002: How to build a thriving business even through a PCS with Chavah Grant

Jen Amos 0:00

There's no need to wait on your service member to share secondhand information anymore. Welcome to holding down the fort, a podcast show where we put military spouses and children's needs front and center so that they can make informed decisions together as a family. Because let's face it, we know who's really holding down the fort. Let's get started

all right. Hi everyone. Jen amo is here with holding down the fort podcast. And I am super excited because today, I get to interview the owner of Vida chic weddings and events Chava grant Chava Welcome to the show.

Chava Grant 0:51

Aloha, everyone. I'm so excited to be here. This is so bad.

Jen Amos 0:55

Yes. Yeah, I feel like what one thing I enjoy about doing these interviews is I'm essentially just talking to someone over the phone. It just so happens that we're recording it for other people to listen to. Yeah, so Chava why don't we start with you sharing how you heard about the podcast? And why were you interested in jumping on with us?

Chava Grant 1:15

Oh, goodness. So I am like a super huge LinkedIn fan. I know a lot of people are starting to jump on that bandwagon now. But I saw you guys on LinkedIn loved what you were doing. I'm super hardcore about advocating for the military, spouse community. So all the talks that was going on around you guys, and what you're doing and stuff. And so we ended up connecting, and I'm super happy about it. I love to be around people and to work with people that are just as hardcore about the military spouse, and veteran world as I am. So yeah,

Jen Amos 1:46

I love that. I feel like I'm fairly new and being hardcore. I feel like I'm kind of getting there. Because So a little background on me. And for anyone that's listening for the first time, I'm a gold star daughter, and I lost my dad when I was 10 years old. And then about two decades later, I that's when I started to get involved in the community, again, thanks to my husband. So I feel like I'm kind of recalling things and picking up remnants of the past and, you know, trying to put the puzzle pieces together. But the more I get involved in the community, the more excited and just grateful, you know, to see the community that I grew up with. And now and it hasn't left, obviously, I mean, the military is going to be here, right? For quite a long day. For me, I live vicariously through people such as yourself, who's very gung ho for the community, and especially since you're in it, so why, you know, of course, you're gonna be gung ho about it, because you're living right, right.

Chava Grant 2:43

And I'm a military brat, my dad was in the military, he was in the army. So I grew up, you know, moving around and PCs thing every couple years and all that fun stuff. And then grew up had spent years of a gap, you know, my adult life, ended up marrying someone in the Air Force. So my most of my life has been affiliated with the military in some way. They're out there. But other than that, yeah, jumped right back in as a spouse. So I'm definitely in it for the long haul.

Jen Amos 3:12

Yeah, you know, it's kind of like, once you're in it, it's hard to get out of it. And even once Yeah, once you get back into it, like myself, it's like, I love it, what one thing I was sharing with my husband and his colleagues, when I first started working with them, is just how much I admire their, their teamwork and how working together is just, it's just a known thing, where, you know, prior to getting involved, I was an independent business owner, and I was very much just kind of doing everything myself, you know, and so I didn't, I didn't really trust other people to like, take over something certain times. So it's just really cool to see that is that's their default to trust one another and depend on one another. And so right so yeah, I can't get enough of it. I mean, sometimes don't get me wrong, sometimes it annoys me to see how much they everybody together and how involved they are with each other's lives. But overall, it's like yeah, like I love at the end of the day, I have people that are checking in with me, and I can count on and I love it. I love it.

Chava Grant 4:12

Yeah, definitely not another group like it that is for sure.

Jen Amos 4:17

Yes, absolutely. So alright. Chava Well, why don't you for anyone that is learning about you for the first time? Why don't you tell them what a typical day looks like for you? What keeps you busy nowadays? What keeps you excited? I want to hear all about it.

Chava Grant 4:31

Oh my goodness. So you know what's really funny about what I do is I'm you know, in weddings and events and all that fun stuff. But what's funny about a typical day is there is no typical day, it's always different every day, you know, working with different personalities and different people every day always, you know, with that comes newness. Yeah. Every single day, so So yeah, and I honestly I thrive off of that I'm definitely a person that I can't I work an office job for a very small fortune. To my beginning of my 20s. And it was so difficult for me, I just definitely was not cut out for that everyday it was the same thing I come in, I sit down, open emails, stare at the screen for about 30 minutes, you know, aimlessly like, Oh, what do I start on? And I after about six months, I was like, you know, this really is not for me. And so so that is what I enjoy about this job so much is that I get up every day, and it's always something new. We're always creating something new for people, we're always talking to different people every day. And really, the greatest part about that is what we get just plan the best day of someone's life, right? Like, that is the best moment of your life. This is probably one of the only times that you're going to see that group of people all together at one time. So it's really fun. And it can be a little bit stressful. But what job isn't right. So there's, there is that element of it, but it is it's pretty amazing. So yeah, so I love it.

Jen Amos 5:54

I love that and to me, so I'm an introvert and I feel like I get all this extrovert energy just from hearing you talk. And I'm kind of, yeah, I'm, I'm the kind of person that likes to be in front of a computer. But obviously when I want to socialize, I like to socialize on my own terms. And so I had like that. Yeah, yeah, we him. You know, I think it's very common for spouses. Like there's always the one that's a hardcore extrovert, and one that's a hardcore introvert. I think they complement each other. And I think they're definitely, yeah, yeah. And so and I love your take on events, because I never really looked at it that way. Where when it comes to events, like that's a rare time for those group of people to really come together and celebrate something. So it's it to me, it sounds like you, you tend to get a high it through this experience, because these people are

Chava Grant 6:48

each other. I do I definitely do. Every you know, it's funny, because I've done it for years. But I still cry at almost every wedding. I love between the you know, the Mother Son dances because I now have a son, I have an 18 month old. So between dad, or when they write their own vows. It's just new every time. And it's also even helpful for my relationship. Because it makes it reminds me every weekend, you know, like that newness of their relationship and how fresh it is and how excited they are to be together. It's been their life together. And it's just a constant reminder of that. So it's been great for our marriage also. Yeah, so yeah, it's awesome. I actually can't imagine doing anything better than what I do. I think about it sometimes. And I'm like, No, I absolutely love it.

Jen Amos 7:36

I love that you love do that. We need people like you who like to put together events. And also, like you said, events are also a reminder to appreciate what you have. And I can feel that from everything that you're, you're saying. So with holding down the for the purpose of this podcast, which by the way, you're our first person that we're interviewing to talk about why this podcast is in existence. So thank you for being the first by the way.

Chava Grant 8:05

How exciting. Yeah, you

Jen Amos 8:07

are, you are officially episode four. But the first three episodes is really the you know, the prequel and so if people want to learn more about like, why we started it and stuff, but this is really the first. Yeah, so this is probably the cool. Yeah, yay. Yes, I

Chava Grant 8:23

would have known I would totally have thought the bottle of champagne on is.

Jen Amos 8:29

Good. Yeah, it's, it's, it's great. Like, like I said, this is this is new. And we the reason why we're doing this as because we have found that a lot of military families and spouses, for that matter, tend to get second hand information from their service member and from the military in general. And so we wanted to be able to provide educational topics and resources for military families and spouses so that they can continue to hold down the fort to the best of their ability, and making the best informed decisions. So for today, the educational topic that you're going to share with us is how to build a business that thrives even through PCs. And so I'd like for you to start explaining why you think this is so important. And because for me, I if I were still in the military, I wouldn't know the first thing to build a business and thrive through PCs. So why don't we go ahead and start with that? Do you feel like there is a lack of information for military spouses or families to build a business and have it thrive, even through PCs?

Chava Grant 9:38

Yes, I definitely think that there's a lack of resources when it comes to military spouses, building their own careers, and their own businesses independently. We've been married now for about five years. And when I first jumped into the military, spouse community, that's what I was searching for. I was searching everywhere for people for resources for Just anything, any sort of information, I was looking at YouTube, just anything that would give me some sort of idea of what I would need to do what I need to look forward to, you know what it would take to do it to be able to move my business around. And I really couldn't find much of anything, I found some communities, but there really wasn't much in terms of resources and one on one and things like that. What I found a lot of was resources for military spouses being able to find employment with different companies like Google and Amazon and things like that. But it didn't find anything for someone trying to do their own thing. And to work PCs seeing into their own thing. So I talked to a couple of other ladies. And we basically talked about our own individual, because we're all doing different things needs and what we actually needed to be able to do stuff like that. And so I started to jot things down to kind of create my own kind of information slash resource arsenal, because I realized that it wasn't out there already. Yeah, I definitely think there's a lack. And there's a lot or there are a lot of resources that are popping up now. Like I know, you guys, and there's some other companies and and groups that are starting to realize that with pcse, even if you were to get a job through, you know, these companies that are joining forces, with military spouses, it's definitely not as lucrative and you can't really build on it like you can if you were to do your own thing independently. And so I think that all of these very brilliant spouses, you know, people have master's degrees and PhDs and things like that, and they're, you know, restarting even with these other companies, which is great. I love the initiatives that we have already in place, for thing, you know, with the companies and things like that, but you really, in essence, are starting over every time. Because it's not just about employment, it's about building, if you're, if your spouse is in the military for 15 years, and you're traveling with him for 15 years, restarting every two to three years, even though it's employment, it's definitely not a career. It's not You're not building anything. And so that's what I and a couple of other communities have really tried to do is give resources for people that want to build something and that are interested in doing something on their own.

Jen Amos: 12:08

Yeah, absolutely. I think that's so awesome. And I do think it's amazing, too, that there are more there's beginning to be more resources out there for military spouses to learn how to build a business. And and also there's are there are opportunities out there and resources for those who want to work a remote job, not just a freelancer actually getting employed. And so I think it's great to see that there's more awareness of it. I know the Blue Star Families comes out with a survey every year, just sharing how many how many military spouses are extremely under employed, even though they're overly you know, overly educated. And right, right, right. Yeah. And so I think the more we can talk about this, the more resources will be out there. And you know, the purpose of this podcast is really to create awareness of what's already out there. I'm glad to have you on. And you did mention that you are able to make your own list of things that have worked for you. So why don't we dive into that? If people were interested in building a business and have it thrive, even even through PCs? How would they be able to do that?

Chava Grant: 13:21

Yes, a couple of really important things that I ended up doing early on was focusing really heavily, especially in the beginning on branding, because branding is what's going to be able to pull you through all of your PCs is because it makes your company or your entity or whatever it is that you're trying to do bigger than yourself, right. And it makes it a lot easier to carry it through to different locations and through PCS is and through all these moves, and you know, even going to different countries. So making sure that you whatever you decide to do that you are focusing even before your PCs on making sure that you have a strong brand and that you're working on branding, even if it's personal branding for yourself, that is going to be a key to be able to pull your company through, I have lots of friends that do not put emphasis on that. And it definitely is a struggle when they tried to pick up and move or try to expand into different territories because you need that awareness. Right. So I say the first thing is to focus on your brand, whether or not that's a logo, whether or not that's the color scheme or you know, font text, keeping that consistent through all your social media feeds and all you know, just keeping the core of what you're doing. And when all you know having that at the forefront of everything, when you do things is really important because you want that recognition from people wouldn't be able to pull you through. I think a lot of people don't talk about branding, wouldn't they think, Oh, I'm a small business. I'm not a brand so why would I you know, why would I focus on branding but it's really important and you know it It's important and it's really so easy. You know, it's not one of those big things that you need a lot of money for. There are all sorts of resources like Fiverr, and freelancer, and all sorts of resources where you can get a really inexpensive, if you're not a creative yourself, you can do it very inexpensively. So I know that's not the one that people tend to hear the most. But that I will say that is probably a really major key and what helped me expand, because I actually didn't, although I didn't move here, I expanded when when I left Texas, because I started in Texas, and then we ended up in Hawaii, I didn't actually shut down in Texas, we just expanded instead of instead of shutting down shop and moving here. So I still have things that are going on in Texas, I still have my business there. And then now I have my business in Hawaii. And we're looking at having a remote office in Paris now as well. But that whole has yet all has to do with you know, keeping that core that brand intact. So I would say that's the probably the most important piece. And then also the second piece that's really big. And people this is one that people probably already know, but keeping your social media consistent, and making sure that you have social media on all platforms, that has been really helpful as well, because our Instagram now is what brings in to 4% of our clientele, which is our website is yeah, it's stronger than our website. So just, you know, having that brand awareness and you know, people just kind of keeping up with what we're doing on a very consistent basis, it has been really helpful for us well, and that has also, that moves with you, right? Like, if you are not in Texas doesn't matter. You're not in Hawaii, it doesn't matter, you know, because that you can keep that up wherever you are. So that is has been a really strong catalyst as well.

Jen Amos: 16:47

I think that's incredible. And I completely agree with you with the personal branding thing. Because for myself, for example, with my husband and our in our business, you know, his mission is this is mainly focused on veterans, and those that are transitioning mainly because, you know, he's a veteran, and he's been through it himself. However, I you know, I am not a veteran in any way, I was a military brat or became Goldstar daughter, and now veteran spouse, and I had to figure out a way to personally brand myself to fit into our overall mission. Because otherwise I felt like I was kind of being robotic when I was working. I didn't want to, I didn't want to be in the forefront when talking to people about what we did. But now for me, we because we created holding down the fort. It makes it so much easier for me to connect with people because because the thing with personal branding is it's not just it's not just marketing, it's it's knowing what you're really passionate about and who you really want baffling, you know you write you really have to dive deep, you know, so so that you could really connect with people. And when you are in business, people can tell if you're just looking at them as dollar signs, you know, they can tell they call that I've ever heard it was called commission breath. I've heard that.

Chava Grant: 18:05

I love that. Yeah, yeah, that's yeah, accurate.

Jen Amos: 18:08

Exactly. But if they know where your heart is, and what you stand for, and who specifically you're targeting, there's something about that, that draws people to you. And they know that you're really there to serve them not just trying to make a paycheck or something. So I, I highly, highly agree with you with the personal branding, I encourage everyone who is going to be in business or is already in business, even if you are representing another company, I recommend that you find a way to personally brand yourself away from the company, it just so happens that you offer those services, because things might change. You might end up switching companies or you might end up you know, selling other products, but your personal brand is your personal brand. Like no one, no company can take that away from you. So I love like, I feel like that's like all the advice we need for today. It's yeah, I completely agree with you on that. And then also with social media, I think it's extremely beneficial, especially for the military community, because we're constantly moving. And there's just so much so many things that's going on, but social media is has really become our virtual home for a lot of us. And so you're Yeah, and so if you're updating on social media, it's kind of like just letting people know, hey, my house is open, come on in, you know, oh, hey, my store is open, come on in. And so it's just like, I completely agree with both both of those. So I appreciate you really sharing those two things. So when you do PCs, do you have a normal routine in your business on essentially how to start

Chava Grant: 19:44

over? Oh, sure. So the first thing I do is there's a registration called the foreign business registration. And I every time I know that I'm going to be doing something somewhere else or working on having military spouses kind of independently do event under my umbrella. So I have all the backend things, the contract and invoicing, all that fun stuff already automated out. So they would just come in and learn the front end portion, right. So to be able to do that, it's really simple. I mean, it seems really difficult, but it's really just getting that foreign business registration and registering in a different place. So you can still keep your same all of your same business information, your EIN, all that fun stuff, it's just saying you're going to be doing it in in another place as well. That's not your your home base. So that's a really important, I don't think people really realize what it is, I know that there's something they need to do, but it's called a foreign business registration license. And that's what we do whenever you are, whenever you're going to do it in a different place or going to shift want to keep your headquarters in your main home base, your main location. So that's something I do every time I'm looking at doing something at a different location, or we're expanding or PCs thing and make sure that that we get that taken care of first and then it's easy. It's easy to transition at that point.

Jen Amos: 21:03

That's awesome. I didn't even know that existed. So for anyone that's listening, and you have a business and you're not licensed, get on it.

Chava Grant: 21:13

Yeah, yeah. They'll look at you a lot different when you have those things in place. Because I know a lot of times people, people think that, you know, as a military spouse, they have a little you know, quote, I'm air quoting, right now, you have this little business, or this little craft thing, or no one really takes it seriously. So having those things in place, and being able to walk in and say, Okay, this, this, this and this, that we're ready to roll definitely gives a little bit more respect to whatever it is that you are trying to accomplish. Because that, you know, that's what we need, right? We need to do that on behind this so that people take us seriously. Because that can definitely, definitely take the wind out of your sails if you feel like you're walking into something, and you're not really sure, right, and not really sure how you're supposed to do it, or what you need or any of that fun stuff. So having those things already in place prior to gives you that encouragement that you need to be able to walk in somewhere and say, Okay, I'm ready to do this. You know, let's go.

Jen Amos: 22:08

Yeah, I love that. It definitely creates much more credibility. And I think for for you, I think even for military spouses, it gives them that confidence that yeah, like, I'm a legit business, and I'm not driving around. So right, right. Well, Chava i feel like you have provided so much valuable information today. Thank you so much for your time. Do you have any closing thoughts before we wrap up?

Chava Grant: 22:33

No, this has been super exciting. I'm very excited to be able to talk to everyone and kind of get a little bit of information out there little tactical information. I'll just leave you guys with my social information. I mean, that's how everyone is communicating nowadays. So my company is Vida chic vi d a CH IC. So you can find us on Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, all Vita chic events. And then of course, I'm Chava grant on LinkedIn. So yeah, I'd love to talk to whoever. If anyone needs advice or help support information. I am here for you. So just reach out.

Jen Amos: 23:12

Yes, and if you did not catch that, we will have all of her information in the shownotes. So you can just jump on there and copy and paste and find her on Java grant. Social media so well, thank you so much. I feel like I learned a lot as well. And for all of our listeners, if you feel like you have something to share, or you were inspired by this episode, we'd love to hear from you. Just visit our show notes. There's actually a way where you can leave a voice message or you can email us and who knows maybe we'll have Chava grant back on the show.

Chava Grant: 23:46

Yeah. All right for having me guys.

Jen Amos: 23:50

All right. Chava take care

Chava Grant: 23:51

toxin. All right. Bye.

Jen Amos: 23:54

Thank you so much for listening to the holding down the fort podcast show. To leave us a message. Please visit our show notes to learn how or you can email us at holding down the fort podcast@gmail.com Until next time,