When I first moved to JBLM, I had the good fortune of being invited to a Power Hour meeting. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect, but I showed up with a positive attitude and a business idea and I was blown away by the amount of helpful information and encouragement I received. I was surprised by the professionalism of the spouses I encountered, especially Alana Le, the creator and facilitator of Power Hour.

I sat down with Alana to ask her a round of questions about herself and Power Hour:

Q: So, tell me about yourself.

ALANA LE: "I'm a marketing consultant specializing in content marketing, especially blogging, social media, and search engine optimisation for small businesses. But my real passion is simply entrepreneurship, and helping other people experience the fun and fulfillment of being a business owner. I received my bachelor's degree from Davidson College in North Carolina, then worked as an expat in Asia for several years at different entrepreneurial ventures in China, Taiwan and the Philippines. I moved back to the U.S. in 2012 and started my business then married my husband soon after that."

Q: How would you describe Power Hour?

LE: "Power Hour is a weekly 60-minute workshop for entrepreneurs. We meet in coffee shops for a quick and very fast-paced session each week to grow our businesses and to help and encourage each other. There are currently Power Hour groups in JBLM and Okinawa, and we are currently looking to expand to more military installations."

Q: Can you describe a typical meeting?

LE: "We start with introductions, and then we dive into a thirty minute session in which we learn some aspect of business strategy, personally apply it in our businesses.  We make an action plan, and then share it with a group. That sounds like a pretty short time, but it really does work. Military spouse entrepreneurs and work-at-home moms know how to get things done quickly.  Finally, after the strategy session, we finish up with a round of lessons learned from the past week."

Q: What would you like to tell other spouses thinking of becoming an entrepreneur?

LE: "Since I started my business I've gone through one move, two deployments, and had a baby. There are times when life is so busy and packed with responsibilities and I have no extra time to work on my own marketing or other behind the scenes aspects of my business. But I've realized that's actually okay. I would love to encourage other military spouse entrepreneurs and work at home moms with that lesson: If you feel stressed and overwhelmed, just focus on doing a great job for your customers. Make your customers happy, and the rest will get done in the margins. And if it doesn't get done, it will be okay."

Meghan Milliron of Restoration Wellness is a Power Hour regular and told me she owes much of her recent success to Power Hour.  Although she's tried to get her own practice going at past duty stations, this time it's different.

"Power Hour has given me the support to develop and sustain my part-time private practice," Milliron said. "It's what I wish I had the past ten years as a military spouse."

The JBLM Power Hour group meets on Wednesdays at 10 a.m. at the DuPont Forza. If you are a business owner or you have an idea for a business, come check it out. If you are not in the JBLM area, but you are interested in starting a Power Hour group, contact them via their website and they can help you start one - theempoweredentrepreneur.com, or facebook.com/pages/The-Empowered-Entrepreneur-Co/299901740206582.