WritingThoughts

I first met Wendy Lindsey on the WAHMs Who Write forum, but it was a while before I clicked the link to get to her blog.

Wendy’s Mommy Space blog caught my eye instantly with its beautiful banner full of smiling moms and children. As I read through the posts I noticed that each one was relevant and interesting. Her blog is everything that I would like mine to become.

Wendy actually has a total of six blogs. You may want to check them out, so here is a list.

• That’s Just Plain Crazy. A blog where Wendy reports on weird and wacky real-life happenings.

• Thomas the Tank Engine Cake Tutorial. You’ve got to love Thomas!!

• Cake Space. Yummy!! This site makes me hungry. (I wish I could do this.)

• Mommy Space… Practical Ideas for Working From Home. Wendy’s site for WAHMs.

• Cake Magic. More about cakes.

• Adventures of a Suburban WAHM. Wendy’s musings about being a WAHM.

So, when I first thought about the WAHM week idea, Wendy Lindsey was one of the WAHMs that I decided to try and interview. I was thrilled when Wendy said, “yes.” Here’s the text of my email interview with Wendy:

Writing Thoughts (WT): When did you first become a WAHM?
Wendy: I became a SAHM nearly 5 years ago, but only started making money from home as a WAHM a couple years ago. It has taken many months to gain financial momentum, but I feel that I’m now on a roll that’s only just begun.

WT: What type of work do you do from your home?

Wendy: My primary source of income at this time comes from blogging, but I’m exploring other opportunities including writing for Associated Content, creating and selling ebooks, and launching a brand new website in the coming weeks.

WT: Tell the readers about your biggest accomplishment as a WAHM?

Wendy: I’m more independent financially. Every family works differently, but in mine we get along a whole lot better when I have a little mad money of my own! In the beginning my quest to earn online was all about mad money, but eventually it became so much more than that. My new goal is to make from home what I made before leaving my job in April of 2002.

I’m much happier when I feel productive and for me being productive can’t be limited to the mommy role. While I get a great deal of satisfaction as a stay-at-home mom, I’ve found I’m much happier having a money-making outlet to devout a part of myself to.

WT: What has been your biggest challenge as a WAHM?

Wendy: Balancing work, play, responsibilities, and homeschooling. Sometimes the biggest challenge for me is stepping away from the computer to get the laundry done!

WT: To what do you attribute your success as a WAHM?

Wendy: Patience and never giving up. There have been months where I made very little income and I could have just said enough of this, but perseverance is a very rewarding thing. I’ll also say that having support from family is extremely important. If you don’t have that your journey will be a more difficult one, but you can still do it.

One way I handled that reality was to keep my ventures to myself until I started to earn from them. I didn’t want anyone to discourage me. I didn’t even tell my husband my ideas because I was certain he’d laugh at me! I was careful not to spend any money without his consent. In order to really make that work, I only spent what I had in my own savings, which wasn’t much. Today he thinks it’s pretty cool that I’ve found a way to profit from blogging, although I’m not sure he completely gets how that works! (lol)

WT: What caused you to decide to focus on creating a blog for WAHMs?

Wendy: I spend a lot of time reading about working from home, researching what’s legitimate and what’s not, and reading what real women have to say about the work they do. My memory isn’t the best, so I had to start writing everything down anyway, I figure why not share what I learn with the world? So, my Mommy Space blog is really as much a resource for me as it is for any other WAHM.

WT: What impact has blogging made on your career?

Wendy: Blogging is my career at this time, so it’s everything to me. I started blogging simply to showcase my growing gallery of cakes, but when I learned you could actually profit from a blog, I began focusing my attention there and soon had multiple blogs. One thing blogging has done for me is give me greater confidence in myself and in my abilities. I’m now more comfortable stretching myself and taking risks than I was a couple years ago. I feel that regular posting has made me a better writer and one day I’d like to make a living that way.

WT: Can you recommend any resources for WAHMS who are just starting out, or perhaps trying to make the transition from the workplace?

Wendy: The best resource I can recommend is Wahm.com. I’ve learned so much from the ladies there. There is so much information, so many women working from home and sharing their successes and their setbacks. You can learn a lot from other people. I’d be lost without that forum!

WT: Tell us about your other ventures. I understand you have several other successful projects in the works.

Wendy: I’m currently working on my first e-book and a couple tutorials that I hope to sell online. Since quality is extremely important to me, I’m taking my time bringing the completed product together, but my hope is to make a couple hundred dollars a month in additional revenue selling tutorials to cake decorators. I also hope to launch a website for cake decorators in the coming weeks.

WT: Is there anything else that you want to share with the readers?

Wendy: I’d just like to add that I started earning money online a couple years ago registering with legitimate survey sites, with a cautious sense of optimism. Once I found I could earn money taking surveys (a very modest amount), it created a desire in me to search for other online forms of income. I have no background in anything I’m doing now, but have found I can teach myself just about anything I need to know.

This is important for women who feel like they have no skills to build on. You just need to research and play with ideas, give yourself time to learn, time to make mistakes, and start off slow. Don’t invest a lot of money into something you know little about or aren’t sure will be a good fit for you personally. Never make a decision out of desperation.

It has taken me a long time to find my happy place as a WAHM and I feel I have such a long way to go before I really find financial success.

I have something I didn’t have in the beginning though and that is a plan!

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.