Over the past six months, WeVett has been spotlighting different entrepreneurs who have roots in military service – veterans, spouses, active duty, reservists, etc.
Is it a little weird for a home loans company to be randomly featuring other military businesses? Maybe?
Let me explain.
As fellow entrepreneurs, it’s inspiring to meet others who are elevating the business game in the military space. Seriously, there’s enough uninspiring things in the world, so we sought to create our own repository of “good news” stories.
Plus, in an industry where our clients are constantly moving, these spotlights create a network of resources that spans PCS locations. Meaning, the companies we highlight can service the entire US and often overseas as well. They aren’t going to be your “favorite shop from that one place we used to live”. They can be your favorite shop, forever.
Fast forward to today.
We were recently connected with someone who is not only an entrepreneur herself, but is also elevating OTHER entrepreneurs through her company. That’s like inspiration, magnified x10!
Meet Monica Fullerton.
Monica has taken being a military spouse, an entrepreneur, a twin mom, a leader, and just an incredible friend to a whole new level.
In the midst of COVID-19 and raising twins in 2020, Monica founded Spouse-ly, an innovative online marketplace that supports military spouses, service members, and first responders who are creators, makers, and entrepreneurs.
She saw a need in the military spouse community and got to work.
What started as a small Facebook group, Spouse-ly quickly gained speed and gathered more than 1,000 members in two weeks.
Where did the idea for Spouse-ly come from?
Monica: It all spurred from a car ride with friends in late 2019. I was so inspired by how much talent was right around me. Just in the car I had a photographer, a coffee roaster, and a private investigator. I knew, from my own experience, that living the military life can be both challenging and rewarding for spouses due to our constantly moving lifestyle.
Being a small business owner allows you to do what you love. It’s provided me the flexibility and stability I never knew I needed. Deep down, I knew I wanted to find a way to bring everyone together on one easy platform for people to shop small and make a big impact.
What did you do before Spouse-ly?
Monica: For over a decade, I had a career making the money I had dreamed of and was able to work remotely for the most part, but my passion was missing. I didn’t feel all in.
This is my first experience starting and growing a company like this from the ground up, but I have been able to use all of my business, communication, and marketing skills to really get Spouse-ly running.
Why was founding Spouse-ly so important to you?
Monica: As a military spouse myself, I know how hard it is when you move around every 2-3 years. We face the unknown when our spouses deploy or TDY at a moment’s notice. We’re expected to step up when things get tough.
Because of these struggles, the unemployment rate for military spouses has been over 20% for decades, and sadly, that number continues to rise.
It can be hard to find a career that works for this lifestyle. I wanted to create Spouse-ly to give all of those people a space to showcase their work, and something that they could do no matter where in the world they were.
What does Spouse-ly offer in the marketplace?
Monica: Spouse-ly doesn’t offer just things, we offer services too! You can find everything from art, food, home decor, clothing lines to real estate agents, life coaches, and marketing companies.
The list continues to grow and that’s the beauty of our marketplace. You can find what you need on Spouse-ly while supporting our nation’s heroes and their businesses.
Monica: All interested sellers can visit https://spouse-ly.com/become-a-seller/ to apply! We verify military affiliation using GovX, and ask sellers to provide us their social media handles, business websites, and some other personal information, to create a seller account.
We invest in marketing efforts, PR, web development, and more to make sure both our vendors and customers have a good experience. As Spouse-ly continues to grow, so do our vendors.
Spouse-ly has been recognized by Forbes, We Are The Mighty, Amazon Prime Video, CNBC, and more. The marketplace has grown mostly through incredible word-of-mouth marketing and social media following. You can learn more about Monica and the overall Spouse-ly mission here.
WeVett and Spouse-ly
After meeting Monica and hearing her mission, we launched into a grand vision building brainstorm full of “what ifs”.
“What if WeVett spotlighted Spouse-ly’s military vendors?”
“What if we did a real estate gift guide featuring Spouse-ly products?”
“What if, together with all these military business owners, we create meaningful connection and a long-lasting community for military who are facing the revolving challenges of PCSing?”
“What if we could do all of this, plus end world hunger and save the planet?”
Just kidding.
But out of our discussion, WeVett and Spouse-ly have decided to partner up to share the stories of military entrepreneurs who promote their services through Spouse-ly.
Over the next few months you will start to see us feature different Spouse-ly vendors who’s products, services and mission will not only inspire you, but have the potential to be your new favorite “forever” shop.
Stay tuned!
*Article was compiled from both the below sources and an interview with Monica.
https://spouse-ly.com/our-story/
https://charliemadisonoriginals.com/blogs/news/meet-a-milspouse-our-chat-with-monica-fullerton
