Why Military Spouses Make Great Virtual Assistants

If you ask any business owner what qualities they look for when bringing people in to help them grow and manage their company, most will tell you that they look for a hard-working, committed person who is resilient and capable. Along with the necessary skills required to get the job done, business owners seek a particular ethos or way of being that is hard to put into words and even harder to quantify. Yet, these intangible qualities can mean the difference between a company succeeding and one that fails to thrive.

Military spouses have that essence.

Stresses associated with the unknown and the pressures of managing a complicated and dynamic lifestyle make military spouses perfectly suited to handle the demands of any small business. They are highly flexible, determined, and know what it takes to remain committed to a cause outside of and greater than themselves. 

This is why military spouses make great virtual assistants.

WHO ARE MILITARY SPOUSES?

According to a 2019 Military One Source report, there are approximately 605,000 spouses of active-duty members of the armed forces. Of those, 90 percent are women, with an average age of 31.6 years old.

The research shows that military spouses are highly educated individuals with a wide range of professional experience. In fact, over 33% of all military spouses have four-year college degrees. That is about 10% higher than their civilian counterparts. 

Yet, according to the findings in a 2020 Military Lifestyle Family Survey conducted by Blue Star Families, the unemployment rate of active-duty spouses is nearly seven times higher than the unemployment rate of similar civilian peers. 

ENTRENCHED MILITARY SPOUSE EMPLOYMENT PROBLEMS

For decades military spouses have struggled to find employment that would allow them to consistently contribute to their family's financial stability. Many cite limited access to affordable child care and having to move to bases with financially depressed local labor markets as reasons it is difficult to obtain gainful and fulfilling employment. More than half of military spouses believe that their military affiliation has prevented them from getting jobs or promotions. They experience employers who are reluctant to hire spouses when they know they may have to move away in a few years. 

Employed military spouses also report that they are in jobs that are below their capability and competency. Between 31–51% of military spouses are underemployed or not doing work that makes full use of their skills and abilities. Experts agree that underemployment can be just as psychologically damaging as unemployment in that it can erode enthusiasm, feelings of self-worth, and confidence. 

The irony is, military spouses are incredibly smart and capable individuals with a range of skills and experience that would suit many career paths. They are multitasking experts. Along with the professional experiences they have acquired, they are pros at planning, researching, adapting, and getting the job done.

Military spouses are ready and eager for meaningful work opportunities.

THE VIRTUAL ASSISTANT CAREER PATH

The virtual assistant career path is perfect for military spouses who want to use their education and skills to add value to growing businesses. Being a virtual assistant offers military spouses flexibility, portability, and a sense of purpose.

FLEXIBILITY

Military spouses can be a vital asset to any workforce, but the flexibility of virtual assistant work makes it the perfect fit for any military spouse. 

A virtual assistant is an independent professional who is highly skilled in a variety of ways. They provide critical support services to businesses and entrepreneurs from remote environments. Tasks often outsourced to virtual assistants range from administrative and technical to marketing, financial and creative work. 

Virtual assistants are freelance contractors that file 1099 tax forms. Working as an independent contractor from home means a virtual assistant can determine their own schedules and how many hours they work. This is a perfect fit for military spouses. They often enjoy or prefer being self-employed because they can arrange their work around the demands of their lifestyle. Many want - or need - to work outside the traditional 9-5 workday because their spouse works irregular hours or is constantly pulled to training missions and deployments. 

This flexibility also benefits the manager who is looking to outsource tasks. 

Military spouses virtual assistants are a great cost-effective way for small business owners to get the help they need. Business owners can designate what hours work needs to be completed and find a more than willing military spouse virtual assistant living near a base in a different time zone to fill that time slot. Ecommerce or businesses with a need for 24-hour customer service benefit tremendously from having a military spouse virtual assistant working nighttime or during off-hours. 

PORTABILITY

Blue Star Families reports that over 600,000 military families move across state lines each year when the active duty member is ordered to execute a PCS, or permanent change of station move. The constant moving military families experience is an enormous disruption to life and employment advancements that civilian counterparts experience. The first 6-12 months of any move are emotionally taxing and financially stressful. 

Recently, the federal government has been working with states to develop new initiatives that will help to ease the transfer of professional licensing requirements from state to state. These initiatives are a great support and indicate progress. However, military spouses in many other career fields find themselves embarking on a new job search every couple of years, with no programs or incentives in place to assist them in finding employment.

Being a virtual assistant offers military spouses the freedom to bring their job with them when they have to move, which is rarely possible when working within traditional office environments. A military spouse can work as a virtual assistant from anywhere with just a few essential tools (like a good desktop computer or laptop, strong WiFi with a reliable connection, and a cell phone).

Working remotely has become more commonplace due in great part to technological advancements and cloud-based platforms. Training on new systems and software is also now much more feasible thanks to online learning sites like Udemy and Skillshare. These online learning communities offer a wealth of a-la-carte classes and courses for military spouses looking to learn new skills or understand how already acquired skills can be used from a remote location. Additionally, many cloud-based applications commonly used in remote work offer free training directly on their site, making self-directed learning practical and inexpensive.

Military spouses have the drive and determination to be self-directed learners, making them assets to any organization.

ETHOS

Due to their affiliation with the armed forces, military spouses have a service mindset. Their decision to build a family with a spouse who has dedicated their life to the defense of our nation proves this. Service means working toward the betterment of others, often by way of sacrifice and selflessness. Being a military spouse means putting the nation's needs ahead of all else, including familial, financial, and geographic preferences. They do what it takes to get the job done.

This mindset makes military spouses great virtual assistants.

The military spouses that work as Freedom Makers are determined, resilient, and above all, proactive. They are practiced at remaining steady and consistent even in a state of constant change. Complicated defense department acronyms and plans that change as quickly as they are made, dangerous deployments that take an emotional and psychological toll… military spouses are well equipped to persevere and thrive in the dynamic and fluid work environments small businesses often experience.

IN CONCLUSION

Military spouses are grateful to have flexible and portable work that they can build into a career that benefits their families. Because of their service mindset and vast experience with dynamic change, military spouses make excellent virtual assistants. They are proactive and communicative problem solvers who execute strong decision-making. Freedom Makers is proud of our military spouses and the value they consistently contribute to their clients' successes.