Meet Louise Goss
For many, home-working has become the norm since the pandemic. For others, including a lot of Your AJency clients, home-working has been something they’ve had to adapt to since becoming a parent and trying to manage the juggle of work, kids and life. Many want (and need) to have the flexibility to be able to pop out when needed for a school play, pick up, kids’ club etc. In fact, many people look to work from home due to budgetary needs. We all know childcare costs are astronomical, especially when you live in a large city. I couldn’t believe when my brother told me recently what he pays for full-time daycare for his son in the London suburbs!
What’s more, traditional office hours have become a thing of the past, especially in a globally operating business. Even for those who aren’t self-employed or who haven’t previously worked from home, your house has had to become the office too which in turn throws up plenty of challenges like where to work, having the right space and (if you are like me) how to set boundaries that separate home and work. I feel it becomes more and more of a grey area. It also doesn’t help that we, as business owners, are always available whether on a social channel or on the phone and it can be hard to ignore those incoming messages, especially when you are ambitious and looking to grow.
I hope to be moving into a new house soon, and I will finally have my own office, which was actually part of our search criteria! I am hoping that by having my own office at home, I can set up some better boundaries personally!
This brings me on nicely to our guest for this edition of Moments to Motivate where I speak to some of the female founders who inspire me most. Let me introduce Louise Goss, founder and editor of The Homeworker Magazine. We first connected earlier this year. The magazine was a new find for me as I looked at where my audience may be hanging out in the UK prior to my move from the US. I loved the clean, minimal aesthetic to the magazine and also appreciated someone was taking homeworkers a little more seriously. I felt an instant calm in this magazine and love some of the design inspiration. There were lots of messages that spoke to me and were very relatable to my own situation. I knew that my own audience and many of my clients would benefit from the content so I was thrilled when Louise asked me to be feature in the magazine.
Very quickly after connecting, we realised that we have both lived abroad, and subsequently had to set up back home with small children and so I have really enjoyed getting to know her. This particular Moments To Motivate edition is packed full of honest advice and inspiration, a project fuelled by passion and a mission to put homeworking out there as something serious and not something that happened due to the pandemic. Homeworking has been something many of us as women have been doing for far longer. It’s important we support it and each other so that we can take care of ourselves, can be productive and grow the businesses we want. It is also about championing the BIG businesses that are run from the home. Some, of course, outgrow that but others remain in their home and are just as successful as those in offices.
Without further ado, over to Louise…
In my community there are people who are just at the idea stage, perhaps they’ve just launched or maybe already have an established business. Tell us a little about your journey, including some of the highs and lows. How long ago did you start and what prompted you to take the plunge to launch The Homeworker ?
I launched The Homeworker in 2019 - before the pandemic meant we were all working from home! (I did not have a crystal ball but had seen certain trends.)
However, the idea behind it had been germinating for a while. I have always worked as a journalist - initially in TV and radio - and for over a decade, I’ve worked from home. My main impetus was having just moved from Australia back to the UK with two children under three. I wanted to do something for myself but going back to a newsroom full-time wasn't compatible with setting up a new life with two very young children.
During a previous role, I had been exposed to just how many varied and interesting things people did working from home running businesses and I wanted to explore this and dig into how people managed it.
I knew there was more to running a business from home than just setting up a laptop at the kitchen table so I began looking at mindset, productivity techniques, wellbeing, the work environment and lifestyle. These elements became pillars for The Homeworker and are the topic areas we cover in every issue.
I knew as a journalist I could create the content and I loved the creative aspect of design so I launched the magazine from my own kitchen table and have seen it grow and evolve ever since.
The months prior to launch were wracked with self-doubt and questioning so I definitely had to overcome some analysis paralysis! You can't know anything until you take action. Seeing that first issue go out and then getting the feedback from initial buyers about how much they loved the content, the design, how needed they felt it was, that was incredible.
We talk about how important in marketing it is to share your why. Tell us your why? What is your goal with this platform and publication?
It has always been about inspiring people to make positive changes that improve their work from home lifestyle. For so long society has glorified 'being busy' and career status and achievement have been how you define success. Burnout is now rife, we live in an uncertain world and I want to help people nurture themselves and their self-development as well as their business.
I believe for a healthy, happy and fulfilling life, you need to look after your mental and physical wellbeing, establish healthy habits and communication and create a productive work environment. These all work together. I am really passionate about encouraging and supporting people to realise their dreams while not at the expense of their own health and happiness.
It's hard to launch and run a business on your own, almost impossible in my opinion! Who and where have you sought the necessary support? What has been most useful?
You're right. While I think of myself as doing this 'alone', in reality, I am lucky to have a very supportive husband and to have the type of work that involves regularly talking with other businesses and potential partners for collaboration.
I set up The Homeworker community on Facebook and have a lovely Homeworker community newsletter that is all about reassuring people and offering tips and ideas for working alone or remotely.
My primary source of support has always been my husband, especially in the early days. It is good to have somebody to talk to about decisions and just to get a second opinion before you hit publish! I have also developed great friendships with other business owners who I am in touch with regularly. This is brilliant for perspective and mutual support.
Apart from that, I have relied on family and occasionally friends to help with childcare and I have used freelancers to help me with some aspects of the business on an ad-hoc basis.
Are you a part of any business communities that you’ve found particularly supportive or helpful?
Yes, as I mentioned I have The Homeworker Facebook group for support and community. I’m also part of the Small Business Saturday group as I was named as one of the Small Biz 100 last year which is awarded to the UK’s most inspiring small businesses.
I’ve recently been introduced to some virtual networking and accountability platforms which sound exciting but I’m yet to try. (I’ll be talking about them in an upcoming issue of The Homeworker magazine).
I occasionally use coworking spaces. I don’t use them regularly enough to have the community there as a key support, but whenever I go, I find it welcoming and there is always someone to have a chat to over lunch!
You mentioned you have a journalist background - how has it helped you in your business?
Yes, my background is in journalism. I had wanted to work in media ever since I was a child. I even created my own magazine at primary school! I started in broadcasting, and have been lucky to have worked in regional, national and overseas newsrooms and with some very talented journalists. I have interviewed people from celebrities to politicians to the man on the street. This background really got me understanding the importance of knowing my audience and coming up with content ideas designed just for them. It also means when I interview people, this comes very naturally and enables me to put people at ease and get the most and best out of the people I speak with, which I can then share with The Homeworker readers.
While I am mostly working online and in print, my background is multimedia so I can edit audio and video. This is helpful when it comes to producing the video content I have in my subscribers lounge and I love getting creative with reels and social media (when I have time!).
I know you’re a mama, how do you balance being a successful business owner and being present for your kids? It can be a lot, I know! Whilst not everything works for everyone, what have you found that works for you?
Absolutely not everything works for everyone. If there's one thing I've learned, especially when it comes to working at home, is that everyone has very different circumstances. My children are my most important focus. I am fortunate to have the flexibility to work around school and extracurricular activities (and why I am a huge advocate for flexible working and choice in the workplace).
It is easy to say, but I have had to learn to be more compassionate and accepting with myself. Not everything I do is perfect and I don't get to do everything I would like to do at the speed I would like to do it. I have no shame in asking for help here or there.
Negotiation and healthy family relationships I believe are fundamental. At the start, it was really tough. I had the lion share of child care, neither of my children were in school, housework fell to me and my husband was out in the office full-time. We sat down and had an honest conversation where I explained how it wasn't working for me. It was not deliberate on his part, more just how things had naturally fallen into place so we both made an effort to look at how we could support each other. Now, things are much more balanced. It also helps that he works from home sometimes so can help out more with school runs etc. We each have a much more equal role when it comes to running the house as well.
When it comes to the children, they have grown up with me working at home. We have set boundaries for them, and for myself, and sometimes of course, I feel guilty. But this is much less often now. I am not a helicopter parent, they are pretty independent and I make sure when I do spend time with them, I am fully present. I think this is really important, not to be distracted by your phone or emails while trying to keep them occupied. They feel valued and it really helps them not to keep pestering when you do go back to the desk!
That’s such great advice. What has been your personal highlight for The Homeworker so far?
There have been some amazing highs. I have had some great opportunities to speak on stages and be interviewed on national radio and even win awards. I think my personal highlight was being shortlisted for Launch of The Year by the British Society of Magazine Editors. The event is often dubbed the 'Oscars of the Publishing World'. All the big publishing houses were there and I was sitting alongside editors and creatives from the big national titles. It felt very special.
Wow, what an achievement! Congratulations! I can imagine it was super special indeed! What would you say is the best advice anyone has given you in terms of being an entrepreneur?
I think there are a few phrases that come to mind. As I mentioned, I have to work on perfectionism and taking action so at the start I had to remind myself: ‘Clarity comes from Action’ and sometimes: ‘Done is better than perfect’. I think from a purely business point of view, the Golden Trifecta is worth noting: Love what you do, have the skills to do it, ensure commercial viability. That ensures you have a feasible business and one that you will enjoy sustaining even during tough times.
Very wise words! It’s a good reminder to all of us who are running our own business to reflect on that advice! What has been the single biggest thing you have done that resulted in growth? If you could only do one thing what would it be?
It is hard to pick one as several spring to mind. PR has had a big impact for me. When I have had the chance to do some PR, I noticed an upswing in sales and general interest. I think it depends on your business model. But for me, PR has had a great impact on getting the word out there and that has been in both smaller publications as well as national press, TV and radio.
We think PR is hugely helpful too and have been working on our own PR strategy with Fiona Minett! What would be the one thing you would have done differently?
I would have crafted a more thorough plan, or perhaps, more accurately, I’d have paused more to reassess the plan more frequently. You only learn from mistakes however so it is only with hindsight that I can see what I would have done differently. For me, that would have been taking more time to review and doing that more frequently as part of my planning and scheduling.
What is your life motto?
I take a pretty stoic approach to life and so my motto is really about living each day to its fullest. I don’t always get this right but if I’m in a rut or feeling scared about something (in business) then I remember ‘Memento Mori’.
Without wanting to be morbid, it’s a reminder that we will all die and have one life on this Earth so you may as well just do it!
Absolutely! We love working with ambitious inspirational women, which is why joining your community was a no brainer for us. Knowing how ambitious you are what’s next? Success looks different for everyone, what is success for you?
I've got a few goals and aspirations. I want to grow The Homeworker audience and community so I can support and inspire more people to thrive at home and at work. But as with my aims for my readers, I want to do this while maintaining a healthy lifestyle and spending good time with friends and family.
Louise Goss is the founder of The Homeworker, a resource dedicated to helping people thrive when they work from home. It provides expert insights, tips, and resources to help people achieve a happier, healthier, more productive work from home lifestyle.
Louise is an award-winning journalist who has worked across a range of media from TV, radio, digital, and print and in regional, national and international newsrooms. As a mum of two she is also passionate about helping people make positive changes for a healthy mind, body and business.
For more info on The Homeworker magazine:
Website: www.thehomeworker.com
Print copies: https://www.thehomeworker.com/the-homeworker-guide/
Newsletter community: https://thehomeworker.activehosted.com/f/1