Do you have a military spouse-owned business and ready to scale? If so, you do not want to miss this episode! Today, Jamie Chapman introduces us to the U.S. Military Spouse Chamber of Commerce and shares how you can get your own Military Spouse Certification.
Jaime Chapman is the COO and Co-Founder of the U.S. Military Spouse Chamber of Commerce, and Founder & CEO of Begin Within, a staffing agency on a mission to place U.S. military spouses in “careers” and not jobs. She created the Military Spouse Center of Excellence™ consulting program to teach companies how to hire, retain and promote military spouses in the workplace. She has placed over 1,600 jobseekers in careers, creating an approximate economic impact totaling over $112 million. Jaime has achieved recognition for:
- #1 Military Spouse Owned Business Overall Award by Military and Veteran’s Choice in September 2019 at the Military Influencer Conference in DC.
- 2020 Armed Forces Insurance US Army Garrison Wiesbaden Military Spouse of the Year Award.
Jaime served in the Army for 6-years, and is an active-duty Army spouse, hooah! She is a proud career and employment advocate for the military spouse community, actively working to reduce the 24% military spouse unemployment rate through advocacy, consulting, and staffing. She is a boy mom of two young boys, and “manimal” mom of a mean black rescue cat named Vader, and an Irish Wolfhound named Wally weighing in at over 150lbs.
Things we discussed in this episode:
- Jamie shares her transition from the Army into a civilian career
- When you should get help with career services (and how much does it cost?)
- The inspiration behind the U.S. Military Spouse Chamber of Commerce
- Who is eligible for the U.S. Military Spouse Chamber of Commerce Certification
- Why you should get your business certified
- How having a certified military spouse business can help your business grow
- Jamie shares her advice for military spouses starting a business
- Apply here: U.S. Military Spouse Chamber of Commerce
Meet Laura:
Laura Briggs is empowering the freelance generation. Through her public speaking, coaching, and writing, she helps freelancers build the business of their dreams without sacrificing all their time, family, or sanity. Laura burned out as an inner-city middle school teacher before becoming an accidental freelancer with a Google search for “how to become a freelance writer.” Since then, she’s become a contributor to Entrepreneur, Business Insider, and Writer’s Weekly. She worked for more than 300 clients around the world including Microsoft, Truecar, and the Mobile Marketing Association. She’s delivered two TEDx talks on the power of the freelance economy for enabling freedom and flexibility and how it’s being used to address the technical skills gap in the U.S. Laura is the host of the Advanced Freelancing podcast, a sought-after public speaker on the gig and digital freelance economy, and a freelance coach focused on aspiring six-figure freelancers. Laura’s books, courses, and coaching have reached over 11,000 people.
As a military spouse, Laura is passionate about serving her community and founded Operation Freelance, a nonprofit organization that teaches veterans and military spouses how to become freelancers and start their own business.