WASHINGTON – A former U.S. Special Operations sniper for four years, Frank Campanaro says his six-year military service not only gave him bumps and bruises, but also valuable assets that made him a better fighter in the business world.
For the hard-nosed veteran, the last 15 years at Trillacorpe Construction LLC, based in Bingham Farms, Mich., was a bittersweet experience.
Like many entrepreneurs, Campanaro, the company’s co-founder and CEO, has tasted both success and failure. He remembers proud times – when the federal government crowned his business for its leadership and services – and yet it’s difficult for him to forget the tough times, just after the Wall Street meltdown.
Since Trillacorpe got off the ground in April 1997, the company, which designs, engineers, develops and constructs military and medical infrastructure for the federal government and Fortune 1000 global firms, has won honors including the Veteran Business of the Year (Midwest and Michigan region) from the U.S. Small Business Administration, the “Nunn-Perry” Award from the Department of Defense, and was the 23rd fastest-growing private companies on Inc. Magazine’s 2011 ranking list.
Setbacks, though, cost the company more than five million square feet of existing and pending projects. Campanaro said he and his partners lost almost everything during the 2008 financial crisis, including their homes, investments, retirement benefits, health care – even family heirlooms.
“It was so bad,” said Campanaro, “I was homeless, living in a rental car, sleeping in train stations, state parks, in my mom’s basement. I was ironing my clothes on a cardboard box outside of a convenience store. We lost everything we had ever worked for.”
In the drug war, Campanaro conducted combat operations with the U.S. Army 75th Ranger Regiment, mostly in Central and South America. Campanaro said is no stranger to hostile environments.
Today, he is fighting another type of war. Instead of drug cartels, his enemies have become competition, taxes, inflation, fluctuations and the pressure of delivering on time.
Unlike many veteran business owners who had hard times starting up, Campanaro said for him, a smooth transition was predictable since his mind was “programmed for business”
Growing up in a military family that nurtured many entrepreneurs in industries like real estate, food service and construction, Campanaro had been exposed to business operations at a young age. His father, also a veteran and business owner, used to educate him on the differences between business, civil service, employee compensation and benefits, which he said defined “the American way of life”
“I was fortunate in that my family were all entrepreneurs,” said Campanaro, “Because my mentors were so successful that I never considered that I wouldn’t be too.”
Campanaro was right. Things came naturally even when he was still in the military in the early 1990s. Campanaro, along with an older friend who was also raised in a business family, opened three businesses, including a construction services company, a restaurant and a vending company.
Today, besides busy managing one of the best federal military contractors nationwide, Campanaro is also mentoring hundreds of business owners annually with free workshops and seminars. He co-founded VetPower.org, which evaluates business opportunities for service-disabled veterans and help them get started.
Campanaro said for Trillacorpe Construction, a company owned, operated and staffed by veterans, the recipe for success was rather simple – to operate business like an army.
For example, when starting up the restaurant, Ranger Pizza, Campanaro, helped by retired veterans, completed all the construction works from the scratch including electrical, plumbing, carpentry, using less than half of the estimated time and a third of the cost.
“The entire thing was a military operation from head to toe.” Campanaro said. “It dictates that there is a basic standard for all, which always makes a business successful.”
Campanaro said that standard requires the owner to be part of the team under all circumstances. Since the operating the business is risk-and-reward-oriented, owners should curb greed and selfishness, put the customer first, the team second and the individual last.
“We celebrate defeat as well as victory together.” He said.
Filled with the so-called “veteran spirit”, Trillacorpe Construction, as well as other companies Campanaro co-founded, has a “business bottom line” and a “spiritual bottom line”, which require them to outperform competitions by delivery high-quality products while maintaining respect for fellow veterans, especially those with disabilities.
As for business, Campanaro said it is all about empowering others, as his company has been focused on hiring veterans and inspiring them to help more who need it.
“If the business is just focused on money, it will be short lived.” Campanaro said, “It must still have core principals of integrity, honor and service to another in some way.”
Among many tips Campanaro had to share, he said veterans need to find their real interests, locate right people, wisely utilize assistance resources provided by the government, and most importantly, they should always rely on themselves.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) has established the Veterans Business Outreach Centers, which provides special loans for veterans, but Campanaro stayed away from incurring too much financial burden when starting up. Instead of taking loans, he used savings and helping hands from other veterans to keep the company afloat.
Rick Weidman, executive director of policy and government affairs at Vietnam Veterans of America who has extensive experience helping veteran business start-ups, agreed on Campanaro’s approach. He said loans are not a “wise and plausible” idea for veterans.
Weidman said most bank loans require borrowers to have good credit history, which veterans often lack due to years of service, and in addition, by taking out loans, veterans have to collateralize their assets, which could prove risky.
“Veterans should start businesses that require low capital, and develop a roll-out strategy so they can exit easily when things don’t go so well.” Weidman said.
Campanaro said the lessons he learned in the military have paid off.
“Business is something we learn, and then relearn daily,” said Campanaro, “It’s about making mistakes and then recovering fast enough to live another day.”