He then served in the United States Naval Reserve for nearly a decade while simultaneously managing his first enterprise, a phonograph record production and manufacturing company, which he created at the age of 15.

By 1974, the company employed over fifty people under its record manufacturing operation and other related divisions, and he sold his interest in the business.

He reached the level of E5, and then was awarded a direct commission in the United States Naval Reserve as an Air Intelligence Officer from 1967 to 1972, reaching the level of O3, while still managing Custom Fidelity Inc.[citation needed] Having programmed an early minicomputer for the record company in his spare time, he found a market for the programs by creating the earliest forms of packaged software.

One of the several hundred early customers was a local hotel, the Miramar Sheraton, whose owner asked him to write software for reservations and front office operations.

From that request, Berkus turned his attention to the hotel industry that had little previous automation in its past, and formed Computerized Lodging Systems Inc.,[9] in 1981.

[citation needed] His achievements were recognized by his induction into the highly exclusive (49 members as of 2021) Hospitality (HFTP) "International Hall of Fame" in 1998.