A Moment With Erika-Marie Geiss From theWAHMmagazine
Special correspondent Lisa Di Clemente recently spoke with Erika-Marie Geiss, the editor and founder of theWAHMmagazine. theWAHMmagazine calls itself “first and only content-driven digital magazine for work-at-home parents.”
Taking the time to share information on how she got to where she is and what inspired her in this interview, hopefully some of you will be able to find some inspiration of your own in Erika-Marie’s words!
Erika-Marie, I have read many weblogs geared toward WAHMs, but your magazine feels expressly unique and genuine. Even though it is entitled theWAHMmagazine, you also acknowledge work-at-home dads. It is clear that women are your biggest market, however you choose to drive this vehicle to involve the entire family unit. Did I read into that correctly?
Yes, you did read into that correctly about the magazine involving the entire family. I think that more people are familiar with the term “WAHM,” used for work-at-home moms, so to me, it made sense to use it for the title, but the magazine is geared to work-at-home moms and work-at-home dads, and to people who are not yet parents, but are thinking that it’s a work-life/family-life model that they want to adopt and for people who are in traditional work-out-of-home jobs, but want to make the switch to working from home.
I am impressed with your writing staff as well, their diverse writing styles really round out the project. Everyone seems to have their area of expertise, and humor is seasoned throughout the pages. Can you tell me a little bit about your staff?
I could go on and on about theWAHMmagazine staff. I don’t like to call them “my” staff, because I believe that, while I’m the owner, publisher and editor-in-chief, together all of us involved are part of theWAHMmagazine team. I certainly couldn’t do it without them for the very reasons that you mentioned—all of us (and do some writing too)—have different writing styles and areas of expertise, and it was important to me that all of the regular contributors/staff writers were the kind of writers who not only write well, but also have strong voices, are not afraid to be edgy at times and are able to incorporate humor and irony in their work. For each, it was something that they seemed to do naturally. All of theWAHMmagazine writers: Dawn Allcot, Thursday Bram, Julie Fletcher, Nancy LaFever, Amy Mullis and Craig Pepin-Donat are experienced with working from home, either having been the child of a WAHM, long before there was such a “huge industry,” or being a work-at-home parent currently.
What was the planning process like for this magazine?
There was a lot of research involved, from looking at other magazines geared to WAHMs specifically, to reading what the mainstream publications have been writing about WAHMs, working from home and home-based businesses in general, and examining the different publications that I enjoy and respect to learn from them. Because I’ve been in the publishing field as an editor and writer for over a decade, I also knew that there were certain things, such as having an International Standard Serials Number (ISSN), that I knew would help leverage our position. In fact, once I had figured out what our mission and model would be, the first thing I did was apply to the Library of Congress for an ISSN. It was one of the key things that I noticed most WAHM-produced publications do not have. I also continue to keep up with the trends not only in our niche but in the magazine industry as well, so that we can include best practices and industry trends and know if, how and where to redirect theWAHMmagazine so that we maintain (and hopefully continue to improve) our market position. It was also very important to me for us to be as green and socially responsible as possible and that meant going digital from the onset. If we were ever to go to a print edition, it would be in a limited edition and only if I could find a printer that was completely green and sustainable.
How long did planning take?
Without giving away company secrets, the initial planning phase took several months from writing and rewriting the business plan (several times as theWAHMmagazine has evolved), to making timelines and a plan of attack, to creating (and also revising) a marketing plan, designing (and continually redesigning and updating) the Web site. I’m constantly planning, researching and allowing the magazine the room to evolve as necessary.
What was the inspiration behind it?
The inspiration behind it came from the convergence of two things: my husband’s experience with seeking a telecommuting option with his employer after our son was born and my sense that there was something more needed for the work-at-home community in terms of having a central repository for good, sound, well-written information that wasn’t just about how to work from home or advertorials for other people’s products but was about the entire lifestyle, and without duplicating content that already exists, with the exception of the occasional reprint. I found that the best information was all over the place, but still left me wanting something more, thinking “but what about those of us who have done x, y or z already and are in a different work-at-home career/parenting phase?” As I helped my husband seek out information for WAHDs, we found that there wasn’t a lot geared to men specifically, and I also realized that if he was being told initially that “flex time arrangements are for women” from a pretty family-friendly company, certainly many other dads like him were probably getting similar messages and unaware of what they needed to do to make that work/life change. My husband now works at the office three days a week, telecommutes one day, and has the fifth off. Men need to know that there is no stigma in such an arrangement and that “Daddy Track” doesn’t mean that you’re going to be passed over for promotions and other career-building experiences if you still continue to prove your mettle. Just like moms, dads need that support, encouragement and community. TheWAHMmagazine offers that, by addressing the common thread of parenthood.
Tell us also about some of the challenges you have faced. Did you ever become discouraged while building this project? If so, how did you handle that?
One of the initial challenges was working with a group that handles advertising. The person I spoke to was interested and excited, but not entirely convinced. But that was before I even had an issue to show to them so that they could see how a digital edition works. Despite the increase of digital editions from mainstream magazines, many people aren’t familiar with them and how they differ from e-zines, PDF editions and online magazines—so selling that idea to people has been a bit of a challenge. As an editor, the other challenge has been reading and deciding on the queries and submissions that we receive from freelance writers. There is a lot of talent out there, and with freelance writing being one of the oldest and most-established work-at-home professions, we get a lot of submissions and queries, so there is much reading to do before making final decisions. It’s always stressful right before production, I’ve never become discouraged in the sense of not wanting to produce theWAHMmagazine—I am dedicated and committed to it. And, as any business knows, finding and sustaining supporters and advertisers is a continual challenge. I love the publishing field and know, that with any job, there are ups and downs, and my husband keeps me grounded though during those “difficult” times.
You mentioned to me that you “welcome partnerships with companies that have an affinity with us and believe in our mission of being dedicated to validating, empowering, encouraging, educating and supporting work-at-home parents.” Would you like to take a moment to expand on that for the readers?
Partnerships are key in helping sustain a project such as this, and magazines exist and thrive not only from their readers (subscribed and the occasional reader) but from their advertisers. We have different advertising levels from WAHM- and WAHD-friendly advertising to traditionally styled magazines to corporate- and organizational sponsorships of specific magazine issues, which we call partnerships. Companies and individuals that are “green,” family friendly, interested in and committed to work-at-home parents and the work-at-home industry on the whole are the bodies that we would recognize as potential partners, and beyond just having an ad or two in the magazine, those bodies get to tell our readers in-depth about their company as well as offer theWAHMmagazine to their groups at a significant discount.
Our mission of validating, empowering, encouraging, educating and supporting work-at-home parents is key in everything that we do at theWAHMmagazine. We aim to further respect for the industry on the whole by validating work-at-home experiences regardless of whether it’s in sales and marketing, starting a business, telecommuting, freelancing or other work-at-home experiences that are done in conjunction with traditional jobs—for example, teachers who do lessons plans or grade papers and exams at home. Empowerment and encouragement go hand-in-hand, as we present success stories to show otherwise ordinary men and women who made and committed to the decision to work from home. The articles and stories are there to educate readers about each aspects of life related to each of our departments (business, parenting, health and fitness, personal time and relationships) so that we can all become better and more effective in each of those areas of our lives. And finally, in supporting work-at-home parents, theWAHMmagazine’s community features, such as the forum, blog and webinars offer another avenue for networking and learning from other work-at-home parents.
In your opinion, what is the future of the work-at-home industry? What is the outlook for the typical family unit now that more Moms and Dads are closer to home? Do you think people will become more homebound or more adventurous? There are definitely pros and cons.
I see the work-at-home industry expanding especially with technological advancements and the ability to work remotely. Our global economy and global connectedness makes working from home easier in many ways and allows the work-at-home industry to go well beyond home-parties and sales and marketing. In 2005 nearly 5 million people in the United States alone worked from home, according to the Department of Labor, surely, that number has only increased. With many jobs at bricks-and-mortar locations decreasing (from layoffs and other downsizing) people with skills or willing to learn some new skills can leverage that unfortunate experience and use their skills and experiences to work from home.
As for the outlook for the typical family unit, that depends on how much balance of family time and work time is maintained when one of both of the parents work from home. Even when working from home (and sometimes more so) there is the potential for work to consume one’s existence. Clear boundaries are necessary to preserve (or improve) that work-life/family-life balance. People who work from home need to know when to “turn work off,” especially when one is one’s own boss. I think that when that occurs, and being willing to let the work and family evolve as needs for both shift and change, then balance can be achieved. I think that a lot of kids will benefit because they’ll see firsthand what grown-up work is all about, especially if they are “helpers,” or eventually working for mom and dad when they are older, so work won’t be a big mystery. I also think that for parents, as long as perspective is maintained, we may have a different kind of relationship with our kids, spouses/partners and families overall. As for people becoming more homebound or adventurous, I think it depends on the individual and how they use their work-at-home experience.
Tell me about your goals for the future of theWAHMmagazine.
I envision theWAHMmagazine becoming a strong voice for work-at-home parents and for the work-at-home industry overall. We’re working on the 2009 editorial calendar now, and will be including incorporating more interactive new media such as video articles in the magazine. I see theWAHMmagazine as being around for a very long time.
Do you have any advice to those who are looking for work at home opportunities?
First, network and learn before jumping into working from home. As you said, there are pros and cons to it, but you have to be sure that it’s not only what you want to do, but that it’s realistic for you and your family. And, regardless of whether the plan is to start a business or turn a hobby into one or to work for someone else (either as a telecommuter or sales person for example) it’s important to treat what you do as a business. Second, beware of the scams, there are so many out there, and often, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Third, network and learn. Read theWAHMmagazine, see what Bob Bly has to say about copywriting as a work-at-home job, for instance, read sparkplugging.com, listen to work-at-home-family talk radio and WAHM talk radio to get a perspective. Read undress4success.com. I think those are all really good resources within the work-at-home community. But beyond that, don’t just rely on what’s going on in the work-at-home community, look outside of it to see what other businesses and experts are saying about working from home and where you can fit in the market. You have to have an idea of what you want to do and what, under even the most dire of circumstances, you’re not willing to do.
By Lisa Di Clemente for the Business Opportunities Weblog.
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