Serving others comes naturally to some. For those in the armed forces, more so than others. Army Sgt. Adam Pattisall, after serving his country for four years as a SAT COM operator, went on to serve on another level as a test engineer and technical support engineer at Fujitsu.

For the past 20 years, Marc Yates’ life has revolved around the military. From being deployed to Bosnia, flying planes and helicopters in both Turkey and Egypt, to an assistant professorship at the U.S. Air Force Academy; the major’s plate was full. As thoughts turned to retirement, Yates decided to put the skills he had obtained over the years to good use by starting his own business.

Building a brand in difficult economic times can be, believe it or not, easier than when things are great. When everything is hunky dory, people tend to continue doing what they’ve always done – buying the same products and services where they’ve always bought them. This could be due to brand loyalty, but it could also be due to inertia; lack of time, energy or other motivations to make changes. Change is always more difficult than maintaining the status quo.