Deb Yeagle ⋅ Tampa, FL Plan To Win, Inc. ⋅ 39 years experience

Hi Sean!
Thanks for your service! I'd definitely be able to help you explore the BD field in the Central Florida region. The UCF area in Orlando includes the DoD Modeling & Simulation industry with direct application to the DoD training market. The Tampa area includes the industry community supporting SOCOM and CENTCOM at MacDill AFB. If you are interested in either of those communities, then please send me a PM and I can provide you with further details on how to get connected.

With the ongoing pandemic, however, I would caution you to be patient if you decide to go this route. The BD field requires networking / relationship building and interaction with potential teaming partners and customers in a F2F environment. It also requires equal parts research, which can be done on-line, so it's not entirely impossible to get started in this field if this is your passion.

Meanwhile, if you want to get a taste of what it takes to be successful in BD, please read my blog and feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions.

https://www.plantowin.biz/post/recap-top-10-bd-process-improvement-lessons-learned

https://www.plantowin.biz/blog-1

Thanks again and I look forward to hearing from you if you want to know more about BD in the Defense industry supporting Orlando / Tampa.
Deb

Jerry Welsh ⋅ Middleville, MI Master Military Transition Advisor/HPS GPO ⋅ 30 years experience

Sean,
I do agree Barron's comment about focus on the industry. I have always found the local Chamber of Business and if a large enough site a SCORE representative might be helpful creating a suitable targeted plan. Not sure what the availability of these folks will be during the lock down, but when available these former business owners bring a lot of value to young entrepreneurs. You seem to understand the ups and downs of being a military or government contractor, even those with a disability (which is alleged to be at the highest priority) fight an uphill battle keeping contracts with DOD. While right now is not the best time, but typically there is a representative from the SBA available in the Chamber of Commerce office. With the government incentive packages, I do believe seeing a SBA person might also difficult.
Have you done any networking on LinkedIn or Facebook industry groups. That is why a narrower focus would help. Many manufacturing communities have a professional trade association which provides a great avenue for networking and knowledge. Again, during this shut down I am sure annual educational conferences are not running, but on line groups I am sure are very busy. Hope this helps. Thanks for your service. God Bless.

Barron Evans ⋅ Ann Arbor, MI Customer Experience Change Management ⋅ 30 years experience

Greetings, Sean... and foremost: "thank you" for your service and "congrats" on the great achievements!

While I'm all about keeping your aperture 'wide' as you review opportunities, your ask triggers my thoughts below -- especially in the context of our current pandemic work culture. When you cite:
> sales, marketing, business development, and/or management
> software, defense, or medical
… my takeaway is: "what is his focus?"

And then you layer onto that geo options: St. Louis, Denver, Central Florida, CA … it's challenging at best to facilitate introductions.

As you're seeking a role in either sales or business development (e.g.) … you'll first want to think about how you market your own profile with a 'USP' (unique selling proposition). Defining that should be 'industry neutral,' which then can be leveraged as you pitch to your three targeted mega categories (e.g., defense/medical/software).

Once you're comfortable with the USP, i.e., YOU believe it so you can credibly recite it to others … the next step is to create industry-specific analogies for how your USP can be beneficial. Depending on your level of category knowledge, this will take a little due diligence, but if you can craft at least one meaningful application per industry segment (ideally subsegment, e.g., specific area within the defense, medical, software categories) -- that will further cement your competence.

Given your military background, I have no doubt that your capabilities are specific, describable, and transferable.

I share this as a way to frame what I believe needs to be your interim 'homework' before introductions are facilitated. And RE: my previous reference ... in context of the evolving Covid-19 work environments, you need to have your personal sales pitch pretty tight … as likely the intros and/or interviews will be via screen or phone (at least at the outset). Perhaps leverage your logistics strength and create a small partitioned binder, organized by: 1) function, 2) skill, and 3) industry subsegment USP -- and use as a default 'go to' resource when you engage with prospective employers.

I hope this counsel is helpful; happy to continue the dialogue as warranted. Best wishes for success; your background already demonstrates anything is possible!