The end of a military career doesn't mean the skills learned no longer are useful.

More often, military veterans are finding that their skill sets are useful in the civilian world, often allowing them to be their own boss.

"When you get out there, use the things that are the backbone of your career," said Tim Anderson, co-owner of Batteries Plus Bulbs in Pace, on veteran business ownership. "Use your self discipline, use your ability to think your way through complex situations and things like that. If you do that, there's nothing you can't overcome."

After 20 years of serving in the Army as an infantry non-commissioned officer, retired Staff Sgt. Anderson worked at Batteries Plus in Clarkville, Tenn., as a store manager for 12 years before deciding to open his own Batteries Plus store.

"Choosing this business was a no-brainer because I had the experience," Anderson said. "I knew the ins and outs of the business -how the corporate worked and everything basically involved in the business."

The process of opening a business is a lengthy one, but it's well worth it, Anderson said.

The first step in becoming an owner of an already existing franchise is to call the corporate team of that business to see if there's anything available to open in the area. For Batteries Plus, Anderson went to the corporate office in Wisconsin and completed a three-day process of interviews, presentations and financial checks to see if he was a good fit for the company.

A franchise agreement is then signed before steps are taken toward opening the store. Once opened, you're given a certain amount of time, usually two weeks to 30 days, to hire your staff.

An advantage veterans have when it comes to the franchise agreement and fee is in a program called Vetfran, a national International Franchise Association program that assists military veterans in becoming business owners. And one of the first things Vetfran offers veterans is a major discount on the franchise fee.

Anderson said that military veterans looking into entrepreneurship after leaving the military should begin exploring their options while they're still in the service to make the transition from the military to being a business owner smoother.

"A lot of franchise owners, when they first take over (a Batteries Plus Bulbs store), they come into this blind," Anderson said. "They have no idea what's going on other than what they learned through Batteries Plus corporate or what they learn through research."

But having a military background helps, according to Anderson, in that vets already have that self discipline and problem solving skills.

"If you take that and you apply it towards your business - instead of jumping into something, you kinda step back for a minute and think about what you're getting ready to do -then that helps out a lot," he said.

Some skills that carry over from the military, said Anderson, will translate into your business. As a leader in the military you have a responsibility, just as you have a responsibility in your business.

"We have to have our employees trained just like we have our soldiers trained because we're supposed to be the battery, the bulb, the device-repair experts," he said.

The Pace business owner does admit that being in the military was easier than owning a business because of wavering day to day operations.

"Pretty much, in the military you knew what your mission was," he said. "But there's a lot of differences in a small business because you don't know what you're going to run into on a daily basis."

Anderson also said that store owners sacrifice a lot and have to have a lot of drive.

"You just have to have a passion and a desire to do it if you want to work for yourself," he said. "But it's absolutely worth it."