“The Great American Dream”
Being Realized by Military Veterans
Through Snap-on Franchise Ownership
One of our country’s oldest and most decorated franchises is Snap-on Tools and its franchise ownership roster proudly includes hundreds of veterans. The recruitment of veterans into Snap-on Tools franchise ownership is not by happenstance; it ranks as a major strategic move by the country’s #1 professional tool manufacturer and marketer.
Just ask Jon Rucker, SMSgt, USAF (Ret), who heads up the Snap-on Tools Military Veteran Franchise program. He will tell you that the mission of Snap-on Tools – working to provide the most valued productivity solutions in the world – is a mission that veterans can easily relate to, for it is a mission that they adhered to with great passion while serving our country.
Yes, the great American dream of owning your own business has become more than a dream for many of our great American heroes — our military veterans –as they have chosen Snap-on Tools franchise ownership.
Founded in 1920, Snap-on Incorporated is a $2.8 billion, S&P 500 company headquartered in Kenosha, Wisconsin. It is a leading global innovator, manufacturer and marketer of tools, diagnostics, equipment, software and service solutions for professional users. Products and services include hand and power tools, tool storage, diagnostics software, information and management systems, shop equipment and other solutions for vehicle dealerships and repair centers, as well as customers in industry, government, agriculture, aviation and natural resources. Products and services are sold through the company’s franchisee, company-direct, distributor and Internet channels.
The Snap-on Franchise has been named a Top 50 Franchise for Military Veterans and is the sole tool franchise recognized by the World Franchising Network. This second annual ranking by the organization resulted from a survey of several hundred franchise systems that recruit former military as possible business owners.
Snap-on believes that our nation’s military and veterans represent the best this country has to offer. Military veterans are disciplined, principled and highly skilled and Snap-on has seen that they make outstanding franchise owners. For that reason, Snap-on has aggressively recruited military talent from both enlisted and officer ranks.
After spending 20 years in the Air Force, Rucker says, “Our military culture tells us ‘we need to get a job after the military,’ but there’s hardly ever mention of the idea of going into business for ourselves.” It is the very skills practiced in the military, he says, that make someone a good candidate to own and operate a business.
In fact, Snap-on Tools created Rucker’s position of Military Program Manger after seeing a trend develop in its franchise sector among former servicemen. In 2010, Snap-on started more than 40 franchises out of the military, most of whom have taken advantage of the VetFran incentive. .
“Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Coasties practice effective leadership, communication, teamwork, following a system of instructions and problem-solving when working to accomplish a mission. I firmly believe these skills are instrumental in successfully running a business,” Rucker says. He practices these skills in his own work of spreading the word about the Snap-on franchise opportunity to veteran’s organizations, transition offices, small business associations and military bases.
Of his position with Snap-on, Rucker says, “Very few people teach and show us how to go into business for ourselves, so I feel the need to offer a rudimentary, crash course of options available after the military and outline to the individual with whom I meet the pros and cons of each.”
Advice for Vets
A sampling of what Rucker tells men and women transitioning out of the military as they re-enter civilian life follows:
Work for someone else in a job that you like. Here you will find security and less risk than starting your own business. It’s fairly simple – you work 40 hours a week, get your paycheck and more often than not, a benefits package.
Start your own business. You’re the boss; it’s yours; you do as you see fit. That means coming up with the idea(s), developing the business plan, finding investors (unless, of course, you already have the cash flow to start your business), finding the location for your business, developing advertising/marketing plans, purchasing the necessary hardware and software and the list goes on and on. There’s much risk associated and most new businesses fail within the first few years.
Go into business for yourself by purchasing a franchise. This option is the best of both and for many, the ideal decision. With this option, you get a systematic approach already in place for owning and operating your business. The approach has been pre-tested and its success rate for many others has been good. For you, it’s a matter of purchasing, training and then implementing.
Of his three options, Rucker says, “Franchising is the closest fit for long-term, military veteran success. We, who have lived in a military environment, where we are used to following a system of rules, often vector in this direction.”
He adds, “I encourage vets to investigate a franchise opportunity that fits what they’re interested in, see if they are financially, emotionally, and physically qualified for the opportunity, and then ask them to do their homework to discover all the ins and outs.”
Rucker says he decided to work for Snap-on because he believes in a company with a 90-year tradition of innovation. Snap-on’s top tool rankings among technicians who use its products and the company’s desire to offer honorably discharged veterans a discount on starting their own business, primarily through the International Franchise Association’s VetFran program.
Prior to joining a franchise organization, it is wise to talk to other veterans who were in your shoes prior to making the decision of owning a Snap-on franchise. Several Snap-on franchise owners, all vets, were happy to share their stories.
Purple Heart Recipient Now Snap-on Franchisee
Greg Welch is familiar to many in the Painesville, Ohio area as their Snap-on Tools franchise owner. To others he’s known as a Purple Heart recipient and hero.
Welch, 26, joined the military after high school, spending four years in Fort Sill, Oklahoma and 21 months as an Army vehicle mechanic in Iraq before the Humvee in which he was traveling took a hit from a roadside bomb. His injuries required months of recovery in a hospital far from home.
“I just had to push through it,” Welch says of his time in a Frankfurt, Germany hospital. “It was my unit that kept me going. I knew they were out there, and I wanted to get back to them.”
He did return to his unit, spending five more months in Iraq with his troop before returning to the states where he was honorably discharged in June of 2007. It was then he used the mechanics skills he perfected in the military to work in the trucking industry. Welch decided a couple of years ago to take what he calls the “next step” in his career and looked into a business ownership opportunity with Snap-on Tools as a franchisee.
“I rode along with some franchise owners and took some time to make my decision,” he says. “It’s a change from being a mechanic to selling tools. I’m excited about the tools and excited to show customers all the new things we offer.”
Welch says his military experience pays off in running his own Snap-on Franchise business. “I always strive to be better. I’m used to having a schedule and being on-point. I’d recommend Snap-on to anyone with military experience.”
To get started, Welch says he took advantage of Snap-on’s VetFran discount, offered through the company’s participation in the International Franchise Association’s military program. He says Snap-on’s offering to military veterans is “patriotic” and an “awesome opportunity.”
Good attitude pays off for Air Force Vet Snap-on franchisee Joseph Winningham, 58, of Montgomery, Alabama knows what it takes to be successful in the military and in the mobile tool sales business – a positive attitude.
Winningham was a Staff Sergeant in the United States Air Force before joining the Snap-on team. He says his service background instilled in him the idea that work is “99 percent attitude and one percent aptitude.”
“Individuals who come from the military are disciplined, and they know what they need to do to get the job done,” Winningham says. It’s that motivation and discipline that has kept his business steady through the ups and downs of the economy. “You’ve got to have a positive attitude and take care of your customers,” he says.
Winningham came to Snap-on in 1984, a couple of years after leaving the military. He was familiar with the company’s products through his dad and brothers who were mechanics. After working with Snap-on as an office manager and field representative, he ultimately decided owning one of the company’s franchise businesses was what he wanted to do.
As for others who may be making business ownership decisions after leaving the military, Winningham says, “The discipline of the military makes a Snap-on franchise a good option. You’ve got to be self-motivated.” And, after 27 years with Snap-on, that positive attitude is still working for him today.
Military discipline helps ensure success
The discipline of his time in the military is what Michael Shear credits as his success in starting-up and running his own Snap-on Tools mobile franchise. Shear, 25 joined the Marine Corp out of high school and served as a machine gunner stateside and in the Middle East.
“I did six to eight months of research when I was transitioning, primarily through the Internet,” Shear says of time between his military and civilian career. “I looked at what various businesses were offering at the time, including start-up costs, and I liked what I saw with Snap-on.”
He says the network of “well-rounded” support from Snap-on’s management team made a difference for him, and the company’s in-house financing was the pivotal point for him.
“I’m happy with the decision I made,” Shear says. “It’s more than a business opportunity…you develop relationships when you call on customers each week.”
Snap-on has been taking its tools to its customers’ places of business for 90 years. And, Shear says he was familiar with the brand because he used to help his uncle who was a mechanic and “always buying Snap-on tools.”
Shear, who is married with two children, says his wife helps with his business by keeping up with inventory and sometimes stocking the mobile store. Shear says lessons from his military training will serve him well in running his own franchise business, “You gotta do, what you gotta do, and do it in a professional manner.”
Goal-setting skills benefit two Vets
Patrick Woods, 41, of Corpus Christi, Texas, who served as a major in the Air Force Reserves, finds a Snap-on franchise a good fit for someone who has served in the military. “I’m used to setting goals and attaining them,” Woods says. “I like that the rewards of hard work are received as a bonus right away.”
Jayme Parrish, 38, who owns a Snap-on franchise in Jackson, Tennessee, agrees with Woods. He says the discipline and rigorous schedule of his near decade in active duty with the Air Force and two-and-a-half years in the Tennessee Air National Guard translated well into owning and operating his own business.
Parrish worked on F-15s and C-130s while in the military and Guard and on Lear Jets for a civilian company, so he was familiar with Snap-on Tools. However he wanted to be responsible for his own future and to be in full control saying, “If I feel like a raise, I need to plan to have a better day!”
Woods says he “grew up in a garage” and has worked with tools as a hobby. But, both say it’s the opportunity to take care of customers that brings the rewards of personal, mutual respect to owning a Snap-on franchise.
“The advantage is seeing customers every week and forming relationships with them,” Parrish shares. “They know they can call me if they need anything. We’re there to be their tool solution provider.”
Veterans who have an interest in pursuing the great American dream of business ownership of a Snap-on Tools franchise can find out more about the steps involved by visiting www.beinbusinesswiththebest.com .
