Serena West is no ordinary military spouse. With 11 years under her belt as a military wife, not to mention two young children, she has not let the fact that this is their sixth duty station slow her down.
Serena’s background is in linguistics and she once dreamed of becoming a contract lawyer, which is drastically different from the work she has created for herself today. “I had gone a couple years doing random jobs, but with kids that would get sick or a husband that would have to leave, we decided I’d stay home,” she said.
It was during Serena’s stay in Leavenworth, KS, and about the time that her youngest was entering kindergarten, that she wanted to find something that she could do at home to provide additional income for the family and still allow the flexibility to be a stay-at-home mom. “I’d like to say I consider myself to be crafty but not enough to think a business would come from it. Friends would tell me that they liked the things I made and would buy them, but I thought they were just being nice,” she laughed. But Serena was truly onto something.
Her company Westhouse was born in April 2014. Equipped with a hammer and a hand saw, she rolled up her sleeves and went to work making wooden signs. “It was born out of being a military wife,” she said. Knowing what it takes to make a house feel like a home, Serena understood that this was more than just making signs. “The signs are a way to help make people happy,” she said. And people were thrilled with her products. She very quickly realized she could make this a growing business.
Shortly after their move to Washington in the summer of 2015, she was contacted by Facebook to be a panelist in a Boost Your Business event to help small business owners learn how to better use Facebook for their companies. “From there things took off!” Serena recalled.
She launched her website, shopwesthouse.com in November of 2016, but finding success as an entrepreneur took some adjustment. “We have to cater to our husbands, kids, community, etc. It has been a struggle because anyone starting a business knows it is not a ‘9 to 5’ job. All responsibility falls on you with a small business,” Serena explained.
Serena eventually found her rhythm and is currently working on adding curated gift boxes for military spouses to her business. Available in early May, the boxes include themes like a “Command” box with HH6 items, an “At Ease” box promoting relaxation, a “Nope” box for people who love coffee, “Another Day Down” box with wine items, and more. Serena is including local items like Seattle chocolates and bath items from the Olympia Farmers’ Market, just to name a few.
“A friend and fellow business owner is making essential oil blends for specific boxes. Another spouse is creating unique water color, quote prints. Both will include their contact information in the boxes as a way to get the word out about their businesses. It’s extremely important for me to help other military spouses,” Serena added. Her “evergreen items” – including the boxes, her t-shirts and notepads – are always available and she offers bi-weekly sales on ready-to-ship signs.
Along with the boxes, Serena also plans to launch a campaign called, We are Household 6. “With people scattered and not all living on post, we forget that we’re all in the same boat,” she said of the military lifestyle.
The campaign will include a new HH6 (Household 6) shirt and she is encouraging those who purchase the shirt to write a blurb to introduce themselves with #wearehousehold6 on Instagram. “I want to foster a stronger sense of community among military spouses, broadening our awareness of what today’s Household Six looks like while building a network of spouses around the world,” Serena suggested.
Serena has not only found success with her growing business, but she was also recently named the JBLM Military Spouse of the Year by Military Spouse Magazine. “I found out I was nominated the day before the nominees were posted,” she laughed. Serena was shocked and humbled by the award. She will be attending a special town hall meeting and luncheon in Washington D.C. the second week in May to represent JBLM. There, she will be able to discuss issues facing military spouse communities with area businesses.
In addition, as the newly-appointed president of the Lewis Community Spouses Club, she says, “After serving on the board this year, I had planned to get involved elsewhere, but I realized I can’t talk about strengthening our community and not be an integral part of where that community starts here at JBLM.”
Serena’s advice to other military spouses? “I never thought my part time gig would become a sustainable business. Find what makes you happy and be willing to look outside what you thought your path was supposed to be, so you’re open to what it can be.”
You can find Serena’s wooden signs, t-shirts and home goods at shopwesthouse.com or follow her Facebook page.
