Value as a WAHM
I brought this up on twitter last night and I was very sorry it was so late. Some great discussion was started, but I just couldn’t stay up and still be productive this morning. I hated shutting down the conversation for #wahmvalue.
**Disclaimer: I am a WAHM, I’m proud to be a WAHM, and I will always be a WAHM. So no getting offended by discussion here and thinking that I’m picking on WAHM’s. We all have our opinion based on our experiences.
I threw out to my twitter wall, “how do you think the ‘wahm’ stigma helps or hinders you?”.
I instantly had replies and as any social media, computer geek will tell you, this gets the blood pumping. 
What do I mean by WAHM stigma? As a general rule I’ve notice the trend to lower and lower prices when marketing to WAHM’s. They expect more and more for free as this happens. But, they can only take what we are giving out freely as well. That said, if you are a fellow WAHM and marketing to other WAHM’s you understand that many of us start out very low on funds. Therefor setting pricepoints lower if you are marketing to the moms because you really do want to help. But is it helpful?
In my VA biz I have noticed that the marketers not labeling themselves as part of the WAHM community take purchasing the VA hours much differently than those that are WAHM’s. My hours are very inexpensive and honestly I’m sure they are too low. But like many, I wanted to stay lower to be able to help some other work at home moms get rocking on their projects. But that also is devaluing my service. It’s a catch 22.
So the original question, how has it helped or hindered?
It has helped because I would not be in business online without the WAHM community. It has helped because the WAHM community is quite tight and although I talked about those freebie seekers, there are also so many out there that are willing to pass on freebies to you. Freebies as in a quick blog post about your biz, or a quick tweet/retweet of your latest posting, or passing my info on to a potential client if they are unable to meet their needs.
How has it hindered? It’s all about my mindset. If there is negativity about being a WAHM then it is partially my fault for not helping correct it. The term Mom Blogger crashed and blew up not too long ago and many fled the scene and tried to disassociate themselves with the term. I think WAHM was pulled in a little as well. I know my biz partner Loretta and I have talked about it for the last year as we bought domain names to build the sites with.
Again how does it hinder? It doesn’t. I hinder me. I have the mindset that I need to lower prices for products and/or services. I devalue my services and time by doing so. No one can do that TO me and my business, except me.
I want to thank awesome twitter friends for bringing up great points and making me take a look. These ladies are true must follows: @kellymccausey, @aliceseba, @mvchrissy, @melodythacker, @retta719. Believe me the discussion has led to more post ideas in my notebook. lol
Val…I couldn’t agree more with you. I used to devalue my service and help and gave away too much for free or for pennies. I now realize what I am worth!
This is a topic I constantly think about. I am constantly researching prices and checking in on competition prices. I am as low as I am willing to go and that has both hindered and helped me. Hindered as in many newbies will go for a lower priced designer so I lose sales there BUT I do get clients of some standing that are more than willing to pay my price, in turn will spread the word.
I do like to barter with people to help them and decrease my overhead though (you know this), if someone has something I need and I can in turn offer them something they need it’s a win-win. But then that is not FREE persay then is it, LOL.
Great topic and I can’t wait to hear it discussed on WAHM talk Radio!
As a WAHM and business woman I always had the though that there is far more value in something you pay for over something gotten for free. Sure I’ve taken advantage of lots of free stuff, but for the really important things I paid. I choose paid advertising over free for all links. When I hired a VA I actually hired the one who charged the highest rate and we worked together successfully for 5 years.
You definitely need to charge your mind set and focus on the customers/clients who are willing to pay you fairly for everything you offer. Honestly people won’t value you and what you give them if there is not cost to it. Has it occurred to you that maybe you are giving the impression that your don’t feel it has much value when you give away your time, services or products? Food for thought!
We’ve known each other for years from our WU daysand I’ve watched you on your journey. I’m going to keep cheering you on! You’ve got so much to offer Val, stop giving it away, go out there and charge for what you deserve!
Shelly – Yes, and I’m getting better at pointing people to resources I’m an affiliate for, posts here or elsewhere and also to my services page instead of giving it all away.
Chrissy – I don’t count bartering as free at all. That pricepoint can be difficult to hit. I’m finding it much easier to look around at competitive sites and then go from there. If you charge too low then you have to take more work. Sometimes taking the more work can lead to a lower quality as it’s whipped out. Not saying you’ve ever put anything out that wasn’t top-notch, but I mean in general.
Melody – Thanks for the push. Believe me, I hit a wall with my offline biz recently and it did have to do with confidence. However, I’ve been sticking up for myself online and clients are going well
I have stopped giving away a lot because I found that many of those people are a) not following the advice I took time to give them b) not buying my services after helping them so much when they previously had said they were going to and/or c) buying a very low priced package of services and then expecting a lot of email help. All of the above are things I have control over, but recognizing the issue is first step to fixing it!
Hey Val
You started a great conversion.
The term WAHM is descriptive only so far as it tells someone you’re a mom and you work at home. Beyond that it is a terrible mistake for anyone to assume anything, amen?
Some people say the WAHM title is belittling – ‘Oh, you’re just a WAHM’
Some say the WAHM title is a sign of lack of seriousness ‘ ‘Nice little hobby you got going on there’
Some say the WAHM title is sign of brokeback mentality – ‘They don’t spend any money – they’re only interested in freebies’
I say WHO CARES what anyone else says?
I’m a proud WAHM. I run a thriving, multi-faceted internet business that has pulled me out of debt and frustration and earned me a very comfortable (and growing) lifestyle.
I serve the WAHM a wide variety of products, from free (blog, podcast, reports, webinars, etc) to premium in price (membership programs, coaching, etc)
I can report after more than six years of experience that the WAHM is very willing to spend money on quality products and services – WHEN she sees how it will help her achieve her financial goals. (We’re smart that way!)
I’ve got to mention that there are freebie seeking men and women in abundance all over the internet… it is most definitely not a WAHM exclusive issue.
One of the questions here is when do you use the WAHM term? I use it on websites that serve WAHMs! I don’t use it on sites that don’t.
I do want to have you on WTR to talk about this – I know there’s so much more to the topic to discuss!
Thanks Kelly. Yes, SO much more on this topic.
The WHO CARES mentality is something I’ve let slip away recently. I’ve had a lot of self-doubt to work through. I know that surprises many to hear since I keep my opinions to my self so much. lol But even the trainer needs a trainer at times. That darn being human aspect just pops up.
Great post, Val. The tricky part of being a WAHM for me is being taken seriously because I don’t just market my services to the WAHM community exclusively. Kelly made a good point when she said that she knows when it’s beneficial to use the WAHM term for certain sites and not for others. Its more about knowing who your target audience is I suppose.
Very true Kimberly.
Have you looked at who you “think” isn’t taking you seriously? Is it your market…or is it people in your everyday life that you led bleed in? Just food for thought
Thank you for commenting!