Mil Spouse Podcast Spotlight: Moments with an M.E.O. with Britt

Moments with a MEO interview

Britt: Computer. 

Alison:  Uh, um when I initially started , my podcast, I was Googling no spouse podcast and I found. Zero. , that's not true. I found a couple, but they were defunct. They weren't putting out episodes anymore.

Or, um, there is one that's active, but she's in Australia, you know, like I couldn't find anything and I'm like, there's nothing out there. There's no podcast for military spouses. I need to do this. Right. So I start my podcast and then I get into the podcast and. They're everywhere. Like there's a lot of mill spouse podcasts.

And I feel like one of the problems that we have in the mill spouse community is just the dissemination of information. So I thought it would be cool this month to feature a different mill spouse podcast each week. And just, you know, who the, who the host is, how they got started, what their show is about.

And, uh, just to kind of spread the word so that we can, because there's resources out there for. I know a lot of the times it feels like you're on an island. but we're not, there are a lot, there is a lot of information out there. So I wanna try to do my part to spread the word. So today we are talking to Brit and Brit has a, a podcast called moments with, okay.

I didn't ask beforehand, is it EO or Mio? . M E okay. Perfect. Okay. Moments with an MEO podcast. Um,  so Bri, I'm really excited to have you on the show and I've listened to quite a few of your episodes. So I kind of have a little bit of a background of your story, but I thought it would be cool for listeners to just give us, what's your relationship with the military?

How did you, what is your , um, cuz you're male spouse, your husband is active duty right now. So just , what your experience with the military has been. So. 

Britt: Yeah. Thank you so much for having me, Allison. I'm so excited to be here. Yeah. I love sharing my passion for podcasting and entrepreneurship.

So this is fantastic. Mm-hmm yeah. So my husband, Nick has been in the air force for. I think it's, I think I told you eight and a half before we hit record. Um, mm-hmm so it's, it's been a hot minute. Yeah.  he originally joined, he did three years of college decided that the career path, he thought he wanted wasn't it don't we all go through that kind of process percent.

And he was like, you know what? I just wanna travel the world. I wanna explore. I wanna see things. Mm-hmm . And so he was like, military is the way to go. Right. I can travel the world. They'll get stationed all over the place. Well, he was stationed here at DM at Davis month and air force base. And he's been here the whole time.

So , uh, the only traveling he has done has been four deployments and he is been on three or four of 'em by now. Uh, he was obviously in, before I met him. Mm-hmm so. That's been an adventure, but yeah, he's been with the air force for over eight years now and he is enjoying it. I think he's at that point where like, we're like, okay, do we go the full 20?

Or do we just like stop mm-hmm before we hit that halfway point mm-hmm . Um, Um, So he's kind of in that pivotal moment right now, which is fun to listen to him and, and hear his reasonings for both ends , which I think a lot of military spouses can relate to as well 

Alison: oh yeah. A hundred percent. You know, what's so funny.

Cuz one of the things that I've said to my husband before is I was like, what are we gonna talk about when you're retired? Cuz we're coming to that point. Like he's been in, we've been married for it'll be 20 years this summer. And, um, he's been in the entire time we were married and he was previously in before we got together too.

So he's like at like 25 years, you know? So we're coming to the end of the line and , I feel like all we do is talk about, well, I don't know. What do you think if, well, this guy's go here and this one goes here, then we might go here and then we could go here. But then we, and I'm like, what, what are we gonna talk about when we.

Well, we don't have, we don't know. We're not, we're actually gonna stay, play, stay in one spot for a while. You know? It's crazy. So you guys have stayed or he stayed where he is, is that because of the career path that he chose or is there something else that he could choose that would allow him to kind of be able to move around a little bit more?

Britt: So for the most part Davis month then has this reputation it's DM. So it's don't move. Oh. And so people who are stuck here are usually stuck here for a really long time. Mm. And so it was actually after his last deployment, he came back the beginning of 20, 20 about a month before the COVID happened and the whole world shut down.

Um, so he came home from Afghanistan and we both had a lot of mental struggles through that process. Mm-hmm there was something that had happened over there.

Basically. He had to say his last goodbye. Mm-hmm um, and. it was traumatizing for both of us. Yes, absolutely traumatizing because we literally said goodbye to each other. Like it was the last time. And that's never something that you expect to have to go through with your significant other, uh, especially only, you know, we were like seven months into our marriage because we literally got married a month before he left mm-hmm

And so it was something where something shifted mentally. For both of us, I got extreme anxiety. Um, though he has not been diagnosed and he refuses to see somebody and something else that a lot of people can probably relate to. Mm-hmm um, I'm pretty sure he came back with some sort of PTSD, something of, you know, depression, anxiety, something from being over there.

Sure. Sure. And so it was at that point where his contract was up and he was like, I'm gonna get outta the military. I'm just done. I don't wanna be deployed again. That was horrible. Now that I have a wife and now that we're talking about a family, like this is just not gonna work. Yeah. And so. He was going to get out.

And then March, April happened, hiring freezes happened, the whole world shutdown happened. And he was like, I literally can't get another job. Like nobody's hiring because of this pandemic. And so he ended up saying, I have to stay in the military, but what are our other options? And so for him, the art program, and I don't know the acronym specifically, but it's basically the active reservist position.

Okay. So he goes to work. Five days a week in uniform. I mean, nothing's changed there. Mm-hmm and then he has to work drill weekends. So for me as the spouse, nothing's really changed except the likelihood of him either PCSing or getting PCs orders or deploying has significantly decreased. So it's just almost like a.

Almost like a safety net for us that okay. You are still in the military, you're still doing your time, right? Mm-hmm but you're not, uh, at risk of having to go back to Afghanistan or somewhere else. That's, you know, probably not as kind or nice. To you or your mental health. So for us, that was the right decision, but he was active duty up until 2020.

And then after Afghanistan, we were like, yeah, we gotta, we gotta do something else. So at this point, if we wanted to move, we could, Nick talked about wanting to, uh, go to Utah where there's snow you. No . Um, but if that were to happen, he would have to put in for it. Uh, yeah. But otherwise, you know, the likelihood of us PCSing has significantly decreased, which is kind of nice, cuz I do love it here.

Alison: Yeah. Well, thank you for sharing that, cuz that's, that's really personal, but I think that that is. Man, that's, that's a truth bomb though, for sure, because I think that there's a lot of people that are in that same position. We, so my husband was initially attached to surf ships and, um, we went through the first part of his career on surf ships.

Uh, we didn't have my, our first daughter until we had been married for 10 years. It took us a really long time to get pregnant. I know a lot of people suffer with infertility issues. Uh, we were not, yeah, we were, we were not immune to that. Um, and so we were kind of like, we, we, we knew we wanted to have a family and it was like how he's gone.

He was gone all the time, deployed all the time. And it's a little bit different. I feel like cuz we're Navy. So, you know, he's on his ship. So that always kind of gave me a little bit of comfort. I felt like, you know, he's not there on the front lines, he's at least out on a boat, which, you know, I know stuff happens out there too, but that kind of gave me a little, but anyways, it was that we were in that same position and I'm like, how are we gonna have a family with this op tempo?

And this other stuff? Like, it just doesn't seem like it worked. So he transitioned into engineering. So. Now, he's not, he's not deploying, he travels a lot, so you kind of offset the two. Right. So, but at least he has a say, like, Hey, I have to go here for a week. And then he is home or I'm gonna go here for a week and then I'm home.

So, you know, it's still hard in a different way, but, um, we don't, but yeah, so I, I feel you, because we kind of made the decision to, to kind of pivot our career in that way as well, just because the, I it's challenging. And then especially if you see. You know, if you have experiences when you're deployed, that are, you know, traumatic and that definitely weighs heavily on, do you really, do you wanna put yourself through that again?

And that's one of those, like, is it worth it, right? Because like, when you start to get into those positions in your career where it's like, you know, they start to offer bonuses and things like that. And it's like, is that worth. The toll that it takes on your mental and emotional wellbeing and your lifestyle and just, you know what I mean, your marriage, everything like it's, that's a heavy conversation for sure.

And we've gone through the same thing. So I feel you definitely. Yeah. And then we, and then we were in the same boat as you in March, April of 2020. And we were like, we, I wanna retire, like I've had enough so volunt. Spouse. I'm like, I'm tired. We've moved every two to three years. Every two years, since my daughters were born, I'm like, I've had enough.

I don't wanna do it anymore. Let's get out. You've already done your time. Like, let's go. And then it was like the world shut down. And it was like, is this really the time to get out and try and find a job in a private sector? We're literally like, Businesses are closing down left and right. So we were in the same position.

So we stayed in, got PCs here to Colorado and now he got selected for promotion, which is great. But now we're in, so now we're in for longer. . 

Britt: Yeah, but I feel you it's really interesting though, that you mentioned that you also changed, like he changed what he was doing in order to make it work for the family.

Mm-hmm something that I got a lot when I was telling people like, oh, Nick's not active anymore. He is, you know, he still goes to, you know, he's still active, he's just active reserves. Sure. And, uh, a lot of people didn't even know that that was an option. And, you know, we were talking about, you know, spreading out the information for military spouses.

I think one of the things that a lot of us don't understand is that there are options within the military. I think a lot of times we feel like, okay, this is what the military said, and this is how it's gonna go for 20. But like, yes, military comes first. Yes. Military has a say, and it's a pretty big one.

Right. But there are options within that. There's some wiggle room, there's sure a change of, you know, position or a change of, uh, scenery, if you will. Yeah. For them within that. And there are options within that. So I think that that's something to explore if you're like, man sure. What we're doing right now, isn't working.

Mm-hmm it's not like I have to suffer. Through this for another 15 or 17 years. Yeah. Before we see the light again, you know, there are options to kind of make it better or improve your situation. So yeah, just something that I think a lot of people would benefit from hearing, I think for 

Alison: sure. Yeah. So if I'm understanding, cuz I spoke with another military spouse, um, a little while ago and her husband is also active reserves.

And the reason that he's doing that is because he wants to get as much training as he can in different areas to make himself like. You know, just expose himself to as much as he can. So they chose that career. And I was like, that's the first I'd heard of it. I was like, what is active reserves? What does that mean?

So it's essentially like you sign a contract for a specific period of time for a specific job, and then you would have to do that again and again and again, and again, is that kind of. Or the 

Britt: gist of it. So it works differently at different places. I know for Nick, he's basically a quote unquote civilian though.

He's in uniform and he's active, weird. Okay. Um, but he's basically a civilian employee Monday through Friday, and then that drill weekend, he is technically a reservist. Okay. And so for him, he's doing the exact same job that he was doing. When he was enlisted mm-hmm so he is literally, I mean, nothing's changed for him.

He's doing the same job he's been doing for eight years. Yeah. Which was kind of nice. Yeah. Because. When we decided to switch, we were like, great, what is this gonna look like? Is this gonna be harder for him? This gonna be easier? Like, what does this look like? And I've heard it a bunch of different ways. I, I actually interviewed somebody on my own podcast, Ashley gout, who is a comedian?

Yes. She is a military spouse of someone who is also in the art program. And they move every two years. And I was like, that's so odd because my husband doesn't move at all. So I. Typical military, right? Like makes sense. And everything is ter, but, um, yeah, it does look different. True. 

Alison: Yeah. A hundred percent.

A hundred percent. Okay. So, um, so kind of pivoting just a little bit. So could you tell us a little bit about, um, your career, how you cuz, so you married your husband when he was already active duty. So what did that look like for you? Cuz I know, you know, we spoke about this before we hit. But careers for military spouses is so challenging.

So I really like to dive into kind of the nuts and bolts of like where you started and where you've kind of pivoted, cuz you've done a lot of pivoting as well. And where, what would that kind of look like for you? So what does your career path 

Britt: look like? Yeah, that's a great question. So when I met Nick, I had an established career.

I was actually, um, I did hearing aids. I was a hearing aid specialist. I was licensed to the state of Arizona cause I was already living out here. Mm-hmm um, I had gone to school out here and so. What I had done is I, I was climbing the corporate ladder. I was like, I'm gonna be the CEO of United or some other big insurance company, or, you know, like I was gonna do the darn thing.

. And for me, I wanted to help patients. I love my community. And I think that that's carried out throughout everything that I do and everything that I touch as far as projects and things like that go. But. For me, I was like, , I wanna be the owner of some big company. I wanna be helping our senior citizens or people in our community and I wanna be doing that.

And then I met and fell in love with Nick. And what's really interesting is that we got married eight months into dating. We, we knew for sure weeks in that, like we were, we were set like, this is, this is gonna be a thing. Yeah. Yeah. And so. Once I got married and I was like, okay, like, I'm gonna dabble in military spouse, hood.

I don't know what this looks like, but I'm gonna figure it out. The resounding message coming back to me was good luck. Keeping your corporate job. Like, like jokes on you, honey. Like, you're not gonna, you're not gonna have that in a few years. Yeah. And I didn't understand it. I was like, well, you know, if you know, depending on where he goes, I'm I could get a job and like, yes, I'd have to.

And then I started thinking about it and I was like, oh man. Like I'd have to get my license in that state. I'd have to reinstate myself that can take up to two years. Like, yes, there is a program to help you pay for your license, transferring in different states now mm-hmm . Um, but that's a process too, and it can still take like a year to two years for you to do your thing.

Like what would I do for one to two years without a job? Like, I'd lose my mind. I'm a doer. 

Alison: I feel you . 

Britt: So the more I got into it, the more that I was just like, man, like there's gotta be something. There has got to be something else besides, oh, you married him now. Like you can just write your name on the wall as the person who will do nothing for the rest of her life, your dreams don't matter.

Like I was just getting all these messages and I hated it. Cause I'm, again, I'm a doer, I'm someone who likes to set goals and dreams and achieve them and keep going. Mm-hmm and so I was like, no way, am I gonna give up on everything and just sit at home because that's what I'm quote unquote supposed to do based on the St.

Sure. That's just not gonna be me. Yeah. So the more research I did, the more that I discovered that entrepreneurship might be the best option for military spouses, because you can move, you can, uh,you know, do your. Thing you can go somewhere else and like pick up where you left off, you can mm-hmm PCs with inventory, or, you know, if you've got services even better, mm-hmm, , there's just lots of options within entrepreneurship.

Um, and of course, 2020, we came out of that with a huge sense of, Hey, I can do almost anything from home. Right. Yeah. Like a hundred percent, any, you know, jobs that were like, no way will we ever be, you know, a remote from home positions. Mm-hmm, all of a sudden, you know, everything is, is remote. Everything is work from home.

Yeah. And so, you know, I just felt this sense. And so what I did coupled with, so I let me back up. So I started actually doing an ML. Not a hundred percent proud of it, but it was what I needed to get me to that space of sure. Yeah. I could do this on my own. Yes. I wanna make a bigger impact than just what this company can provide for me.

Yes. I wanna do more be more mm-hmm and so that was the step that I needed in order to make the leap into entrepreneurship myself. Mm-hmm so if you are. Listening and you're in an MLM or if you're listening and you're considering an MLM, I get a lot of hate, but I have to tell you that I'm so thankful for those two months.

those two months where I was in an MLM, because it really did help me take the leap and do it by myself and do it for myself. Mm-hmm so. That's where I started. And then I started the podcast and I was like, okay, what the heck is being a military spouse, like fill me in. And the whole first season of my podcast is me interviewing military spouses of different genders of sexual orientations, of backgrounds, of grounds, of, um, ethnicity and country of origin.

I mean, I, I talked to everybody and I was like, Fill me in, like, what do I need to know? How do you be successful at this, like help in any gram three girl out. Okay. and so through that episode, I really discovered that entrepreneurship or through that season, I really discovered that entrepreneurship is where it's at.

It's like the it's like the key to the door that we didn't even know that we needed and locked mm-hmm . And so for me, that's what started my business coaching business, new altitudes. Okay. Mm-hmm so I started that, but it was a side hustle thing. I was still doing my corporate job and I was doing new altitudes on the side.

Mm-hmm well, fast forward one year and. Sick of my corporate job and I was ready to take my entrepreneurship journey full time. I was like, I'm gonna do the podcast. I'm gonna do coaching and maybe some odd jobs along the way as well. And so then the podcast shifted again to be small business owners. And I was like, okay, now I wanna interview you.

What do you need to know? What do you know? How can we help each other out mm-hmm and just like you, I was like, there are no podcasts about this. There are none. Yeah. Like no podcast is talking to military spouses. Yeah. And then just like you, once I started the podcast, I was like, oh man, there's 

Alison: so many.

Yeah. . Yeah. 

Britt: And that was fantastic, but a little overwhelming because you're in, in this place where you're like, oh man, how am I gonna stand out? Or why would someone wanna listen to me versus these eight other people? Sure. And so I've really focused and I've. A strong advocate on nicheing down and figuring out who do I wanna help?

Who am I talking to specifically? Mm-hmm and it was really through my podcast that I discovered that for myself and for my business. So entrepreneurship 100%. And so mill spouse entrepreneurship has become my niche across. Everything that I do. Mm-hmm and everything that I am. Um, and so I took it full time almost a year ago.

And now I am about to, by the time this airs it'll be two weeks from announcing it. I'm about to take on a second entrepreneurship endeavor. So stay tuned for that. If you're interested, you can follow along,um, and hear that announcement. 

Alison: Yeah. So, so you initially start and I, I did an MLM too. And, um, and I'm glad that you brought that up because I feel like man, there's a lot of negativity around MLMs.

Yeah. And I think the reason is, is because here's the thing when you're doing something new, which most people cuz at MLMs are sales, that's what they are. Right. Yeah. And most people Don. You do you do it in eight? Like not innately, but like you are like, you go to a really good restaurant, you share it with somebody or you really like these pants, you share it with your friends.

 You naturally are doing that. But when you put the. I'm trying to offer you this specific thing, even though it might really help you, but there's such a negative connotation around it. And I did the same thing as well, and I had a really, really hard time with it, but there were so many benefits from it.

 Um, I feel like it's one of those things where. You have to keep trying on different hats and to see, because you like nailed it on the head, which is you come into the military career and whether you have a career or you're thinking about it when you start to look at the ramifications of, okay, we're PCSing, what does that look like?

For my job, it gets really daunting. And you're like, well, I guess I, I don't know. You know? And so I think it kind of naturally lends people to, I need something that's mobile. I need something that I can take with me and MLM. Honestly are they're all mobile. You can take them all with you. So you find a product that you like or a service that you like, and then you become a representative for them.

And, and it works for there's a lot of military spouses that are incredibly successful in MLMs. And then there's a lot of military spouses that try it and are like, yeah, , not so much for me, which is what, where I was as well. I hear you. You initially started your podcast because you wanted to figure out as cuz you were a new mill spouse at the time and you're like, how do I do this?

How do I navigate having a career and being a mill spouse? You were trying to talk to different people in different areas about how they've maintained their career. Is that kind of the, the 

Britt: gist of. So that's what I thought when I was recording those episodes.

And when I was talking to people, that's what I thought. And it wasn't until over a year in that I really realized, and it was actually during another, it was, um, another podcast. I was on a veteran's podcast and he asked me this question and I was like, you know, That's probably what I said. yeah. Yeah. But the subconscious part of my brain was really screaming for help.

Mm. Because my husband had just come home. From our first deployment together. Mm-hmm . And so there's a really big difference between the last deployments he were, he was on, which were mostly like, he called them vacations. Like he had to work, but he got to go explore. He got to travel, he got to go out for sushi.

And like, you know, he got to go to the casino or whatever. And so like, Deployments were very different from the one that he had just done, which was Afghanistan. And on top of that, all those other deployments, when he came home, he was that solo dude in his bachelor pad mm-hmm and he came home and he had a wife mm-hmm and so.

We were really struggling through reintegration, which is that time, right after you get home from deployment, where the service members trying to figure out the new home routines, um, you know, come back to home life after being in such a strict setting from. Deployment and being on the clock to not being on the clock and, you know, they get that week or two Nick got a month to just kind of chill out.

He played video games the whole time, like just to kind of like reorient themselves back to the real world. Mm-hmm we really struggled. So Nick's mental health. My mental health turns out I have hypothyroidism. I wasn't diagnosed until a few months ago. Had no idea. And since being on medication, my mood and my mental health has completely improved mm-hmm so we think that that was probably a huge factor in that as well, but we were constantly fighting.

We were constantly arguing, uh, he wasn't doing his part, you know, he wasn't, you know, whatever kind of negative things. Yeah. I was throwing at him and then I wasn't being understanding, and I didn't understand. And da, da, da, da, da. And so there was a lot of conflict in our marriage. And so I was like, great.

Like, is this military life? Yeah. Like, is this what it's like to be a military spouse is just arguing with your spouse and then sending them off and missing them for seven, eight months. Like, is that it? Is that all I get? Right. And I was really. I was really reaching out and going, help me understand that it's better than where I'm at because I'm in a black hole and I need a hand, like help me get out.

And so when I reached out to these people to be on my podcast, I totally thought I was like, help me understand like, how to do this thing as the military spouse. But it was really like, What it like, what am I doing wrong? Like what's going on in my life and in my marriage, like, how can I improve this? How can I make this better?

And I didn't know it. And I think that that's one of the beautiful things about podcasting is that through conversations, you develop a deeper understanding of yourself, of your marriage, of your life, but also of other people and other people in our community. And it's really opened my eyes and really helped me understand myself so much deeper.

Mm-hmm and I'll give. A prime example of that. I interviewed a woman named Candace about mental health mm-hmm and she's been diagnosed with depression and anxiety. She's been on medication, she's been off medication. And so she came on my podcast just to talk through like, what the heck is anxiety? What the heck is depression from someone who has it?

She does not have a degree. She's not a licensed anything. She's not a doctor. She's not a psychologist. Mm-hmm but she just came on like, Hey, this is my story. Sure. And it was literally in the middle. I'm getting goosebumps. It was literally in the middle of that episode that I realized I had anxiety and that I needed help.

And so we ended the recording and I looked at her and I'm crying and she's crying. And I was like, you. You just told me something about myself. I had no idea. I was like, I, I need to call. I need to call my doc. Like right now, like I need to make an appointment. And she was like, yes, do it. And then when I made the appointment and I was diagnosed with anxiety, I called her and I was like, oh my gosh, you have no idea.

Like, you've completely changed my life, my marriage and everything. And that's the beauty of podcasting and of talking to other people and of connecting with others because you develop. Such a deeper understanding of yourself and who you are. Yeah. And so I'm very, very thankful that through the podcast I got what I actually needed and not what I thought I wanted.

So 

Alison: yeah. Oh, I love that. That's beautiful. I got goosebumps too. um, I think that I, and that's one of the things that is kind of always in the back of my mind when I'm talking to other military spouses is I'm like, There's so much that happens to a male spouse in a male spouse family in a male spouse marriage that you're like, holy crap, what is this?

Like, are we in trouble? Like, are we, are we getting, are we gonna get a divorce? Are we gonna, like, this is really bad. Cause I've been in the same situation as you with the, um, coming home and the reintegration and. And I, if I had not. So before the ship, so we were attached to ship. So before the ship left on deployment, we went, they had a pre-deployment brief, right?

Where they give you the emotional stages of deployment. And if I had not been given that information, I would have totally freaked out and lost my mind because it is really hard. It's really hard leading up to them, leaving. You know, it's coming and then you're fighting more and you're resenting them and there's all this, and you're all this angst.

And you're just like, oh my God, like, he's getting ready to leave. Like, should we get a divorce? Like now? Like what, what is it? And it's like, no, that is completely normal. It's completely normal. Right? You are withdrawing. To emotionally shield yourself because they are leaving. Like, you're, it's a defense mechanism.

There's nothing wrong with you. There's nothing wrong with their marriage. Like it's a normal part of the process. And I feel like if you don't get that information, you're just sitting there like, oh my God, What is happening in my life, what's happening in my marriage. And then it's the same thing when you come home.

And I remember specifically for us, um, we didn't have kids at the time. It was just my husband and I, and he comes home and like the very first deployment he came home. I went through the ringer as a brand new military spouse because he re he was going through all of his. Schools and whatnot, they got their ship assign hits, and he's like, so I got my ship assignment, great news.

We outta San Diego, which is what I wanted because that's where I wanted to start my career. I was like, yeah, that's great. He's like bad news is the ship's leaving for deployment the day after I report I'm like, woo. So the ship leave. So the ship leaves on deployment in October the day after he, he deploys, I haven't fit, graduated from college yet.

So I graduate from. On the east coast and then drive me and my dog across the country. It's our first military move. I don't know anybody in San Diego. I don't have a place to live. I go through all this stuff. So he, so like six months later, he comes home from deployment and we have an apartment and there's furniture there and there's like all the things.

And I remember standing in our kitchen and he said to me, he said, I don't feel like you need me. I was like, whoa, shit. I, I do. But when you don't have any other choice, you do it. And that's part of being a military spouse too, is it's like people are, oh, it's, I don't know how you do it. And I'm like, if you were in the same situation, you would figure it out because you just do, you know what I mean?

But we were in the we've had those. Same things. And I, and that's one of the things that I love about the podcast and love about talking to people and sharing stories is that you hear other people's struggles. You hear what other people have gone through and you're like, oh, okay. So they did that too.

They're okay. Or, you know what I mean? Like I just, I think there's so much power in sharing those experiences and what we go through as military spouses and military families. Um, that's just so powerful. So I, I appreciate you sharing that stuff too. So, um, so your podcast now, so where, where are you at now with your business and with your podcast?

Britt: Yeah. So my podcast has really started to transform my business mm-hmm and it used to be the other way around where my business started. And as I was gaining traction, I started throwing things up onto the podcast. That kind of made sense for quote unquote, both worlds mm-hmm . And then I recently discovered.

Through teaching my clients, you know, the power of repurposing content and of, you know, just reusing the same material in multiple spaces. Like take an email and make it all your Instagram content for the week. Mm-hmm I really was like, why am I not doing that myself? mm-hmm like, I need to take a little bit of advice.

From what I've been putting out there and I need to do this too. And so really my podcast shifted from just a hobby thing. Just me kind of like figuring out life and mm-hmm it, it really did save my marriage. It, my podcast saved my marriage for sure. But then moving that to like, okay, now I'm gonna help supplement.

This is gonna kind of help bring in my clients and, you know, kind of help, uh, almost like in a sales funnel, this was my top tier. And so my podcast has really become the place where a lot of people find me and they hear first and then they come hang out with me on Instagram, which is where all the fun happens.

Yeah. But. You know, the podcast we've been going for since September of 2020, as of this recording, we're at over 120 episodes, I think more than 95% of them are military spouse. Stories mm-hmm, , it's really fun. It's, it's a really cool podcast. I, I really, obviously I really love it. um, I think my favorite part is interviewing other spouses who are a hundred doing the thing and, you know, really learning how they're doing it and how they, you know, make shifted everything themselves and where their story took them.

Um, But it really has been a, a journey from hobby to the main source of all my content. So now what I do is I talk about the episode of the week and that is my content on Instagram. And that is what I talk about, uh, obviously throughout my courses and, you know, working one on one with clients, other small business owners who are military connected.

It's uh, you know, an eclectic variety of things, but I love to send them a podcast episode where if they're like, Hey, I'm struggling with this. And I'm like, I've got a podcast episode about that. Yeah, let me send it to you. You can listen to it on your walk tomorrow when you walk your dog in the morning mm-hmm

And then when we have our one-on-one next week, you can let me know if you implemented anything from that episode or what you thought. And, uh, we kind of use it to start conversations, but also to continue the coaching and the, the education around whatever it is that they're struggling with, which is really cool.

Alison: Yeah. So the moments with the me that is more of a, so would you say your podcast is aimed more towards military entrepreneurs or male spouse entrepreneurs? Yeah. 

Britt: 100%. Yeah. It's for the new military spouse, entrepreneur. Mm-hmm . So if you're in your first three years, or if you're even just thinking about it, you're on year zero.

This podcast is for you because it's gonna inspire you to do it. Mm-hmm . And it's also going to give you tips on like, Hey, this week's episode is on, you know, three things to do to your website to make it better. Or yeah, you know, this week's episode is on why you shouldn't do cold calling or cold messaging, but instead you should do this mm-hmm and we even have episodes.

Um, most of our episodes would resonate with an MLM with mm-hmm an entrepreneur with a podcaster, with a business, like anything mm-hmm so it really is, is a good eclectic variety. 

Alison: awesome. See, and that's one of the things that I think, so if you're a military spouse and you're like, you know, I really feel.

I should start a podcast or I should do this, but man there, you're telling me that there's all this stuff out there. So here's the thing. There's plenty for everybody. Right? There's because my podcast is a little bit different than your podcast. We're both talking to military spouses, but the angle's just a little bit different.

Right? And the same thing with the other people that we I'm gonna talk to throughout the thing everybody's just a little bit different. It's just a little bit of a different angle. And the thing is, is that, you know, and I, I think that this is an important lesson to learn and I learned it as. In the fitness industry, not in the entrepreneur industry, but is that not?

Everybody's gonna like you and that's okay. Yeah. But as long as you're being authentically, you, the people that are supposed to be your people are gonna find you and the people that are not, your people are gonna go find somebody else. Right. And I feel like that was one of the best pieces. I got that advice as a yoga instructor, um, at one of my trainings and they were like, you know, Because I was like, what happens if like, if they get up and they leave your class or like, what if they don't come back and like, and that's a thing, like you can really spin yourself up about that stuff.

And that is, and, and that advice of. If you're be yourself, that's all you can do is be a hundred percent yourself. And the people that are supposed to find you will be there. The people that aren't will go find somebody else and that's okay. And I feel like it's the same in this space, right? There's enough for everybody.

There doesn't need to be the, the clawing and the, oh, I I'm gonna protect this because it's, you know, there's plenty for everybody there's and I feel like. That's a meshes that I keep trying to reiterate to, because I feel like, you know, it's the mill spouse community is a small community. It's, there's a million of us or more, but it feels like a small community, but there's still plenty for everybody.

Britt: . I just wanted to add to that if I can. Yeah, of course. Okay. So I think it can also be really hard. To put yourself out there. Yeah, because the, the feeling a lot of my clients go through this, when I, I try to, I, I love face to camera, which is where you show up on stories or you share a picture or selfie of yourself.

Sure. Holding one of your products in your, in your Instagram. Right. And a lot of people feel intimidated about that. A lot of people are like, oh my gosh, I don't wanna do that. Or I don't wanna share behind the scenes. I don't wanna show 'em you know, that the pillows on my couch aren't perfectly aligned or you know, that there's dishes in the sink.

and I think that there is a huge pressure to be perfect when you do show up mm-hmm . And so it can be really, really hard for someone to show up authentically and genuinely as themselves, because there's a huge pressure of judgment. Yeah. Right. There's a huge pressure of what if they don't like me? What if they don't like the sink?

You know how dirty my sink is. Sure. You know, what, if they don't like that I'm eating boxed, macaroni and cheese instead of cooking at homemade for my kids or. What if they notice that they've got dinosaur chicken and nuggets instead of real food, or, you know, there's so much pressure to be a certain way and to be what society expects of you.

Yeah. That it can be really hard to show up as you. But the beautiful thing and psychology has proven there are studies on this that you can look up on your own. I, I won't bore you with the details, but basically it's that the more flaws that you can show, the more personable, the more relatable, and therefore the more trust.

And the more likability you have. So if you show up with those dinosaur chicken nuggets and the dirty sink, you know, mm-hmm, , mm-hmm, people are actually going to love you more than if you showed up with a perfectly clean, always pretty background mm-hmm and your hair and your makeup were always done.

Mm-hmm and. It takes a lot to not hit that filter button before you save your post or, you know, it, it takes a lot to show up authentically and genuinely as yourself. Yeah. But the more that you try to do that, the easier it will come. The amount of self confidence that I have now is drastically different than what I had in 2020.

Started my podcast. Mm-hmm and you can definitely hear it in my earlier episodes. I'm kind of stumbling over my words. I'm I'm too afraid to ask what I really wanna ask, because you know of that fear of, well, what if they don't like that question? Or, you know, what if, what if that's a dumb question, right?

Yeah. And so there's a lot of. Self judgment. And, um, there's a lot of negativity that you can put on yourself, but just do it. Just, just start. And I know that that seems silly, but the more that you can just keep doing that and keep going, mm-hmm in whatever it is, whether it's a job interview that you're afraid of, whether it's, you know, uh, going to that mom group, you really wanna go to cuz you need mom friends, but you're scared of the stereotype of the mom group, right?

Yeah. Yep. Whatever it is in your life, that's that you're holding yourself back. You are only doing yourself a disservice, so just go for it and it'll get easier over time for. 

Alison: Yeah, beautifully said absolutely beautifully said love that. So tell us a little bit about your offerings, what you have. So new altitudes is your business.

So what kind of things do you, do you 

Britt: offer with your business? So I do have one-on-one coaching opportunities and I have been told by every single coach that I am well below the, you know, what I should charge. Um, and that's because I genuinely believe in accessible good coaching mm-hmm and so I don't think.

Uh, we were talking about this before we hit record, but like, there is no difference between a male spouse who is an officer wife versus an enlisted wife. Mm-hmm and rank shouldn't matter. And you know, none of these things should matter. So whether you make an E one paycheck or whether you make the most money in the world, it shouldn't matter.

You should be able to get good. Coaching. And so I'm only $75 an hour for coaching. It's really, really affordable. So I do one-on-one coaching. However, if that's still a lot, if you're going, oh gosh, Bri, like that's way too much. That's okay. I do have self-paced courses. I'm gonna be launching even more of those this summer.

And um, every January and December, I always do the no plan. Plan, which is basically helping you plan your business around whatever the military's gonna throw at you that year. It's usually a deployment and random TD wise and you know, random kids who get sick. And how do I plan my business around a possible potential PCs that I don't even know about and all these things.

So I go through a lot of courses, a lot of self-paced options. Um, mm-hmm work. Um, Workshops, but also one on one. So everything is affordable. I promise . Um, and I, again, I've got some more things coming in a couple weeks that I can't share yet, but I'm very, very excited. Um, so if you want to follow along, if you wanna hang out, I also do a lot of free resources and free tips.

Mm-hmm for your business podcast, MLM, whatever on Instagram. So that's at new altitudes on Instagram. 

Alison: Okay. Cool. So what are some of the courses that you offer? 

Britt: So the no plan business plan is definitely my most popular. Um, okay. okay. But I also have,um, a pitching yourself to, uh, be on. Podcast. So if you're interested in taking yourself to that next level, you wanna do some PR on your own mm-hmm you can absolutely do that.

That's called, uh, go pitch yourself. Mm-hmm and um, so you can absolutely do that. That's a quick course. It's $67. Um, but it's only like an hour and a half and it walks you through everything from how to pitch yourself, how to find good podcasts to pitch to mm-hmm. how to write that email to that podcast.

Uh, And then also how to be a good guest, so how to make sure you've got good quality audio and how to make sure that you are set up to give them the best so that they can project you as the best. Um, yeah. I also have, um, a romcom workshop, which is how to romance your community. I do that every February.

Um, oh, that's cute. And I've got things in the works for nicheing down and finding your niche, which I think are really important. Mm-hmm and then I also have a group coaching program, um, which we're gonna be relaunching. Fall. And that is the EO cash squad. And that is basically every month we have a theme and we've got the open portal of all the trainings I've ever done ever inside this group coaching program, which has been going on for more than a year now.

So lots and lots of trainings and you get free access to all of it. 

Alison: Okay. Cool. Awesome. , um, okay. To connect with you, it's new altitudes, um, on Instagram and then your website is the same thing. New altitudes.com. 

Britt: It's new altitudes, llc.com. Okay, perfect. And 

Alison: I'll also make sure that those are linked in the show notes, so people can connect with you that way.

Okay. And then just to kind of, kind of tie everything up with a little bow. I like to end with, uh, what is the best advice that you have ever received as a mill spouse or what's something that has been really helpful to you as a mill spouse? 

Britt: You know, when I first started the podcast, I was really reluctant because. The whole time that Nick was gone, I did not want to be associated with the community. I didn't wanna be that male spouse. I didn't wanna be what my husband referred to as a depend atomist. Mm. And, you know, my husband was one of many contributors to these voices in my head going.

Yeah. I don't think I wanna be like, I'm not gonna tell people I'm the military spouse. Like, that's just kind of weird. Um,  and looking back now, I laugh because I think that's the silliest thing ever, but I think the stereotypes and the community around you and the voices around you really play an impact on what you're doing.

And all that, but what really got me to hit record was actually something that one of my professors said in college, she came into the room and she had a patient who recently passed away. She works with pediatric patients. Um, and so she was all in her fields, if you will. And she was. Talking about what will set you apart as a human being in the space.

And she was like, every. Everybody is going to tell you to separate yourself from your clients. They're gonna tell you never to make friends with them. They're gonna tell you never to show up for the birthday parties. They're gonna tell you not to send birthday cards. They're gonna tell you not to put in the extra work.

They're gonna tell you to be a professional when you need to be professional and keep your home life at. She was like, I'm here to tell you to go to the birthday parties. I'm here to tell you that it's okay to make friends or even family friends, or best friends with a client or a client's mom. She was like, I'm here to tell you that what's going to set you apart, not only as a professional, but also as a human being and your success over your lifetime is going to be leaning into your community and building and finding relationships and really making them a priority.

And so. That message plays a lot in my head and it's not something directly related to the military spouse community. And it's not something that a military spouse said, but it is so important to me that. Her saying that just really opened up the gate for me to be like, you know what? I can be friends with this client, or heck all of my clients and you know, I can remember their birthdays and I can remember vacations and I can ask them how it's going.

And especially now in the social media realm that we are in today, where everything is online and everything is over the top. Right. There is a power in leaning into your community. And there is a very strong power in relationships and prioritizing them. And so for me, prioritizing relationships is just so key.

And so that's what made me go, you know what maybe. Just maybe my husband is wrong. Maybe just, maybe all these voices in my head are wrong and there's gotta be something else. There's gotta be another one out there. That's like me. There's gotta be another military spec, even if there's just one, who's not atomist and turns out.

None of us are a dependent. Atomist like that stereotype is a stereotype. Like mm-hmm, like none of us are like that. No matter what we do, no matter whether we stay at home or we work at a corporate job or we have a business or we do an MLM, like it really doesn't matter. All of us are doing our own thing.

Mm-hmm and that really. Strong true for me when I was asking people to be on my podcast in the first season, and I was getting so many people going, mm I'm. Not spouse enough to be on a military spouse podcast or, mm I'm. Not that spouse. You know, or we've only PCSD once or we've never PCSD or we live on base.

We don't live on base. There were all these things that people were saying, well, I don't think I fit what you're looking for because of this thing that I should have done as a military spouse that we haven't done. Sure. Even though I'm a military spouse. Yep. And so it really hit a chord for me. And I was like, heck yeah, I definitely want you on, because I wanna normalize the normal, you know, mm-hmm,

So 100%, I think that that is key. And like I said earlier, I mean, my podcast saved my marriage, but it was also through this podcast that I got other opportunities. Whether people found me through there and became a client, uh, someone actually at our spouse club here at DM was listening to my podcast and called me up and asked me to be part of the, the panel.

I'm gonna be the scholarship chair next year, helping military spouses get free education. And so. There's so many powerful things in just showing up, but also leaning into your community and leaning into your resources and building those relationships and really prioritizing them. No matter what it is that you do for a living, no matter what it is that you don't do for a living.

So I think it's just so important. 

Alison: Yeah, I love that. I agree with you a hundred percent. Cause I've talked to a lot of people like, well, I don't know. I'm I'm just a new spouse or I'm and I'm like, no, no, no, no. It's, there's no qualification that says, if you haven't done X, Y, and Z, then you're not a military spouse.

You know what I mean? Like. Yeah, everybody has their own path. So I think that that was beautifully said beautifully said. Awesome. Well, Bri, thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us. And if you want to, uh, check out her show again, it is moments with an MEO and it is on all the platforms. So, and, we will also link it in the show notes as well.

So thank you for your time, Bri. Really appreciate you. 

Britt: Thank you so much, Allison.