035: How To Start A Successful Mommy Blog (Crystal Paine)

If you knew what you loved to do but you also knew it would take 2 or 3 years before you’d see the fruits of your labor, would you still pursue your passion? That’s exactly how long it took for our guest to reap the rewards of her efforts and she’s here to tell us what that journey was like, in episode 35.

Crystal Paine is the woman behind the uber-successful blog, Money Saving Mom. Despite the name, this is a blog for everyone. The site is a one-stop shop to help you be intentional with your money, your family and your business. Tune in to hear all the details!

MORE ABOUT THIS SHOW

As a young woman in Kansas, Crystal had one dream: to marry young and raise 12 kids. 12! But she also had an entrepreneurial streak: she had the usual lemonade stand and she also organized garage sales. Later, she had a library in her family’s basement and charge her family members 10 cents if they returned a book late!

Fulfilling on the first dream of marrying early, Crystal and her husband set an audacious goal for themselves: to put him through law school without incurring any debt. Shortly after setting that goal Crystal found out she was about to achieve another of her childhood goals: she was pregnant with their first child. She was simultaneously thrilled and also focused: how would they raise a baby, put her son through law school and stick with their no-debt dream?

Feeling very sick during her pregnancy actually brought Crystal the answer. She surfed the Internet on her laptop researching ways to make money online. She joined Yahoo Groups and asked successful online entrepreneurs how they were doing it. And then she did the most important part: she tried everything, and failed just as often until she found “it”. And “it” was the start of today’s Money Saving Mom blog.

THE FINER DETAILS OF THIS SHOW:

Did she ever fail before her Money Saving Mom blog?
The experiment mindset: how it benefits you in every area of your life.
Who was his biggest influence growing up?
What’s one of the reasons people fail according to Crystal?
Why doing one thing at a time is your best bet for online success.
And so much more!

The origins of her blog were pretty humble. She admits in that blog she wrote run-on paragraphs and thought she knew all there was to know at the tender age of 23! But she learned along the way, taking action, making mistakes, learning from those mistakes and then applying them to her two passions: writing and helping people get their finances in order.

Crystal says one of the most important lessons she’s found is to know you’re not perfect and to know you won’t have everything figured out right away; instead of trying to be perfect right out of the gate, keep learning and experimenting as you go. She also says entrepreneurs need to remember there will always be more to do, always! Be sure you have a solid life outside of your work and your business so you have other things in your life that fulfill you.

We wrap up the show with one important money management suggestion she has for everyone: manage the income you already have. Start paying cash for eating out and your groceries, those budget items that fluctuate every month. Keep a written budget and when you’re following it, you’ll have a better idea of whether or not you actually need to make more money to pay your expenses. If you’re following these two guidelines and you’re still coming up short for your bills, then you know your income needs to go up and you’ll know how to manage it when it does.

It’s clear she loves what she does. Crystal says one of her greatest joys is helping people save money so they can put that money to good use in their communities and their world at large. There’s no greater fulfillment for her then to know she helped people make a difference in the world around them.

Please join me in thanking Crystal for sharing her knowledge biscuits! It was great to chat with her about how her blog has grown, what she’s discovered along the way and how her lessons can help you! Let us know what you got from this episode in the comments below or send a Tweet.

Tweetable: “I’m an advocate of jump in, try things and start learning!” Crystal Paine

EPISODE RESOURCES

99 Designs – Complementary Power Pak
Crystal’s blog
Crystal on Twitter
Reserve your complementary spot for our listener Q&A webinar
Email me with any questions or comments at Grant@GrantBaldwin.com

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