Interview with Work at Home Mom – Trisha Haas of MomDot
Tags: Blogger, Business, Entrepreneur, Interview, MomDot, Work at Home Mom
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Do you work at home?
I do work at home! I have an online boutique that I have had for 2 years and I am also a professional community owner. To be honest, I have put my boutique on hiatus the past few months to concentrate on some online work. I think it has been good for me to take a ‘break’ and gain some perspective on my goals.
How many children do you have?
I just have one beautiful girl, Charlotte.
How many hours do you work a week?
It’s hard to pinpoint that because when you work out of your home, as most WAHM can relate, it never really stops. There will always be another deadline, something else to do, and someone that needs you. It’s just important to try to balance that with home life and fun.
How do you balance all of your business and personal activities?
I am a poor manager at that if you look at it from an outside perspective. But what I can say is that I am excellent at enjoying what I do, therefore business and personal often feel like the same thing. I am fortunate that I have a lot of free time at home so it’s very simple for me to go up and take a bath and read a book and force myself some break time. I make sure I do that daily.
What was the inspiration behind MomDot?
MomDot originally started out as a way to assist mom boutique owners in free advertising. We found that not everyone wanted to read interviews and the goals have really changed as they go through. I think you have to reassess where you are going and how you want to get there quite often in order for it to work. Although we no longer run interviews, we have now expanded into a full community where bloggers and boutiques can submit their own articles and we publish them. So in a way, we can still advertise everyone for free, but it cuts down on the amount of personal work and we can help more people. No more waiting on me to pick a number.
Did you ever expect Mom Dot to reach this level of success?
Yes. I think you have to have that in mind before you begin. I am not a single blogger, although I have branded MomDot to my personality a bit. But it takes a whole team of people to run the ‘success’ that MomDot has been. I also think it depends on how you define success. If I can help or change someone’s life for a positive direction, I feel successful. We have been able to do that many times over and I feel blessed to have had those opportunities. It’s not about the best day in stats or the most links. It’s not about your Google page rank for the month or how many sales. At the end of the day it has to be about more than that or you will just stress yourself out.
What has been your biggest business struggle?
Anytime a bunch of women get together in one spot there tends to be quite a bit of cattiness. MomDot has been fortunate enough to not carry that in our forums which is what makes us so wildly successful in a lot of ways and I attribute that back to the women that visit us. It’s them that are so fabulous and make it a place I want to be. But the photosphere as a whole can be a struggle because everyone is so different, has different goals, and can be very judgmental. Its also because everyone is trying to ultimately achieve some amount of personal success and you have to have someone take time to believe in what YOU are doing..that can be hard.
What are your 3 favorite websites or blogs?
The Ohana Mama (who wouldn’t love this blog….she lives in Hawaii for goodness sakes….the pictures alone are worth the visit).
Maternal Spark (heather is fab-u. She has great knowledge and writes articles that are helpful and easy).
iJustine (also a blogger) has some amazing Vlogs. Her editing is excellent and she is an inspiration.
What advice would you give to a new entrepreneur?
If you’re an online business owner, make sure you open a blog. A blog attached to a business can really help your SEO and also connect with your audience. Highlight new products, ask for design suggestions, and get feedback. It also can bring you to the top of Google if you do it right, and we all know how helpful that can be for competition.
In general I would say that it’s ok to fail as long as you’re getting out there. Re-evaluate your goals as your ideas change and set them realistically. I would not tell myself that I can sell $1 million this year if I can’t, because it’s going to ultimately just lead to disappointment. Set smaller goals, celebrate as you achieve them, and then set new ones. It keeps your spirits up.
Last but not least, reinvent yourself and stay on top of your market. Its ok if there are thousands of people doing what you do…just aim to be the best and provide a quality that is unlike what anyone else is offering and you will be successful.
For more information on Trisha Haas, see MomDot
Follow Trisha on Twitter: @MomDotRocks
3 Responses to “Interview with Work at Home Mom – Trisha Haas of MomDot”
Leave a Reply
August 17th, 2009 at 6:37 am
thank you so much for interviewing me! I really apprieciate that you took the time to share with others what i had to say.
sincerely,
trisha
.-= trisha´s last blog ..Big Brother News! =-.
August 19th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
Great interview and wow, was I happily surprised when I saw I made Trisha’s top three fave blogs…thank you Trisha! You know I love you and the whole momdot team and forum members! Thanks for inspiring us every day!
.-= Sarah´s last blog ..The Grown Up Sippy Cup…a video (the sippy saga continues..) =-.
August 20th, 2009 at 10:38 am
Trisha is an inspiration to me and many who are a part of her community/family :)
.-= Clarissa Nassar´s last blog ..Go for it, Jump Off the Deep End! =-.