Is Your Social Media Strategy Relevant to Your Target Audience?

September 30, 2010 By 4 Comments
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What is your intention when you tweet and post updates to your Facebook Page? Are you just out there chatting? Want to share your insights and perspective on the things that interest you? Want to make friends that share your hobbies? And what about business–are you trying to find clients, JV partners, and to keep your current and past customers engaged? How is what you post online affecting your brand?

Watch this three-minute video and get some tips on how to use Social Media to build your brand.

So what’s your intention when you tweet and post to Facebook and LinkedIn? Please share your comments below.

Thumbnail photo courtesy of Intersection Consulting via flickr Creative Commons
Filed Under: business how-tos, marketing, social media, videos Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Road to Success for Mompreneurs

September 19, 2010 By 1 Comment
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I am honored to be featured on the blog of one of my dearest supporters online. Genevieve Lachance, of VASimpleServices.com, has put together a fantastic interview series called “The Everyday Entrepreneur.” Genevieve has her fingers on the pulse of mompreneurhood and asks all the right questions about what it takes to be successful as a mompreneur.

She created a video of my interview, and I’ve included it below. Just click the link to listen. It’s 15 minutes long.

Road to Success With Mom Biz Coach Lara Galloway

To read more of the lovely interviews Genevieve has collected, please visit her website.

Filed Under: business coach, business how-tos, mom entrepreneur coach, work/family balance Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Chaos Is Normal for Mompreneurs

September 13, 2010 By 5 Comments
going back to school

Summer is over, school is back in session…so everything is getting back to “normal,” right?

Not necessarily. When you’re a mompreneur, you have to adjust your mindset to the life you are choosing to lead. It really is a bit chaotic sometimes, but you’re not going to be successful in your business if you let the chaos of motherhood affect your ability to meet your business goals.

I am thrilled to be featured in today’s London Ontario Free Press in an article by Allison Graham. You can read my thoughts on how to be a successful mompreneur, along with those of my friend Melissa Lierman, by clicking here.

Filed Under: business how-tos, motherhood Tagged With: , , , ,

How to Handle Your Taxes

August 19, 2010 By 3 Comments
quickbooks graphic

Hey mompreneurs: Does tax time terrify you?

Does the thought of getting everything in order for your taxes make your heart stop?

Well, you’re not alone. And it’s a good idea to solve this problem before the holidays and tax time roll around. I’m always on the lookout for good resources to support mom entrepreneurs, and I’ve found a webinar I know will benefit many work at home moms.

My colleague, Rebecca Tervo, CPA, is offering a free teleseminar to help you get your financial books in order so you know exactly where you stand when it’s time to do your taxes.

How would it feel for you to go into the end of 2010 confident and secure? You can learn how in Rebecca’s  FREE webinar, “No More QuickBooks Fear”, where she outlines exactly what you need to know in QuickBooks, including what to track for taxes. This will be a jargon-free zone! No accountant talk, no weird terms you don’t understand. Just clear, simple explanations of the different sections in QuickBooks and what they mean for your business and taxes.

Rebecca has helped me get setup with my own QuickBooks account, and I really appreciate her professionalism coupled with an easy-going nature.

Click here to register.

Why not tell a mom entrepreneur friend about this webinar?

Does tax time terrify you?

Does the thought of getting everything in order for your taxes make your heart stop?  There IS a better way!  My clients feel great when tax time rolls around because they know that their books are in order and they have a clear picture on EXACTLY what they owe and how much money they’ve made.

How would it feel for you to go into the end of 2010 confident and secure?  You can learn how in my FREE webinar, “No More QuickBooks Fear”, where I’m outlining exactly what you need to know in QuickBooks, including what to track for taxes.  This will be a jargon-free zone!  No accountant talk, no weird terms you don’t understand.  Just clear, simple explanations of the different sections in QuickBooks and what they mean for your business and taxes.

Here’s the link to get signed up:  http://members.tervofinancialfitness.com/nomoreqbfear/

See you next Wednesday!

Rebecca Tervo, CPA

Tervo Financial Fitness, LLC

email address: rebecca@tervofinancial.com

website:  www.tervofinancial.com
twitter:  www.twitter.com/rebeccatervocpa

linked in: http://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccatervocpa
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tervofinancial

Filed Under: business how-tos, small business Tagged With: , , , , , ,

How to Monetize Your Passion

August 9, 2010 By 1 Comment

I just love talking to mom entrepreneurs about passion, work and money all in the same sentence :) .

So tomorrow, I’ll be doing just that. As part of the WoMEN: What Mom Entrepreneurs Need Teleseminar Series, I’m going to interview Rich German, author of “Monetize Your Passion: Follow Your Heart and Create Life’s Ultimate Win-Win-Win.” And Rich knows how to do just that.

We want to share with you how to do the same. Join us for the call tomorrow to learn:

  • Rich’s own story about how he turned his passion into a lucrative business
  • The top three hurdles that stop most people
  • The #1 key to turning your passion into a successful business
  • One baby step you can take to get started turning your own passion into a business

Make sure you hurry and click here to register for the call so I can get you the details before the teleseminar starts tomorrow at 12p ET. (Can’t make it live? Still register and I’ll email you the replay.)

Wondering if it’s really possible to make money with YOUR passion? Leave a question or comment below, and Rich and I will do our best to address it during tomorrow’s call.

Filed Under: business coach, business how-tos, reasons to work, work/family balance Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Spend Your Precious Time Wisely

July 12, 2010 By 3 Comments
mom entrepreneur delegate business success

OK, mompreneurs:

I know you’re busier than ever now that summer’s here. You’re the party-planner, play date coordinator, your children’s favorite toy, the vacation organizer, and a zillion other roles on top of your usual routine of wife, mother and business owner.

Some of the mom entrepreneurs I coach have been feeling a little overwhelmed trying to get it all done. I’ve had some panicky moments myself, due to the fact that my family’s travel season is in high gear and I’ve already taken three weeks off of work. I have even more planned :) .

The only way I can enjoy my time off with my family is to rememom entrepreneur delegate business successmber that I am not the only one who can do some parts of my job. If we mom entrepreneurs are going to successfully run a business while also thoroughly enjoying the freedom and flexibility that mompreneurship provides, we have to delegate.

    Here are a few of the things I have successfully delegated for the summer (and beyond):

    • Setting up my QuickBooks and making sure my bookkeeping is in order so tax time is easy this year
    • Getting a marketing strategy and marketing plan in place
    • Creating a press kit to help me be “media-ready” for some fantastic speaking opportunities and TV appearances
    • Vetting and gathering information for each of my guest experts in the WoMEN: What Mom Entrepreneurs Need Teleseminar Series
    • Loading new info products into my shopping cart

    Can you hear me breathing a sigh of relief over here? I am grateful to the team of mompreneurs who support me in my business. They do what they do much better than I do, and I get to focus on the parts of my business that only I can do. AND I get to get away from my work and spend my precious time with my family, making memories that I know will last a lifetime.

    Take a look at your calendar or your to-do list right now. What is ONE THING on your list that must be done, but that someone else could do for you?

    Do you need a recommendation for a VA (virtual assistant) who could help you get some things off your plate? I work with several and can highly recommend them. Leave a comment below if you’d like details.

Filed Under: business coach, business how-tos, mom entrepreneur coach, motherhood Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

New Mastermind Group for Mompreneurs: Mom Biz Mastery

June 1, 2010 By 7 Comments
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Note: I had originally planned to launch Mom Biz Mastery in July, but realized I was completely nuts since I was on vacation nearly the entire month. This post was originally written on June 1st, but I am updating it on July 27th to reflect the new launch date of September 9, 2010.

Many of the mompreneurs I’ve met over the last year or so are the kind of businesswomen most of us want to be: they are financially successful, they have an established business, they are well-known in their industry, they have a steady stream of clients keeping their pipeline full, and their businesses are not only surviving but thriving.

But there’s a catch–these businesswomen are also moms. And while their business is successful, their family life is falling apart. They’re working longer hours than they ever did when they worked for someone else. They have demanding clients and tough deadlines that keep them from taking time off for family vacations (and frequently can’t even get time off for dinner). These women are high-achievers and are used to the success that they have created for themselves, but they are realizing that the reasons they decided to start their own business and be their own boss are a distant memory.

As mompreneurs, they wanted to be home with their kids while they worked, or at least have the freedom and flexibility to choose the hours they work (and when they don’t) so they could attend their kids’ soccer games, plays, or just be home for them after school ends. They wanted work that fulfilled them and made them happy since it challenged them and used the best parts of who they are and allowed them to make a contribution to the family (and often times to the world).

It’s such an easy trap to fall into for us mom entrepreneurs, especially if you’ve started a business around work you love to do. Little by little, you find yourself working more and more and harder and harder in order to grow. And your commitment to your family means that you didn’t slack off in that category either. So you’re sacrificing sleep in order to pack lunches, keep up with the laundry, and finish that client project that’s due tomorrow.

You’re sleep-deprived, stressed-out, frustrated, resentful that you have no time to yourself, feeling guilty for being away from the kids and serving them take-out or hot dogs more than you’d care to admit, and your spouse or partner is probably not terribly happy with you, either. And yet you feel like you just have to keep it up or risk losing everything you’ve worked so hard over the past several years to create.

This probably isn’t the vision you had when you set out to be a successful mompreneur. I totally get it. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

I’m putting together a new Mastermind Group called Mom Biz Mastery. It’s for mompreneurs who have been in business for a few years, have an established online presence, have a services-based business (consulting, design, coaching, virtual assistance, teaching, facilitating, speaking, leading, writing, etc.), and find that they’re working too hard to achieve what they want.

I’ll accept only eight mom entrepreneurs (by invitation or application only) to make sure we have a small, focused, active group. We’ll meet every Thursday at 12p ET for an hour. We will collaborate, brainstorm and support each other. I’ll provide coaching to give you the feedback you need to get through some of those sabotaging mindsets we tend to have.

Your tuition will include full and immediate access to every single module in the Mom Biz Makeover Program (that’s 24 information-packed training modules in which I share all my secrets, tips and advice about how to run a sustainable mompreneur business without compromising your commitment to family) that you can work through at your own pace. The monthly tuition is $347/mo.

I’m ready to share loads of good information about how to help you get back to the freedom, flexibility and fulfillment you were looking for when you decided to start this business!

Stay tuned for updates on the program, which launches September 9th. Or if you’re sure you’re interested, you’re welcome to email me for an application: lara@mombizcoach.com.

Want to tell me what you’re looking for in a Mastermind Program? Go right ahead in the comments below.

Filed Under: business coach, business how-tos, mom entrepreneur coach, work/family balance Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Five Things You Must Do to Run a Successful Small Business

May 27, 2010 By 5 Comments
EVO Speaker Button

I’m super excited to be speaking as part of a panel at “EVO ’10: The Evolution of Women in Social Media” Conference at the end of June. Since my work as a mompreneur coach focuses on helping moms create successful businesses, I have been asked to participate in the Secrets for Small Business Success Panel.

In preparation for this, I’ve put together Five Things You Must Do to Run a Successful Small Business for you below. And if you haven’t already, please check out the EVO ’10 Conference–it’s in Park City, Utah, June 24-26. I would love to meet you there! Be sure to leave a comment below and let me know if you’re planning to attend :-)

1.  Choose a narrow target audience. This is counter-intuitive for most of us, since common sense tells us that the more people we can make our biz appeal to, the more people are likely to spend their money buying our stuff. Not true. We’re in a global, internet-related community now with gazillions of offerings to choose from. Small businesses cannot compete effectively on that scale. Be the big fish in a little pond!

2.  Get engaged with your audience. Once you narrow your target market down, you’ll be able to find your audience better, to join the groups and communities they belong to, to appear in blogs and media they consume. Be an active participant in these forums and be authentic. Over time, you’ll build relationships that increase the like/know/trust factor. We are savvy consumers now and are much more likely to buy from people with whom we have relationships than from the person with the biggest ad in the newspaper. Build strong relationships with your target audience and the business will follow!

3.  Create pain-killers, not vitamins. As you listen to your clients (by tweeting with them, reading and commenting on their blog posts, attending their networking meetings, taking polls or surveys, etc.), pay attention to what they describe as their top challenges, biggest struggles, ongoing issues, pain points. Create your business products and services to solve those pains! We’re more likely to pay for solutions to our problems than for things (like vitamins) that we know are good for us or that promise to “improve our lives.” Be the solution!

4.  Give, give, give. When faced with fierce competition, find ways to provide more value to your clients. Don’t discount your prices and reduce your rates. Doing so decreases your value. Instead, find ways to make whatever you’re offering even more valuable to your clients in a way that serves you both. You’ll stand out from the crowd and develop loyalty that will cause your clients to stick with you and tell everyone they know how great you and your offerings are!

5.  Pick a platform/niche. The key is focus. So many small business owners try to be everything to everybody, and wind up trying to piece-together a “business” that is really just a hodge-podge of skills and things they know how to do to make money. Being a business owner requires vision, strategy, planning and marketing. All of this is nearly impossible to accomplish if you’re trying to sell several different offerings to many different groups of people. Instead, opt for being THE ONE your audience looks to when they need a solution to their problems. Build your visibility, credibility and recognition as AN EXPERT on one platform (solution to a problem) first. When you dominate that and have a loyal following and full pipeline of clients, you can add another piece to the platform or expand your niche. But you must focus first, expand later!

What is one thing you believe is critical to your small business success? Or tell me how you’re applying any of the tips I gave above. And hey–did you check out EVO ’10 yet? It’s gonna be one fun tweet-up! Please leave your comments below.

Filed Under: business coach, business how-tos, small business, small business coach Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Take Back Your Time Program

April 27, 2010 By 2 Comments
managing time

The #MomBiz Salon was fun-filled last night. For those of you who weren’t able to join us, our topic was Time Management, and I shared tips and strategies to help mompreneurs take control of how they spend their time.

One of the biggest challenges the mompreneurs on last night’s #MomBiz Salon said they faced was establishing boundaries around their time and sticking to them. Several moms even admitted they had no idea how to do this. Other moms said they were struggling to grow their businesses since there weren’t enough hours in the day to do even the existing workload, much less adding more to it! We talked about the possibility of hiring a virtual assistant (or VA) to help with this, and discussed the ins and outs of delegating your work so you can run a successful business.

I know that the number one challenge for mompreneurs is always TIME and never having enough of it. Nearly every mom entrepreneur I coach struggles with this issue!

That’s why I have created an online coaching program for mom entrepreneurs who need help with time management, but don’t have time to commit to live coaching programs to make the healthy changes they need to make. The program, called “Take Back Your Time,” is a four-week program that delivers two e-course modules to you each week for four weeks. Each of the modules offers a lesson and some questions for you to answer so you can immediately apply the lesson to your life. You can simply do the work yourself, or you have the option of submitting your responses/questions to me for feedback. It’s a great way to get real coaching support on your personal time management challenges, and you can do it on your own schedule (like when the baby wakes you up in the middle of the night and you can’t fall back asleep :) .

Details of the Take Back Your Time online coaching program:

Agenda:
Week 1: Learning to Let Your Values & Priorities Drive Your Choices
Week 2: Creating the Right Boundaries & Routines to Give You Enough Time
Week 3: Finding More Time by Automating
Week 4: How to (and What to) Delegate

When: Start anytime, and you’ll be enrolled for four weeks

Where: Wherever you can login on a computer

How: Register here for the Take Back Your Time Program.

You will be taken to a login page at www.jigsawbox.com/signup/mombizmakeover to create your account. That will allow you to make your payment arrangements and give you immediate access to your private online coaching program, which is delivered via a platform called JigsawBox.com. You’ll receive two modules each week, and can submit your questions to your coach (me!) for feedback during your 30 day program access.

Why: Because the sooner you acknowledge how you’re making choices about spending your time and the sooner you decide to OWN your choices, the happier you’ll feel with what you get done in a day!

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Fee: $79 for all eight lessons (two per week) and personal email coaching with Lara during your program term
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Wanna hear some great tips on time management and how you can control your time better? Click on the link below to listen to an hour-long Group Coaching Call I do with some mompreneurs who want to learn to take back their time!

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Take Back Your Time Intro Call

Please note: This is a full-length coaching call so it may take a minute to load in your browser.
Go check the kids, grab a glass of water and it should be ready to go!

Filed Under: business coach, business how-tos, mom entrepreneur coach Tagged With: , , , , , ,

How to take back your time

April 27, 2010 By 1 Comment
managing time

Well, it’s just a few hours before the #MomBiz Salon twitter  party that I so enjoy hosting.

And here I am, trying to manage my kids who are exhausted at the end of the day, spend a little quality time with my husband who is just home from work, and ready myself for my next scheduled “office hours” at the end of a long day of mothering. My two preschoolers and I spent the day grocery shopping, running errands, playing in the back yard and enjoying the 65-degree weather at the park today, so we’re all kinda pooped.

I bet your life sounds kinda similar, huh?

This blending of roles and responsibilities is not only normal for us mompreneurs–it’s healthy. Although it may sound a little chaotic, today represents the normal “flow” of my schedule. I planned it to look the way it looked. It follows the normal routine of our week. And it’s my job to make sure that I spend my time doing what is most important to me. That doesn’t mean it’s not hard sometimes, or that I’m never tired, or that I don’t still get overwhelmed and stressed out with all there is to do in my life. But as a general rule, I love my life and I honor my top priorities in how I choose to spend my time.

Do you feel you can say the same thing?

Tonight’s #MomBiz Salon will center on a conversation about time management. Most of us feel like we don’t have enough time, and while that’s totally normal, it can also cause us to feel rather powerless about how our life goes. We’ll be talking about several strategies mompreneurs can use to spend their time powerfully during the #MomBiz Salon tonight, so I hope you’ll be joining us.

In addition, I have created an online coaching program for mom entrepreneurs who need help with time management, but don’t have time to commit to live coaching programs to make the healthy changes they need to make. The program, called “Take Back Your Time,” is a four-week program that delivers two e-course modules to you each week for four weeks. Each of the modules offers a lesson and some questions for you to answer so you can immediately apply the lesson to your life. You can simply do the work yourself, or you have the option of submitting your responses/questions to me for feedback. It’s a great way to get real coaching support on your personal time management challenges, and you can do it on your own schedule (like when the baby wakes you up in the middle of the night and you can’t fall back asleep :) .

Here are the details of the program:

What: Take Back Your Time online coaching program

Week 1: Learning to Let Your Values & Priorities Drive Your Choices
Week 2: Creating the Right Boundaries & Routines to Give You Enough Time
Week 3: Finding More Time by Automating
Week 4: How to (and What to) Delegate

When: Start anytime, and you’ll be enrolled for four weeks

Where: Wherever you can login on a computer

How: Register here for the Take Back Your Time Program.

 You will be taken to a login page at www.jigsawbox.com/signup/mombizmakeover to create your account. That will allow you to make your payment arrangements and give you immediate access to your private online coaching program, which is delivered via a platform called JigsawBox.com. You’ll receive two modules each week, and can submit your questions to your coach (me!) for feedback during your 30 day program access.

Why: Because the sooner you acknowledge how you’re making choices about spending your time and the sooner you decide to OWN your choices, the happier you’ll feel with what you get done in a day!

Fee: $79 for all eight lessons (four per week) and personal email coaching with Lara during your program term

BONUS: Register for the “Take Back Your Time” program by midnight Thursday, April 29th, and get access to a one-hour, live group coaching call with Lara on Friday, April 30th at 10:30am PT / 1:30 pm ET for Take Back Your Time program participants! This call alone is worth $125, and it’s my gift to you if you make a quick decision to get started with your program this week!

I hope you’ll join us at the #MomBiz party tonight! Please leave your comments and questions about time management below and I’ll do my best to address them!

Filed Under: business coach, business how-tos, mom entrepreneur coach Tagged With: , , , , ,
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