Today's interview is with Gayla McCord. Gayla is a work-at-home mom who makes a full-time living by blogging. Gayla is also one of the people who inspired me to start blogging.
Gayla currently blogs at the following sites:
I first learned of Gayla through another work-at-home parent who, when learning that I was interested in starting a blog, told me to get in touch with Gayla because "she pretty much knows everything that there is about blogging." I promptly joined a forum that Gayla was running at that time and discovered that Gayla really did know a lot about blogging.
Here's what Gayla has to say:
Work From Home Momma: How many years have you worked from home? Has blogging been your business for all of those years, or did you start out with another home business?
Gayla: I've been working from home for just under 10 years. Blogging for half that time. The first part of my online career began as a patient advocate for those living with incurable STD's. I still work with patients, but not to the degree I once did. I felt I was becoming more depressed, the longer I worked in that field full-time. I knew I couldn't be of any help to those who needed me if I weren't at my best. I knew I had to find something more upbeat and distracting to focus my attentions on or I'd be swallowed up by a world of anger and depression.
Work From Home Momma: What made you decide to start a home business?
Gayla: The biggest inspiration of all - my twin boys. I was a single parent raising twins alone. Their father wasn't in the picture so I felt they needed more of me to compensate for the absent parent. I began working from home when my boys were in kindergarten. I can't imagine trading all the years and time I've gotten to spend with them for any high paying career or top level corporate position ever.
Work From Home Momma: What got you interested in blogging as a business?
Gayla: I actually began blogging as a way of writing articles for a company I worked closely with during my advocate days. From there I created a blog to keep distant relatives updated on the twins and I with photos, etc. When I realized there was money to be made blogging, my first objective was to help other women who were not so internet savvy to avoid online scams. I began blogging about tried and true methods of making a decent living online. I'd love to see every parent who desires staying at home with their kids, have the option and ability to do so.
Work From Home Momma: As a blogger, what is your biggest challenge?
Gayla: Writers block. Some days I lack inspiration and drive. The beauty of blogging is that you develop friendships and a network so when you are having a bout with writers block or some family issue comes up, they forgive your being a little distant for a short time.
Work From Home Momma: What business accomplishment are you most proud of?
Gayla: The one accomplishment I'm most proud of is when I finally began earning enough that I could tell my husband he could take a job he absolutely hated and can it! He was able to walk out and not look back. Today he works a job he loves, part-time, but it's more as something to do that he enjoys than anything. I love that I can provide for my husband and our kids from the comfort of our home.
Work From Home Momma: You have so many blogs, I just have to ask. How many hours do you put into your blogging business each day?
Gayla: I begin working the minute the kids get on the bus in the morning at 7:00 AM and I work until 4:00 PM most days. Sometimes I'll put in a couple of hours in the evening and a few on the weekend if the boys are watching football or a movie that doesn't interest me.
Work From Home Momma: What is unique about your blogging business?
Gayla: What's most unique is I'm a simple farm girl from Indiana, without a college degree, without formal web design training and I've made it. I really believe that blogging is a business where a solid degree from the School of Hard Knocks truly pays off.
People like genuine and that's what I've tried hard to be to my readers. Someone they feel could easily live next door and trust - in an internet that's full of promises that really are too good to be true and scams that will bleed a family dry. I try to network with bloggers that will serve as sort of a levy against the flood of deception in hopes that more parents dreams of working from home can come true.
Work From Home Momma: What advice do you have for future blogging professionals?
Gayla: Be passionate. If you believe in your 'product' your readers will too. No one can fake it in blogging for very long.
Work From Home Momma: Are there any blogs that you consider to be must-reads for work-at-home parents who want to blog professionally? And why?
Gayla: Without a doubt ProBlogger. I've been reading Darren's blog since it was only three months old and it's about as genuine as it can possibly be.
I also encourgage everyone to read Performancing and Dosh Dosh They're great places to start. My list for more advanced bloggers is a mile long, but for beginners, this is where it all begins.
Work From Home Momma: What are your business goals for the next few years?
Gayla: My area of Indiana was hit hard by the loss of jobs over the last couple of years. I've been wanting to put together a sort of informal class that could be taught to small groups of people to help them find if blogging is right for them. I'm hoping to get this up and going by the end of this year.
Aside from that, I'm hoping to grow enough that I can hire my mother and stepfather so they can move back to the U.S. from Canada. I miss having them around and am sad they're missing so much of their grandchildren growing up.
Work From Home Momma: Is there anything else about your business that you'd like to tell the readers of Work From Home Momma?
Gayla: The only thing I want to stress to anyone looking for ways to earn money online is to hang tough. Nothing that's worth having happens quickly. I created my first blog post in March of 2003. I received my first Google Adsense payment of $237 in August 2004 and in August 2007 I made nearly $7,000 from all my affiliates and it continues to rize steadily.
A lot of hard work, frustration and prayer went into achieving the level of success I have and I believe it's only proper for me to give back. The way I do this is by giving truthful reviews of affiliates and money making prospects from around the web.
Do you have more than two years of experience in a home business? Would you like to share your story on Work From Home Momma? Contact me at Laura [at symbol] workfromhomemomma.com.
Thanks for the interview opportunity Laura. You've done a wonderful job with it. I feel so important now :)
Posted by: Gayla McCord | February 12, 2008 3:24 PM | Permalink to Comment