The Milspo Project Empowers Military Spouses To Be Entrepreneurial

10 Jun, 2015 by Counter Cultured

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Back in April, I attended a dinner in Georgetown with 10 or so military spouses. My friend Rocky Harrigan, owner of BuildorBuyAR.com, invited me along to catch up and meet her friends. (They’re stationed at Fort Bragg in Fayettville, NC with their husbands.) Little did I know that I’d be meeting some entrepreneurial military spouses comprising The Milspo Project.

The Milspo Project was started by Nicole Hope and Elizabeth Boardman, who each own their respective businesses. The organization is comprised of, “a team of creative and passionate military spouses entrepreneurs, who want to empower the military spouse community with the tools and skills to help them succeed in business and in life.”

Vice President Nicole Hope was kind enough to let me interview her about their organization:

GH: What is the Milspo Project and why should Americans – military and nonmilitary- get involved?

NH: The Milspo Project is a non-profit organization that educates and empowers military spouse entrepreneurs. Innovation and creativity abound in small business. Small business owners can meet the needs of local or niche markets in a way that larger corporations are just not set up to handle. Because of the overlapping characteristics of the Entrepreneur and the Military Spouse -creativity, adaptability, positivity, initiative, perseverance, and resourcefulness – we believe military spouse entrepreneurship is the perfect marriage of two dynamic people groups.

Because of the frequent PCS (Permanent Change of Station… or in laymans terms… moving!) cycles in the military, it can be challenging for military spouses to get jobs appropriate to their level of education and experience. Our answer? Bypass that entire system and forge your own path! Military spouses who desire to work and own their own businesses tend to be more personally fulfilled than their underemployed counterparts. And when the spouse of a service member feels fulfilled, that spouse is able to be more supportive of the service member’s career without resentment. When divorce and depression rates are high, I don’t think it is a stretch to say a stronger military spouse leads to a stronger marriage, in return creating a stronger military.

If you want to support small business or the military family, getting involved with The Milspo Project should be a priority. We have opportunities available for anyone desiring to give back or get involved!

Read the rest of the interview at Counter Cultured.