We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Randy Lenard. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Randy below.
Hi Randy, great to have you with us today and excited to have you share your wisdom with our readers. Over the years, after speaking with countless do-ers, makers, builders, entrepreneurs, artists and more we’ve noticed that the ability to take risks is central to almost all stories of triumph and so we’re really interested in hearing about your journey with risk and how you developed your risk-taking ability.
First, being a Founder of a Start-up Company is risky, but the risk has been mitigated to the best of our ability. Daily, Bo Dela Cruz and Randy Lenard take mitigated monetary and operational risks daily to see GearSwap.Shop becomes a reality. We strive to provide a secure and trustworthy online peer-to-peer marketplace experience for not only veterans and our active military members, but also the general public military enthusiasts, hunters, first responders, paintballers, or anyone else who desires access to unlimited military gear and uniforms.
Second, as “Founder’s” we have a responsibility to ourselves and our investors to mitigate, but also accept risk as required. Our ability to navigate risk has been developed over many years of serving our nation as a United States Marine for Randy and a United States Army Ranger for Bo. We both bring different levels of risk management to GearSwap.Shop as an organization which has increased our efficiency as a team. Randy Lenard is a U. S. Marine Corps Artillery Officer who retired after 22 years of Service and multiple deployments, while Bo Dela Cruz served one enlistment honorably as an Infantryman with multiple deployments with 75th Ranger Regiment. Bo and Randy went on to pursue a Global Executive MBA at The University of Miami, where they Co-Founded GearSwap.Shop. Each Founder has a unique risk tolerance, which has made for a diverse and educated team.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
www.GearSwap.Shop is 100% Veteran owned and operated. GearSwap.Shop has been developed by veterans to help members save money and generate revenue by selling unused military gear and uniforms. With almost 30 years of active-duty service between Bo and Randy, they have seen their fair share of waste and living paycheck to paycheck. Believe it or not, the U.S. Government does not pay for military uniforms for the service members, however there is an annual stipend. Both Bo and Randy found themselves purchasing uniforms and gear throughout their time in the service at a premium. Schools, training, and deployments all came with their own bill and necessary uniform and gear requirements. The only options available at the time were new or used from an Army Surplus stores, EBay, or Facebook Marketplace which was filled with fraudulent users. Then there is the problem for veterans of having thousands of dollars’ worth of Gear and uniforms gather dust after transitioning out of the service. Sell it!
“Our answer to the current supply chain issues we face with regards to military gear is a user-friendly, secure, peer-to-peer niche marketplace made especially for people who have a military background or passion to connect in a trustworthy environment.” -Randy Lenard
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Starting a small business is no small task. Tenacity, flexibility, and confidence are three qualities which have been required to be a Founder of GearSwap.Shop. According to Randy Lenard, “these qualities have fed one another since starting GearSwap.Shop in February 2022. The confidence to self-fund a project of this magnitude from start to finish has meant sacrifice by both founders. There have been speedbumps on the road to launching GearSwap.Shop, but he confidence, flexibility, and tenacity have minimized stress and risk for the GearSwap.Shop team. Building a solid business plan with a flexible mindset to pivot when required has been a necessary roadmap as entrepreneurs. Finally, tenacity is a must-have. You must dig in and believe in yourself even when there are others that do not.
Bo Dela Cruz says, “You must stay laser-focused on your target market and objectives. There is no degree which really prepares you for starting your own business. Military Service, however, has prepared our GearSwap.Shop team for anything.”
Randy Lenard says, “If someone were asking me if they should start their own business, I would ask them if they have grit and tenacity. Do they have the ability to stick with it? Do they have the ability to take the emotion out of their product or service? Are they ready to dump every extra minute and penny they have to refine and develop their company? If yes, crush it and be your best for your start-up. If there is hesitation, then don’t leave your corporate job. A Start-up may not be for you.”
How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?
Well, the first two years of the decade have been used. GearSwap.Shop is currently Live and online at www.GearSwap.Shop. This has been a deliberate development and deployment plan by our team here at GearSwap.Shop. We are proud of these first two years of the decade used. We have chosen to build this website to help others. If you are interested in investing in a proven SaaS niche market, contact Randy Lenard at [email protected]. Our next eight years of the decade will be refining and further development of GearSwap.Shop. We have a plan to build the IOS and Android Applications and continue to grow our business. We hope that with the growth of GearSwap.Shop comes the hiring of employees as well as giving back to our communities. We might take a cool trip as well once we accomplish our mission.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.gearswap.shop
- Instagram: @gearswap.shop
- Facebook: gearswap.shop
- Linkedin: gearswap.shop
- Twitter: gearswap.shop
- Yelp: gearswap.shop
Image Credits
None, The photos belong to us
