Welcome to Moms In Business WAHM Interview!
This week's interview is with Carrie Lauth of Natural Moms Talk Radio.
Carrie is a single, homeschooling mom of 4 and has a great newsletter you can sign up for at Carrie's Natural Mom News!
Now here's Carrie!
What made you decide to be a work at home mom?
Having a baby. 🙂 Ten years ago I stopped working outside the home just days before my oldest son was born. I knew I couldn't go back to work for an employer. So I started looking around for a way to make money from home.
At the time I was doing a little buying on eBay to find the cloth diapers and organic baby clothes I wanted, so I thought, why not do some selling too? I started out selling baby clothes and accessories for a profit on eBay. It was easier to do that back then when there wasn't as much competition on eBay!
What is the nature of your business?
I'm an internet marketer. I create information products and make money with affiliate marketing and advertising sales as well. I'm a podcaster and blogger.
What made you decide that particular business?
Well several years ago I was in direct sales. I failed miserably at that even after a lot of hard work and sacrifice. It just isn't for me! But I did discover affiliate marketing while I was trying to build that business online, and found that I really loved it. I love to write, and writing is the most important skill you can have as an information and affiliate marketer.
Two years ago I got really clear on my focus and target market, and shortly after that launched my podcast. I enjoy that aspect of my business so much. It's a ton of fun and really doesn't feel like work at all. I've always enjoyed learning and talking to interesting people.
I've also created a business model that gives me mostly passive income. I'm grateful for that. Since I never offered services until very recently, my income has grown at a slower pace than some, but that's ok because I've built a business that suits my lifestyle.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Getting out of my own way! Not valuing myself enough and not having enough confidence in myself. This in my opinion is the biggest challenge of most female entrepreneurs.
What has been your biggest success?
Being able to support my 4 kids as a single mom from my earnings. 🙂
What is the best way you promote your business under $10.00? under $50 worth
it at any cost?
Creating valuable content doesn't cost you anything and keeps people coming back to your site over and over. If you have a little money to spend, I would advise something like hiring a ghostwriter to write some great articles for you (to perhaps turn into a product or report) or hire a VA to do some techy thing in your business that will save time and boost your marketing efforts.
In the beginning of my business when I joined Mom Masterminds, the monthly fee was a big investment. Now it seems silly to worry about that – and since I'm a graduate my fees are waived anyway, but MM is
definitely priceless!
How do you balance work and family?
Very carefully and with much flexibility 😉
I do my best to fit the business around family and other more important things and then I work like heck when my kids are with their Dad. LOL!
I also keep things very simple and don't make life too hard on myself by expecting a lot. As a single homeschooling mom of 4, I'm doing a LOT so I don't high super high expectations about the things that
aren't as important.
To what do you attribute your success as a WAHM?
Plain old stubbornness! Persistence trumps all… it beats out talent, it beats out uniqueness, everything.. just keep at it and you will meet your goals.
What impact has blogging made on your career?
Oooh I LOVE blogging! I tell people all the time that if I had it to do over again and were just starting out, I would launch a blog and do nothing else. I love that moms can start blogging and after building up an audience, earn money just from writing. It's so great!
Blogging has made me a better writer. It's helped me create a mini community and the free stuff you get is also nice. 😉
Can you recommend any resources for WAHMS who are just starting out, or
perhaps trying to make the transition from the workplace?
What can you tell us about your other ventures?
I recently started offering coaching and website critiques. I enjoy helping other moms who are a few steps behind me learn what I know, and I also like inspiring and motivating women to achieve their goals. It's energizing to me!
I've appreciated the value of coaching for some time and it's fun be on the other side of the equation. Your readers can learn about my services at https://www.carrielauth.com/hire-carrie.htm
What is one thing you can't do without in your business?
When it comes to resources, I really appreciate Aweber as my autoresponder and WahmCart for my product sales. And of course WordPress.
What's the biggest business killer?
The answer to those two is the same for me. Avoid comparing yourself to others and avoid giving in to negative thinking and discouragement.
What advice do you wish someone would've shared with you when you first
started out?
The importance of focus. Get really clear on what you want to do (although it's ok if it takes you awhile to figure that out!) and then stick with that until you meet your first income goal. Then when you add new aspects to your business, critically analyze whether it fits into your focus or not before proceeding. It's easy to get sidetracked and actually hinder your growth with too much side projects.
Thanks so much for the opportunity Tracy!