What comes to mind when you hear the words, military spouse entrepreneur? I think of a military spouse who believed in themselves and their passion enough to build a business around it. Someone who was tired of explaining employment gaps reflected on their resume to future employers. I asked a couple of my friends who are also thinking of taking a leap of faith what they thought. One friend thinks of someone who is motivated, confident, flexible, persistent and resilient. I said, “Wow, she’s right!” At some point in this lifestyle, we all live up to those words.
Betting on yourself and starting a business is scary but we do scary things every day. What is one more, right? Once we set our minds on something we see it through. Once we make it through to the other side of that fear, there is nothing stopping us. Honestly, there is no better time than while your spouse is on active duty to pursue your passions. Take this opportunity and find what will sustain you, fill your cup, and allow the flexibility in your schedule to be what you want to be and who your family needs you to be.
The reality of entrepreneurship as a military spouse is that we essentially must start over every couple of years due to a PCS. Depending on the type of business, moving can mean starting from scratch over and over and over again. That is where the resilient and persistent characteristics come into play. We are lucky because the military has a multitude of resources available to aid us in finding success. I hope the following information inspires you to bet on yourself and provides you with a good foundation to take that leap of faith and go for it.
Step 1: Find your passion.
What does that mean to you? What questions do you need to ask to get the right answers? What do you do with those answers? Only you can supply those questions and answers. Luckily for us, the first two questions are universal.
- “If I had to wake up and do one thing every day for the rest of my life, what would that be?”
- “What could I do that brings me joy and makes me money?”
Discover those answers and go from there. If by chance you are like, “Nope, no idea,” that’s okay. Let’s say you are good at organizing and finding a place for everything. If that is you, and you are reading this, I will hire you! I have a home full of things that don’t have a place — help me! Maybe starting a professional organizing business is for you. That skill can travel with you everywhere your spouse’s career takes you. Maybe you like to bake, make handmade items, teach others how to do things, or even write.
Step 2: Utilize all the military spouse entrepreneur resources.
- Military OneSource: Education and employment resources for spouses.
- MySECO: Has an entire landing page for us! It has everything you need and will provide you with a wonderful foundation.
- MyCAA: Provides financial assistance with obtaining training or certain credentials or certifications.
Step 3: Get out there and do it!
One year from today, you will be glad you took this leap of faith and bet on yourself. One year ago, I told my husband I wanted to start a blog to rediscover my passion for writing and help other MilSpouses at the same time. Look at me now. Not only do I have a personal blog business, but I am writing for a blog dedicated to military spouses. Like wow, all because I took a leap of faith and bet on myself. I am not saying it’s not hard and there won’t be days where you ask yourself, “Is it worth it?” Even when things are down, you can never go wrong betting on yourself.
