FRANKLIN, Wis. — A Wisconsin-based program is helping veterans get creative and back on their feet after being deployed.

What You Need To Know

  • Veteran starts Burn Pit BBQ business during the pandemic
  • Veteran Business Outreach Center helps veterans start businesses from the ground up
  • Veteran Business Outreach Center is a Wisconsin-based company

When Marine veteran Greg Fisher came back from deployment, he didn’t know what his passion would be. But with the help of the Veteran Business Outreach Center, he began cooking up his own business plan.

When you are around Greg Fisher, chances are you might get a whiff of some delicious BBQ. That’s because he has turned a hobby and passion into a business, opening Burn Pit BBQ during the pandemic because he found an outlet and a sense of joy in grilling.

“After I came home [from deployment], BBQ and grilling was one of those things that I found that took time and patience and I just gravitated towards it, so that’s really where my passion started,” Fisher said.

Fisher has taken his business off the grill and into the kitchen with a collection of consumer sauces, the flavors that make the meat. In less than a year he’s created a whole line of Wisconsin-based seasonings and sauces, but it couldn’t be done without the help of the Veteran Business Outreach Center.

“It’s useful to have a resource like that where I can go back to and ask questions and get feedback on the things I’m thinking about. It’s the key to my success,” Fisher said.

The Veteran Business Outreach Center helps veterans bring their business ideas to life through counseling, loans and support. For Army veteran and Burn Pit BBQ co-director Dan Newberry, helping other veterans achieve their dreams makes for a great job.

"For me, to be able to help empower these veterans, really it’s gratifying. I feel like I don’t work. This is what I really enjoy doing,” Newberry said.

He’s been able to help a veteran like Fisher take a sizzling idea and serve it up to customers successfully.