It’s scary enough for individuals to take a chance on themselves and start their own business, but the spouses of military servicemembers are often grappling with a unique set of hurdles on the journey toward entrepreneurship.
Certified financial planner Adrienne Ross can speak to that personally. She and her now-retired Marine Corps husband were constantly on the move during his military career, and that made the complicated process of earning her bachelor’s degree a yearslong process.
“We would move, and it would be like going through the process all over again,” recalled Ross, a partner at Clear Insight Wealth Management in Spokane, Wash. “I went to multiple colleges to complete a degree, and we were never in one place long enough.”
She ultimately completed her education at the University of Illinois Springfield through an online program while she and her family were living outside the U.S., but the ordeal informed her decision to become a financial planner, hang out her own shingle and work with military families toward financial stability.
“The client base I focused on serving is military families because I understand what it’s like to move all the time and have so many disruptions to your work life and personal life – and how it impacts your financial journey as well,” she said.
