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January 3, 2019 0 Comments

3 Steps to an Amazing New Year

The beginning of a new year is always a great time to reflect on where we are and where we want to be. Focusing on where we can improve and making a plan to get there is imperative. Here are 3 steps to getting your year off to a great start. 

 

First Things First: Get Organized

The new year is a great time to get organized. Start with your desk. If your desk is messy, it will keep you from being productive. Keep only what’s necessary on your desk such as a to-do list and the current project you are working on. Create a filing system for everything else so that you can work without the distractions of everything else. 

Once your desk is organized it will help you focus better on your tasks at hand and motivate you to organize other areas.

 

Second: Set Small Goals 

Once you’ve gotten organized, set some small goals. Goal setting can be intimidating. Who wants to set some monumental goals only to never achieve them? You may have a big goal but you may find it easier to break it down into small daily goals. Once you have those set, you can add weekly goals and monthly goals.

Take some time and think about the different areas of your life (self-care, marriage, kids, health, fitness, career, spiritual, social, etc.) Now set aside a few minutes to set some small, achievable goals. Next turn those into a daily to-do list.

By setting monthly goals, you won’t be overwhelmed. And you won’t feel like quitting if you have a small set back. It’s all about making progress not expecting perfection.

 

Third: Accomplishing More with Time Blocking 

If you aren’t familiar with time blocking, it is a way to schedule your time for maximum productivity. You take your to-do list and create blocks of time on your calendar to complete those tasks. It reduces interruptions and allows you to focus on that one task until its done. You can start by setting up one day for time blocking which may consist of a 30 minute block for email, one hour for social media, and a two-to-four hour block for writing or a project that you want to complete.  The idea is to focus exclusively on the task at hand so you are not starting and stopping and wasting time. If you’d like more insight on time blocking, watch this video.

So there are your 3 steps to an amazing new year in 2019!

 

 

 

 

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October 8, 2018 0 Comments

4 Tips for Meal Planning on a Budget

We hear a lot about meal planning, but how can you do it in a way that keeps to your budget? Food can be expensive, and it helps to have a few money-saving tips before going shopping.

Read along for some of our tips for meal planning on a budget.

Plan ahead

The best thing you can do to save money is to plan. Map out each night with what you plan to make, and this will keep you on track.  Purchase a wall or refrigerator calendar and simply note each meal at the beginning of the week. A bonus to this is that it can also keep you on a healthy eating schedule! When your food is planned, purchased and ready to go, you’re less likely to veer off of your plan.

Eat seasonally

Fruit and vegetables that are in season are typically less expensive, as they’re easier for the stores to get.  Grocery stores have to pay more to import items that aren’t local.

To top it all off, seasonal fruits and veggies simply taste better!

Click here for a guide to eating seasonally.

Find the right recipe

By doing a simple Google search, you can find recipes that are inexpensive to make.  Certain blogs are even dedicated to budget eating, so it’s not difficult to find those options.  Many times, these recipes will give you a price per recipe or price per serving, which really allows you to budget accurately.

These days, inexpensive doesn’t mean unhealthy either.  There are plenty of options that incorporate fruits and veggies in a budget-friendly way, such as using frozen options.  They still pack a nutritional punch while being less expensive than the fresh varieties.

Factor in everything

Even though you might schedule out your perfect week of recipes and meal planning, don’t forget about other types of eating!

You might have dinner plans with a friend, a late meeting that will provide food, or simply the desire to have takeout once in a while.  To save money, factor this in! You can eliminate a few grocery store dollars when you remember that you’ll have food elsewhere.

Additionally, determine what’s reasonable for you and/or your family. If you eat larger portions, make sure to include that. If you’re often throwing food away or simply eating for one, reduce the recipe.

It’s important to really take the time to lay out your week, meal plan around this, and choose foods that are friendly to your budget.  If you stick to a routine like this, you should see a major difference in your food spending!

 

At HireMyMom we want to help our Mom Professionals thrive in business AND at home. We often provide free online training as well as have some super work at home jobs posted by small businesses around the country. Learn more about our memberships and how you can join a supportive faith-based community of Mom Professionals!

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October 1, 2018 0 Comments

5 Tips to Improve Your Writing

Writing is an important part of marketing and advertising these days. Even if you aren’t doing either of these things, you might still have a personal (or business) blog, or simply want to improve your writing skills. Whatever your reason for writing, we can always improve!

If you’ve ever wanted to expand upon your writing skills for personal or professional reasons, read along for some of our top tips.

Practice

If you want to improve your writing, you have to practice! This can begin with reading others’ writing – blogs, newspapers, books and magazines, to name a few, and going from there.

It might be helpful to start your own personal blog, or a blog based on your current industry.  If you don’t feel ready to publish for the world to see, write on your own time. You can create your own daily journal, or write a short story that’s updated on a weekly basis.

The more you write, the more comfortable you become. Once you’re comfortable writing, you can work to improve sentence structure, grammatical errors, and flow.

Gather feedback

When we write our own pieces, it’s hard to disconnect.  Ask a friend or family member to review your writing for errors, flow, and any other suggestions.

They can also let you know if you need to be more concise!  Sometimes we get on a roll with writing, and we tend to get a bit too wordy.

Develop your own style

To find your own style, begin by writing in a variety of ways.  From standard AP style to casual blogs, it all requires some different perspectives.  If you really want to improve in general, try to incorporate them all.

From here, you can discover what you like best! Discover your own style. Is it more conversational in nature? Do you enjoy technical writing?  You might stumble upon a skill or career that you never knew you had!

Tell stories

The best writing and presentations includes telling stories. People want to relate to you, so it’s important that you incorporate details that allow them to do that. Stories are always more interesting and give your audience something to relate to.

Whether you’re writing a more “dry” piece or writing for an entertainment magazine, short stories are intriguing.  You can write about the subject(s), something that happened to you, or a story from history that supports your premise.

Put yourself out there

Writing doesn’t have to be scary, nor do you have to be a professional to get started! You can create a free blog on sites such as WordPress, and it takes almost nothing to get started – just some time.

If you have a message or story to share with the world, put yourself out there on a regular basis. This can only improve your writing, as well as keep you writing on a consistent basis.

When you write often and always look for improvement, you’re well on your way to developing more skill and accuracy as a writer!

Keep learning. Keep growing!

At HireMyMom we want to help our Mom Professionals continue to learn and thrive in their business. We often provide free online training. Learn more about our memberships and how you can join a supportive faith-based community of Mom Professionals!

YES! Tell me more!

 

 

 

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May 29, 2018 0 Comments

Hire My Mom Success Story: Katrina Martin

Name: Katrina Martin

Location: Shelton, WA

What’s your success story with HireMyMom.com?

I was only a member for 1 quarter. I found a job within the first few weeks! 

What’s your educational and experiential background?

I have over 20 years’ experience in a broad range of fields including office management, customer service, purchasing, inventory, and personnel management.

What is your top tip (or tips) for landing a gig on HireMyMom.com?

I checked every day for new posts but I also looked at older posts, which is how I found my current position.

What’s your favorite thing about HireMyMom.com?

First and foremost, the quality of the leads.  The fact that they are vetted and legit is absolutely worth the cost of the membership.

What’s one fun fact about you?

I’ve been to China for a month last year and can’t wait to go back!

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January 15, 2018 0 Comments

5 Time Tracking Options for Virtual Professionals

When you work remotely or hire virtual professionals, you need a reliable way to track hours. Small businesses want to see how their virtual contractors or off-site employees are spending their time.  And contractors need a professional and reliable way to track their hours and bill their clients.

We’ve complied a list of some of the most popular time-tracking websites below. Many of these tools also integrate with other team and client management software which can be very helpful.

Toggl

Toggl makes it easy for you.  “Logging time with Toggl is as easy as it can possibly be. Just click a button to start the timer, and stop it once you’re done with your tasks. Simple as that, on any device.”

Toggl also allows you to log time anywhere on the web, so you don’t have to login to Toggl every time.  You can also discover what’s taking up your time via their visual reports option, so you’re able to visually see how long each task takes, as well as the time spent by your team members.

Pricing begins at $9.00 per month for the Starter level, and goes up to $49.00 per month for larger organizations and those who want additional features.

Harvest

Not only can you track your own time on Harvest, but you can see where your team’s time is going as well.  “Harvest collates this raw timesheet data into a visual summary of where your team’s time is going,” according to their website.

You’re also encouraged to keep track of Projects, so things never slip through the cracks.  According to their features, you can “Keep your projects on track (and make sure your business is going strong) with answers to key questions, courtesy of intuitive visual reports pulled right from your timesheets.”

Pricing is free for one person and 2 projects, and goes up to $12.00 per person, per month if you purchase for a team.

Timely

Timely offers great features that allow you to “Let your timesheet create itself. All you need to do is to confirm.”

The site allows you to create an automatic timeline based on tasks, from your calendar, which you’ve completed in an easy to see and use format.  This was created because “People forget what they worked on, and they don’t want to spend time tracking time. So they avoid it, and you have to chase them down. That’s where Memory comes in: A radical new way to track time,” according to the Timely website.

Pricing begins at $7.00 per month and goes up to $59.00 per month for larger teams and more in depth features.

MyHours

MyHours allows you to “Start or stop timer with a single click, switch timings between tasks in seconds or, just as important, pause for a coffee break.”

MyHours also has the capability to set variable hourly rates, report work to your clients in style and detail, and do this via PDF and Excel reports.  They also offer a graphic breakdown of your work, so you’re able to see how your time is spent, how tasks are going, and what your team members are up to.

Pricing begins for free, and goes to $6.00 per user, per month for more capabilities, such as budgeting, billing, additional team members, and more.

Paydirt

Paydirt offers Smart Time Tracking, which means you can “Use the built in tracker to start a timer for any client in one click. Tracking time is a pain, but Paydirt takes the sting out,” according to their website.

It also integrates with Basecamp, Trello, Redbooth, Google Chrome and Zapier. Pricing begins at $8.00 per month for a single user, and up to $149.00 per month for a large agency of 20 team members.  “Smart Reminders” allow you to “determine who you’re working for automatically, and adds a link to start a timer right there on the page.”  It’s a very simplified option that keeps you on task.

 

 

 

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August 15, 2017 0 Comments

5 Ways to Get Your Work-at-Home Application Noticed

There’s nothing more disheartening than sending out job application after job application and not getting a reply to a single one. This is especially true when you’re trying to find a work-at-home job, feeling isolated but trying to stay on task job-hunting instead of binging the latest Netflix show. The struggle is real – but I’ve got a few tips to help your applications get noticed!

Read and follow the instructions in the job listing.

Remember how every teacher you’ve ever had told you again and again: read the instructions? Follow the instructions! Don’t ignore the instructions! Well, that’s the first rule in getting your application noticed too. Read the instructions, and follow them to the letter.

Some companies even throw a trick into the instructions – seriously. For example, the instructions may direct you to put a certain word into the subject line of your email. This proves that you read completely through the job listing and application instructions. Congratulations! You make it through the first round, and you’d be surprised to hear how many don’t. Other companies might instruct you not to include any attachments with your initial email, specifying that any emails with attachments will be deleted unread. (A worthy precaution on today’s Internet.) If you skip over that request and include your résumé as an attachment? You won’t even be considered, no matter how qualified you are for the job.

Following directions is the easiest “in” you’ll ever get with a company, so don’t skip over this simple step.

Personalize each email introduction or cover letter.

My next tip is equally as straightforward: personalize every cover letter or email introduction that you send. Start with who to address your letter to – researching the company in question should turn up who’s head of HR or hiring. If you can’t find out the person’s name, address your email to the Human Resources department or to the Hiring Manager.

Follow that personalization up with a letter that shows you’ve looked into the company and understand who they are and what they do. Focus on how your skills and experience can help you deliver on the company’s promise to their clients. Try to give specific examples of what you’ve accomplished previously that back up your claims of how you can be an asset to them.

Whatever you do, don’t write one letter and send it everywhere you’re applying. Hiring managers see enough form letters that they’ll most likely pick up on it and delete your application before reading any further. It is okay to write the overall structure of a letter once and use it as a template – I know there’s nothing scarier than a blank page, especially when you need to sell yourself. Just make sure you’re tweaking and customizing it for each application.

Tailor your résumé for each position.

Just as you must personalize each cover letter for each job application, you should also tailor your résumé for each application. As much as we’d love to believe every résumé is one-size-fits-all, they’re just not. You might be able to get away with one résumé for each job type – say you’re applying for writing jobs, teaching or tutoring jobs, and customer service jobs. Say you also have relevant experience for each. You could make three different résumés: one that prioritizes your skills and experience related to tutoring children in a certain subject, another that highlights your amazing customer service capabilities, and so on.

In fact, having a résumé for each job position you’re pursuing is one of the more efficient ways to manage your time when job hunting. You do the bulk of the work up front when you write your résumés, and then simply tweak it when you find a position you’d love to land.

How should you tweak your résumé for each job application? Look at the job listing, and pay attention to the specific qualifications they’re looking for. Note which ones they list first, or seem to put the most emphasis on. Then make sure your résumé uses similar language and puts your most desirable qualifications first.

Use keywords to stand out.

This tactic for getting your work-at-home application noticed is a little trickier, but it’s a great skill to develop to improve your chances at jobs that attract tons of applicants. Essentially, you need to use the right keywords in your résumé to get your application in front of an actual person. That’s right: sometimes you need résumé SEO to beat an applicant tracking system (ATS).

The problem is that some large companies receive applications in such high volume that it’s impossible for them to examine each one. There simply aren’t enough hours in the day. So, they use a set of keywords and an applicant tracking system to automatically weed out those résumés that don’t feature the correct qualifications for the job. Of course, this means that you might have the best qualifications in the world, but you’re never going to get your résumé read if you don’t use the correct keywords.

A great way to choose the best keywords is by getting specific – use terminology that’s unique to the industry and position, and make sure you both use common acronyms and spell out what that acronym stands for. For example: “Certified Coding Specialist (CCS).” The Muse has some other great tips to help beat the robots.

Be concise but memorable.

My last tip is this: follow the KISS rule, but also be memorable. KISS means “Keep It Simple, Sister,” of course, and is a great mnemonic device that’ll keep you from getting long-winded or muddled in your cover letter, introductory email, or résumé. But keeping it simple doesn’t mean being bland, boring, and just like every other applicant in their giant pool of applications. Instead, infuse a bit of creativity into your application – use a unique subject line (while still following any instructions given about the subject line!). Write a sentence or two that’s funny, or surprising while describing what you can do for the company – just make sure it’s also appropriate and accurate! Don’t promise anything you can’t deliver.

With these tactics in your back pocket, you should be well on your way to breaking free from the crowd and getting a hiring manager interested in you. Good luck, and drop me a line about how these tips work out for you!

 

Author Bio: Angie Nelson began working from home in 2007 when she took her future into her own hands and found a way to escape the corporate cubicle farm. Today she shares her passion for making money from home on her blog The Work at Home Wife. Visit her site for a great list of places to find virtual assistant jobs.

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August 7, 2017 0 Comments

5 Tips for Back to School Season Success

It’s almost that time again – time to go back to school! It’s hard to believe that school will be starting any day now, but as summer winds down, it’s important to gradually get back into the groove.

We all miss summer and its flexibility, but the school year also brings a lot of fun and more structure.  It can be a great time to reexamine priorities, take a solid look at schedules, and truly get prepared for the year ahead.  With a little bit of prep, you’ll be ready for back to school success!

Establish routines

Routines aren’t established overnight, so ease into a new one gradually.  Starting a few weeks before school starts, begin having your kids go to bed a bit earlier.  Start with 10 minutes, then 30, then 60, and so on, until they’re close to the time they will go to bed during the school year.

This is a much better approach than fighting on the first night back! It establishes expectations, gets kids sleeping more normally for the school year, and allows them to get on a schedule that works for them.  It’s also important to try to have them wake up a bit earlier too, so they can practice being active in the mornings.

Revamp your schedule

This is a great time of year to look at your home based career schedule and see where you can improve, change, or be flexible.  You might realize that you’re off balance in terms of work.  Maybe there’s too much going on, maybe there’s not enough.  If it’s the latter, take a moment to browse some new job positions.

You can also take some time to look at the schedule of your whole family for those first few weeks.  Will your kids be starting a sport?  Some type of rehearsal?  Adjust the family’s schedules around those first few weeks and months to make going back a lot easier.

Purchase your items

It’s a lot easier to get your back to school supplies now! Avoid the mad rush and create your list.  Browse the list from your children’s teachers, or simply find some basic back to school shopping lists online.  It’s better to go in prepared so you don’t forget anything.  Go on an off peak time and have your kids select their items.  It’s more fun to get them involved, and they can choose items that match their personality.

Also, make back to school shopping fun.  You don’t have to spend a lot of money, but you can make a fun day out of it so your kids are encouraged to start the new year on a positive note.

Set some goals

Setting goals this time of year is important for you and your family members.  While this doesn’t need to be done until closer to back to school time, it gets everyone into the habit of thinking ahead and working towards something.

Set some short-term goals that can be accomplished within the first few weeks of going back, such as sticking to bedtimes, agreeing to a proper place in the house to study, getting all the lunches packed, creating a work schedule that will work for the school year, and applying to a certain amount of jobs in a week. You can also set longer term goals with your kids, such as making the spring musical, playing a sport, or saving a specific amount of money for a purchase.

The goals don’t necessarily need to do with school, but are more for getting everyone thinking and being more productive during the school year.

Enjoy the rest

Above all else, it’s so important to enjoy the rest of the summer.  While you slowly implement tasks and items that will make the school year much smoother, don’t forget to enjoy the rest of this time of year.  You can even create a summer “bucket list” of items that you still have time to do.

Take another small trip or enjoy a staycation and technology-free weekend.  Take an afternoon to do something fun in your local area.  Book reservations at a fun restaurant for your kids.  Soak in this time and create memories! Schedule more playdates, more pool days, and fun times with your family.

You can certainly prepare for back to school while still enjoy the rest of what summer has to offer.  Then, when the school year starts, you’ll be all set for success!

 

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April 17, 2017 0 Comments

4 Ways to Manage Home Based Employees

Working from home provides a lot of opportunity for flexibility and work-life balance, but it also presents unique challenges.  One of the main obstacles can arise in managing employees, as there’s not quite the amount of accountability that occurs in a traditional work environment.

Although management of employees can be tricky, it’s something that can be sorted out with a bit of forethought.  Read along for our best tips for successfully managing home based employees.

Management Software

There are several options out there for managing your employees and projects from a distance.  Basecamp is a very popular option, but there are others out there as well.  These programs allow users to log in remotely, complete tasks, share documents and checklists, and general stay in contact on a daily basis.  It’s easy to see what your employees are getting done, as well as seeing if they remain active on the site.

They can start as low as free and go up in price, typically depending on number of employees.

Click here to view a list of options that are comparable to Basecamp.

Timesheet

When your employees work remotely, it’s important to keep track of their time on a consistent basis.  Whether they’re project-based, hourly, or salaried, have them document their tasks in a detailed timesheet.  This doesn’t necessary need to be an ongoing practice, but it helps to establish the relationship and expectations in the beginning.

Determine how you’ll calculate time: by 10-minute intervals, 30-minute intervals, hour-long intervals, or simply project-based.  This establishes trust between you and your employees, and allows you to see how quickly they’re able to complete the work.

Additionally, some of the project management options allow you to track time and see which tasks employees are working on in real-time.   Timecamp, ClockSpot and MyHours are examples of this option, and it can be an easy way to keep track of time.

Weekly communication

Weekly calls and email communication are key to managing a remote team.  In general, having home based employees will require more communication.  Set up a time that works for everyone that includes a weekly call with the entire team.  This is a great time to review client obligations, any issues, and obstacles that might be in the way.

When you have a regular appointment for communication, you avoid issues before they get out of control.

Manage expectations

Remote employees don’t have to be a challenge to manage, as long as the correct expectations are set from the beginning.  If you’re requiring management software, take the time to explain and train any new employees in using it.  If a timesheet is required, be sure that they know what that needs to look like.

Additionally, ensure that they’re given every chance to succeed.  It can be an adjustment to work in a home based environment, and expectations do vary from traditional offices.

While you may have more flexibility in a work from home position, you may have to put some more checks in place to ensure that work is being completed effectively.  Luckily, with the advances in technology and communication, this is not only possible, but much more simple!

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April 3, 2017 0 Comments

5 Things You Need to Know About Hiring Virtual Help

According to Recuriterbox, over 53 million people are currently freelancing and by 2020, over 40% of the workforce is expected to be independent contractors. It is a growing trend that many businesses are seeing the rewards of. Before you jump in, here are 5 things to know about hiring virtual help.

Communication

One of the biggest mistakes I see business owners and freelancers make is a lack of good communication from the beginning.  It is important to create a very detailed and accurate job posting so that you attract the right candidate who is qualified for your project or job. It is also imperative to lay out clear expectations on the work to be performed, expected results as well as deadlines. I recommend doing a Skype or FaceTime call with your candidates and not only talking about the job and expectations but also spending time to get to know the person so you can develop a mutually beneficial working relationship.

Flexibility

Many times, those who are seeking virtual jobs are seeking those jobs at least partly for the flexibility that comes with it. Be clear about the expectations you have for your virtual team member. And if you need someone during specific hours, also be clear about that. Flexibility can work great for both parties. It just needs to be clear to both sides when the work is needed and expected and if the contractor needs to be available at set times.

Pay

Even at a higher hourly rate, expect to save 20 to 30 percent annually with a freelancer given that you will not have to pay for benefits, health insurance, retirement, Medicare or Social Security. You also save on office space, computers and other office supplies. On the other hand, your freelancer does have to pay all of those costs so instead of looking to hire at rock bottom prices, factor in at least $4-5 more an hour for the expenses they will have to incur.

Quality

Independent contractors and freelancers run their own business, which is dependant on happy and returning clients. You know as a business owner, its much more cost efficient to keep a client than to try to find a new one. Because of that, most freelancers will strive to deliver their best work to keep their clients. While traditional employees performance may vary, freelancers know their job is only as good as their last project.

Sourcing

Not all freelance websites are created equally.  Some have millions of users all over the world. While others are more specific to the industry or type of freelancer. For instance, HireMyMom.com is a niche website geared toward Mom Professionals who have left the workforce for the flexibility to work from home. Business owners find dedicated and dependable contractors or virtual employees without sorting through hundreds of resumes. They also benefit from hiring someone in or near their time zone for ease of working relationship as well as not having to deal with issues faced in countries with undependable Internet and electricity. Whatever your needs, be sure to find the right website to help you succeed.

So when it comes time to expand your virtual team, knowing what to expect and more about the process will help you be more prepared and ready for success!

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