I recently “met” Brianna through email and this is one dynamic mom. She´s been hanging out here on At Home Mom, as well and is a fascinating woman who can´t just stop with one business, though her main one is Mad Hatter Design Company. Like many work at home moms, her decision to start a home business was fueled by her desire to stay home with her little one, but it has branched out into so much more. I hope you enjoy meeting her as much as I did.
1. What is your business?
I own several, actually, but Mad Hatter Design Company is my baby. I specialize in small business identity and branding.
2. How did you get started?
I began working from home as a Virtual Assistant nearly two years ago, in preparation for my little girl to be born. I really wanted to stay home with her but contribute to the household income as well. I was just starting out in college (though I was 24!) and had to start with a tight budget. After taking a Photoshop class, I shifted my college degree to focus on art and design, and decided to start my own firm. I don’t think I could ever go to work for someone else…I like being the boss!
3. What mistakes did you make when you were starting out? What did you learn from them?
The biggest mistake I made when starting out was being too nice. I said “yes” to anyone and everyone and ran myself ragged. I had to learn that sometimes it is okay to say no. Learning to say no is the reason I am still a business owner!
4. How long have you been working from home? (was this your first business or have you had others where you worked from home?)
I have been working from home for 2 years. My first business was the virtual assistant practice (www.virtualsolutionsadmin.com). Then I started my design business, www.madhatterdesigncompany.com. I also purchased and then sold an online magazine and podcast for mom business owners, and now have a new gourmet pretzel company in the works, Twisted and Knotty (www.twistedandknotty.com). Future projects include an art business selling some of my graphics work, and special new website for people looking to purchase a car.
5. What are your tricks for balancing work, kids and household chores?
The thing I try to keep in mind is that balance doesn’t mean that everything is in perfect harmony. To me, balance is a shifting, adapting, changing flow that helps me maintain a happy family life and a successful business. I may not get to spend as much time working when my daughter needs me, but there are days when she is more independent and I can work more. It’s all about adapting to the situation. I get work done when I can.
6. How many children do you have? How old are they?
I have one daughter. She is 19 months old and she loves to dance.
7. When do you usually work?
I usually work in my office in the early mornings. Some afternoons, I will take the laptop into the living room to facilitate lunchtimes and Elmo-watching. I generally try not to work in the evenings because I spend that time with my husband.
8. What is the best part of being a mompreneur? And the worst?
The best part of being a mompreneur is, of course, being able to stay home with my daughter. But more than that, I love the freedom that we have to do things together. I feel like I never miss an important moment. Ever.
The worst part is that I sometimes struggle with not having enough hours in the day. My daughter is number one and sometimes work just has to wait. But not very often because she’s a great kid!
9. What are your plans for the future of your business?
I would really like to expand into a full-fledged media firm, offering advertising, marketing and online services.
10. What advice would you give new work at home moms?
My biggest piece of advice comes from my design and branding background - Set aside some start-up funds for a solid logo and identity package from a trusted designer (not a logo mill). Nothing turns a new client off more than an unprofessional image.
If you enjoyed this interview with Brianna Young, please take a moment to check out her design services.
In a regular, off-site job, you get vacation days and it´s pretty normal to plan a vacation, even a small one, with your family. But when it comes to work at home moms, we often neglect to take that time off.
Vacations are important. They let you spend more time with your kids . . . away from the laptop, and also allow some quality couple time, if you plan it right. Not to mention, the time spent away from your business is extremely valuable. You´ll be amazed at how much easier it is to work when you´ve had a little break.
Even if you can´t afford a big vacation, just getting out of the house for a few days can be a great way to relax. Or, you could always enter a contest to win a vacation. Hanes is actually holding a very cool contest at the moment for their “Year of a Million Dreams” and seven families will be given a vacation to Walt Disney World. The contest runs from June until August 30th and families will be drawn in September, which gives you plenty of time to enter and to plan for the time off.
Winning a vacation to Disney World would be an excellent way to save money AND get that well-earned vacation away from your home business. All you need to do is look for specially marked packages the next time you are out to buy Hanes products. Learn more about this vacation contest on the website.
What are your plans for a vacation? Or do you work year round at your business?
Subscribe now in your feed reader so you don´t miss a single article from At Home Mom.
Are you a work at home mom running your own business? Add your biz for FREE to the At Home Mom Business Directory.
When I say that I´m a professional blogger, many people assume that I mean this blog. While At Home Mom is definitely a huge part of my blogging life, it isn´t really paying the bills yet. So, for me, blogging for other people is how I make a good chunk of my income.
For anyone who is interested in earning money for blogging, there are a few things you should know first.
It´s not a high paying gig. Unless you are famous or lucky enough to land a job with a huge blogging network, chances are you won´t be making a killing off this. How much can you actually earn? That depends. I personally have seen jobs that pay $100 a month for one post per day and others that pay $5-25 a post, depending on the popularity of the blog. Chances are you won´t earn the higher amounts until a little later in your blogging career.
It might not be glamorous. Every writer wants to see their name in the byline, but the truth is . . . there are a lot of ghostwriting jobs out there. That´s what I do at the moment, write anonymously. It´s not as glamorous, but it definitely pays the bills and there are quite a few ghostblogging jobs out there.
It´s work. Blogging seems easy when you are writing what you want, when you want. Unfortunately, if you really want to make a decent wage, you´ll end up taking on some blogging jobs that aren´t necessarily up your alley. For example, I write about everything from medical transcription to modular housing and I´m not an expert in any of them. You´ll need to do research and it can be very difficult to come up with new ideas for the same topic after several months of writing on it.
Still interested? Then let´s move on . . .
How to Find a Blogging Job
It´s relatively easy to find blogging job listings, the problem is actually landing the job. You have a couple of options here.
Option One: One on One Blogging
This is most likely to let you use your own name, but usually only results in one job. That may be a good jumping off point, but it usually isn´t enough and you´ll have to find several jobs like this. Single blog jobs involve dealing with the actual blog owner or network.
Option Two: Blogging Services
These are services that take on a variety of client blogs. With these positions, you can often have as much work as you want, ghostwriting for several different blogs and various clients, but the blogging service is responsible for paying you. The wages are often less, however.
Next, you´ll need some writing samples. Many employers will want to see examples of your blogging skills, so if you don´t yet have a blog, even a personal one, it´s a good idea to create one. You´ll find that many jobs require a minimum of 3 months blogging experience, but this is one area you can gain experience on your own.
For writing samples, you will need to have just 3-4 different articles. These can be fairly short, 250 words is fine. Try to write each one on a different topic so you will have something appropriate for any job.
Once you have your samples ready to go, it´s time to start applying for jobs. Here are a few of the places that I check when I´m looking for work:
Subscribe now in your feed reader so you don´t miss a single article from At Home Mom.
Are you a work at home mom running your own business? Add your biz for FREE to the At Home Mom Business Directory.
The Home Hero 2-in-1 Smoke/Carbon Monoxide Alarm Contest is over. And the winner is . . .
Gary Murphy!
Congrats and you´ll be receiving an email shortly to find out where to send your new alarm.
For everyone else who commented (25, WOW!), I´m sorry I don´t have more to give away. However, if you want to get your own, just head over to the nearest Home Depot to find one. It is really a good idea . . . most people have smoke alarms, but not carbon monoxide alarms in their homes and from the comments left, it would appear that this is a major concern for many of you.
Thanks for participating in the giveaway and stay tuned for more in the near future.
Subscribe now in your feed reader so you don´t miss a single article from At Home Mom.
Are you a work at home mom running your own business? Add your biz for FREE to the At Home Mom Business Directory.
We all have flashes of inspiration from time to time. A great idea pops into your head and you start to wonder if you could really make it work. The problem is that we are not very good judges of our own ideas when it comes to work at home ideas. A week or even a month down the road, you may realize that your “great” idea wasn´t so hot after all.
How do you know if a work at home idea is a good one? Here are a few ways to check.
- Do some research. Read up on the internet to find out if your idea already exists. This won´t actually tell you if the idea is a good one, but it will let you know if there is any competition or if the market is already saturated.
- Hit the forums. Go to a forum that would be appropriate for the type of business and ask people what they think. A good place to connect with other moms in business is at Work It, Mom!
- Talk to people. Start telling people about your idea. Not everyone, but your husband or a friend or two. See what their initial reactions are.
- Ask your mom. Yup, Mom could be the best critic here. Mine was always very good at pointing out flaws in my business ideas, something that can be irritating at the time, but can really save you a LOT of time! Plus, mothers tend not to be worried about hurting your feelings by telling you the truth.
- Test it. If you find that all research is positive, why not try your business idea out? Not all ideas will be able to be tested easily, but if you are thinking of starting up a seamstress business, you could offer your services on fliers to see if there is a demand for them.
In my experience, about 90% of work at home business ideas are useless. Another 9% would be good, but require resources or money that you just don´t have. So, keep coming up with those ideas, even if you find that most of them don´t pan out. At some point, you´ll hit that 1% that is a great idea, ready to be executed now.
Subscribe now in your feed reader so you don´t miss a single article from At Home Mom.
Are you a work at home mom running your own business? Add your biz for FREE to the At Home Mom Business Directory.
