“I opened my first store in Kansas and it became really successful very quickly and I had plenty of cash. I was flying high, buying wakeboard boats and all kinds of stuff. And then one day this guy came and said, ”Hey man, we never got your tax payment.” ”
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Why Listen:
There is so much to love about today's interview. First of all on the professional side, Matt went from the Army National Guard and an unexpected departure into opening a series of nutrition supplement franchises that built up a skill set for him to then start his own performance supplement company. He currently works for a company called Fit Ops which is doing absolutely unbelievable things in the military community training people physically, mentally, and emotionally,.
I loved so much of what Matt had to share in this interview. In this interview, we talk about things like mentorship and finding clarity in your life. And we talk about letting your gut guide you in decisions. This is a very informative interview but it's also an inspirational conversation and I think you'll really enjoy this episode.
About Matt:
Matt Hesse is the Chairman & Founder of the FitOps, the CEO of Performix, and the Founder & CEO of Corr-Jensen. He also serves as an Advisory Council Member on the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. He served in the Army and National Guard for nearly five years, and was a multi-unit franchise store owner for GNC.
Our Sponsor:
This episode is sponsored by the Carlson School of Management. Whether you're transitioning to a civilian career or continuing military service, an MBA from Carlson at the University of Minnesota prepares you for a high-impact career in business. Carlson is committed to the veteran community and provides the benefits, experiential learning, and network to accelerate your career. In addition to a resident tuition waiver, all admitted full-time MBA military candidates receive generous scholarships and stipends to cover expenses that may not be eligible for the GI Bill.
E-mail mba@umn.edu to learn more. That's mba@umn.edu.
Selected Resources:
Info about Matt
Recommended Resources
Transcript & Time Stamps:
0:05
Special thanks to Tyler Grey from Episode #352 for introducing me to today's guest. Joining me from New York is my guest Matt Hesse.
How would you explain what you do for a living, Matt?
It’s an ever changing thing especially now with COVID going on, it seems like everybody's changing their life around and reprioritizing.
First and foremost, I'm a person who tries to find purpose in everything that I do and I think that's why my career shifted around a little bit. I've always pursued things that are less focused on financial gain and more focused on delivering my desire to serve other people. Today my first priority is creating a business that does well so I can do good for others. Fitness ops is to do good for others. I'm in the process now of trying to reprioritize things so I can spend more time on the mission of preventing veteran suicide and and helping others find purpose.
2:13
I love the sense that purpose that drives what you're doing. I think sometimes people think pretty narrowly of making a positive difference. They think they need to find a company or a cause that's directly doing good, which is one way to do it. But another way to do it is to find something where you can generate money and use that to generate good.
Once you left the Army National Guard, what was that first transition to the civilian job sector like for you?
It was both fortunate and unfortunate that my transition from the service ended a bit differently than I thought it would. My mother got into a really bad car accident and is paralyzed from the neck down. I really focused a lot of my life on helping her and serving her to make sure she was still able to lead a quality life. I won't say I was lucky, but being able to serve my mom even after I transitioned out of the military gave me a sense of purpose.
I think a lot of the struggle a lot of veterans face comes from the pressure of replacing that really high calling of being in the military. It’s just really hard to replicate that in a normal job.
3:30
I love that you're highlighting that the sense of contribution and service don’t have to come from the military. You can continue to find that even after you transition out.
I try to teach the compartmentalization as an important tool to healing and finding your way through things. I also think it’s an incredible tool to get you through things which is why the Army teaches you to use compartmentalization in high pressure situations so that you don't fall apart in a situation.
5:54
The first major milestone in your career was with GNC and opening your first store. What led you there and what was that like?
I started working in a nutrition store when my mom got hurt. I would go to nutrition stores to buy my mom calcium and other supplements. I started chatting with the guy that owned the store. I was going to school at the time and I ended up taking a job with him writing diet programs for local athletes. I became known as the supplement guy on campus.
I had used the GI Bill to go to school so I was able to save a lot of money during that time. Eventually I put a down payment on a nutrition store. That experience showed me how to really think about what customers want. I think my success with the GNC franchise I owned was largely due to a ton of hustle and grit.
8:00
What recommendations do you have for listeners that may be interested in opening their own franchise?
Franchise are great in that they provide a framework and a strategy and it’s a plug and play type of situation. But they can go bad too. I'll give you an example of even how a franchise situation fails. I opened my first store in Kansas and it became really successful very quick. And I had plenty of cash and I was flying high, buying wakeboard boats and all kinds of stuff. This guy came in one day and told me that I owed sales taxes. I had no idea what that was. I had gone a year and a half without paying sales taxes. So I ended up having to see some of my assets in order to pay the taxes that I owed.
Businesses are trial and error. Businesses that succeed succeed because the person doesn't quit and they have been gutted through to make it work. Quitting has never been an option for me. I’ve been in a lot of high pressure situations. But those successes and failures have allowed me to learn and grow. That's why I'm so glad veterans are in the workforce. Most veterans have faced high pressure situations and have overcome challenging situations.
11:20
I really love that message of grit and determination. What was the next step for you after you left GNC?
I ended up taking a couple years to go skiing in Colorado. I was still involved with some of the operations at my nutrition stores but I wanted to give myself time to think about what I wanted to do next.
I started to think about creating a product or a brand. And I tested some stuff in my nutrition stores and decided to create a product. It ended up being a top-seller at a lot of GNC stores. At that point I decided that I wanted to start my own company. Slowly over time I started to learn the ins and outs of owning my own business.
14:30
I love that idea of being very thoughtful about your entry into owning your own business. You took the time to learn first before actually diving in.
I believe that if you have a clear vision of where you want to go, you’ll get there. Yes - you'll make mistakes getting there but generally speaking, you’ll end up in a good spot. I made a lot of mistakes in my entrepreneur journey but I never quit, I never lost sight of what I wanted to do.
I’m constantly evolving and trying to find ways to be better. Now my interest is in packaging up my knowledge and helping people find the same success.
17:00
Do you have any advice for listeners about how to find a mentor and cultivate that relationship?
I think knowing what you want helps. That way you can put stakes in the ground around exactly what you’re looking for. When speaking with a mentor, you can ask very specific questions of your mentor. Generally, I’ve found that if you find a successful person, their knowledge will be valuable to you in some form or another. Once you get tips for success from your mentor, you can latch on to those and continue to learn and grow.
I also think it’s important to observe people you admire. A lot of times, I’ve learned more from observing successful people than form actual things they’ve said to me.
19:40
Is there anything that you found in your life that's helped you get clarity around what you wanted to do in life?
I didn't want to create a sports nutrition brand, I wanted to create a sports performance company that had not just supplements but also had had gyms. I didn't want to create products that were fluffy or fad-ish. That idea came from, from a daydream about what I wanted for my life. I wanted to created a brand around the things that I wanted in life. Because of that I had a lot of clarity and was able to bring authenticity to my everyday life.
If you want something, you will figure out how to get it. But you're only going to figure out how to get that if you actually know what you want. I believe that means sitting down and thinking about the thing that juices you up the most and gets you the most excited about life. Put your energy and focus there.
A lot of people want more for themselves but are afraid to take the risk to get themselves there. The reality is that you really can do anything you want but it does take hard work and willingness to fail and take risks. If you know what you want and plan a course to get there, you'll get there. The most difficult moments of my life have also been the times when I’ve grown the most. The reality is if you keep charging, you'll get through even the most difficult times.
24:00
Can you talk a little bit about Fit Ops?
There is a lot of trauma in the veteran community and high suicide rates as well. I wanted to build a program that has the ability to not just give something back to vets but also to help empower them. I took a group of 30 vets that were in my network and I rented a Boy Scout camp in in Texas. I flew everybody down there, brought my trainers in from my gym performance house in New York, and we lived on that camp for a month. We spent the time getting the veterans back into shape. I really believe in the connection of mental health and physical health. I think it's a really an underlying issue in the veteran community and we all stopped working out when we get out of the service. At the same time, you start to see many veterans’ mental health eroding.
That pilot program encouraged me to create a program that would train veterans to be personal trainers. Not just the fundamentals physiology and biology perspective, but also how to interview for a job and build a client base. During the program we also encourage the veterans to be vulnerable and share with each other what they think is holding them back in life. I hold that unloading your backpack. You’re able to share your burden with the people around you. It feels good to unburden yourself and to know the people around you support you.
The program is 30 days long and at the end of that time, the veterans graduate with a personal training certificate from a nationally accredited agency.
30:52
Where can people go to learn more about Fit Ops?
We are a nonprofit so it doesn't cost anything to go to the camp. You would only need to pay for your travel and some of the food.
I encourage people to go to our website (www.fitops.org) to learn more and submit an application.
33:50
You’re also an advisory council member on the President's Council for Physical Fitness and Sports. How did that come to be?
Ivanka Trump saw the work we were doing and then asked me to be an advisory council member. I was appointed two years ago. The work of the President's Council is largely around getting the youth of our country to get outside and get moving. The power of physical fitness doesn't just mean for adults or veterans - it’s important for all people. A physically fit person is largely more healthy mentally as well. Especially now during COVID-19 it’s difficult to get outside. Many gyms are closed. But it’s still important to stay as active as you can.
35:24
Is there anything else you’re working on?
For me, I just care about changing the veteran narrative. So much of that narrative around brokenness. If you give a veteran pity for their service, you're basically running completely opposite of how they feel about their service. If you served your country, you probably will never feel a higher calling. So even if people were challenged by different parts of their service, I don’t think they want to be pitied for it.
What veterans need is real opportunity. For me, I believe that I can provide veterans opportunity through physical fitness. An important aspect of what I’m doing is helping veterans feel better mentally and physically. Hopefully that helps reduce veteran suicide. I try to give veterans the opportunity to feel a sense of purpose again.