Managing A Whole New Life as a Late Career Milspouse

 

Life comes at you fast, but that’s ok! Creative Director and Business Owner Morgan Specht is ready for anything. When she first met her husband, they were both employees at their local Costco. Fast forward a few years later and they became new business owners, her husband re-enlists after 10 years, and she has to restructure her business to work from anywhere. How did she do it all?!

Morgan Specht is the creative director, brand strategist, and founder of Specht & Co. creative studio. Professionally, she loves helping clients connect with their ideal audience and grow their businesses through personalized, strategic branding and web design. 

While she’s usually a planner, the milspouse life can mean picking up and shipping out with very little notice. In this week’s episode, we speak to Morgan about how she manages a whole new life as a working milspouse who owns her own business and how she makes it all work from anywhere.

If you liked this episode and you’d like to hear more, please take a moment to leave a sparkly review and subscribe to The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast. Subscriptions and positive reviews make a huge difference for podcasters and it would help us out immensely. Thanks! 

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Morgan is the creative director, brand strategist, and founder of Specht & Co. creative studio. Professionally, she loves helping clients connect with their ideal audience and grow their businesses through personalized, strategic branding and web design. When she's not elbows deep in her latest branding project, Morgan loves spending time outdoors with her dogs and taking road trips with her husband.


Morgan’s Free Brand Vision Planner: https://view.flodesk.com/pages/61d23e4aa247a7a541995808

Find Morgan in all the places: 

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The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast is hosted by Jayla Rae Ardelean, Milspouse Mentor, Speaker, and Writer.

Grab your ♥️free♥️ resources here: jaylarae.com

Let's chat! @mil.spouse

Check out Jayla Rae’s Free Enneagram here! jaylarae.com/enneagram-guide

TRANSCRIPT: Morgan Specht

[00:00:00] Jayla Rae: Hey everybody. Welcome back to the Heart of a Milspouse Podcast. I am joined by another special guest as a part of the Late Career Milspouse series today. Today we are talking with Morgan. Hello there.

[00:00:13] Morgan: Hi. Thanks so much for having me. I'm so excited.

[00:00:15] Jayla Rae: Of course. Would you introduce yourself to everyone?

[00:00:19] Morgan: yeah. Hi everyone. I'm Morgan. I am a branding and web designer. So I work online. My husband is in the Air Force. We live in Colorado Springs. I have two wonderful puppies and they're dogs. They're not puppies, but if you know, you know, and we're about to have our first baby here in a couple of weeks, so I'm like into the mill spouse life now.

[00:00:46] Jayla Rae: Yeah. So how did you guys, how did you guys meet? Tell us the story and if you wanted to be a meet cute, that's cool too. Or it could just be like, yeah, this came outta left field. I don't know what happened.

[00:00:58] Morgan: It's the second one.

[00:00:59] Jayla Rae: Yeah.[00:01:00] 

[00:01:01] Morgan: Yeah, so I met my husband. We worked together at Costco. so now our running joke is that my husband gets everything at Costco, his gas and his cases of water, and his wife but yeah, he had just gotten out of the military, so he was enlisted for six years and was like, I'm over it.

[00:01:20] Morgan: Like I wanna get out and go home, whatever. So he was working at Costco just while he like, figured out what he was gonna do with his life and I was working there while I was going to college. We were both dating other people at the time and those relationships didn't work out, so we're like, just, we're friends and we're both like really in denial about the fact that we were dating for a really long time.

[00:01:44] Morgan: and then he moved away to go to law school and I was like, I'm just kidding. I really like you. Like we can actually date now.

[00:01:50] Jayla Rae: Just kidding. Just kidding.

[00:01:53] Morgan: So, yeah, and then I ended up moving to Idaho with him after I graduated college, and [00:02:00] then got married and bought a house. And here we are.

[00:02:05] Jayla Rae: Yeah, so I love that after you kind of listening to a few of the stories that have been shared on here and just like, you know, us talking on Instagram, cuz we had like some mutual acquaintances and stuff. You were like, I think I'm a late-career milspouse sounds. But like, I'm not really sure, and I think your story is so interesting because he had actually exited the military and then got back in, and so it wasn't like this, long, consistent track that he was on, that you kind of came in at a random time, years down the line, but it kind of was at the same time because he got back in and so you were still shuffling around and figuring out how to assimilate to the military lifestyle.

[00:02:54] Jayla Rae: So I'd love to know more about that aspect of it.[00:03:00] 

[00:03:00] Morgan: Yeah, so if our relationship came out of left field, coming back to the military came like way out of left field. and it's so funny cuz I remember like. In hindsight, it was like one of our first dates. At the time, I wouldn't have been like, no, it's not a date. But driving home and being like, having this random thought of like, oh, I never thought I would marry somebody in the military.

[00:03:20] Morgan: And then being like, that's the stupidest thing you've ever thought. Like, you're not gonna marry him. He's not in the military anymore. Like, what are you thinking? And then just kind of putting it outta my mind. But here we are now. yeah, so he was enlisted, he got out. Was like, didn't have any like animosity towards the military or anything, but just was like, I'm just ready to do something else.

[00:03:44] Morgan: and then, like I said, went to law school, ended up like starting his own business. So we each had our own businesses and then I, I don't know like exactly what the thing was that changed his mind, but he was like, I think going [00:04:00] back to the Air Force is like the right move. And I was like, okay. I wasn't expecting that, you know, we like own a house and have family and stuff, right.

[00:04:10] Morgan: But, It all worked out. It was a little bit of a winding journey to like actually get back in. But yeah, now like looking back, I'm like, okay, all of that makes a ton of sense. Like, I get it. This is where we're supposed to be. But it was definitely weird, like as we were going through it.

[00:04:28] Jayla Rae: Yeah. And did you have any like previous experience with the military before that point? Like any family members or?

[00:04:37] Morgan: So yeah, but not really. Like my grandpa was in the Army, like during the Cold War, so I like

[00:04:44] Jayla Rae: That's so far removed. Yeah. 

[00:04:47] Morgan: Yeah. and then my younger brother joined the Marines like shortly after my husband and I met. So like they.

[00:04:57] Jayla Rae: Hmm.

[00:04:57] Morgan: Talked about the military a little, [00:05:00] but he was like, it was basically to me just like he like left for college.

[00:05:04] Morgan: Like he went to North Carolina and did his thing and like we talked on the phone and like I was still very removed from it. So, yeah. And then obviously I knew like my husband's friends from whenever he was enlisted, who we were still friends with and some of them were still in. But as far as like firsthand experience, I had no idea what I was getting into.

[00:05:27] Jayla Rae: That's my favorite answer, by the way. I love it when people are like, oh, no, I, I knew nothing. I thought I knew a little bit and like, yeah, this random person, or like this friend I had or this. Family member, but it's always somebody who's like removed and And figuring out that, like how little, you know, once it happens and once you actually enter, I think in your case that entrance is a little bit different because it, you were doing it together.

[00:05:56] Jayla Rae: However, he had already done, [00:06:00] you know, six years and so, his experience level was already much higher than yours and. That to me is like such an interesting aspect of it because. It creates, it can actually create a lot of tension in a relationship. I don't know if you've experienced that, because if one person knows what they're doing and the other person is feeling like they need to play catch up.

[00:06:27] Jayla Rae: A lot of the time, it's just rife for a lot of misunderstandings and tension and like, well, wait a second, why, why does the military even operate this way? Like, I would, I would ask that question a lot. Like, wait, what? The army wants you to do? What? Like, this doesn't make any sense.

[00:06:47] Morgan: Yeah, so I, I joke sometimes that I'm like, you know, this would've been really like a lot easier if we had gotten married when I was like 18 and I just knew nothing and didn't have like a life and my own [00:07:00] experiences and stuff. But also like, so what you said is true, but that that's a very like yes and.

[00:07:07] Morgan: Answer for me because the first time he was in, he was enlisted and he joined in 2006. So like we all know what the political climate was like then. and he was out for 10 years before he went back in.

[00:07:23] Jayla Rae: Oh, 10 years.

[00:07:25] Morgan: as an officer 

[00:07:27] Jayla Rae: Oh, 

[00:07:27] Morgan: And in a different career field.

[00:07:29] Jayla Rae: okay.

[00:07:30] Morgan: And like, just as far as like what the military is up to has changed.

[00:07:35] Morgan: So. Like, yeah, he knew the basics of how the military works, but I think I kind of had the upper hand a little bit cuz I was like, well, I don't know anything. And he went in thinking he knew what it was gonna be like and then being like, oh, this, A lot has changed.

[00:07:51] Jayla Rae: yeah, so he was kind of the one like playing catch up to all of the changes that had been made, but also it was like a different, a different career track [00:08:00] altogether. So it was like he was learning so much.

[00:08:04] Morgan: Yeah, so it was a different career, like different like just climate of the Air Force, I think.

[00:08:12] Jayla Rae: Mm-hmm.

[00:08:12] Morgan: so yeah, it was interesting cuz I was kind of like, well, whatever. Like, I normally, I'm a big planner and I wanna know exactly how everything's gonna go, but for whatever reason with this I was like, oh, we're just gonna figure it out.

[00:08:23] Morgan: Like it'll be fine. No big deal. And he, I think it was a little more of a learning curve for him of like, oh, this isn't exactly what, there's a lot that is still the same, but it's also like, it's not like I'm just going back to my old job.

[00:08:36] Jayla Rae: Right, right. Oh my goodness. so when you say you're a planner, like. How would you describe yourself?

[00:08:47] Morgan: So I just like, I don't need an exact like, Play by play of how everything is gonna go. But I need to like, consider all the scenarios of how things could [00:09:00] go so that I don't ever feel I'm at Enneagram five. so like I never wanna feel caught off guard or like, I don't know, something.

[00:09:10] Jayla Rae: Hmm.

[00:09:10] Morgan: So that's kind of where like I don't.

[00:09:14] Morgan: I don't need like a perfect itinerary, but I need to know what all the options are so that I can have a plan for if this, then this is what I will do.

[00:09:22] Jayla Rae: Yeah. Five W Six perhaps.

[00:09:25] Morgan: Yeah. Yep. That's me.

[00:09:29] Jayla Rae: Yeah, that fits, that fits the bill.

[00:09:32] Morgan: Yep.

[00:09:32] Jayla Rae: well, has there ever been a time where you were caught off guard and you were like very surprised by something that happened either to him in his work environment or something that affected the both of you? And how did you overcome that knowing that your personality does not appreciate things like that?

[00:09:55] Morgan: Yeah, so I guess the best example I could think of is like [00:10:00] everyone who's listening, who's also a military spouse knows that housing is just an absolute nightmare all the time, no matter where you live. so we were in Colorado Springs. There's two bases that are like real close to each other, so you can live at either one.

[00:10:16] Morgan: First thing whenever we like, he didn't even have his orders yet. Like they just were like, this is where you're probably going. I like got on the wait list for both options. Cause we were like, we don't know if we're gonna rent off base or buy or live on base. But I was like, well, we're gonna have backup plants. So I got on the wait list for both and then he left to go to training and it was like two months or so out from when I was supposed to. And I was like, Hey, we haven't heard from of the places. That's weird. I'll email them. And they messaged me back and we're like, oh yeah, we don't have your application, so you never made it on the waitlist.

[00:10:57] Morgan: So you're like, number 200 and [00:11:00] whatever.

[00:11:01] Jayla Rae: Oh

[00:11:01] Morgan: And I was like, well, you definitely sent me a confirmation block like went through the whole thing. and. We owned the house that I was living at the time. So I guess I kind of dealt with it by being like, well, I guess my husband's just gonna live in a hotel and I'll stay here until something's ready for us.

[00:11:16] Morgan: Like, whatever, it's been six months of him being at training and us being separated, like, what's a couple more? but it ended up working out and we, they found us a place in all was fine, but I think all of this has been a really good lesson and. being okay with the fact that I can't control everything and that it somehow will work out eventually.

[00:11:42] Jayla Rae: Yeah. Well, and that's like, that's something that's really hard to remember, especially when shit is hitting the fan and everything feels wrong, is that things do eventually work out. And I think that, at least for me, I need to hear [00:12:00] that from someone else. I can't hear it from me. I can't be the one who's gonna say, Hey, everything's gonna work out like that doesn't feel believable to me.

[00:12:10] Jayla Rae: Like someone else needs to be the one, you know.

[00:12:14] Morgan: yeah. We don't listen to our own advice. And it's funny that you phrase it that way cuz that was one of the things that my husband told me like way before. We like, we had kind of talked about like, oh, maybe it would be cool to go back to the military, but we, it wasn't like, this is what we're doing.

[00:12:30] Morgan: And he was like, yeah, like sometimes it's annoying because like there'll be issues with your pay or this or that or whatever. And he was like, but the nice thing is that it always gets fixed. Sometimes it takes a really long time, but it will get fixed. And so I've like had to replay him telling me that for various occasions over and over again.

[00:12:49] Morgan: But it does always end up working. Somehow.

[00:12:54] Jayla Rae: Yeah. Well, I like his term fixed.

[00:12:58] Morgan: Yeah.

[00:12:58] Jayla Rae: That's very [00:13:00] specific terminology.

[00:13:02] Morgan: Yeah. He's very, I don't know if it's like type A or whatever, but he's very like analytical, like there is a right way and a wrong way, and yeah.

[00:13:09] Jayla Rae: Yeah. Well, the military attracts people who are like that. So

[00:13:16] Morgan: Yep, it does.

[00:13:17] Jayla Rae: It makes sense. Okay. Well, I would love to know, I mean, I know that your journey is a little bit different because he. Entered, but you were a college graduate. You like, you were on your way. You were apparently gonna do great things with this degree, and I'd love to know how many career pivots you've had to make as a result of him going back into the military.

[00:13:44] Jayla Rae: And also it are, what is what you're doing now even related to your degree?

[00:13:49] Morgan: So I am like super, super, super, super lucky, which is a good portion of the reason why I was like, sure, go join the Air Force. I don't care. I have not had to make [00:14:00] any career pivots because 22-year-old Morgan was really smart and had a lot of foresight of wanting flexibility in my career. So I went to college for graphic design and marketing and was like, I'm gonna work in a design agency and it's gonna be like mad men in my life is gonna be so cool.

[00:14:20] Morgan: turns out working in a marketing agency in real life is not that cool.

[00:14:24] Jayla Rae: Yeah, definitely not like Mad Men.

[00:14:28] Morgan: No, not at all. So I did that for a couple of years and just like got really tired of clients who were kind of jerks and working a lot of overtime and like not really seeing my career progress. so I started freelancing just like on the side.

[00:14:44] Morgan: And then after that first year was like, oh, I've made like a good chunk of change, like maybe I could turn this into a thing. 

[00:14:50] Jayla Rae: So I hired a business coach and kind of did like full-time job and side hustle for like a year. and then my husband and I were getting married in [00:15:00] 2018. And I kind of was like, I wanna take longer than a week for our honeymoon. And that was like all the vacation time I had.

[00:15:09] Morgan: So I was like, I guess I'm quitting. so yeah, that’s just like the timing of that worked out well. so I left my full-time job in 2018, started running my business full-time. Which part of that was just cuz like I knew that we wanted to have kids eventually and I didn't wanna send them to daycare. 50 hours a week.

[00:15:30] Morgan: So I was kind of trying to plan ahead for that. and I also didn't like working in a cubicle. Didn't like having, being a boss, didn't like having to ask for time off. so that's why I thought I was starting my own business. Turns out I was also starting my own business so I could have like a portable job for when my husband joined the military several years later.

[00:15:51] Morgan: but yeah, so that has obviously been really nice and like. A lot of my husband's, like coworkers, spouses are [00:16:00] like, every time that he tells them what I do, they're like, well, that's genius. I'm like, yeah. I mean, it was a lot of like planning and hard work, but yeah, it has worked out really well.

[00:16:11] Jayla Rae: It always baffles me how many people don't know about online business. I'm like, wait, there's like a whole universe

[00:16:20] Morgan: like you can do almost any job online. It's amazing.

[00:16:25] Jayla Rae: Yeah. And it doesn't, I mean, that doesn't guarantee that you're going to get the job or that you always have the skills or like, you know, it still requires. All of the same stuff that it requires to get a job in person. It doesn't actually make it easier. I think that's a common misconception. however, it does make it remote and it does make it portable, so you are making it easier on yourself.

[00:16:50] Jayla Rae: But getting the job or building the business and getting the clients is still ridiculously hard. So,

[00:16:58] Morgan: Yeah, and it's [00:17:00] like, I don't know if you've experienced this, but I, not before my husband was in the military, like so before, we both ran our own businesses and we shared an office. It was Gloria's. It was wonderful. And I didn't have this problem then, but since he's been in the military, so many wive. Are stay-at-home parents that, like, I find myself ha like feeling like I need to like justify myself and being like, no, but like I work like I'm not just stay-at-home baking cookies all day.

[00:17:30] Morgan: And then my husband's like, you don't need to like prove yourself to anybody. Like that's stupid. Like, you know that you have like a super successful business and like your own life and all, and you're not like dependent on me and all of these things. But when we go to like Christmas parties and stuff, I definitely have to like remind myself of that and be like it.

[00:17:47] Morgan: Like people can think whatever they want about you, like you no need to prove yourself. But that part is hard.

[00:17:55] Jayla Rae: Very hard, and I've been in many situations where I don't [00:18:00] really relate to a lot of the spouses that I'm surrounded by,

[00:18:03] Morgan: Mm-hmm.

[00:18:04] Jayla Rae: which I praise the online world on social media for, because I've been connected to so many more spouses who. Have a similar trajectory to myself. It's one of the reasons that this series even exists is because like we, we have a lot of similarities as late-career spouses.

[00:18:24] Jayla Rae: And I think it's important to find people that understand your language and like when you speak to, there's just sort of, there's more of a shared understanding and, and then I also have spouses who are friends that, You know, it may not have been that their spouse joined when they were 18, but young.

[00:18:44] Jayla Rae: And so they've been doing this a very long time. going on, going on two decades. I know a few people who've been in that long and they've found it really difficult to. [00:19:00] Employ themselves. but you'd be surprised how many of them never consider starting their own business. Like becoming an entrepreneur is like not actually the top of the list.

[00:19:12] Jayla Rae: I don't think that actually became more and more popular until like the last four years. And now you hear of mill spouse entrepreneurs everywhere. Like now it's like it's totally a wildfire that's caught. But before that, it was like that was not on the list. I don't know if you've spoken to a lot of people who were like, you own your own business.

[00:19:33] Jayla Rae: What?

[00:19:35] Morgan: yeah, so, and like I, I would like to like make the note of like, I don't, being a stay-at-home wife or parent as a military spouse is like, All the props to those people. Like that's a lot of work, especially in the military. So I don't mean to be like, I'm not just a whatever. but I think, and you might also be able to relate to this, like not having [00:20:00] kids or like in your case previously, like you didn't have your stepkids full-time.

[00:20:04] Morgan: I feel like I get a lot of the silent like, well, what do you do all day judgment? And I like,

[00:20:11] Jayla Rae: Well, yeah, and it's also that like working from home became very glamorized and so this notion that we don't really do anything and we have a ton of flexibility and we get to do whatever we want, and, but those things could be true. But more often than not, they're, but more often than not, they're not.

[00:20:35] Morgan: Mm-hmm.

[00:20:35] Jayla Rae: For example, I'm conducting this interview starting at 7:30 PM my time, which is what I have to do, in order to make the time zones work.

[00:20:47] Jayla Rae: And it is not ideal. This is not like an ideal schedule, but this is something that I have to make a concession for so that I still get to do what it is that I love and. You know, still [00:21:00] making sure that my family is like supported and they had the food in order to like make on their own tonight. Because I said, you're on your own tonight.

[00:21:09] Jayla Rae: I have an interview. I'm not making dinner. Like,

[00:21:11] Morgan: exactly.

[00:21:12] Jayla Rae: and trying to do both.

[00:21:15] Morgan: yeah. Yeah, no, and like it's, I am super grateful that I have created that opportunity for myself, but it's not like a cakewalk every day by any means. But to answer your actual question, so I, I like. I don't really ever come out and be like, oh yeah, I own my own business and blah, blah blah, and I'm a c e O and like, whatever.

[00:21:38] Morgan: Usually I just tell people, oh, I work from home. And most of the time they assume that I work for a company from home, and I kind of just leave it at that. Once in a while, they'll be like, oh, what do you do? And then I'm like, bye. Do branding and website design. And then like eventually we get to, and then my husband is always like hyping me up and is like, oh no, she owns her own business.

[00:21:56] Morgan: Like it's really, really cool. Like she's awesome. [00:22:00] Whatever. And then people are usually kind of like, oh wow, that's like kind of impressive, where like they wanna like learn more about it. But yeah, I would agree with you that like 99% of them couldn't fathom ever doing it themself. And I always am like, but like you really should.

[00:22:16] Morgan: Like it's awesome. You should try it. You could totally find something that would work for you.

[00:22:21] Jayla Rae: Yeah. And it doesn't have to be like someone else's version of like what success as working from home and starting your own business like would look like for some other person. But I think the examples that we have out there, there are more and more military spouses who are like leading the charge in this way.

[00:22:43] Jayla Rae: But I remember when there was no one

[00:22:47] Morgan: Yeah.

[00:22:47] Jayla Rae: and I, for example, like started, freelance as a virtual assistant and did that for a couple years before I kind of moved up those ranks. For lack of a better term,

[00:22:59] Morgan: Yeah,

[00:22:59] Jayla Rae: [00:23:00] And, you know, became a director of operations and do online business management and stuff. And I like moved my way up doing that.

[00:23:05] Jayla Rae: But for those first couple years that I was working freelance, I would not tell people that I owned my own business because I didn't, I, I mean, first of all, I didn't have a business license. and all the important things that you need, but also because, I diminished what it was that I was trying to build and what it was that I was trying to do, and the skill set that I was trying to give myself to replace what I couldn't do with my degree after meeting my husband.

[00:23:35] Jayla Rae: So, I, I relate to that, especially in those conversations when you feel very put on the spot and you don't wanna come across as bragging. I think women are particularly, particularly sensitive to that and not wanting to come across as like, you know, too bitchy, too braggy, too much, too loud, none of those things.

[00:23:59] Jayla Rae: And so [00:24:00] we rephrase it and we reframe it and we diminish it. Yeah.

[00:24:05] Morgan: Oh, I just freelance. I just have a small

[00:24:08] Jayla Rae: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I just do crafts and sell them on Etsy and it's like, wait, no, you own a business. Okay.

[00:24:16] Morgan: Right. And then like you go look up that person and you're like, you have like, you're like making six figures on Etsy every year. Like that's really impressive.

[00:24:24] Jayla Rae: Yeah. Yeah. I know. It's, I know. And I, I still struggle in that. I mean, just having gotten here to Italy too and like making new connections, making new friends. there are a lot of people who don't know that I have like this. Online business and this presence. And it was so funny cuz then when Military Spouse of the Year came along and I was like, I really need people to vote for me.

[00:24:49] Jayla Rae: But these people have no idea what it is that I do online. They think that I do nothing at home. I think they think that I am just a stay-at-home parent, which is fine and also [00:25:00] bothers me because it's not accurate. And so I would reach out to them and I. Hey, this is kind of awkward. I don't want this to feel like spam, but would you mind voting for me?

[00:25:09] Jayla Rae: And they would be like, oh my gosh, yes. That's so great. That's so cool. And it was kind of my way of saying like, Hey, I do stuff. You just don't see it in

[00:25:19] Morgan: Yeah, it's your, it's, I feel like it's almost like my husband and I are like really into like Marvel and superhero stuff, but I feel like it's almost being like, Hey, I have this whole secret life. I'm also this other person.

[00:25:31] Jayla Rae: Yeah, it does kind of feel like it's, but it's a secret that you're keeping from other people. It, and it's like you're doing it to yourself. It's self-inflicted. It's not like people can't know your identity. You're just like, out of safety or whatever. It's, you know, not a Batman situation. I don't know. I was just kind of, I was kind of trying to come up with like the best example I could think of, which is probably not the best example.

[00:25:58] Jayla Rae: I'm not into [00:26:00] superheroes that much. but yeah, it's like your best, it's your best-kept secret. And also why aren't you telling everyone?

[00:26:07] Morgan: Yeah. Well, cuz then like you found out, like you do tell people and they're like, oh my God, that's so cool. I'm so excited for you. Like I'm in my case, like I'm gonna, I know somebody who needs this service, like I'm gonna send 'em to work with you. And I'm like, wow, shoot. I shoulda told you sooner.

[00:26:22] Jayla Rae: Yeah, I know and I really, for that very reason, I need to start. Being more intentional, just avid after having PCs. And, this, this episode won't go live for a while, so I'll just tell you we're recording this in mid-February, and so it's been about six months here in Italy and there's a whole ass group of people who have no idea that I have a podcast.

[00:26:46] Jayla Rae: They have no idea. I speak, they have no idea that I'm an engram coach. They have, they know none of these things. And so it's my goal in the next month to start talking [00:27:00] more and more and maybe book like in-person things because that's not always a luxury that we. That we have as online businesses and trying to like a bridge into in-person stuff too.

[00:27:12] Jayla Rae: but I have it here and I'm not using it, so I need to, I need to work on that.

[00:27:16] Morgan: Yeah. Well now when our episode comes out, you can like look back and check in on yourself.

[00:27:21] Jayla Rae: Yeah, for accountability, like while I'm editing I'm like, shit, I still haven't done that. Oh my gosh. I need to reach out to so-and-so. I need to get this thing on the books. yeah, it's, it's a whole thing. okay. Well, I feel like you've been so, Honest in how your journey as a late-career meal spouse looks a little different than a lot of the people who've come on here and shared their story.

[00:27:45] Jayla Rae: but is there anything else that you feel like you have in common with late-career meal spouses and therefore want to offer a little like permission slip of like, Hey, this is something [00:28:00] that has really worked for me and it might work for you.

[00:28:04] Morgan: I mean, I feel like one of the like markers of a, particularly a late-career male spouse is like, you don't feel like you're like really a male spouse,

[00:28:17] Jayla Rae: Oh yeah, 

[00:28:17] Morgan: makes sense. Um, And on the one hand, that's great because like I never want my whole identity to be wrapped up in my husband's job. Like if he was a grocery store clerk, I would never be like, I'm a grocery store clerk, spouse.

[00:28:36] Morgan: You know what I mean? So like it's important to me to still have my own things and for that to not define me, but at the same time, I don't know. I feel like it also just makes it hard to make friends in like the military community because like I said, most like we live in face housing and like everyone else who lives like in our neighborhood [00:29:00] is like 22 years old and they have like three kids and like we just don't have anything in common, which is great for them, but that's like, I don't know what I'm supposed to talk to you about.

[00:29:11] Morgan: You know what I mean?

[00:29:12] Jayla Rae: Yeah.

[00:29:12] Morgan: so I don't know, I guess if I had any, like, it's not even advice, but like, I don't know, reach out and try and make friends with people and like, don't feel like you're weird. And that's coming from somebody who has had a very hard time making friends since we've most recently PCs.

[00:29:28] Morgan: So like, if you live in Colorado Springs and you wanna be friends, hit me up.

[00:29:34] Jayla Rae: Yeah. Tell 'em where you are on Instagram. I'll put everything in the show notes, but tell 'em where you are so they can say, Hey.

[00:29:41] Morgan: Yeah, so I have a website for like business stuff. It's www dot spec and co. But if you wanna like just chat about military spouse life or dogs or whatever, and just make friends. I'm on Instagram at Specht and Co.

[00:29:56] Jayla Rae: Yeah, everyone. Look Morgan up. [00:30:00] Also, because I know there are like a ton of military spouse entrepreneurs in my circle, obviously you now have a connection for branding and website development. It's more. So check her out. I think the more that we as male spa entrepreneurs get louder and louder about what it is that we actually do and who we support, we can then like hire more of us,

[00:30:27] Morgan: Mm-hmm.

[00:30:28] Jayla Rae: for the services that we need.

[00:30:30] Jayla Rae: And which is giving back to, well, it's not giving back, but it's, how do I, how do I put that? I was gonna say it's giving back to our community, but that sounds like volunteer.

[00:30:40] Morgan: It's not charity.

[00:30:43] Jayla Rae: It's definitely not charity. There's money that needs to be exchanged,

[00:30:46] Morgan: Yeah, but I think it goes back to like what we were talking about of like, I would love to see like every military spouse who wants to be able to start their own business and support their family and not have to quit their job [00:31:00] and go work at Target every time I PCs. So like I think that's kind of what you're getting at, of like helping other people do that.

[00:31:08] Jayla Rae: Yes. Yeah. Well, I think it strengthens us all, I guess, is what I was trying to say. but it also, it reinforces the fact that. The online business world is gigantic. And so that can be very overwhelming if you wanna narrow it down to figure out who to work with. Start with military spouses because they're doing incredible work and, have these really awesome, successful businesses.

[00:31:38] Jayla Rae: And even though we may not like talk about them in certain groups, they're here and. Yeah, put, put money back into, into them.

[00:31:50] Morgan: Yeah, absolutely.

[00:31:53] Jayla Rae: All right, Morgan. Well thank you so much for coming on today and I wish you [00:32:00] well because you're about to go on maternity leave, so congratulations. and yeah, thanks for coming.

[00:32:09] Morgan: Yeah, thanks for having me. It was super fun.

[00:32:12]Jayla Rae: Cool. All right. Bye, y'all.

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