Veterans on the front lines of small business

• Name: Kristina Guerrero, 32
• Company: TurboPUP, La Pine, Oregon
• Service: Air Force 1998-2010

The hardest part of starting a business for me was going from an idea to something tangible. The military made that transition a lot easier -- it's so action-oriented. And the support from the Women Veteran Entrepreneur Corps helped me launch TurboPUP just a few months ago.

My company sells meal bars for dogs, which are 100% natural, made with American-sourced ingredients. You can feed your dog a bar during a morning hike and you don't even need a bowl. My dog, Dunkan, approves the flavors for each bar.

Right now I'm also an occupational therapist, but I'm hoping by the end of this year to make TurboPUP my full-time job. My husband, who is a food scientist, started the business with me. We hope to have more than $50,000 in sales this year.

For now, we load up my 2002 blue Honda Civic and go store to store asking owners if they'll sell our product.

My hope is that I will be able to contribute part of my profits to help other groups, such as the Wounded Warrior Project and the Oregon Humane Society. That's the whole reason we started the business: to give back.

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