The Secret Sauce: A U.S. Air Force Veteran and Entrepreneur Shares Her Story

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Episode Description

In 1956, Charlynda Scales’ Grandfather, Charlie "Mutt" Ferrell, Jr. created an all-purpose specialty sauce. In 2013, Charlynda learned that she inherited the coveted recipe. He didn't leave her any instructions, but humbled by his trust and belief in her, she used her business background to create Mutt's Sauce, LLC.

A U.S. Air Force veteran and the Founder & CEO of Mutt’s Sauce, Charlynda joins co-host Mike Abrams this week on the FourBlock Podcast to share the incredible story of Mutt’s Sauce and to discuss her path to entrepreneurship and her passion for paying it forward to other entrepreneurs. Charlynda reflects on how she started the company, talks about some of the challenges she faced, and shares invaluable advice for anyone who wants to become an entrepreneur themselves.

Charlynda is a U.S. Air Force veteran on a mission to bring American families and unlock people’s purpose by harnessing her gift of empathy and servant leadership. She started Mutt’s Sauce LLC while she was still serving on active duty in the military. Now distributed in four flavors across the United States, Mutt’s Sauce recently debuted and sold out on QVC.

Her passion for educating youth and empowering our nation’s Girl Scouts resulted in her being awarded with a lifetime membership to Girl Scouts of the USA. She has also partnered with SCORE and Bunker Labs, two organizations that have made invaluable impacts on her success as a veteran entrepreneur. Charlynda and the story of Mutt’s Sauce has been featured in Yahoo Finance, Forbes.com, CBS News, NBC Univeral, Black Enterprise Magazine, Military.com, and many others.

In 2016, Charlynda was crowned Second Runner Up of Miss Veteran America. In 2020, Charlynda was humbled to learn her journey with Mutt’s Sauce was also featured in FUBU Founder and Shark Tank Investor Damon John’s latest best-selling book Powershift.

Charlynda is a Clemson University graduate with a degree in Aerospace Science and Business Management. She also holds an MBA in Military and Strategic Leadership from Trident University International.

About Us

Welcome to the FourBlock Podcast, a show that examines veteran career transition and the military-civilian divide in the workplace. General Charles Krulak coined the term “Three Block War” to describe the nature of 21st-century military service defined by peace-keeping, humanitarian aid, and full combat. But what happens next? Veterans are often unprepared to return home and begin new careers. We call this the Fourth Block.

FourBlock is a national non-profit that has supported thousands of transitioning service members across the nation in beginning new and meaningful careers.

Mike Abrams (@fourblock) is an Afghanistan veteran, FourBlock founder, and author of two military transition books. He’ll be representing the military transition perspective. Lindsey Pollak (@lindsaypollak) is a career and workplace expert and New York Times bestselling author of three career advice books. Lindsey will be representing the civilian perspective of this issue.

Veterans, explore new industries and make the right connections. Find a career that fits your calling. Join us at fourblock.org. Sponsor our program or host a class to equip more of our veterans at fourblock.org/donate.