Written by
September 30, 2019

Why Moms Looking To Work at Home Should Avoid Free Job Sites

If you are a mom, you know first hand how exciting it is for your kids to go to the dollar store. I mean a trip to Target can cost you hundreds of dollars but a few dollars at a dollar store and your kids can quickly pick out a few fun things to entertain them without breaking the bank. 

We know that when we walk into a dollar store stuff is going to be cheap. We don’t go into a dollar store looking for designer brands or high quality items, just some fun stuff to keep our kids happy and entertained. As soon as you walk into a dollar store, you are thinking to yourself: “No blowing my budget today, everything here is going to be cheap!”

If you are a mom who is new to looking for work at home jobs, mega job sites and “free” job sites can look pretty tempting but here is the reality, many of the employers who use these sites are in the same dollar store mindset: they are expecting to find people who are willing to work for really cheap. 

And that brings me to the reasons why moms who are looking to work from home should avoid the large mega job sites and free work at home / freelance job sites. 

 

Mega Job Site Users Shop For the Lowest Bidder

Many of the clients on the mega job sites are in a “dollar store” mindset when they are searching to find freelancers and tend to shop for the lowest bidder. This unfortunately means you are competing with other freelancers, many of whom are overseas where a U.S. dollar goes a lot farther and they can work for a lot cheaper. Hence, they can price their services significantly lower than yours making it impossible to compete. 

I mean, it’s hard to land your dream client when you are having to compete with applicants charging $2-3/hour and not on the value you can provide. And many times its free for businesses to post their job because you are paying the site a commission out of your earnings which leads us to our next point….

 

They Take a Percentage of Your Earnings

Here’s a recent email we got:

“Hello, I am a freelancer who currently uses Fiverr and UpWork to gain writing gigs. I write website content and articles for businesses. I am tired of paying out 20% per project…..”

So not only can mega job sites result in you being underpaid, but they also take a percentage of your earnings. For example, if your list rate is $20 per hour, you can expect to earn around $16 per hour. When you negotiate a rate for a fixed-price job, the same applies. Let’s say you are getting paid $400 for a project, by the time the job site takes their percentage, you’ll receive about $320 as many of these sites charge 20% commission to the job seekers. 

That might not seem like much but let’s say you bill 50 hours over a 40 day period. Instead of keeping the full $1,000 you actually made, you are paid $800. Over a 12 month period, they would keep $2,400 of your income. That adds up quickly, doesn’t it?!

 

You are Competing with Thousands of Other Applicants

Many of the mega job sites and free sites out there attract thousands of people because it’s free or at least you thought it was free in the beginning. Being free means that everyone is going to sign up because… why not. But with smaller boutique sites like HireMyMom, you are only competing with a fraction of that many applicants.

Some jobs on HireMyMom only have 5 or less applicants while others many have 20-30 but never hundreds. Job seekers have an advantage of not having to compete with hundreds or thousands of candidates, and employers appreciate not having to spend hours and hours reviewing resumes and cover letters. Hence, one of the reasons so many of our clients come back to post more jobs because of the high quality applicant pool and the relatively low amount of applicants compared to mega sites.

 

Many Free Job Sites Pull Jobs from Other Websites

Some job sites will pull job openings from other job sites making it even more difficult to stand out in the crowd. Just think how many more people will be applying for those jobs that are posted on multiple websites. At HireMyMom, all jobs are posted by the small business hiring. We do not pull ads from anywhere. In most cases, the jobs on HireMyMom cannot be found on any other website unless the business chooses to post it on another site as well.

 

So How Do You Find Legitimate Work at Home and Get Paid What You’re Worth?

At HireMyMom, we are mom owned and mom run. We are entrepreneurs running our own small business with a team of other moms we’ve hired right here on HireMyMom. We understand the needs and challenges of both sides and we aim to create a platform that works beautifully for both. Our business model is different than the mega sites in that we take no commission from our job seekers; instead we have a small membership fee starting at $9.99 for a one week trial membership. Once you’ve paid your membership, you don’t pay another dime. What our job seekers earn, they keep!

Over the past 12+ years, HireMyMom has helped thousands of small businesses find the perfect candidate for their projects while helping place thousands of mom professionals in their dream jobs. We do that by providing a platform that brings the best group of qualified and passionate women together with the best group of successful and growing small businesses who are looking for highly qualified virtual professionals with skills, experience and expertise. 

HireMyMom is different than the Mega Job Sites and Free Job Sites in These Ways:

  • HireMyMom is primarily for North American candidates to protect our virtual professionals earning power and also giving our small businesses the high quality candidate pool they are looking for, 
  • Candidates are not competing with hundreds or thousands of other applicants around the world, 
  • HireMyMom does not take a percentage or commission of earnings from it’s virtual professionals or businesses,
  • HireMyMom is a boutique community offering personalized services, training, support and virtual high-fives,
  • You have the benefit of working with clients in or near your time zone.

 

Find your next work from home job at HireMyMom where we have a database of high quality projects and positions ready for you to review and apply for while providing you with a community that will support and train you as you work to build a long term freelancing career!  

 

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September 26, 2019

HireMyMom Success Story: Lindsey Clair

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

I am married homeschooling mom of three girls. I started using HireMyMom a few years ago in my work from home endeavors and upon returning to school to obtain my Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing. I’ve gotten three or four jobs since using HireMyMom; two of them I’ve had for over two years now. I actually was just contacted today about another possible job! My experience with HireMyMom is like no other out there. I love the new website and easier navigation for searching for jobs and setting up my resumes etc. in the dashboard. My experience has been beyond amazing!

What did you do previously?

Before working from home, I utilized my Child Development degree assistant directing and teaching in a private preschool program for 8 years.

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

My top tip to land a gig on HireMyMom is to make sure that your resume is up to date and displays a professional format. Also including a cover letter is beneficial as well.

What’s your favorite thing about HireMyMom?

My favorite thing about HireMyMom is the ability to search for work at home that meets my needs and schedule as a homeschooling mom of three.

What’s one fun or interesting fact about you?

When I’m not homeschooling or working from home, you can find me playing my piano or singing. I’m trained in piano and vocals and have taught choir and given piano lessons.  Music is my passion, and I recently recorded in a studio.
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Mom Professionals, please complete this form our Mom Professionals Success Stories.

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September 23, 2019

3 Ways A Virtual Assistant Can Help Grow and Scale Your Small Business

When it comes to starting your own business there’s a lot to think about. Although being your own boss can be very rewarding, it also comes with a lot of responsibility which often translates to you wearing ALL of the hats.

In the beginning, this can be manageable however, as your business starts to grow, so do the “growing pains”. There’s only so much time in a day and there’s only one of you!

Bringing someone onto payroll involves training costs, costs for additional office space, furniture, and supplies plus, don’t forget there are government rules and regulations to follow before and after you hire.

This is where having a Virtual Assistant could really come in handy. If you don’t have the funding to grow your company internally, a VA can provide you with the support your business needs at an external level.

What is a Virtual Assistant?

A Virtual Assistant is a real person. They are professionals who provide support to your business from a remote aka “virtual” location. They have their own equipment and space to work in. This means a VA could start working for you almost immediately with minimal cost.

What can Virtual Assistants do?

A Virtual Assistant can help in many ways but typically, they take on the mundane tasks, business maintenance, and customer service that company owners are often too busy to keep up with. This includes:

  • Filtering and responding to emails
  • Managing social media
  • Bookkeeping
  • Fielding and making phone calls
  • Appointment booking and tracking
  • Market research
  • And more

3 Ways A Virtual Assistant Can Help Grow and Scale Your Business

Now that you know what a Virtual Assistant is and the common tasks they perform, let’s talk about the many ways they can help your business scale and grow.

There are three stages to any business’s marketing funnel – customer acquisition, customer after care, and customer retention.

A Virtual Assistant can help you scale and grow your business at each level. Here’s how:

  1. Customer Acquisition

    At a lead generation and customer acquisition level, your VA can:

  • Create and manage your social media accounts.
  • Help you stay up to date with sales and promotions and website content.
  • Perform market research and competition tracking.
  • Help plan and organize events you might host to attract new clients.
  • Answer any emails that come in from potential customers and guide them towards booking an appointment with you (service business) or purchasing a product (e-commerce business).
  • Your VA can also help you form alliances with other businesses by reaching out to them on your behalf.

  1. Client follow up and after care

Once a customer has made a purchase, you want to ensure they are happy and this is also the best time to upsell and promote other services and products you have. You can use your VA to:

  • Contact your customer after the purchase or service to make sure they are happy.
  • Reach out for a customer review or testimonial.
  • Offer an upsell or friend referral incentive.

  1. Customer Retention

    A lot of businesses spend most of their time at the acquisition level but, customer retention is important for company sustainability and is something that shouldn’t be overlooked. Your VA can improve your retention rate by:

  • Reaching out to your customers when they are nearing the end of their product supply or coming close to needing service, to encourage purchasing or booking again.
  • Circulate blog posts, new content, newsletters, and more to help keep your existing clients in the loop.
  • Your VA can help spread the news to your existing clients whenever you have a sale or promotion. This will encourage repeat business and/or referrals.
  • You can create a customer appreciation event and have your VA spearhead it from start to finish.

Whether you use your virtual assistant to market your business, handle your books, or manage your emails, they can really help alleviate the stress and workload that so many small business owners face.

Ready to find the perfect VA for you? Here are some important things to consider:

Time Zones: Make sure that if there is a time zone differential, it’s compatible with your schedule and your company’s operating hours.

Languages Spoken: You want to make sure your VA can speak and write fluently in the languages you prefer. At HireMyMom, our site is primarily for N. America so English is the native language of job seekers.

Education, Experience, and Skills: You want to make sure that your VA is qualified for the tasks you need them to do. Graphic Design or Accounting? Customer Service or Ad Creation? It’s important to hire someone who is strong in the areas you need them most. You wouldn’t for example hire a sales and marketing VA to do your bookkeeping and accounting. Carefully screen your VA applicants and keep an open mind. They are there to help you after all. If you find you don’t have time or don’t care to go through the lengthy hiring process, check out the VIP Small Business Concierge package available to hand-select virtual professionals for you.

Tools: You may want to consider providing a useful assistant tool or two to maximize productivity and ensure all the necessary work can be completed on time.

At HireMyMom.com, we’ve had a lot of success matching employers and VA’s. Here’s what some of our happy employers have been saying:

“I have been a great fan of your service for many years. The quality of the people who I have found have been consistently exceptional, and at very affordable prices. I’ve also referred HireMyMom.com to many of my friends and colleagues, and will happily continue to do so.”  Paulette Ensign, Tips Products International

“I was able to grow my company with your service and were now in 5,000 stores. We have five moms with us. Always referring my friends who are business owners and telling them how smart these women are and amazing to work with.”   Chris-Tia Donaldson, Thank God Its Natural

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I submitted my request for a Web Guru to HireMyMom and I have to admit, I was blown away with the response. The quality of the applicants far exceeded my wildest expectations! It is very apparent that each applicant is highly qualified for my project. I am very excited to be working with such talented professionals. I am spreading the word to my business associates. HireMyMom.com is a real wealth of professional talent.”  Teri Hurley, Owner/Operator, Endless Love Travel

Are you ready to take the next step to help grow your business? Click here to post your job and find the perfect VA for you and your company.

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September 16, 2019

HireMyMom Success Story: Stephanie Brodt

Tell us a little about you and your experience finding work on HireMyMom. 
I found HireMyMom online through online research and immediately loved how they seemed so personal and safe. I especially appreciated that they were screening the potential jobs so I could feel confident that I was applying to legitimate opportunities.

What did you do previously? 
I had worked for corporate presidents and CEO’s as an Executive Assistant and Office Manger for 20+ years.

What is your top tip for landing a gig on HireMyMom.com?
I suggest that you check the site every day to find new opportunities and that you respond specifically to each one. No generic communications for anything.

What’s your favorite thing about HireMyMom.com?
The personalized and safe feel of the site.

What’s one fun or interesting fact about you?
I didn’t start working full-time virtually until the age of 48. No spring chick here!

 

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

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Written by
September 10, 2019

Resume Tips For Moms Rejoining the Workforce

Guest Post by Pauline Delaney, ResumeGenius.com

For stay-at-home moms, starting a new job search after being out of the workforce for a long time can feel intimidating — especially if you have little or no professional experience.

After all, you have to compete with candidates who have the advantage of years of uninterrupted career building. Standing out from the crowd and showing employers that you have what it takes isn’t easy.

Fortunately, there’s still plenty you can do to give yourself a competitive edge and lock down an interview.

Tailoring your resume to each position you apply for is one great way to edge out the competition and make your resume stand out. Most job seekers use one resume for everything, so making yours more relevant to each position will help you get noticed and demonstrate to employers that you’re a perfect fit.

You can also use a resume format that diverts attention from your employment gap. That will move the hiring manager away from your work history, and towards the aspects of your resume that more effectively market your talents — such as your skills section or resume objective.

Additionally, using a functional resume format, which highlights your skills, is an effective way to demonstrate to employers that, even though you haven’t recently held a job, you still have the relevant expertise.

For more information, this infographic breaks down five simple resume writing tips for stay-at-home moms who are looking to rejoin the workforce. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Written by
September 3, 2019

HireMyMom Success Story: Lauren Heiden

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

Hi! I am Lauren Heiden. I am 35 years old and have been married for 13 years.  We have two kids, and we live in Indiana. When we brought our son home from the hospital 8 years ago, I fully expected to go back to work at least part time; however, I quickly realized how attached I was to him and I just had to figure something out. My good friend had subscribed to HireMyMom.com and told me to join and see what I could find.

Praise the Lord I found a position within a week and I was so thankful to get to stay at home with my son! The income was going to cover a few bills and my husband and I believed this could work for us.  That position lasted for one year and it was great. When the project ended, I instantly got back on HireMyMom and found my second position within a week and I have held this same position for 7 years now. Using HireMyMom was a great experience. The interface is so user-friendly. I love that you can contact the hiring manager, and I feel like the employers already know that their candidates are honest, hard-working people… so that is out of the way and we can figure out if the job is a great match quickly.  Being home has been a dream!

 

What did you do previously?

I worked in Sales and Event Planning before becoming a stay at home mom. I have a Marketing degree and an MBA.  My concentration was always in sales and entrepreneurship.

 

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

Hop on the site every day, see if new postings are up. Apply for what fits you and follow up with the hiring manager if you haven’t heard back. There is a fine line of not being annoying but being bold enough to ask for the job. You can do it, momma! Go for what you want and need! And pray!

 

What’s your favorite thing about HireMyMom ?

I feel like I can trust the postings- I feel like HireMyMom screens the employers well enough that I can trust that the position is legit and worth looking into.

 

What’s one fun or interesting fact about you?

I am a mom from the Midwest. I am so blessed to get to spend every day with my kids. What a gift it is from the Lord. As much as I love being home with them, when I go for something, I really go for it. I have a favorite actor I follow in Hollywood and when I saw a casting call for a part in her movie she was producing a few states away from me, I applied, I got the “background” part and got to be on that movie set for a few days! The movie comes out this December.

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Want to be featured here as one of HireMyMom’s Success Stories?

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

If you are a Small Business / Employers, please use this form for Small Business Success Stories!

 

 

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August 26, 2019

Parenting vs Working: How to Create Work-Life Balance in Your Home-Based Business

Guest Post by Justin Chapman

Becoming a Virtual Assistant is often a choice made by parents who never want to miss the big moments in their children’s lives. One of the biggest struggles parents will face as a virtual professional is work-life balance. Often, as a Virtual Assistant or Virtual Professional, when you have a home office, you can easily get caught up working long hours because of your focus. As a professional, you want to get work done and saying to yourself “just another 10 minutes”, can quickly turn into another two hours. Conversations with your spouse can quickly turn into conversations about your new client or the project you are working on. Following the steps below can help you create work-life balance in your home-based business.

Schedule Your Hours

Flexibility in your hours is an attractive piece of becoming an at-home professional, but sometimes in that, you have to make sacrifices. These sacrifices can be made in your personal or professional life. If you have a tight deadline, you may have to sacrifice watching your child’s soccer game. If you can’t miss your mother’s birthday, then a couple of hours of work may have to be done early one morning. Knowing your schedule at least a week in advance will make you more productive.

Whether you are taking care of children, or visiting your parents, entrepreneurs will always have their business in the back of their minds. Having a schedule will create work-life balance. A schedule assists in reducing stress; knowing that you have eight uninterrupted hours tomorrow to get work done allows you to enjoy the night before with family or friends. Make sure you take advantage of a schedule, and put as much as you possibly can in it.

Design a Home Office

If you do not have a spare office with a door, you do not have to be a contractor to build one. Purchasing “hush panels” or office boards to section off even a small work area can make a massive difference. Many Virtual Assistants set up a computer in a multi-purpose room. It is important to have that room act as an office during your working hours, or to have your station sectioned off from the room.

Conversations about work need to happen in your office, even with your spouse. Don’t allow work-talk to take over every conversation in the house. If you want advice from your spouse or a friend on a project you are working on, bring them into your office. Ask questions where you can take notes or show them what you have created already. Practicing this will build a sense of separation and create work-life balance.

Get Organized and Set Goals

This is one of the best tips to help you answer the question: how to create work-life balance in your home-based business. If you have ever taken any at-home post-secondary courses, such as CanScribe’s Virtual Assistant Program, you know how important setting goals can be. When you have a project, you have one ultimate goal: complete the project.

Creating smaller goals will help you complete the project effectively. It can also help you schedule your time around your family. Make sure you know what goals you have and how long each task will take. Rather than just “doing work”, you are working effiectively and not wasting time. Similar to knowing your schedule, you are able to reduce stress and enjoy time with your family and friends because you know what needs to be done, how long it will take, and when you are working on it.

Creating a work-life balance is important to success both as a family member, and as a professional. Scheduling your hours, building an office, and keeping organized can help become successful at both. Focus on your family while keeping attention on your work priorities. These tips help show you how to create work-life balance in your home-based business.

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Written by
August 20, 2019

Complete Guide To Creating A Client Attracting Facebook Business Page

Social media can feel overwhelming and while it’s easy to get discouraged with things like algorithm changes, there is great value to be found in leveraging these platforms as a business owner.

A Facebook business page is one of them and yes the organic reach can be low but the reality is that as business owners, we must embrace the professional way of marketing: having an advertising budget and providing strong, consistent content. 

Before I dive into how to create a client attracting Facebook business page, let’s first address why it’s important:

  1. As with most social media platforms, a Facebook business page and the content on it, is indexed by Google where as your personal profile page is not. When someone searches for you or your business, your fan page will appear in Google search engine results. 
  2. While it’s tempting to use your personal page to market your business, it’s also a violation of Facebook’s terms to use your personal profile page for commercial gain. Some have even lost their accounts for this practice so it’s just not worth the risk. 
  3. Your business is seen as more professional with a business page. Consumers are becoming more savvy and want to research people and brands before doing business with them. Running a business from your personal profile can look sloppy and overwhelm your personal network, many of them are not even your ideal client.
  4. Facebook Insights. As a business owner, it’s important to analyze the data for the content you are creating on a regular basis. A Facebook business page provides detailed analytics for every post. How many people are seeing the posts on your personal profile page? Without Facebook insights you have no clue and therefore can’t measure what kind of content gets better reach in the feed. 
  5. Sponsored Ads. I know it can seem unfair as a small business owner to have to pay to have your content seen, but the reality is you are a business and if you want to market it the right way and reach the right audience you will need to have a budget for advertising. The beauty of a business page is you can target your ideal client for a very minimal budget (I will get into more of that later in this post) and grow a following of people who need and want your services, something your personal profile simply can’t do.  

So now that we have covered the reasons why it makes sense to grow a Facebook business page, let’s jump into the how!  

 

COMPLETE GUIDE TO CREATING A CLIENT ATTRACTING FACEBOOK BUSINESS PAGE

Your Facebook business page is tied to your personal account so you don’t need to create a whole new Facebook account for this (it actually goes against Facebook’s terms to have two accounts). Here is a step by step guide from Social Media Examiner on how to create a business page.

The focus of this article is how to properly brand your business page and strategies to market it so be sure to read this post in its entirety before setting up your page. 

 

Business Page Name. Ensure you are creating a page that makes sense for your business. Are you branding yourself personally or under a business name? Once you have determined that you can name your page. Take your time and keep in mind that Facebook is like a search engine and it will be indexed by Google, so think about keywords that need to go into your page name. 

For example, are you a graphic designer, virtual assistant or design websites? Include keywords into your page name – “Whitney Smith, Virtual Assistant” (if you are branding yourself personally) or “Twisted Vines Website Designs” (if you are branding under a business name)  

An important element to mention here is if you are creating a business page centered around your personal brand, to ensure you have your name in the page name. One of the biggest mistakes I see is people not including their name into their page name. 

For example, if someone searches for you they will most likely search for you by how they know you, your name, right? Without this piece of information in your Facebook page name people will not find you because they have no idea that you have branded yourself as the “Holistic Virtual Assistant” so ensure that the business page name includes how people know you “Tina Jones, Holistic Virtual Assistant” so you will pull up in the search results.

 

Complete Page Information. Take the time to complete all of the info related to your business page: upload a professional photo, create a cover photo for your page (you can easily do this for free with done-for-you templates in Canva), about section, hours, website, etc. It’s important to share your story, what drives your passion, your experiences and expertise. 

Spend time on this and put some thought into it. This is like meeting someone for the first time so make that first virtual impression count!

 

Creating Content. The content on your business page should be 80% value based that will resonate with your ideal client and 20% about your products and/or services. Create blog content regularly to share valuable information that positions you as an expert in your niche, create free offers to help you build an email list, share quote graphics your audience would resonate with, helpful tutorials, etc.

Creating content for your business page shouldn’t be a stressful so don’t over think it trying to come up with perfect posts, just share from your heart with the goal of serving others.

 

Facebook Ads. As you create content for your business page, you can boost those posts to target followers who will find the information useful and attract the right people to your page. 

For example, share a helpful blog post and boost it once a week for $10-$15. You don’t have to spend a ton of money on ads for it to be effective. By driving traffic to your blog, you can grow your email list while getting new eyes on your business page at the same time to attract new followers. 

Of course the more you spend on the ad the more people you can reach and the more results you will have but test this strategy out with a low budget first to ensure that you like the results before spending more. A post that does well you can always boost over and over to spend more. 

Here’s a tip: Stretch your sponsored post out over 14-21 days v. boosting it for only 1 day. Facebook will actually show it to more people when it’s stretched out over a period of time, meaning you will get more bang for your buck. 

 

Consistency. While experts like to say how many times per day is ideal when posting, I find that quality definitely rules over quantity so find what works for you. If you can commit to posting once per day with good quality content, great but if you find that overwhelming, at the very least try to be consistent 3 times per week. 

Here are some tips to help you create consistent content for your business page:

  • Facebook has a separate app to manage business pages, Facebook Pages Manager. You can view your insights, boost posts and schedule content. Find what works for you to sit down for 30 minutes on Monday mornings and schedule out your content for the entire week. That way it’s done and you don’t have to think about it for the rest of the week except to check on your posts for comments, likes and shares so you can respond. 

You can find the Facebook Pages Manager app in your iTunes or Google Play Store.

 

Create A Marketing Plan. Write down all your favorite resources, blogs, etc. to pull relevant content from while you work to create your own. For example, if you are a logo designer you can pull articles from some of your favorite bloggers about why having a logo for a business is important or why branding is an important aspect of logo creation. Relevant articles like this help to edify what you do as a logo designer.  

Having a marketing plan you can refer to allows you to sit down and schedule out your content more quickly because you don’t have to think about where to find good content to share.

It’s important to be consistent so don’t go days without posting to your business page. It requires hard work and consistency but it’s all worth it to share your God given talents and grow your business for the long term. 

 

Ask questions. With the more recent Facebook updates, they are favoring posts that ask questions to promote engagement and spark conversations so think about how you can get your audience talking. 

People love to give their opinions so for example, maybe you are working on a new logo design for your Etsy shop and you have two variations you are trying to decide on. Put it to a vote on your business page! This is a subtle way of showing off your skills while valuing the thoughts of your followers.

 

Quote Cards. Quote graphics are very popular on social media and can be a great way to brand yourself and your business. The key is to be consistent with your design and to create graphics that resonate with your followers. 

At HireMyMom.com, our audience is primarily moms so the quote graphics we create are faith inspired or poking fun at motherhood as that is what resonates with our followers. 

So think about what kind of quote graphics you can create that will set your brand apart on not only your Facebook business page but Instagram and Pinterest as content like this can be used on multiple platforms. 

 

Go Live. Facebook is giving live video 6x’s the organic reach than regular posts so this can be a great strategy for your business when you focus on how you can give value that centers on how to solve a problem for your audience. 

For example, if you are a virtual assistant, think about how you could create value around something that your ideal client struggles with. Maybe they are having a hard time learning MailChimp. Give them a quick tutorial on how to create a list and send a newsletter. 

This shows your followers that you know what you are doing and yes, some will watch your tutorial and feel empowered to do it themselves and that’s okay. You were a blessing to that person while others will watch your video and say to themselves “Yeah, okay, I totally do not have the time to do all of that so I really need to reach out to her and find out what her pricing is to do it for me” and that right there is why giving value regularly on social media is so important. It’s one thing to tell people you are a great virtual assistant but it’s much more powerful to show them!

Were these tips helpful in creating a client attracting Facebook business page? Be sure to share it with other hard working mompreneurs and I would love to hear from you so please contact me with comments or questions. 

Need a word of encouragement to help you in your business building journey? I pray you take these words to heart today for God truly does want to see you prosper! “Submit to God and be at peace with Him; in this way prosperity will come to you.” Job 22:21

Looking for a community that can give you support, training and more job leads or even help you set up your own Facebook Business Page? Check out more of what HireMyMom.com has to offer. Click HERE. 

 

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August 12, 2019

HireMyMom Success Story: Amanda Smith

Tell us a little about you and your experience on HireMyMom.

My background and degree are in sales and marketing. When I had my children I chose to come home to be with them. When my 2nd child was entering pre-school I missed working in the marketing field so I began searching for ways I could work from home. I stumbled upon HireMyMom.com in 2014. I noticed at this time that the trend for marketing was leaving traditional advertising methods and becoming more for social media. I started learning everything I could about social media advertising and established my own consulting business. In 2015, I turned to HireMyMom.com to look for clients and landed a job with a small company located across the USA. I kept this account for over a year before they chose to use different advertising methods. After my success, I told a friend about HireMyMom.com and she ended up landing a part-time job as well that after a year turned into a full-time managerial position. Last year I got the idea to start a blog to help women find ways to work from home and share my experience. You can read more at www.livingthatwahmlife.com.

What did you do previously? 

I was an Advertising Sales Representative for 8 years prior to coming home with my children.

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

My greatest recommendation is to have a stellar resume and cover letter that sells yourself. Believe in your abilities and make them believe in you too.

What’s your favorite thing about HireMyMom.com?

My favorite part about HireyMyMom.com is the job postings are legit and there are no scams to worry about. Most of the employers know they are hiring moms and understand they will be working around a flexible schedule.

What’s one fun or interesting fact about you?

I love to travel and have studied abroad in England. I have visited probably half of the USA but have more places on my bucket list. My dream job would be to be a travel blogger once my children become adults.
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August 5, 2019

10 Ways A Mompreneur Can Kickstart Her Business

Before we dive in, you may wonder why momentum matters in running a home-based business. As a mompreneur, momentum increases your belief, solidifies your confidence and assures that you are taking the right action steps to fulfill the mission and vision of your business. 

Maintaining momentum in spite of your obstacles and setbacks is essential to keeping you motivated while allowing you to recover from those situations and circumstances easier and more quickly. 

Here are my top 10 ways a mompreneur can kickstart her business:

 

1.RE-EVALUATE

To give your business a good kick in the pants, spend some time thinking about what has worked in your business the last 90-120 days and what hasn’t. You can’t expect to keep doing the same things that aren’t creating results you want. Yes, this will require some self reflection and honesty. If your goal is to make $5,000 per month in your business but you are spending 10-15 hours a week on actual revenue generating activities (sorry, scrolling social media every week may feel like you are working but it’s not exactly a revenue generating activity) then it’s time to admit those goals and actions steps don’t align with one another. 

With that said, now is not the time to beat yourself up over it. It’s a fresh start to make a new plan and get moving in the right direction. 

 

  1. KNOW AND LIVE YOUR PRIORITIES

Life gets crazy especially for us moms. Add a business into the mix and things can quickly spiral out of control. You probably won’t be able to achieve perfect balance in your life and you don’t need to but you can stay grounded through it by knowing and living your priorities. 

Instead of having a mile long to-do list every day that overwhelms you from the time you wake up until the time you go to bed, set your intentions for the day by what qualifies as a priority. By knowing and living by your priorities each day, you’ll improve your focus, keep your sanity and be more present for what matters most. The results will not only increase your productivity but decrease frustration and mom guilt. 

 

  1. GET FEEDBACK

As you work to kickstart your business, ask people you know and trust for feedback. A fresh set of eyes can help point out copy on your website, for example, that makes perfect sense to you because you wrote it but it’s not coming across well for someone who is not that familiar with what you do. Constructive feedback can be a great asset to you as you work to create new products, freshen up your social media and website before you start working on those areas so you know exactly where to focus your time and energy. 

This can be a hard exercise to go through. It can feel scary to open yourself up to people’s opinions, I get that but it will also prove to be invaluable. The goal is to help you figure out what works in your business and areas that need improvement so you can reach your goals. 

Some of the feedback will be good and some of it won’t be and why it’s important to have a plan on how to sort through and how to handle it. Here are some quick tips to make this process as positive as possible: 

  • Start by thanking the person for their insight and honesty. Those who give you negative feedback probably won’t be expecting you to thank them but by doing so you will earn even more respect and appreciate their honesty even though it was probably uncomfortable for them to do so. 
  • Don’t take it to heart. Just because someone criticizes an aspect of your business doesn’t mean they hate everything. You asked for their help so take it for what it is, something that you need to look into further and look at with a fresh perspective. Nothing more. 
  • Ask questions. Is there something you could do better? Do they have suggestions for improvements?  You never know what helpful solutions someone would share if you take the time to ask some simple questions. 

 

  1. CREATE A PLAN

It may sound cliche but “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail” is a very true statement. As a mompreneur, you have to know what generates leads, results and revenue for your business (and what doesn’t). Don’t put it off, create a plan today around those activities and commit to them every day without fail. Keep your plan on your desk, in your day planner, set a calendar alert each morning to help keep you from distractions, wake up an hour early if you need to before the house is filled with chaos so you can focus and feel accomplished going into your day. The point is to find what works for you and stay committed to it. 

If you are struggling with this part of your business, check out our post 10 Strategies To Land Your First Client to help you create a plan around activities that will help kickstart your business. 

 

  1. TURN UP THE SOCIAL MEDIA

Have you been using social media the last few months to its full potential? Your ideal client is out there and they need what you have to offer but they have to be able to find you. You don’t need to master every platform either. Leverage your strengths and put them to work for you. 

Love doing live video? Use Facebook live to give tips, a how-to that can solve a problem for your client (when they realize they don’t want to do it, they can reach out and hire you!), create a blog post with a tutorial and share it on your social media pages. Whatever route you choose, the goal is to be consistent. You can’t expect to show up on your social media pages once a month and have potential clients flooding your in-box. 

Instagram is a great tool for networking, creating a community and collaborating. Be sure to check out these practical tips for leveraging Instagram. 

 

  1. CREATE A WEBSITE

If you aren’t generating enough leads in your business and don’t have a website, it’s probably time to start one. It doesn’t have to be complicated and you don’t have to spend thousands designing one. There are great platforms out there like Wix and Squarespace that are user friendly and can help get you started quickly to showcase your work, client testimonials, products and portfolio. Having a platform to market is important to your overall success. 

If you have a website, maybe it’s time to take it up a notch by freshening it up, add a new blog post, client feedback, project examples and create a freebie that can help build an email list. 

 

  1. COLLABORATIONS

To kick start a business there is nothing like forming great partnerships and collaborations to help you do that. Reach out to fellow mompreneurs in your field and ask them if there are ways you can support them and feature them in exchange for the same courtesy. I believe in being blessed to be a blessing and when we support others, it comes back ten fold. 

Make this a regular thing on social media. For example, every Monday you could do #MompreneurMonday where you feature another mompreneur to highlight in your Instagram stories or #FeatureFriday where you feature a mompreneur and a cool project she is working on. If you do logo design work, reach out to a website designer at the beginning of the week and let her know that you are working on a #FeatureFriday post and would love to highlight one of her projects. Ask if she would be willing to do the same for you and feature one of your logo designs. Be intentional and set a time for the two of you to post on Friday so you know there is a mutual commitment (morning posts seem to do better than afternoon or evening posts).  

You will find collaborations like this can be a great way to support others and get exposure for your business too. As a bonus tip, on Fridays you can also use the #FridayIntroductions hashtag. Whatever you decide, be creative and have fun with it!

 

  1. FEATURE YOUR PREVIOUS PROJECTS

Don’t be shy about showcasing your work. Once a week create a post on social media to share a project you worked on for a client. Share some fun facts about the project and give your client a shout out in the process by tagging their Facebook page and Instagram accounts. 

 

  1. SPECIAL PRICING

To give your business a kickstart, put together some quick products and services you can offer for a special price. The key is to create urgency by giving the special pricing an end date. “Now through the end of August, I am helping eCommerce clients get started or rebrand with a custom logo for $_____ but this special pricing is only good through _________ {end date}.”

You are probably not the only business owner out there who needs to give their business a jump start and special pricing with a limited time offer could be exactly what your potential client needs to take action. 

 

  1. HIREMYMOM

Did you know for the past 12 years HireMyMom has been helping freelancing women and moms just like you find quality, legitimate work from home jobs and clients? By joining our community, you can confidently share your skills and look for high quality positions and clients as well as have access to more training and resources to help you build your business. Click HERE to learn more about what we have to offer and become a member today.  

 

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