Army veteran turns Colorado Springs business owner

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- According to a recent study by the Small Business Administration, former military veterans are 45% more likely to own a small business than nonveterans. Army Vet Mark Lambert, spoke to this firsthand, explaining how the skills he learned in the military helped him find success as a business owner.

Lambert lives in Colorado Springs, but before he settled down, he had been a place or two.

"I did two tours in Germany, a hitch in Panama, did a hitch in Lousiana, twice in Fort Louis, Fort Gorge before they shut it down, Fort Carson," he said.

He served nearly two decades in the United States Army, wearing many different hats, learning just about everything in terms of leadership and communication.

"Just experience, being in charge of 8 people, 40 people, 400 people. Different levels train you how to manage different levels of soldiers or people," Lambert said.

Those values are engrained in who he is and now the Army veteran has found his new calling.

"What we do is residential, interior and exterior painting," he said.

He became a franchise business owner and has been a part of Five Star Painting for 11 years.

"I really, really was impressed with the structure. A lot of military personnel really still want some kind of structure. It may not be 100% what you had before, but when you transition you can't just go back to being an 18 year old." he said.

Lambert said the unexpected is nothing the military didn't prepare him for.

"We've evolved a little bit. How we do business, we've learned from that making adjustments. We're doing a lot of it, April, May, June, July we're doing virtual estimates," he said.

In a time where many are struggling, Lambert reminds other veterans they too can build a life for themselves and encourages them to look into opportunities in franchises and small businesses.

For more information his business, visit the Five Star Painting website here.