2022 AMSE Military Spouse Entrepreneur Impact Report

Military Spouse Entrepreneur

REPORT impact 2022

Presented by Meta

What members say about AMSE

30

GOALS FOR 2023

There is no slowing down at AMSE

31

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A heartfelt thank you to many who made 2022 extraordinary

FOUNDER'S NOTE

Many outside the military community don’t understand our struggles with worth, selfesteem, loneliness, and displacement. Entrepreneurship puts the power back in our hands, allowing us to call the shots, use our creativity, our skills, and ingenuity to create our journey separate from our spouses, and to leave our own legacy – one defined by our leaps and bounds of grit

This community needs the Assoc. of Military Spouse Entrepreneurs™ They need more support, education, funding, resources, and programming built specifically for the military spouse entrepreneur

Continuing to build a better AMSE in 2023, I know business leadership involves flexibility, change, and pivoting. What should always stay constant, however, is purpose and intention. For me, that purpose is community. That’s who we are at AMSE. It's whom we promise to serve and hold in such high regard: our community of military spouse entrepreneurs.

I intend to provide the right resources from across the internet and globe and place them in one place so that our community has more time to focus on themselves, their growing businesses, and the military families and communities THEY support.

For me, it's not about going wide; it's about going deep. Our veteran and active duty milspouse community is very small, accounting only for 0.15% of the world’s population. Yet, our needs are so vital

In this year-end impact report, you’ll see that 67% of those military spouse entrepreneurs we serve said AMSE does community BETTER than the other programs out there that they have participated in

I’m proud of that. With the continued, incredible support from our team, our partners, and those we serve, I promise we'll keep striving to do even better

Here’s to elevating the voices and needs of our milspouse community

With purpose and intention,

Jefferson Founder/CEO Assoc. of Military Spouse Entrepreneurs

Moni

SO FAR The story

Our Mission Our Purpose

The Association of Military Spouse Entrepreneurs™ (AMSE™) aims to provide economic impact to military families through entrepreneurial support and programming for military spouses.

AMSE™ provides a hybrid education model that consists of curriculum, resources, tools, masterclasses, group coaching, and virtual coworking on a digital platform to help military spouses start, scale, and sustain a business.

There are several things you will find within this Impact Report:

An overview of the impact AMSE™ has had in the past year of serving the Military Spouse Community

The initiatives brought forth by AMSE™ in 2022

The partners who have joined AMSE's™ mission to support Military Spouse Entrepreneurs

The data collected by AMSE™ to showcase the needs of Military Spouse Entrepreneurs

Data collected by AMSE™ showcasing how AMSE™ compares to other programs in which our members have participated

The goal of this Impact Report is to help the community better understand the work that AMSE™ does as an organization, as well as the needs of the community we serve.

By empowering military spouses to take their careers into their own hands, we help them gain the skills needed to successfully employ themselves on their own terms and pay scale

This leads not only to financial stability but to overall happiness and self-confidence, creating a lasting impact in our military families and further improving our mission readiness as a nation.

82% OF MEMBERS RATE AMSE

PROGRAMS AT SERVING THE BETTER THAN OTHER MILSPOUSE

ENTREPRENEUR

TOTAL AMSE MEMBERS:

2022 HIGHLIGHTS 2000+

1.2M SOCIAL MEDIA IMPRESSIONS:

AMSE continued to support more spouses in 2022 We had 127+ members sign up for our program for support and services, showing a steady growth rate of nearly 5.26% in 2022.

We also continued to spread our mission and impact on social media, using our voice for good and leading at the frontline about military spouse entrepreneurship. In 2022 alone, AMSE had over 1.2M organic social media impressions across its platforms. With a global reach from 27 countries, 19 time zones, and all 50 US states, AMSE is making its mission heard

TEAM MEMBERS

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AMSE was also able to make an economic impact internally. AMSE had over 28 team members as employees and independent contractors to support AMSE's operations. AMSE paid out over six figures in income to military spouses this past year in operation, staying true to our mission of true economic impact for our community.

AMSE MEMBER GROWTH RATE

We continued to welcome new members from around the globe in many career fields, helping us to diversify and offer even more to our members! Community is one of our core pillars at AMSE, and we experienced consistent growth and retention in 2022.

AMSE has continued its upward growth rate month after month since its program launch in November 2019.

On average, AMSE gains 10-30 new members per month organically without any paid advertisements or digital ad spending.

Less than 2% of AMSE's overall budget was spent on marketing in 2022. AMSE has continued to allocate its budget to the growth and expansion of its programming instead of overpaid marketing or promotions. Opting out has also allowed us to directly impact our members and the military spouse ecosystem due to our ability to hire military spouses

MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

AMSE was highlighted in 2022 on a national scale in the media for our efforts. Our founder was featured on the covers of various articles in 2022.

Many media platforms dedicated space to AMSE's mission in 2022, but the year's most prominent media moments were AMSE's featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur, and USAA. publications.

EDUCATION

MASTERCLASSES TAUGHT BY NATIONAL INDUSTRY-LEADING EXPERTS

AMSE is proud to continue partnerships with some of the world's largest industry-leading organizations to come in and teach our Masterclasses for our military spouse community. With content catered specifically with 1:1 support for military spouses, our community received only the best in 2022.

99 1.8k

NUMBER OF DIGITAL EVENTS IN 2022

# OF ATTENDEES LIVE

Our core pillar is collaboration; together, we elevate the community.

AMSE will continue to partner with the most sought-after organizations to bring the best strategies, experts, discounts, and resources to our military spouse entrepreneurs.

We already have leading organizations collaborating with us in 2023: Meta, Adobe, Google for Startups, Nasdaq, Hello Alice, and many more.

MORE TO COME IN 2023

BUILDING YOUR BUSINESS THE AMSE WAY COURSEWORK

7 Units of Pre-Recorded Online Curriculum

60 Mini Video Modules with Accompanying Homework and Downloads

AMSE was built on the foundation of ensuring our members don’t waste endless hours trying to figure out how to launch, grow, or scale their businesses. "Building your Business the AMSE Way” is a custom curriculum built for the military spouse entrepreneur that guides them from

3000+ Hours of Curriculum Watched in 2022

ideation to launch. Our curriculum keeps the idea of building a remote and portable business in mind (aka PCS proof) and also utilizes today’s tools and technology. Military spouses need curated and customized education.

With our curriculum to guide them, military spouse entrepreneurs now have the tools for scaling a business up and down (for deployments and PCS), creating an online network with multiple streams of revenue, and more. We know their life and needs because we live with them every day

We want them to know how to turn their career, professional licenses, or passions into a profitable business as they navigate military life.

All of this is integrated with a community to support them and do it all together at the same time.

150 Custom AMSE Worksheets Available to Print

42,000 Downloads of Worksheets and Curriculum Resources

MILITARY SPOUSE ENTREPRENEUR GUIDE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH STARS & STRIPES

When AMSE began, we decided to make entrepreneurship an option for every military spouse. We needed to be on military bases as a resource to make that happen. Enter the Stars and Stripes Military Spouse Entrepreneur Guide. This was written exclusively by AMSE writers and military spouse entrepreneurs. The guide also features AMSE military spouses you should know, a directory with over 900+ military spouse-owned businesses, and the tools and resources on WHY and HOW to start your own business.

This was one of AMSE's most significant achievements in 2020. And the MSEG will continue its legacy and arrive on bases with its seventh edition in the fall of 2023

2

3M+

ISSUES DISTRIBUTED

4 & 5

DIGITAL IMPRESSIONS IN 2022

PRINT COPIES DISTRIBUTED ON BASES GLOBALLY 470K 950+ MILITARY SPOUSE DIGIAL DIRECTORY

AMSE COMMUNITY CHAPTER EXPANSION

AMSE is a hybrid model, meaning we meet virtually and in person. Our local chapters help to foster in-person connections that military spouses deeply desire. Our chapter leaders are our boots on the ground representing the organization's mission in communities worldwide

Our military spouses get to know other spouses in their area who are also building businesses while discovering the fantastic resources that can support their businesses right in their backyard.

We currently have 14 chapters nationally and 1 OCONUS with chapter leaders. Since its launch in August 2019, these leaders have hosted 81 Chapter events and 32 in 2022.

In 2023, we plan to launch five additional Global Chapters and expand into more international outreach.

Meetups

JBMDL

Ft Bragg

“ We don’t have to do it all alone. We were never meant to."

~Brené Brown

Davis Monthan

Ft Leavenworth

CFA Yokosuka-Japan

Ft Meade Mac Dill

FtDrum JBER

Indianapolis DC

EXPANSION OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY + PLATFORM

AMSE launched in 2019 with an exclusive digital platform for our members. We knew the only way to truly reach all spouses globally was to have a virtual organization Within our platform, members have access to education, curriculum, member discounts, resources, and downloads. Military spouses have a lot on their plates, and they often don't have the capacity or resources to attend in-person training. At the time of our launch, "career" programs were mainly held in large cities and installations only, leaving out small towns, bases, or overseas spouses.

As we head into 2022, AMSE continues to stay ahead of the curve and stay up-to-date with relevant programming and resources to help spouses build the business of their dreams, no matter what the military throws their way as they live the very unpredictable military life We upgraded our technology to make it more interactive and user-friendly. In the summer of 2021, we launched an entirely new platform In addition to what already existed, the new platform has GovX verification and allows spouses to create profiles and share locations

AMSE was ahead of its time in 2019, seeing the true value and reach of digital education in 2020, even before the world was thrust into it by the global pandemic.

HANDS ON APPROACH

We introduced group coaching in 2022 as a way to provide more laser-focused, curated coaching to help spouses identify what might be stopping them from growing their businesses.

Experienced coaches from various professional backgrounds devote mentorship and one-on-one coaching in their areas of expertise.

Gaining access on anything from health and wellness to social media strategy to human resources, our members can get their questions answered and receive tangible takeaways before implementing them into their own businesses immediately.

SOCIAL IMPACT & REPRESENTATION

In addition to campaigns promoting social justice, reform, and support for various communities, AMSE continues to participate in many campaigns for impact and representation.

We are proud to represent and support our underrepresented and underserved communities and stand behind every single one in solidarity. We want to highlight these military spouses changing the world through entrepreneurship.

In 2020, we rolled out the Black Military Spouse Owned Business Guide, which continues to grow in 2022 now that we support over 2K+ AMSE members and highlight the work of our Black, Latina/Hispanic, and Asian Pacific counterparts.

For the 3rd year, 4 AMSE members were also chosen to participate in New York Fashion Week. Military Spouses Treated to VIP Experience at New York Fashion Week Presented by InstaSleep Mint Melts. They are genuinely behind-the-scenes heroes who give up so much every day. We are proud to take this opportunity to spotlight them and bring them some joy.

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

- W i n s t o n C h u r c h h i l l

Military Spouse Entrepreneur Tour in Partnership with Meta

5 military bases I 60 spouses I 1 mission

AMSE partnered with Meta in 2022 in a series of roundtable conversations to bring actionable results for military spouse entrepreneurs The roundtables focused on the real needs of milspouse business owners through events sponsored by Meta in collaboration with the Center for American Entrepreneurship

The discussions focused on impacting military spouse entrepreneurs directly and elevating their needs to build sustainable businesses.

Between June and August 2022, AMSE and Meta traveled to Fort Drum, NY; Fort Leavenworth, KS; Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA; Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, AK; and Camp Atterbury, IN. Registered members of the Association of Military Spouse Entrepreneurs participated in conversations to share how the military lifestyle can impede starting, scaling, and sustaining a business.

LEGISLATIVE ACTION

In November 2020, the Center for American Entrepreneurship took AMSE's Military Spouse data and published it in a report with a call to action for legislative change This called on government leaders to reduce barriers for military spouses to start and transfer businesses and grant access to capital to start and scale business ventures. In 2022, Senators Klobuchar and Tillis introduced the Bipartisan NDAA Amendment, "The Enhancing Military Spouse Entrepreneurship Act," to Support Military Spouse Entrepreneurship. Although the amendment did not get picked up, AMSE is well on its way to raising awareness of issues military spouse entrepreneurship continues to encounter. We will continue our legislative efforts to elevate the voices and needs of military spouse small business owners.

ASSOC OF MILITARY SPOUSE ENTREPRENEUR CONFERENCE

In October of 2022, AMSE hosted a 2-day virtual conference with 12 speakers and eight workshops focused on strategies and tactics that allow spouses to apply in their business. Military spouses have many resources, but none are focused solely on them. Spouses need to generate revenue now, and that was our goal with the workshops provided in the two days for over 80+ attendees.

The conference also included a pitch competition, with the winner receiving $5k in cash to grow their business. Lianne Dobson, the founder of Gemini Naturals, has used the winnings to expand marketing efforts and administration support.

Keynote speakers included Lauren Weiner, Chief Growth Officer and founder of Tampa's largest defense contractor WWC Global and CEO of AMSE

MORE THAN A MILSPOUSE CAMPAIGN WITH USAA SB

The Assoc. Of Military Spouse Entrepreneurs™ and USAA Small Business Insurance collaborated in the "More than a MilSpouse" campaign to highlight milspouse entrepreneurs globally, spread awareness of how to protect the businesses, and celebrate Military Spouse Business Owners every day! Building your small business doesn’t have to be hard in a life that can be so unpredictable

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Military Spouses worldwide submitted videos and photos to share how they are more than a milspouse.

OWNING UP PODCAST

Our podcast, "Owning Up," is essential to our advocacy for milspouse entrepreneurs.

Hosted by AMSE founder and CEO Moni Jefferson, "Owning Up" features insights and interviews with AMSE members and associates who share their best lessons with you.

The podcast aims to discuss topics and issues to continue opening up conversations and doors for military spouse entrepreneurs.

"Owning Up" is streaming in several countries all over the world and had 7.5K downloads in 2022.

7.5K Downloads

MENTORSHIP MATTERS

AMSE is proud to partner with the Gathering of Giants in 2022 and beyond for the MilSpouse Mentorship Day.

Mentorship is critical to every small business and entrepreneurial journey, and the #birthingofgiants goal is to support and mentor milspouses through a free, in-person mentorship day.

TEAM PLAYERS

Advocacy is one of our core values at AMSE; our team makes that commitment daily. Every milspouse team member is dedicated to creating a program that advances and adds value to the lives of military spouse entrepreneurs in person and virtually from all over the world Many of our members have grown with AMSE over the past three years. Everything accomplished in 2022 was an effort put in from all of our team members

AMSE'S IMPACT DRIVEN MISSION

AMSE was founded on the pillars of impact and advocacy. We knew we needed data to accomplish both. We have worked with our members, community, and partners from the beginning to prove that programs for military spouse entrepreneurs are necessary

AMSE could not raise the bar alone In Dec 2019, we released our very first Impact Report with only 288 data points. It was not a lot, but it was a glimpse to show we were heading in the right direction. In 2020, our report included 839 data points, and this year over 1001.

Our military spouses needed exclusive programming, mentorship, and resources, and they needed them now

AMSE continues working with global partners such as Global Entrepreneurship Network, Hello Alice, the Center for American Entrepreneurship, and Excelsior College to compile, analyze, and distribute the data on our community to the right people, ensuring that our funding, programs, and resources are being built with this data in mind Now, with the 2022 data containing over 2000+ military spouse members with almost 1000 complete profiles, we have a much better look at the needs of military spouses turning to AMSE for support.

AMSE Member Data

BREAKDOWN OF 1001 AMSE MEMBER PROFILES

ETHNICITY

Among AMSE's members, there is a rich diversity of ethnic and racial backgrounds, which is a reflection of America. By highlighting the struggles and successes of all military spouses, AMSE stays true to its core values of equality by uplifting the underserved and underrepresented

BRANCH

AMSE's largest demographic comes from the Army (42 1%) followed by Air Force (26.5%), Navy (19.9%), and Marines (8.7%). The Coast Guard (1.9%) and Reserves (0.9%) make up the smallest demographic population

24%

Of members are also U S Veterans

85% Of members operate their business from home

19% Of companies have employees

The largest number of AMSE members appear to fall within the paygrades of E5 & E6 (17 8%) and E7 (27 4%) on the enlisted side, as well as O3 (4 5%) and O5 (3 2%) on the officer side This assumes that spouses traditionally venture into entrepreneurship once they have had their bearings as a military spouse or become a little more "seasoned" in military life

36%

Of members operated their business during a deployment

30%

Of members hire other military spouses, and another 64% intend to once they start hiring

80%

Of AMSE members live outside of a military installation (non-military housing)

, g resources, masterclasses, coaching, blueprints, and relevant information to support spouses in the ideation stage of bringing a business to life and beyond by introducing strategies to scale their business models.

TOP NEEDS

The vast majority of our members are at different stages of ideation, so we seek to meet their needs at every stage. In identifying the needs of milspouse entrepreneurs, we see that growth is the top priority. Marketing and business development are also high priorities.

OTHER RESOURCES USED

When asking our members what other resources they had used to support them on their business journey other than AMSE, the results varied. Among the highest were SBA (17.8%), followed by our community partner, Hello Alice (12%), followed by the SBA and SCORE (11%). The answers showed a wide range of resources: iFundWomen, Women's Business Center, VBOC, SBDC, Boots to Business, and more, all scoring <6%.

ENTITY OF COMPANIES

More than half of AMSE's businesses are LLCs or Sole Proprietorships. The number one question within our community is the question of formation or transfer of formation as a military spouse-owned business.

AMSE MEMBER ANNUAL REVENUES

We were blown away when we started collecting revenue data on our members. We found in 2019 that 62% of our members were making <$10K in revenue per year, and in 2022, this continues to be the most significant revenue bracket in our community. This shocking figure showed that our program was needed now more than ever.

Military spouses were highly unemployed and underemployed and were turning to

entrepreneurship as a way to make money - ANY kind of money. Unfortunately, they were lacking the basic business principles to have a solid business model beyond a "side hustle." This is where AMSE comes in. Our niche is to serve the milspouse by walking spouses from ideation to launch and helping them to achieve a solid foundation to build business success, leading to economic impact and stability.

“Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.”

AMSE MEMBER TOP BUSINESSES

BY CATEGORY

AMSE continues to be the first of its kind by military spouse entrepreneurs for military spouse entrepreneurs. Our military spouses continue to build mobile, remote careers in fields not being served or addressed by "at the time" programs. This is why AMSE is vital.

Our spouses are 97% female and work in fields such as: Consulting, Marketing, Crafting, Health & Wellness, Fitness, Writing, and Education Services.

Other "employment programs" were servicing brick-and-mortar small businesses, VC tech founders, or traditional

contracting/consulting roles.

None of these fit our traditional military spouse demographic. Now we have the data to prove it.

Our spouses need resources to build digital online businesses with passive revenue streams and a digital, global presence.

They are the creatives and the freelancers, the designers and the bookkeepers, the social media gurus and the PR geniuses. And we need to have resources that cater to those industries

"What good are likes if they don't contribute to our business’ bottom line? Measuring our ROI allows us to know if our campaign is effective or not."Veterans in government

HOW AMSE STACKS UP

COMPARED

TO OTHER RESOURCES

OTHER RESOURCES USED

According to AMSE members, AMSE ranked 54-82% higher across the board than other programs This approval covers everything from serving the Military Spouse entrepreneur to our education and resources to our programming and community

64% Rank AMSE better than other programs for Community

ECONOMIC IMPACT

Despite a global pandemic, 54% of AMSE members reported that their revenues have increased since joining the program. 33% also reported a stronger sense of financial stability

GOAL SETTING

AMSE utilizes community to help our members set tangible goals and achieve them Since joining AMSE, 38% of members report achieving their goals has been easier.

82% Rank AMSE better than other programs in serving the Military Spouse Entrepreneur

54% of members report that their revenues have increased since joining AMSE

59% Rank AMSE better than other programs in Military Spouse Entrepreneur Education + Resources

56% Report that their selfworth has increased

SELF-CONFIDENCE AND SELF-WORTH

Military Spouses often suffer from low efficacy due to the trials, tribulations, and stressors of military life They are struggling to find a meaningful and rewarding career as well as to be able to financially contribute to their family

56% of AMSE members reported that, since joining, their self-worth has increased. 72% of members reported that their confidence in their future careers has also increased.

72% Report that their confidence in their future career has increased

Entrepreneurship allows military spouses the freedom to control the career path they follow, to demand and dictate their own pay and worth, and to work around their family's schedules and needs. This allows for the flexibility that the military family needs, all while giving way for a career full of passion, purpose, and financial rewards.

AMSE steps in to help with the foundations of education, resources, support, andmost of all - community. We are a global community of military spouse entrepreneurs, building businesses and

and living this lifestyle alongside each other

That is the true value in AMSE. We are by military spouse entrepreneurs, for military spouse entrepreneurs.

TESTIMONIALS

OUR GOALS FOR 2023

Expand our AMSE Community Chapters with additional Global Chapters

Launch MSEG 6 in March 2023 and the seventh edition by EOY 2023

Continue hiring military spouses and furthering our economic impact mission as a social enterprise

Continue to obtain mass media exposure for our members to elevate their businesses, products, and services

Continue our Advocacy work towards Legislative Change in partnership with Meta + The Center of American Entrepreneurship

Celebrate our 4th year in business in November 2023

Continue to grow the military spouse directory

Continue to add and expand our education and curriculum

Continue to add and expand Partners and Resources

Continue to connect our Military Spouse Entrepreneurs with opportunities to sell their products and services

Continue to work with our partners to elevate opportunities and exposure for Military Spouse Entrepreneurs

MARKING MILESTONES AND MAINTAINING MOMENTUM

AMSE is a team made up of Military Spouse Entrepreneurs That gives us an edge, meaning we are quick, creative, and can pivot with precise execution.

In just under three years and for such a small organization, AMSE continues to achieve forward projection and global impact, but we have yet to do it alone We did it as a community.

We have the established program for expansion next year with the opportunities to go places our program needs to be.

The purpose of this impact report is to share with you the power of what a team of Military Spouse Entrepreneurs can do alongside a community that believes in the vision to impact the lives of our military families through military spouse entrepreneurship programming.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

AMSE is a community, and we could not do any of this without our corporate and community partners, incredible team, and members. We want to give special thanks to the following:

Our Internal Team, who makes AMSE run on a day-to-day basis, is the literal lifeblood of our organization.

Our Writing Team contributes incredible content day in and day out, leading as the voice for a nation of military spouse entrepreneurs

Our Community Chapter Leaders are boots on the ground and are leading from the front.

Our Partners support us in everything we do, without whom we could not be as supportive or powerful for our community

To Our Members and Fellow Military Spouse Entrepreneurs: Thank you for trusting me as your leader. I promise to continue bringing you only the best and most trusted resources, programming, education, and community I wish we had when we first began AMSE will not let you down AMSE will continue to fight for you, with you, and alongside you, day in and day out.

- Moni Jefferson AMSE CEO/Founder

WETHANKYOU OURPROGRAM FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT IN