On October 10th, Milspo LIVE! took over Amazon HQ London, turning it into a hub of inspiration and connection for military spouses. It was a day filled with workshops, networking, and a tour of one of the coolest tech hubs in the UK.
The day was filled with insightful workshops designed to empower military spouses. Jamie from YourNorth led a dynamic goal-setting workshop, providing attendees with practical tools and strategies to achieve their professional aspirations. Jess, the founder of Milspo, facilitated an interactive session focused on crafting compelling elevator pitches and powerful positioning statements.
The highlight of the day was definitely the tour of Amazon HQ London. We got to see the incredible rooftop view of the city and even snapped a group photo to remember the day. After the tour, we enjoyed a glass of wine and had the chance to network with other amazing military spouses. It was the perfect way to end an inspiring day.
We want to extend a huge thank you to Emma and the entire Amazon team for hosting Milspo LIVE! at your incredible London HQ. Your support for the military community, especially military spouses, is truly inspiring. By providing such an amazing venue and opportunity for networking and professional development, you’re not just supporting individuals but entire military families. We’re incredibly grateful for your commitment to making a positive impact.
Here’s Jess’ speach from the day…
First off, thank you all so much for being here. We have got a great day planned.
But, I wanted to kick start this day with a little update about Milspo, and a reminder of why we are all here.
Milspo has had an amazing year since we last met up here for our very first Milspo Live. We secured funding so that we can run our very first business start-up course, which is going to help 120 other military spouses start and succeed in business.
The wonderful Veterans Foundation is now supporting Milspo into 2025, so that the brilliant co-working, networking, webinars and more can keep on delivering for the community.
The Find a Milspo directory has 35 brilliant businesses that we are showcasing each week, plus, the Milspo Inner Circle is going from strength to strength with amazing expert speakers, a few of which you can meet today.
And, the place where it all started – the little InDependent Spouse podcast, that was just going to be a small project is in it’s seventh year and more loved than ever.
We must start with a huge thanks to the Ministry of Defence, the Veterans Foundation, and of course Amazon, who are very kindly hosting us today. These, three, epic organisations recognise just what we all know.
That military spouses, partners and other-halves really are the backbone of the UK armed forces – and without them they wouldn’t be able to do what they do to protect the UK.
And, you are are in a room full of inspirational Milspos that are recognised by these companies and so many more, and together, we are going to have an incredible day of business building and connecting, but I am sure at some point today, doubt will set in.
Doubt as to whether you’re worthy enough to have a successful business.
Doubt as to whether you even deserve to be in this room at all.
Feelings that you are a little bit out of your depth, perhaps.
Maybe you think back to the times when others have doubted your abilities. When you were first called a dependant, maybe? And then, of course, the many, many times you’ve been called a dependant after that.
Perhaps when you’ve told people you want to have your own successful business, they’ve called you silly – or questioned why you are doing it.
Maybe everyone’s just assumed that as a military partner, you don’t have any aspirations.
And is anything more frustrating than only ever talking about the armed forces?
I have lost track of the times people have forgotten to ask me what I do – in favour of talking about my husband’s work. And let’s not get started on the name-calling.
I’ve had them all. My least favourite was at a posh military awards dinner, you know the type -flashing lights, usually some sort of military band, chock full of veterans, medals everywhere, and little old me – There I am, completely out of my depth, talking about Milspo and being called ‘one of those whinging wives’ – that was a fun evening.
Or, perhaps you’ve been moved aside by an MP, not included at one of those forces friendly event, or spent an entire evening being talked to about planes, boats, tanks and operations.
All of those who have put you down or ignored you have missed something, a well-known secret that not many of them have noticed. A secret that you and I know isn’t really that much of a secret if they just opened their perceptions a little.
Behind every plus-one, dependant, and whinging wife label is an individual with the potential to do the most amazing things, and all of us in this very room are doing just that.
We know the power of this community because we are inspired by it every day.
Milspo is very special, and it’s thanks to a lot of you here that it’s this way.
Just look at Dr. Gillian Jones. Ex-Navy Lieutenant turned military artist – raising two boys, keeping her husband on track, oh, and exceeding in business life, providing military prints that are far more beautiful than those other ugly prints they usually get, but taking it to the next level, having them gifted to VIPs across the globe. Someone who you’d miss out on knowing by simply asking her what her husband does.
Or Rachael Fake, our Army Veteran and wife, who’s shaking things up at Milspo. Turning it into the most brilliant community behind the scenes by organising the chaos and applying her military training to the work we are doing. I’m pretty sure that she’s not dependant on anyone -although I might be slightly dependant on her.
Or, Caroline, our accountant with red hair, who after leaving an epic firm, started her own business, instantly got posted and then found herself all alone at the start of a long military deployment, in the early days that we went into lockdown. Caroline, who I remember was afraid of talking online, is now running Milspo courses, showing up on social media and is a cornerstone of our community – way more than a plus-one.
And then there’s me. The whinging wife – and I think I am doing okay, too.
But we are not unique in this. Every single one of you in this room has done amazing things, and you will continue to do so throughout this day and well beyond it.
Today is going to be something very special – but, a day for just military spouses and partners is so unique. They just don’t happen enough.
Which is rather odd when you consider that there are – according to the latest approximate MOD stats – over fifty-seven thousand military partners.
That’s right – Fifty-seven thousand under the radar, underutilised, probably forgotten members of the Armed Forces Community.
Fifty-seven thousand others, just like you, who no doubt have felt themselves not worthy. Who undoubtedly have been called ‘just a dependant’. Infuriating, isn’t it?
We don’t have any medals; we don’t have a ministry dedicated to our welfare; we have very little representation. But we do have the Milspo community.
This little self-driven, social enterprise, created out of the frustration of being ignored, is now making waves. Times are changing, and people are taking notice.
Amazon has noticed the hugely valuable contribution we make to not only the self-employed economy but to the defence capability as a whole. We truly make a difference, and we should be supported.
I encourage you to take a minute now and think. Consider all those negatives that have been said to you before and how they have held you back – you are better than those labels.
That voice that tells you aren’t good enough. Let’s silence that.
That voice that tells you you’re going to play small. Tell it you no longer believe it.
That voice that tells you that you are just a dependant, just a plus-one, just a whinging wife – well, you can certainly tell that one to do one.
You are here. In Amazon HQ, of all places. You have earned this spot. This is the place you are meant to be.
Or perhaps think of it this way.
You are a military partner, which means at some point, you’ve either sent your most loved person to a war zone, or you’ve at least confronted the reality that you will have to do that soon. That’s tough! To be able to do that is so brave, and really, in comparison, creating an amazing, successful business is certainly going to be a little easier.
So, take today as your opportunity to be brave – to do the things 57,000 other people would love to do. Take time to explore your business dreams and goals, and let’s create something epic together.Learn from Jamie from Your North in our workshops. Meet others just like you, get to know each other during our networking lunch, embrace the creative session later, and start building on those business dreams.
Today is your day, and we’re going to help you in any way that we can.
You can do this. You will do this – and we can’t wait to celebrate your success!”