Imagine life where you married someone whose job was so demanding you had to put many, or all, of your dreams on hold.

On this journey you move across state lines (and oceans) every three years. You spend much of your time separated from your spouse. You parent alone. You continually confront isolation with every new location. And when your friends from childhood, high school, and college post about their latest promotion, the amazing job opportunity they took in a new city, or the dream artist-in-residency they were selected for, you are torn between celebration for their success and the realization that somewhere along the way you lost some of yourself as you faced rejection, relocation, and impossible job markets.

These obstacles, and many more, are an example of what military spouses (92 percent are women) face everyday. As a result of military life, where both the service member and spouse have little control over where and when they move, 90 percent of military spouses are underemployed. This means that of the current 1,000,000 active and reserve spouses, 900,000 people are searching for meaningful and lasting employment.

To actually make a dent in the staggering levels of underemployment, and bring meaningful work opportunities back to military spouses everywhere, with careers, rather than low-skill/low-wage jobs, Milspo Project’s team realized that the adaptable nature of entrepreneurship solved many of these problems. The mission is clear: getting business and leadership resources into the hands of spouses to help them reach career satisfaction and professional potential through entrepreneurship.

Elizabeth Diehl Boardman - Milspo Project Founder

We’ve grown past our start of how-tos and freelance networking. Today, Milspo Project members are part of a peer accountability network of fellow military spouse entrepreneurs, accessible from anywhere in the world. We create and produce monthly business and goal-settings workbooks. We facilitate and curate Milspo Mastermind Sessions™, online workshops, and our member business-focused book club. And because we know that nothing is a true substitute for meeting and connecting in-person, Milspo Project hosts Milspo Project Live, a traveling, one-day conference that helps military spouses connect where they are and Restore, our exclusive getaway for milspo entrepreneurs, to focus on their business in a restorative environment.

Since our membership program launched in Spring of 2016, Milspo Project has helped more than 450 military spouses start and grow their businesses. Looking forward, we are on a mission to help 10,001 military spouses, launch, expand, and reach profitability in their businesses by 2024.

Despite the inflexibilities of military life, our model of access, community, and accountability is helping military spouses leverage their existing skills by integrating them into their business offerings, build a business they love, and have an opportunity to contribute to their family’s financial and future well-being.

A strong military family of the future starts with a fulfilled military spouse.