Here at the MEC blog we talk a lot about how the servicemembers from our local military installations provide immense benefits to the Beaufort area economy. However, in all the talk of ‘military economic impact’ the contributions of military spouses deserve just as much attention as those of their uniformed partners. Many military spouses are workers who bring their unique skillsets and a wealth of varied experiences to each new duty station, despite the difficulties of maintaining a career between military moves. In fact, according to the Department of Labor, 89% of military spouses have at least some college education over 30% are professionals who work in a field requiring a license such as teaching or nursing.
Given these facts, it’s no wonder that the U.S. Small Business Administration is pushing to get military spouses more work opportunities. One of the outcomes of this push is a new business training program designed to create avenues to entrepreneurial success for military spouses. Titled The Military Spouse Pathway to Business Program”, the initiative is modeled after the well-known Boots to Business program which is a series of educational courses aimed at helping servicemembers utilize their skills to create business opportunities. The new program is more tailored to military spouses in terms of curriculum and scheduling and includes a peer-group system for additional support. Participating spouses are introduced to a broad spectrum of entrepreneurial business concepts such as market research, economics, legal considerations, and finances and further resources exist to assist in accessing startup capital, earning contracting opportunities, and more.
While this new initiative seems to be an excellent idea at the Federal level, the Beaufort area is equipped to make it even more effective through complimentary educational opportunities. The University of South Carolina-Beaufort has an entire Small Business Development Center (SBDC) which is a key component of the state-wide outreach organization to help entrepreneurs expand or begin their new businesses, while the USC-Beaufort SBDC has locations on its Hilton Head Island and Historic Beaufort campuses which specialize in helping unique ideas become reality. In addition to USC-Beaufort’s Center, the Technical College of the Lowcountry maintains a Center for Business and Workforce which offers a “front door” to the regions’ businesses with training and networking opportunities. Through this Center, aspiring entrepreneurs can find a number of free seminars to assist them through the difficulties of establishing their own business.
Taken together, the new federal assistance program to military spouses and the specialized resources from local education entities are powerful tools to assist enterprising military spouses in Beaufort county. These cooperative programs are the best kind of economic win-win. With this high level of support to military spouses, Beaufort County can build more unique small businesses and diversify its economic ecosystem and also help those who most directly support the servicemembers who keep the Beaufort area, the state, and the nation, safe and successful.
