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For the momma trying to be it all and do it all. Tips and inspiration for working, raising leaders and launching successful businesses

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3 Key Elements in Every Successful Marketing Plan

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You know the old saying, “Success isn’t owned. It’s leased and rent is due every day.” What’s more is that success is planned for from the beginning!

In breaking down the elements of a successful business plan, your marketing plan is a huge piece of the puzzle. Your marketing plan must focus first on your target audience (customers) with crystal clear ideas on how you’re going to reach them. Not sure where to get started with your marketing plan? Here are 3 key elements that you usually see in every successful business plan. 

(Really) know your target audience

You cannot create an effective marketing plan without knowing your audience. It’s no longer good enough to understand basic, high-level information about your customers. The best marketers deeply understand their customers’ pain points, what they struggle with, what their goals are, and how they can uniquely help them. In all honesty – you could have the best marketer on the planet working for you, and if you don’t deeply understand your customer, the strategy will fail.

To help you get started, we created an awesome Marketing Guide that shows you exactly how to dial into your target audience in 30-minutes or less. It also includes a free customer persona building template, get your free download here.

Market Research

Market research is an age-old research tool to help you identify your consumer’s and habits, behaviors, psychographics, and more. Research is the first of several elements of a marketing plan because without it, you are throwing the proverbial spaghetti against the wall, trying to get something to stick. What’s great about market research is that it doesn’t just have to be information you pull off of the internet, either. Surveying former customers, customer discovery interviews, A/B tests, customer feedback – all of these initiatives are a form of research. Don’t know certain information about your customers? Ask them! 

Primary research comes directly from a potential consumer. This information is invaluable. Negative and constructive feedback is oftentimes more valuable than positive feedback because it shows you what’s working for you customers, and what isn’t. From there, you can pivot and modify your strategy accordingly.

Secondary research relies on statistics, studies, and other gathered data to build the elements of a marketing plan. This is the big picture. How much does your target audience spend on your type of product or service? Are there new trends? Where do your customers shop? Secondary research helps you know where to hone in for effective marketing.

Know Your Competition

Check out the competition. If your competitors are succeeding, they’ve likely already done market research and have figured a few things out along the way. By researching the competition, you’re giving yourself a leg up on who is interested in what you have to offer. If they’re doing well, you can bet there is room for your woman-owned business to also flourish. 

If you’re already in business, and if you’re reworking or starting market research, begin with your current customers. The goal is to broaden your audience with people who are similar to your existing customers. This information details a proven track record for your success. To win in marketing, repeat, repeat, repeat everything that’s working. Check out Using Frequency Marketing to Gain Happy Customers.

Where do you market? Build a strategy!

Your business is in the market to fill a niche or solve a problem, but you must reach your audience with the right message in the right place for an effective marketing plan to work.

Where do your customers go for information?

Building a customer acquisition strategy is one of the key elements of a marketing plan. This strategy helps you figure out exactly how to acquire customers and at what frequency. A quick place to start is to research how your target segment shops for your type of product or service. Different social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok each reach a different demographic. Here’s how to learn more about  How to Use Pinterest in Your Marketing Strategy.

Be Consistent

Once you’ve found your customer, the worse thing you can do is disappear. Your customers want a mutually beneficial relationship. Give them what they want, and keep showing up for them consistently so that when they’re ready to buy, you’ve created trust and you’ll be top of mind. Effective marketing includes your staying consistent with your outreach, your messaging, and your strategy. Consistent touch with clients might include things like:

  • Email blasts
  • Loyalty programs
  • Social media updates
  • Product promotions
  • Coupon codes
  • Mailers
  • Advertising

How do you spend your marketing dollars?

Your budget is going to change as your business grows. Businesses often fail because they didn’t plan to spend enough on marketing from the start. Here’s where to get started:

Start with the Essentials

Marketing essentials including a website, branding, social media, and advertising. Make it easy for them to find you and your message. Get out there and do it!

For effective marketing you must use a two-prong approach.

Focus on what is already proven and working. If email blasts give you the best ROI (return on investment), then keep doing it. But if you’re brand new in the market, you’re guessing what will work in the early stages (and that’s totally OKAY). Trial and error is really important at the beginning to figure out which marketing mix and channels are going to work best for you. 

Allocate part of your budget to experiment. Popular belief would make you think that there’s a one-size fits all approach to marketing – and that is simply not true. If there’s a new social media platform, or you just have a great new and daring idea, budget to be able to give it a try…then measure your results. If it works, great! If it was a flop, then you move on to the next idea. Without experimenting, you might miss finding your best marketing platform.

Come visit us at Sohuis to team up with women business owners like you, learning elements of a marketing plan or more of the latest tips and keys to lead to success. When you have Sohuis on your team, you can keep up to date with the latest masterclasses and fireside chats, learning tricks like being newsworthy to help your marketing plan, how to stand out in a sea of sameness, and even how to build an online empire. We’re excited to share everything we know so we can cheer with you as you succeed.

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3 Key Elements in Every Successful Marketing Plan
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Using Frequency Marketing to Gain Happy Customers

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If there’s one tried and true sales and marketing strategy that we know works every time – it’s that regular contact with your customers and leads helps keep them coming back!

Your woman-owned business depends on successful marketing, and this encourages happy customers come back to buy more. ‘Frequency Marketing,’ a term you might not be familiar with, is the key to reach those customers. Every dollar spent in advertising must yield results, and here are the secrets to tap into frequency marketing to help you grow your business. 

Reach vs. frequency marketing

Your advertising reach is quite simply how many people receive your marketing message.  Advertising frequency is how often your market hears your message. 

Here’s the secret of reach vs frequency marketing: if you have a broad reach and don’t use frequency marketing, you’re wasting your money. Frequency is the smart way to build a customer base.

Why is frequency marketing important?

​​At the end of the day, people buy from familiar brands. Old-school marketing wisdom suggests consumers don’t buy anything until they’ve seen a marketing message an average of seven times. Sticking to the Fundamentals of Marketing and relaying that message continually will help build the brand recognition you are looking for. 

Is the marketing rule of seven true today? Using the same sales pitch seven times is NOT enough! You need to be engaging with your customers with a variety of messages to continue to build familiarity and trust; and of course, social media is a gold mine to utilize in your frequency marketing campaigns because there is so much opportunity to interact with your customers daily. 

If you’re on a tight budget, consistency is more important than reach. What if you had a handful of seeds and threw them up in the air? Even if some are carried away by the wind to distant sales grounds, they’re not going to grow without water. Consistent marketing is like providing water to grow those seeds of interest in your clients. Focusing on frequency, prepares seeds to grow into sales.

How do you plan your advertising frequency?

Knowing you need to reach your audience seven or more times for effective frequency marketing is a great start. 

Avoid a spammy sales pitch and instead share meaningful content that benefits your customers. 

Here are 6 tips for meaningful and useful content 

  • Ask yourself this question: what is unique about you and your company?

Is there an advantage to using your product or service? How will your company benefit your customers’ lives? Potential customers want to know the inside story about you and why you do what you do. 

  • Why do people go to the internet? To be entertained!

If you can post amusing content, you’ve already got engaging and useful content. 

  • Emotion is a driving factor in most purchasing decisions.

Do you have an interesting story to tell? Stories draw in customers with emotion. And also this avoids serving up spam.

  • Interact with your customers. 

Some of your best members on your frequency marketing team are your existing customers. Their stories draw in business between testimonials, videos of them using your products, interviews of them showcasing how your solution helped them. The opportunities to use your current customers as your sales force are endless!   

Here’s another key: potential customers are far more likely to buy from you if they’ve been referred or experience 3rd party validation rather than you trying to convince them of your value.

And what about your employees? Are they part of your customer base? Here’s another opportunity to focus on their stories to help you sell.

  • Target ads to your specific demographic with frequency marketing. 

Focus your time and money on your greatest potential market.  

Now that you’re consistently showing your customers why they want to do business with you and how they would benefit, they feel confident you’re offering valuable content, and they know you have their best interests at heart, they’re more likely to make a purchase. 

Without regular touch, customers forget about how awesome your products and services are and how they’ll benefit their lives. By being consistent, you’re giving your customers the opportunity to make purchases when they’re ready.

  •  Is there a cost-effective way to implement frequency marketing? 

Social media and email marketing are your answers to finding great cost-efficient ways to reach your market. 

We are big fans of email marketing automation tools like Flodesk,  Mailchimp, and ConvertKit that collect leads and manage other contacts like mailing lists and newsletters.

Fun fact: Email marketing has the highest ROI than all other social channels combined. It is a must for small businesses. Grab our free training on Email Marketing 101 right here.

Social media automation tools like Planoly, Tailwind and Hootsuite offer platforms to help you create content and schedule posts. These services also track your ROI and manage your team. Here’s more information about Hiring the Right Small Business Management Services. 

What are the pros of implementing a frequency marketing strategy? 

  • Consistent messaging creates trust, awareness, and keeps your brand top of mind when your customers are ready to buy (the rule of 7)
  • Automation tools make it easy and cost-effective to create consistent value through your content delivery
  • Helps you bring previous customers back for more with promotions and consistent touch (increasing that customer lifetime value)

What are the cons of implementing a frequency marketing strategy? 

  • Repetitive communications can get marked as spam
  • Obvious tag of automation tool on platforms like Facebook and Twitter
  • Less creative than a personalized option
  • Frequent communications can mean additional effort to come up with fresh content continually 

If you loved this blog, check out everything else we’ve got going on from masterclasses and fireside chats,to our marketing mastermind, to our formal marketing accelerator for women owned businesses. Now that you’ve learned some of the secrets of frequency marketing, come check us out and see how we can help you improve your business!

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Using Frequency Marketing to Gain Happy Customers
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5 Reasons for Outsourcing Marketing Activities vs In-House Hiring

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Should you hire marketing resources in-house or should you look to outsource that capacity?

An outsourcing strategy brings new people to the table to give you a fresh perspective on your business, growth potential, and how to reach your market effectively. There are plenty of reasons for outsourcing, but the most important are time and money.

What does outsourced marketing offer?

As you build and grow your woman-owned business, you need experts in your corner. When outsourcing marketing tasks, you’re hiring laser-focused team members who concentrate on driving new business, increase brand awareness, and ultimately, produce revenue. Having an external contractor gives you a fresh perspective, additional expertise, and frees your time.

5 Reasons for Outsourcing Marketing vs Having it In-House

  1. Get a Competitive Boost

One of the reasons to outsource marketing is to rely on experts. Marketing companies know current trends, how to reach your target audience, and leverage your marketing dollar for the largest impact. They must stay on the leading edge and give your small business a competitive boost in the marketplace.

For an in-house team to be competitive, it can be expensive to acquire the same knowledge, talents, experience, and capacity. Many times large companies hire an in-house team for convenience, not because it’s the best option.  For the small business, getting that quick competitive boost at an affordable cost may mean looking at service providers to help.

2. Return on Investment (ROI)

Hiring the right company saves you money. As a small business, every dollar counts and money spent on marketing specifically must bring a healthy ROI. Having cutting-edge marketing improves sales and is one of the prime reasons for outsourcing marketing. You’re paying an outsourced marketing firm to perform. If they don’t live up to your expectation, they lose your business.

An in-house team can be more expensive than outsourcing marketing and has different incentives to perform.  Being a “client” to an outsourced firm can be an easier path than providing continual direction and oversight of in-house resources.

3. Focused Time From Experts

Your outsourcing strategy hires the focused time of experts. Marketing projects such as redesigning a website, rebranding, or media programs take a significant amount of time. You may not need a full-time employee to complete your marketing plan.

Your outsourced team frees your time to concentrate on other aspects of your business. Piling more work on in-house employees is less efficient than hiring experts who will complete work more quickly.

4. New Perspectives on Your Business

Another reason to outsource marketing is to reach a broader audience. A new perspective ties in with having a competitive boost, and is a key to get out of marketing ruts.

If you rely on an in-house team, they are influenced by your company culture and approach marketing in a static way.

5. Flexibility and Scalability

As your business grows and changes, you need the flexibility offered by an outsourcing strategy. A marketing firm adapts to the changes you need when you need them. 

Also, when outsourcing your marketing, you gain team members with different backgrounds and perspectives. Diversity increases flexibility in marketing campaigns.

As your business grows, an outsourced marketing team can scale with you and provide scaled costs.  Scaling in-house resources can be much more difficult.

How to Build an Outsourcing Strategy

Every dollar needs to get utilized to build a stronger business. Instead of throwing money at the wall to see what sticks, you need to have an outsourcing strategy.

  • What are your marketing strengths?

Always play to your strengths. If you love an aspect of your business, then keep doing it!

  • What are your marketing weaknesses?

We all have areas that need to be bolstered. Do you hate the email list? How about writing or creating new content? What you don’t like to do is what the outsourcing strategy should be focused on. Marketing is so important for your success, and it’s worth investing money for your success.

  • Make a budget

Marketing is not the place to deeply slash your budget, but you still need to be able to afford your outsourcing strategy. Make a plan for your marketing budget to gain a greater ROI. Expect changes in your budget as your business grows, and readdress it often.

If you decide the reasons for outsourcing marketing activities outweighs hiring an in-house team, we have more ideas for you about Hiring the Right Small Business Management Services.  At Sohuis, our goal is to provide resources to help you grow your business. Come check out our workshops and experts. We look forward to meeting you and cheering for your success.

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5 Reasons for Outsourcing Marketing Activities vs In-House Hiring
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Why You Should Hire a Virtual Administrative Assistant

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Hiring a Virtual Assistant is one of the best ways to find more time, and more time for you creates the opportunity to build a better business! 

A virtual administrative assistant is the secret to freeing time for your business. You work hard all day (and sometimes through the weekend, guilty), however, some tasks may not be the best use of your time. When you hire a virtual administrative assistant the busy work evaporates.

VA task expenses vary to suit your business. They pay for themselves by giving you the capacity to focus on your woman-owned business. And allow you to find time to take care of yourself and your loved ones.

What are virtual assistant tasks?

A virtual administrative assistant focuses on the low ROI (return on investment tasks) that support you in your efforts to make your business run more smoothly. The real value of a virtual administrative assistant – if utilized well – is that they free you up to perform other specialized work that no one else can do.

Here are some examples tasks virtual administrative assistants can do to help your business:

Business Efficiency

  • Written and verbal communication for internal and external sources
  • Organization of operational tasks
  • Online marketing in social media
  • Creating spreadsheets and presentations

Provide Research and Operation Management

  • Conducting market research
  • Data entry and analysis
  • Tracking social media and sales
  • Web development and expanding social media content

Freeing up your time 

  • Customer service
  • Emails
  • Scheduling appointments
  • Organizing your business information into a workable system

What can a virtual administrative assistant do for your business?

For any small business to succeed, you must stick within a budget and allocate funds where it improves your business. It’s not about cutting corners. It’s about how to use your capital strategically. One of the most critical assets in your business is your time. So at the end of the day, think of a virtual administrative assistant as a key tool to offset low value work so that you can invest in high-value efforts that are really going to move the needle for your business. 

Reduce Costs

Hiring a virtual administrative assistant is less expensive than hiring resources to come into your office because it reduces overhead expenses. You may only need to hire a part-time resource to complete the virtual administrative tasks you designate.

Improve Your Business

Having a virtual administrative assistant puts one person on the task of organization and efficiency. Having an expert take care of social media, research, and communication sets your business up to make a splash in the market.

Focus Your Time

Time is your most valuable commodity. The daily ins and outs of the business can eat up all your time. With a virtual administrative assistant, you are now able to focus on high-level work. More time helps you focus on the most important things that fuel your business. 

Are you ready to hire a virtual administrative assistant?

There are three signs that you are ready to hire a virtual administrative assistant.

There’s not enough time in the day.

During the start-up phase, you have to wear multiple hats to get everything done. But if administrative tasks are eating up your entire day, you must free yourself to take care of the critical components that only you can do.

You’re making mistakes.

Making mistakes goes hand-in-hand with not having enough time. If you are making mistakes because you have too much to do, it’s time to look at hiring a virtual administrative assistant. Sometimes, this looks like avoidance tactics of taking care of the daily running of your business. However, gaining control of costly mistakes is not avoidance. It’s strategy.

You feel out of control or overwhelmed.

If you’re hitting that point where you can’t work and focus, spending money to hire the right assistants can actually improve your bottom line. When virtual assistant tasks bring order to your business, you can focus on the things that matter. Having focus is also true for balancing your business with your home life. Once your business is operating smoothly, you will have time to focus on expansion.

Check out this article to learn more about Hiring the Right Small Small Business Management Services.

Hiring a virtual administrative assistant is the piece of the puzzle to keep you focused on building your business instead of wasting time and money on tasks that someone else can do. When you implement a system to take care of important but repetitive tasks, you will discover opportunities to grow. We’re here to help you make your woman-owned business successful through workshops and fireside chats. Come check out Sohuis for resources to build a better team for your business.

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Why You Should Hire a Virtual Administrative Assistant
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Building a Premium Brand for Women Owned Businesses

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There’s a secret, under-tapped market, and you’re the expert to meet their needs!

Building a premium brand gives you an opportunity to reach consumers who spend more money for quality products. Premium brands are sought after by both men and women because of quality, ethical outsourcing, and customer service. We’ve got information for you to leverage building a personal brand to reflect your premium brand for better marketing.

What is a premium brand?

We often think a luxury brand is the same as a premium brand, but that’s not always true. A premium brand is positioned in the market to serve a specific market niche that is looking for a higher quality product. The premium brand can fetch similar prices to the luxury brand, but it is attractive to a consumer who may or may not care about luxury, but is definitely focused on quality. 

Women are America’s top consumers, but men purchase more premium brands than women. This gender shopping gap means the best marketing opportunities may lie in convincing women to shop for quality – and as a woman owned business, you know exactly what women want, putting you in the driver’s seat to convince them a premium brand is for them.

Is building a premium brand the right choice for you?

Building a premium brand is more expensive with the payoff farther down the road. It’s quality over quantity, and that’s why the ticket price is higher. Plan for enough capital to create an exclusive quality product. But not everyone wants one. 

To find out if building a premium brand is right for your woman-owned business, research where your product falls in the market index.

Here are two brand index resources to decide if your product fits premium brand parameters. 

https://business.yougov.com/product/brandindex 

https://www.askattest.com/brand-tracker

Advantages of building a personal brand

When building a personal brand with the focus on being premium, you must create a great story for your consumers. Your personal brand tells your story, but how does your story equate to premium?  

Consumers love premium brands with a good background story. How did you start this business? Who was involved? What makes you and your company unique? What are your key differentiators among your competitors?  These are all elements of your brand, so use them to convince your market that you offer exceptional quality. 

When developing your personal brand, pay close attention to your logo, website, and photography. Brands stand out in every way to reach their target audience. Here’s the perfect workshop to learn more about Why You Need a Genuine Personality Brand: How to Stand Out in a Sea of Sameness and a World of Duplicates. By joining as a Sohuis member, you’ll get access to this replay + all of our other trainings and marketing resources!

Five tips to building a premium brand 

  1.     Create a quality product 

Pay attention to the details when building your product. Know how your product is being manufactured and decide what ingredients or components make it special. The history of your product makes a difference to your consumer, and so it must matter to you too. 

  1.     Market to the right audience 

Not only is it important to use professional photography and have a stellar website, but you have to appeal to your specific target audience. 

Millennials born between 1983 to 1996 frequently purchase premium brands, averaging about 34% of the market. Those born between 1975 to 1984 make up the second largest portion of the market at 33%. And don’t forget Gen Z born between 1997 to 2003 make up an additional 19% of the market. The remaining 14% of the market of premium brand purchases are from outliers. 

This segment of the population buys premium brands because they are employed, moving up in their companies, and value quality and socially conscious products. 

  1.     Symbolic value 

You must give your buyers more than the concrete value of a product. As an example, shoes are not shoes. Does your target audience want shoes for walking? Yes, but they also want more out of those shoes. 

Think back to building a personal brand. Your narrative story is part of the symbolic value as well as the quality of the materials, craftsmanship, online presence, socially conscious mission and practices, and customer service, creating a symbolic value. 

  1.     Deliver what you promise 

Your target audience is paying more for your brand, and they have high expectations. 

Develop solid lines for distribution. Guarantee your quality is on par with their expectations. When in doubt, go above their expectations. If follow up is needed, do it! 

  1.     Authenticity 

Your company must fit your product’s image. If you have a green company, that means you must believe in the advantages of going green. If you are using ethically harvested materials, they better be ethical. 

When someone buys your brand, they are buying more than a product. Consumers want to know they can trust you, and when they do, they’re happy to spend more and give you their loyalty. 

At Sohuis, we love supporting women-owned businesses. We offer masterclasses and fireside chats with female professionals to help you level up when building a premium brand. Come and check out how we can be part of your team for success. 

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Building a Premium Brand for Women Owned Businesses
4 Tips for Building Your Dream Mom Boss Life

4 Tips for Building Your Dream Mom Boss Life

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Perks and Planning to be a Mom Boss

Mom boss life is unique with its own set of challenges, but you’ve got this. When you’re a mom and a business owner, you have to balance family life with work, it’s a little crazy but it’s all worth it! At Sohuis, we’re here to help you get the most out of being a mom boss.

What perks help women choose the mom boss life?

Sure, it’s hectic and crazy, but the biggest perk is being there for your family. You don’t have to choose between your career and your family when you’re living that mom boss life. Being present at your kids’ big events, whether that’s a game or concert or something else that makes their eyes light up. The option to organize your schedule around doctor appointments, your family’s needs, or when the kids are sleeping. Does that mean it’s easy? Not necessarily, but at Sohuis, you can learn 5 Ways to Work with Kids at Home. This covers how to prioritize time management disasters. 

Being a Mom Boss is Corporate America

Corporate America is not always mom-friendly. Even when you put in the same time as your colleagues, you can get passed over or put on the slow-growth track because you’re a woman. Instead of waiting for someone else to build your career, you control your growth and productivity as a mom boss. Building an online business is easier than ever. You might have a skill or product that fills a niche market, but no matter what your business is, you control your future. 

4 Tips for Being a Mom and a Business Owner

  1.   Time Management

Instead of fitting your family around your work, organize your work around your family. That shift helps prioritize what you need to do and defines what is important for your success. This means you might be working when the kids are asleep. 

Make a schedule, and stick to it. There are great online resources to get the most out of your day. One way that is effective for a mom boss is time blocking to focus all your energy on a single task at a time. 

Have a weekly traffic meeting with your family to increase communication and to execute your plan. This way everything can get done, and everyone can get where they need to be. 

  1.   Evolve 

Women-owned small businesses are nimble. This means you can change your business model to increase your work, outsource, or even cut back. Sometimes you might be working when the kids are asleep, or you might need to organize a play date to grab some time during the day. The point is that you can make your business change to fit your needs. 

If you’re still figuring out the right business for you, here are 10 Stay-At-Home Mom Business Ideas for 2021.

  1.   Marketing 

Marketing is everything! Tell everyone in your network about your business because word-of-mouth is still a great way to build sales. Marketing gives your business new opportunities for success. Check out the 5 Fundamentals of Marketing for Female Owned Small Businesses to build a workable model for you.

The secret to being a mom boss

Is there a secret to being a mom boss? You bet there is, and it’s you! You’ve got to take care of yourself.

  1.   Health 

It’s easy to overlook yourself when you’re a mom and a business owner. Let go of the guilt, and take time for yourself to recharge. And just like you schedule time to get your work done, stick to a schedule to take care of yourself and live a healthy life.  

  • Nutrition – Eat a healthy diet. 
  • Exercise – Move your body. Find the right exercise for you, and if you get outdoors, there are a host of benefits to being in sunshine. 
  • Sleep – This is when your body recharges and heals. It’s required, but too often this is where women skimp to fit in more. 
  • Unplug – This may seem counterintuitive, but you must have time free of screens for balance. 
  • Entertainment – Enjoy your family when you’re together and don’t obsess about work. It will be there when you get back. Entertainment includes doing something you love for yourself.

Being a mom boss is a balancing act, but the rewards are worth it. You won’t regret having more time with your kids. You won’t miss having someone else control your schedule. And you won’t be sorry that your success came from your hard work. 

At Sohuis, our mission is to empower womenpreneurs just like you. If you’re ready to join the mom boss life with all the perks, reach out and we’ll help you through our blog and masterclasses. We can’t wait to hear about your success story!

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4 Tips for Building Your Dream Mom Boss Life
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10 Stay-At-Home Mom Business Ideas for 2021

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Play to Your Super-Mom Strengths to Create a Business!

There’s an interesting phenomena recently in highlighting the soft skills and the incredible talents moms bring to the workforce and to entrepreneurship. (I mean, why has it taken so long? But that’s a question for another day!) Have you considered created a stay-at-home business as a working mom? If so, becoming a business owner might be easier than you think.

Here are some ideas to help get you started if you’re thinking about starting a business as a stay-at-home mom.

What stay-at-home business ideas are right for you?

Here are four things to think about when finding the right business for you to start. Consider:

  • What skills do you already have?
  • What resources do you already have?
  • What do you like to do?
  • How can you adapt what you already have into a business?

You already have marketable skills and tools to build a business through your interests and life experiences. Is common sense your best skill? Do you have all the tools for baking? Do you love helping other people?

Technology offers two types of opportunities:

  • Technology makes reaching a broad audience easier than ever.
  • Technology keeps people busy, leaving space for homemade goods and services.

Whichever side of technology you land on, there is a place for you to thrive in becoming a business owner. The key is to choose the right business for you.

5 Business Ideas for Stay-at-Home Moms

Here are business ideas that lean into using technology as a way to get started immediately. If you have a computer, you’re ready for these businesses!

  • Freelance Writer

Businesses hire writers for web content, articles, blogs, and other marketing materials. Writing is a great field to work in with flexible hours. Here’s an article to learn How to Become a Freelance Writer with No Experience.

  • Genealogy Researcher

Believe it or not, learning more about ancestors is a growing business. If you like solving mysteries and making connections, this is a good business for you. It’s easy to learn how to use family history sites like Ancestry.com, MyHeritage, and FindMyPast.com.

  • Online Store Owner

Define your niche when having an online store. In addition to the products you’re selling, you must decide if you’re dropshipping or holding your inventory on-site.

  • Affiliate Marketing

For affiliate marketing, you need a profile and a network. Build an audience and increase traffic by providing valuable content. Then add affiliate marketing to every 3-5 posts. Facebook and YouTube are great platforms for affiliate marketing. Creating a space for user-generated content (UGC) makes you stand out in the marketplace. Check out Why User-Generated Content is Great for Your Marketing Strategy.

  • Website or Product Tester

Successful testers love learning, have great communication skills, and solving puzzles. It’s helpful to master one programming language.

5 Ways for Becoming a Business Owner to Help Others

If you love helping others, these business ideas are perfect for you:

  • Personal Chef

Do you love sharing your gifts with others by the expression of good or baked goods? Have you figured out how to easily keep your family healthy and want to help others do the same? Your business can focus on meal plans, cooking dinners, baking, and hosting dinner parties. If you can cater to restricted diets, you’ll have even more business. Everyone loves mouth-watering food, and cooking is a great niche for moms who know the kitchen.

  • Gift Basket Creation

Businesses hire companies to make gift baskets for all sorts of reasons. You can fill this need by either purchasing and putting together an attractive basket or using your baking skills to make it from scratch.

  • Pet Service

Pet owners want to know their pets are loved when they’re out of town. Providing a safe environment and love for animals is all you need.

  • Online tutor

Busy parents, as you might know, often hire tutors. Your business can cater to students who need tutors to help them organize all their homework or specialize in specific fields. An extension of tutoring is to offer music, cooking, and art lessons. If you offer classes through the summer, this is a year-round opportunity.

  • Home staging

If you have an eye for home design, home staging is a great business. This is a business where you get to use your decorating skills and help people when they’re changing homes. It can also lead to interior design work.

These 10 stay-at-home mom business ideas are only a few ways to make working from home into a successful venture. Once you have your business model, reach out for support from other stay-at-home mom businesses. Networking helps both of you improve your business and increase sales. Sohuis offers masterclasses for womenpreneurs on marketing, personalizing your brand, and building an online empire.

Come join us here at Sohuis to get your business off the ground!

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10 Stay-At-Home Mom Business Ideas for 2021
How to become a freelance writer

How to Become a Freelance Writer with No Experience

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You’re already qualified to write!

 

At Sohuis, we’re ready to teach you how to become a freelance writer with no experience. Freelance writers are always needed, and it’s a great way to earn extra money. Here are six tips for you to know how to become a freelance writer with no experience. 

 

6 ways to become a freelance writer without experience

1.    Know your strengths

You are more prepared to get into freelance writing than you realize. As women, we naturally have insight into many subjects. What is your area of expertise? Psychology, raising children, time management, cooking, computer science? Companies are looking for writers like you because you are an expert.

Niche writing is the key to find freelance work in your area of expertise. Instead of presenting yourself as a writer who can write anything, narrow your target market to businesses in your niche. Expertise in a subject gives you clout.

 

2.    Polish your writing

Practice writing samples, and research style and content in your niche markets. Educate yourself about your niche markets by reading blogs to see how other freelance writers handle your subjects. Give yourself a break during this learning process—every article you write is a step in the right direction to know how to get into freelance writing.

Write samples varying from 500 to 1500 words. Compose and polish these relevant articles in your niche to showcase your skills. These samples will be your marketing tools, so it’s worth spending the time needed to get them right.

Persistence is the key to building any business. Check out our masterclass on How To Write Words That Sell.

 

Here’s the number one tip on how to become a freelance writer with no experience.

3. Create relevant content

  • Focus – Keep your intent clear and direct. Simple words are often the most powerful.
  • Personality – This is essential to stand out and gain clients. Personality in your writing is part of your brand. Here’s a masterclass on Why You Need a Genuine Personality Brand.
  • Grammar – Fix grammatical errors. Software like Grammarly is useful but not always correct. Poor grammar gives the impression you’re not a professional
  • Research and incorporate search engine optimization (SEO) words. – This is crucial in today’s crowded market. Research and understand how to write content that is search engine ready is a key to creating happy clients!

 

Start Freelance Writing 

4. Develop a business

A website is a necessity in today’s market. Be professional in how you present yourself. There are do-it-yourself hosts like Wix or Wordpress to create a professional website.

Your website shows you’re a legitimate writer. An investment in promoting yourself in a web form will pay off. Your site must have your best writing samples as this becomes one of your best marketing tools.

 

 5.  Pitch your work

Send queries to your target market. Don’t underestimate cold calls because they produce sales. Make sure each letter is personalized and has a call to action. You want to send a clear message in your letters that you are the best writer for them.

Query a lot. You will get rejections, but don’t take rejections personally. Send out letters to your top potential clients. And the next day, repeat. It takes time, but you will get clients.

A frequent question is how many letters should I send out in a day? The answer is as many as you can prepare and still keep them personalized.

 

6. Market your work

Network – Networking is at the heart of marketing yourself when learning how to become a freelance writer with no experience. Reach out to others in your chosen niche and complementary markets. LinkedIn is a place to showcase your work and expand your network. Make your niche clear and send personalized messages to your target market.

Facebook and Twitter are resources where your friends may hear talk about writing opportunities. Your community will reach out to you when they hear about a job that fits your niche. If you see an opportunity that isn’t right for you, talk about it with others. Reciprocal networking reaps rewards.

 

Optimize! – SEO words aren’t just for your client’s articles. This same tool makes you stand out in a flooded market. For more ideas on how to market yourself, read our article on 5 Fundamentals of Marketing for Female Owned Small Business.

Our Sohuis team offers masterclasses for womenpreneurs to make you successful if you want to get into freelance writing. Freelance writers enjoy flexibility—and you can do this because you already have the right background for niche writing. To launch your business to the next level, join our team at Sohuis.

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How to Become a Freelance Writer with No Experience
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5 Ways to Work with Kids at Home

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A business woman who also happens to have a family, has to work at juggling change all the time.

Change is a natural part of life, but – it’s not always something we are prepared to handle. Being a working mother for many years, here are 5 ways to keep doing business as usual at home without reliable childcare.

Find Your Inner Peace in the Midst of Storms

It’s important first and foremost to identify what calms you. Realize that quick decisions aren’t necessary, but a plan for giving yourself the space and peace to make the right decision is best.

Have a Go-To for Time Management Disasters

My go-to is my desk calendar. It has to be written on, drawn on, highlighted. Then I try to see if that one thing to get accomplished is prioritized in one of my priority buckets:

  • Have to do now
  • Can wait 24 Hours
  • Needs some investigation
  • Have to say No
No is my Final Answer

Sometimes we find we are doing way too much trying to juggle kids at home, people please, and build our business. We all want to expand and promote our businesses, but the truth is – it takes time. There are times you have to put aside business ventures, personal events, and more in order to keep your sanity and to be successful at your current endeavors.

Keep Your Emotions in Check

This can be hard, but the best way to do this is to put your perfectionist tendencies and focus on the places where you can successfully see the results. Like in your business. When it comes to management of the household, kids and family, be yourself, don’t try to be perfect, but fulfill their needs with love and relationship building.

Planning is essential

Set the same day every week to plan your week. Get everyone involved in the planning of the week ahead and share the information on both an electronic calendar with alerts and alarms and the at home calendar. Make that the first stop of the day and set alarms to remind you of the time restrictions on any activities or task.

 

Content courtesy of LM Preston, author of Building Your Empowered Steps and Homeschooling While Raising Amazing Learners, www.empoweredsteps.com

 

CONTRIBUTING AUTHOR, LM PRESTON

LM Preston, is an author, business owner, wife and mother who has written both fiction and non-fiction books that have reached best-seller status. Her passion for writing and helping others to see their potential through her stories and encouragement has been her life’s greatest adventures. She also is a personal coach who supports clients in writing, publishing, goal realization, career imagination, parenting, homeschooling while working and much more.

Connect with LM on Facebook and follow her work on Twitter @LM_Preston. Visit her online store here

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How Bozoma Saint John is Curating Black Girl Magic in the Workplace

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“I’m following the path that was destined for me.”

In a world where Black representation is far in between and is demanded more in the workplace, Bozoma Saint John has been taking over, one high heel at a time.

The marketing executive has not stopped conquering the corporate world, despite America’s lack of diversity in the workplace that is failing Black women. Currently, Saint John is the new Chief Marketing Officer for Netflix, being the company’s 3rd CMO in the last year. Before then, she was the CMO for Endeavor, the chief brand officer at Uber, and numerous titles for big companies. Saint John has made it her mission to bridge between culture and commerce. And during this time, when social media and society are demanding a #pulluporshutup from organizations and companies, having a woman who demands respect is refreshing.

The Connecticut native told NPR, “When companies face that kind of situation, they have to do everything to essentially rehabilitate. Rehabilitation is not just surface. It can’t just be the brand. It’s not a new commercial you put on air. There’s something wrong with your culture.”

There are many things that we can learn from the businesswoman: from the way that she carries herself to the way that she works hard to get what she wants. Here are somethings that you can adapt into your life:

Be true to yourself

Saint John has never changed who she is to appeal to anyone. Standing 6”4 with flowing black hair that either hang down her back or is sitting pretty in a beautiful afro, she reflects her wardrobe to her mood. You can either catch the powerhouse rocking sequins or an outfit that matches her classic Balenciaga bag. She told Vogue magazine, “I’ve always wanted to wear what makes me feel most powerful.”

Your experience will make you stronger

At a young age, Saint John and her family ran away from their home in Ghana from a coup d’etat that forced them to flee and seek political asylum in the United States. They settled in Colorado Springs, where she later attended Wesleyan University. There, she landed a job with Spike Lee’s advertising agency, and the rest is history.

No matter what life hands you, you can accomplish your wildest dreams!

Don’t shove your ideas down other people’s throats, even if you’re the boss

The known red-lipstick-wearing-boss told Net-A-Porter: “Great leadership means getting your colleagues to really believe in the greatness of the idea – that’s where success comes from.”

Connect with people’s emotions

Saint John reflected her time as head of Global Consumer Marketing for Apple Music and iTunes in an interview with PCMA. She said that she saw the position as a way “to market the brand in a way that felt more human.” She believes in making an impact that focused on algorithms and data, “But data is only as good as the story that you tell out of it.”

Now, she is dropping her gems for the world to conquer the workplace. She released The Badass Workshop, ‘an evolving blueprint for success.’ It is curated in five one hour classes that are based off on Saint John’s experience in the workforce and what she’s learned throughout her life. Take one course or all five to learn how to “use your own voice to claim your space and place.”

 

Content courtesy of  Lara Ashley, Founder and Editor of Brenley Magazine, Redefining what it means to be a Southern belle; an online magazine that helps women wear their crowns with grace.

 

CONTRIBUTING AUTHOR, LARA ASHLEY

Lara Ashley is a multifaceted journalist, she obtained her Mass Communications degree at Southern University and A&M College and is obtaining a Master’s degree in Magazine Journalism in the U.K. from Cardiff University. When she’s not watching her fav reality shows (LOVES the Real Housewives franchise), spending her afternoons watching Netflix or with a good book, she’s writing and journaling.

Follow Lara @brenleymag and connect with her on Facebook

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How Bozoma Saint John is Curating Black Girl Magic in the Workplace

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