I’m so excited to share today’s interview with you! Not only has Tory’s website, Women for Hire been helpful on my career journey, she’s also been an inspiration to me. And you can only imagine my excitement when she agreed to hop on a quick phone call with me to talk about her career journey.
You probably know Tory Johnson from her weekly segment on Good Morning America; but she is also an entrepreneur, speaker, and author who seeks to help women achieve their goals.
Read on to see how she manages it all.
What is a typical “day in the life” of Tory like?
Honestly, there is no typical day; each new day brings a whole new level of craziness and fun. My twins who are now twelve are absolutely wonderful, they get up on their own, and they get along great. My husband makes everyone breakfast in the morning, which generally consists of everyone wanting something different, from chicken noodle soup to apples. We’re usually out the door by 8:00 AM, unless I have to go to Good Morning America, then I leave around 6:00 AM – 6:30 AM.
Every day is an adventure, some days I’m at the office, other days I’m traveling and speaking at events and conferences. We round out the day with dinner, homework, and watching our favorite TV programs, American Idol and Jeopardy.
Now that you have moved well beyond a home business, do you still work-from-home or do you have a corporate office?
No, I no longer work-from-home. I stopped working at home after my first year of launching Women for Hire. I work with a lot of companies who have home-based employees, so I often catch myself fantasizing about going back to a work-at-home routine; perhaps in the future.
How many hours do you work a week?
More than I want to admit. Over 80 hours a week. When I’m at home, I’m constantly on my Blackberry checking emails. My kids are constantly ordering me to turn it off, and I’m always sneaking around to send messages.
What has been your biggest business struggle?
- Not being able to say no at work. There just aren’t enough hours in the day to take it all on. When my kids first started school, I signed up for every committee, and I found myself being resentful and not caring because it was just too much. I finally learned how to say no, and just focused on the things that I did really well, and I’m much happier. Now I just need to incorporate this into my professional life.
- I’m great at giving career advice, but it comes to doing my own, I’m not as good. I often hire based on credentials or personality, and I forget to look at the big picture; like is this person going to fit in well with our staff? Or vice versa, this person will fit in well with our staff, but they don’t have the experience and credentials to handle the position.
What advice do you have for others starting their own home business?
Make sure you know the challenges of working from home, all the distractions, isolation and discipline that it takes. Also sometimes you just need to dive in and do it, don’t over plan (what if it doesn’t work, what if I fail, what if I do it wrong?) often fear holds us back from following our dreams.
You wear many different hats, from being CEO of Women for Hire, Best Selling Author, Good Morning America’s Workplace Contributor to Public Speaker and Anchor of Home Work on ABC News. What’s your favorite part of your job?
My favorite part is the ability to impact people one at a time. I get great satisfaction from helping people, whether it’s connecting with someone at an event, answering a tweet from someone that needs advice or helping someone to find that perfect job. I’ve been able to help many people have “Aha Moments,” and that feels good.
For more information on Tory, you can visit her at her website, Women for Hire or check out one of her many books:
- Will Work from Home: Earn the Cash–Without the Commute
- Spark & Hustle: Launch and Grow Your Small Business Now
- The Shift: How I Finally Lost Weight and Discovered a Happier Life
- Shift for Good: How I Figured It Out and Feel Better Than Ever
Thanks, Tory for sharing your wisdom!
Cynthia Norris
Hello,
I am 52 years old and have been an LPN since 1976. Recently I was told that my company was cutting back and I would not be used by clinics because I cost them too much. I have lost my desire to be an LPN and want to move on. I love helping people and get a lot of satisfaction when I can help someone to make good choices and better their life. I am definitely a people person. I am finishing my Bachelor of Art/Psychology degree but I am at a loss as to how to change my career, which direction to go?!?!?
Holly - The Work at Home Woman
Hi Cynthia,
Thanks for your comment! Feel free to email me at holly (at) theworkathomewoman (dot) com and we can discuss work at home options further.
Holly