How to Plan for Digital Mom Success

I love a good plan.  You know, the kind of list that tells me exactly what to do, when to do it, and if need be, some great pointers on how to get it all done.  With the New Year just days away, now is a great time to review, or perhaps even create, your digital mom business plan.

For 12 years I’ve been working from home and can tell you that a good business plan that includes key marketing directives is my best friend.  And I can also tell you that some  years I’ve been better than others at making it all come together.  Things can change when you least expect it and adjusting to a new frontier can take longer than you ever imagined.  Funding can come and go, leaving you with the reality that patience is a virtue and God always finishes the work He has begun.  The question is, will you?

When we began our journey in 2000, my business was entirely product driven with the goal to place our product in mass market.  By 2004 we achieved that goal through a major licensing partnership with Mead Westvaco and enjoyed mutual success in stores such as Target, Walmart, Borders, and Walgreens until 2008.  With the onset of digital planning and its heavy impact on paper products plus the desire to switch gears, by 2009 we were swiftly moving into a social media and services based model.  Today looking at 2012, our goals to expand partnerships and return to mass market both digitally and in paper are clearly outlined and my work plan is all set, just waiting for me to tackle it and win.

If you are a digital Mom looking for both inspiration and practical steps to help you get your blog to the next level, its time for you to meet Colleen Padilla and Audrey McClelland.  They are the authors of The Digital Mom Handbook and here is my interview with them from earlier this year.

 

Me
I am so excited to be here with you and want you to know I read this book on my flight out to BlogHer 2011 cover to cover. I dogeared it like crazy and clearly the timing is right for me.  So I want to ask you just a few questions and then share why I think this book is a key business planning tool for any digital Mom.  What is it you are hoping Digital Moms will discover when they read the book?

Audrey McClelland
We want people to be inspired by it. My story was that my husband hated his job when I first started blogging. I knew that he was probably going to be laid off at some point with the economy the way that it is, and I really wanted to create a business model. I needed my blog to generate income for my family and I wanted to show other Mom show they can do it. I will be honest with you because even when I first started out I I knew that people were making even $10 a month on their blog, I scratched my head and I couldn’t believe it. How was anyone even making a penny on their blog? It was like a secret society and I just wasn’t privy to that information. So now that I’ve been able to generate money on my blog, I wanted to share my story in a book for other Moms out there who might be in my similar situation to show them how they could do that.

Colleen Padilla
For the more experienced bloggers, I want them to learn from the things that we learned that weren’t out there in books, from hard knocks, trial and error, collaboration, and all the advice from other people for how to monetize that blog and make it a business. And for other Moms out there that maybe aren’t blogging to realize its truly possible. That they can do it and they can have this career from home. That’s what’s truly been a dream fro me. I have my MBA and I am working with corporate America. You can be a Mom and be a business woman and truly do both by owning your own business. I’m able to spend all of this time with my children and thanks to technology, with my IPhone and my Netbook, I’m able to be connected and now have this career. It really is the subtitle of the book, “How to Blog, Vlog, Tweet and Facebook your Way to a Dream Career at Home” That’s really what this has been for me. I wanted that balance element because life is very short and I feel like these young years when my kids are little are flying by so quickly. I wanted to be there for a lot of those small moments like preschool pick up and making crafts. And at the same time, I want to be there with women like you.

Audrey McClelland and Colleen Padilla
So much has changed! When we wrote this book Twitter and Facebook were not nearly as big as they are now so we found ourselves adding an appendix to accommodate the latest information.

The 3 things I love the most about The Digital Mom Handbook and why I think its a key tool for your business planning in 2012.

1. Its all about business: I’m okay with that. I love the people who write for the art of the craft. I’m here to work my business and I happen to write too.

2. Its based on family balance: My children are much older. I want to be there for the last 3 years of my son’s high school career just as much as I want to be there for preschool, I want to be there for prom and all my children’s achievements as they go out into the world.

3. Real time information: I love the fact that you edited it to make sure that its real time. This is not the same old story. There are tons of tips in here that I did not know. They are part of the secret code. But guess what? There’s not really a secret code ~ its all there just waiting for you to discover.

So get your copy of The Digital Mom Handbook, read it, dog it up and go after your business in 2012. Its why Audrey and Colleen are here!

Do you have a business plan for 2012?

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