Stephanie started her business for the children she would one day have so that she would be able to work from home and not miss a minute of motherhood. Her business, EGM, provides website help to bloggers and website owners all over the world. She also recently created the Techy Girl Library which allows people to learn everything they need to know about building and running a website through videos, guides, and workbooks.
What motivated & inspired you to start your business?
My motivation hasn’t been born yet. I started my business for the kids I would one day have years before I had even met my husband. I didn’t want to give birth to my children and then have to leave them to go to work every day after three months. I’ve seen my friends do it and I can’t even imagine how they actually do it. When the magical day does come that my husband and I can grow our family, I don’t want to miss a single moment of it. I want to be there for all of it. That’s why I needed to create a business working from home.
What steps did you take to get things going in the beginning?
I started my business doing any job anyone was willing to pay me for. One of my very first jobs was to do 100 WordPress installs via FTP transfer (not the simple one click process it is now) for a grand total of $50. I loved it. It was so much fun. I did it while backpacking through Europe with my best friend. It was so amazing that I could make money while being on holiday in Spain. After this, I was craving more. I went crazy online networking and getting new jobs to learn new things. I said yes to jobs I didn’t know how to do and learned how to do them. Before I knew it I had too many clients and had to start hiring some help for myself!
What has been the most effective way of raising awareness of your business and getting new customers?
Networking in groups has been the best way for me to get my info out there. Most recently I have been going crazy in Facebook groups. In fact, that is where the majority of my business comes from right now. When I got started, I used sites like Upwork and Freelancer to get my name out there and find work as well.
What challenges have you faced and how did you overcome them?
Three years ago, I lost all my clients. All in the span of a month. It wasn’t for anything related to me or my work either. One got sick. One had her company bought out. And another was moving to a different country. I thought I had failed. But something told me to just go find clients. It took a lot of work to get those three so I wasn’t very optimistic but I figured I’d try. Within four months I had more clients than I could handle. This taught me that things change quickly. Keep working and don’t give up.
Can you tell us about any habits you have/things you do, which set up success every day?
Every day I do a 30 minute HIIT workout, 30 mins of yoga, 10 minutes of meditation, affirmations, 30 minutes of reading, and end my day by doing something creative either writing or drawing. These help me to stay centred and balanced so that I can focus and be more productive.
What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs?
Don’t be shy. For the longest time, I was afraid to speak up or do a video or a podcast. Now I love them. I have so much fun doing them and apparently, the people love them as well. If you can talk to clients and enjoy yourself, you can do a video and get yourself seen by the world.
When I face a big challenge, I…
make a plan and take care of the most important things first.
The most courageous thing I’ve ever done as an entrepreneur is…
say no to a client who was willing to pay me but I didn’t feel was a good fit.
If I could go back in time to when I started my business I would tell myself…
to take it seriously from the start.
The best piece of advice I’ve ever been given is…
be yourself and the rest will follow.
My favourite business tool/resource/book/podcast is…
Asana for organizing all my tasks and projects.
My favourite quote is…
