Q. Tell us about yourself?
A. I'm a work at home mom for the past 11 years. I have a hubby like no other and 6 children -- 1 daughter and 5 boys.
Q. Tell us about your business(es)?
A. My main business is www.thedesignshoppe.com. We're a full fledge web hosting, domain registration and design company.
We actually own and manage our own web servers and are not simply resellers or affiliates of another company. We run top of
the line servers only because we've been in the situation before where we had web sites on cheap servers that affected our
businesses in a bad way. We do not skimp when it comes to web sites because that is your whole business - online. We go the
extra mile for our clients and in turn, word of mouth has been our success. We design web sites around what the client envisions
and have created hundreds of successful web sites. We also created a free font site: www.fontshoppe.com just to help those
along that want to be creative with their sites, flyers, brochures, ads, etc..
Q. Why did you decide to work from home?
A. I was a store manager for a major retailer. I loved my job and loved the fact that I earned my status even with the struggles
women have in being promoted to higher positions. I only had 1 child at the time so life was fairly easy. When I got pregnant with
my first son, I had planned to take off for only 6-8 weeks. Nearing the end of the 6th week and being bribed to come back to work, I
realized I just couldn't leave him. My daughter at the time was 8 years old. It was a hard decision and very scary to give up that
financial freedom. Knowing that I'd have to depend on my husband was a big jump for me. Although I have the greatest husband,
it was still a big change for me personally. I took the plunge and decided to become a stay at home mom which is what my mom
did so that in itself had a special meaning to me. With my daughter in school and my newborn son at home with me, I found I had
some extra time. I started researching online. I started meeting moms in various mom communities online and met my now
business partner, Lori Callen. A couple of years later... www.thedesignshoppe.com was created by the two of us. Our friendship
has grown into a strong, trusting relationship that is very hard to find and I'm so thankful for her.
The Design Shoppe is built as an honest company that is not afraid to share the truth about how things work online. There are
things that do work and many more that do not. There is a lot of misguided information being thrown out to new online people by
self-proclaimed web professionals. We feel a sense of responsibility to share our knowledge so that others do not get taken
advantage of. We pride ourselves in being an honest, dependable business that takes care of our clients. Once a mom has a
business online, what does she do with it? That's where Mom Pack steps in and helps support all moms in business. It's a free
way to network with thousands of other moms in business. MomPack.com is Moms Promoting Moms. Although the concept
credit goes to Lynn Korff, I've been running Mom Pack for over 4 years now. It's grown from 400 to over 4500 active members. It's
really a good thing!
Q. What impact has your business had on your life?
A. Oh boy.... that's a good question. It's now been 11 years since I started working online. Looking back, my business has been
very good for me personally. Being a Mom at home is a tough job. It's not a job that is constantly recognized, easily taken for
granted and it can be boring doing the same thing day after day. Working online gives me that personal boost that I am
succeeding because of myself. It gives me that independence so to speak. Working with Mom Pack gives me that fulfillment that I
am helping other moms in business get started and hopefully feel success like I do. Some say I am crazy for doing what I do with
Mom Pack and keeping it free. But, without my staff who volunteer hours upon hours, I couldn't do it. It's a sense of fulfillment
keeping it going and feels great to know you're helping another Mom feel the same way about herself and her business.
Q. How can we get more information about your business/ contact you?
A. I can be reached through either of my web sites: www.mompack.com or www.thedesignshoppe.com . You'll also find me at the
Mom Pack Interactive Forum - - working with and helping other moms in business. We also have a free Web Help group for those
that want advice or suggestions on how to better their web sites.
Congrats Julie on being our September Featured WAHWoman!
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