Brandon Webb: Former Navy SEAL to Invested Entrepreneur

Brandon Webb is no stranger to adversity. The former Navy SEAL started out as a civilian who was on a mission to become a successful entrepreneur. He had been a member of special operations forces as the manager of the world’s most deadly team of snipers. Webb has completed a number of deployments and special assignments in the Middle East.

WHEN INVESTMENTS FAIL

Webb retired from military service following 3 years of dedicated service. He was ready to become a bona fide businessman, build a company of his own, and spend more time with his family. His start-up would be a training company located in southern California. He headed into his new plan for the future with a total of $4 million in funding he had raised on his own.

In less than 5 years, Brandon Webb had lost everything – life savings, business, and marriage. To make matters worse, he was in debt to a large number of investors.

Webb had always been successful. He was not used to failing at anything he took on. He had gained untold self-confidence during his time in SPECOPS. When he decided to become involved with the business world, he made some less-than-sound choices, including in business partners. This led to the failure of one of his first serious ventures. In this way, he learned to exercise more caution and use better judgment in later business matters. Even though he was very anxious to have a business partner, Webb had been burned and had learned the hard way what a bad business partner was as opposed to a good one. He realized that a good business partner was one who had more to offer than financial backing and connections they may have in common. If a business partnership was to be successful and lucrative, it had to be nurtured and allowed to grow, just as any healthy relationship would need to do. Jumping in too quickly could potentially cause incompatibilities and other issues to be overlooked. This, of course, would lead to serious problems on down the road and would sooner or later prove to be the company’s downfall. 

BRANDON WEBB REINVESTS

After an unsuccessful first business venture, Webb moved back to California. There, an attorney gave him some rather unorthodox yet sound advice. He advised Webb to treat his failed business undertaking as though it had never happened at all, to start from the ground up, and to completely rebuild his business project. Webb was pleased to have been given this unique perspective. He was motivated to keep up his forward momentum. He started out sensibly by securing employment with a defense company located in San Diego, then he began the arduous task of replenishing his funds.

Brandon Webb discovered his first opportunity to become a successful blogger when he realized that the public was very interested in hearing about special Ops forces. Rather than watching movies or reading books, people wanted to learn about the subject firsthand from someone who had actually lived it. Webb did some research and discovered that there were only a handful of online forums on the subject, and those were aimed towards others who had served in the forces. In fact, Webb found that the websites were decidedly unwelcoming to members of the general public. He decided to create his own website, focusing on all things special ops related. Eventually, his website became affiliated with and operated by a larger news site. 

BRANDON WEBB’s ONLINE INVESTMENT

Once the news site morphed into a comprehensive forum detailing subjects related to military news and developments, foreign policies, and matters related to domestic safety and security. From one website, it soon expanded into three. Also created was an on-demand channel offering videos via subscription as well as a number of podcasts.

Over the next 5 years, Webb created an empire from this online foundation. His media company employs a full-time staff of 40 people who oversee and maintain an eight-figure corporation. The company showed an excess of more than 200% growth last year. Webb has indicated that he anticipates similar growth over the coming year. 

Brandon Webb created a simple plan for business development: Any entrepreneur knows that one of the most important aspects of becoming successful is to set goals. These include short, mid, and long-term goals, both personal and professional. In this way, it is easy to see growth in each area and to determine where more work may be needed. 
For this reason, goals are necessary for the creation of a successful business. 

He further made note of the fact that implementing the correct ideas and plans relative to one’s business is an extremely important step. Not every company will benefit from a plan that may look good on the surface. Webb knew from past experience that if plans were not solidified and goals set in place, a business would have no foundation and would be pulled in one direction and another until failure was inevitable. 

THE ENTREPRENEURIAL INVESTMENT

Brandon Webb set out to make his entrepreneurial dreams come true through determination, resolve, and with $10,000 of his own hard-earned money in his pocket. He has not currently raised money for his new business; he is exploring all of his options at this time. In fact, he is presently considering putting a percentage of his business up for sale in order to raise money to make some progressive moves for his company. He is considering looking into working with some of the top cable networks while avoiding the larger media companies as they are dealing with switching over to digital formats. A significant amount of capital will be necessary for Webb’s company to successfully undertake a challenge of this magnitude.

Webb advises any newcomers to the business world to have a true and clear understanding of the importance of money and how to best make it work for them. This skill will make all the difference to their success or failure. Through hands-on experience, they will discover what does and does not work for them and their projects. 

BRANDON WEBB the BUSINESS MAN

The secret to success is knowing what your target group/consumers want. This will be the basis of your company’s entire existence. Brandon Webb realized this and put together a team of like-minded individuals. Working together with the same goals in mind, they put this philosophy into practice. His company does not have to rely heavily on revenue generated by advertising. Knowing how and when to provide a popular and/or necessary product or service and then building a relationship with clients is the key to building a successful and lucrative business. Webb’s team also conducts frequent surveys in order to stay up to date on the current interests and needs of their clients past and present, as well as potential newcomers.

SUCCESSFUL PRACTICES PAY OFF

Webb takes a mini-Sabbatical for 3-4 days each November to consider what moves he wants to make in the year ahead in three main categories: Personal Family, and Business. Once he has made these determinations, everything else tends to fall in to place on its own. This simple exercise helps him to better focus on the bigger picture.

Prior to the beginning of a new year, Webb meets with his team for a content planning session where he details to them his visions and plans for the coming year and asks for their input. Team involvement and everyone being on the same page is essential to the company’s success, according to Webb. He never forgets the importance of listening to everyone’s ideas. After all, he chose them to be on his team for a reason. This concept has had a major impact on consumers, leading to excellent revenue and a top-notch reputation for the company.