Holly Reisem Hanna and is the founder of ‘The Work at Home Woman’, a website dedicated to helping women and moms fulfill their dreams of working at home and/or becoming self employed, while providing inspiration, motivation and support.

Holly is a true inspiration for moms struggling to translate their traditional career skills into a creative service-based business.  She has successfully taken the important research skills she gained during her years as a nurse and converted them into a business that helps other women start their own businesses. 

Read on to learn more.

From Nursing to Networking

An Interview with Holly Reisem Hanna

Noelle:

How did you decide to start The Work at Home Woman?  What were you doing beforehand that led you to this idea?

Holly:

I didn’t initially start out wanting to be an entrepreneur.  Before my first daughter was born in 2007, I had a full time job as an RN Clinical Research Coordinator.  But, from the minute my daughter was placed in my arms, I knew that I would not be able to return to my full-time job.  I decided at that point to become a full-time stay a home mom. 

However, after 9 months as a stay at home mom I got motivated to find a way to make some extra money from home.  I started asking past employers and friends if there was any work that I could do for them while caring for my daughter at home.  My networking efforts paid off and in December 2007, I started working from home by completing marketing research, establishing joint ventures and working as a social network liaison for a small publishing company that a friend was working for. 

Noelle:

Wow. So ‘The Work at Home Woman’ website wasn’t actually your first business!

Holly:

Not actually!  During the time I spent looking for work at home opportunities I learned a lot of valuable marketing skills and became very familiar with the work at home market.  This knowledge motivated me to find a way to help other women and mothers find work at home opportunities, so I decided to create the ‘The Work at Home Woman’ website.  Today, I still do some work as a social network liaison in addition to running the site.

Noelle:

What a great idea you had!  The site is truly a great resource for women looking for work at home opportunities.  How long did it take you to put together ‘The Work at Home Woman’ website?

Holly:

It took me 16 months to launch the site.  I launched it on March 19, 2009 and I have been growing the business ever since.

Noelle:

Super!  You mentioned however that you still working part time as a social networking liaison.  I think it’s important that people realize you are essentially working two jobs at once while the site is in its start-up phase.  Sometimes that is what you need to do!

Holly:

For sure, but I’m passionate about building a career from this site and it’s worth the extra work.

Noelle:

How will you generate income from the site?

Holly:

I did a lot of research on how to make money with a website, and I think advertising and affiliate marketing are the best way to generate income from a website.

Noelle:

Well, that’s awesome.  Have you replaced your former income with your new businesses?

Holly:

I haven’t yet replaced my former salary, but I am also not working as much as I used to.  I have income coming in, and although it may not be as much as I want it to be, I think the most important thing is that I enjoy what I do!

Noelle:

So true! What has been your biggest challenge as a mompreneur?

Holly:

The biggest challenge is certainly having enough time!  I have a busy two year old to keep up with!

Noelle:

How do you manage childcare?  I know that’s a great concern to the aspiring mompreneurs I work with.

Holly:

I build my work schedule around my daughter’s schedule.  I always try to spend some time working before she wakes up.  I also do additional work while she naps.  However, as she gets older, her schedule continues to change, and I am currently evaluating a Mother’s Morning Out program that would give me set number of hours to work two days per week.

Mompreneurs with young children need to know that their children’s routines will constantly change.  It’s important to remain flexible and modify your work habits as you go.  

Noelle:

I agree.  What’s been your biggest surprise about mompreneurship?

Holly:

I’ve been really surprised that I don’t miss the social interaction I had during my former career as much as I thought I would.  My current business gives me the opportunity to interact with so many moms both online and in person.  I also really enjoy working from home.  I can get so much done in a short period of time without the interruptions!

One thing that isn’t is a surprise, is that I got rid of a major commute and I don’t miss that at all!

Noelle:

Ha!  I’m so glad to hear you don’t feel you are lacking social interaction as a work from home mom.  One of the things we mention in our book is that working at home can get lonely, but it’s great to see that you have been able to avoid that through aggressive networking.  Do you have any final advice for aspiring mompreneurs?

Holly:

Sure.  Now is a great time to start a work from home business.  There are plenty of great opportunities out there.  Some hot industries include virtual assistants, copy writers and social network marketing consultants.  If it’s your goal to launch a work from home business, do one thing to move that goal ahead today!

Noelle:

Thanks Holly!  I encourage all readers interested in starting a work at home business to visit your website today.