“The unexamined life is not worth living“.
-Socrates
Paul Dillon retired as a consultant from the Chicago office of the McGladrey accounting firm in 2006, just shy of his 61st birthday. Upon his retirement from McGladrey, he reinvented himself by starting his own firm in Chicago. He is now devoted to helping veterans who want to start their own business. Paul is a former U.S. Army Reserve 1st Lieutenant, who fought in the Vietnam War. He created the CONCEPT for a veteran incubator in Chicago, which eventually inspired Todd Connor and his colleagues to found The Bunker. It has been recently rebranded as Bunker Labs ( http://bunkerlabs.org/). See the op-ed that started the whole thing in Chicago.
A New Chapter
In November of 2013, Paul moved his headquarters to Durham, NC , but maintain an office in Chicago, also. He is working with an organization, called Entredot, to start a support program for aspiring veteran entrepreneurs in North Carolina, called VetStart. It has has recently been rebranded as Bunker RDU. “I have been in the professional services business for most of my working life. But have never worked with veterans before this. My business didn’t start out with the idea of helping veterans. I started out thinking that I was going to provide project management and business development services to companies in the service industry. But, that didn’t work out. I had to “pivot” several times, before I found a niche that worked”.
Paul’s big break, was when one his clients, Crain’s Chicago Business, hired him for a project. They asked him to do some research in 2011 on companies in Chicago that were hiring veterans. “I spent a considerable amount of time on this assignment, much more than was necessary or what I got paid for”. He learned what he could about businesses in Chicago, and around the nation. He learned who were hiring veterans, and the support programs for veterans entering the workforce after their military service. All of this research led to a very successful article around Veterans Day in 2011, called “Veterans in the Workplace”
Lift Off
Things just took off from there… That one assignment launched his second career in assisting aspiring veterans who want to start their own businesses. “I am able to assist aspiring veterans who want to start their own businesses. One of the benefits is that I get to set my own schedule, and work pretty much at my own pace”.
Paul has had a blog since 2004 and he is currently teaching a course on veterans’ issues. He is an adjunct professor at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. One of the things he advises veterans is to be flexible. Find an area or industry that is under served where you can add value. “.…then go for it! Don’t take no for an answer. If you meet with rejection, get up, brush yourself off, and try again. There is always more that one way to skin the proverbial cat”.
Paul Dillon shows no signs of slowing down. If anything he’s having trouble finding time to get everything done that needs to get done. Catch up with him at his main website.
