Building Confidence, One Business Step at a Time: How Veterans Florida Helped a Veteran Build His Own Business
For Army veteran Jody Cameron, entrepreneurship began with a late-night YouTube video, a borrowed pressure washer, and the determination to create a new opportunity for himself and his family. Today, Jody is the owner of CWK Services, a growing pressure-washing and exterior cleaning business serving customers throughout Southwest Florida.
Jody returned home in November 2008 after deploying to Baghdad. Following 12 years in the Army as a supply specialist, including nine years working in Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and high-yield Explosives, he began exploring how his military experience and skills could translate into civilian life.
After his medical retirement, Jody took time to consider what he wanted to do next. Still in his mid-30s, he knew he wanted to remain active, contribute, and find work that offered a greater sense of purpose.
Jody explored several jobs and industries, gaining experience and learning more about the type of environment in which he worked best. Along the way, he discovered that he valued independence, ownership, and the freedom to shape his own future.
“I got to the point where if I was going to do something, it was going to be on my terms.”
A Business Idea Takes Shape
One night at around 2 a.m., Jody was watching YouTube videos when one caught his attention: people building businesses by providing pressure-washing services.
The idea connected naturally with his military background. His Army experience had given him years of knowledge working with equipment, hazardous materials, and large-scale decontamination operations. As a supply sergeant, he had also spent years managing equipment and training others.
Jody began researching what it would take to turn the idea into a business.
“My wife came home one day and asked what I was doing, and I said, ‘I’m looking up how to start an LLC.’ The look on her face wasn’t the same as it was before.”
This time, Jody was taking deliberate steps toward building something of his own.
He borrowed a pressure washer from a friend at church and began introducing his services to potential customers. With each job, he reinvested his earnings into the business. Over the next year, he saved enough to purchase a used trailer and heavy-duty equipment.
The new equipment allowed Jody to pursue more opportunities while also teaching him important lessons about maintenance, operating expenses, and financial planning. He had successfully launched CWK Services. His next goal was learning how to position it for sustainable growth.
Finding the Tools to Grow
Jody was introduced to the Veterans Florida Entrepreneur Program and enrolled in one of its Launch cohorts. His cohort experience took place at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU), where he gained access to entrepreneurship education, experienced instructors, and a community of fellow entrepreneurs.
Through the program, Jody learned about market research, business planning, operations, financial considerations, and other fundamentals of entrepreneurship. The program gave him an opportunity to step back from the day-to-day demands of running his business and focus on the bigger picture.
For Jody, many of the lessons affirmed the instincts and practices he had already developed.
“I was listening to the instructor talk about market research and all these different things, and I realized I was already doing some of this. I just didn’t know there was a name for it.”
The program gave Jody a framework for understanding what he was already doing well, along with practical tools to help him make more intentional decisions about the future of his business.
He began setting clear goals, evaluating opportunities more strategically, and looking beyond daily operations. With a stronger foundation and greater confidence, Jody expanded his services to include roof washing.
That next stage of growth brought new opportunities and questions, leading him back to the Veterans Florida Entrepreneur Program for a Growth cohort.
Learning to Think Bigger
The Growth cohort encouraged Jody to broaden his vision, clarify his goals, and identify the steps needed to reach them.
Through the program, larger goals became a series of practical, manageable decisions. Instructors helped him examine his business model, identify what the company needed next, and prepare to pursue more substantial opportunities.
For Jody, the experience represented more than learning how to operate a business. The Entrepreneur Program showed him that business growth did not require having every answer immediately. Instead, he could rely on a process, apply what he had learned, and take the next step with confidence.
“The training gives you a checklist, a map, and options; Go get an LLC. Get insurance. Something didn’t work? Try this, instead.”
Ambitious goals could now be approached through small, achievable actions.
“Veterans Florida showed me how small the steps can be.”
As Jody applied what he learned, customers began viewing his company differently. His business appeared more established, and he became increasingly confident in the value of his services. He validated his pricing, adjusted his rates, and began taking on larger commercial projects.
As Jody’s business grew, so did his confidence.
Learning to Fish
During its busiest periods, CWK Services has employed five technicians and an administrative assistant. He continues to pursue larger projects, including commercial properties and homeowners association communities, primarily throughout Collier and Lee counties.
Jody has also developed relationships with other local business owners, including a roofing professional he met at a networking event through the program.
That connection developed into a valuable professional relationship. Before Jody performs a roof wash, the roofing professional can inspect the roof and provide the customer with a complimentary report and photos. In return, the two business owners can refer customers to one another when their services are a good fit.
The arrangement gives customers access to additional expertise while creating opportunities for both business owners to support one another. For Jody, relationships like these are among the valuable connections that can come from being part of an entrepreneurial community.
He compares his Veterans Florida experience to the familiar saying about teaching someone to fish.
“You can give a man a fish to eat for a day, but teaching him how to fish can feed him for a lifetime. Veterans Florida gave me a pole and taught me how to fish.”
Jody continues to use the Business Model Canvas he learned about through the program. When he develops a new idea, he can return to the framework, work through the steps, and determine how it fits into his broader goals.
The program also connected Jody with other entrepreneurs and business professionals, demonstrating the value of building a strong network alongside a business. Those relationships can provide opportunities to exchange ideas, find ways to work together, connect with potential customers, and learn from others who are navigating similar challenges.
Most importantly, Jody now has greater faith in himself and his ability to make informed business decisions.
The Best Paycheck
Like many service-based businesses, CWK Services experiences seasonal cycles. Through the education he received in the cohorts, he learned how to budget, prepare, and position the company to make the most of its busiest periods.
Recently, demand has been strong. Jody’s phone has been “ringing off the hook” with homeowners associations seeking full-building and sidewalk-cleaning services.
“What a blessing to have all of the emotions because I got what I prayed for.”
For Jody, success is measured by more than the size of his business. It is also reflected in meaningful moments with his family.
He can now sponsor his children’s recitals and school yearbooks through his business. He saves those memories, and seeing the pride on his children’s faces makes every step worthwhile.
The growth of the business has also strengthened the confidence his wife places in his expertise. When they discuss a business decision, she can say, “Here’s my thought, but you know this better than I do. I trust you.”
For Jody, that trust is one of the clearest signs of how far he has come.
“It’s great betting on myself,” he said.
“The pride I see in my wife and kids, that’s the best paycheck.”
Building What Comes Next
“If I can do it, anyone can do it.”
Jody’s story demonstrates that entrepreneurs do not need to have every answer before getting started. They need the willingness to learn, access to the right resources, and the confidence to keep moving forward.
Jody's experience at Florida Gulf Coast University was one part of that larger support network. Through the Veterans Florida Entrepreneur Program, he gained knowledge, practical tools, mentorship, and relationships that continue to influence the way he approaches CWK Services.
And he is not finished.
Jody continues to return to the lessons, resources, and tools he gained through the program whenever he needs to make a decision or evaluate a new opportunity.
Entrepreneurship has given Jody the ability to apply his military experience, pursue meaningful goals, support his family, and build what comes next on his own terms.
For Florida veterans and military spouses interested in starting, strengthening, or growing a business, Veterans Florida offers no-cost entrepreneurship training, networking opportunities, and workshops designed to help turn ideas into action.
Whether you are exploring your first business idea, already operating a small business, or looking for ways to take your company to the next level, Florida has resources available to help you along the way.
Learn more about Jody Cameron and CWK Services at cwkpower.com.
For more information about Veterans Florida Entrepreneur Program cohorts, workshops, and networking events, visit veteransflorida.org.