A Case for Entrepreneurship for Military Spouses
by Matt Zemon

Being married to a service member makes finding work uniquely challenging. Moving frequently often means that just when you are settling into a new job, you are off to a new assignment and have to start your job search all over again. Entrepreneurship might be your ticket out of that revolving door of job-hunting by allowing you to create a future that you design and that can go wherever you go.

If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It

Entrepreneurship can be the road to pursuing your passion. More and more, people are finding ways to make money doing something they really care about and you can too. Whether it is a hobby that you love, an idea for a new or better product or service, or a community service project you are passionate about, there is a way to turn it into a business. If you have ever said to yourself, "I know I could do that better", now is your chance to go for it.

The first step is having confidence in your idea and your abilities. Then, you need to harness the initiative to create your personal business plan to achieve your objectives.During this phase of the process I highly recommend reading "The Start-Up Of You" by Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha.  They also have a number of free resources on their website, www.thestartupofyou.com.  One tool you might consider using is "The Business Model Canvas."  You can get a free version of this tool as well as some helpful tips at www.businessmodelgeneration.com/canvas.

It Is Not As Risky As You Think

Many people thinkthat being an entrepreneur is just too "risky".  The truth is, entrepreneurship is on the rise because corporate and professional jobs aren't what they used to be. As our economy continues to change, there are a dwindling number of the jobs that used to be considered "safe". If you have a corporate job today you live with the ongoing specter of downsizing on top of the probability of your spouse being transferred. Even traditionally lucrative professions like law and finance have roughly twice the number of qualified applicants for the jobs available.

You don't have to live with the uncertainty that comes with working for someone else. Even with the risk associated with starting your own business, you are the master of your fate.  As an entrepreneur, your actions have a direct and immediate impact on the progress of your business. You always know where you stand because you make the decisions and you see the results.

Another consideration is the financial upside of entrepreneurial risk. There is a real opportunity to match or far exceed the income you can make in a traditional job, even a really good job. If you want to know more, pick up Leonard Schlesinger's book "Just Start:  Embrace Uncertainty and Create the Future" published by Harvard Review Press or read his co-author Paul Brown's Forbes column, "More Evidence Why Becoming An Entrepreneur Is Less Scary Than You Think."

The Choices Are Yours

When starting a new business, you can expect to put a great deal of time and energy into creating an ongoing, profitable concern. If you are like most entrepreneurs you see that as the price for more freedom later. However, you can build your short and long- term business plans on your personal priorities about time and income.As an entrepreneur you call the shots and that means you decide how high is up. If time with your family is a priority, you can build that into your plans. One of the key tenants of Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO), a global business network of 9,500 entrepreneurs, is that the path to creating a successful business means finding the right balance between business, personal and family. 

Finally, and especially for military spouses, starting your own business means that you can usually run it from anywhere; no matter where military life takes you or how often you move.This is a great advantage when your spouse could be re-deployed at any time.

Matt Zemon is the President & CEO of American Support, a telesales provider to 5 of the top 10 cable companies in America and one of the "Top 10 places in the cable industry to work" according to CableFax magazine and one of the world's "Most Democratic Organizations" as certified by WorldBlu. Zemon is also a board member for LiveAnswer.

Zemon is co-President of Jobs4America, the Entrepreneur-in-Residence for the National Military Spouse Network and a former board member of Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) Raleigh Durham. 

Have a question about your business plan for Matt? Ask here. Your question/answer may be printed in a future issue.