Welcome to Veterans Radio. I am Jim Fossone. I'm the officer of the deck today. I'll be the
skipper for the program. We've got some great interviews that we think you'll enjoy.
Veterans Radio is a production of Veterans Radio America. Veterans Radio America is a 501c3
nonprofit. All donations and sponsorships are tax deductible and you can go to veteransradio.net
to help out and also to leave any comments that you might have about today's program or any just
general comments or program ideas that we might be able to incorporate into a future program. So
we'd really appreciate that. A number of sponsors to thank before we get started. Legal help for
Veterans, a VA disability law firm at 1-800-6934800. Ann Arbor Veterans Service Organizations,
Vietnam Veterans of America, Charles S. Kettle Chapter, Ann Arbor Legion Post 46, VFW Post 423.
U.S. Wings, they're the manufacturers and distributors of those great leather jackets
and military apparel. Go visit them at uswings.com. And National Veterans Business Development
Council, NVBDC, Certifies Service Disabled and Veteran-Owned Businesses. So let's move on to
today's great interviews. We want to welcome to Veterans Radio today in our spotlight on
National Veterans Business Development Council companies. Sid E. Taylor. Sid, welcome to Veterans
Radio. It's great to be here and hope you are having a good day and I look forward to our interview.
Well, we wanted to talk with you about your background and your business and more importantly,
the value of being a certified veteran-owned business and going through the NVBDC process.
But let me start by telling our veteran radio listeners that you are a Marine that after
service in Vietnam, you had a very successful business career at General Motors and even a
more successful career when you set up your own company, SET Enterprises Inc. from which you retired
in 2015 and you currently are operating SET Consulting LLC. Tell us a little bit about SET.
Well, SET starting with SET Enterprises, as you're correct, I started SET in 1989 and after a 22-year
career at General Motors. And what we did, we did an array of services in the steel
processing arena, mainly blanking and slitting and cut to length. And we did a lot of storage as well.
And we evolved into other processing arenas doing that span.
You grew SET considerably. Don't be modest here. Tell us how big it was when you were able to retire
out. Well, I'll tell you that the first five years, it was really tough. It was tough to
even break even, but I was one of the five employees that ran the equipment. I had one slitter. I
was in Dearborn, Michigan. And sometimes I slept in the plant and slept in my vehicle,
because I had to get product out to the customer. And to make sure I got it out, I stayed there
all night, many times. And started off my first year at about $95,000 in business. And when I
sold the business, I was right near half a billion dollars in business. So I'm very proud of that,
that I grew the business to the level that it became. And in fact, in 2008, Black Enterprise
every year does the 100 largest black businesses in the US. And SET Enterprises rose to be number eight,
the largest black businesses in America in 2008. So I'm very proud of that.
Well, as well, you should be. And you've been actively involved with NVBDC,
the National Veterans Business Development Council, which is the nation's leading third party
authority for certification of veteran owned businesses of all sizes. And the corporations
wanting to engage them, you've been very active in this in the last few years. Tell us if you would
said why a veteran owned business ought to consider going through the NVBDC certification process.
Yeah, just to amplify what you just said, James, you know, we are the premier certification agency
in America. And my hand goes off to two of my colleagues, Mr. Keith King and Mr. General Miller.
And these guys, you know, have put forth a plan process and strategy in place
that has put us in the position where we are now. And so I am very honored to be a part of this
organization and helping the organization to grow and expand. And it is a very necessary
organization because customers want to make sure that veterans are what they say they are.
There have been some documented cases where veterans have been able to go out illegally and
garner millions of dollars in business posing as a veteran. And obviously it was embarrassing to
the companies that gave them all the business. And one of the things that I did, aside from
getting those folks that did it arrested, it brought an awareness to corporate America
that they needed agencies in place to actually vet and certify veteran organizations and make
sure that those kind of things didn't happen. And that's one of the primary reasons that
NVBDC plays such a vital role in bringing on veterans that are certified. We helped them in
many ways to promote their businesses to corporate America and grow their businesses and certainly
help grow the wealth of veterans, period. Well, and I think it's so important that this
organization NVBDC.org exists because as you say, it not only certifies the veteran-owned business,
now that now the corporate customer doesn't have to worry about, hey, is this a legitimate
veteran-owned business, but you're also, that organization has also actively engaged in promoting
veteran-owned businesses. And did you find when running SET that it was helpful to you to have
that certification and have that promotion by NVBDC? Oh, absolutely. And ironically from,
you know, sometimes we say timing is everything. Well, about that time, because it was, you know,
it was a challenge to get some of the large companies to start, you know, I'm going to say
appropriate, you know, a percentage of their business for veteran-owned companies. And it just
will happen. I was the first, my company was the first one to be certified by the NVBDC.
And Keith came, when I received my certification, Keith came, we took a photo, I still have it
today. And so I take a lot of pride in being the first veteran-owned business to be certified
by the NVBDC, especially where we are now. I mean, we've grown exponentially. We've bought on a lot
of high-profile businesses. And just like Marines, we are always first. Somebody's got to be at the
pointy end of the spear. And Sid Taylor, you're right, Marines are there. So I want to encourage
everybody who's listening to this success story from Sid Taylor, who were spotlighting for NVBDC
today, who's grown his company from really nothing to a half a billion dollars, who's telling you
you should consider getting certified by NVBDC. There'll be great opportunities that it'll come
your way as a result of it. And you can find more about them at NVBDC.org. That's probably the best
place to go to get more information. You're exactly right, because after just following up on that
other question, after I became certified, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and many others,
they start allocating a percent of their business for veteran-owned businesses. And at the end of
the year, they count the amount of dollars they spend with veterans. And guess what? A set enterprise
is capitalized on that exponentially. And they're still doing that today. Sid has been around now
for August, it'll be 31 years. And so I would encourage any veteran that's not certified currently
to go to NVBDC.org and go to certification link and begin the certification process. If you have
any questions, all you have to do is call our office. We have very experienced people there
that are very friendly. And that will walk you through the process. If you have any issues,
I know sometimes everyone is not as computer savvy as other, but guess what? We've got an
answer to that. We don't make you feel in any way uneasy. We will work with you. We will help you
to honor the necessary information that you're going to need to become certified. And if there
are some things that's missing, we work diligently with you to make sure those things are put in
place and help you to get to the point where you can get yourself certified by the NVBDC.
Sid, let me turn now to the question I'd like to ask veterans is, how did a nice southern boy like
you, son of a Baptist minister, find himself in the Marine Corps?
That's a really good question. Let me just say it's my father. My father fought in the World War
II and then I had a brother, my oldest brother. He was an Army vet. And when I came out of high
school, that was in 1966. I was 17. And my dad sent me here because my brother was working for
General Motors and he says, look, you know, I know you want to go to college. He says, so why don't
you go to Michigan and get yourself a job and maybe start working? He said he couldn't afford.
He already had my older sister and brother in college. So I came here in 1966 and I started
working for General Motors shortly thereafter. And I was doing a time in the Vietnam War,
being drafted and what have you. And so I was caught up in, that was the era of, you know,
when you turned 18, you had to go to Selected Service and sign up. And for the most part,
you know, you ended up in Vietnam. And I was one of those. And I can just say this to you,
I would not go to any other branch of service but the United States Marine Corps.
Hey, we're not getting paid by the Marine Corps for that. Hold on here, Sid. Sid ended up in the
third Marines, third Battalion Bravo Company up by the DMZ in South Vietnam, you know, involved in
a lot of combat and firefights, including being wounded and such. Sid, I think there, you know,
there comes a point where you get to reflect back on life and ask yourself, did I learn something
through that experience in the Marine Corps and serving in the military and how did I apply it
through the rest of my life? And I guess that's my question, as a successful first employee at
General Motors moving up the ranks and then as a successful businessman, now as a successful
philanthropist, what do you reflect back on your times in the Marine Corps that said, you know,
that really gave me this foundation that I've used throughout the rest of my life?
You know, that's an excellent question because, you know, at the time, you certainly don't,
you just don't have the wisdom to realize how important that moment is for you. And it's not
until later on after you've, you know, been exposed to, you know, all kinds of people that
gave you advice, guided you, and maybe you totally didn't appreciate it at the time,
but you evolved and you grew to appreciate it because there's so many things that happen in
life that makes you reflect back on those times and those incidents that might have occurred in
your life. And it gave you insight and it made you more capable of dealing with certain information
because of that exposure. And I'd say more specifically, the Marine Corps, you know,
taught me discipline. It taught me to never give up. It gave me an inner strength that I don't
believe that I would have gone or had I not went into the Marine Corps and certainly I had the
Vietnam experience and life and death experiences change you as a person. And I will say that,
I'll say that's the reason I'm still committed now, you know, to trying to give back. And one of the
things I'd like to let you know, you may get to this and so, but the, but I did when I came to
NVDC, I've developed and introduced a program. It's an NVDC 50 state scholarship program for
ROTC students and state managers. And so we have 50, we're going to have 50 state managers in every
state and we're giving out $10,000 scholarships to a ROTC student in every state and we're giving
them a brand new, high quality laptop computer. And so, and we're going to be doing this ongoing.
And I'm very proud now to, you know, continue my legacy of giving back to the community and
certainly doing this under the auspices of the NVDC. We've put a community flair now to the NVDC
and what we do. And so while we're helping businesses, we have now expanded our reach to the community.
It's a great program. And honestly, if you're not familiar with ROTC at the
ROTC at the college level or junior ROTC at the high school level, I'd encourage our veteran radio
listeners to search out that information. The junior ROTC is a fantastic community program
and this scholarship program just demonstrates a SID, not only your commitment to give back, but
NVDC. You have a history. You've been, you've made your own luck, right, over time and been
successful, but you have that's allowed you to have a history of giving back to the community.
Talk a little bit more about your philanthropic efforts.
Yeah, you know, one of the things, my dad was a was a Baptist minister and I think that's kind of,
you know, where I get, you know, that that foundation from. I just remember how he gave
of himself. He died at an early age, but I just remember, you know, he passed at three churches.
He actually had a radio show every Sunday morning. He did it for a business called
Household for the Nants and my dad and father could sing and he got on on the radio and he sang
and, you know, he preached a sermon on radio and as a kid, you know, I didn't think too much of it.
It wasn't until I became an adult that I realized the impact of that and his leadership
and how he used to give. We didn't have a lot of money or anything, but he used to give it himself
to the community. And so that was, if that was a genesis of me becoming a person that believed
it in philanthropy, I would have to credit that to my father. Well, you have continued to do that
throughout your life and so it's a proud legacy that your father has granted to you. And I skipped
over this and I want to make the point. After the Marine Corps, I think probably while at
General Motors, you went on to earn your bachelor's degree in business management and that's part of
that I referred to as sort of making your own lock, right? You have to do the hard work to get the
results and that's certainly one of the aspects of that. I suspect that you tell people.
Well, yeah, I went on and did a lot of things. General Motors Institute, the GMI at the time
is now catering and General Motors, I learned so much at General Motors in my 22 years there and
they promoted me and provided me an opportunity to get into management. That's what helped enable
me to go out and run my own business because I just had so much experience that I had
ascertained at General Motors and I went on to earn an honorary doctorate degree
from Madonna University and did some stent at Dartmouth, Northwestern, University of Wisconsin
and University of Pittsburgh. From a training standpoint, you need that. What I say to young
people now, education, you need it, but you just can't rest on your laurels because at the end of
the day, the way I judge myself is at the end of the day, but what did I do? What kind of legacy
did I leave? Did I help someone else? In other words, don't just go out and be selfish. Find
a way to reach back. There's a saying that's used sometimes, each one, reach one. Well,
I take that mantra and that's the way I try to live my life now to try to help others. Now that
I have the opportunity to work with the NVBDC, it's given me an opportunity now to help generate
and create our next generation of military leaders. That's the reason that the JROTC is so important
because most of these students are inclined to go on and become military leaders, maybe a 10
West Point Naval Academy, et cetera. I feel now that we have a very important role to play as
NVBDC and we certainly can assist now with the next generation of officers and military leaders.
Well, again, it's a great program that's NVBDC is rolling out to all 50 states and you sort of
answered one of the questions I was going to ask as we come to conclusion, which is,
you know, what would you tell a young man or woman about joining the military today? And obviously,
you would still be telling them that this is a, for many people, this is a very good option and
a way to go. So let me switch it up and ask you sort of a related question because it's easy to
think, well, yeah, he started his company way back when, you know, you could never start a company
today. What would you tell a young person today about starting a business? Oh, you know, one of
the things that you have to do as an entrepreneur, you know, and I used to talk to young people about
this look, you need to make sure you develop, you know, first of all, it starts with a dream.
Starts with a dream. And once you dream and you're really committed to it, then you've got to develop
yourself a plan. And with that plan becomes strategies and then execution. But the main
thing that you have to do from a mental standpoint is be committed to it and have a no give up attitude.
You know, yeah, take advice, but don't let people discourage you because sometimes if folks aren't
in that same mindset, you know, they talk about the risk. Well, there's another saying, the greater
the risk, the greater reward. And I certainly had people question me, even some of my family members
when I left Geronimo, there's after 22 years, my wife, I came on my wife, I was going to she says,
what? You're eight years from retirement, and you're leaving Geronimo. And so, but the rest is
history, you know, and so, so what I would say to them, James is, is follow your dreams. I mean,
you know, sometimes, you know, you hear that said, it's kind of said, you know, kind of ingest or
sometimes people just say that maybe not real make no the true meaning, but I will say this
authentically, that follow your dreams. And if you know, and I say everything has to start with a
dream and then you get that burning desire because that's what happened with me at General Motors.
I didn't all of a sudden wake up one day. It was it evolved over about five years. I said, you know,
I think I can go out and do this on my own. And so it wasn't just one day I just jumped up in
the left General Motors, it was a process. And so I would say, encourage all young people to, yeah,
you may have to work for somebody initially when you come out of college or whatever kind of training
that you may get even in the military. But eventually, you may see opportunities out there. And I would
say, if you see opportunities, opportunities come by all of us every day. And I remember in one of
my economic classes, the professor said, and I didn't really know what he meant at the time. He
says opportunities will come at you every single day. And the tagline was though, but then you
got to seize it. Absolutely. Yes, I think we also just got some marine advice from Sid Taylor here,
which was you have to have this burning commitment and don't give up. You have to be
committed to take the hill and keep charging up that hill, no matter what the setbacks are. And
you'll learn that in the Marine Corps as well. You sure do. We want to thank you, Sid Taylor,
for taking some time this afternoon to talk to Veterans Radio to highlight your, not only your
military career, but more importantly, the business career that followed your philanthropic
efforts and where those come from, and allowing us to spotlight NVBDC and put a spotlight on the
value of being a certified veteran owned business for the promotion of your business. So, Sid,
thanks for taking some time with us today. Well, James, thank you for this opportunity
in closing. I would just ask anyone that's listening to go to NVBDC.org. And if you're
interested in becoming certified, please take the step. If you have any questions,
call our office. Again, someone will be there to help you. We look forward to hearing from you
and making you a part of our NVBDC family. Thank you, James. You got it, Sid. Thanks for being on.
And I want to thank everybody for listening to Veterans Radio today. I am Jim Fawson.
It's been a pleasure to be your host. I'm a Veterans Disability Lawyer at
Legal Help for Veterans. And you can reach us at 800-6934800 or legalhelpforveterans.com on the
web. You can follow Veterans Radio on Facebook and listen to its podcasts and internet radio shows
by going to veteransradio.net. And until next time, you are dismissed.
If you have a VA claim denied by the Board of Veterans Appeals, contact Legal Help for Veterans
at 1-800-6934800. They're experts in handling cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans
Claims. Their number again, 1-800-6934800. Veterans Radio needs you. If you like our shows that are
informative, surprising stories, and relevant information on what's happening at the VA and
the military, we'd like your support. Individual support of $5 to $50 a month or corporate
sponsorship of $1,000 to $10,000 would be welcomed. You can go to veteransradio.net,
click on the sponsorship or support tab, pay online, and keep Veterans Radio on the air.
Subject to land approval expires month in.