We really do tell women to have it all
The expectations for women are endless. Have a thriving career, a strong marriage, stay in shape, look great, keep a beautiful home, raise smart and happy kids (who are, of course, signed up for year round extracurricular activities), throw Pinterest-worthy birthday parties, be active in the PTA, support the community, build and maintain friendships, run a successful business—and somehow maintain their overall well-being? Oh, and don’t forget to make it all look effortless on social media.
It’s a lot. It’s exhausting.
Mamie Pack was feeling the pressure. Her Navy husband was going to deploy soon, leaving her to manage a household of two boys, with another on the way, and work full time as a teacher, keep up their off-base home, and all the rest, for long stretches entirely on her own. When their third son came and they changed duty stations, Mamie and her husband knew it was time to pivot.
Mamie stepped away from her beloved teaching career.
Walking away from a career isn’t uncommon among military spouses. 35% of military spouses aren’t in the labor force, suggesting many have lost careers, and many more are likely under-employed, in sectors outside their expertise. Learn more in the latest Military Family Lifestyle Survey.
Military Spouse Experience
Mamie spent most of her life connected to the military community. In addition to her mother serving in the Army, several of her family members served in different military branches. While she thought she left military life behind when she became a teacher in South Carolina, her future husband swept her off her feet and changed her mind. He was serving as a Fire Controlman (FC) in the US Navy, working on the Aegis Weapon System. Mamie was an active-duty military spouse for 21 years, and is enjoying retired life with her husband, who recently retired after 25 years of honorable service, and their children.
Entrepreneurial Spirit
Despite putting her teaching career on hold, Mamie was still juggling a lot. The new norms of living in a new city with three children and adjusting to postpartum life and life during deployment meant she needed new habits, new systems, and a new way of prioritizing her well-being.
It was in this season that she realized it was okay for life to look different. She started redefining what matters and decided it was okay to make space for who she was outside of her career. Shifting her mindset wasn’t about settling for less. Rather it was about making space to do what matters with who matters. It was about making space for rest, joy, imperfection, and grace.
As she leaned into this new norm, Mamie started dreaming and writing again. Writing stirred hope in her heart and reinvigorated her love of storytelling. Mamie had always loved to write and reflect on her life, even as a little girl. Journaling became one of the strategies she used to help her reflect on ways her life was changing and growing. Not only was Mamie rediscovering her childhood joy of journaling, she fell back in love with education and went back to school, earning her Ph.D. in Education.
It wasn’t too long before Mamie’s love of journaling led her to design her own journals that motivated and prompted her to grow intentionally. She started bringing her whole self to journal design—woman, military spouse, educator, and momma, to design journals that made journaling easy.
Her first guided journal was her Sermon Notes Reflection Journal. She brought it everywhere, especially church. The journal was a hit with fellow parishioners and friends, and many asked where they could buy one. One request turned into several. And eventually, Mamie realized she was sitting on something more than a helpful habit, there was a business here.
In 2018, she launched Mamie Pack Media with a sermon notes journal designed to support spiritual growth. Today, her product line has grown to over 50 purpose-driven products-guided journals, planners, notepads, and additional stationery- that help women prioritize their well-being one page at a time.
In addition to the thriving stationery products, Mamie provides executive coaching on workplace well-being, educator well-being, and entrepreneur well-being. She speaks and presents at several conferences for women, educators, and military spouses.
Connecting With IVMF
Five years into her business, Mamie had already overcome several major business challenges. Scaling up from personally making and binding each journal was a big step, and she found women-owned production and manufacturing right here in the United States, which helped her avoid the worst of the supply chain problems of the pandemic. She was growing, but as a teacher, she knew there had to be things she didn’t know. She began searching for ways to improve her business fundamentals.
She found countless programs for veteran entrepreneurs, but never really felt that included military spouses. In 2023, she discovered the Bunker Labs Breaking Barriers in Entrepreneurship (BBiE) program, which is now part of IVMF’s Military Founders Lab. BBiE specifically called out military spouse eligibility, and also promoted an all-women cohort. Mamie felt like she found a place catering to people just like her.
The program more than lived up to her expectations. She met fellow military spouses who understood exactly what she was going through, what she was trying to do, and what felt like it was holding her back. She learned about business fundamentals that helped keep Mamie Pack Media moving forward. After her great experience at BBiE, Mamie wanted more. She signed up for IVMF’s V-WISE Atlanta, and then Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans (EBV) soon after. She kept building her community and learning each time.
“Going through IVMF programs helped me with building my network, but it also helped me think about my…capability statement. I didn’t even know what that was, or where to start. But IVMF programs? They don’t mind you asking questions. They’re willing to sit down with you. You’re not just attending a class, you’re getting an experience with people walking the same journey.”
Writing Her Own Story
Today, Mamie Pack Media is thriving, with over five-thousand followers between the company’s Pintrest and Instagram. Her company is drawing on all of Mamie’s diverse set of skills, from providing training and mentoring for women to speaking at SXSWEDU. Her business is a certified Women Owned (WBENC), Minority Owned (MBE), and Military Spouse Owned.
Mamie also serves as the IVMF Bunker Labs Ambassador for Jacksonville, FL. There, she’s helping others find programs and communities that have shared goals and experiences.
She continues to work with U.S.-based manufacturing partners, including women- and military-affiliated businesses such as She Prints It in Georgia and More Than Ink in Jacksonville. Despite rising tariffs and shifting production costs, Mamie has remained loyal to these partners, choosing to pivot her product strategies rather than compromise her values.
What began as a personal coping mechanism during a rough season of her life has grown into a national platform for her thoughts on wellness, creativity, community, and more. We can’t wait to see what Mamie uses her platform for next!
Support Women-Owned Organizations
There are hundreds of amazing women-led companies participating in our entrepreneurship programming at IVMF. While women are welcome in all of our programs (and military spouses are eligible for most), those looking for more women-only spaces should check out V-WISE.
V-WISE is a monthly online entrepreneurship course aimed at women launching their first business. At the end of the 30-day course, there is a capstone conference where all the women graduates can network while learning from nationally-renowned business leaders and experts. Fill out an interest form for V-WISE today, and get news about the next application period as soon as it opens!