Woman launches company to help military spouses find stable work

Not wanting other military spouses to struggle to find work like she did, Michelle Penczak launched Squared Away, a company that connects the wives and husbands of service members with jobs that can be done remotely.

When Penczak's husband was deployed, she tried to find a job, but because military families often move a lot, it was difficult to find a company willing to hire someone who might not be in the area for long. "I felt like I was being judged because of my husband's choice of career," she told CBS News.

Her company, Squared Away, connects military spouses with companies that need personal assistants or other workers that don't have to be in an office. It's a perfect fit because "as a military spouse and mom, you are managing calendars, you are balancing everybody's activities," Penczak said. "If you can handle that, I guarantee that you can handle working with a few CEOs and their teams."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

She has helped hundreds of people find work, including Sara Glover, who told CBS News she went on interview after interview without getting an offer. "It wasn't an issue of my qualifications or my education," she said. "It was the fact that I can't be permanent." When Squared Away connected her with a job, it felt "too good to be true," Glover said. The company has changed lives, and because of that, Glover has dubbed Penczak "Wonder Woman." Catherine Garcia