“As a combat-trained pilot, I am always thinking, ‘Miles ahead of the jet.’”
—Riley Rees, U.S. Air Force Officer and Founder of Sofia Health
I served in the Air Force both as an enlisted Aeromedical Evacuation Technician and an Officer turned C-17 pilot before launching Sofia Health, an online health and wellness platform.
The military isn’t the first place that most people think of for entrepreneurial training, but as it turns out, this experience provided an elite and unique education that has provided core fundamentals I still use every day. The military has a proven track record of teaching leadership, strategic planning, creative problem-solving, task execution, and resiliency—all traits that are essential to running a business or building a startup.
Below, I’m sharing three major takeaways that helped me and can be translated to help any entrepreneur as they startup.
Takeaway #1: Prepare
Gather data, make decisions, be strategic.
In a startup, you are building a solution to a problem and you are in search of a scalable business model. There is no checklist that can guarantee success. Even if you have been successful in the past, when you start a new company, you are in uncharted territory. This can truly be scary when you are spending your valuable time, energy, and money.
But in order to be as successful as possible, do your homework and be prepared. You need to understand the environment into which you are trying to build, do your market research, and understand your customers' problems intimately.
As a combat-trained pilot, I am always thinking, “Miles ahead of the jet.” You need to know where you are, what your capabilities are, and be able to handle any threats that may or may not happen. As an Aircraft Commander on the C-17, I was responsible for flying into combat zones. People’s lives were in my hands. We could spend days planning for one single moment.
In the early stages of a startup, you need to do the same planning. It’s necessary to gather as much information as possible on users, the problem you are solving, the market, investors, competitors, and potential partners. This information and preparation serves as your foundation and will help guide your strategy and execution.
As a flying target, I needed to be ready to handle any situation inside or outside my jet. The key in any of these situations is preparation. We know that no matter what situation we are in, we are prepared to handle it.
Takeaway #2: Collaborate
To achieve a specific objective, it takes a team of people willing to give their best effort in alignment with the mission.
Military leaders are effectively running companies. You might have five people below you as a new Lieutenant and thousands as you progress in your career. This exposure to leadership inherently teaches you how to take a group of individuals with a diverse range of backgrounds and turn them into an effective unit.
When you launch a startup, one of the first things you can do before you bring on any members is to establish your mission statement. This sets the direction for your company and helps create cohesion. Even in the beginning, this ensures every member of your team, from volunteers to employees, understands your company’s objectives, goals, and values.
This simple task creates unity and helps each team member understand how they can contribute for maximum impact. You’ll find that your mission statement significantly increases teamwork, progress, and can even help ensure you hire people who are aligned with your core values.
Overall, establishing your mission statement will produce huge dividends for your company.
Takeaway #3: Persevere
Entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart.
Entrepreneurship requires unparalleled discipline, persistence despite challenges, and a special mental toughness that allows you to move from one failure to the next with positive, determined enthusiasm.
The military cultivates leaders who have the confidence to take risks. You are consistently pushed out of your comfort zone and develop a unique mental and physical toughness. Failure is not an option. Instead, you learn to figure it out. You become a disciplined, innate problem solver who is comfortable being “uncomfortable.”
When you launch a startup, you are going to face challenges. Every customer or user will not love your company and your alpha or beta product may not be the prettiest. The entire experience can be uncomfortable, but this is one of the most incredible learning experiences you can have.
To help overcome this, adopt a growth mindset, and keep going. Every single day you will be making astronomical progress, so don’t let any of the challenges get you down! The key to success is perseverance. As Wayne Gretzky has said, “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.”
About the Author: Riley Rees is a U.S. Air Force Officer. Soloing in an airplane before she was 18, she has flown a wide variety of civilian aircraft. She has flown the T-6, T-1, and the C-17 for the Air Force and most recently the B-757, B-767, B-777 for United Airlines. In 2019, with a mission of making holistic health and wellness care more accessible, Riley founded Sofia Health, an online platform making it easy to find, book, and connect to holistic health and wellness practitioners.
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