One Mom’s Work At Home Dream Helps Others Find Their Own

No one knows how hard it is to get a start in the work at home world, than someone who has been there and fallen for some of those schemes that are really scams. Marie Pugh, of Moms DotCom Dream, is a mom who works from the comfort of her home and she spends a big part of that helping other women like her that are interested in doing what she has managed to do.

Thankfully Marie was nice enough to take the time to do an interview with me about her business and share some information about her own experiences, so if you are looking to find a way to work from your home maybe she can help inspire you.

When did you start your blog, Moms DotCom Dream, and what was your inspiration for launching it?

I started my MomsDotCom Dream blog at the end of April of this year. I had just finished putting together a guide for moms who need a place to start when looking for ways to be able to work at home. I called it “MomsDotCom Dream” as kind of a reference to myself, and what I have been working so hard on achieving the past few years online. But, it also is a reference to all moms who have the same dream – maybe not so much to be working online, but to have the chance to work at home and still be able to be with their kids.

How long have you been working from home, and what do you do?

Well, I have been working at home for about 3 years now, but the truth is, I hadn’t really been making very much money until this past year. I spent a whole lot of time looking and searching, and spending money on ideas and programs that promised to help me achieve the dream I was reaching for. Only, most of the things I was spending money on didn’t actually carry through on their promises. It was very discouraging at times, but I truly wanted to be able to learn how I could make a decent living working from home. Over the months, I was learning and making contacts, which eventually led me to be able to start doing some freelance writing jobs for people. And, that is where I really started to see things take off for me. Now, I am doing freelance writing, as well as other Internet Marketing work. I have written a couple of ebooks which I am selling through websites online. I have been tutoring people who are trying to accomplish the same thing – working at home – and hopefully can help them to get to where they are wanting to go a little quicker. I also do search engine optimization and website design for local businesses in my area.

What kind of resources do you offer for women interested in following down the same path?

I am a very firm believer in paying it forward, and I always try to help others avoid some of the setbacks and stumbling blocks I came across. If I can show them some of the tricks that I spent months learning, and give them a bit of a head start, then I will do what I can to get them going. The truth is, it can be hard to know who to trust and the sad thing is, there are people out there who are preying on these people who are just hoping for a chance to make some money while working at home. So, I offer any woman who is wanting to follow this path many tricks and tips that they can use to avoid the pitfalls, and to give them an advantage. I have all the resources that I have personally used, as well as the marketing knowledge and the other lessons I have learned along the way.

I am currently working on setting up a membership site for moms who want to work at home with another mom that has been doing this for awhile as well. We are just so tired of seeing women making posts at forums and discussion groups asking if “so and so program is a scam” or asking where they should start. There is just so much confusion out there, and there is an almost overwhelming amount of information when you are getting started. Sometimes, it can be easier to just say forget it, and give up. But, getting started and committing to finding something that works for you is the hardest part, and once you get past that hurdle, the rest is easy.

Our membership site will focus on keeping things less complicated. Learn the basics, and build a support group of other people who are going through the same process. There will be more personalized help than is available on other sites, and people will not be bombarded with ads when they ask a genuine question. There will be a ton of reports and articles that have been written just for people wanting to work at home, as well as interviews with other successful work at home moms and teleconferences to answer any questions that members have. There will be a support forum that is not accessible to the outside, so no one needs to feel that they are posting a question that is “silly” or “dumb”. Everyone will work together to help others succeed. And, there will be help from many experts in different areas to guide and teach the members.

We want to create something where everyone feels secure and that they have access to the help they need to get started. I would have loved to have something like this when starting out, to help guide me towards the real opportunities and to teach me the fundamentals that would help me succeed. By providing real reviews of certain “money-making programs” or “money-making reports”, we hope to be able to help women make their decisions a bit easier. We will personally pay the fees or buy the product if a member wants to know about it, and review it. They can save their money until we have had a chance to look it over for them and be sure it is following through on its promises.

There will be a lot for all the members to access, with new downloadable reports and guides added each month. If anyone is interested in taking a look, the address is www.WAHMSAlliance.com. We are just getting everything finished, so if the site isn’t quite ready when you get there, sign up for the notification list – or go to the community site we have set up for all of us – www.WAHMSAlliance.ning.com.

Tell us about your new guide, “The Beginners Guide to Work at Home Jobs” and some of the things that can be found within?

I tried to put everything I could into the guide to help women get an idea of what all is available out there. Sometimes when people are just starting out, they just aren’t sure exactly what they want to do. They know that other people are making money from home, and they think they would like to have a chance to see what options there are. Many don’t know if they want to work at an at home job, or go all the way and start their own business. Usually, along the way, they will either find something that is for them, or sadly for many others, they just give up after falling for something that wasn’t all it claimed to be.

I give links to actual websites that are hiring – including survey sites, mystery shopping sites, telecommuting companies who are hiring, virtual assistant jobs – and lots more. People just don’t realize that this information is all available on the internet, you just need to know where to find it. And, trying to sort through the massive amount of information is sometimes just way too overwhelming. So, I have put it all into one place, with enough links to get anyone started. I also have lists of places that people can make extra money – things like getting paid for blogging or getting on as a Google quality rater.

And, I give some great ideas for home businesses, and I show exactly how to make them work. I have learned a lot in the past 3 years about marketing a business, building websites and so much else that can be overwhelming to many people. But, I show some very good places for anyone to get started, using resources that a lot of people aren’t aware of – things like website builders that anyone can use to build a website, with no technical knowledge whatsoever.

What are some of the problems you find other moms having when it comes to trying to find work they can do from home? What do you tell them?

One of the biggest things is just feeling overwhelmed and not knowing where to start. So many people will jump on you if you say that you are wanting to try making some money from home – they will start pushing their “great opportunity” on you without really caring about what you want. That is where so many people just get frustrated and give up without really seeing what is available out there. And, some moms may have been out of the work force for awhile and are afraid that they just don’t have the skills that they would need. I always tell them that there is something out there for everyone, and you just need to trust in your abilities. I always knew that I enjoyed writing, but there was no way I ever believed that I could actually make money with my writing! Sometimes you just need to take a bit of a leap of faith. And, find and connect with others. That is a huge thing that helped me. Luckily, I was able to connect with a few other moms who were going through the same struggles as me, and we were able to act as a support system.

How do you handle your time between working and time with your family? Are there any special tricks that you find work the best?

Well, this is still one area that I struggle with a lot. The worst thing I faced, which I don’t think people realize can happen, is guilt. I felt so guilty when I was working – even though my girls were with me, and I was here, I just felt that sometimes I shouldn’t be working. You need to get over that. Make sure that you take some time to really be with your kids. And, when it is their turn to have time with you, completely focus on them. I have spent many late nights finishing articles that needed to be done the next day because I took my time with my kids. But, I wouldn’t give that up for anything. I also try to get someone to either take the kids or come and keep them occupied at least 2 times a week if possible so that I can get a lot accomplished on those days.

How did you get your start working from home? What kind of growth have you seen?

I started searching when my husband and I were struggling a bit financially a few years ago. We had two young kids, and had to decide if I should go back to work as a nurse or remain at home with them. I desperately wanted to be able to stay home with them, but I knew I had to do something to help bring in some extra income. And, that was all I was really looking for, which is what I think most moms start out looking for – not a get rich quick scheme or anything like that. I bought so many guides and programs – I almost want to cry when I think of the money I was wasting – money that we didn’t have. After awhile, I realized that I needed to really focus, and I started figuring out what I could make money doing. I started out just doing a few proofreading jobs for people I had met on forums, and then started doing a bit of writing. Then, after I finally was seeing money coming in, my confidence seemed to kind of give me a bit of a nudge into doing some of the other things I had wanted to do, like writing an ebook. I have since written a couple, my work at home mom one being the latest one. I have really seen a growth in my whole business, and am now confident in what I am doing. I operated very deeply in the hole the first 2 years, but I am very happy to say that this year, I have only been on the plus side.

What is the one thing you feel you could take away from your experience as a work from home mom and apply to every day life?

The one thing I take away from it is believing in yourself, and not giving up. And, I want to teach that to my kids. If you have a dream of something that you want to do, just go for it. Waiting for something to come to you is just a waste of time – if you want it, you need to go and get it. Sometimes things don’t go as planned when you are a work at home mom – maybe your child will get sick and you need to take care of them. Well, it is the same as in life. You need to be able to adjust your priorities and find ways to get things done.

Was there any advice that anyone shared with you that you have found particularly inspiring?

There have been a few people who I have met along the way who have helped me and offered advice. There isn’t one in particular that offered any advice that sticks out in my mind, but the ones I found that really helped me were the ones who helped me to focus and to keep going even when I thought I would never find something that worked for me. But, I had my 20 year high school reunion this summer, and there were 2 girls that have really helped to inspire me. One is a friend who I hadn’t seen since grade 10. She started her own business doing graphic design. She had a good job, but she said she just sat down one day and said to herself that she could be doing so much more on her own, and be so much happier – so she just did it. And, the other woman started up her own jewelery company. I asked her how she knew who to get in touch with to get everything going, and she said that she didn’t – she just started and the pieces all kind of fell into place as she went. So, I guess that is kind of the message I want to share with other moms – it has inspired me to just take a leap even if something may be outside my comfort zone. If you have an idea of something you want to do, or a business venture you would like to try – sometimes you just have to believe in yourself, take some kind of action to get started and watch as everything unfolds. You just might surprise yourself with what you can do.

If you could go back in time, is there anything you wish that you could tell your past self as you were starting out on your work at home venture?

I wish I could go back and completely avoid all of those programs that offered “quick and easy money”. Those just don’t exist – or everyone would be doing them. At the time, I just didn’t know which way to turn, or who to trust. I spent countless hours wasting time that could have been better spent just focusing on one thing and learning the techniques needed to really find legitimate work. And, I wish that I could go back and tell myself not to sell myself short – that I didn’t need to “settle” for just any kind of work. I see so many women who are in the exact same place I was 3 years ago posting sometimes on forums, and I just feel so bad for them. That is why I really try to help others to avoid some of the trial and error that I went through – and help them to get a bit more focused on the real opportunities that are out there.

I wouldn’t change anything, as I have picked up some very good lessons along the way – but I sure wouldn’t mind having some of the money back that I pretty much threw away! You kind of start out with stars in your eyes when you see all the promises of riches to be had out there, but it doesn’t take long to realize that nothing is going to come that easy, and you have to be prepared to learn and try new things. I am sure my friends and family were rolling their eyes every time I told them about the newest thing that was going to make me so much money!

But, the important thing is that I learned something important about myself, and that is that I don’t give up. It was important to me to be able to stay at home with my kids, and be doing something that was fulfilling to me and that was helping to pay the bills. And, that is what I have accomplished. At the end of the day, watching my kids grow up and being able to do special things with them that I couldn’t have done if I was working at a job outside the home, makes everything that I have gone through the past few years worthwhile.

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