Former Marine builds successful small business in Pflugerville

PFLUGERVILLE, Texas - In this FOX 7 Care Force, we highlight how a former Marine living in Pflugerville went from medical separation to successful small business owner. 

Caleb White joined FOX 7's Mike Warren to discuss his journey. 

MIKE WARREN: Caleb, how did this happen?

CALEB WHITE: With a lot of help a lot of struggle. I got out of the military figuring out what I wanted to do, and dealing with some disabilities. And I had been connected with the Semper Fi & America's Fund- that had helped me out with some day to day stuff. My wife and I had a dream of having a little wood shop, and the representative at Semper Fi called me and told me about their apprenticeship program. So they connected me with classes on running a small business, resources, with equipment and outfitting my shop, setting me up with interviews.

MIKE WARREN: Could you have done this without the Semper Fi & America's Fund?

CALEB WHITE: Not at this scale, not in a million years. They've gone above and beyond helping us and making sure we have what we need to run our business.

MIKE WARREN: Tell us about this business. 

CALEB WHITE: We started with basic home decor and one day I posted a picture of me making a cutting board, and in 24 hours we got eight orders. So, we took that and ran with it and started making cutting boards. People at barbecue restaurants have been ordering them and we still do home decor and we have a CNC machine to carve things.

MIKE WARREN: Tell us about the journey for other vets who are looking to start a business. 

CALEB WHITE: As far as starting a new business, be prepared to pivot. There's always going to be a lot of small changes. This has gone way above and beyond what we thought we were going to have. We are blessed but there are a lot of struggles, so it's just realizing ‘okay, I like this but people want something else so [I’m] going with that,' looking at your target market and ask questions and reach out for help. There's lots of organizations out there like Semper Fi that will help get you started.

MIKE WARREN: Caleb, thank you. 

CALEB WHITE: Thank you so much.