Mompreneur Series: Interview With Elna Cain, Blogger and Freelance Writer
top of page
Search

Mompreneur Series: Interview With Elna Cain, Blogger and Freelance Writer




These days, with working from home being easier than ever, more and more moms are becoming "mompreneurs."


Today's interviewee is Elna Cain. When I first started blogging a year ago, I came across Elna Cain's blog, Twins Mommy, in a list of the most successful mommy bloggers, so I thought I would check it out. On her site, I took a free email course on how to set up and grow your blog.


Later, I was able to guest blog for another one of her sites, Imperfectly Perfect Mama.


As one of the most successful bloggers out there, I am lucky to have this interview with Elna, and get her take on what you need to do to become successful as a mommy blogger.


I did a Q&A with Elna and this is what she had to say.


Can you tell me a little bit about yourself and your business?

My name is Elna Cain and I started my freelance business in 2014. My twins were around 15 months old, and I had about four or five hours every day to work on my business. Over the years, I started more blogs, like Twins Mommy and niche sites, as well as creating digital products. I currently have a six-figure business doing what I love the most: writing.


How did you decide to start your business?

When my maternity leave ended, I had to decide what I wanted to do: go back to work as a special education teacher, or find a way to stay home. My twins were a year old at the time and I was still breastfeeding them and pumping, and I just couldn't see myself leaving for eight hours a day.


Daycare costs for twins would just eat up any paycheque I earned. My husband, who works as a website developer and marketer, suggested I do VA work or something online. He mentioned other moms doing this, so I decided to research jobs online. From my research, I discovered writing for businesses. Since I wasn't a type A person for VA work, I felt writing was right up my alley.


How old are your kids?

My twins are currently nine years old :-)


Are your kids in childcare or at home full time?

Before my twins went to school, they were home with me while I grew my freelance business. I had my MIL come and help with childcare but it wasn't regular. My husband also worked from home during this time and he helped out!

How do you balance your work with your family?

In the early years, I relied on nap times and other family members to help me. I only worked when my children napped and when they went to bed at around 6:30 pm or 7pm.


Now that my twins are older and go to school, I work during school hours. Over the summer, I work less and make sure my twins are doing an activity like bike riding or scooting or playing in the backyard before I do some work online.

I also allow my twins to interrupt me during my work hours, unless I tell them otherwise. I take frequent breaks, and sometimes work downstairs if my twins are playing Kirby or some video game. Also, I may skip work to do organizing or just take the twins out for the day. I'm fortunate that I can set my own schedule and make my family a priority.


Any tips for other moms looking to start a business?

If you're a stay at home mom and want to start a business, know that you can! It will take a bit of work and hustle in the beginning, but it's well worth it. Here are my top tips to help you get started:

1. Use your strengths or interests

When deciding on what type of business to start, think about what you are already good at (your past job experience) or what you are interested in learning more about. For example, while for my businesses, I used my interest in writing and freelancing to help me decide my path.

Some businesses you can start at home might be:

  • Virtual assistant

  • Graphic design

  • Content writing for businesses

  • Photography

  • Direct selling

  • Creating crafts

  • Creating printables/coloring books/educational resources

  • Coaching

  • Blogging

2. Figure out what you will offer

Once you figure out which path you will take, you need to figure out what you will offer. For example, if you start a blog, you can provide affiliate marketing, sponsor content or create your own products.


If you decide to do photography, you can create flatlays for content creators or go more local and do family photography or newborn photography.


3. Listen to your audience

While it's great you have an idea of what you want to provide, sometimes it may not pan out. You need to listen to your audience. This could be on social media, from your email list or from your content online.


For example, when I started Twins Mommy, I wanted to chronicle my life as a work at home mom. I soon found that other moms wanted to learn more about making money blogging. I wrote a post on how I plan on growing my blog and I received the most comments ever. This told me that I should pivot my content to help mom bloggers make money.


As you can see, Elna has a lot of great advice on growing a blog as a mom with kids at home.


It is also important to notice how she decided to pivot her content once she got some feedback about what her audience wanted. As someone who is self-employed, taking feedback and applying it is a critical skill.


There are times you think that you want to go in one way, and you end up taking a slightly different path instead. You find what works, and then do more of that, in order to grow a successful business.


I hope you have gained some helpful tips from this interview that you can use in growing your own business, and continuing on the path to becoming a mompreneur.


Let me know in the comments if you have any questions for Elna!



Picture of woman wearing scarf
Pin for Later.

To read more about Mompreneur life, check out these other blog posts:







74 views0 comments
bottom of page