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May 10, 2021

A Quarter of Businesses Fail for this Reason : How to Avoid this Trap

As a small business owner, you have the heart of an entrepreneur. You are passionate about your business, driven, and willing to do anything to see it succeed. But, the sad truth is that many companies fail. According to Business Insider, more than 50% of new businesses fail in the first five years.

The owners of the failed businesses were also dedicated, passionate and driven. But, about a quarter of them had one thing in common–they didn’t have the right team in place.

To be sure, businesses fail for a variety of reasons. Common issues include product concerns, cash flow issues, or lack of demand. And, indeed, many businesses have been ravaged by the economic fall out of COVID-19. But, statistics show that staffing issues are a leading cause of business failure.

While that figure may seem daunting, with the proper perspective, knowledge about staffing options, and the right plan, you can take steps to ensure that staffing issues don’t sink your business.

 

The Right Team Can Help Your Business Soar

As you launch your business, it’s tempting to want to do everything yourself. This instinct is understandable. After all, you are passionate about your business. You care deeply about its success, and you know you’ll work hard at any and all tasks. What’s more, it’s challenging to spend money on staff when your work is in the start-up phase.

But, even the most talented entrepreneur needs help and support with some tasks. It makes sense for you to focus on the things you do best and the things that will make your business succeed.

To free up the time and headspace needed to do that, outsource tasks that aren’t central to your core business to specialists. For example, social media can be tough to do well. But, a social media manager can help. The same goes for bookkeeping or taxes. 

Other tasks just take time, and that’s time you could spend on your business. For example, routine administrative work like calendar management or travel booking can eat up large portions of your day, keeping you away from the work that will help your business succeed.

As you start your business, remember that you don’t need to focus on mastering every task. As the executive and founder, your focus belongs on the core business and making it succeed.

 

Build a Team

There are a lot of methods for building a team as you start and grow your business. You certainly don’t need to source a full-time, on-site staff right out of the gate.

Freelance specialists and virtual employees are an excellent resource for you. Here’s how each works:

 

Freelance Resources

A freelancer or contractor is someone with particular expertise who can join your team as an independent contractor. Businesses can use freelancers on an ongoing basis, for specific projects, or for a set amount of time. Some freelancers have several clients, and sometimes they just have one or two. 

Much of the available freelance talent is comprised of people–often mothers of young and school-age children–with deep business experience, extensive subject knowledge, and a need for flexibility. In many cases, a desire to better balance home and family life leads to a freelance career. These top-notch professionals can provide expertise and expertly fill your needs.

Freelancers are self-employed and work on a project-based basis. So, you don’t need to make long-term commitments as an employer. As contractors, freelancers pay their own payroll taxes and other expenses.

 

Virtual Employees

If you are looking for a more traditional team member, a virtual or remote employee might fit the bill. This is a good option if you are ready to take on an employee but not ready to rent office space or provide some of the other office life trappings. If your business is located in an area where it’s tough to find people with the right skill set, this is a great option. 

You can find virtual employees who are looking for full and part-time work. Generally, people looking for remote work opportunities are doing so to find a better work/life balance. 

When you hire employees, you cover payroll taxes and other associated expenses.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has set guidelines for determining if someone is an employee or an independent contractor. 

Both are excellent options and can help your business grow and thrive.

 

Top Reasons to Use Freelancers or Virtual Staff

There are several reasons that freelance and virtual talent are an excellent option for your growing business.

  • Quality. The quality of freelance and virtual talent that’s available is genuinely remarkable. Whatever your need, you can find a dedicated, driven, experienced person to help you on a freelance basis or as a virtual team member.
  • Flexibility. Freelancers and virtual staff are used to doing what it takes to get the job done and offer flexibility in skills, hours, and costs.
  • Logistics. Freelance and virtual staff often provide their own computers, office supplies, and space. 
  • Availability. When you hire freelance resources and virtual team members, you aren’t limited by geography to find expertise and support. You can find and hire a team member who’s located anywhere with good internet access. 

 

How to Get Started

The first step is to determine the type of help you need. To do this:

  • Consider the needs of your business and make a list of the tasks that must be done.
  • Put a star next to those activities where you have the expertise, time, and passion for doing the job well.
  • Draw a circle around those that don’t make sense for you to do. 
  • Make a list of the tasks you’d like to assign out and consider what type of help you need to accomplish them.

 

Find a Talent Partner

Using a platform like HireMyMom.com is a great way to source qualified candidates who are specifically looking for remote and contract work. HireMyMom has helped thousands of small businesses find the perfect candidate for their business while helping place thousands of mom professionals in their dream jobs. You can save time and money by turning to a site dedicated to connecting driven mom professionals with small businesses. 

When you post a job on HireMyMom, you’ll find a community of dedicated, professional women who are actively seeking opportunities with like-minded employers. When you post your job, you’ll quickly have access to a wide array of qualified candidates who will be dedicated to helping your business succeed and grow. The site attracts job seekers from across the country with various specialized skill sets and a desire to work hard for you.

If the prospect of a nationwide search daunts you, consider our concierge service to help reduce the amount of leg work you need to do. HireMyMom’s Concierge service was created for busy entrepreneurs and small business owners, like you, who need to hire help but don’t have the time or desire to go through the time-consuming process. With our full-service Concierge service, our HR Specialists will do it all for you from start to finish and present you with the top candidate(s). 

Visit HireMyMom.com/employers to start building your dream team.

 

 

 

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May 3, 2021

How to Accomplish More: Organization Tools and Hacks for Work from Home Moms

There is no one trick pony to being a mom, because let’s be honest with ourselves—motherhood is no perfect equation. Over the history of time and the long evolving course of motherhood however, some ancestral knowledge has been passed down from generation to generation. These “wives tales”, in combination with modern technology capabilities, can be used by modern moms to take on the day, and slay any dragons that might come their way. Here are some of the top insider tips we have allocated that can serve as mother’s little helpers.

 

Top All Around Tips and Tricks

All help is good help, and these tricks are passed down to help cut down time wasted so that you are efficient throughout the day, or god willing—maybe even able to have a moment to yourself.

Meal prep: Defrost meat in the fridge, cut up veggies, shred cheese, and do all the preparation needed for your family meal the night before or in the morning. That way when you get up in the morning you can easily assemble everything into a pan to throw back into the fridge or a crock pot— and then dinner is served whenever you are ready.

Make a to-do list: Create a to-do list the night before so you know what you need to tackle the next day and can hit the ground running when you wake up. Having a written record can help to remind you when you get distracted, something that happens easily with children around. With the ability to keep on task your day will be more efficient, and what is more—a study by professors Baumeister and Masicampo from Wake Forest University showed that, while tasks we haven’t done distract us, just making a plan to get them done can free us from this anxiety. Less anxiety is always a good thing as a mother.

Set healthy boundaries: Say yes to the things you can do, but remember to allow yourself to say no or not now to the things you really can’t take on. Don’t spread yourself too thinly to the point where you don’t have time for yourself or your family. Because “mom” is often synonymous with the word “superhero”, a mother has a tendency to try and take it all on. Remember that the best version of yourself is the best for your family, so take the time you need to when necessary.

Create a family organization hub: This can be shared notes on your phone for frequently needed items, or if your kids are younger, this can be a white board or note pad. The lists can include functional things such as shopping lists, or even be a space to share creative thoughts. Centralizing this in a place that is a common traffic area, such as the kitchen or the mud room, makes it available to everyone to have access to it. You can also couple this with a digital calendar that allows you to invite family members to the clan’s various extracurricular events. This allows for every member of the family to post their events and highlight the ones that are special to them. It also helps to put appointments on the calendar, with reminders, so no one forgets important dates. 

 

Modern Day Motherly Applications

If  as a mother you find yourself asking: “Is there an app for that?”—then the answer is yes. Here are some of the more useful apps we have found for moms that need a little technological assistance. 

Delegating duties: TaskRabbit is an online marketplace that will connect you to helpers that can do everyday tasks. Their helpers can assist you with moving tasks, handyman help around the house, gardening, or any other errands or responsibilities you might need assistance with.

Planning proficiency: Cozi is an organizer designed for families, and a game changer when it comes to being a mom with a plan. It can help coordinate schedules, grocery lists, activities, to do lists, and facilitate communication for the entire family. Cozi is one of the best calendar apps for moms because they have truly thought of everything that goes into a mother’s day.

Mom matchmaker:  Peanut is the ultimate app for moms to meet moms. It connects mothers in your geographic area with similar interests. Referred to as “Tinder for Moms”, Peanut can help you meet other moms similar to you or maybe even needing help with some similar challenges you are facing.

Splendid savings: Ibotta is a cashback app that helps you save money on groceries, beer, wine, pharmacy, clothing, beauty & wellness products, restaurants, home & electronics items, and travel. You simply scan your receipts and earn cash back. What a beautiful world we live in when we can get cash back on wine. 

No one ever said that motherhood was easy, but it has always been a worthwhile endeavor. Balancing the many roles, tasks, and extraneous superhero responsibilities is no small feat either, so as they say “work smarter, not harder”. Whether you’re a new mother, a seasoned one, a single one, or an expecting one—we hope these tips will help you in your honorable maternal journey. 

 

 

 

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April 26, 2021

What is a Virtual Assistant? And Why Smart Business Owners Use Them

Imagine a world where you focus on growing your business, and all your administrative, technical, and customer service tasks are cared for by capable and dedicated hands. If this scenario sounds like an unachievable nirvana, you’ve likely never heard of a virtual assistant. Virtual assistants (VA) can save the day–and your sanity. Knowing how to find and use VAs can change your life as an entrepreneur and help you take your business to the next level.

 

Why Use a VA

As you start and grow your business, it’s easy to fall into the trap of doing it all. You manage your calendar, pitch products, book travel, invoice clients, monitor your social media–all of it. But that’s neither sustainable nor advisable. First of all, you can’t be an expert in everything. Even if you are an expert in things as varied as social media, accounting, and marketing, managing it all is too much for one person who is focused on launching and growing a business. 

Recognizing that you need help and finding it is not a failure. Rather, it’s a way to set yourself up for success. Recognizing the need to outsource tasks, such as those that are administrative, technical, or generally outside your wheelhouse, is a sign of growth and commitment to your business. By outsourcing tasks that distract you from the core work of growing your business, you are showing your commitment to success in the areas that matter by focusing on what’s important and the things that make your business great.

 

More about VAs

VA’s are a real game-changer for many entrepreneurs because they can save you so much time and hassle as you scale your business. Often, VA’s have their own computers and other office resources. Some VA’s work for more than one client on a part-time basis and others work for a single client.

And, they commonly participate in support networks to continue learning and growing. Many have extensive contacts within the VA world if you find you need additional or focused support. 

There are two main types of VA’s. General VA’s can help in a wide variety of areas and those with a specialty within an industry or specific tasks. 

 

General VAs

A general VA is often a jack-of-all-trades who can help you with various tasks across categories. Think of this person as your day-to-day go-to resource to get things done. 

If you think of a traditional office, the general VA is like an executive assistant. The person who functions as the nerve center of the office, keeping people and projects on track. They can offer on-demand support, just how and when you need it. For example, general virtual assistants often perform:

  • Administrative tasks, including:
    • Managing your email and calendar
    • Arranging travel 
    • Performing receptionist duties (including answers calls, which are easily transferred to any phone in the world)
    • Managing files (including creating a file management system)
    • Taking minutes in meetings
    • Planning  events 
    • Issuing invitations
    • Entering data 
    • Creating reports and slideshows for presentations
    • Running personal errands, such as online shopping for holiday and birthday gifts
    • Answering support tickets
    • Transcribing voicemails, podcasts, or video content
    • Building databases
    • Maintaining mailing lists
    • Booking appointments
    • Entering CRM updates
    • Creating and managing spreadsheets
    • Updating web site pages
    • Creating PDFs, forms, and templates
    • Conducting basic research
    • Recruiting other resources, as needed
    • Serving as a liaison between you and other team members
  • Technology services, including:
    • Training team members to use new and existing software
    • Managing software
  • Customer Service tasks, including
    • Responding to customer emails and calls
    • Sending routine messages, like birthday wishes and reminders
    • Identifying trends from customer emails and calls and bringing them to your attention
  • Marketing and Social Media activities, including
    • Setting up, managing, and updating social media accounts
    • Creating large email lists
    • Testing and sending email blasts
    • Setting up Autoresponders
    • Publishing blog posts, managing comments, and replying to comments
  • Basic Financial tasks, including:
    • Bookkeeping
    • Invoicing
    • Entering receipts
    • Managing accounts receivable

 

Speciality VAs

A specialized VA possesses specific skills and know-how in a distinct area or industry. A specialist VA is more of a resource for particular projects or elements of your business. If you think of a general VA as an executive assistant or office manager, the specialty VA is more like a department head–the person with deep knowledge about a specific function or area.

Some Specialty VAs often focus on an industry, like real estate. However, many have deep expertise in a specific area, such as:

  • Social media
  • Research
  • eCommerce
  • Marketing 
  • Accounting/bookkeeping
  • Content creation and editing (written, audio, and video) 
  • Graphics (Design and photography)
  • Project management services
  • Mobile app development

Specialized assistants can complete more complicated and in-depth tasks within the specialized area. For example, a general VA can post a Tweet or update Instagram. A specialist can help with more in-depth work, such as embedding SEO words into posts.

Sometimes a general VA and a specialist work together. For example, a specialized VA with a background in web development or graphic design can create new material that a general VA can update and tweak over time.

 

Can One VA Do it All?

No. As you can see from the lists above, one VA–even the best VA available–can’t do all of these things. So, the trick is knowing what you need in a VA, writing the job description that covers your needs, and finding the person–or people–that you need.

VAs are so flexible. It’s easy to staff up and down, based on your needs. 

 

How to Get Started

VA’s can be remote employees or independent contractors who work from home. Both models work well depending on your needs. 

The first step is to determine the work you want the VA to complete. This thinking creates a scope of work and helps clarify what you’d like to have completed, outlines the timeframe, and estimates the number of hours needed to complete the project. 

Once you assess the scope of work, consider the type of VA you need, a contractor or an employee. If you have several needs, you may need a combination of resources to fill your needs.

For example, depending on your workload, you may want to bring a general VA on as an employee. You may also want to find a specialized VA to create your website and another specialized VA to build out your marketing plan. Because these are both shorter-term needs, a freelance resource may make more sense for those roles.

If you aren’t sure who qualifies as an employee and who qualifies as a contractor, here’s a handy rule of thumb: 

  • You pay independent contractors for the result of their work. You don’t have control over how, when, or where they do the job.
  • You pay employees for the result of the work and the ability to control how the job is done.

Usually, independent contractors are in a different business than your own. For example, freelancers, like artists, editors, and writers, are often independent contractors. Independent contractors can also include outside companies doing work for you on an ongoing basis. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has set guidelines for determining if someone is an employee or an independent contractor. 

 

How to Find Your VA

With a good handle on what type of support you need, the next step is to create a job that highlights the skill set you need. Outline the tasks you want the VA to perform, detail the working conditions (onsite, virtual), and clarify your expectations for hours.

Expect to pay between $15 and $45 an hour, depending on the skills and experience you need to complete your tasks. 

Then, post your job on HireMyMom and relax while resumes for good candidates arrive in your inbox. Once you’ve narrowed the field, set up interviews, choose a candidate, check references and make a job offer. 

 

Why Use HireMy Mom

HireMyMom.com is a great place to find a VA that is right for all your needs for three reasons:

  • HireMyMom has exclusive partnerships with three top-rated VA training programs, creating a deep bench of talented professionals who visit the site looking for opportunities.
  • When you post your job, you’ll quickly have access to a wide array of qualified candidates who will be dedicated to helping your business succeed and grow. The site attracts job seekers from across the country with various specialized skill sets and a desire to work hard for you.
  •  HireMyMom’s Concierge service can streamline the process for you. The service was created for busy entrepreneurs and small business owners, like you, who need to hire help but don’t have the time or desire to go through the time-consuming process. With our full-service Concierge service, our HR Specialists will do it all for you from start to finish and present you with the top candidate(s). 

 

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April 19, 2021

Employer Success Story: Danielle Levy

What is your top advice for small business owners looking to hire remote talent? 

Take the time to write down and understand what you need and then focus on who. This means the actual tasks, skills, important cultural and logistical fit, and understand the manager’s style.

What are your top tips for candidates looking to land a job or client(s) on HireMyMom?

Be authentic in your presentation of skills, current situation, and what you are passionate about. That energy will come through in your profile and your interviews.

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

Spend time forming relationships with team members.

Why did you decide to use HireMyMom for your hiring needs?

Being a mom myself, I knew that I knew how to get the work and had the skills for many positions that I was turned down for.  I struggled when my kids were young to find the employer that would trust my commitment level if they gave me the opportunity with some flexibility.

What piece of advice do you wish someone had given you at the start of your business career? 

Have confidence in my own skills and journey.  Everything will happen right on time if I keep moving forward. It’s ok to put my computer down and not to be a martyr. Fresh air, exercise, and good food choices are worth the time because they fuel my body and therefore my business.

What do you see as your greatest success in life? 

(My children….obviously!!) Aside from that is finding my way from “traditional corporate” to entrepreneur while managing my household and graduate school being a sole breadwinner.  I will never take a moment of free time, flexibility with my schedule, or penny in my bank account for granted.

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

I walked out of graduate school midway through a lecture on opportunity cost. Literally walked out mid class and it took me 10 years to return. The cost of time of staying in school was too high as the opportunities in my career were what I was craving. I’m glad that I went back but I have never regretted that walk out.

 

 

 

Want to be one of our Featured Employer Success Stories? Click here for our form. 

Looking to hire a virtual professional for your business? Click here for more info!

 

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April 12, 2021

Ready, Set, Sizzle! How to Plan Your Summer of Fun and Relaxation Now

Summer is around the corner. If you’re a working mom–especially a work-from-home mom, it’s time to make a plan. 

The prospect of planning a summer’s worth of activities is always daunting. But, let’s take a minute to acknowledge that it’s more complicated than usual this year. In many parts of the country, COVID-19 led to school disruptions for all or part of the school year. What’s more, many locations remain in restricted mode due to COVID infections. So, some typical summer activities, like in-person camps, are still up-in-the-air in many places. Understandably, different families have different perspectives on what activities are safe or will be in June. 

All that said, summer is still coming. And, if we ever needed a collective chance to exhale and have fun, it’s this summer. Here are my best tips for considering your options for work and play and making a plan that works for you and your family. 

 

Grab Your Calendar

When you work at home, a summer plan is the key to success, and the first step is mastering the calendar. Map out your summer by:

  • Confirming school start and end dates.
  • Crossing off any dates that you know are already taken with family commitments, vacations, visits, or sports. 
  • Identifying weeks that are likely to be extra busy based on professional obligations, personal commitments, or deadlines. 

 

Think About What You Want

Next, it’s time to think about your desires for the summer. It’s been a long road, and prioritizing yourself now can pay dividends in the long run. There’s no shame in carving out some personal time. Consider:

  • How are you feeling after this crazy pandemic year?
  • What are your goals for the summer?
  • Do you want to work more to make up lost ground? Or are you interested in working less? If so, is it feasible?
  • How do you want your schedule to work? 
  • What are your child care needs?

 

Talk With Your Family

Start by checking-in with your spouse to set goals and discuss summer plans more fully. Then, ask your kids how they’d like to spend the summer. Creating a summer bucket list is a fun way to start this conversation. Identify the “must-do” items you all agree that want to fit in this summer. 

As you generate the list, include a wide variety of experiences that range from big goals, like going on vacation, to smaller goals, like having family game nights. If you expect to have child care for the summer, mix in some options that take advantage of that help. For example, a goal to visit each park in your town or visiting six different parks in one day can make for fun and focused activities for your child care provider.

 

Find Child Care

Now that you have a better sense of how the summer may unfold, it’s time to source the proper child care. Luckily, summer can offer a wide variety of options, from private care to camps. Here are some ideas to consider.

  • Enlist family members to help. If you have local family members who are willing to step in and help with child care, reach out and sign them up now. The sooner, the better to get on other people’s calendar. This is a low-cost way to know that your kids are in good hands. However, some people find it stressful to have family members managing child care. So, weigh the pros and cons before you commit to this approach to child care, especially if you need a lot of help this summer. 
  • Hire a high school or college student to work as a nanny. Many students are looking for summer jobs, and taking care of younger kids is often a popular option. While this may be more expensive than some other options, it can be economical if you have several children. In addition, it tends to offer the most flexibility and gives you the most control over virus exposure since your child care bubble is small.
  • Form a co-op with other families. If you have schedule flexibility and are willing to share child-care duties with another family, a co-op arrangement may be right for you. In this scenario, you and like-minded families will trade-off child care duties based on an agreed-upon schedule. This keeps costs down and provides built-in playmates for your kids. However, it does require you to do some extra work in coordinating and caring for additional children for a portion of the summer. 
  • Sign up for summer day camp. Day camps are a tried and true part of summer child care. They are often offered locally by a wide variety of groups. In many cases, the kids stay outside and busy or are deeply engaged in activities they enjoy. It also creates large blocks of the day for you to work. On the flip side, availability can be limited, prices vary, and getting out the door each day can create some crazy mornings.
  • Send the kids to a trustworthy overnight camp. A week (or more) of summer camp can be the perfect solution for some families. Going away to camp offers a great experience for kids, lets them build new social muscles (vital after a year with limited or interrupted school), and meet new friends. It also gives you and your spouse a short vacation from active parenting so you can pause and get refreshed and maybe even take a real couple’s vacation. Or, if you have a week that looks extra busy at work, an overnight camp can help make that week easier for you. However, it can be an expensive option, and some camps may be operating on a limited basis. 
  • Consider summer school. After a crazy COVID year, summer school might be an excellent way to stem learning loss. It can also be a low-cost way to keep kids busy while you work. Check with your local school district to determine what they are planning for the summer term and who is eligible to attend. Many schools plan to offer expanded summer school options this year, and the sessions are often free or very low-cost. Many children may welcome the break from Zoom school and the sense of normalcy that comes from going to school, even if the season seems out-of-sync.

Share Your Ideas!

The long days and warm nights of summer will be here before you know it. Enjoy the process of planning for your summer. Please drop me a line and let me know how you will enjoy summer this year.

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April 7, 2021

5 Ways Moms Can Delegate to Get More Done

Guest post by: Michelle Laurey

Work-at-home moms often face the unique challenge of balancing work needs with household management. Childcare, meal preparation, and household chores can eat into your work time if you are not careful.

If you postpone chores to finally get some work done, then the house is in disarray.

It doesn’t have to be like this!

Next time you’re struggling to balance your work and home life, try these five tips to delegate your workload.

 

1. Split Up the Chores

Your spouse and older children can each take on their own responsibilities around the house.

Delegating the household workload helps you focus more time and energy on your business.

Use the following tips to successfully delegate chores:

  • Assign one task to one person. Whether it’s loading the dishwasher, putting away laundry, or writing out a shopping list, designate a single person to be in charge. Sharing tasks can cause confusion about who is doing what and when.
  • Set goals and deadlines. Assign different tasks to different days of the week so everyone knows when they need to finish their chores. Plan errands and shopping around your schedule, and choose times when fewer people are out.
    Soon your family will adjust to your routine and won’t have to keep asking when you’re picking up groceries or mailing that package.
  • Go through the task list with each person. Sometimes a spouse or child doesn’t know how you want a chore accomplished. Maybe they are unfamiliar with the right settings for the washing machine or where pots and pans are stored.
    Walk them through the task so they can learn to do it without you around.
  • Put it in writing. Whether you use a smartphone app or a piece of paper on the refrigerator, keep a list of what needs to get done and whose job it is. Having a visual plan helps everyone stay on track.

Delegating chores will also reduce the stress that often affects your productivity.

 

2. Arrange for Childcare

First-time work-from-home parents often assume they can care for their young children while working. Unfortunately, they quickly found out that is not the case!

Childcare is a full-time job all on its own.

If you can’t afford a babysitter or daycare, consider asking a retired family member if they can watch your children a few days a week.

If no family members are available, reach out to other work-from-home moms in your neighborhood. You may be able to take turns watching each other’s children on days you’re not working.

Alternatively, you can hire a young adult in your neighborhood to watch your children while you work from home.

You can typically pay a cheaper rate, and you’re available in case of emergencies while still being able to shut the door to your home office while you work.

 

3. Consider Extended Family and Friends

Your immediate family members aren’t the only ones who can help you out.

When someone offers to lend a hand, take them up on their offer!

Some easy tasks you can delegate to others outside your house include:

  • Driving children to and from school. Coordinate with other moms in the neighborhood to take turns dropping off and picking up children from school. This provides extra time in the mornings and afternoons for you to work.
  • Helping with housework. If you have a close friend nearby, ask if they want to arrange dates to help each other with cleaning. One weekend you help clean their house and the next they help with yours.
    This is a great way single parents can stay on top of the household workload without being overwhelmed.
  • Assisting with meal prep. Consider arranging weekly meetups with friends or other moms in your neighborhood to prep meals for the upcoming week. You can buy in bulk to save money and split the costs among the group.

In return, you can step in to help when they are feeling overwhelmed.

 

4. Simplify Scheduling and Organization

The best way to ensure everyone completes their tasks is to organize and schedule everything.

There are numerous apps that can help you make lists and remind family members of their chores.

By taking advantage of these, your family can add items to the shopping list, create reminders on the family calendar for upcoming appointments, and check off tasks they’ve completed.

This helps everyone stay on track without you needing to lift a finger.

There’s a number of apps available to help create family lists and chore charts to digitally divide up the workload and set important reminders.

 

5. Don’t Be Afraid to Hire a Professional

If the workload is too much and you don’t have enough people to help out, consider hiring a professional.

Many services offer cheap task-based help, such as mowing the lawn, cleaning the house, and doing other odd jobs.

Several grocery stores offer pickup and delivery options to save time without spending a lot of money.

You can also purchase box meal kits with pre-measured ingredients ready to throw together quickly for a healthy dinner.

Meal delivery is another way you can get a quick lunch or dinner on the table without leaving the house.

 

Final Thoughts

Whether you need help with meal planning or could use an extra hand on the laundry, work-at-home moms have plenty of options.

You can outsource your chores to professionals or delegate responsibilities to other family members.

Mobile apps make it easy to create everything from chore charts to grocery lists so each person can do their part around the house.

Once your household is running smoothly, your business will too.  If you need to delegate some of your work, consider posting your job on HireMyMom where virtual professionals in a variety of fields are ready to take on new jobs and projects! Or if you need more work, we can help with that too!

 

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Michelle Laurey is a telecommuting wordsmith who especially enjoys writing on a cloudy day at Assignyourwriter UK. Always interested in ways that can help individuals reach their full potential in life, she enjoys producing stories on entrepreneurship, productivity, lifestyle, and health. Outside her keyboard, she enjoys visiting cozy coffee shops and taking long urban strolls with her partner. Reach out to her on Twitter.

 

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April 5, 2021

Why Does HireMyMom Charge Job Seekers?

It’s a FAIR question!
And probably the one thing may keep you from signing up on HireMyMom.
Am I right? You want to know why in the world you should have to pay to find a job.
We get it. We know. We hear you!

This is a very good question and one we are happy to answer so here are the reasons there is a fee to sign up on HireMyMom:

 

1. Unlike most job sites, we do not take any commissions from our job seekers.

  • Many so-called “free” sites don’t charge you to apply BUT if you are hired, you often will be paying 10-20% of your earnings back to the job site.
  • So if you got a part-time job on a “free site” that takes commission from your earnings and you make say $2,000 per month, you would be paying $200-$400 EACH month (10-20%) of that back to the job site EACH and EVERY MONTH!
  • With HireMyMom, your subscription fee can typically be recouped in the FIRST FEW HOURS of your new job.
  • On HireMyMom, what our Mom Professionals earn, they keep …. well except what Uncle Sam gets!

 

2. The small fee to sign up helps keep the number of job seekers to a REASONABLE SIZE vs a “free” membership where you are competing with THOUSANDS of other job seekers and are virtually INVISIBLE to hiring companies.

  • And remember if you are lucky enough to be hired by one of the “free” sites, you know what happens (see above)!

 

3. Businesses tell us they PREFER to use HireMyMom because we DO charge a small fee. When they post on “free job boards” they are inundated with hundreds or thousands of resumes and do not have time to sort through them all.

  • One business owner told us she got 900 applicants in less than 24 hours on a “free” job site! On HireMyMom, she got 24 applicants — MUCH easier for a small business to handle! OH AND she said the CALIBER of the CANDIDATES on HireMyMom was heads and shoulders above the “free” job sites. We think partially because we attract SERIOUS job seekers who put time and effort into their resume, cover letter and skills because they are READY to find a GREAT REMOTE JOB and don’t mind a small fee knowing there are NO COMMISSIONS to pay!

4. Unlike many other job sites, at HireMyMom we do not pull job ads off of the internet.

  • All jobs on HireMyMom are posted BY the employer and in most cases these jobs cannot be found anywhere else on the internet.

 

5. We aim to keep HireMyMom 100% scam free.

  • Each job that is posted goes through our approval process.
  • We research the company / person, look for negative reviews and other red flags before deciding if a job will be posted to our members. And there are many that do not pass the test and do not get posted.

 

6. By paying for a subscription, we also weed out non-serious job seekers who will apply for any and everything making it harder for you to stand out in the crowd AND harder for the hiring person to weed through 100s or 1,000s of resumes.

  • So you see, we aren’t trying to make a fortune on you to apply to unlimited jobs with zero commission fees.
  • We are actually setting you up to find a job QUICKER and with LESS HEADACHE for both sides.

So there you have it!

At least NOW YOU KNOW why there is a fee to sign up on HireMyMom!
Hopefully we’ll see you on the other side and be congratulating you in the coming weeks on your new job or clients!

Want to see some of the NEWEST JOB POSTS?

Ready to SIGN UP?

 

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March 31, 2021

How to Outsource Like a Boss for Home and Work

Have you ever looked at your to-do list and realized you need about 30 hours to accomplish everything you outlined as critical for the day? If so, you aren’t alone. Caring for a family and working are both hugely satisfying undertakings. But, let’s face it, it’s also a tremendous amount of work. 

Here’s some good news–you don’t need to tackle it alone. By strategically outsourcing some tasks, you can find more time and energy to put toward the people and projects that mean the most to you. Here’s a round up of the tasks–work and personal–that are great candidates for outsourcing.

Business Tasks

When you run a small business, it’s tempting to want to do it all. You became an entrepreneur because you’re motivated and hardworking.This combination makes it tough to let go of the reins, even for a task you don’t enjoy or could easily outsource. It helps to have a framework for considering what tasks/jobs make sense for outsourcing. When considering outsourcing, think about:

  • What are you great at doing?
  • What do you like to do?
  • Where would you like to grow professionally?

If a task doesn’t fall into one of those categories, it’s a good candidate for outsourcing. 

 

Quickly Find Virtual Help 

When you are looking for outsourcing help for a business task, consider a virtual team member. With remote employees, you don’t need to provide office space and you aren’t limited by geography. You can find and hire a team member who’s located anywhere with good internet access. 

Using a platform like HireMyMom is a great way to source qualified candidates who are specifically looking for remote work. You can save time and money by turning to a site dedicated to connecting driven mom professionals with small businesses. 

If the prospect of a nationwide search daunts you, consider our concierge service to help reduce the amount of leg work you need to do. HireMyMom’s Concierge service was created for busy entrepreneurs and small business owners, like you, who need to hire help but don’t have the time or desire to go through the time-consuming process. With our full service Concierge service, our HR Specialists will do it all for you start to finish and present you with the top candidate(s). 

 

Build a Remote Team 

Here’s a list of jobs that are often outsourced:

  • Bookkeeping
  • Social Media management
  • Graphic Design
  • Writing/Editing
  • Marketing/Email Marketing
  • Project Management
  • Customer Service
  • Facebook Ad Manager
  • Online Business Manager
  • Virtual Assistant (VA)

 

Consider a Virtual Assistant

In some cases, a virtual assistant (VA) may be the right fit for you. A VA can take care of many tasks, including email response, appointment setting, travel planning, and calendar management. You can find a general VA, who does a wide variety of tasks or one with a speciality in your industry or need. 

 

Personal Tasks

Personal tasks can easily add up and cause stress, making it more difficult to manage the day-to-day workings of life. What’s more, many of them are urgent and important and time sensitive. (For example, dinner must be served every night.) Tasks that can wait tend to grow in time commitment and urgency if you put them off. (I’m looking at you, piles of dirty laundry.) Here are some ideas to help relieve some of the steam:

 

Put Meal Prep and Grocery Shopping on Auto Pilot

Planning, serving and cleaning up multiple meals a day takes a huge time investment. (Especially if your whole family is home all the time.) But outsourcing some meal-prep tasks can make every day easier.

  •  A weekly menu hanging on the fridge takes the guesswork out of each meal. If you don’t enjoy menu planning or just need a break from it, consider using an online meal planning service. Several are available and they allow you to quickly select a week’s worth of meals based on your health goals, family preferences, and budget. Once you select your meals, you can automatically create a shopping list for the meals selected.
  •  We all need groceries every week (sometimes more). But driving to the store to collect them is a major time commitment. You can regain that time by signing up for grocery delivery. Several companies such as Amazon Fresh, Peapod, Shipt, and Instacart, are ready to make it easier for you to fill your pantry. 

While it takes some time to initially get set up with these services, it’s well worth the initial time investment. Chances are you make many of the same purchases each week, so many items will stay on your list for each order. You can even use a menu planner that automatically creates a grocery list and sends it to your preferred delivery service. 

  • If you don’t have grocery delivery available locally, consider the pick up service offered by many large grocery store chains. You submit your order online, pull up at the appointed time, and drive off with a car full of groceries. Both pick up and delivery help you save money by limiting impulse purchases.

Cut Down on Cooking

There are several ways to lighten the cooking load through outsourcing. Consider:

  • Sharing the load by finding four like-minded families and forming a cooking co-op. Each family makes four, family-sized servings of one dish. Meet to swap meals and go home knowing that you have five homemade dinners ready to roll–even though you only had to make one. Keep your circle of chefs small until the COVID-19 situation is resolved.
  • Ordering a meal delivery kit to take away the prepping, planning and chopping.
  • Finding a local chef who offers pre-prepped meals for pick up or delivery. 

 

Find Help with Child Care

You choose to work at home to spend more time with your kids and avoid the expense and hassle of day care. But, that doesn’t mean you wouldn’t benefit from some help with the kids. Finding a good babysitter, even if it’s only for a few hours a week, can really change the flow of your day. Having a few hours set aside without interruption makes it easier to power through your work. Also, depending on the age of your kids, the sitter can help with other tasks, such as:

  • Driving a carpool route for you.
  • Running errands with your kids–think the post office or picking up dry cleaning. This gives you a few hours of peace and quiet, keeps the kids busy, and eliminates tasks from your to-do list.
  • Working with the kids to go through their toys or books to find things they have outgrown.
  • Picking up the stray items you forgot to add to your online grocery order.
  • Walking the dog or other pet care needs.
  • Putting laundry away.
  • Supervising homework/online school instruction.

 

Clean with Ease

Everyone loves a clean house, but the work to get it sparkling can take all day. The easiest way to keep the house spic and span is to hire a cleaning service. If that’s not practical based on your budget or circumstances, these ideas can help lighten the load:

  • Buy a Roomba or other automatic vacuum or mop so you wake up to fresh floors every morning.
  • Drop your dirty laundry off at the laundromat for wash and fold service each week. This frees up an enormous amount of time and cuts down on the anxiety created by looking at baskets full of clothes–some clean, some dirty, and inevitably, one that’s mixed between clean and dirty clothes. 
  • Hire a service for big jobs that can really nag at you. For example, window washing or other seasonal jobs.

 

Reduce Yard Work

Many people find yard work relaxing, but elements of it can be outsourced to free you up to focus on the things you like most. For example, mowing and weeding are good candidates to outsource. With that out of the way, you are free to focus on tending to flowers or other things that truly bring you joy.

 

Don’t Wait to Reclaim Your Time

Outsourcing tasks is a great way to focus your time and energy on the things that matter most to you. Don’t delay–identify the things that someone else could do for you and start enjoying the increased time and energy it provides. 

Tell us what you’ve outsourced and how it changed the game for you.

 

 

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March 29, 2021

Success Story: Natasha Runyan

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

I first started with HireMyMom back in June 2020 and I immediately started applying for jobs that I either knew I could do, or hoped would at least give me a chance. Most of the jobs I was not qualified for, however, I knew that I just needed to get an interview. A few weeks later I received two “first round” interviews, but neither were successful. In Feb 2020, I received an email from a job I applied for and completely forgot about. They wanted to interview me and I ended up landing the job! This was finally my moment to bring in more income for my family. But then, a month later COVID-19 hit and my job, located in Brooklyn, NY, took a hit. There was immediately no work for me to plan (I was a personal assistant) and my boss was looking to find me work. I knew I would need to find a new job immediately. I went back to HireMyMom in Sept 2020 and a couple weeks later, had another job lined up part time. However, my husband’s job took a hit as well so I knew I needed to do what I needed to get to being full-time. Luckily, my job listened and in October, I was promoted to full time with a pay raise. To apply for jobs online, you have to make sure those companies “hear” you. More and more people are looking for work online, or a side job to bring in extra income. Apply for the job and follow up a week later if you haven’t heard from them! Don’t lose motivation if there are no postings within your experience, or if you don’t hear back from anyone at first. Apply for jobs that you believe you could do, despite what your resume says. Always keep your options open and don’t put yourself into a bubble of what you have experience in. It’s about what CAN you do.

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

Apply for everything. FOLLOW UP to the email listed directly. Let them know that you’re very interested and would love an interview.

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

It won’t be overnight. Sometimes there just aren’t jobs that you’re interested in, or what you believe you can do, and that’s okay!

What do you see as your greatest success in life?

Having an extremely strong work ethic. I do not give up, ever.

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

As outgoing as I am, I am very sensitive.

Want to be one of our Featured Success Stories? Click here for our form!

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March 27, 2021

Are You a Freelancer or Do You Depend on Them? Take Action to Protect Your Business Relationships from the PRO Act

As busy entrepreneurs, freelance professionals, and parents, it’s easy to lose track of all the potential legislation pending in Washington. That’s especially true right now, with school closures and pandemic-related restrictions forcing many of us to rethink our business models. 

But, a bill called the PRO Act is winding its way through the legislative process and, if passed, could have severe repercussions for freelance professionals and the small businesses that depend on them.

Whether you are a freelance professional or you hire them, this legislation could affect your business model. If it becomes a law, the PRO Act could limit job opportunities for mothers, retirees, and college students who depend on the freedom and flexibility that comes with contract work. And, the new rules will make it more difficult for small businesses to find the flexible, dedicated, and professional support that makes it possible for them to thrive.

In this blog, we’ll tell you more about the bill and how you can take action.

 

What is the PRO Act?

The PRO Act stands for Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act (S. 420/H.R. 842).

It’s the most comprehensive labor relations legislation since the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) of 1947. The bill contains a variety of provisions that affect contractor workers and employers. (Here’s a summary from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.)

 

How the Bill Affects Contract Workers

Most concerning, it requires workers who are now classified as independent contractors to be treated as employees who are free to form a union. While many freelancers are likely not interested in starting a union, the prospect of unionization and the requirements to treat freelancers as employees could have serious consequences for freelancers and the businesses that hire them.

Currently, independent contractors are exempt from labor laws and can’t form a union to bargain with an employer. If enacted, the definition of “employee” would expand to the point that it endangers freelance professionals’ livelihood.

Work is likely to be restructured well before workers can even consider organizing. According to Michael LeRoy, an expert in labor law at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, by encouraging businesses to circumvent the law in two ways.

First, the law would incent some employers to automate jobs that can be done remotely. 

More concerning is that businesses would be forced to avoid working directly with contractors, who they’d have to treat as employees. The most likely way they’d do this is by using an agency, who serves as an employer for the contract employee. 

For example, when a small business owner decides to hire a freelance virtual assistant or social media manager, the owner will turn to an agency to avoid having an employee on the books. The agency would serve as the “employer” and charge a fee to both the business and the freelancer.

The net effect will be to reduce the freelance professional’s negotiating power, raise prices for small businesses, and reduce the contractor’s income because they are now sharing their fees with an intermediary. It’s hard to see any winners, beyond the agency, in this scenario. 

When we think of all the small businesses and home-based mom professionals we’ve worked with over the years through HireMyMom.com, we know firsthand how these rules could backfire and hurt freelance professionals and small businesses.

 

What Problem is the PRO Act Trying to Solve?

Sometimes companies misclassify employees as independent contractors to avoid costs associated with having employees. In many cases, these workers function as full-time employees for the business. But, because they aren’t considered employees, the employer does not pay the associated costs, such as unemployment insurance premiums and payroll taxes.

While we can understand the motivation to change that dynamic, this bill goes about it the wrong way. 

According to Forbes magazine, genuine independent contractors don’t want to be considered employees. They have many clients and prefer the flexibility and freedom of independent contractor status. 

This perspective reflects our experience as well. We’ve worked with thousands of employers seeking mom professionals and mothers looking for meaningful work that lets them show up for their families on their own terms through HireMyMom.com. In many cases, a contractual relationship is the best scenario for all parties. This law will harm both sides of this equation. 

In fact, this bill could disproportionately affect our job seekers–especially the virtual assistants, copywriters, project managers, bookkeepers, and social media managers, who have successfully launched businesses and are thriving as independent contractors.

 

What’s Happening with the PRO Act

On March 9, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the PRO Act. The Senate can now choose to consider the legislation. President Joe Biden has voiced support for the bill becoming law.

The PRO Act has a long history. It was initially introduced in May 2019 and failed. In May of 2020, it passed the U.S. House of Representatives, but the Senate did not pick it up. Now that Democrats control both the legislative and executive branches of government, the bill has better chances of moving forward.  

 

Take Action 

Reach out to your elected representatives and let your voice be heard.

Let your representatives know that you depend on the freelance economy and want to ensure it isn’t negatively impacted by the PRO Act.

 

 

 

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