New Powerhouse Team Member
Beth Soto was born and raised in a small town near the north Georgia mountains. She attended North Georgia College and State University for two years before transferring to Lanier Technical College where she studied interior design and architectural drafting. She graduated in 2007 and worked in both residential and commercial construction as an architectural drafter, estimator, and project manager for 15 years. She is the current owner and lead designer of Coastal Peach Interiors in Melbourne, FL. Beth and her husband, Steve, returned to Melbourne after Steve’s military retirement in 2020 following his 22-year military career. They were married in 2013 and have a blended family of five children, Hunter, Chris, Emma, Savannah, and Dean. They enjoy traveling and making memories together as a family as well as playing board games and spending time by the pool.
Beth has admired the Powerhouse Planning team and their work for years. She is excited to join Powerhouse Planning as an architectural drafting and design consultant and is looking forward to being part of such an amazing group of people.
New Powerhouse Team Member
Nicole is a milspouse of over 12 years and mom of a daughter, Itahlee, and two Dobermans, Luther and Lexie. Along with a love of traveling and exploring the country, which has been easily done as a Coastie wife, Nicole enjoys creating memories with her family. She grew up in Pennsylvania, but throughout their Coast Guard career, she and her family have spent time in New England, Texas, NYC, and NorCal. Professionally, Nicole has a passion for business, leadership, achieving goals, supporting a positive people experience, and organization. (Yay for spreadsheets!)
Nicole earned her B.S. in accounting and her M.S. in organizational leadership with a focus in human resources. She brings a background in retail management, both big box and specialty, as well as in recruiting and training in early childhood education to the Powerhouse Planning team. Nicole views the challenges faced as a career-driven milspouse to be developmental opportunities and is grateful to put that experience and drive to work for her clients at Powerhouse!
New Powerhouse Team Member
Amy grew up in Macon, Georgia and attended the University of Georgia, graduating with a degree in education. She then pursued a Master of Education degree from Mercer University while teaching full-time in the public school system. After marrying her high school sweetheart, they began military life together, moving all around the world from North Carolina to Germany with countries in between. They have been married for over 20 years and have raised two children, both of whom are now adults. After Amy’s husband retired from the Marine Corps, they settled in Peachtree City, Georgia.
Amy joins Powerhouse Planning as a freelance project liaison. Between her teaching career and volunteer endeavors, Amy has worn a variety of job hats over the years. She worked many years as a full-time classroom teacher as well as a virtual ESL teacher. As many of the Powerhouse family know, military life brings many moves, deployments, and sometimes “single parenting” moments. Because of these circumstances, there were times over 26 years of military spouse life that Amy did not “work” but instead volunteered her time/talents. She volunteered in school settings as a classroom helper, reading tutor, and PTO board member. On the military side, Amy volunteered to organize and run several fundraising events for military-based clubs, as well as coordinate and advise families before and during deployments.
Amy believes that working as a project liaison will give her the opportunity to utilize skills/talents that she has developed from her previous positions. Amy’s instructional, organizational, problem-solving, and curriculum development skills have all been honed as a result of her teaching career and volunteer duties during military life. Amy enjoys working as part of a team and feels that she is at her best when she is helping others.
When Amy is not teaching or volunteering, you will find her lunching and shopping with friends, exercising, reading books, and vacationing with her family.
When Passion and Career Goals Coincide
By: Heatherlynn Akins
Mona Dexter believes passionately in helping military members, veterans, and military family members realize their career employment dreams. As a longtime military spouse herself, she’s experienced firsthand the challenges and struggles this segment of the workforce faces. Their skills and abilities don’t always translate easily to the civilian sector, but they are valuable assets for civilian employers. That’s why she joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes (HOH) program in January 2018 as a special projects manager with the military spouse team. Today, Dexter serves as HOH Chief of Staff and Vice President of Operations and Communications.
Dexter’s journey to HOH was roundabout, typical of many military spouses. Her initial career was in higher education student affairs administration, primarily in career services and adult learning and development, and with programs focused on underserved populations. As she moved around, however, she began to find her passion for assisting those in military life with finding their career fits. She transferred her attentions first to the Army Soldier for Life-Transition Assistance Program, a program designed to help those transitioning from active-duty service to life after the Army. As a result, Dexter found her perfect fit with HOH, where she can help the organization provide 360-degree career development training and education through internships and hiring events. HOH’s unique mission to “educate civilian employers on the value of military-connected talent in diversifying and thus strengthening their workforces” is critical to Dexter’s way of thinking. That’s the missing link she couldn’t find with her previous position. Having lived the military life but working in the civilian sector, Dexter is singularly qualified to be a part of the bridge that effects understanding between those in the military and civilian worlds.
HOH is also authorized to operate on military installations, allowing its programs and services to be brought directly to its targeted clientele. HOH’s holistic approach to establishing hiring events along with internship opportunities and digital communities designed for networking and support purposes has been effective and successful. In 2012, HOH identified a possibly more alarming statistic: the drastically high rate of military spouse unemployment. When Dexter started with HOH in 2018, the unemployment rate for military-connected personnel was down considerably and the focus on military spouses was well underway. (more…)
Did You Know?
Business growth is directly tied to the goals we have for our businesses already. Things like brand loyalty, a stellar reputation, and an ability to recognize and anticipate our customers’ needs. At its heart, business development is nothing more than a process for determining how you can improve, whether that be financially, in reputation, or in overall value. All aspects of your business are covered under this broad umbrella because, really, all growth stems from the same basic mission: to provide your customers with on-time, reliable, and efficiently driven deliverables. Read through this month’s newsletter for lots of tips on how to update or plan for your own growth goals.
If you’re lost on how to make the most of your business development needs, Powerhouse Planning can help. We offer a wide range of services that can help you bring your business to the next level. Contact us today for details.
Tips for Growing Your Business in 2021
By: Meghan Traynor
According to a survey reported on by Small Business Trends, 92% of small businesses had to “reinvent themselves” during the pandemic. Whether your business had to pivot over the last year, or you’re just ready to grow, we believe, “Growth doesn’t come with a single action. It is the consequence of persistence courage and hard work” (Anonymous). Here are a few actions you can take to grow your business successfully.
- Be adaptable. If you were one of the 92% of small businesses who recently reinvented themselves, then you are already very familiar with this one. Being adaptable in business allows you to grow even when things don’t go according to plan. If you haven’t already created one, a strategic adaptability plan is something your business should consider so you are always prepared for the unexpected.
- Remote work and virtual services are in high demand. According to the Remote-How 2020 survey, 87% of remote managers believe that remote work is the way of the future. With so many businesses continuing with a full-time or part-time remote workforce, there are a few things you can do to set your company up for success:
- Use the right tools. Using the right support mechanisms and resources will not only help your business run smoothly, but it will also help with communication between your team. Here is a list of 20 Tools and Resources You Didn’t Know You Needed as a Business Owner.
