吉爾辛頓沃爾夫：從服兵役到賦予女性企業家權力

1990 年代中期，19 歲的吉爾·欣頓·沃爾夫 (Jill Hinton Wolfe) 站在蘭辛的軍事入口處理站，拋硬幣決定是參軍還是繼續在大谷州立大學攻讀學位。

After graduating from high school in 1993, Jill Hinton Wolfe began working toward a degree in advertising and public relations at Grand Valley State University. But three years later, she was standing in the Military Entrance Processing Station in Lansing, contemplating a coin flip that would determine her future path.

1993 年高中畢業後，吉爾·欣頓·沃爾夫 (Jill Hinton Wolfe) 開始在大谷州立大學攻讀廣告和公共關係學位。但三年後，她站在蘭辛的軍事入口處理站，思考著一枚硬幣的投擲，這將決定她未來的道路。

On one side of the coin was the prospect of continuing her education. On the other was the opportunity to join the U.S. Army.

一方面是繼續接受教育的前景。另一方面是加入美國陸軍的機會。

After a moment of contemplation, Hinton Wolfe flipped the coin and watched as it landed on the military option.

沉思片刻後，辛頓·沃爾夫拋擲硬幣，看著它落在了軍事選項上。

“I was like, ‘OK, I guess this is what I’m doing,’” she said.

「我當時想，『好吧，我想這就是我正在做的事情，』」她說。

Hinton Wolfe, who is legally blind, went on to spend three years in the Army, including a 14-month stint in South Korea, where she worked her way up to a role as a public affairs officer before returning to the U.S. to finish her degree.

辛頓沃爾夫 (Hinton Wolfe) 在法律上是盲人，她在軍隊服役了三年，包括在韓國服役了 14 個月，在那裡她逐漸晉升為公共事務官員，然後返回美國完成學業。程度。

Over the past 25 years, Hinton Wolfe has built a resume that includes more than a decade of public relations work in West Michigan. Her career led her to several prominent West Michigan companies, including Lambert & Co., ADAC Automotive, Haworth Inc. and Priority Health, before she branched out and launched her own business consulting and coaching entrepreneurs. She also spent seven years working at Grand Valley State University, including six years as an adjunct professor in advertising and public relations and two and a half years as director of the Secchia Military and Veterans Resource Center.

在過去 25 年裡，Hinton Wolfe 累積了一份簡歷，其中包括在西密西根州十多年的公共關係工作。她的職業生涯使她在西密西根州多家著名公司工作過，包括 Lambert & Co.、ADAC Automotive、Haworth Inc. 和 Priority Health，之後她開始拓展業務並創辦了自己的商業諮詢和輔導企業家。她還在大谷州立大學工作了七年，其中六年擔任廣告和公共關係副教授，兩年半擔任塞基亞軍事和退伍軍人資源中心主任。

Now, as a career transition coach and veteran counselor pulling from her own experience, Hinton Wolfe helps other women step out of their comfort zones and into entrepreneurship. She also founded Outdoor Book Club in 2014 to bring women together to explore the outdoors with a book, and this year is launching Combat Canines, an all-natural dog treat business that gives back to veterans. On top of that, Hinton Wolfe is in the “final throes” of writing a book based on the veteran experience.

現在，身為職業轉型教練和資深顧問，辛頓沃爾夫 (Hinton Wolfe) 憑藉自己的經驗，幫助其他女性走出舒適區，進入創業之路。她還於 2014 年創立了戶外讀書俱樂部，讓女性一起用書探索戶外活動，今年又推出了 Combat Canines，這是一家回饋退伍軍人的純天然狗糧企業。最重要的是，辛頓·沃爾夫（Hinton Wolfe）正處於根據退伍軍人經驗寫書的「最後陣痛」。

Hinton Wolfe recently spoke with Crain’s Grand Rapids Business about what inspires her work, her military background, and the several projects she’s juggling in 2024.

Hinton Wolfe 最近接受了 Crain's Grand Rapids Business 採訪，談論了她的工作靈感、她的軍事背景以及她在 2024 年要處理的幾個項目。

What inspired you to start the Outdoor Book Club a decade ago?

十年前是什麼促使您創辦戶外讀書會？

I think I was just surfing the internet one day looking for grants for veterans to start businesses. There’s a program out of Syracuse University called V-Wise (Veteran Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship) and they would do these long weekend entrepreneurship boot camps. That was probably 2008, so it had probably been 10 years since I had anything to do with military stuff. But I got this opportunity to go to this boot camp (and) it was incredible. It was around women vets (and) I just realized how much I missed that camaraderie and that shared experience.

我想有一天我只是在網路上尋找退伍軍人創業補助金。雪城大學有一個名為 V-Wise（點燃創業精神的退伍軍人女性）的項目，他們會舉辦這些長週末創業訓練營。那可能是 2008 年，所以我可能已經有 10 年沒有接觸過軍事方面的東西了。但我有機會參加這個新兵訓練營，這真是令人難以置信。這是圍繞著女性退伍軍人（並且）我才意識到我是多麼懷念那種友誼和共同的經歷。

They announced that they were going to have a business plan competition for anyone who had graduated from that program. And I was like, I am in. I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I’m going to do this.

他們宣布將為所有從該計畫畢業的人舉辦商業計劃競賽。我當時想，我加入了。

What did you take away from the competition?

你從比賽中得到了什麼？

I knew I was going home with money, but I totally choked. I totally choked on my presentation. I got third place, which was still $10,000, but that was kind of the first time I really understood my own power, that I had to control my future and make choices and just show up as confident and win something and change my life.

我知道我要帶錢回家，但我完全哽咽了。我完全被我的演講噎住了。我獲得了第三名，獎金仍然是 10,000 美元，但那是我第一次真正了解自己的力量，我必須控制自己的未來，做出選擇，表現出自信，贏得一些東西並改變我的生活。

When I came back, I just had the bug on that. So that’s how Outdoor Book Club started, and that’s kind of how I left the corporate world. That was in 2014.

當我回來時，我只是遇到了這個問題。這就是戶外讀書會的開始方式，也是我離開企業界的方式。那是在2014年。

What are your goals as you look to grow Outdoor Book Club?

當您希望發展戶外讀書俱樂部時，您的目標是什麼？

I would love in my wildest dreams for it to become a national brand, for it to become a community of women who love books and the outdoors and are there to share those experiences and passion and help build women’s confidence.

我最瘋狂的夢想是讓它成為一個全國性品牌，成為一個由熱愛書籍和戶外活動的女性組成的社區，在那裡分享這些經歷和熱情，幫助建立女性的自信。

I’m sort of reevaluating my goals and how I want to spend my time these days, and I just really want to write. I want to write about books and the outdoors and where those things intersect and empower women. So that’s where we are now. I would love to have a really big mailing list and a really big community of women supporting each other.

我正在重新評估我的目標以及這些天我想如何度過我的時間，我真的很想寫作。我想寫關於書籍和戶外活動的文章，以及這些事物交叉並賦予女性權力的地方。這就是我們現在的處境。我希望有一個非常大的郵件列表和一個非常大的女性互相支持的社區。

What made Outdoor Book Club click for you?

是什麼讓戶外讀書俱樂部吸引了您？

The funny part is I was not an outdoorsy person. I didn’t grow up outside. I eventually, after years and years, came to this realization that I just really love giving people cool experiences. I just love being able to (offer the) opportunity to find meaning and purpose in a moment in time.

有趣的是我不是一個喜歡戶外活動的人。我不是在外面長大的。最終，經過多年之後，我意識到我真的很喜歡為人們帶來很酷的體驗。我只是喜歡能夠（提供）機會在某個時刻找到意義和目的。

I love it when people connect with strangers. We are so disconnected in this world.

我喜歡人們與陌生人建立聯繫。我們在這個世界上是如此的脫節。

How does Outdoor Book Club further your purpose of empowering women?

戶外讀書俱樂部如何進一步實現賦予女性權力的目標？

The books (are) really

這些書確實