Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in mental wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Matthew McDonell, Founder of Next 18, located in Milwaukee, WI, USA.

What's your organization, and who are your members?

Next 18 is a mental health nonprofit that uses the sport of golf to provide transformational mental health and holistic lifestyle resource training to veterans and first responders. We provide four-day golf camps free of charge to our participants in small groups of 9-12 participants. Participants are given group golf instruction, daily golfing, food and are introduced to proven resources such as yoga, meditation, mindfulness exercises, breath work, journaling, reiki, and small group therapy sessions. Our focus is to help our participants identify a safe environment through our camps to open up about their traumas and mental health struggles not just in service and as first responders but in the entirety of their lives, and both show them that they are not alone but that it is also ok to ask for support and to talk about these things openly.

We are not in a position to diagnose or treat any mental health illness or disorders; we simply hope to introduce our participants to a multitude of resources in the hopes that they can walk away from a camp with at least one resource that resonates with them to improve their quality of life. We are simply planting seeds and helping to induce neuroplasticity on some level. We are a public 501(c)(3) and provide all this through private donations, corporate giving, and local/state grants.

Tell us about yourself

When I was medically retired from the Army in 2015, I started a lawn and snow business that rapidly grew in 3 short years. Unfortunately, the Army and the local VA had me on multiple prescription medications to combat my insomnia, PTSD, post-concussive migraines, TMJ, and other injuries to my body. When my medical providers at the VA mismanaged me coming off of these medications in 2018, it cost me my marriage, my business, and almost my life. They told me it would take 2-3 weeks after using these medications for over 3 years... it took 2 years of terrible withdrawals.

During that time, I realized that even with doing everything right, including running a successful business, living in an affluent area in Milwaukee, and getting my MBA, there were still hurdles veterans ran into. My ex had no resources to help, and I had no resources as well. By some grace of a higher power, I was able to get through what I went through and still be alive, but the numbers of suicides in the veteran population are terrible, and I should have been a statistic.

I started my organization with a focus on giving veterans and first responders a place to come together around the game of golf, which inherently has its own mental health benefits and learn some new resources, talk about their troubles, and meet individuals that can help grow their support systems. My motivation each day comes from the messages and support I receive from my alumni regarding the positive impacts our program has had on their lives and those around them.

You can find much of my information at this link: https://www.webmd.com/healthheroes/champion-mcdonell.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

See above, WebMD Health Hero Award Winner in 2022. To have something as large as WebMD reach out and fully validate the work I started only 16 months into it is truly amazing. I am seeing support from practically every single person that learns about what we are doing with Next 18. This is the first time in my life as a 38-year-old that I am finally filling my cup and finding my passion in life. My biggest accomplishment is every single time we complete another camp and add 10-12 new alumni. I am changing their lives with this organization.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

Understanding self-care and how to properly utilize it in your life, so you do not burn out! I did not know what self-care was even 24 months ago. I overloaded my plate and did not set healthy boundaries as someone who lived in the mindset of being a people pleaser. No task was too small or too large, and as my lawn and snow company grew north of 200 + clients a week and my employees grew, I put everyone but myself first to the detriment of my mental and physical health. Learning how to incorporate self-care into my daily life and to put myself first has been truly life-changing.

Also, learning how to ask for help when you need it. As someone who has always done things on my own and is extremely analytic/cerebral, I ran my first business with the mindset that only I could do everything right. While I ran and rapidly grew a successful lawn and snow company, my mindset at that time, from 2015-2018, would never have allowed me to accept a win or to bring someone else in to manage. Learning about myself, putting the work in, and seeing Next 18 grow extremely quick has forced me to trust others and ask for help so that I can surround myself with a solid board of directors and advisors who can fill in my weak spots and deliver a truly amazing product.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Learn to regulate emotionally. I imagine most don't look to this as business advice, but so many times, I have watched people who run businesses lose control of their emotions and make business-defining mistakes clearly from an emotional state. It almost never goes well. Put the work in to know what triggers you, ask yourself why, and then do the work to learn to manage that.
  2. Learn to set boundaries and have a solid self-care plan in place BEFORE starting the business. It's easy to say you will learn to set boundaries and develop some self-care plan once the business is going, but eventually, life takes over, and the business takes off, and now you are scrambling to catch up. Know that it is ok to set healthy boundaries, and you must if you want to be successful. The mindset of working 24/7 is great in theory but not in practice. Know your body and know when to take care of yourself. If you don't, you will burn out, and the crash will be rough.
  3. Have a support network. You are about to do something that will more than likely encompass your entire world. Do you have someone that you can turn to and dump your stress on? Is your partner as all in on this idea as you are? There will be bad days. Those bad days look worse if you do not have someone to talk to. Be comfortable with being vulnerable to these people and asking for advice and support before it is too late.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

We need to stop placating the stigmas that exist in our society around mental health and the beliefs that no one is dealing with what we are dealing with. We are all human, and we all have things we deal with in our daily lives. Asking for support and asking for help is not a weakness. Our species feeds off of a sense of community and acceptance. If you are dealing with something and feel that no one will get what you are going through, I challenge you to ask for help. Chances are, you are not alone; everyone deals with mental health. Mental health IS health.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://next18.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/next18org/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Next_18/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattmcdonellmbanext18/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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