The global pandemic COVID-19, aka Coronavirus, is teaching us quite a bit about ourselves. How much toilet paper we’ll buy, if we’re actually introverts, how long before cabin fever sets in, among other things. One surprise revelation that’s emerged is this:
Military Spouse Entrepreneurship is relevant to resiliency, military family readiness, and more specifically, financial readiness.
As states begin to embrace social distancing, school systems are being shut down, and many organizations and companies are closing or teleworking, the military families with a spouse that chose entrepreneurship have not felt the sweeping changes in the way the rest of the working community may have. In fact, amongst a global pandemic, military spouse entrepreneurs haven’t really missed a beat, and here’s why:
- Resiliency
Resiliency is best defined as the ability to recover from or easily accommodate misfortune and change. It’s no over-exaggeration to say that military spouses, especially those who have chosen the path of entrepreneurship, practice resiliency every single day.
Fear and anxiety are sweeping across the country as many are being laid off and losing their jobs. As for the military spouse entrepreneurs, they’re already one, or perhaps several, steps ahead. Thanks to technology, military spouses have been able to overcome military spouse unemployment and other military life hardships by creating scalable and profitable businesses.
Entrepreneur spouses have adapted and become resilient to the ever-changing military lifestyle while running a business. This means running a business during a PCS, parenting alone, deployments, and practicing positivity in times of true uncertainty and crisis.
Though military life may throw plenty of curveballs, military spouses living out their entrepreneurial journey refuse to put their own careers on hold. When life gives you lemons, it’s likely that a military spouse entrepreneur made the lemonade.
- Military Family Readiness
Military family readiness is defined by the Department of Defense as the ability to “be prepared to effectively navigate the challenges of daily living experienced in the unique context of military service.” As more COVID-19 cases arise throughout the country, the military has restricted travel and delayed PCS’s for service members and their dependents. Military families with a spouse in the “traditional” workspace may be feeling the anxiety of these restrictions as they try to plan moves, find new living arrangements and coordinate new jobs. With schools and CDC’s closing across the country, many traditional workforce spouses are having to resort to taking unpaid time off to be home with their children.
“I’m extremely fortunate in that with the exception of social distancing, this feels no different than our normal summer breaks. Because my agency is 100% remote, we’ve been able to support our clients all across the country and haven’t had to worry about pay or finding childcare,” says Kia Young, CEO of The Social Crown and co-founder of Milspo Media and the makeHER Milspouse Retreats.
A spouse who chose the path of entrepreneurship knows that through the practice of resilience they have created the ability to run their business from anywhere- even if that means two straight weeks of binge-watching Frozen II while their children “rule the roost” to be able to effectively soar through their seemingly never-ending to-do lists.
- Financial Readiness
COVID-19 is causing an abundance of financial pressure for small businesses and families across the country. Stockpiling pantries for possible quarantine, preparing lunches for children who normally utilize the school’s lunch line, and stocking up on paper products may leave a damaging dent in the wallets of military families who have suddenly fallen to one income for an undetermined amount of time.
While some families are feeling financial stress and anxiety, others possess a unique asset that sets them apart- military spouse entrepreneurship. During this time of social distancing, this particular asset is extremely beneficial.
“For those dealing with the Stop Movement orders, if you’d purchased a home, or quit your job it could gravely affect your finances.”
While the following weeks and months of the global COVID-19 pandemic remain unknown, rest assured that military spouse entrepreneurs are adapting and thriving while running their businesses, resulting in the demolition of financial stress.
Flexible Not Optional
“Entrepreneurship and remote work allow a military family to maintain, pivot, and make these quick changes and uncertainties a little easier. I call it being flexible, not optional,” says Kia Young.
COVID19 has proven that military spouses are anything but dependent. In fact, military spouses are 100% resilient. Perhaps our country could learn a thing or two during this time of uncertainty about being flexible, not optional.
NextGen MilSpouse is the epicenter for the military spouse entrepreneur who is serious about their business. Join us over on Facebook where we offer the support, answers, and the community needed to have a successful, lucrative business, unapologetically.
