Work at Home Moms Articles – WAHM Articles

Today I’m excited and please to interview Alyssa Avant. Alyssa is a mom, a wife, and a business owner and she was recently published in a book with a number of other women. Below is our interview with her.

WAHM-Articles: Tell us about the book you’re published in.

Alyssa Avant: I am published in the book Inspired Women Succeed by Diane Cunningham and Jo Ann Fore.

Diane and Jo Ann have crafted a Chicken Soup for the Soul®-spirited book that takes readers on an inspirational journey; a journey which teaches women how to entrust the hard spots of life to a sovereign God who has a plan.

Inspired Women Succeed is a book of courage and hope. You will connect with forty, brave-hearted Christian women entrepreneurs who faced unfathomable trials with heroic faith. And this passionate group of women authentically shares their life-transforming stories.

Breathe in their heartfelt words and experience a rich inspiration woven throughout the book, like an intricate delicate tapestry. Be inspired as these women discover their life’s passion. Most importantly, be challenged by their words as you learn how to use your own life experiences as a catalyst for success.

This book is about real women doing real life. In some way, each of these stories is a piece of our own. Through a vulnerable transparency, the stories of these women offer you a permission to be real. To confront the tough issues of life with a new perspective.

Amazing things happen when women follow their inspiration. Are you ready?

Learn to stand up for yourself—say what you’ve needed to say.
Set specific goals, speak them, and work intentionally toward them.
Be brave—do the thing that scares you the most.
Experience God’s plan of provision.
Allow God to use painful life experiences as a catalyst for life-defining purpose.

WAHM-Articles: Why did you decide to become a part of this book?

Alyssa Avant: I decided to become a part of this book because I knew that Diane and Jo Ann had an amazing passion for Christian women. I knew that they authentically wanted to help us share our stories and that it would impact and empower other women. After all my mission is to “guide Christian moms to pursue their passion through entrepreneurship” this helped me fulfill my mission.

WAHM-Articles: How can this book help your target market?

Alyssa Avant: This book can help my target market, Christian moms, by giving them real stories of other women who have succeeded in pursue their God-given passions.

WAHM-Articles: How can my readers purchase your book?

Alyssa Avant: Your readers can purchase the book here.

WAHM-Articles: Thank you Alyssa! I appreciate you taking the time to talk with us today. Best of luck with your book and your business!

This month’s interview is with Alicia Forest. Alice is married and has two children. She is a coach and is very busy with her business and family. Read our interview with her below.

WAHM-Articles: Please tell us about your business?

Alicia Forest: AliciaForest.com is an international training, coaching and consulting company expressly for service-based women entrepreneurs that was created to show them how to break through to 6 figures and beyond in their business so they can live the life they ache for. We do that both virtually and in-person via private and group coaching programs, a vibrant membership, a live annual workshop, and various do-it-yourself information products.

WAHM-Articles: What is your most popular service or product?

Alicia Forest: My most popular product is my bestselling 21 Easy & Essential Steps to Online Success System. This comprehensive tutorial walks entrepreneurs through the process of building a successful and sustainable business online that’s guaranteed to bring them to a 6-figure income in half the time they could on their own.

WAHM-Articles: How does your business help WAHM’s?

Alicia Forest: When I first started out in my coaching business, I had no idea what I was doing when it came to marketing and making an income. In fact, I had a lot of great information, but no step-by-step plan on how to make it all work. Which is why I created my 21 Easy & Essential Steps to Online Success System. This system is the same one I follow today and it’s what’s enable me to build a multiple 6-figure business while only working about 15 hours a week and raising two small children at the same time.

WAHM-Articles: As a WAHM you balance your business and your family, how do you handle that?

Alicia Forest: Systems have played a huge part in making it all work for me, especially once my daughter Chloe arrived. One of the main reasons I wanted to own my own business was so I could be home to raise my future children, and because I know myself well enough to know that I wouldn’t be happy solely in the role of mom and wife. As much as those fill my soul, I needed to be doing something to feed my creative spirit that also contributed financially to my family and our life.

Before Chloe was born, I actually wasn’t that great about focusing my time or efforts. I’d start one project, get side-tracked on another, then have a great idea and start working on that, etc. But her schedule really designed how I balance (if there is such a thing) my work and my family. And I was able to tweak these systems even more once my son Jack arrived.

Another way that I try to balance things is by asking for help – whether it’s from my husband, my mom, or hiring an assistant for my business. It’s taken me awhile to get into this practice, but it’s made a huge difference for me, both personally and professionally.

Also, I do make a plan. I have a yearly, monthly, weekly and daily plan. In addition to that, I’ve gotten really into strategic planning, which has made a huge difference in the bottom line of my business.

As for my time, I ‘manage’ it around my kids still. I work when they sleep, more or less. Otherwise, my attention is on them. Some days that’s hard, because my mind is reeling with ideas and thoughts of things I want to do, but I’ve learned that multi-tasking with a 6 year-old and a 3 year-old really doesn’t work!

WAHM-Articles: Do you use article marketing for your business and if yes, why?

Alicia Forest: I do and have since the beginning of building my business online. I do it because it educates my target market about me and how I can help them, it helps position me as an expert, and it gives people a taste of my style, what I offer, and gives them an opportunity to get to know me a bit without risking anything.

I also know that penning articles that are of value to your target market is one of the most effective ways to get your name out there and become known as an expert in your niche, attract visitors to your website, and gain new subscribers for your list.

And writing articles is one of the fastest (and FREE) ways to get lots of exposure, especially if a publisher with a large list picks it up!

WAHM-Articles: Where do you come up with your article ideas?

Alicia Forest: Lots of different places: many times I get ideas from what I’m coaching my clients around, or what seems to be a hot topic of discussion amongst my colleagues. Other times I get ideas from reading magazines that are targeted to my market, or books I’m reading. And sometimes I get ideas from my own experience as a business owner. There’s no shortage of ideas for articles – it’s just being open to seeing those opportunities and then writing them down so you don’t forget!

WAHM-Articles: Thank you Alicia! I appreciate you taking the time to talk with us today. Best of luck with your business!

This month’s interview is with Caryn Schulenberg. Caryn is married and has two daughters, two sons-in-law, and four grandchildren. She is very busy and is continually on the go. Read our interview with her below.

WAHM-Articles: Can you tell us about your business?

Caryn Schulenberg: I am an Avon representative. I have been doing this for a little over a year. I originally got into Avon, because my sister’s representative retired and she was left with out one. I had always liked Avon products, so I decided to become her representative. Click here to visit the website for my business. My customer base is building steadily, but at this point, I think I am probably my best customer.

WAHM-Articles: What is your most popular product?

Caryn Schulenberg: The Anew products go very well. The jewelry is a very big hit. I can’t really say that any one product is more popular than any other, because every person has different skin care needs, different coloring, and different style, so the products vary as much as the customers do.

WAHM-Articles: How do your products help WAHM’s?

Caryn Schulenberg: Having products delivered to you at home always makes life easier in my opinion. Avon also has products for the kitchen, so that is always a help when you work at home. They also have children’s toys, clothing, etc, so she can do a lot of her shopping right from home, and that leaves more times for her business.

WAHM-Articles: Do you use your blog to market your business?

Caryn Schulenberg: I haven’t used my blog for business at this point. I am still learning about my website, but I do know there is a blog on it, and I intend to start blogging from there for my business, now that I have gotten more into blogging.

WAHM-Articles: Thank you Caryn! I appreciate you taking the time to talk with us today. Best of luck with your business!

Article marketing is a tool everyone can use to grow their business easily and with little work once the article is finished. Today I want to celebrate one of our authors. We recently had an author reach 500 articles and to me that’s quite an accomplishment.

The first author to reach this level is Shelly Hill. Shelly I want to thank you for being an author at WAHM-Articles.com. Your articles are awesome and I know they’re wonderful and helpful for everyone who reads them.

Shelly has agreed to supply a bio and she’s graciously wrote up a few tips to help authors with their writings.

My name is Shelly Hill and I am a 43 year old wife, mother and grandmother living in South Central Pennsylvania who enjoys writing. I have been writing since I was a teenager and first started out writing poetry and school reports. As I entered college at the age of 17 my passion for writing grew stronger.

My college major was Nursing but my minor was in business. To make extra money during my college years I would write reports for my professors and proofread reports and papers for students. Once the internet came along I was able to feed my passion for writing even more my blogging and getting into article marketing. Over the years I have learned a lot of tips that have helped me become a better writer and I am very proud to become the first author at WAHM-Articles to have 500+ published articles. (more…)

This week’s interview is with Alyssa Avant. Alyssa is a work at home mom to three wonderful children and the wife to Greg.

WAHM-Articles: Hi Alyssa! Welcome to the WAHM-Articles blog. I enjoy reading the articles you post on WAHM-Articles and I appreciate your submissions.

Can you tell us about your business?

Alyssa Avant: Creative VA Partner is made up of a team of assistants all serving in their area of strengths. This allows our team to serve our clients efficiently and with the highest quality work we are capable of, we work together to make sure the job is done for you on target, on time, every time.

As the owner and project manager of Creative VA Partner I utilize various business solutions, including blog management, article writing and marketing, newsletter creation and setup, sales page writing and creation, and more to help you and your business. My various skills have been sharpened over the years through building my own businesses and come from experience.

I love social media and have much experience using Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and other social networking platforms to network and promote myself and my clients.

WA: What is your most popular service?

Alyssa Avant: Blog management seems to be my most popular service. So many business owners today see the importance of a blog, but don’t have the time to maintain one. We take the work out of blogging and write and post the blogs for you. Our packages include 4 or 12 posts per month.

WA: How does your business help WAHM’s?

Alyssa Avant: We can help the work at home mom manage the many tasks that she has to do in business. There is much that can go into business and marketing is a key ingredient which work at home moms often have to leave out because of lack of time, this is where we can help.

WA: As a WAHM you balance your business and your children, how do you handle that?

Alyssa Avant: I think flexibility is key. My older two children are in school for at least part of the day, my daughter a half day, my oldest son from 8 am – 3 pm. My baby boy, age 2 is with me all the time. I’m lucky to also have a supportive family in my front yard that helps with my kids on an almost daily basis.

WA: Do you use article marketing for your business and if yes, why?

Alyssa Avant: Yes I do, because it works for you over and over. You can write an article and through the art of “distributing it” can have it show up again and again across the web.

WA: Where do you come up with your article ideas?

Alyssa Avant: Google alerts, blogs, the news, client questions, all over the place really. I try to answer questions and blog on topics related to the services that my company provides.

WA: Thanks Alyssa! I appreciate you taking the time to talk with us today. Best of luck with your business!

One of our newest authors is Julie DeHart, who is a homeschooling stay-at-home-mom and a missionary serving the urban poor in the Philippines.

If you’ve been visiting WAHM-Articles and reading our weekly WAHM Tips newsletter lately, you will already be familiar with Julie and her wonderful articles on cooking and parenting. I hope we will have the opportunity to publish many more of them and share them with you!

You can learn more about Julie by visiting her website Keep-Your-Home-Cooking.com

Welcome Julie!

~ Denise

Every once in a while, someone asks me if article marketing still works. If you’ve been wondering that yourself, I have some great news for you today. You bet it does!

A few months ago, I interviewed one of the WAHM Articles authors, Michelle Shaeffer of http://www.thesmallbusinessmuse.com

She had started an article marketing experiment

Recently, I followed up with Michelle to find out how her experiment had gone, and what she had learned about article marketing. This is what she told me:

After a few months of comparing traffic and subscription rates I found that the traffic I received from my articles came with more average page views per visit and a higher subscription rate to my newsletter.  In fact, the subscription rate for visitors from articles was double that of the general traffic to my site!  About 40% of visitors who read one of my articles first and clicked through to my website signed up for my newsletter.

Two things I found helped boost that rate (in addition to writing and submitting the articles to directories, of course!) were:

1) Write articles that are closely tied to the free ecourse I offer as a gift to subscribers and the topics I focus on in my newsletter.  During a month I submitted articles on a slightly different topic subscription rates were lower.

2) I’ve added my subscribe box to every page with an image of the free ecourse, and in a pop over with a testimonial about the newsletter from a subscriber.

Thanks for providing a quality article directory for us to share our articles through at WAHMArticles.com!

Michelle
http://www.thesmallbusinessmuse

This week, I felt very excited to interview our new top author, Rachel Paxton. Rachel is the owner of Creative Homemaking, LLC .

WAHM-Articles: Hi Rachel! Welcome to the WAHM Articles Blog. Can you tell us about your business?

Rachel Paxton: Creative Homemaking, LLC, evolved from a print newsletter I started publishing back in 1996. I started writing the newsletter when my husband and I were having a tough time financially, and we needed to find a way to live within our means. The intent of the newsletter was to provide families with creative money-saving tips and hints that we were using in our own lives. My first web site CreativeHomemaking.com went online shortly thereafter, and I started Crafty-Moms.com and Christian-Parent.com during the next couple of years. I also currently publish a weekly online newsletter to almost 40,000 loyal subscribers.

WA: How does your business help women?

Rachel: My web sites target women of all ages and women of a variety of income brackets. I think even women with higher incomes are looking for creative, inexpensive ways to improve their lives, whether it be through cooking, organizing, crafting, or parenting.

WA: You were a technical editor for 10 years. How did you go from being a technical editor to working at home?

Rachel: At the beginning of my marriage I worked out of necessity. I was a single mom for a number of years, and after I got married I worked to help put my husband through college. I started my newsletter as a hobby right after we got married, but it wasn’t until almost ten years later that my web sites really took off so that I could work at home and be a stay-at-home mom. Thankfully, that was the same year my twin boys were born.

WA: In your author’s bio you wrote that this year you are starting homeschool preschool. How do you balance teaching your child with running a home business?

Rachel: My boys are turning three this month, so they are almost ready for preschool. Preschool is going to be our great “homeschooling experiment” to test the homeschooling waters. At this point my web sites don’t require a lot my time. I do all of my article writing while my boys are asleep. Of course after they stop napping it may be harder, but when they get older I hope to get them involved in their own activities so we can all work at the same time.

WA: Many of your articles are about crafts and decorating projects for the home. Have you always enjoyed making crafts?

Rachel: It’s funny, I’ve never considered myself a “crafty” person. Several years ago, however, I became addicted to scrapbooking. You’ll find my Crafty-Moms.com web site is full of my personal scrapbooking layouts. I do enjoy doing crafts with my kids…it is a great family activity.

WA: You’re also the author of What’s for Dinner?, and e-cookbook with more than 250 quick, easy dinner ideas. How did you come up with 250 easy dinner ideas?

Rachel: I can’t take credit for all of the dinner ideas.

Many of the recipes are from my newsletter readers and visitors to my web site. When I first started CreativeHomemaking.com I ran many contests to find the best recipes. They all ended up in the What’s for Dinner? cookbook. It’s actually been a big hit, and has sold much better than I ever expected.

WA: How has writing and submitting articles helped you develop your business?

Rachel: People are surprised to find out that I don’t spend a dime on advertising my web site. The #1 way I advertise my web site is by writing articles, lots and lots of articles. I think I’ve written about 200 articles to date, on everything from cooking and cleaning to home decorating, gardening, and parenting.

WA: Where do you get ideas for the articles you write?

Rachel: I get all of my ideas from everyday life. It is definitely the best inspiration. When I find myself marveling in something I’ve discovered, accomplished, or created it almost always ends up in an article.

WA: Rachel, thank you for taking the time to come by and chat with me today!

You can learn more about Rachel and Creative Homemaking by visiting her site at http://www.creativehomemaking.com Rachel is also the top author at WAHM Articles, and you can read her WAHM Articles here.

This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Denise Landers, the owner of Key Organization Systems, Inc.

Denise is a speaker, writer, author and time management consultant. She is the author of Destination: Organization, A Week by Week Journey and has appeared on the NBC Nightly News as their Productivity Expert. She provides group training and individual assistance to improve daily work flow and time management skills.

As a productivity specialist, with a Master of Education degree in Counseling and Human Services from Boston University, Denise has spent years speaking, training, consulting and coaching on time management and effective work flow, helping companies and individuals create systems for handling both their business and personal lives.

WAHM Articles: Thank you for visiting the WAHM Articles Blog. Can you please tell us about your business?

Denise Landers: Do you know anyone who has too much to do and not enough time to do it? We work with busy professionals who want to get more done and still have an outside life.

WA: How does your business help home business owners?

Denise: In home offices, we work with individuals to create systems for managing their paper, email, time, and space.

WA: Why do people find it so hard to get organized?

Denise: The most frequent reason people give for not being as organized as they would like is that they do not have time to do this. Yet that is the very reason they need to get organized. If someone works with me for a half-day or a full day with our “8-Hour Miracle!” they will have all of that time back within the next week, and will be working ahead from there.

WA: If someone’s home office is a disaster right now, what steps can they take to start becoming organized?

Denise: Break the job into small pieces and then schedule those times on your calendar. Do not feel that everything has to be done at once because that can freeze and keep you from ever getting started.

WA: Home business owners have to wear many hats, especially if they’re parents with young children at home. How can home business owners ensure they have time for their family and friends, as well as for their business?

Denise: This is where daily processes come into play. You have to have a system that lets you easily prioritize your work, limit interruptions, and get enough done so that you can “leave the office” at a planned time. One of the techniques that I use in my seminars (and my “Productivity Series” CDs) focuses on setting up an uninterrupted block of time each day and then grouping other activities. By structuring your day, you will be 4 times more productive.

WA: Mothers often say they have to multitask to get everything done, but you teach that multitasking doesn’t make you more productive. What is wrong with multitasking?

Denise: Even though we think we are good at multitasking, the reality is that we get more done, faster, when we can do one thing and then switch to another. Multitasking is also creating long-term problems with our short-term memory. Our brains were not meant to fire in multiple directions at one time.

WA: What are some better options to multitasking?

Denise: The easiest way to start making changes is to write down everything—not on a list but on a single sheet of paper for each item, or on an index card. By having one task per card, you can then prioritize your activities and also group like activities together. If you do this for EVERYTHING that you are trying to do or remember, you will have one rather than multiple systems (stuff in your head, scraps of paper, lost lists).

WA: What are some of the long-term effects of not being organized?

Denise: When we are constantly multitasking, we are pumping adrenaline, which is connected with stress. Adrenaline is a great defense but harmful if you are constantly producing it. 80% of our medical expenditures are stress-related.

WA: What options are available for people who need some extra help organizing their offices and their personal lives?

Denise: If someone feels that they do not want to do this themselves, there are many resources. Hire a professional organizer who can come in and work with them individually, as we do with our half-day kickstart programs and “8-Hour Miracle.” We also can work with you virtually, which gives you a schedule for getting things done, guidance, and accountability.

WA: When someone hires a professional organizer, what can they expect? Will they be criticized for how they’ve managed things in the past,or be asked to give up things that are important to them?

Denise: I am always appreciative of the trust that someone places in me when they invite me into their office and ask for help. The most common question is, “Is this the worst you’ve ever seen?” There is no shame in wanting to make things better. Professionals will never tell you what you have to get rid of. They work you through the process of why you are keeping something, and the final decision is yours.

WA: You’ve written several articles on time management and productivity. How has writing and submitting articles helped your business?

Denise: I have several sources for informative articles that people can access. One is on sites like yours that they visit. I also offer monthly articles to my clients, seminar audiences, and online subscribers. These are archived at www.keyorganization.com/time-management-articles.php. Another source is on my blog at www.productivitytoday.com. The writing lets me stay in touch with my former clients and contacts. They know that I’m there when they need me.

WA: Where do you get ideas for the articles you write?

Denise: Because organizing and managing time are such challenging issues today, I see situations everywhere that trigger ideas for making changes. In addition, my clients will sometimes pose a problem that I can respond to with an article.

WA: Thank you for giving us some of your time, Denise. I wish you the very best.

You can read some of Denise’s articles at WAHM Articles , and you can learn more by visiting Denise at Key Organization Systems, Inc.

This week, I had the opportunity to chat with Sophia McIntyre of Work At Home Space and Healthy Perspectives.

WAHM-Articles: Hi Sophia. Thank you for visiting the WAHM-Articles Blog. First of all, can you tell us about your business?

Sophia McIntyre: Hi Denise. Thank you for having me here.

I own the website Work At Home Space. It’s a free resource for anyone looking to work from home. I offer a list of reputable work at home companies who hire telecommuters. I also offer unresearched daily job leads, business articles and information, free ebooks, health and wellness articles, home businesses and other work at home related topics. Plus, I have a growing forum with tons of resources.

W-A: How does your business help moms?

Sophia: I’m always seeking knowledge on things I’m not quite familiar with and I take what I know and my experiences and share them with others hopefully to prevent them from not making the same mistakes I did. I consider my business a stepping stone in guiding people in the right direction.

W-A: How did you get started working from home?

Sophia: I started online in late 2002 when I came across an ad typing program. At that time I had no idea there were such thngs as work at home forums let alone know that one should never pay for training material fees. Luckily for me I didn’t lose out, but it was a turning point for me when the company went belly up.

W-A: If a mom wants to work from home, what choices does she have?

Sophia: She has a lot of choices. It will depend on what she wants to do and what kind of income she wants to bring in. There are many different options to explore from working for an employer as a customer service rep for example, owning her own home business, affiliate marketing, writing, blogging or freelancing.

W-A: How can participating in a community forum help moms work from home?

Sophia: Community forums are invaluable tools. Not only are they loaded with resources on working at home, but you can get first hand information from the members who are doing it and can share their experiences and knowledge. It’s a great place to network because you are meeting people from all over the world with different interests and backgrounds.

W-A: You also own a blog called Healthy Perspectives. Can you tell us about your blog?

Sophia: Healthy Perspectives features an array of health topics, nutrition, recipes and fitness for maintaining an overall healthy and well-balanced lifestyle.*

W-A: What inspired you to create Healthy Perspectives?

Sophia: My love and thirst for knowledge in the health and wellness industry. I love reading how foods good and bad can benefit us in a healthy way. I’m amazed on all the information I have found during my research that not only it tastes good, but how it can prevent this or why it’s important to eat that. There are a multitude of illnesses I’ve never heard of and they are popping up everywhere so I like to be informed.

W-A: Every online business owner struggles to get traffic to her site. What have you done to promote traffic to your website and your blog?

Sophia: Forum networking and signature advertising are my best advertising methods thus far. Not long ago, I started writing more articles and I’m slowly starting to see results. I also guest author on a work at home blog that has given me a bit more exposure to my website. For my blog, I mainly do link exchanging with other health related blogs and I also joined BlogRush which has spiked my traffic a bit.

W-A: How has writing and submitting articles helped your business?

Sophia: I haven’t written many articles, but lately the last few I have written and submitted have slowly given me some results.

W-A: Where do you get ideas for the articles you write?

Sophia: Some of my articles have been from personal experiences, some from articles in magazines I have read or tidbit of news I’ve heard from the radio. The others come from forums. Like I said, forums are invaluable in many ways. It’s a place to learn, share, gather information and ideas.

W-A: Do you have any words of wisdom to share with someone who’s thinking about
working from home too?

Sophia: Patience, persistence, consistency, perseverance, research and love what you do.

W-A: Thanks for your time Sophia! I hope you have a very Merry Christmas, and wish you success in 2008.

Several of Sophia’s articles are published at WAHM-Articles.com, and they offer invaluable advice for starting and marketing your home based business. You can also visit Sophia at her website http://www.workathomespace.com/ or her blog http://healthyperspectives.blogspot.com/