotivation is we’re going to dosomething that’s going to help a

lot of people who need it.”Mr. Gengler was a lieutenant

commander when he left theNavy in 2006 after 10 years of serv-ice. He’d flown planes into com-bat from the deck of the USS Con-stellation. His next step was earn-ing an MBA at the University ofChicago, where he used the GI Billto cover some of his costs. Helaunched Prevail in 2008 with thehelp of the Patriot Express pro-gram, a Small Business Adminis-tration loan program that helpsveterans and service members se-cure low-interest loans.

Last year, Prevail received a$500,000 grant from the NationalScience Foundation’s Small Busi-ness Innovation Research Pro-gram. It’s still developing its on-line platform for providing men-tal-health assistance, but about2,000 veterans have used a pilotversion. Mr. Gengler believes histraining as a fighter pilot helpshim run his nine-employee start-up. “You have to be able to ma-neuver quickly, change coursefast, think quickly,” he says.

Robert Loerzel

VETS AS ENTREPRENEURS

28 NOVEMBER 7, 2011 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS

Building a business, as well as a reputation Cleaning upset-asides

Federal law gives companies ownedby service-disabled and other veteransan advantage in securing governmentcontracts.

Like other set-aside programs, thisone has struggled with fraud. In 2010,Congress passed a law requiring theU.S. Department of Veterans Affairs toverify whether the companies in itsdatabase are in fact controlled by veterans.

In an audit released last summer,the VA’s inspector general reportedthat 76% of the businesses it exam-ined were ineligible. Some were notcontrolled by veterans, while otherspassed on too much subcontract workto businesses not veteran-owned.

Businesses listed in the VetBiz.govdatabase were required to submit ap-plications for verification. More than8,000 firms did not respond and wereremoved from the list. The VA verifiedthat 2,000 firms were veteran-ownedand denied the applications for another1,600. VA officials have vowed to makethe registry more trustworthy.

Meanwhile, Gov. Pat Quinn signed alaw on Aug. 5 dictating that the stateseek to spend 3% of every contractbuying goods and services from vet-eran-owned small businesses. GeraldPaulsen, 54, a veteran who ownsPaulsen Productions Inc., an Elginpresentation training firm, says hecalled legislators and urged them towrite the law so that it included allveterans. An earlier draft coveredjust service-disabled veterans, mir-roring a similar federal law.

“I said, ‘Wait a minute. A veteran’sa veteran, whether he’s service-disabled or not. So make it inclusivefor all veterans,’ ” Mr. Paulsen says.

Robert Loerzel

David Rambhajan has been inthe construction business for 18years, but he says his Chicagofirm, Industria Inc., really startedgrowing about six years ago, whenhe learned about the contracts hecould get by citing his status as aservice-disabled veteran.

Mr. Rambhajan, 45, whoserved in the Marine Corps Re-serve from 1984 to 1992, saysmost people would look at himand say he’s able-bodied. That’show he thinks of himself, too.

“My ankle clicks now becauseof something that happened,” hesays. “I said, ‘Big deal. Life goeson.’ ” But other veterans told himhe should get certified as service-disabled, and he finally agreed.

That status has helped Indus-tria land government contractson projects such as VA hospi-tals, but Mr. Rambhajan says hestill has to prove that his com-pany can get the job done.

When Industria began seekingmore government contracts, ithad to get bonding, insurance incase a contractor doesn’t finish ajob. At first, Industria got only$500,000. “I said, ‘Are you kid-ding me? These projects are big-ger,’ ” Mr. Rambhajan recalls.Now, Industria has bonding of$40 million, he says.

Last year, Industria had rev-enue of $8 million and was prof-itable. When a larger construc-tion company talks about usingIndustria on a project, Mr.Rambhajan says he tells themain contractor: “Hey, we’re aconstruction services firm. Wehappen to be veteran-owned.We happen to be minority.Whatever. If that helps you withsome goals, great. But we’d liketo win your business because ofthe value we bring to the table.”

Robert Loerzel

JOHN

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David Rambhajan’s status as a service-disabled vet gives his company, Industria Inc., an edge in winning government contracts.

When Gerald Paulsen started hisbusiness in 1994, he didn’t know any-thing about programs that help entre-preneurs get started. “I couldn’t evenspell ‘entrepreneur,’ ” he jokes.

Mr. Paulsen, 54, is an Army veteranwho’s also worked as a suburban po-lice officer. His tasks for the police in-cluded speaking atschools about thedangers of drugabuse. That gavehim the idea for abusiness: givingsimilar presenta-tions for profit.“Well, that was probably one of thedumbest ideas I ever had,” Mr.Paulsen says, “because schools don’thave a lot of money.”

He tweaked the idea, looking at cor-porations instead of schools as his po-tential clients. Based in Elgin, PaulsenProductions Inc. provides companieswith training in presentation andcommunication skills. With Mr.Paulsen serving as president andCEO, it now has more than 50 em-ployees. “Not too bad for a cop,” hesays, declining to discuss company

revenue. He recently started a secondbusiness, Guam Business DiscoveryTrips, which helps businesses find op-portunities in Guam, where Mr.Paulsen lives for five or six monthseach year.

“I credit the military with me beingsuccessful: the training, the disci-pline, the work ethic,” he says. “Whatyou get there is priceless to use therest of your life.”

Mr. Paulsen has benefited from pro-grams that assist veteran-owned busi-nesses, such as the Procurement Tech-nical Assistance Centers, which helpwith government contracts. “We’veridden out every storm, partly becausewe diversified,” he says. “We didn’t putall our eggs into one basket. We’ve gotcorporate contracts, federal contractsand international contracts.”

Mr. Paulsen lobbies and speaks forveterans, serving on the board of theU.S. Assn. of Veterans in Business.“Veterans never left a brother or a sis-ter on the battlefield,” he says. “Now,we can’t leave them on the battlefieldof business.”

Robert Loerzel

“WE DIDN’T PUTALL OUR EGGSINTO ONEBASKET. WE’VEGOT CORPORATECONTRACTS,FEDERALCONTRACTSANDINTERNATIONALCONTRACTS.”

Gerald Paulsen,

owner, Paulsen

Productions Inc.

‘I credit the military with me being successful’

ONLINE ONLY: A list of resourcesfor veterans en-tering entrepre-neurship. ChicagoBusiness.com/veterans

In the 28 years since she leftthe U.S. Army, Bobbi Martinezhas raised four children, runher own beauty salon and soldcars. With her children all fin-ishing college and leavinghome, she decided to go backinto business for herself.

Ms. Martinez and a businesspartner, Brett Chaveriat, startedFirstLight HomeCare this yearin Arlington Heights. It’s thefirst Illinois franchise of a com-pany providing non-medicalcare for senior citizens and oth-ers who need assistance to stayin their homes.

“I was looking forsomething where Icould make a differ-ence in people’slives,” she says. “Iwanted a missionand not just a job.”

Ms. Martinezsays she received assistance tostart her franchise, which hasyet to turn a profit, from Vet-Fran, an International Fran-chise Assn. program for veter-ans. Opening a franchise, witha national company’s frame-

work already in place, was easi-er than starting a business fromscratch, she says.

Although she’s been out ofthe Army for years, Ms. Mar-tinez says she still benefits fromthe focus and discipline shelearned in basic training. Afterenlisting in 1979, Ms. Martinezwas selected to serve in thePresidential Honor Guard, pro-tecting Presidents Jimmy Carterand Ronald Reagan at events inWashington.

“I suppose this gave me agreater sense of responsibilityto serve others,” she says. “At

the end of the day, I could lookback and say I made a differ-ence.” And Ms. Martinez saysshe feels that way about herwork today.

Robert Loerzel

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • NOVEMBER 7, 2011 29

STEP

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‘I wanted a missionand not just a job’

Although he isn’t in the Armyanymore, Marty Pickering stilluses a bit of military jargonwhen he discusses his busi-ness. He talks about “forcemultipliers.”

In the military, “force multi-pliers” are factors that boost acombat mission’s odds of suc-cess. As the sole proprietor ofDinPak Packaging Solutions inBolingbrook, Mr. Pickering, 43,keeps his eye on force multipli-ers like low overhead costs.

The business name also re-flects his military attitude: “Din”stands for “Do it now.” Mr. Pick-ering says his Army experiencesfilled him with a sense of loyal-ty, respect and honesty, quali-ties that help him win the trustof customers buying the pack-aging products he sells.

“It’s about being honest withyour customers,” he says. “Ifyou are, then they will be long-

term customers.”Mr. Pickering served in the

Army from 1987 to 1991, thenre-enlisted in 1993, serving inthe Gulf War. When he retiredin 2009, he was feeling an entre-preneurial spirit, in spite of thebad economy. He was aware ofprograms that help veteransobtain business loans but de-cided not to go that route.

“I keep the margins tight,”says Mr. Pickering, who runsDinPak with his wife, Roseanne.“I did not want to go into debtfor a large inventory of productsthat I may or may not have abuyer for.”

So far, he says, the companyis doing well. He declines to dis-close revenue, but says, “I’mvery pleased with where we’reat and I’m optimistic that we’llcontinue to grow.”

Robert Loerzel

Seeing biz through a military lens

Bobbi Martinez, right, owner of FirstLight HomeCare, and one of her care coordinators, Ju-lia Capozzoli, meet a prospective client, Alice Hughes, in her home. ONLINE VIDEO: Bobbi Martinez tells her entrepreneurial tale. ChicagoBusiness.com/veterans

“AT THE END OF THE DAY, I COULDLOOK BACK AND SAY I MADE ADIFFERENCE.”

Bobbi Martinez, FirstLight HomeCare