6 Reality Checks for the work-from-home military wife

The nuts and bolts of starting a home-based career are the same in any sphere of life, but when you’re a military wife you have to take into consideration the many variables that come your way. From unexpected postings (PCS), to long stints of single parenting when the hubby is deployed, to the many logistical issues that happen when you’re living at a small base, there are lots of big and small things that add color to entrepreneurial life.

Have you factored in these 6 reality checks in your work-from-home plan?

1.     Posting orders and frequent moves to military bases anywhere around the country: Just when you’re getting cozy at work, your husband might come home with his posting/PCS orders. This means, slowing down your work and diving straight into a flurry of packing and moving. Add to that the long wait for accommodation at the next base, and then some more for a working internet connection, and you’ve got a ready-made sabbatical thrown in. 

2.   The need to tweak your venture/business/career goals as per the new place or portfolio:

5 Ways to work your way out of those excuses for not working-from-home yet

Do you really, and by this I mean, really want to work? Have you wanted to set up a home office from your corner of the country? Have you been thinking up ways of slipping in a few hours of work besides bringing up your kids and looking after your home? But at the same time, have you found yourself giving excuses, when the time comes to getting down to the brass tacks and setting up that work-from-home career? Here are ways to work through those excuses and come out shining:

Work-from-home Issues & Solutions

 1. “I want to work but I don’t have any time.”

Action step: List out all those things that are filling up your day. Packing school lunches, tending to a toddler, cooking dinners, changing diapers. Think really hard. What else might be taking up your time? An hour on Facebook, impromptu coffee or chat sessions with friends and neighbors, online shopping, television serials?

If you really want to work from home, are you willing to use some of your shopping, chatting or messaging time to work on assignments? Once you figure out where some of your extra time is going, you can use those hours to lay the foundations of a home-based business or get a work-from-home assignment.

 2. “I want to work but my time goes in doing something or the other.”

The Brigade that Builds Brands: Home Baker, Food Blogger & Army Wife Payal Kharbanda on turning a hobby into a biz

Hello friends! Today, I’ve invited Army wife, home baker and food blogger, Payal Kharbanda to The Brigade that Builds Brands series. She spills the beans on how she used her passion for cooking to bake up a delicious food blog & baking business. A fashionista by qualification, Payal is that lady who always finds a way to use her skills, interests or training to create meaningful work opportunities from wherever she is posted. I hope her story inspires You to create a work-from-home small biz that you’ll enjoy working at J.

*For updates on the #workfromhome series & #milpreneur inspiration, do follow us at @chandanamilspo on Instagram + check out the "Be your own Boss from Anywhere" series on Youtube here.

Featuring Milpreneurs

CB. Please tell us something about yourself – what do you do, where are you based and how long have you been a fauji/military wife.

P.  I am Payal Kharbanda, married for almost 13 years to the olive greens. I have two beautiful daughters and belong to Delhi (presently also based in Delhi). I am a fashion student from NIFT. I come from a business family. I, now am a food blogger (#365dishesonmyplate) and a home baker.

6 Reasons why military/fauji wives stop working

The military spouses/ fauji wives I meet are a talented and well-qualified lot. While a small percentage of them change over to a teaching profession to suit the nomadic life of military families, many ladies put their professional lives on the back burner because of lack of appropriate job opportunities.

Be Your Own Boss From Anywhere - Blog & Youtube series

Here are some of the most common reasons fauji wives press the pause button when it comes to working.

1.     “I can’t find a job to fit my qualifications.” This is the most common lament. When you live at back-of-beyond military bases with interesting job opportunities just as rare as the sparrow, it can be a demoralizing factor for many. 

2.   “Social and volunteer commitments take up all my time.” I agree, that within the defence services of our country there's often a lot to do when it comes to parties, welfare activities, and other social events. If you let it, all of this can take the place of professional work. But even though you can easily have a full calendar of events, with some gumption and prioritizing, you can juggle both – work and the social scene at your base. 

3.   “I don’t think I have what it takes to be a work-at-home entrepreneur.” Time and time again, I’ve seen military wives/ fauji wives give up on entrepreneurship even before they’ve taken the time to understand what it involves. When it comes to a job vs. your own venture, most prefer the former, even when there aren’t any good jobs on the horizon. Being your own boss seems like this huge mountain that is difficult to scale.

GIVEAWAY from Jugnoo Story Art, my quirky art brand

#giveaway  Helloo friends! Are you in the mood to win a set of these fun 'n' fresh art print #coasters for your table/ #coffeecups ☕/ # teacups from Jugnoo Story Art (@jugnoostoryart), my niche brand of quirky art and art prints?

Quirky coasters from Jugnoo Story Art

We are giving away 2 sets: 1 owl set & 1 set with #jugnoo characters (each set has 5 quirky coasters @399). These vibrant coasters are made of MDF with art prints of my original art and unique characters.

To ENTER this Giveaway, you have do All of these 3 steps:

1. Follow us on Instagram at @jugnoostoryart.

2. Like us on Facebook at @jugnoostoryart (https://www.facebook.com/778262202574763/posts/934873373580311/)

3. Answer this question/leave a comment on both the above pages:

"What kind of products would you like to see at Jugnoo Story Art in the near future?" 

Note: Do all 3 steps to enter this #giveaway. This giveaway is valid only for people living in India.

:) We will announce 2 winners (each wins a set of our choice) on November 17 / Next Sunday via Lucky Draw, based on names of those o u who participate.

So, are you gonna be part of this Giveaway Party??? 


#artprint #faujiwifeentrepreneur

#milpreneur #art 

#owlart #owl #girl #lama #boy #table #tabledecor #free #jugnoostoryart 

The Brigade that Builds Brands: Writer, Novelist & Army wife Puja Mukherjee Khattri on creating a career that sustains you through different phases of life

Hello friends! Meet Puja Mukherjee Khattri, a freelance content writer and self-published novelist, and Army wife, who forged on in life and work with courage and gumption after she lost her Army officer husband on active duty, a few years ago. Puja and I have known each other online for the past many years. I really wanted her to share her story at The Brigade that Builds Brands to inspire ladies, whose husbands are still in service or those who have lost their better halves in the line of duty, to build sustainable careers from wherever they are in life or in the country.

CB. Please tell us something about yourself – what do you do, where are you based and how long have you been a fauji/military wife.

PMK. Hi Chandana, I am an army daughter and wife. I am a writer and have been writing for the last twenty odd years. The kids and I live in Delhi with my parents. We moved to Delhi after my husband, Lt Col Abhishek Khattri, died on active duty.

CB. Fauji wives make their home in an assortment of obscure places across the country. Our lives are about living in the moment and doing what we can, when we can. Can you share how you stayed creative or found work that satisfied you while moving across the country?

PMK. I truly believe that I am blessed in my choice of profession, because I can work from almost anywhere, as long as I have a computer and an internet connection. I have sent in my articles from the most interesting of locations. I remember standing at the doorway to our temporary accommodation in Sikkim, while it was snowing outside and the bukhari was on inside, waiting for the internet speed to pick up enough to send my email. And that time I used to log onto the internet through my cellphone. When we were moving out or moving into a new accommodation I have worked in middle of stacks of boxes!

6 Smart reasons to start a work-from-home career as a military/fauji wife

I prefer being my own boss any day over reporting to a boss. But if you’ve always worked for an organization—a company or school, then you might wonder what’s so great about this self-employed lifestyle. Especially, when working for yourself is about putting in just as much hard work or more and not getting a paycheck every month in the bank (the money trickles in, eventually).

Work-from-Home entrepreneurship for fauji wives

Here’s why I think home-based self-employment is a great fit for the military wife:

1.     You can pack and carry your work wherever you go: Whether you’re moving to another town on posting (PCS) or traveling with your husband on a TD (temporary detatchment), you can take your work along. While you may have to take a break when you’re moving to another base, you don’t have to quit working or worry about taking a long leave of absence. 

2.   You can work from back-of-beyond military bases: When your spouse is in the military, especially the Army and the Air Force, postings to obscure places across the length and breadth of the country is a given. And rather than making the difficult choice of staying back in a bigger town to work or giving up working altogether if you move with your husband, as a work-from-home entrepreneur, you can continue working (with some solid tweaks to customize it to your current posting and portfolio requirements) wherever the service sends you.