Instant Teams

Hello, I’m Danielle! I’m an Army spouse stationed in Korea. We have two small boys that amaze me every day with their resiliency. I met my husband while backpacking around the world and 14 years later we have called eight duty stations in four countries home! We bonded over a love of travel, which is definitely a bonus in military life. I’ve been fortunate to be awarded Armed Forces Insurance Area IV Korea Spouse of the Year 2017.

I’m an avid long distance runner and one of the best parts of my week is meeting with my running group. I also am a yoga addict and have taught yoga for many years.

My professional passion is marketing, and I’ve over 15 years experience building global brands. In 2009, I founded Insie Mamaa, a marketing consultancy business serving both corporate clients and small businesses. In particular, I love helping military spouses and veterans build their businesses through effective marketing strategies.

What was your first move towards working in a remote capacity and/or becoming a military spouse entrepreneur?

I started my career following a traditional path, working for Mars and then Unilever. We made the decision as a couple to live in different countries, so we could both progress our careers at a similar pace. The distance was challenging, but we made it work. After six years we decided to move to one home together finally, and I was able to gain a great marketing role. Once we received orders for our next duty station, which was a move from Germany to the U.S., I had to re-evaluate my career. I put together a work from home proposal for my boss and after establishing clear ways of working and expectations she agreed to the experiment. This was a huge success professionally, as I was able to do what I loved for a company I loved. However, I found myself traveling Internationally all of the time and working in lots of different time zones. Once I was pregnant with my first child, the time came to embrace entrepreneurship fully; to give my family the flexibility we needed, while being able to pursue my career ambitions.

What is your definition of military spouses as an ‘untapped resource’?

Military spouses as an untapped resource is an area of great frustration for me, as many employers do not recognize the incredible contribution we make and appreciate the enormous talent we bring. I have had to work harder than my counterparts to show that even though I may not have the flexibility of traditional employee, the benefits I bring to the organization are immense. I see so many spouses doing jobs they are grossly over-qualified for because as spouses we are required to move regularly, often have gaps in our resume or have an eclectic mix of employment.

Military spouses have a large range of transferable skills. We often struggle to either communicate these skills or can’t find employers who appreciate them. For example, we are resilient, globally aware and problem solve on a regular basis. I often share with clients that I worked full time while studying for my MBA while having a deployed spouse and leading an FRG. My story is not uncommon, but sharing this with clients helps them to recognize that I am committed and hard-working. However, I also have received feedback that while employers appreciate this, the fact that I could move at any time is a barrier the corporation is not prepared to overlook.

Military spouses are underemployed, and I see so many who are unable to find work especially in Korea/OCONUS. As a way to build skills many volunteer, contributing tremendously to the community. When they return to the U.S., it’s challenging to find work and truly communicate all they achieved in volunteer positions.

What would you tell other military spouses looking to start a professional career?

My best piece of advice is to remain flexible and open to opportunities. Flexibility is critical, as our lifestyle is not a traditional one and therefore our professional development requires some creative thinking. It’s important to have a vision of where you want to go professionally, but not be too rigid in pursuing this passion. For example, if you want to manage big brands, but there are no marketing roles in your area, how can you obtain internships, gain experience in the marketing field and pursue professional marketing qualifications?

I’m a huge proponent that opportunities are a result of hard work, and sometimes you will have to work differently from your non-military spouse counterparts to develop in your career.

Being flexible and open is also about building a network and talking to people in professional careers to understand what they do, how they did it and also how you can connect with people in your chosen field. There are so many successful professionals in organizations who can help. Find them on social media like LinkedIn.

If you were put on a panel involved in an initiative to improve military spouse employment opportunities and corporate awareness of the MadSkills that professional spouses bring to the workforce, what suggestions would you make?

First, I would share stories of military spouses advancing their careers, as this would immediately be incredibly powerful. Simply building awareness that as military spouses we are educated, capable and eager to build careers that would have an enormous impact on corporations.

I would also like to provide suggestions of how employers could better embrace flexible work through smarter use of technology, but also by creating dialogue between employers and employees to agree on a mutually beneficial way of working. For example, I agreed to spending three days a week in the office per month, which required me to fly and pay part of the airline fees. For me, this was a smart investment in my career.

Connect with Danielle on LinkedIn.