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September 24, 2020

HireMyMom Success Story: Sarah Weeks

Tell us about you and your experience finding work on HireMyMom.

A friend of mine told me to check out HireMyMom because I was looking for a work-from-home opportunity that was flexible with my family schedule. The first day I signed up, I found the position I currently have now! I thought the idea of the site was great and I found success quickly!

What are your top tips for landing a job or jobs on HireMyMom.com?

Top Tips:

  1. Sign up — what do you have to lose?
  2. Create a great profile!
  3. Never give up!

What piece of advice do you wish someone had given you at the start of your work from home journey?

Just be sure to have a dedicated space and keep a good routine, I get more done because I prioritize structure in my life.

What do you see as your greatest success in life?

Balancing family and work — both I’m passionate about and give me great fulfillment.

What is something about you that many people don’t know?

I am a mom of three boys, and I HATE bugs, which of course the boys get a thrill over.

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June 27, 2019

HireMyMom Success Story: Megan Baker

 

Business: Meg K and Co 

Tell us a little about your business and why you started it.

I started as a Virtual Assistant two years ago. I was a teacher for six years and the opportunity for entrepreneurship presented itself, and I took it and ran with it. Now I offer consulting and advising services for online business owners. I essentially help visionaries and CEOs manage their magic with systems and hiring so they can have a greater impact and scale.

What is your top advice for entrepreneurs / small business owners?    

Remember that you can do hard things!                 

What is your top tip for working with a virtual team?

Be very clear about expectations and have your systems set up and communicate those through Standard Operating Procedures with your team. Your team can’t read your mind.         

What’s your favorite thing about HireMyMom.com?

HireMyMom has excellent talent!

What’s one fun or interesting fact about you?

I’m bilingual in English and French!       

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Mom Professionals, please complete this form our Mom Professionals Success Stories.

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March 18, 2019 0 Comments

7 Strategic Ways To Grow Your Mompreneur Business

If you are a mompreneur who has been working your business for a while, there comes a pivotal point when you seek to take your business to the next level. Whether it’s to increase your income goals, elevate client experience, streamline your processes or all of the above, growing your business will require some high-level strategies.

As a full-time mompreneur myself in business since 1996, it can be easy to get overwhelmed with the details but the best place to start, even when growing your business is to focus on drilling down what has worked best for you so far. And it’s important to keep in mind, that there is no substitute for keeping it simple.

So here are our 7 strategic ways to take your business to the next level right away.

 

1. Reevaluate Current Expenses

Before you dive into all the new ideas you have for your small business, it’s always a good idea to evaluate where you are right now. Make a list of your current business expenses and ensure you are not spending time and money in areas that you aren’t using. Those $15-$20 monthly subscriptions can really add up.

 

2. Juicy Offer

If you have been building an email list with an opt-in through your website great job! Building an email list is one of the best things you can do for your business. With social media platforms changing daily and algorithm’s decreasing the organic reach of content, having a clear and consistent email marketing strategy is a must. When you email your list, you don’t have to worry about how much reach it will get.

Maybe you have a freebie on your website that has been working and now it’s time to create some additional free resources so you have multiple offers to share and market. Consider creating a “Resource Library” on your website where your visitors can sort through the best offer(s) for them. Create pinnable graphics for each offer through a Pinterest Canva template and pin to a free resources board on Pinterest. This will help you capture more leads for your business where you can build a deeper relationship with through email.

Don’t have a freebie offer on your website? Now is the time to create one! Come up with a high value resource that can help your ideal client solve an immediate problem and position you as an expert.

 

3. Email Marketing 

As you build an email list, it’s important to communicate on a regular basis with that list in order to take your business to that next level. Send out a weekly newsletter to share something of value, your latest blog post, tool, video training, helpful hack or resource.

When it comes to email marketing, it’s definitely quality over quantity. The goal is to provide high-level value that can help your ideal client while positioning you as an expert. The goal is not to pitch your audience to buy something (this is a strategy that is okay every so often but 90% of your emails should be high quality value). Pitching your email list with offers constantly will only land you with lots of unsubscribes.

When crafting emails focus more on letting your personality shine through and less on perfecting polished sales copy. Tell a story through your emails and talk to your audience like you are sitting down with them for coffee.

At the end of the email include a photo of you with a bio, a subtle call to action and link to learn more about how they can work with you.

 

4. On Boarding Process

Maybe you’ve built your business doing discovery type calls and while it’s worked, you are wanting to take back control of your time so you can focus on only working with exactly the type of clients your skill sets are best suited for.

Having an on-boarding process for new clients can definitely grow your business by helping to weed out people who are not 100% your ideal client. Create a Google doc that you can direct people to through your website. You can set up this document to email you the responses once it’s filled out.

Ask important questions that can help you determine if a phone call is the next step or if responding with an email to let them know they are not the right fit for you at this time. You can direct them to paid resources or courses you offer, (we will talk about this more below)or refer them to someone who is a better fit.

Having a process to properly vet clients can save you hours of precious time each week so you can spend that time on other revenue generating activities, working with the right clients and spending more time with your family.

 

5. Passive Income Resources

Marketing a business takes a lot of hard consistent work, and you want to leverage the leads that come into your business as much as possible. While not everyone who lands on your website will be a good fit to work with, that doesn’t mean you don’t have value to offer them.

Put together digital products or courses that can generate passive income so you can focus on investing time to work with higher-paying clients. If you are a graphic designer who designs logos for example, you could put together an eBook training of how to create a simple logo for a new website and charge say $27. Those who may not be the right fit for you to work on a larger scale can take a DIY approach allowing you to still earn revenue for your expertise without doing any extra work.

Passive income resources like this are a great way to grow your business since it’s a product you’ve already created that you can sell over and over again.

 

6. Streamline Processes With Templates

Create templates for every aspect of your business for tasks such as onboarding clients, emails, proposals and invoices. Tools like Freshbooks are great for this as they not only manage invoices and expenses, but also client and project notes.

Use apps to track expenses to save you hours at tax time and create folders for client emails so you aren’t spending hours searching for them. Spending time up front to stay organized can greatly increase your productivity and take your business to the next level.

 

7. Batch Your Time

There is nothing worse than feeling like you are going in circles not being productive. In order to grow your business, you need to use your time wisely and batch your recurring tasks.

For example, instead of trying to figure out every day what to post on your Facebook business page, batch that task and work on it each Monday from 9am-10am and plan out the whole week. You may not even need a full hour as you will find that as you create content focusing on one platform, your creativity and momentum will flow more easily.

Now think of other recurring tasks and batch those. For instance, schedule an hour each Tuesday to create pinnable graphics for your blog posts and quote cards in Canva and upload them to your Pinterest boards.

Batching your time will drive up your productivity while creating a higher level of consistency.

There are your 7 strategic tips to grow your mompreneur business. Implement even half of these and your business is sure to flourish!

Looking for more training, networking, support or ideas? We’d love to have you join our HireMyMom community today!

 

 

 

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February 25, 2019 0 Comments

10 Action Steps To Go From Corporate Job To Working From Home

So you’ve made the decision to transition out of that corporate job into working from home. Let us be the first to congratulate and celebrate with you! As a mom who made that same decision for her life and family and as a business woman working with mom professionals for over 20 years, I know full well what a huge stepping stone this is for you.

 

While this is an exciting time of change and looking forward to a bright future of following your passions and doing things your way, it can also be a scary time full of uncertainty and unique challenges that you did not face with a corporate career.

 

Here are 10 actions steps based on my own personal experiences, advice from mentors and networking with other moms who have successfully transitioned from a corporate job to working from home to help you navigate this new territory.

 

1.  Fire Your Fears

You fired your boss and now you will have to learn how to fire your fears. Fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of not having all the answers, fear of doubt, fear of comparison and yes even the fear of success and the responsibility that comes with it. While a corporate job is not perfect there is a certain level of assurances like knowing where your next paycheck will come from.

 

Doubt will creep in at times so embracing that as a new normal, one that everyone goes through, will help you work through those moments a lot easier. You know yourself best and what works so make a plan of how you will feel the fear and push forward any way (prayer, meditation, exercise, etc.)

 

2. Create A Schedule

There is something to be said for having a routine. Most humans thrive with one and for us moms, a schedule is a necessity. With a corporate job you surely had a time you needed to be up and a time the kids needed to be dressed in order to make it out the door on time or your day most likely got thrown out of whack.

 

While having an at home business has the advantages of flexibility to work when you want, how you want and where you want at the same time without a schedule your day will feel like a free for all and your productivity will be minimal. It will probably take some tweaking to figure out what works but having a daily schedule will be crucial to your success.

 

Some tips of the trade include batching your work on certain days like for phone calls, computer work and for running errands. Sure, there will be hiccups along the way but a schedule ensures you can quickly get back on track. Communicate with your family so they know what to expect; time you have set aside for work and time for family.

 

3. Develop A Network

Working from home can be a huge blessing, without a doubt, but it can also feel isolating. Relationships you had through your corporate job may even fade away as others don’t understand or unfortunately feel jealousy about your new path. Having a network of like minded moms who understand the struggles of mompreneurship can be a priceless asset for you to tap into.

 

4. Consult An Accountant

Being your own boss comes with it’s perks like business expenses and tax write offs but it’s important to know up front how to run your business legally and professionally so there are no surprises down the road. Depending on your state, you could be required to create an LLC or DBA and file for a federal tax ID number in order to do business. Find out these requirements up front and put a system into place for tracking your business expenses. Tools like FreshBooks and QuickBooks are great resources to help keep you organized.

 

5. Create A Vision Of What You Want

Setting goals is a measurable way of tracking your home business ambitions. Take some time to create a clear vision of:

  • How much income you want/need on a monthly basis

  • The number of clients you need each month to reach that goal

  • What a life of having a full time business doing what you love looks like

  • How you want to feel as your own boss

  • How you will use your business to serve and give back to others

 

6. Stand Confidently In Who You Are

You will soon find the world of business ownership to be a very noisy one. There is no shortage of “experts” out there trying to tell others the best way to run a business. While mentoring and coaching can be beneficial it’s also important that you stay out of the advice rabbit hole and stand firmly in who you are and what you want for your life and business. This will require putting on a filter and using discernment to sort through the make $10K your first month sales pitches, fear of missing out marketing tactics and gurus selling programs.

 

7. Get Up And Running

While it’s okay to plan out your business and approach it in an organized fashion, you will also have to let go of things like perfectionism and having all the answers before taking action. This journey will require taking leaps of faith and being okay with building your wings on the way down. You will make mistakes but you will also learn from them in order to do it better next time. If you sit around trying to create the perfect website, perfect business cards, perfect marketing strategy before taking action you will be sitting stagnant and definitely not making progress to reach your goals.

Focus on the most important pieces of your business that you need to get up and running and go find your first client.

 

8. Hire A Coach

Running a home based business will come with it’s unique challenges and require you to tap into yourself in a way that you may never have before. Hiring a business coach can be a great asset in helping you navigate this transition more smoothly so you aren’t figuring it all out on your own (saving you time and money). This may or may not be in the budget. If it is, do your due diligence and find a coach that specializes in the areas you need most.

If hiring a coach is not in the budget right now, seek out business coaches and learn as much as you can from them through their free tools like blog posts, email newsletters, etc. until you can afford more one on one coaching.

 

9. Have A Creative Outlet

While there is a lot of marketing out there referring a home based business to things like “the dream lifestyle you can do from your laptop while sitting at the beach” it’s far from being that glamorous especially for someone just starting out. It’s not a path free from stress, actually quite the contrary so while you need to have a plan for how you will run your business it’s equally important to have a plan of how you will decompress.

 

Having a home based business means you can make more time for the things you love to do so do them. Read more books, go for more walks, do more painting, play your piano more. As you make plans for how you will work, don’t forget to also make plans for how you will play and enjoy life.

 

10. Get Frugal

Transitioning from corporate job and stable income into a home based business with fluctuating revenue means you will have to rethink your spending habits. Adopt a budget and get more frugal to guard yourself from financial stresses. Running a business and navigating these new waters will be hard enough without adding money problems to it.

Shop more thrift stores, clip more coupons, go through your expenses and see where you can trim some fat. There is no shame in being frugal, it’s a smart savvy way to live especially while starting up a new business.

 

I hope these action steps have inspired you as you transition from corporate woman to CEO Mom Professional! I believe in you and I pray you know God does too.

 

If you found these tips helpful be sure to pin it to a Pinterest board so you can easily find it later. Are you looking for more support as a mom professional transitioning out of the corporate arena to running a full time business from home? Join our community of mom professionals and check out our latest job postings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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August 6, 2018 0 Comments

4 Tips to Work From Home Successfully

Working from home is a dream scenario to most – more flexibility, no commute, and more time with family. But once you’ve landed a home based job, how are you successful in it?  It’s not quite the same as a traditional office job, so different things need to be considered.

Read along for some of our tips to ensure success in a work from home position.

Clear distractions

As much as possible, clear distractions from your home and work time. If you know you’re going to be on an important call, place a note on the door to ask people to not ring the doorbell. If you have dogs, exercise them early and put them in their crates or on beds when you’re trying to get work done.

If your kids are home on summer break, work out some playdates or child care when you really need to focus.  Often times we can manage to fit all of this into our work days, but sometimes we need a break. Keep in mind, if you worked in a traditional office, you wouldn’t have the same distractions.

Be independent

Being a successful home based employee comes down to working independently.  Sure, you may have a supervisor or head boss that you report to, but it likely isn’t regulated the same way as an office job.

To get work done, stay on track, and avoid overwhelm, it’s so crucial that you manage yourself.  Keep tabs on how you’re spending your work time with a simple spreadsheet, and make to do lists your friend!

However, independence doesn’t need to carry over into your personal life. Be sure that you’re making time to be social and get together with co-workers or other home based workers when you can.

Manage yourself

Along with being independent, in a lot of cases you might have to manage yourself. Some home based positions tend to be more freelance in nature, so while you have a “boss,” it’s not in the same way.

Manage yourself with to do lists, as well as clear check ins with your immediate supervisor.  Whether it’s a daily summary of work or a weekly check-in call, it’s up to you and your boss. You can create a schedule of communication that works for all involved, and this will allow you to stay on track with your employer.

Motivate yourself

Working from home offers a host of benefits, but motivation can be hard to come by.  It can be tempting to spend the day watching Netflix, or doing something fun with your kids.  While this can be part of your day from time to time, you are still working from home.

Do your best to save other activities for breaks or after work hours. When you commit to a typical workday and a set amount of time and hours, you’re providing yourself with the structure and boundaries to get things done.

Staying motivated to do your work will come from having a solid schedule and process for accomplishing tasks.  This may be challenging at first, but once you find your rhythm, it’s easy to stay on track!

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June 11, 2018 0 Comments

3 Challenges with Working From Home – and How to Solve Them

Working from home has many benefits, from more time and flexibility to a non-existent commute.  Although it’s mainly a positive experience for most, there can be challenges involved, especially in the beginning.

Check out this week’s blog for some tips on working through those challenges successfully.

Kids or Family

While kid, family, pet and friend time can be a huge bonus to a more flexible job, they can also require a lot of time.  Sometimes you’ll need to have focused work time, meetings or conference calls that demand your attention.

For your kids, ask your mom friends or moms in your groups if there are any play groups during the day.  You can exchange playdates while other moms need to get things done as well.

You can also take your work outside! Since most home-based jobs involve only a computer, you can bring your office with you.  Take your kids or the dogs to a park while you work.

Distractions

Distractions are part of every job, but can be even more prevalent at home.  Between the aforementioned family members and dogs, there’s postal deliveries, homes to be cleaned, and TV shows that can be a little too tempting. If you struggle at all with independent work, it can be even more challenging.

Instead of eliminating these things entirely, give yourself breaks to do what you’re tempted to do during work time, such as watch a TV show, put in a load of laundry, or start dinner.

Your distractions can become a healthy part of your life, as long as you work to manage them while still getting things done.  Create a schedule that allows time for the extras or “distracting” parts of your day while still completing your work.

Socialization

One of the first concerns when accepting a work from home job is the possibility of isolation. Whether you have kids or not, it can still be lonely to not work out of a traditional office.

To combat this, it’s important that social interaction remain part of your life.  Can you plan to work with a friend at a coffee shop? What about a weekly happy hour date with a friend or family member?

If you can, look into co-working spaces and spend a few mornings or afternoons working from Starbucks.  Even though you might not be working with anyone else, the energy from others, as well as social interaction, will help you feel a bit more normal.

Also, if it’s possible in your situation, be sure to meet up with your co-workers from time to time.  If you aren’t local to each other, schedule frequent Skype dates. Video conferencing can still feel like an in-person conversation much more than the phone!

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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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May 7, 2018 0 Comments

HireMyMom Success Story: Deidra Martinez

What’s your success story with HireMyMom.com?
I was referred to HireMyMom.com from a church friend. At the time I was unable to work due to lack of childcare. I joined in January of that year and was employed by the end of February. Again the following year after a move, I joined HireMyMom.com again. For the past 1 1/2 years have worked for an amazing company owned by another amazing mom. Together in 6 short months we grew the company by leaps and bounds. Just this fall I found my THIRD job with this amazing website. I have referred HireMyMom.com countless times. It has been a HUGE blessing to me and afforded me the opportunity to spend this invaluable time with my son.

What’s your educational and experiential background?

Only 1.5 years left until graduation and certification to become a RAD tech. I have over 20 years in customer service, an additional 10 in administrative.

What is your top tip for landing a gig on HireMyMom.com?

Know what you can do and can’t do. Know the worth of your skill set, but be realistic as to your availability and your commitment to your follow-through on a position you accept. Professionalism is key.

What’s your favorite thing about HireMyMom.com?

Most importantly is the quality of the job postings. I am a professional woman looking for good work at good pay. I’m a woman who can’t make it on the bare minimum. Employers here are serious, driven, and are looking for candidates who match their passion.

What’s one fun fact about you?

I’m a huge kid, with a love for Jesus and gardening.
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February 12, 2018 0 Comments

5 Ways to Achieve Success

Success looks different for everyone, but it’s something we all strive for.  Whether success is a career goal, or a certain way of flexible living for you and your family, you can take specific steps to get there.  With a clear plan and a few tips, you can achieve the success you’re seeking.

Define it

What does success look like to you? Just because someone you know feels successful in their life, doesn’t mean you ought to achieve the same things just because.  This can lead you down a path of striving for things that truly don’t mean much to you.

How do you enjoy spending your time?  What would a successful life look like to you? Take some time to write these thoughts down.  Once you know what you’re striving for, it makes it easier to prioritize and eliminate those things that don’t fit on your path to success.

Set goals

Goals are always very important and very motivating! Start by breaking down your vision of success into achievable goals.  For example, if one of your definitions of success is more flexibility in your workday, you might strive to work from home.  Goal #1 would be finding work from home sites, Goal #2 could be applying to at least 3 jobs per week, and so on.

Work on yourself

Working on yourself first is the best way to gain momentum and improve your outlook.  A positive outlook is always conducive to greater success! Start by doing what you really want to be doing, as much as possible, even if it’s on the side at first.  For example, you could start a side job or business, or paint or do another hobby on the side.

Another way to work on yourself and make yourself happy first is to work on self improvement, if that’s your thing.  This can look like a spiritual practice, getting deeper in your faith, meditation, etc.

Make time for social

According to Time.com, “socially isolated people are more than twice as likely to die from heart disease as those with a solid social circle.”  Despite your outlook on what success means, maintaining a healthy social life is key.

When you’re focusing heavily on your goals and successes – career or personal – you can start to neglect your social world.  It’s a really important part of health and life, and may even be another key to success.  Socializing is another part of networking as well, which can lead to job opportunities, business ventures, and so on.

Always keep learning

The smartest, most successful people are lifelong learners.  You can start a book habit – one new book per week (or month), depending on what works in your schedule.

Take time to read news or pursue an interesting hobby on a daily basis.  Take interest in new things.  Subscribe to information magazines and publications.  Take a local course.  Always work to grow your knowledge base! You never know what will strike a cord, change your path, or simply boost your perspective on your way to success.

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February 5, 2018 0 Comments

3 Ways to Set Expectations in a Home Based Career

Working from home affords a lot of flexibility and often improves quality of life, but it brings into focus the question of work life balance.  If you’re always in your “office,” does work ever stop?

One way to ensure that working from home is, in fact, working from home, it’s important to set expectations – and boundaries. You can still be there for friends and family on a more flexible basis while still having time to complete your tasks.

Set office hours and a schedule

Even though you aren’t going to an office, it’s still important to have fairly consistent office hours.  Not only does this set an expectation for friends and family, it keeps you on a schedule.  We typically get more done when we’re on a daily schedule, so it’s a great method for productivity.

Just because you set office hours doesn’t mean they have to be 9 AM to 5 PM.  If it works better for your family to start earlier or later, go for it.  It might be helpful to carve out an hour or two for kids’ obligations, car pool, or anything else that you typically need to get done.

Create a family calendar and fill it in.  You can create a schedule around this, giving yourself time off, extra days of work, and so on.

Have a conversation

If you work from home, you might find that more of the house work and kid responsibilities are your job. This can be a great benefit of working from home, but it can also become overwhelming.

If you feel that the home obligations are out of balance, or you aren’t able to complete your work, it’s time to have a conversation.  Delegate some tasks to a babysitter or family member, and simply make it known that you’re only available at certain times.

Make it a real job

Working from home is still working, and it should be treated as such.  Create an office space that you enjoy, keep housework to breaks only, and work as you would in a traditional office.

The benefits of working from home include flexibility and comfort, but it’s easier to take it seriously and work successfully as an independent employee when you work in a more traditional way.  When you, as well as others, see your job as more “real,” the balance of work and the boundaries of time are more likely to be adhered to.

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