by Diana Ennen, President of Virtual Word Publishing and author of “Virtual Assistant, The Series: Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA“
A successful mompreneur is one who has taken her passion and what she loves to do and been able to make a successful business out of it. It’s not always about the money (although that helps) it’s more about having a business you are passionate about and one that helps others as well. Be proud of your mompreneur title and the business and lifestyle you are achieving.
Here are some tips to running a successful home-based business:
Know that it takes commitment, dedication and passion. There will be some rough days especially in the beginning, but it’s so worth it. As long as you truly believe in your business and your services you’ll do great.
Do your research.
Read as much as you can and follow those in your industry who are doing it now. There’s no reason to re-invent the wheel. Social media has made it so much easier today.
Market aggressively.
And even when you get clients continue to market. Too many make that mistake. They get a client or two and then stop. You want to always be out there so then you become known as the go-to person for those tasks.
Have a great website.
That says so much about your professionalism. Most today will check out your site and social media before they hire you. It’s well worth it to have a good one and with WordPress today, you can even create one yourself although I highly recommend getting it professionally done.
Brand yourself well.
It’s so easy to do by just having a consistent theme on your website, marketing, social media, proposals, etc.
Have a plan of action and stick to it.
So many go into business and just hope for the best. Instead, plan for success. Doesn’t need to be anything detailed, but write down your goals, how you are doing to do business, pricing, what you will offer, etc., and then write down actionable steps to achieve it. Revisit this plan often.
While you are planning, implement a marketing plan.
Get really clear on who you want to work with and why it’s a good fit. It not only helps with marketing copy, but also provides confidence in your marketing as you know your own strengths and what you can do best. If you want to see my marketing handout, email me and I’ll be happy to send it to you.
Don’t delay doing a marketing plan because you feel it’s too technical or time-consuming. Just do it! But remember a marketing plan is not a one-time do it and forget about it. You want to constantly update yours.
Do marketing you love!
Don’t market and do things you should be doing because “others” tell you so. If you aren’t comfortable doing it, you won’t do it often. Find what works for you and of that on a consistent basis.
Marketing via social media – Get creative on social media.
Be engaged. It’s about relationship building. Don’t just promote. I see so many and it’s sell, sell, sell. Yet, I haven’t connected with them enough to know why I would buy from them. It’s a huge turnoff. Yes, you do want to promote and talk about your business, but be their friend first.
Reach out.
I absolutely love it when someone connects with me and I can tell they really get me and truly have been following me and know about my books, services, etc. But be real. For example, if you endorse someone on Linkedin and you’ve never worked with them before and have no idea of their skillset, you send the wrong message and a huge red flag.
Be careful on social media.
Remember that often times long before someone hires you, they are following you and seeing what you offer. If you are constantly complaining about too much work, not knowing how to do something, or lousy clients, guess what? They are going to run and FAST!
More is not always better on social media.
It looks awesome to have thousands of fans, but if they aren’t loyal fans, it’s not doing to do much good.
My best secret for marketing success is to take one of my best articles, develop a pitch and then sent it out to reporters, blog sites, etc. who might be interested. It works! Plus, best yet is even months later you can hear back from someone who then has a need for your article and they want to connect.
Be consistent in your marketing.
That’s one of the biggest mistakes I see. Businesses go full steam ahead for a few weeks and then disappear for a few months and then go it again. Some repeat this time and time again and what happens then is the next time you say, “I’m back.” No one cares. OUCH!
Enjoy the successes, big or small.
When you do that, you feel that winning feeling and want to do more of it.
And finally, be that valuable resource that clients simply can’t do without.
Make those deadlines (and even get them done before they need to be done), do a great job, and always make your clients feel like they are your only clients. Yes, they know you have others. However, when you make them feel special, it just feels great and they want to work with you more.
Know there will be good days and bad days, but work to make sure you have more of the good ones. Love what you do and have fun. There’s so many types of businesses you can do at home, choose one that works for you. Continue to grow and learn along the way. It’s important to keep up and it’s never been easier with so many offering free webinars and teleseminars and training. And finally you need to always market your business even when you have a full client base.
So what is the future bring for mompreneurs? It’s just going to continue to get better and better. Mompreneurs have been around for a long time. However, the difference today is that they are so widely known and respected and it’s commonplace today to hire one. Plus, social media has just opened up so many doors and enabled them to connect with their potential clients and clients in a way that didn’t exist before. Just do it!
Diana Ennen is the President of Virtual Word Publishing, offering PR and marketing services. She hosts PR classes through www.prsuccessseries.com, and is also the author of six books on starting your own business including the best-selling”Virtual Assistant, The Series: Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA“, Contact her at Diana@virtualwordpublishing.com or @dianaennen for a free PR Informational Package.
