Why Military Spouses Are Perfect for Virtual Assistant Work

Military spouses today are from all corners of the world and speak a multitude of languages. They are often college-educated, prior military, independent, entrepreneurial, and have multiple skills that set them apart. 

The truth is modern-day military spouses are entirely different from the olden days when spouses dutifully held down the fort while their soldier was away. 

Today’s military spouses want to create a life meaningful for them. Most don’t want to sit around the house and do nothing or jump from job to job as they try to keep up with every PCS.

This is why military spouses are perfect for virtual assistant work. They can utilize the impressive skills they’ve acquired through their experiences in military life. Here’s what I mean:

Military Spouses are the Quintessential Jill-of-All-Trades

Military spouses have to develop a wide range of skills! 

Throw a deployment or an out-of-town trip into the mix (where the military member is gone for months), and a military spouse’s acquired problem-solving skills kick in. 

As each experience varies, military spouses see the world through a different lens, overcome many obstacles, and gain skills to apply to virtual assistant work.  

These skills can include:

• Program and content management
• Tutoring
• Office and financial management 

Adapting to on-the-spot crisis management makes you tenacious, resilient, and resourceful, perfect for virtual assisting.

Military spouses are creative and compassionate storytellers that have experienced life through some mighty hard times and would be an asset to a small business or startup.  

The reality is – working a 9 to 5 schedule in the military’s unpredictable and dynamic lifestyle is not ideal for many military spouses. 

Childcare waitlists on base are long and priority-based for the military-to-military couples, not military-to-civilian. 

Then, finding a position that can pay to keep their children at these facilities for 8 to 9 hours a day is tricky. That’s why military spouses often have to weigh up whether it’s even worth it to work full-time.  

Here’s the skinny: full-time daycare is pricey, and the guilt of leaving our babies there from the crack of dawn to dinnertime sucks big time. 

Then add in a deployment and multiple children, illness, emergencies, and your head starts spinning.

You’re back in the cycle of unemployment or underemployment, working part-time at a warehouse and selling MLM crap just to make ends meet.

Life in the military has evolved – gone are the days where spouses sell candles, kitchenware, and leggings.

Career Choices Besides the PX and Multi-Level Marketing Job

With so many career fairs for veterans that say military spouses are included, how many of you have acquired gainful employment? 

And how many of you have had career coaches tailor your resume to meet professional standards, but yet you’re still unemployed?  

There’s something to say about that. 

I mean, why is the DOD’s recent poll statistic on the unemployment rate among our demographic around 24%? 

Another reality is that there is an uptick of active-duty military families relying on food pantries and SNAP to provide food for their families.  

The common culprit here is lack of income as military spouses face unemployment and family finances are spread thin. This is an unacceptable reality where military spouses shouldn’t have to mitigate food insecurity for their families.  

Military spouses can take it upon themselves to decrease these abysmal statistics without selling, cold calling, and working the traditional 9 to 5 for minimum wage.  

There are other remote work alternatives (like virtual assisting) that are better than your average job!

Spouses put aside their career aspirations every time their military members ship out, deploy or leave for training. 

Don’t let life pass you by never taking action for yourself.

Next Steps: How to Start Working From Home as a Military Spouse

So, where do you start? Do your due diligence on becoming a virtual assistant and see how your situation applies.  

You can get started by taking my FREE class on how to work from anywhere as a virtual assistant. I cover how to find legit work (no experience needed) and the exact steps you need to start your virtual career!

Check out YouTube tutorials on specific skills, take online classes on sites like SkillShare, join Facebook Groups and connect with other military spouses doing the things you want to do. The list goes on!

A virtual assistant determines their working hours and what projects they take on. Sounds pretty flexible, right?  

Are you an early riser or a productive night owl? Are you that military spouse that thrives in chaotic situations, organizes everything from inboxes to daily tasks, and is detail-oriented? Or are you a creator that loves to express yourself through different mediums?  

Virtual assistants check all of these boxes!

I look back to what some military spouse friends had to deal with while seeking employment. Succumbing to MLMs, seasonal work, and selling on Etsy didn’t help fund their passion projects or help with the bills.  

It was a waste of time and money and not what they envisioned for themselves. But being a nomad left them with few options.  

While the moves will be a constant for some time, becoming a virtual assistant allows your career to move right along with you and your military family. 

Multiple streams of income will not only provide your military family a sense of stability but ease the burden of living paycheck to paycheck. You can utilize your skills, and all while allowing you to manage your household. 

Say goodbye to MLM parties, empty promises, and gimmicks, and hello to the opportunity to legitimately make money and gain a sense of purpose.

This is your time! Invest in yourself.

Check out this blog where you can read about the day in the life of a fellow military spouse of a deployed airman and mommy to two young girls. She found her niche in virtual assisting with three long-term clients, doing what she loves (and you can, too!) 

So, what are you waiting for? 

Put your life experiences, military training, volunteer time, and prior education to good use and work from home as a virtual assistant.  

Hone the skills you’ve acquired handling the processes of relocating a family while your spouse is on deployment, managing finances, homeschooling, organizing events, and fundraising.  

Now is the time to put yourself first, and a year from now, you will look back with such a sense of accomplishment!  

If you want to round out your knowledge with some of the most in-demand VA skills, sign up for my FREE masterclass! It will equip you with everything you need to kickstart your new career as a virtual assistant, with the flexibility you need to fit your lifestyle! 

In 90 Day VA, Esther teaches her students how to research and repurpose current content into blogs for the VAI website. Mia is the student we’ve chosen this week to feature what she’s learned in the course. Get to know her: