5 key lessons a retired Army sergeant picked up from his 34-year military career that have guided him as a successful entrepreneur

Tin Hut BBQRetired Army Sergeant Frank Diaz (left) says that his military experience, and that of his team, is an advantage for his small business.

• Former Army Sergeant Frank Diaz served over 34 years in the military, and now runs a successful food truck business.

• He credited his business success to his military training, and said he makes a point of hiring other veterans because they are "phenomenal workers."

• Diaz told Business Insider that the skills and training he developed in the military can be tailored to fit the challenges of the civilian business world, and offered 5 tips for entrepreneurs.

• Visit BI Prime for more stories.

Retired Army Sergeant Frank Diaz said his military experience, and that of his team, is an advantage for his small business.

After 34 years in the military, including a tour in Iraq during the Persian Gulf War and counter-terror operations with the Department of Defense, he now runs an successful food truck company that serves award-winning barbecue on the island of Oahu in Hawaii.

While his current business is certainly different from running antiterrorism operations, Diaz said he sees both through a lens of strategy and planning.

Diaz spoke with Business Insider about five key lessons from his military background that he uses to run his successful business. From his start in 2012 with a simple military-style mobile kitchen trailer, Diaz now has a fleet of trucks and a brick and mortar location and a growing team of veterans who keep everything rolling smoothly.

Maintain a can-do attitude

Diaz said that compared to the high-pressure world of counter-terror operations, business emergencies are nearly always manageable.

"A lot of times [customers] come to us with last-minute event request or catering requests, and I'll do it," Diaz said. "I'm a can-do type of guy, been in plans and operations for almost 34 years, so if there's a way to make it happen, I make it happen. That's just been my mindset."

Develop a strategy to out-match the competition

"In the military, we're taught certain skills, we're taught to plan, we're taught how to be strategic," Diaz said. "I needed to see where the enemy was in order for us to develop a plan."

He added that his strengths in planning and strategy have translated well to the civilian world, where he says he looks to see what other businesses are doing well so he can do it better.

"In a business market we don't have an enemy," he said. "However, we do have competitors."

Draw on all available resources

Diaz has gone to many different briefings and support groups to help him start his business, and he learned something useful from each of them.

"Not one of them had all the answers, but all of them had some of the answers," he said.

Make your bed every morning

"If there's one thing that I know, it's that the military helps us to learn discipline," he said. "And a disciplined person is a phenomenal person."

Diaz shared the words of former Navy Admiral William H. McRaven, who often speaks about the power of having a consistent morning routine. McRaven's 2014 speech to the graduates of the University of Texas has been viewed more than 10 million times, and his book, "Make Your Bed," is a best-seller.

"Begin each day simply by making your bed," Diaz recalled him saying. "If anything goes wrong in that day, you can always go home and know that your bed has been made, and you had at least accomplished one thing in that day."

Demonstrate loyalty to your team

Diaz makes a point of hiring veterans to work with him, and encourages other business owners to do the same.

"Veterans are very disciplined. They're also loyal. They know what it's like to be part of a team," he said. "The esprit de corps is great. And they work hard at everything that they do."

And Diaz is not worried about a spotless service record, either.

"I've hired people that have been discharged other than honorably, and they have done phenomenally because they still have those core teachings that they've learned: that discipline, the teamwork, the commitment, the duty," he said

"People make mistakes in life, and still, I think that the military is a good breeding ground for good employees," he added.

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