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April 30, 2014 0 Comments

Why Having a Third Space is Good for Your Business

Have you ever thought of using a coworking space or a business incubator to give you that “third” space for your home business? We all know working from home really is a big challenge. If you have young kids in the house, taking a conference call is hard to schedule between nap times. You want quiet to be able to do your work and knock out that client project. But you don’t want that eerie quiet that suddenly sets in when you go, “uh-oh, what are the children doing” and you find the dog getting a makeover. When you do get out of the house to take that client meeting, you are either meeting at the client’s location or you have picked your local coffee shop. Neither place really gives you a chance to show that you are a professional running a professional enterprise. Plus, when working only from home, it’s just you having to work on your projects all by yourself. One of the biggest benefits of working in an office environment is that you are surrounded by your peers. You can bounce ideas off of them, have conversations, and get inspiration on how to tackle problems. Adults need adult time too, away from the kids every now and then.

What you need is a good “third” space to give you the things that your home office just can’t give you. There are many kinds of “third” spaces out there that help get your business moving to the next step. Think about joining a coworking space that has a good vibe and gels with the business you are building. There are coworking spaces that cater to programmers, artists, makers, marketers, and professional services. Some of the best coworking spaces have a nice mix of these kinds of people in them. Coworking gives you a chance to have that professional adult time and work on business problems and get access to a professional office environment, conference rooms, and have a real business address. You know, someplace that you would feel good having a meeting with a client. Many of the coworking spaces offer programs to help you with your business. Session speakers, hackathons, and other networking events are usually part of the membership fee.

Also over the last few years, business incubators have opened their doors up to more than just tech companies. The incubator I am involved with has a mix of tech, legal, marketing, healthcare, and retail companies. In the same vein of coworking, you get a professional space with some additional support from programs that might be offered by the local venture capital firm, university or community college to help with your business. All good resources to have, especially if you need to have a summer intern to knock out that branding project you have not had a chance to get around to.

It is long winded, but here is the point. Get out and socialize your business. Make connections, build a network of like minded entrepreneurs that are willing to help each other. The best place to start is in a coworking space or business incubator. Make the time for yourself to pursue your business objectives. Even if it is just one or two days a week, you’ll find that being a solopreneur isn’t so lonely when you find others that are just like you trying to solve the same kinds of problems.

Check out these other great articles about productivity / time management as a work from home professional. Also check out our current job postings for mom professionals.

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January 14, 2014 0 Comments

Challenging Times Call for Creative Hiring Solutions

In today’s economy, many businesses are having to downsize and cut back expenses every place possible in order to survive. This includes letting valued employees go – often times with much regret. And unfortunately some believe our economy will not improve for a couple of years. So what are businesses to do? How do you support and grow a business if your employee pool is or will be dwindling? Are there creative hiring solutions?

Outsourcing is a Creative Hiring Solution

The good news is that many businesses are finding a perfect solution in outsourcing to independent professionals. These professionals offer the same skills and experience as an on-site employee yet they work as an independent, not requiring employee benefits or office space. One of the largest pools of independent professionals is mom professionals who have left the workforce voluntarily or involuntarily.

Many of them are looking for ways especially now to help supplement their families’ income. And in some cases support their family altogether if their spouse has been laid off. These professionals are experienced and educated but are seeking the freedom and flexibility to work hours that are more conducive to having a family. Some of them work part time and some work full time. Some of them work on an hourly basis and others work on a salary or by the project. What’s great for them and for the company is that studies have proven that a person’s productivity actually goes up when working from a home office. This is at least partly due to the fact that independent workers want to prove themselves and go above and beyond expectations to ensure the work keeps flowing to them.

A Win-Win Solutions

The beauty of it is that these creative hiring solutions is a win-win for the company and the professional. In the majority of cases the company saves on payroll and employee benefits and the professional is pleased to have flexible work and puts forth his or her best effort to make sure the work keeps coming in. For more information on hiring at home professionals, visit www.HireMyMom.com.

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Lesley Pyle is the founder and president of HBWM.com Inc. which includes the national association of Home-Based Working Moms helping moms network, learn and grow in their role as a Home-Based Working Mom and HireMyMom.com connecting at-home Mom Professionals with home-based jobs and projects in virtually every career field.  Pyle has been featured in numerous publications including Forbes, Entrepreneur, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Home Office Computing, and many others.  Twitter @lesleypyle and @hiremymom

Check out these other great articles about tips for mom as a work from home professional.Also check out our current job postings for mom professionals.

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January 3, 2014 0 Comments

Hiring a Virtual Assistant Will Help You Grow Your Business

What VAs Provide their Clients and How it Has Helped Their Business

As a home based entrepreneur, most of us look forward to getting to the point where we need to outsource work. If we are outsourcing, we must be busier than we can handle and looking to lighten our load. If that’s the case, you’ll want to take a look inside the opportunities available to home business owners in hiring a virtual assistant (VA).

What is a Virtual Assistant?

If you have not heard of a Virtual Assistant, they are “highly skilled professionals who excel in their given area of expertise. They provide extensive marketing solutions, administrative support, proofing, editing, website design, bookkeeping and many other specialized services for entrepreneurs, small businesses, authors, and others who want to bring their business to a new level. VAs work globally taking advantage of all the many benefits the Internet offers,” Diana Ennen, author of Virtual Assistant – The Series: Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA, says.

Ways A Virtual Assistant Will Grow Your Business

“A VA can help a client’s business grow in so many ways.  One of the main reasons a person hires a VA is to just take over the daily administrative tasks so they can focus more on their clients and customers, thus making more money and growing their business.  But once the immediate tasks are taken over by the VA, they can start to move into more of a partnership.  A VA can become the second in command for the client.  When the trust grows over time, the VA starts to work with the client’s customers, also helping to make even more money and allowing for their business to grow,” Carolyn Berg, Virtual Assistant/Owner of CyberOffice Solutions, LLC says.

Another way a VA can help a client’s business grow is research.  Most business owners do not have time to do research on the internet or make updates to databases, etc. A VA can handle research as well as help search new business alliances and opportunities.

“Carolyn Berg has been my Virtual Assistant since December 2006. She handles many responsibilities that allow me to develop and market my business. She maintains my online newsletter, creates campaigns, makes calls to clients, creates marketing packages with desktop publishing and overall, keeps me on track. She is always willing to assist me, and she has made some great suggestions toward building the business,” Tom O’Brien, owner of Tom O’Brien Productions, in Washington, CT shares.

A Virtual Assistant is a Business Owner

A virtual assistant is not only an assistant to other business owners, they are business owners themselves. They understand the ins and outs of running a business and know what is involved in owning a home based business. “VAs have a unique way of looking at problems from a business standpoint. Many of them have had their own growing pains and dealt with them which is a big advantage to businesses who use our services,” Candy Beauchamp, CVA, CRESS OffAssist says.

“I use three VAs in my business. I have my main VA who performs administrative tasks for me, another who does my accounting and a variety of others I bring in for special projects such as designing a brochure or doing research.  If I was doing all of this work, I would never have time to see the number of clients that I am able to see and consequently wouldn’t be able to achieve the income that I now can.  Beyond that, they have added capabilities to offer services to my clients that I either don’t have the skills to do or don’t have the motivation or time to do. VAs have given me back time and created a broader range of services that I can offer to clients,” Brad Farris, Anchor Advisors, Ltd, in Chicago, IL, adds.

In today’s world, you don’t have to be in a big office building to have an assistant. You simply need to look online for the many talented VAs out there. I’ve found hiring a Virtual Assistant to be a great way to help manage and grow my business.

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Lesley Pyle is the founder and president of HBWM.com Inc. which includes the national association of Home-Based Working Moms helping moms network, learn and grow in their role as a Home-Based Working Mom and HireMyMom.com connecting at-home Mom Professionals with home-based jobs and projects in virtually every career field.  Pyle has been featured in numerous publications including Forbes, Entrepreneur, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Home Office Computing, and many others.  Twitter @lesleypyle and @hiremymom

Check out these other great articles about tips for mom as a work from home professional.Also check out our current job postings for mom professionals.

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