#239: Launching a Successful Government Contracting Business with Ryan Waguespack, USNA '03

Service Academy Business Mastermind

“The continuous development of future leaders is something we’re big on. That’s a piece where we set ourselves apart from other companies. We spend a lot of time recruiting and finding the right resources, but when we bring you on our team we don’t care if you’ve been with us for a couple of days or a few months. If you have the right solution, we’re putting you in front of the customer…instilling that into the culture has been critical.” - Ryan Waguespack (USNA '03)

Ryan Waguespack is the President and Founder of Iberia Advisory, a company he launched during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s a fascinating story! Iberia Advisory is a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business committed to helping federal agencies address financial management challenges. Following his military career as a Surface Warfare Officer in the Navy, Ryan supported the Federal government as a financial management consultant. He has led numerous project teams and assisted organizations in attaining their goals in audit readiness, budget execution, and business process reengineering by developing and implementing solutions.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The origin story of Ryan’s government contracting company Iberia Advisory
• Why Ryan took the leap into entrepreneurship during the Covid-19 pandemic
• Advice on how to succeed in the government contracting industry
• How to optimize your team and create a healthy workplace culture
• Why Ryan became a CPA after serving in the military

Ryan also shares some of his biggest goals for 2023 and beyond, including maintaining a strong team and the importance of pursuing the right vehicles for government contracts. We enjoyed listening to Ryan reflect on the value of patience and maintaining a growth mindset when running a business and hearing his top tips for building a successful team from scratch. We hope this episode inspires and motivates you as you lead your business this week!

Connect with Ryan:

• LinkedIn
• Iberia Advisory
• Email

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Special thanks to Ryan for joining me this week. Until next time!

-Scott Mackes, USNA ’01