Tell us a little about your small business (+URL).
I own three income-producing businesses and founded a national level nonprofit. My "youngest" company is LA Wolfe SEO & Marketing (www.lawolfe.com.) I specialize in fixing poorly done websites and developing web marketing strategies for struggling business owners.
How long have you been running your small business?
2 years with LA Wolfe SEO, but I have been self-employed since 1990.
How did you get into starting a small business?
My business websites were doing really well in search engines. One gets almost one million hits per month so people began contacting me asking who did my websites and SEO / marketing. When I told them I had done it all, they would often ask me if I would do their websites. When one client asked me to help because their site had been blacklisted by search engines due to the shoddy work of another web company, I said yes to the challenge.
I do create websites from scratch, but specialize in rescuing and repairing badly done sites and getting blacklisted sites back into the game. It is a great (and challenging) niche.
Describe your starting a small business experience.
Work. Work. Work. On average, I work 70-80 hours a week. But I love it! I have a "brick-and-mortar office" to meet clients but work a lot from a home office so I can be with my children. As a self-employed, single mom of four children, we had to make a lot of family adjustments.
LA Wolfe SEO & Web started itself because people began asking for my services. I was doing the work on the side more and more so decided to turn it into a "real" business. At first I did not think I could start a third business without failing at something else, but somehow I have managed to find the time by learning to make better business decisions about priorities. For example, I turn work away if I feel I will not be able to help a client in a reasonable time frame.
I really enjoy new challenges and am a great multitasker but the bottom line is that to start a business is you have to be willing to work hard and love what you are doing. Even though my businesses are now very well established, I still work hard ... but I still love what I am doing.
Lessons learned
- I learned early on kids will compete with your business unless you include them. Even if it is just stapling papers, get them involved as is age appropriate.
- I also learned to listen and consider the advice and input from family, friends and most important listen to your clients and customers. Even if your ideas and business knowledge are top-notch, ignoring the needs and interests of your consumers will eventually run your business into the ground.
- Don't start any business you do not love. Knowledge is easy to gain as you go. Passion for what you are doing must be already in your heart.
