Jessica Wright

Life and Career Development Coach for Leaders

Service Member's Branch - Navy

Service Member's Status - Currently Serving - 12.5 years

What has been your military spouse career/entrepreneur journey so far?

When my husband and I met, I was a full time Pastor. I decided early in 2020 that I wanted to pursue coaching, so I enrolled in a 10 month Transformational Coach training program through Blue Mesa Coaching. In 2022, I left my full time job to pursue coaching exclusively. It's been a joy and I'm so glad that I made the move to owning my own business and all of the flexibility that comes with the entrepreneurial lifestyle.

Tell us about yourself.

My name is Jessica and I love living in the Pacific Northwest with my husband and our cute, but angry, dachshund, Hershey. My husband and I have been married for 5 years and together for 8 and we love traveling as well as exploring all of the fun things to do close to home. I'm a coffee-drinking foodie, crafter, reader, and an Enneagram 2. #iykyk I also have a vegan cupcake side hustle because I just can't get enough of the entrepreneur lifestyle!

Tell us about a "typical" day in your professional life.

On a typical day I'm heading to my co-working space to work one on one with clients wherever they are in their leadership development, as well as working on my marketing game and professional development. I'm about to test for my first International Coaching Federation credential, so there's a lot of studying going on as well. While I'm an introvert, I absolutely love getting to know new people and I tend to dive deep fast! So I'm always looking for quality networking experiences.

If you've been stationed overseas, how did this affect your career and or business?

N/A

What has been your biggest military spouse career struggle and how did you overcome it?

Meeting people and forming deeper connections is difficult in the transient nature of our community. We also live 45 minutes from base, and this community tends to be more spread out, so it's challenging to participate in the systems that are already present to solve these challenges. Part of my solution has been to connect with folks outside of the military community just as much as I do with those inside of it. But for specifically connecting with those inside the community, I've found squadron spouse's clubs and volunteering to be especially effective.

What role did mentors and sponsors play in your journey?

Having mentors who were able to ask me questions about what I really wanted and what I was willing to do or not do helped me create an authentic business that doesn't just copy the path of everyone else. We don't need more of the same in this world- we need folks who are willing to meet their gifts and skills with the unique challenges happening in order to come up with creative solutions!

How does your career path differ from what you imagined for yourself?

I have wanted to be many different things in my life. When I was 18 it was a band director in Ohio. When I was 28 it was a leader in the food justice arena. That's part of why I help leaders think intentionally about their career development- so others know that their career can fit the life they want and they don't have to fit in any specific path.

How did military life (PCSing, deployments, trainings, etc) factor into your career decisions?

Heavily- when I decided to pursue coaching there was a chance we'd be moving overseas. That didn't end up happening, but knowing I was starting something that I could take with me was very appealing.

Have you ever had to geo-bach due to your career/entrepreneurship?

What resources have you found to be useful in your career/entrepreneur journey?

Active personal reflection and professionals who are able to listen well and reflect back to me what they're hearing.

Final word: what are your top tips for other military spouses about navigating a career within the military lifestyle?

Don't settle. While there are significant challenges for our career to flourish, it is NOT impossible to find work that is both meaningful to you and supports the life you want to live.

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