Milspo-Owned Powerhouse Reflects on Year of Empowering the Homefront

By: Julie Kirchner

On a stormy September morning in 2022, a group of Powerhouse team members gathered in a hotel hospitality suite high above St. Pete beach. Powerhouse knows how to have fun together as a team, and no amount of rain could dampen the spirits of this group. The energy in the room was as palpable as the humidity. The company’s 10-year anniversary celebration had brought together Powerhouse freelancers and their spouses from all corners of the United States to commemorate the important milestone together. For many, it was our first time together in person, even having worked together remotely for years.

The focus of the agenda this particular morning was rooted in a core part of Powerhouse’s team culture—our mission to “Share the Goodness”—and the room quickly filled with stories, ideas, and plans to launch a program to help lift up other military spouses with career support. It was then that an official volunteer committee was formed, and Powerhouse’s Empowering the Homefront program was born.

Empowering the Homefront is a pilot program designed by Powerhouse Planning to empower and provide career support to military spouses. Through the program, military spouses have the opportunity to be selected through an application process to receive career kick-start prizes, including free resume makeovers, mentorship, and other career tools and support.

As a Coast Guard spouse, Jessica Bertsch knows firsthand the sacrifices and unique challenges military spouses face, which led to her creation of Powerhouse Planning, a company devoted to providing clients with remote team solutions through employment of skills and talents of military spouses and other remotely located individuals. We have lived and seen the amazing skills military spouses possess that are often underutilized as they support their spouses’ military careers, which require them to be flexible and adaptive.

In its first year (2023), the Empowering the Homefront program was designed to launch in several key phases:

  • Quarter 1/March – Powerhouse provided free resume makeover and design services for four military spouses.
  • Quarter 2/May – Powerhouse partnered with LinkedIn Social Impact to offer a free LinkedIn workshop and coaching opportunity for 50 military spouses.
  • Quarter 3/August – Powerhouse’s Mentor Matchup program connected our experienced freelance team members with five military spouses to provide six months of free one-on-one mentorship in a remote career interest area of their choice, spanning graphic design, web design, project management, grant writing, content creation, executive assisting, and entrepreneurship.
  • Quarter 4/December – Powerhouse has once again partnered with LinkedIn Social Impact to provide a second LinkedIn workshop and coaching opportunity to 50 more military spouses! [Click here to learn more.]

The Empowering the Homefront program is designed to support any military spouse of an active-duty service member from any United States military branch of service. The opportunities offered are excellent for anyone navigating a career change, returning to work from a career gap, or simply learning how to flourish and build a career that complements their military lifestyle.

We were excited to see the impact of this program come to life and hear from fellow military spouses, like Empowering the Homefront resume makeover winner Ashley, about how this support helped raise both confidence and spirits while providing practical ready-to-use tools to empower individuals in their career journeys, wherever they are right now.

“As a military spouse, my nursing career has been put on the back burner due to multiple cross-country moves, deployments, and crazy family schedules. On my resume, I was having a hard time selling myself with so many work gaps and 1-to-2-year job changes. Powerhouse Planning was able to help me update my resume and really make it shine. Communication was top-notch, and they answered all of my questions and concerns in a timely manner. My updated resume has given me more confidence, and I am now looking forward to applying for jobs at our new duty station!”

– Ashley M., Marine Corps Spouse

Empowering the Homefront also creates meaningful volunteer opportunities for our Powerhouse team members, who enjoy giving back to the community. Military spouse Rossmery Oakes is an experienced website and graphic designer and a Powerhouse mentor for the Mentor Matchup program in 2023. Rossmery shares, “I hope my mentee gains valuable insights on making their graphic design career PCS- and military-life-friendly and help finding the confidence needed to initiate their own successful professional path in the field.”

Sarah Zerr, PMP, is an experienced project manager and serves as a Powerhouse mentor for the program. “I choose to serve as a mentor for this program because I have received plenty of assistance along my journey and paying it back (and forward) is important,” Zerr says. “From my own experience as a military spouse and veteran, the connections made with other service members and milspouses are some of the best aspects of military life. Sharing similar circumstances that are unique to most other people’s life quickly forges meaningful and enduring bonds. I have found other milspouses are usually willing to help however they can, so to be a resource for someone aiming to further their professional development is important to me.”

To view a video overview of the Empowering the Homefront program and learn more, click here.

We can’t wait to tell you about even more exciting developments to the Empowering the Homefront program—coming soon! Are you a military spouse looking for career tools and support? We would love to stay connected with you! Send us an email at [email protected] or connect with us on Facebook and LinkedIn.