Military spouse launches business to help others find jobs

Military spouse starts business to help others like her

A few years years ago, Michelle Penczak was in a tough spot. Her husband was deployed, she was pregnant and she couldn't find a job.

She had trouble finding a job, she said, because military spouses move so often. "I felt like I was being judged because of my husband's choice of career," she said.

So she started her own company, Squared Away, which hires people like her to assist other companies online. 

Michelle Penczak with her husband and children.  Michelle Penczak

"As a military spouse and mom, you are managing calendars, you are balancing everybody's activities," she said. "If you can handle that, I guarantee that you can handle working with a few CEOs and their teams."

Business is booming. Last month, nearly 200 employees brought in $500,000.

"It felt too good to be true," said Sara Glover, a military spouse, who said her job at Squared Away was a godsend.

"Sometimes I was going on 15, 20 interviews, and it wasn't an issue of my qualifications or my education. It was the fact that I can't be permanent," Glover said.

Glover said Penczak is "Wonder Woman." 

"And I mean it wholeheartedly," she said.

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