Every Sunday we will be spotlight a mompreneurs that rock to be featured in our “Mama Bear Spotlight” series.
The Mama Bear Spotlight series was created to feature mompreneurs who are not only moms, but also creators, writers, business owners and more.
These women are showing us how they balance motherhood, passion projects, businesses all while staying true to their inner self.
Today we spotlight:
Whitney Bonds of Tried & True
Let me start by saying how amazing Tried & True is. I went to type up my interview questions and completely got caught up in the wealth of information. I have so many notes and tasks to try out for my own personal blog writing. The name speaks high volume and is so true…you will leave this site with so much information you will feel like you just took an 8 week course on how to make money from your blog or start a WFH business while being a mom.
Sorry about raving on and on… I just love to see other women have a professional product/service that actually delivers what it says. Kudos, Kudos, Kudos!!!!
Okay, now that I am done praising let us dive into the interview…
What inspired you to create Tried & True and become a mompreneur; did it start off as a blog or website?
It all started when I became pregnant with my second child. I realized how much of my toddlers’ life I’d missed at work and no longer had the desire to continue to climb the corporate ladder. I wanted to be home raising my kids so I could “be there”.
My husband and I were living on a two-household income so if I was to quit my job, I had to figure out a way to supplement my income.
I scoured the internet looking for ways moms could make money from home with kids but I couldn’t find any success stories. I knew there were moms out there making money from home and after months of frustration I decided to reach out to work at home moms and ask them what they do, how did they get started, how they do it with kids, and most importantly how much they earn.
They were kind enough to share their stories, so I documented everything and created a website for moms like me looking for LEGITIMATE ways to make money from home. My challenge to find a solution birthed my business.
What is your biggest mistake or regret with Tried & Tried and how would you have handled it differently now?
I honestly have no regrets, before I did anything I made sure I did my research and was able to validate everything I was doing to make sure it made sense, because of that, no regrets.
How do you balance Tried & True and being a wife/mother?
I always like to say it’s not easy but it’s doable. Before I had my third child (currently 8 months) I would take advantage of early mornings, naptime, and at night. Right now, with the lack of sleep I’m getting with my youngest I just take advantage of nap time/quiet time and SOME nights.
On difficult days how do you push forward?
I set short-term goals for myself. Right now our goal is to move into a bigger house, so when I feel unmotivated I go to Zillow and look at all the beautiful homes on the market and I realize if I ever want to live in one of those houses it’s going to require me to do some work. It works every time and gives me just the push I need..
You have interviewed tons of people that work from home or are excelling in being a working mother/mompreneur: what’s the common denominator that they all seem to share when it comes to work life balance?
We all have a routine. Kids thrive on routine and know what to expect throughout the day. They know when it’s mommy’s work time and when mommy’s not working. Having a routine is crucial if you want to be successful working from home.
Do you handle the full day-to-day of Tried & True or do you have a team behind you?
Yes, I handle the day-to-day but I have outsourced my pin creation and I’m looking to bring on a personal assistant to help me get more things done.
Related article: Meet Troy Johnson Founder and President of AALBC.com
Are you content with your life or what could be better?
Yes, I am very content. God has blessed me beyond my wildest dreams. To be able to work from home and raise my kids is all I could ever ask for.
As a mompreneur, who is your listening ear; do you have a coach, support system, etc.?
I am a blogger mastermind where four of us bloggers get together once a month to talk about what we’ve learned and help each other with new projects. It started last year and has been such a blessing to talk to people who “get it”.
What advice would you give to the unhappy mom in a full time job and wants to make the transition to a blogger or mompreneur?
My advice would be to think about what you want. I’m a true believer that if we really want something we’ll do whatever it takes to get it. If you like the thought of being with your kids and making money at the same time you can have that with blogging.
If you keep in mind that it’s going to take a lot of work, research and awhile before you start earning money it can be the best decision you could ever make. You just have to trust the process.
For a mom to quit her job and still contribute to the household with no skills which businesses would you recommend for her to research?
I think becoming a Virtual Assistant is a great job to get into because whether you have experience or not, we all have Google :-). If you don’t know how to do something then Google it. Becoming a Virtual Assistant is one of the quickest ways to start building an income and it can be done while still having a full-time job in case you want to make sure this is something you can do before quitting your job.
Reading your article How to Get Money from Blogging I learned so much, so much that it took me a day longer to complete this interview from taking notes and trying to be true {chuckles}. One thing that stood out to me was the traffic being driven to your website from email addresses, is this correct only 3 people?
Lol, probably for that month but I don’t use email really to drive traffic to my site. I usually drive them to my YouTube channel.
If so, does email subscriptions really help for driving traffic to blogs?
Yes, certainly. When I do have a blog post to promote I definitely email my subscribers but I make it a point that if I don’t have anything good to send then I just won’t send it. My goal this year is to do much better with my email list.
I’m a new blogger dipping my toes into the water and I have a few bucks to spend on a course. Would you recommend taking a course on Pinterest to increase traffic or if not where should I start first?
I would focus on learning SEO first (getting your articles to show up on Google), I’ve been hearing that it’s getting harder for new bloggers to get traction on Pinterest so to focus on SEO which is better and more consistent traffic DEPENDING on the niche you’re in.
If you really want to get your articles seen on Google check out these two ebooks, Easy On-Page SEO (for beginners) $47, and Easy Backlinks for SEO $67. You need both. You get $20 off if you purchase the SEO book bundle here.
How do you empower women to turn their passion into profit and become a mompreneur that possibly works from home?
I show them the possibilities. I share stories of other successful women and show them how they can do the same from the women themself. No need to reinvent the wheel.
I see you don’t offer ebooks or courses and you have so much information to share that is worth thousands of dollars; is there a reason you haven’t branched into selling products?
I get that all the time 🙂 You could call some of it laziness and the other part just trying to help people because it’s what I wish I had and I know it’s not easy purchasing courses when you don’t have the money. I definitely know better and know that I could be earning so much more money selling a course, but money isn’t everything. It’s also a lot easier to write a blog post helping people than trying to put a course or ebook together. Maybe one day I’ll get to it, but for now I’ll offer my advice for free 🙂
What’s next for Tried & True in 2022?
I’d like to focus more on my Instagram and showing moms how we can have the best of both worlds; to make money from home and raise our kids. You can find me at Whitney_ttmj.
Related article: Get Featured
5 Questions for our Mama Bears!
What is your daily self-care routine?
Self-care? What’s that? lol I say that jokingly but during this pandemic it’s hard to get any of that so I’d say my self-care is drinking my coffee in quiet every morning.
Best advice you received when you became a mom…
Enjoy this time because they grow up so fast! I really have to just sit and look at them sometimes because it blows my mind how fast time is going.
Favorite thing to do when you have alone time?
Spend time with God
What would you tell your pre-mom self?
Your kids will change everything but they will be the best part of your life. There will be rough days but those days won’t last forever,
Your proudest motherhood moment…
Giving birth with no epidural and being induced each time lol. After that, I know I can do ANYTHING!
Estimated reading time: 9 minutes
Related articles: