Mompreneur: Brandy Tanner
Business: Owner/Blogger
Website: http://www.writingsofawahm.com

My business is a blog that incorporates my daily posts, giveaways and reviews with a Virtual Assistant business. I offer ghost blogger, blogger blog creation, myspace, facebook and other similar site set up as well as clerical services from my home office. Another unique part of my services is creating company tri-fold brochures using publisher. These brochures can be professionally printed and mailed to the business or emailed in a PDF format. I have been creating brochures for approximately five years and enjoy doing it.

What inspired you start your business?
My husband and my children inspired me to start my own business. Both the children and my husband enjoy having me home daily, but I miss working in the office field. After many discussions with my husband he helped me create my Virtual Assistant business.

How long has your business been in business?
I have been in the blog business for approximately two months and just one month offering virtual assistance.

What did you do in your past work life?
I worked as a bank teller, office clerk, filing clerk and administrative assistant in my past work life.

What is your ideal workday like?
My ideal workday is when I have at least two company brochures and one typing position for a company. My children are occupied with their coloring so that I can have peace completely work at home.

What have been some of your major successes?
My most recent success was taking on the position of Executive Assistant for Momma-Made. I have felt a sense of pride knowing that I am helping Momma-Made get moving forward in the best direction to start making the owner some money from home, and have a presentable online boutique.

What have been some of your major challenges?
Some of my major challenges are getting on the same page as my husband, although he is super supportive, he does work 10 plus hours a day, six days a week. Which means he is very tired and occasionally we do not agree on scheduling time for him to watch children while I complete work privately in my office.

On those impossible days, what motivates you to keep going?
Oh gosh, what an excellent question! I must admit on the most impossible days what keeps me motivated is knowing the satisfaction I feel when the business sees my completed work and compliments my projects. I get a sense of pride when I complete something, and this is what keeps me motivated.

What is your balancing secret in managing a business and family?
Oh gosh! My balancing secret is that I have a routine set in place that I follow daily. My oldest is in school during weekdays, so I am home with my 2 year old and 5 month old. I ensure to take the first couple hours of everyday to give my boys the attention they need by playing some of their favorite games and activities with them. Within a couple of hours I sneak off to my laptop on the couch to get some work done and since I had played with the boys for a couple hours, they are content sticking to themselves for the next few hours so that I can get work completed.

If there was one piece of advice you could give to your children about running a successful business, what would it be?
I would advise my children to keep their goals set to be attainable and achievable. I would tell my children to start small but think big. Little things will turn big if you just keep moving forward and working on your business everything will come into place eventually.

Do you have a favorite business tool and/or resource?
My favorite business tool is Act 2008. This helps me keep all work organized and the ability to set task reminders is wonderful. This is a great program that allows me to stay on track, keep focused and keep attract of how my projects are coming along as well as keeping attract of my deadlines to ensure they are met.

What is next for your business?
I will be creating a separate website for my Virtual Assistant busines, a toll free number and a post office box within the year. This is my way to have one location where I can upload work samples and have testimonials from satisfied customers.

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Tagged as: brandy tanner, Mom Entrepreneur, mompreneur interview, WAHM