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No Shield for Security: A Guard Who Owned th Company, My Story with Signal 88 (The Z-Files ... Zen³
He Bought a Business to Find His Freedom. Instead, He Found a War on Two Fronts.
Gerald, a Navy veteran with a warrior’s spirit and an unquiet heart, left the military with one to build something of his own. After years of battling corporate "managers" who stifled his natural leadership, franchising offered the perfect a proven system, a recognized brand, and a shield for his entrepreneurial dream.
But the shield was heavier than it looked.
In this raw and unflinchingly honest memoir, Gerald takes you inside the gilded cage of the franchise world. The “royal treatment” and promises of a turnkey business quickly gave way to the harsh reality of a corporate dictatorship hidden under a smile. He found himself fighting a lonely war on two one against an indifferent market where the “national brand” was a ghost, and another against the suffocating micromanagement, relentless financial pressures, and scarcity mindset of the very system meant to support him.
No Shield for Security is more than a business memoir; it is a survivor’s guide to the hidden costs of the American Dream. It’s a story about the crushing weight of a shattered partnership, the slow burn of stress-induced depression, and the agonizing choice between fighting for a bankrupt vision or having the courage to save yourself.
For any aspiring entrepreneur, disillusioned franchisee, or leader who has ever felt trapped by the system, this book is a testament to the fact that true freedom isn't about owning a business—it's about owning your life. It is a map of a storm, and a lesson in how to find the profound, unburdened peace that only comes after you have the strength to let go of the shield.
Gerald, a Navy veteran with a warrior’s spirit and an unquiet heart, left the military with one to build something of his own. After years of battling corporate "managers" who stifled his natural leadership, franchising offered the perfect a proven system, a recognized brand, and a shield for his entrepreneurial dream.
But the shield was heavier than it looked.
In this raw and unflinchingly honest memoir, Gerald takes you inside the gilded cage of the franchise world. The “royal treatment” and promises of a turnkey business quickly gave way to the harsh reality of a corporate dictatorship hidden under a smile. He found himself fighting a lonely war on two one against an indifferent market where the “national brand” was a ghost, and another against the suffocating micromanagement, relentless financial pressures, and scarcity mindset of the very system meant to support him.
No Shield for Security is more than a business memoir; it is a survivor’s guide to the hidden costs of the American Dream. It’s a story about the crushing weight of a shattered partnership, the slow burn of stress-induced depression, and the agonizing choice between fighting for a bankrupt vision or having the courage to save yourself.
For any aspiring entrepreneur, disillusioned franchisee, or leader who has ever felt trapped by the system, this book is a testament to the fact that true freedom isn't about owning a business—it's about owning your life. It is a map of a storm, and a lesson in how to find the profound, unburdened peace that only comes after you have the strength to let go of the shield.
55 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 21, 2025
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