Empowering Veteran-Owned Businesses: Rebecca Aguilera-Gardner's Vision of Growth and Gratitude

Embark on a journey of transformation and triumph with Rebecca Aguilera-Gardner, the driving force behind the Veterans in Business Network. In a heartening discussion, Rebecca reveals how her evolution from working in a family business to empowering veteran-owned businesses has created a ripple effect of success across communities. Our dialogue traverses the landscape of veteran entrepreneurship, shedding light on how free resources and a robust directory, fostered by the generosity of corporate sponsorships, are leveling the playing field for these tenacious business owners. As Rebecca shares anecdotes of veteran businesses flourishing and giving back, it's evident that the support of such enterprises extends beyond commerce—it's a heartfelt thank you to those who've served.

During this episode, we peel back the layers of strategic mastery that have bolstered the network's growth, with a nod to Six Sigma methodologies' lean, mean efficiency. The Veterans in Business Network's agile leap to digital prominence amidst the pandemic is a testament to the visionary leadership and resilience that Rebecca brings to the table. The conversation further explores the utility of visualization tools and the vital role of business coaching, demonstrating how emotional intelligence intertwines with strategic foresight to propel any organization forward. As Rebecca imparts her final thoughts, she leaves us with a compelling charge: to seek out and engage with veteran-owned businesses actively, ensuring that our gratitude for their service isn't just lip service—it's a lived experience.

Rebecca Aguilera-Gardiner
CEO of Veterans In Business (VIB) Network and Vice President of Diego & Son Printing (SDVOSB/DVBE)
linkedin.com/in/rebeccavibn (LinkedIn)
Email: rebecca@diegoandson.com

Websites

• Company: Son Printing diegoandson.com 
• Company: (VIB) Network vibnetwork.org 
• (VIB Network Conference ) vibconference.com

TalkStory Promo Intro

Chapters

• 0:03 Pathways to Success for Veteran Businesses
• 16:47 Strategic Planning for Change and Growth
• 31:47 Supporting Veteran Businesses

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:03

Trends, current affairs and pathways to success. On Talk Story Business Edition podcast. On this podcast, austin Biak, an award-winning mortgage real estate guru, and William P2, a modern-day urban Robinhood, share and simplify the latest research and best practices from award-winning business owners, entrepreneurs and professionals to educate and empower you on how to make money, save money and compound the interest of earned revenue to thrive, happier, healthier and improve your business practices for greater, efficient impact. The end result is that you understand alternative pathways to roads less traveled to success that the daring duo share on the show. Together with Ignite San Diego, sparked by the BBB, we resolve the challenges and obstacles of growing a successful business to be victorious in a new era of innovation. This production is supported by the Better Business Bureau National Referral Network, countywide Mortgage Lending, business Group Resources and Kaizen Group International.

Speaker 2: 1:16

Welcome to another edition of Talk Story, media Business Edition. Today we have a special guest who is aligned with our veteran community. She'll be talking about her up-and-coming events and how you all can participate. Her name is Rebecca and, rebecca, you have a hyphen in your name, rebecca.

Speaker 3: 1:41

I do. I do, Rebecca, you let a gardener yes, awesome.

Speaker 2: 1:46

Can you share a little bit about yourself and give your 30-second elevator speech?

Speaker 3: 1:52

Sure, no problem. So I'm Rebecca Aguleta Gardner. I am the CEO and co-founder for Veterans and Business Network. I am not a veteran. I come from a family of veterans. My dad was a Korean War veteran, my brother was in the Air Force, a service-disabled veteran, and I actually come from a family business, a printing business in San Diego, and I used to do the sales and marketing for our family printing business and part of my project was the certifications for the business. So with that I was able to with our service-disabled certification, I was able to win contracts with CVS, pharmacy, metlife, sdg&e, southern California Edison and a lot more because of that certification. So with that kind of knowledge we started the VIB network.

Speaker 2: 2:51

Wow, and from your accolades that I read, you've taken your organization to new heights in such a small amount of time, which is great. What do you think attributes to the growth factor in all that?

Speaker 3: 3:09

I think that because we Cole, who also is the other co-founder for the VIB network, cole Woodman I think we come from a perspective of actual business owners and when we started the organization, we started with what did we need? What were we struggling with? So I think a lot of veteran business owners really resonates with them because we don't think about, oh, what do they need? It was always how is this affecting us as the veteran business community? And one of the things that I think has actually helped us grow is because we have a directory that is free for veterans to join, thanks to our corporate members, who are our corporate sponsors that support us, so we're able to offer the directory and a really robust website and webinars offer free thanks to our corporate members. But we were noticing when we were in business that every time you wanted to be part of a directory or if you wanted to do any outreach or profile, it was always costing an outrageous amount of money, and it's small business. Sometimes you can't always afford. Even $500 could be a lot if you're struggling, and so we wanted to make something that was affordable, because we're also hearing on the other end, the corporations continue saying I can't find somebody for this project? Where are the veterans and services able veteran businesses? So we didn't want that financial burden to be on the veteran businesses so I think that really has resonated with a lot of veteran business owners as well as corporations and government agencies looking for these veteran businesses.

Speaker 2: 5:11

That's so wonderful. You're giving so much to the community In your path to prosperity. Can you account for a moment when an act of giving not only transformed your life but also created a ripple effect of abundance in the lives of others?

Speaker 3: 5:29

I think being part of a nonprofit is very different from being a business owner, because it's all about giving, it's all about the community, and I think for us, it's about making sure that veterans are getting those opportunities to connect. And for us, whenever we hear a veteran who want a contract because of a connection that we helped them establish, and whenever we hear that they learned something new and now they're running more efficiently, I think that is really for us. For them it's a game changer, but for us it really helps us know that we're on the right track. And that ripple effect is when they win these contracts. It directly affects their employees and the business.

Speaker 3: 6:27

I know from a small business owner when we would win these contracts. We went from a one eight-hour shift shop to a 24-hour shift shop, and these are real game changers. We're hiring people, we have more people on staff, our employees are buying cars and houses, and I think that really is one of the things that is most gratifying is when you hear a small business that is actually winning these opportunities and winning these contracts, that they are continually growing and and and showing us that they're able and capable of winning these large contracts, and we can just celebrate them and and these wonderful wins.

Speaker 2: 7:20

That's so awesome. So how can our audience harness this power of giving to initiate similar positive cycles of prosperity?

Speaker 3: 7:29

I think the thing is, um, well, first of all, for your audience, you know, giving veteran businesses an opportunity to bid on contracts. You know kind of large and small. You know we have a variety of veteran businesses in our. We have over 2,800 veterans in our directory nationwide. Um, I think you know thinking about a veteran business. You know these are veterans and this is their second career. You know their first career is within the, the military, and now they're coming out and so so they may be starting at an older age. So, you know, when you're thinking about Hiring somebody for a project, you know I I would like people to think about the veteran business community and how they have sacrificed for our country and giving back and thinking about them for these variety of opportunities.

Speaker 2: 8:26

That's great, that is wonderful. Yes you know, we often thank our, our, our military personnel for their service, but I think showing them the gratitude is even more purposeful. So, um, in taking action, uh, for achievement, in pursuing achievement, are there any defining moments that often recur in your path to Help succeed a company?

Speaker 3: 8:55

Uh, I, think for for when, when we started the vib, we were part of another organization and I think you know, one of the the pivotal moments for us is we wanted to make some changes To support the veteran business community. We saw that there were changes. You know, veterans wanted to be, we wanted to be um, we wanted to connect with the, the younger veterans or the more savvy veterans who are owning businesses that you know are running. They're these companies and we felt that there wasn't anything out there, even the organization we belong to, um. We needed to update Then the narrative of a veteran business. So, um, that's when Cole and I decided you know what, let's try this. All we can do is lose time and money. So let's, let's try this and Um, but we had a lot of, both of us had a lot of experience, uh.

Speaker 3: 9:59

So when we started the the vibe network, we left the other organization, uh, and started the the vibe network, and so I think, taking that leap ourselves, uh, because we both are not non-profit people, you know, we are business owners, all about, you know, the bottom line. So I think we came into this nonprofit kind of with that, you know, with that mindset as well. Like you know, we only knew how to run businesses. So we, we started off running the Non-profit like a business. We're like, okay, these things need to be done. This is how we need to, you know, handle this. And, uh, you know, we started off even our first year. Our first year we launched in late december. By January we had our website up. By April we were launching our directory on our website. And then by that End of that year, in november, we had our first national conference with over 250 people attending.

Speaker 2: 11:02

Congratulations yeah.

Speaker 3: 11:04

Thank you, thank you, but we were, we were on a mission to, you know, really Um make this successful and to prove that we were, that we were hitting the right Mark with the veteran business community and and so far it's been, it's been great and they have, uh, the veteran business community has really Uh accepted us and see the value and see the connections that we are trying to um Just not give them, but trying to connect them with.

Speaker 2: 11:38

Okay, and and how? How can we transfer this to the business owners that are listening? How can our, our audience experience and overcome their barriers of success?

Speaker 3: 11:51

I think, probably always, you know, I think one of the things is always people want to stay with the status quo and In business, I know, you know, trying to get out of a rut is always one of the hardest things, that Most people have a hard time.

Speaker 3: 12:10

If it's working great, you know why would I want to change it? But there is always things that need to be adjusted and changed, you know, and so I think, for for us, you know, starting to be I be, was it was a big change for us. And then every year we try to make improvements and add new programs and try to change our conference, and I think it's just taking that, that leap and trying it and, and you know, sometimes it doesn't work out, you know. So, you know, you, but you, you know, you just, you take it in baby steps, you're taking the strides. You learn, if it doesn't work out, why didn't work out? You know, examine that and then, and then try to get in a different way if it's still not working out, that maybe it's just not supposed to work out. But you know, I think, if we don't try, even in our businesses, to keep on evolving, I think you, we get in a rut and we get it stuck.

Speaker 2: 13:14

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Speaker 2: 13:59

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Speaker 2: 15:03

So what are you waiting for? Register with the council for supplier diversity today and unlock a world of possibilities. Get more information and get registered at council for supplier diversity, or it's your ticket to verification, referrals, networking and so much more. Don't miss out on this golden opportunity. Take action now and watch your business soar. That leads me to our next question. You know education is a continuous process and learning is often a catalyst for personal and personal, personal and Professional growth. Can you describe a moment when a specific piece of knowledge or profound Insight gained from learning changed your course in your life and business?

Speaker 3: 15:54

Oh yeah. So when I was when we first started this I think we were about a year or two into the VIB we I had heard about a Lean six sigma class for social impact Processes and procedures and so so I was intrigued and it was I had to. You know, I applied for the scholarship. I think maybe we were even just a year old and I applied for the scholarship and I got a scholarship to attend USD Lean six sigma nonprofit workshop and it was probably one of the best things I did, because what it did it Kind of broke down everything that we were doing into processes and procedures, that everything can be broken down to be becoming more efficient.

Speaker 3: 16:47

So we had a For our directory. We had this old process that we kind of just piece together when we were starting the organization and that was my project. It was to get the directory up to Efficient, to becoming really efficient, getting people in our directory and verified as quickly as possible. So we had to break that down from the very beginning and see how we can change that process. But that we go with. We do that with everything now that we do for the VIB.

Speaker 3: 17:20

We have a tactical networking. We broke that down to Processes. Okay, so we need to sign people up. This is the process, this is the procedures, this is how we're going to manage it. And now the tactical networking. It's one of our most successful events during the conference that we offer and I think, understanding your processes and procedures. I took it because it sounds like a great class to learn, but it it is just given back time and time again, because I always go back to into my name six sigma ideas and what I learned and and always try to break down the process and Figure out there is always the more efficient way to do something.

Speaker 2: 18:04

I yeah, I am a proponent to Kaizen methodology, so Kaizen is also another method of becoming lean and mean and growing 10x, just cutting out those processes that don't meet your highest best good. In addition to you know there are SWAT analysis, there are business model canvases. Envisioning you know it empowers individuals to shape the destinies consciously. Can you narrate a pivotal moment when a strategic vision or plan was critical in realizing a significant goal or dream of yours?

Speaker 3: 18:45

I think, I think, I think, you know, during the pandemic, the word pivot was. Everybody use pivot and and you know, and, and you know it's what everybody, we all, had to do. And during the pandemic, I think we did a huge pivot because we we just had a great, successful 2019 conference. We had already picked our location for 2020. We were all on board, we were excited. And then the pandemic. You know, you could see it affecting people on the news at the very beginning and I remember looking at Mike oh, this is going to be very serious. You know, things are closing. And I remember, in February, I started looking at alternatives, virtual alternatives in February, and so I started getting quotes for virtual conferences and I was. I went to everything that had anything to do with virtual. I went to tons of meetings, I went to tons of workshops, all about how to transfer everything to virtual, like I was going to school, just like, I'm sure, everybody else who wanted to learn about virtual, anything that had to do with virtual. I went to take all of those workshops, like every day was filled with learning and learning during that particular time. So what we did, and so then, and March came, everything was shut down In April, I think in April. Finally, at the end of April, we decided okay, we are not canceling our conference.

Speaker 3: 20:19

A lot of people canceled their conferences, but I felt this was the time that the veteran and small business community needed us most is this was really essential continually to try to get those connections virtually, and I knew it could happen. So we had a, we had a platform, we got this really cool platform and had a virtual conference and we had almost 600 attendees during our virtual conference and we did. We we had, I think, over 30 presenters because we you could, you can do we we were trying everything under the sun, we were throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what was sticking and it turned out to be one of the best virtual conferences that a lot of people came up to us and that was the greatest virtual conferences I went to because we created a studio as well for some live bits, so we made it kind of like a TED talk, but then we had power presentations, short 15 minute presentations as well as live virtual Zoom kind of presentation, and then we actually even had virtual business matchmaking and at the end we ended up with a big concert and we had bourbon tasting. It was crazy. We did all kinds of things, but we were I was on a mission to try something new. I was tired of looking at people's Zoom, so we wanted to try something new and actually I was very, very proud of it because we actually even won an award.

Speaker 3: 22:06

We won the Stevie Bronze award for our virtual conference, which is a national, international award, and the only people that beat us out was DHL Germany. So I was very proud that our little nonprofit, our VIP nonprofit, came in bronze to DHL Germany for our virtual platform. So I was very excited.

Speaker 3: 22:33

But I think that was really a pivotal moment for us to not just walk away but to take on this challenge of continually serving the veteran business community and continue to connecting them at this very, very critical time in business. And then later on I actually ran into one of the veterans who attended and she actually connected with Robert Haff and they have become one of her biggest clients during that virtual conference. So business was still getting done and I was so proud and happy to hear that because I'm like you know, people were getting still, were connecting with people, they were still learning, they were still able to, you know, get business during that time. So so I was really proud of the organization and and everything that we did, and you know that it was a team effort to get everybody to help as well.

Speaker 2: 23:33

Well, that's wonderful. Congratulations again. And so trying to figure all this out to move forward. Were there any visualization tools to help you strategically design the future of your organization, and how can our listeners unlock their full potential on what their future could be?

Speaker 3: 24:00

So, yes, we have one of our business coaches, Leah Nelson. She is a veteran, a service-disabled veteran, and she does business coaching. She actually talks about the emotional intelligence and she helps and guides us, Our leadership, with our corporate advisory board and ourselves. We're talking about two-year plans, three-year plans, five-year plans. What does that look like? Being able to see where we want to grow? She takes all of that information and tries to put a strategic plan of where we're going to grow.

Speaker 3: 24:52

Next. I wouldn't say we do a lot of visualization. We do have meetings with our corporate advisory board. We do discuss the future of the VIB and how everybody is going to work together into growing the organization, and then we have a fantastic team of volunteers as well. I try to bring everybody in and empower them all over the years. We're just an amazing machine now of volunteers for the conference. But even our corporate advisory board members. They take their positions very seriously and give us feedback all the time on how we should grow the organization and what we should be looking for in the future as well.

Speaker 2: 25:55

Well, you're doing a great job, Rebecca, with your growth and development in the recent years. It's just incredible. How can our listeners get in touch with VIB and what can they look forward to if they align themselves with your organization?

Speaker 3: 26:19

Everybody can be part of the VIB. They can get in touch with the VIB by visiting the website at vibnetworkorg. It's super easy. If you're a veteran business, you can create a free profile on our directory. Make sure you completely fill it out. Use all the keywords and descriptions, because we have almost 500 people that actually utilize our directory all the time. Those are not veterans. Those are corporations, government agencies, buyers, estimators or just people who want to work with veterans. People can actually apply to have access to our database. Once they have access to our database, they can check and find veterans for a variety of projects. Even if you're just looking for a local plumber, you can get on the VIB website and put plumbers in San Diego. You should be able to find somebody in the area Because we're a national organization. You can find plumbers in a variety of places as well. If you're hearing this and you're outside of California, this directory and everything is still accessible to you. You can also find and utilize the organization as well.

Speaker 2: 27:50

That's an amazing resource and it's actually global because it's on the net.

Speaker 3: 27:57

It is, it is, yeah, actually it is. We are global too, because we do have, so we have veterans in all 50 states, including Puerto Rico, guam and England.

Speaker 2: 28:09

Now, if someone wanted more tactical networking, I understand you have something coming up in April. Can you share with us the Express Connect?

Speaker 3: 28:19

Sure, no problem, we're happy to. So we have Express Connect in the spring and that's going to be in the Cambridge Boston area on April 25th. It is a one-day event. It is a smaller event than our national conference about 180 people but what that means is that you're going to get more face time with these corporations and government agencies. We are teaming up with Takeda Pharmaceutical. They are hosting us at their facility, so we'll have everything there. We're going to have amazing speakers. We have an inspirational speaker, colonel Greg Gadsden, who is going to be speaking to our attendees. We're going to do tactical networking. We'll have a lot of variety of different ways that people could connect during that time. We'll have a reception.

Speaker 3: 29:21

Also, something really cool is, if you want to come in a day early, we're doing a dinner cocktail reception or dinner and a reception over by the USS Constitution which is one of the oldest flagships, still part of the Navy, and so we're actually going to get a private tour of that flagship because it is still on a Navy base. So right next to that is a really cool restaurant called the Anchor and we're going to have dinner and people can come and go as they please. And the Anchor is a cool restaurant. It's a cool restaurant. It has outdoor seating, beautiful views of Boston. It should be a really great time to connect with corporations and government agencies and veteran businesses and just eat some great food and take in the history of Boston. And I think our events are always unique and we always try to put something historic into the event because military it has such an amazing history, so we always try to bring some sort of history into our conferences.

Speaker 2: 30:43

Well, your events are in popular demand. I'm going to have to change my itinerary now. I didn't know about the day before event. I'm so excited for you and this next event because I actually wasn't able to attend the San Diego National Conference because you were sold out early on that one too. So for our listeners, you got to get in on it early because it'll be sold out, trust, and this is a smaller venue, so it's going to go out even quicker.

Speaker 3: 31:14

Yes, yes, yes. And then we have a big national conference back in San Diego on November 13th and 14th. That registration will open on May 1st and I do encourage everybody. Like William said, we did sell out last year. So I do encourage everybody if you're thinking about going register early, because I think we sold out a month before the conference. Yes, so yeah.

Speaker 2: 31:41

I know you did. Rebecca, thank you so much for coming on the show. We would love to have you back. Rebecca again is the CEO of Veterans in Business Network, the VIB, and vice president of Diego and Sun Printing. Rebecca, do you have any last words of wisdom nuggets that you could share with our listeners before we let you go?

Speaker 3: 32:11

No, I think that we would like to, on behalf of the veteran business community, really do support the veteran business community. Think of them for any project, large and small. We have a great directory and, like you said earlier, the thank you for this service is great, but if you're a veteran business owner, that kind of support is even more valuable.

Speaker 2: 32:37

Wonderful Rebecca Aguilera Gardner, CEO of Veterans in Business. We salute you.

Speaker 3: 32:47

Thank you so much, William. I appreciate it. Thank you so much for having me on.

Speaker 2: 32:51

Thank you for joining us. Thank you, listeners, and stay tuned for another episode coming to you soon. This is a Talk Story Media production. Talk Story Business Edition is hosted by Austin Beehick and William P Tune, supported by the Better Business Bureau, national Referral Network, Countywide Mortgage Lending, business Group Resources and Kaizen Group International.