Mommy HQ: Real Ways To Be A WAHM : My Adventure

I'm officially a fan of Manila Workshops. Yesterday, I attended my third workshop: Real Ways To Be A WAHM (Work At Home Mom) and I'm glad I did.

I have been working for more than a decade now. And all those years, I have planned my career path. But after I gave birth to my son, I began to listen to a different tune-motherhood can change your priorities. I am beginning to see the value of staying at home to raise my son. Thus, becoming a WAHM or SAHM (Stay At Home Mom) is something that I could consider.

Prepping for future bazaar activities - needs improvement,though.

Although quitting my job is not in my short-term plan, it won't hurt to do my research now. Methinks the topic is perfect because we're in the middle of creating a shiny new e-commerce website. Plus, participants have the option to setup a small booth for a minimal fee. I was initially hesitant to get a booth, being an introvert can be a disadvantage. But with encouragement from Papa B, Mommy Issa - and even Ginger of Manila Workshop, I've decided to do it. My exact word to myself was: "gow!".

I had two goals in my mind: 1) learn as much as I can from the speakers and 2) promote cloth diapers and Mommy HQ. Honestly, I'd be happy if at least one person will take my business card. Yes, ganoon kababaw ang kaligayahan ko. :)

Key Takeaways

I can mark goal number one with a big check. Here are the things I learned:

On Managing Projects:

When defining a goal, don't just create something that's generic, create a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-Bound) one. When I still believed in New Year's resolutions, this goal was always on my list: "I want to lose weight". I have been saying that for years, but nothing happened. Because it's generic, it's difficult to measure success- I eventually gave up on that because I felt it was too hard.
Is your goal overwhelming? Try to break it down to actionable items. For instance, de-cluttering and home organizing is something that I've always wanted to accomplish. I get frustrated because after years of trying, it looks like a very big task to accomplish. If I break it down to manageable sub-tasks, then that should keep me sane.
There are tools you can use to help you organize projects. Excel, MS Project, Google Calendar-and even Facebook groups are some of the tools that EJ and Ginger mentioned. I would also like to add Asana to that list.

Yes, it's me. Outside of HQ, I'm called Jinx :)

On Selling Online:

Women's apparel is the number one best selling product online. However, it is best to sell something that you're interested in.
Facebook is ideal for lead generation, while email marketing is better for sales conversion.
When choosing a domain name for your online store, make sure that it not only fits you business, it is also easy to find and promote. Since Mommy HQ already has it's own domain, I've asked Joy to evaluate the name. I'm happy to announce that there's no need to search for another domain. *Sigh of relief*
WP e-commerce is worth checking for our e-commerce site. Last December, we "launched" an online store, but because I was not satisfied, we have to quietly shut it down while I look for other alternatives. Believe me, I've evaluated a lot of e-commerce platforms, but none of them met all of my criteria (must not be cheap but must do wonderful stuff-am I asking for too much?). I've just decided to buy a web hosting plan and build the e-commerce store.

Bonus Points

Aside from what I've learned, I'm so happy to meet a lot of wonderful mompreneurs. Being in the company of talented women is such a blessing for me. Ginny, a mom who upcycles trash and create wonderful accessories, is such an inspiring woman. And helpful too- she gave me some suggestions on how to take the business to the next level. At the later part of the workshop, I found out she's the sister of our (Mommy Issa and I) batch mate in Pisay. Small world. :)

I got to see Martine de Luna in person! Mommy Issa and I are huge fans of dainty mom (now makeitblissful.com). I really love her websites - they're so clean! So dainty! We hope to come up with a dainty theme for the new HQ.

To my surprise, I've got queries on cloth diapers. And I actually enjoyed talking about cloth diapers - all the while I was scared that I'd say the wrong things. But wait, there's more - I actually sold some stuff yesterday. Isn't that amazing?

Notes to Self

On occasions like this, I like to also list down some of the things I could have done to make the experience much better. For next time, here's what I'd do differently:

Bring a companion to take care of the booth. It's quite challenging to be a participant and a seller at the same time. During breaks, I was not able to talk to other moms because I was busy promoting cloth diapers. I didn't mind talking about cloth diapers, but I wished I had the time to check out other booths too.
Put up a sign or a banner that will display the company logo or company name. That will make it easier for people to remember the business.
Talk to Martine! I've been kicking myself (mentally) because of this. I should have said hi and tell her that I'm a fan of dainty mom. Oh well, there's always a next time.