Empowered Women Empower: Elizabeth Diehl Boardman
Name: Elizabeth Diehl Boardman
Brand: Milspo Project
Year Started: 2014
Based In: North Carolina, but serving in the US and beyond!
Military Affiliation: US Navy
First, tell us a little bit about yourself and your brand/company.
I came into military life so unsure of myself, and knowing little about what this lifestyle required. My dreams of being a writer and more specifically a journalist were soon adjusted as we hopped from duty station to duty station. When living near Ft. Bragg in 2014 I started my own business, and ended up starting Milspo Project with a friend and Air Force Spouse to support the underground and underserved military spouse entrepreneur movement that was growing at the time.
Today Milspo Project is a 501c-3 non-profit member-run, organization. Our mission is to empower and educate military spouse entrepreneurs through leadership resources. As a Milspo Project member, military spouses receive access to online workshops, monthly goal-setting workbooks, in-person chapter meet ups with other military spouse business owners, as well as book club resources. Annually, Milspo Project hosts a business and leadership conference called Embark which helps military spouses grow a successful, rewarding, and creative business or career, and meet like-minded milspouses in the process.
Why did you choose entrepreneurship?
Entrepreneurship chose me. It is a great solution to unemployment. When I started my business we had already been through four military moves, which meant I had been through just as many jobs. I was tired of reinventing myself after each PCS, and I really wanted one area of my life where I could have autonomy and passion about the work I was doing.
I don’t believe in work-life balance, and I actually don’t like when people say that there needs to be a “balance”. In my opinion there is work-life rhythm. It is up to us to decide what is most important to us in our life. Once we have determined our non-negotiables, we must let our habits and routines flow from that place of self-understanding.

What I love about the work we do at Milspo Project is that we empower military spouses. I think there is something so beautiful about empowering someone else. You are telling them that they are worthy of your attention, and capable of achieving anything. I think we should all tell more women in our lives that they are capable, it would make the world a happy place to live and exist.
What is one of the most proud achievements of your career this far?So many wonderful things. We have an events calendar that was created for with the needs of military spouses in mind that launches next month. Also, we have plans to launch some online courses and MilspoTV later this year. What I am most excited about right now is our Military Spouse Appreciation Day fundraiser happening May 2017.
A little more about Elizabeth:
Coffee order? - Green tea, all day everyday.