SuperWoMOM: Holly Hanna

Holly Hanna

MOMs are amazing, and this weeks SuperWoMOM is no exception.  Meet Holly Hanna, creator and founder of The Work at Home Woman. Not only does she provide an amazing resource for other MOMs trying to make ends meet while caring for a household, but she also takes the time to personally respond to emails, lend advice and support.  Her kindness is sweet and knowledge valuable.  Lucky for us, we got to pick this amazing MOMs brain as well as share her responses with you.  Enjoy!

AMOM: What was happening in your life when you made the choice/came up with the idea for The Work at Home Woman?

Holly: Since the day my daughter was born, I’d always been a stay at home mom. But after nine months of play dates and mommy and me classes, I felt the urge to make some money and exercise my brain. I looked online for different work at home opportunities, but I spent so much time bouncing from site to site, not to mention all of the scams that I had to weed out, that I was left feeling exhausted and defeated. This is when it dawned on me, “I need to create a comprehensive resource where women can find ALL of the information they need to work at home” and hence The Work at Home Woman was born.

AMOM: What do you hope it provides to other MOMs?

Holly: My mission is to help women and moms acquire the knowledge and skills to be able to successfully work from home or to become self-employed while providing support, inspiration and motivation.

AMOM: Why should MOMs check it out?

Holly: Whether moms are thinking about working from home or starting their own business, The Work at Home Woman can help them save time and also guide them along their way. Besides having a job board, work at home ideas, resources and daily articles, the site also contains a forum where moms can connect on a more personal level, allowing them to find the information that they’re really searching for.

AMOM: What is it like being a working MOM at home?  Do we face different obstacles?

Holly: Being a work at home mom is definitely the best of both worlds – but you have to learn how to wear many different hats while maintaining work-life balance. Because maintaining balance is one of the most difficult aspects of working at home, you really need to have the right personality and skill set for this arrangement. But if you’re self-motivated, an independent worker and able to avoid distractions – you’ll do great!

AMOM: What advice do you have to MOMs working out of their homes?

Holly: Get organized. When you work at home, not only do you  have distractions constantly staring you in the face, but you also have to learn how to balance your work with your personal life. Creating regular work hours, having a separate office space, relying on daily to-do lists and prioritizing tasks can help to keep you focused.

AMOM: What advice do you have to MOMs looking to startup a business out of their home?

Holly: Start building your network now. As a new entrepreneur you’re going to have a lot of questions, not to mentions those days that you just feel like throwing in the towel. Having a strong support system in place can help to alleviate some stress, and it will also be the place where you’re able to commiserate and celebrate your successes with other like mined individuals. Having a group of women who understand what you’re going through is priceless. Along with this, I suggest building your network up both online and in person.

AMOM: What advice do you have to the overwhelmed MOM?

Holly: Take a step back. You probably started working at home to spend more time with your children and to achieve better work-life balance. So stop climbing the so-called ladder and scale back on your business activities. There will be time enough to grow your business when your children are in school full-time – they are only this tender age once, enjoy it.

AMOM: What’s your favorite part about what you do?

Holly: I really enjoy helping people, but along with that I love writing and marketing. Some of my not so favorite tasks are book keeping and administrative tasks, but I hope to utilize my virtual assistant more this year, so that I can focus on the tasks that I enjoy the most.

AMOM: What do you hope other women take from you and your site?

Holly: I hope that women become educated and also get a realistic view of what working from or starting out own business is like. But at the same time I hope that I can inspire women to follow their dreams and to keep on going when the going gets tough.

Thanks for all you do, Holly.  MOMs are amazing and the support you provide is proof!

Interested in learning more about Holly and The Work at Home Woman?  You can visit her site, here.