Tiffany Dow 2.0

I get to introduce you to another amazing work at home Mom today!  Tiffany Dow is a talented writer and has learned to leverage many of the popular and challenging social media websites.

Tiffany, when did you first decide to look for a way to work from home?

I was forced into it when my newborn son was diagnosed with RSV (a respiratory illness). To be honest, I don’t know that I would have had the guts to try it had I not had this medical emergency, but I am thankful that some good came out of it.

How did you sort through your ideas for a work at home business?

I was surfing eBay looking for Jets memorabilia for my husband (who is stuck in Cowboy country with me in Texas) and I saw a link to a Services area. This took me to Elance, where I began ghostwriting. I had a background in Journalism but it wasn’t the same.

One of my first clients was Jimmy Brown, and he taught me about the difference between college level writing or offline print media and online marketing communication. This began a long career as a ghostwriter for top marketers, but I finally got up the nerve to become a marketer myself once I realized how profitable my talents were for others.

Where did you look for inspiration?

I, like many people, suffer from self doubt and worry that I’ll mess up. Luckily, the Warrior Forum provided a sea of camaraderie for me, where I met so many wonderful men and women who reached out to help me and mentor me. I always try to give back and help others, and to this day, I learn something new in that forum on a regular basis.

Is there anything that you’ve tried that you would say didn’t work for you?

Outsourcing has been iffy. Sometimes I still ghostwrite, so when I’m working on other people’s projects, I’ll maintain my own site’s momentum by using ghostwriters for things like article marketing. I find it very hard to hand over tasks to other people when I feel I could do it better myself.

What do you love about what you are doing to work at home today?

It has to be helping people. I remember the desperation I felt when I held my baby and wondered how we were going to make it because I refused to go back to work. Now, I’m able to help other men and women in a similar situation begin making money online without having to do anything shady or questionable. I get emails all the time saying, “Thank you – here’s where I am now because of what I learned from you.” That feels really good.

How are you applying Web 2.0 tactics to your business?

Web 2.0 is the crux of my business efforts. My first product was Social Networking on Squidoo, and that web 2.0 site remains the best tool in my advertising arsenal. However, with social networks are always cropping up and they’re integrating with one another, like Twitter connects to Squidoo and Ezine Articles Tweets my submissions, and so on. I’m connecting the dots and teaching others how to do the same.

What are your hopes for the future?

I hope that online marketing becomes less of a mystery. I still don’t know anyone offline who understands what it is. They all assume it’s email spamming and I have to try to explain what it truly is. I hope more men and women, more parents, get to enjoy the kind of life I have – raising my children myself, setting my own hours, and working from anywhere in the world that I want to be. I hope more individuals get to determine their own salary rather than having to grovel to a boss who may or may not consider them worthy of a raise.

What advice would you give a new work at home mom?

Carve out time in your day to work, but enjoy the flexibility you have. I take days off to go to the zoo and make up for it by working a few hours in the evening. Keep an Excel spreadsheet for various projects you’re working on – it feels good to delete tasks once they’re finished! And whatever you do, BRAND yourself to the world for your expertise. Don’t be shy! It’s how you sell more and earn the respect you deserve.