One of the best things in life is when you meet someone new and you connect right away. Something clicks, and you feel like you have known this person all your life. It's awesome.
That's how I felt when I first met Mariah.
For a few years before meeting her I had been wrestling with the question of whether or not to have kids. Deep down I knew that I didn't want to have my own children, but the surprising resistance of people around me rattled me. I felt alone and alien in my decision, because seemingly every single woman in my life was all about the babies, and made me think something about me must be wrong.
But then I found Mariah. Not only was I drawn to her wit, get-shit-done attitude and her openness, but she was a fellow 'child-free' woman! She provided a space on her previous blog to bring women like me together, and she managed to finally make me feel confident in my decision.
Together with another blog-friend we ran a link-up for several months, and have stayed in touch ever since. Oh, and we have never met IRL - she's one of those special people who can touch your life in the most positive way from behind a computer screen!
When she started her own business, I was ecstatic for her. In the 4 years I have known Mariah, she has been cheering me on consistently in all my small and big endeavours, and I knew that she had found her calling. Supporting other women turning their dreams into reality is what she is meant to do!
Take it away, Mariah!
Q: Can you tell us about your business?
A: I run Bloom Hustle Grow where I help women bring their business dreams to life. If you have the desire and passion to share your special skill/talent with the world, you can make it your business. I love getting to be a part of that by helping you establish strategic direction, actionable steps, and build processes that allow you to hustle easier. You should be running your business, and not feel like it is running you. I don't want to see anyone give up on their dreams just because they can't figure out the business side or tech side of getting it all organized.
Q: How did you come up with the idea?
A: I really struggled with coming up with my “passion.” I always loved hearing people share their passions and was always inspired by other’s going after their thing but just felt like I was not going to find my thing. Until I realized my passion was helping other people follow their passion. My passion is the business of it all!
Q: How did you get started?
A: Well, I knew I wanted to have a business helping other business owners, but I wasn’t exactly sure what that looked like. I met with a few other business coaches who encouraged me to pursue that path. I have more of a strategic/processes focus than some coaches and waiver between the title of coach or strategist/consultant. But I’ve never been one to fit into a neat box anyway so why should my biz title be any different. Personally, I like the title of a get shit done coach but I’m not really edgy enough to give out cards that have shit in print, and it’s not great for SEO. 😂
I have a business background with an MBA and a B.S. in business. Most of my prior 9-5s were figuring it out project by project and building a business is not all that different. I’ve always been great at planning and seeing the big picture but also not missing out on the details which comes in handy with helping others focus and get a plan in place.
Q: You quit your job in order to start on your own. What gave you the final push to take such a big step?
A: I was unhappy with my job and wanted to do something that I really enjoyed and got to show my talents. While I would like to have an “I am woman hear me roar” kind of story, I would have taken a lot longer (maybe never) if my husband didn’t give me the push and encouragement to go for it.
No riveting story here. After months of my husband saying just quit and figure it out. I gave notice, and then 3 days later we found out we were moving to California, so it kind of worked out anyway.
Q: Do you have help, or do you do it alone?
A: I’m a solopreneur so no assistants or anything at this time. But of course, there are all kinds of wonderful fellow bosses who have definitely helped me (and continue to help me) along the way in less of an official capacity.
Q: How do you find clients? Do you advertise/use social media/network?
A: Networking is a big part of getting coaching clients since it’s more of a one-on-one relationship. But certainly social media and doing guest posting, joint collaborations/webinars help to make those initial contacts.
Most of building an online business is establishing that like, know, trust factor, especially for service-based businesses. Any way that you can become and show you are a “real” person is going to help you, which is why connections/collaborations are so important. If someone invites you to do a collaboration (guest post, webinar, podcast, etc.) that shows a certain level of trust by that other party.
Q: What does a typical day look like?
A: I love a good routine, but not too much of a routine. 😉 No two days are the same since I work with clients and those happen on different days and times. Most days include some kind of call/meeting, social media time, content writing (whether blog posts, newsletters or other content like courses/webinars/social media postings), and email/administrative work.
Q: What’s the best part about being your own boss?
A: The freedom!! You don’t have to worry about dwindling vacation days or commuting/clocking-in.
Q: What's the worst?
A: The worst part is that you are basically on the clock all the time. It’s a bit all consuming at least for me. You have to learn to be very intentional with your time, and that includes self-care/down-time.
Q: Did you always want to own your own biz, or did you decide that more recently?
A: It’s something I’ve always thought about since being in college, but not necessarily a life long dream. I’ve always been a bit bossy, so I guess it comes naturally. 😉
Q: Who is your ideal client? Is it primarily catered to businesses selling something, or do you also help bloggers/writers?
A: I work mostly with female entrepreneurs selling their services or products (but primarily services). Many of my clients come to me because they are overwhelmed with #allthethings, can’t stick to a plan or build a plan, are tired of being stuck or feeling disorganized in their business. They know they want to do their thing (whatever their passion is), but they are just struggling to make progress in the day to day and need some guidance on how to run a business.
I don’t work with bloggers who are looking to make their primary income from affiliate or sponsorships mainly because I feel they would be better served by someone who has direct experience in that kind of marketing. Blogging as a business and blogging for your business does have a lot of overlap but the goals are quite different, and the marketing needs to be approached differently.
Now, if you are a “blogger” but decide you want to start for example offering design services, we might be a good match.
Q: What are your goals for the future?
A: Hmmm, goals for the future. I view becoming an entrepreneur as a journey that has lots of twists and turns. Essentially my goal is to be able to help as many women as I can build their biggest and best dreams into a business. How that grows from my little one woman shop into something bigger, I’m not really sure yet. My nearer future goal would be to hire a VA and maybe a copywriter so more of my time can be spent on more of my core business.
Thank you so much for your time, Mariah!
To check out her services, take a look at Bloom Hustle Grow's
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