Small Business Mom with Virtual Assistant Deb McGranaghan

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Welcome back for another Small Business Mom feature! If this is the first one you are reading, Small Business Moms occurs monthly and features a different work at home mom each month. Sometimes that mom is part of a business like Thirty-One or Norwex or Pampered Chef. Other times the mom has a business that is completely her own, like a website or Etsy shop or as a virtual assistant. No matter what case, Small Business Moms is not only to help the featured mom gain exposure but also to encourage you that working from home is possible!

This month’s Small Business Mom is Deb. Deb is a Content Marketing and Customer Support Virtual Assistant.

Hi, Deb! Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m a Content Marketing and Customer Support Virtual Assistant. Married for almost 20 years with a 4 1/2 year old daughter. I have 20+ years of experience in customer service positions. While on maternity leave, I made the decision to start a business and discovered the virtual assistant industry. I started my business while working 32 hours a week with a newborn. I did this for a year. I’ve been home for 3 years now. In addition to VA services, I am also working on adding content/courses on helping moms with businesses learn to manage work/family/life without going CRAZY! On a personal note, I’m a personal development junkie and a lover of all things dance. I took my first dance class at 20 and have loved it ever since. I’m often the oldest in my classes by a long shot but I don’t care. My daughter is also already a dancer at heart (and I love that about her!)

Tell us about your business:

I focus on supporting entrepreneurs with managing their content – blogs, email marketing, social media, e-books, reports, general copywriting, etc. Given my 20+ years of customer service work, I also do customer support email management. I love to write and tend to blog mostly about mindset and time management. I prefer working with other mamapreneurs whenever possible since we have a mutual understanding of this life.

How did you decide you wanted to run your own business?

While I was on maternity leave I discovered that I was not going to be able to go back to my job with the reduced schedule that I had requested before I had my baby. I could not accept that someone else had the power to tell me when I could be with my baby. As someone who dealt with a father leaving when I was young and a mom who had to work crazy hours to support us, I wasn’t okay with someone else having that control. The only option I saw was starting a business.

What are your top three favorite products that you sell?

Blog management, proofreading, and email newsletters. (Digital products coming soon!)

What do you love most about being a work at home mom?

Setting my own schedule. Taking my daughter to dance class and going to the beach when we want and working around that. No one else telling me when and where I have to work.

Do you have any advice for moms thinking about starting their own business?

It’s hard. Expect it to be hard. Find a coach and a community for support ASAP! Don’t try to do it alone. It’s hard for everyone. Guilt will happen. It doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong. It means your normal. Don’t judge yourself against other people’s highlight real. They look like they have it all figured out but you don’t know how hard it was for them to hit publish or send. As hard as it is, you will NEVER regret being there more for your kids. You may regret the other option.

Can you share a favorite “mom moment” with us?

So many…the day I realized that my daughter is learning the words to the songs I listen to. We were walking through the grocery store and she started singing Chandelier by Sia. “1,2,3…1,2,3, Drink.” Followed by Exs and Ohs – “My Xs and Os they want me..” Oops!

 

If you are interested in being a monthly feature on Small Business Moms, go here to get more information and to fill out the form. If you are featured, in addition to a a blog post featuring you and your business, you will also get a month long sidebar ad and social media mentions during the month you are featured. All businesses will be considered as long as the are family-friendly. Can be an Etsy shop/other handmade site, consultant for a company, web site designer, virtual assistant, whatever you do!