HBW 006: How Tara Jefferson Turned Her Blog Into a Business That Helps Young Moms

Tara Jefferson was a new mom with lots of dreams, but she was still in college and didn’t have what she considers a “real” job to support her new family. She made a commitment to herself then and there that by the time her daughter was 2 years old she would be supporting herself in her own business. That’s some unusual grit, but Tara had it, and her dream has become what is now www.YoungMommyLife.com, a blog and resource for young mothers. Tara’s site provides teaching, advice, support, and encouragement for young moms who want to be great moms and even better women. In this episode Tara’s going to share her journey with you, the ups and downs, the struggles, and the victories. You’re sure to get a lot of encouragement and ideas from this great episode.

[Tweet "How @TheYoungMommy went from broke college mom to successful mommy blogger - listen here"]

You have to take care of yourself.

Many young mothers are determined to prove to the world that they can be a great mom. That’s a great goal. It shows the kind of determination needed to be a young mother. But many times that determination translates into a work ethic that denies that she, the mom in question, has very legitimate needs herself. In that scenario she usually winds up giving and giving to others without filling up her own tank. Tara Jefferson has made it her goal to build a site and community that supports those moms and offers them a load of resources to make sure that they are able to take care of themselves first. You can hear Tara’s journey story to her successful mommy-support business in this great conversation.

She tracks her time to make herself aware of where she’s not being productive.

In this conversation one of the intriguing topics that came up was personal productivity and goal setting. Rosetta asked her guest, Tara Jefferson, how she goes about keeping herself productive in any given week. Tara shared a simple but very effective tool that has helped her stick to her priorities and get things done. She used a free “time tracking” app to keep track of what projects she’s doing and how long it takes her to get them done. Doing this enabled her to see what she’s doing repeatedly that is a time waster, how much time she should allot for typical tasks like writing a blog post, and how she can streamline her workflow to get more done. It’s a valuable tip she shared on this episode, and there are lots more where it came from, so make sure you listen.

[Tweet "A powerful productivity tool for your business…in this episode of the Happy Black Woman Podcast"]

What is freedom, to you?

That’s a question Rosetta likes to ask all of her guests, and today’s guest, Tara Jefferson answered in a very common sense way. Freedom for Tara is being able to make her own decisions about what she’s going to do everyday. If she wants to start work early, she can. If she wants to start later, that’s up to her. If she would like to take the day off to go to an activity at her child’s school, she can do it. She doesn’t have to ask anyone. She doesn’t need permission. She’s able to adjust her schedule and plug things in where they make the most sense on any given day. That, to her, is an amazing freedom she didn’t even know she’d love so much. Tara shares so much, in such a genuine way, on this episode.

An event for moms who need a time of refreshing.

One of the things Tara Jefferson loves to do most is to host events for women to come together, learn, get a break from the responsibilities of everyday life, and build relationships of support that can sustain them over the long haul. She’s done quite a few of these events to date. If you’re interested in connecting with women in a supportive, encouraging environment, this is the event for you. You can find out more details about the event at www.YMLRetreat.EventBright.com. 

[Tweet ""Young mothers often don’t realize they need self-care." - @TheYoungMommy"]

Outline of this great episode: [0:24] Welcome to this episode - introduction of today’s guest: Tara Jefferson [1:24] Tara’s story and her mission with Young Mommy Life [5:41] The topics and themes Tara has been sharing on her blog. [7:15] What made Tara decide to turn her blog into a business and what tools has she used to do that? [9:17] A typical day for Tara as a blogger and business owner. [10:04] Tara’s family and the load she carries day to day. [11:51] What does freedom look like to you, Tara? [14:15] Setting goals and being productive in the midst of life. [18:10] Looking ahead:What Tara hopes for in the future of her business. [19:53] Events coming up in Tara’s community and a great success story.. [22:57] What inspires Tara to keep going? [24:45] What makes Tara happy? [26:12] Tara’s favorite things to read. [28:00] One of Tara’s favorite personal mantras. [29:07] Tara’s #1 piece of advice for women wanting to start a business they love. Resources mentioned in this episode: Tara’s website: TheYoungMommyLife.com Tara's favorite productivity tool - the Time Tracker app BOOK: Get Yours Tara’s retreat: http://www.theyoungmommylife.com/self-care-retreat Tweets you can use to share this episode:

[Tweet "Moms: You’ve got take care of yourself if you’re going to take care of everyone else."]

[Tweet "How @TheYoungMommy went from broke college mom to successful mommy blogger - listen here"]

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe, rate and review...

Thanks so much for joining us on the podcast this week! Be sure to leave me a note in the comments below with your #1 takeaway from the show.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the show to get FREE automatic notifications when each new episode goes live!

Subscribe via iTunes (for iPhone) Subscribe via Stitcher (for Android)

Finally, please consider leaving an honest rating and review for The Happy Black Woman Podcast on iTunes or Stitcher to help spread the word about the show and help more black women find our tribe!

Join the Happy Black Woman Facebook Tribe:

Join our Happy Black Woman Facebook Tribe to connect and network with like-minded women from around the world! Click here to request access to our private Facebook group.