OPERATION: Create Your Own Path Part 2

30 days, 30 small businesses
30 ways to create your own path!

Welcome to Day 21 of OPERATION: Create Your Own Path, a 30 day event featuring 30 military spouse businesses across the globe. Our spouses serve our country while we take the opportunity to ignite and foster our entrepreneurial spirit! If you're just joining the operation, check out OPERATION: Create Your Own Path Part 1 or My Interview by Sandra Sawyer, Esq as well as the the 18 other businesses and spouses featured so far on Red, White & Blue Pages or Military Spouse Business Association.

For today's post, I interviewed Leti Riggle of Sport Diva Bands. Leti is a veteran spouse, whose husband has served 23 years in the United States Air Force; she has been part of that Air Force journey for the last 20 years. Sports Band Diva sells various colors and styles of hair bands for use while exercising. Leti started her business while stationed in Scott AFB, IL after finding that the products available on the market were overpriced and lacked the quality she can deliver.

"...I knew I didn’t want to buy [the products currently on the market] since all the ones I’d bought before would fall out. I felt like I’d be throwing my money away. So, I decided to research and put my sewing skills to practice to create a band that: 1. would stay put, 2. was versatile with different outfits or activities, 3. would not break my hair, and 4. wasn’t as pricey."

www.SportDivaBands.com

For Leti, starting a business has been very easy. She works full time and is able to grow her business in her spare time, spending about 5 hours a week on it. She was able to research other products and her supplies online and has focused on making one product. She uses StoreEnvy.com as her storefront which is an online marketplace featuring one-of-a-kind business and allows buyers to purchase directly from the crafters using Paypal.

Every business needs support to find success. Leti has found a lot of support for military spouse business from the military community itself and the civilian community who love to support the endeavors of military spouses. Most of all, she draws her inspiration from her daughters, "being able to show them when you gain skills, you can make a hobby grow into a small business" is a huge perk for her.

Gaining the skills and knowledge along the way has been instrumental to Leti's start up efforts. She has made use of the internet and social networking as well as formal education. She is pursuing a degree in Information Systems Technology and Business Administration and has found the courses offered at her university to be an invaluable resource for her business. She also urges prospective business owners to use the internet's endless knowledge to their advantage,

"I did all the research and since there is a plethora of info on the Internet, It was pretty easy to look up and find what I searched for."

Sometimes starting your business is really just that easy. Doing your research beforehand and focusing your efforts on one product for one purpose is a great way to start a business without overextending yourself and using an online marketplace further minimizes your financial risk. Leti suggests that prospective owners spend time researching their target market, inventory needs, and educate themselves on the dynamics of supply and demand systems before diving in.

You can always start small and end up big. Leti's education and resources will allow her to grow and develop her business after her husband's retirement. She plans to open a brick and mortar store and plans to hire employees for labor and sales when she's able to make that transition. She offers this advice for other spouses looking to start out:

"Have confidence and don’t believe those voices that tell you [you] can’t."

You heard her! Don't let naysayers stand as roadblocks to your success, have confidence in yourself, get out there and make it happen!

For more information about Leti or Sports Diva Bands, contact her through her website, blog or e-mail her at sportdivah[at]gmail.com.

If you'd like more fantastic advice and resources for starting your own business, check out tomorrow's blog post by Lizanne Carlson of The Blawg, Y'all!, she'll be interviewing Suzanne Patterson of Paint and Powder Cosmetics

OPERATION: Create Your Own Path is sponsored and brought to you by Military Spouse Business Association and Red, White & Blue Pages. They are great resources for any military spouse entrepreneur.

© 2013 Little Bean. All rights reserved.

OPERATION: Create Your Own Path

As military spouses, we often face unique challenges and one of those challenges concerns our careers: How do we establish our own careers with steady second income to support our families while the military moves us all over the globe?

We have all been there, "permanent" isn't really in our vocabulary anymore and our résumés are probably a little spotty or maybe include a huge gap or three. That doesn't have to stop you from pursuing your own career on your own terms and it doesn't have to prevent you from being successful. Home based businesses are just one of the ways military spouses have conquered that challenge!

As part of OPERATION: Create Your Own Path by Red, White & Blue Pages and Military Spouse Business Association, I spoke with Michelle Schrock, Independent Scentsy Family SuperStar Director, about her decision to start her own business while living as a military spouse:

Michelle Schrock is a vivacious and goofy but no-nonsense mother of two; she is the quintessential military spouse and very dedicated to her United States Marine Corps husband, their family and her Scentsy business. She is the ideal entrepreneur for the Scentsy line of wickless candles and it's very clear within minutes of speaking to her that she really stands behind her business and its products.

When asked why she decided to go into business for herself, she replied quite frankly, "...I like to do things my own way.  In my professional life before this I was fired 6 times in a 9 year period.  I don’t like to be told how to do things.  I much prefer to be given and objective and left to my own devices to get it completed.  Bosses don’t like that, [but] micromanagement crushes inspiration."

Four years ago, she was a stay-at-home mom while her family was stationed in Okinawa, Japan. "My life was cooking, cleaning, the gym, toddlers, and more diapers than should be legal. I had two small children, a constantly absent husband, and a life that felt really small. I knew I needed to do something more, that I had more to offer, but had no clue what and how."