Empowering Moms to Work From Home with Lesley Pyle

Tim Melanson: [00:00:00] Hello and welcome to today’s episode of the Work at Home Rockstar podcast. This is a very interesting episode. I’m looking forward to it. We are talking to the founder and owner of Hire my mom.com. And what she does is she helps primarily moms connect small businesses with high quality remote professionals and, uh, through a trusted platform committed to.

Honesty, integrity, and, and excellence. So I’m excited today to be rocking out with Leslie Pyle. Hey Leslie, are you ready to rock?

Lesley Pyle: I am. Thank you, Tim.

Tim Melanson: Awesome. So we always start off here in a good note. So tell me a story of success that we can be inspired by.

Lesley Pyle: Yeah, absolutely. So I think one of the most inspiring stories about my story is that I was raised by a single mom. We lost my dad when I was a teenager, and so she really struggled, um, to provide well for us, which meant that college was not on the table. Uh, there was no means for that. Um. But something in me after I graduated high school, uh, I began working initially, but then something in me really just wanted to [00:01:00] try to go to college and I really didn’t understand the whole grants and loans and work study and all that. But long story short, I took the leap and began. Uh, going to college and ended up putting myself through college. Became the first generation college student, my family. And then what’s really special after that is I was like, you know what, what if I could get my master’s degree? And I thought, well, I don’t wanna go and.

You know, get into more debt with more loans. But let me just see if there’s any scholarships out there. So I went and started researching scholarships, and I found one that was the biggest one I could find, and I thought I’ll just start with it and just see what happens. I have nothing to lose except for the time that I put into the application and interview process.

So, long story short, I won that scholarship and was able to study. Scotland fully paid to get my master’s degree at the University of Sterling, and I got a, a degree in, uh, marketing and public relations. So going from, uh, you know, a pretty low [00:02:00] income home to getting my master’s degree was, you know, something that my mom was very proud of.

Tim Melanson: Oh, that is a great story. That’s amazing.

Oh, so yeah. What, when you were applying for that scholarship, why do you think you got it?

Lesley Pyle: Well, it was, uh, from the Rotary Foundation. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with that organization. Um, and I, I don’t think a lot of people knew of it or wanted to put in the time and effort it took to apply because it was, you know, all the things that you go through to write essays and fill out applications.

And it was a pretty grueling interview process. You had to walk into this room and I don’t remember, there were eight to 10. Men in suits that you had to sit at the head of the table and be interviewed by. So it was very intimidating,

but I think they really resonated with my story, the fact that I put myself through college and I was very determined to try to better myself than what you know, the atmosphere that I was was raised in.

And I think that just may have just tugged at their [00:03:00] heartstrings. And not only did I pay for my own college, but I graduated at the top of my class, Summa cum laude, you

know, and had some great awards and internships. So I think they saw that I was a really hard worker as well.

Tim Melanson: Well, and that is evidenced by you actually even taking the time to fill out the application in the first place, which most people just don’t do. Right.

They don’t spend the time, you know, for you. That’s great. That’s awesome. So, okay, along with the good note, there are some things that don’t go as planned.

There’s some bad notes that we hit

and you know, because you know, when people are listening to these stories, they hear all the, you know, the, the. The big success story and they think, oh, well it just happened overnight for them and they didn’t do anything wrong. I, you know, I’m already making mistakes. So I like to kind of like let people know that, hey, we’re all human.

We all make some, so I’m wondering, can you share with me something that didn’t go as planned, or was it all perfect for you?

Lesley Pyle: Not at all. So I mentioned I’d finished my master’s degree, so I would had every [00:04:00] intention on being, you know, corporate pr and climbing the corporate ladder and, you know, had visions of the stilettos and the briefcase and all of that. But when I began my first job, I got pregnant with our first child and. Thought I’d go back to work, but when she was born, something really shifted in me and I no longer wanted to leave her in a daycare while I went to work. So this was back in 1995 and working from home was not a thing. It wasn’t acceptable, you know, people didn’t look, it kind was kind of frowned upon. And my employer wasn’t open to any kind of flex work, so I began, I, I took the leap. You know, began freelancing was determined to try to keep my career going, but also be the primary caregiver for my daughter. Um, so fast forward did that. Then I started a website for moms way back in 96. Um, kind of like an online chamber of commerce to help connect moms who were either working at home or wanted to work from home.

Because like I said, there was no social media. There [00:05:00] was no support. It was like everybody was on their own. And I had that PR background, thankfully. So I used that to launch this, uh, national website and that all sounds great, but where the kind of the wheels fell off the wagon for me was web developers.

So the very first website I created on my own, but then when I realized, okay, I need somebody with more of a technical background to, to help the website do what I needed to do, I hired. Someone that by then, you know, I, I was beginning to learn the internet and he created this beautiful mockup, if you will, you know, and showed me everything it could do.

So I paid him. And guess what? He ran off with the money. So that was really tough and I wish I could say that was the only time that happened to me. So the next time I was like, okay, I am doing a lot more due diligence. I’m not gonna let that happen to me because it’s almost like when a, a woman has a mechanical problem with their car and the [00:06:00] mechanic can tell you pretty much anything ’cause you don’t really understand all the engine.

At least I don’t. Um, and so. The web developers are kind of like that for me ’cause they tell me all this technical stuff and mumbo jumbo. So the next time I thought, well, I’m going and I’m meeting someone in person and I’m gonna get to know them. I’m gonna do references and I’m going to, you know, make sure that they really are going to fulfill what they’ve promised. And so this time I didn’t pay them. All up front. I paid them a portion to get started, but then what happened there is they ended up subbing the workout to another country. And the, when I got it back, it just was real clunky. It didn’t flow the way it should have flowed. So that’s my, that’s been my hardest part of owning a business, has just been finding web developers that are honest and do their job well.

And I’m thankful to say I have one now.

Tim Melanson: I was gonna say, because that’s what I do.

Lesley Pyle: Uh, where were you

15, 20 years ago?

Tim Melanson: [00:07:00] But you know what I, I totally know what you’re saying because that you would, well, you’re not surprised at all that I hear that story all the time from people that will come to me and say, I wasted this, I wasted that. You know? And it’s. It’s too bad. I don’t, I don’t really completely understand why it’s it’s so weird in that, in that area, like, ’cause maybe you’re right.

Maybe it’s something like similar to the, like the car repair people that, you know, have a notorious relation, um, reputation for doing that too.

Lesley Pyle: Yes, and I think for me, you know, a lot of people need a brochure website that doesn’t have a lot of. Uh, functionality on the backend or, you know, whereas our website has a lot of moving parts, things that have to communicate to each other and things. You know, we have resumes, we have job posts, we have cover letters, we have credit card processing, we have profiles. So there’s a lot of moving parts and a lot of things that have to work together. And when I [00:08:00] went to get it quoted about, um, gosh, how long ago was that? I’m gonna say roughly 15 years ago for a custom website. It was, my quotes were in the a hundred thousand range, and that was, you know, not doable for me.

So that’s how I ended up getting, you know, somebody that just kind of piecemealed things together and. Now technology’s much more affordable, so we actually have a custom web app in development so that we can create a custom app and not have a WordPress site that has all the different plugins that start to get annoyed with each other.

Tim Melanson: Yeah, well, like, you know, putting aside the, the obvious fraud situations, I think that what, what I do know, ’cause I, I do have a tech background. I have a degree in computer science. That’s where I studied. And uh, I know based on what I’ve seen, that we as tech people are super overconfident. And so we’ll, like just, uh, you [00:09:00] know, if if you don’t have experience doing it, you will under quote, like crazy.

And I think on the well-meaning sort of side of it, I think that that’s where a lot of things happen is that people are looking for something that’s affordable. And so there’s sort of like talking things down and they’re trying to like say to this person, oh, you know, I need something within my budget.

And the web developer will say, oh yeah, no problem. I could pull that off, or whatever, 500 bucks or a few thousand dollars or whatever it is, which is way lower than it should be.

And then what happens is that they get working on it and they realize this is, this is taking me forever.

You know, I’ve already spent 40 hours on this thing and I’ve gotten 500 bucks.

Like, and there, I’m only halfway done. And then they just bail on you.

So that’s my, that’s my way of explaining it. That is making them sound, I think, better than

than, than the actual fraud of them taking your money and taking off. Right.

Lesley Pyle: right. That

Tim Melanson: I think it’s, they feel like they’ve gotten the money’s worth already [00:10:00]

and they don’t need to give you anymore.

Lesley Pyle: Right. Gotcha.

Tim Melanson: that’s, but that’s a, you know, that’s a. Uh, uh, I think that’s a problem with the fact that a lot of, actually, we, we, we’ve kind of come outta that a little bit, but we’re back into it a bit too, because now that the tools are so easy to use, anybody and everybody thinks that they’re a web developer, but we’re still gonna get into the same problem where if you’re not a business person, you’re not gonna quote properly and you’re gonna end up in trouble again.

Right.

Lesley Pyle: That’s right.

Tim Melanson: Have you, so did you look, how did you change your, your, your approach to find the web developer you have now?

Lesley Pyle: The first one was word of mouth. So I, I knew someone who had a website that had some functionality. Of course, it wasn’t anything like mine, but they were a Christian company. The person who was using them was fully confident in them. So that’s, that was the web developer that, [00:11:00] that created. Hire my mom, um, initially, and then they decided. After, I don’t remember five, six years, that they were gonna go in a different direction and not do web development anymore. So then I was like, okay, now what? I’ve gotta find somebody, you know, to take over that responsibility. And that’s when I ended up hiring that company that I went and met with locally.

And they ended up taking a custom website at that time, which thankfully they didn’t charge me that crazy amount. Um, and then. Kind of destroying it,

Tim Melanson: uh.

Lesley Pyle: probably unintentionally. I don’t think they meant to, but just the, the, um, changes that they made, um, weren’t, weren’t, weren’t good.

Tim Melanson: No.

Lesley Pyle: And

so the current, the current company I have now was also a, a referral and they’re, they’re here in Texas as well, but they’re not local to me.

I don’t, I haven’t met them face to face. But yeah, that’s, that’s been really, um, a good way for me to find. At least web developers is word of mouth referrals and talking to other people who have used the company.[00:12:00]

Tim Melanson: What about the rest of the band? Like how do you hire other people in your business?

Lesley Pyle: Well, I’m glad you asked because there’s this service called Hire my mom.com,

and I ended up launching it in 2007. So I mentioned that I had that initial website that was more like a chamber of commerce or a networking group. And then when I noticed. That the business environment was shifting and it was becoming more acceptable to work at home. I thought, wouldn’t it be fantastic if I could create a platform where these moms that I already have in my, um, network, if you will. If I could help them find jobs, because a lot of them were still in that, how can I find a way to work from home mode? And so that’s where the idea came from. So in 2007, I launched Hire My mom and I just, I had the established audience of women, primarily moms, but I didn’t have the audience of businesses looking to hire remote professionals.

And whether that’s Contract freelance or an actual W2 employee, um, we. Or what I [00:13:00] did then is I, um, made it free to post jobs initially. I wanted to prove the concept to businesses and say, Hey, just give these people a try. You have nothing to lose. And that’s how I kind of got the idea launched. And again, I use my PR background to try to get publicity.

So here we are, 18 years later, so when

I have a need for my team. We posted on Hire My Mom, um, to get, you know, people, uh, in the right seats. So we, I have a virtual assistant. I have a, someone that helps with digital marketing. My daughter actually the one that I quit my job to start freelancing. She works for me and she’s kind of my right hand woman.

She’s my director of growth. Uh, she’s in Arizona. I’m in Texas, so she’s even not local to me. Um. And then I also have an HR professional. So we do what we call our concierge service, and that’s when a business says, I need to hire, but I don’t know how, or I don’t have time, or I’m not good at it. So we have an HR professional that can [00:14:00] actually do that for you. We’re not a recruiting or a staffing firm, so it doesn’t come with the big giant price tag. So it’s affordable service for small businesses. And she will actually write the job post, she’ll, um, create interview questions, interview the candidates, and then she’ll select the top two or three candidates and present them to the business owner. And then they have a, they can basically fast track the hiring process and they have someone with that HR knowledge to help them hire well instead of. You know, you and me, I’m assuming you don’t have an HR background and neither do i. i. don’t have those skills. And you know, when you make a bad hire, it costs tons of time and money and frustration. So that’s the other thing that really helps is having someone with that knowledge. Um. And I often get people asking, well, how do I know when I need to delegate or subcontract? And I, my response to that is, number one, your customer service is slipping. You’re no longer giving your customers the [00:15:00] time and attention that you once were. Um, or maybe you’re wearing too many hats and you’re trying to do it all, and you don’t realize that if you outsource, at least to hire a virtual assistant. Then you free up a lot of your time to grow your business and focus on what you’re good at. Um, another one is you’re working too many hours. Maybe you’re sacrificing family time or rest or whatever.

That’s another sign that you probably need to hire, um, or that you don’t have capacity to take on new business. And I know hiring your first rockstar can be scary, but. Once people realize that, okay, I can just hire someone for five to 10 hours and it’ll be fine. You know, you don’t have to hire someone for 20, 30, 40 hours a week.

You can start out very small with, you know, like I said, five or 10 hours, and we see those jobs where a business is kind of sticking their toe in the water to see, okay, let me try this out, make sure it’s good investment. You know, they may have to take just a slight pay cut themselves if their business [00:16:00] is new. But then they realize, okay, now I can really focus on growing the business. And that person, that small investment has helped me increase my revenue. And a lot of times people are like, okay, what else can I hire besides a virtual assistant? And I’ll say, we also have, you know, lots of people hiring for customer service, bookkeeping, account managers, writing, editing, marketing, email marketing, project managers, and so on.

Tim Melanson: Yeah. Wow. So question. Is it all moms that.

Lesley Pyle: It is primarily moms, you know, because it was started out of my passion to be able to work from home so that I had the freedom and flexibility to, you know, be with my kids and kind of work around their schedules and as they got older and were in school, you know, just helped me if I wanted to pick them up at school and that sort of thing.

So yes, primarily mom. But we have women that are not moms. We have dog moms. We have, we have some dads, so we don’t discriminate. Anybody is welcome to sign up.[00:17:00]

Tim Melanson: Okay, cool. Yeah, I remember like, uh, so my, my wife when, uh, when the kids were kids and if they ever got lost, she would always say, go find a mom.

Lesley Pyle: Yes.

Tim Melanson: a mom will help you.

Lesley Pyle: mom.

Tim Melanson: Well, I mean, I think it, I, I, I mean I’m sure that there are probably scammers everywhere,

but you know, for the most part, like, I mean, you even mentioned that when you had your, your, uh, your child, that something changed.

And I think that’s probably pretty normal that I, I know even as a father when I had my son, something changed Me too.

I think we, we all kind of change a little bit when we have a kid. It’s

Lesley Pyle: Right. There’s something in you that shifts and you, you know, suddenly you realize you’re responsible for that person and that that immediate bond that you have, you can’t ignore.

Tim Melanson: Yeah, exactly. So that’s, I, I think that’s such a cool idea that you’ve got going on there. I’m wondering now, so. How did, like we talk about fans sometimes, ’cause I mean, right now with social media, I [00:18:00] mean there’s people everywhere. Uh, but there’s a lot of noise too. So how do you kind of cut through that?

’cause I, I know that some people might be struggling, they’re putting things out there and nothing’s coming back. Like how do you, how do you make that connect?

Lesley Pyle: Yeah, so our most basic marketing strategy is to serve our audience so well that they become our evangelists. So our top referrals are word of mouth. SEO. And so the next is social media. Um, we don’t have a massive ad budget, but we do augment, augment with advertising through social media. We also do email marketing to our own list, but we really work on keeping our SEO fine tuned. Um, now with things like, you know, AI Chat, GTPT, you can get recommendations by, you know, putting your copy and things in and, and asking for recommendations. And that’s one of the things we did, we realized. Just recently that our SEO was very heavily geared toward job seekers and not as much towards businesses needing to hire [00:19:00] because we’ve noticed we’re, we’re not getting as many businesses and we’re like, okay, what’s going on?

So we did, you know, kind of the test run to see, okay, how can we readjust that so that we can attract more businesses to hire these incredible professionals that are looking for legitimate remote jobs.

Tim Melanson: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I, I, the tools nowadays are so incredibly useful, right? For helping to kind of figure out what’s going on so much faster than before,

Lesley Pyle: Yes. And back to the, um, the whole customer service side, you know, when I mentioned earlier about, you know, making sure that you’re, you’re doing all you can for customer service, because that really, that’s, that’s such a valuable pipeline of referrals. And we talked about it too with web developers. You know, when someone does a great job. They’re happy to refer you. And so it, it always makes me so happy when I see. How did you hear about us, a friend, a colleague? I heard, you know, word of mouth. Um, because it tells me that we’re doing things right for the most part. You know, we all make [00:20:00] mistakes, but for the most part, customer service is something we really try to focus on doing well, and we can, because we’re a smaller. You know, boutique, um, job site, if you will. And when you go to some of the mega job sites, you can’t even find a phone number. There’s like, it’s almost impossible to talk to someone for customer service. So I think that that works in our favor.

Tim Melanson: I agree. Yeah, you do see this like splitting off of like big business versus small business where the big businesses are getting harder and harder to connect with somebody, and then there’s so many great small businesses that are popping

up that are just personalized, right?

and and I think you’re a hundred percent right with the referrals.

I know most of my business comes from referrals. And when I speak to people, to guests on the show, referrals seems to come up quite a bit.

And I, I think that’s the thing, is that if you really, I mean, if you’re really good at what you do, you really love what you do, then it’s gonna be only natural for you to do the best job you can do.

And then of course they’re gonna tell somebody else [00:21:00] because

like you said, I mean, the way that you found your best people is through referrals. So obviously if you can be that person that gets referrals, then that kind of comes full circle, right?

Lesley Pyle: Right? Yeah, absolutely. 100%.

Tim Melanson: And, uh, and then when it comes to the, to the platforms, to the, the ads or to the social media and to the, all those, all those channels, you know, they’re just a little bit of extra. But I mean, if most of your business is coming in through referrals, then

that’s great, right?

Lesley Pyle: exactly. Yeah, 100%.

Tim Melanson: Now, so let’s talk a little bit about the, the cash flow and keeping the, keeping the hat full. ’cause I know that especially when you’re first getting started in your business, you, you can, it can tend to be, you know, that kind of thing can get a little bit out outta hand. You know,

maybe you’re spending a little bit more than you should, or, you know, how did you navigate that when you were getting started?

Lesley Pyle: Yeah, so you know, we all know cashflow is the oxygen for any business and for a two-sided marketplace like ours, it’s about creating a model that provides immense [00:22:00] value for both sides. So we have a dual revenue stream. We have businesses who pay a fee to post their job. And we also offer the premium placement and concierge services that I mentioned, the done for you hiring services, which is something that really differentiates us from virtually every other job platform that I’ve looked at. Um, and then on our job seeker side, we offer a recurring membership. So job seekers have skin in the game too on our platform. So that helps in a few different ways. One is the. the. businesses aren’t getting inundated with hundreds of thousands of resumes like they would on some of the other job sites where it’s free to apply. And so we do get the, you know, the people that are a little frustrated with this, that they have to pay. It’s, you know, $30. So it’s not, we’re not breaking the bank, but it also helps them stand out more because they’re not competing with hundreds or thousands of other businesses. And so. The other thing that that does is it [00:23:00] only attracts serious job seekers.

So you’re not getting spam job seekers, whether that’s actual bot spam or just people that aren’t putting forth the real effort, you know, that just are, are sending their resume to 500 different jobs a day. You’re getting serious job seekers who have invested a very small amount of money. But they’re looking for legitimate jobs, and we verify every job that comes in by hand.

We don’t run it through any kind of ai. We research the company and the person to make sure they’re legitimate before it goes live. So we really do our best to be a platform of integrity and excellence that helps tremendously with those word of mouth referrals. And we know that, you know, retention is key too.

So it’s far cheaper to keep a happy client than to acquire a a, a new one.

Tim Melanson: Yeah. Well, yeah, that’s what the big businesses say as well. It’s easier to

keep a client than to bring in a new one, right?

Lesley Pyle: Yes.

Tim Melanson: Yeah. So, uh. So when you were talking about your packages, you have a, you know, multiple different options. What do you think the [00:24:00] split is of people that are interested in like your opening offer versus your more done for you kind of thing?

Yep.

Lesley Pyle: Definitely more people are doing it themselves. The DIY let me post my own job and hire, and that’s understandable too because obviously it’s cheaper. So depending on what stage the business is in. If it’s a fairly new business, I would say, you know, uh, two years or younger, they’re usually gonna do it themselves. But if it’s a more established business where their revenue’s a little more steady and their time is very valuable, then they’re gonna use our outsource service so that they can save time, save frustration, and hire well.

Tim Melanson: Hmm. Yeah, and I would probably argue that. Just the fact that you have those different levels might even make it more attractive to the person who doesn’t even choose it,

right? They’re like, wow, these guys probably know what they’re doing ’cause they’ve got this done for you service. That’s gonna do everything for me.

Well, maybe let me try it on my own first and see if it happens. Right?

Lesley Pyle: Yes, and that does happen sometimes too. They’re like, oh, well, yeah, it’s not as easy as I thought. Can I use your [00:25:00] concierge service? Here’s the resumes I’ve gotten so far.

Tim Melanson: Yeah, it’s true. And uh, I also agree with your, with your pay to play type thing, because really when it comes down to it, people are a lot more committed when they put a little bit of skin in the game,

Lesley Pyle: Yes,

Tim Melanson: And especially in this type of thing, right.

Lesley Pyle: Yes, we have that same mindset with our kids. You know, we didn’t wanna be the parent that gave our kids everything. So when they got to the age where they had to buy a car or wanted to buy a car, I should say. They had to pay for half and it’s, you know, and I had to pay for 100% of my first car. So paying for half felt like a deal for them, but for

other kids, you know, that got it handed to ’em, they’re like, well, so and so doesn’t have to pay.

And I’m like, but you will take so much better care of it. You will, you know, be yours because you put skin in the game. So, yeah, it’s kind of, kind of a mindset around here.

Tim Melanson: And that’s one of those things that they’re not gonna get for.

Lesley Pyle: Uh. Uh huh. Exactly. Yeah. She [00:26:00] made me work and that work, work ethic. Her future employers are his. We have, uh, three girls and one boy. The future employers will thank us for creating a stronger work ethic in them.

Tim Melanson: Yeah. Yeah. I, and, uh, we have the same like, uh, mindset in our house as well, trying to get them to, but it, I mean. And I also agree with, I, I did it all myself. I mean, my parents didn’t have a whole lot of money when I was growing up. I mean, they had enough to keep a roof of our head and we were fed and all that stuff. But if I wanted to buy the newest toy, I had to buy it myself, you know, if I wanted to, you know, I remember even if I wanted to have, my mom used to make my jeans, my pants for me, and if I wanted jeans, I’d go buy myself

Lesley Pyle: Yes, I had to buy my own school clothes, my own prom dress, and you know, it wasn’t because my mom was mean, she just didn’t have the means. She was a blue collar worker providing for three kids on her own.

Tim Melanson: However, the thing is, is that it served me really well. It really created a huge work ethic and [00:27:00]

you know. I think that, you know, if we’re gonna get into parenting a little bit, that that’s a difficulty. ’cause when you do have the means, you don’t have the excuse

and it makes it harder. Way harder. I mean, it would’ve been so much easier for my mom to say, I can’t, I just can’t afford it.

Than for her to say, it’s better for you.

Lesley Pyle: Right, exactly.

Tim Melanson: like I think maybe we should pretend like we’re poor in order to make them have the work ethic. Right.

Lesley Pyle: right. Well, no. We have one left at home. The other three are grown and flown, as I like to say, but we have one at home and she loves to shop. So guess what? She has an Etsy business. She has a YouTube channel, and she works at a coffee shop outside of her school time. No, she only works one day a week at the coffee shop, but she wants to shop. I mean, we shop, we buy her things, obviously, but when she wants above and beyond now, she has a pretty nice little budget. When she wants to shop, she can.

Tim Melanson: Wow, that’s cool. Was it, did you help her get that that set [00:28:00] up

Lesley Pyle: No, she did all of that on her own. She’s pretty driven. And, um, you know, she’s, uh, she’ll be, she’s a senior this year, so she’ll go off to college next year. And one of her top, she’s got. Either finance or entrepreneurship is her majors and mine. So I definitely see the entrepreneurial spirit in her. And so, you know, she’s grown up with me working from home and having my own business.

So I don’t know if that’s inspired her, hopefully. But, um, you know, I love that she’s just kind of, you know, decided she wants to start earning money at a young age and just went for it.

Tim Melanson: Awesome. Well, our kids are watching, we know that. So,

Lesley Pyle: Yes.

Tim Melanson: you know, as long as we do what, um, what’s right, then hopefully they’ll follow in our footsteps or at least do what they think is right for them. Right.

Lesley Pyle: Yes.

Tim Melanson: That’s awesome. Alright, so it’s time for your guest solo. So tell me more about your business.

Lesley Pyle: Yeah, so one of the things I’m most excited about is creating that custom web app, and we’ve talked a lot about the struggles [00:29:00] I’ve had with the website and it’s, it’s, uh, it’s working, but it’s not working to the level that today’s technology desires.

So we’ve, you know, taken a step back with, uh, you know, investing in other areas and are investing in this web app.

So even though technology’s cheaper, it’s still expensive to create a custom

web app to the, to the level that we need for what our service provides. So I’m really excited that this will in increase the usability for our website. So, for instance, right now, if a job, a business posts a job, they wait for. Um, candidates to apply for the job, and with the new web app, it’ll, it’ll be so much prettier. Number one, the, um, interface is just so much better,

but it also will allow them to scan through the candidates if they want to. Let’s just say they’re in a hurry and they want to hurry up and get some candidates, they can scan through and invite candidates to apply for their jobs, so they’ll see a profile. What their skills are, they can [00:30:00] sort by, okay. I am looking for a social media person so they can, you know, scan for social media skills. So I’m really looking forward. That’s just one of the, there’s like a chat feature within the, the platform. There’s just so much more robust features than what we have now.

And what we have now is it’s getting the job done. But I’m just really excited about all the additional things that we will be able to offer our, our. Clients once this is finished, which hopefully I am holding my breath, we’ll be in the next month or two.

Tim Melanson: Tech,

Lesley Pyle: been

working on it since April.

Tim Melanson: Okay, well, uh, yeah, apps are, apps are definitely the last thing I think that I think still cost a fortune

to get going, you know, but but the benefits to it are huge, right? Because, I mean, you know, everybody’s got a smartphone now, and

when when you’re using the web, the web, uh, site within your phone, if not anywhere near the same thing

as, you know, having your own specific [00:31:00] web app.

So it. I think that, you know, when it comes down to it, because that barrier is high, it still is quite expensive. It actually does give you a bit of a leg, a leg up.

Lesley Pyle: Mm-hmm.

Tim Melanson: If you can get that app going and, and out there, then no one’s gonna be competing with you anymore.

Lesley Pyle: Yeah, hopefully not. That would be great.

That would be great. Um, I also wanted to mention that for any of your, um, audience that is considering hiring in the future, we do have a free download and it’s called The Small Business Guide to Hiring Your First or Your Next. Remote rockstar. And so yes, I know we’re in sync on that. It comes with things like a step-by-step hiring guide. Uh, common mistakes to avoid sample. Um. Hourly fees for like a virtual assistant customer service.

So you kind of get a ballpark figure on what that cost. And it also has some, um, ready to go action steps. So it’s a pretty, pretty thorough guide that we [00:32:00] offer.

And you can get that on the website. It’s at hiremymom.com/podcast.

Tim Melanson: Awesome. That’s awesome. I’m wondering, so of, of the people that should be hiring, but they’re not hiring, why do, what do you think is holding them back?

Lesley Pyle: I think a big part of that is fear and just the unknown. What is it gonna be like if I hire someone and are they going to do as good a job as I do? And so. I think that’s what holds a lot of people back. But I think once you, you know, stick your foot in the water and give it a try, you know, you create a, a job description that really outlines what you’re looking for, what your needs are, what you don’t want, what you do want, and that sort of thing. And then you interview well, which is ant everyone’s strong suit, which is why we offered the concierge service. But once you get that person, um, onboarded and taking some of the load off of you, it becomes. Almost every single time, like, why didn’t I do this sooner?

Because it frees you up so much to focus on [00:33:00] growing your business and doing the things that you love to do and are good at because we’re not all good at every part of business.

You know,

like what? You know, there are things that we are good at and that might be growing the business. It may not be, you may need to hire someone to grow your business, um, but you just need to focus on what your strengths are and outsource what you can.

Tim Melanson: Right on. Yeah, I, I, I agree. Is there a, like, is there like extra time you’re gonna need in order to get someone onboarded? Like what, what’s that process look like?

Lesley Pyle: You know, it really depends on how, um, difficult the job is. You know, for a virtual assistant, the training time is pretty minimal for most jobs, and I like to tell people, especially if it’s your first hi hire. To either document or have the person you’re hiring document, what are the steps, how do you do it, you know, in a

Google Doc or something. So that, number one, they have notes to go back to. But number two, if that person has to leave for, you know, in a few years for whatever reason, or you have to, uh, add another team [00:34:00] member in that same type of role. You already have it documented and it makes training the next person a lot easier. And it, you know, has a place where they forget, how do I do so and so?

’cause I haven’t done it in a week and I’m brand new. Instead of bothering you and saying, how do I do that? They’ve got it documented. So if you don’t have those SOPs or standard operating procedures, um, created initially, create ’em when you hire that person and that’ll save you a ton of time.

Tim Melanson: Yeah. And sometimes, you know, you might be, you know, doing things that are a little bit complicated in your own business, but it doesn’t necessarily need to be that way.

right.

There are other ways to do things, and it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s wrong, it’s just different. Right. And I mean, I, I think like what you said earlier, I mean, if, if any of those things apply to a person where they’re.

Spending too much time or their, you know, their business is starting to suffer. All those things, you gotta fix it.

Lesley Pyle: And you can,

Tim Melanson: you know, now is better than later.

Lesley Pyle: right. And you can. I know, uh, it came a point in my business where I [00:35:00] needed someone to help me with organization and project management. And there were all those tools out there like Asana, Basecamp, Trello, and I wasn’t familiar with them. I. So I hired someone to help me get Asana set up and get all of our, you know, different channels set up, understand the business.

And that was such a lifesaver now that I see, you know, you can just go to YouTube and learn how to use asana or Trello or any of those pretty easily. But the time it saved me from figuring that out and setting up, it was well worth it for me.

Tim Melanson: Well, I mean, I think, and I think it kind of comes down to what is it that you wanna do in your business? I mean, if you wanna do everything in your business, then sure, I guess that’s what you wanna do. But there’s probably something in your business that you love more than others, right?

Lesley Pyle: Mm-hmm.

Yes.

Tim Melanson: everybody has certain things that they gravitate towards.

So, you know, maybe keep doing the thing that you love. If you love the, you know. The numbers thing or whatever it is that you think that, that or, or the va. If you love that part [00:36:00] of your business, then don’t give that part away.

But there are other parts of your business that you probably don’t love super, but

well, and those things you can, you can get someone else to do for you.

Right.

Lesley Pyle: Right. And like I said, start small. Start with hiring someone five or 10 hours as a contractor. Kind of test the waters and if it doesn’t work out, you haven’t invested that much and you’ve hopefully created the SOPs so that if you have to hire someone different you, it’s not gonna take you as long It,

Tim Melanson: Agreed. Agreed. So now you’re looking for, for both sides, you’re looking for businesses that wanna hire, and you’re also looking for people that want to be hired. Right.

Lesley Pyle: that’s right. Yes.

Tim Melanson: So what kinds, let’s start with the businesses first. What kinds of businesses would get the most from your service?

Lesley Pyle: I say we, we tend to attract small businesses that are like 20 employees are fewer, and primarily businesses that are even five employees are fewer. We get solo entrepreneurs as well, like coach, coaches, consultants, real estate, and. Agents, uh, land developers. We get physicians and surgeons, [00:37:00] which is surprising to me and dentists and things like that, that are, that have an entrepreneurial side to them.

And maybe they’re doing something with that, um, you know, like, um, selling an ebook for instance, or have a YouTube channel or whatever it might be, where they outsource some of that. Um, we also get a lot of digital marketing agencies that, you know, hire for, like account managers and things like that. We get e-commerce sites who always are looking for customer service and for social media help and things like that. And then we get some that are kind of different like movers and organizers and cybersecurity. So pretty much any small business that’s. Growing and looking to, you know, grow their business and outsource some of their business. ’cause once you start outsourcing one thing and that you know, person gets good at it, then you’re like, well now I could maybe outsource my bookkeeping, you know, if I have to spend time invoicing or working on the cash flow.

And that’s something else that then you can outsource.

Tim Melanson: That’s awesome. What about on the other [00:38:00] side now? So what kind of person would, would, would be successful in, in the, in working as a subcontractor, I guess.

Lesley Pyle: Yeah, I think anyone that has the, the right mindset and discipline, you know, that wants to work from home. Um, because you know, you do have to be disciplined to do your work and not have someone micromanaging you. So if that’s you and you have the skills that are, they’re, that are needed, whether that’s, you know, virtual assistant or pr, marketing, web development, whatever it might be. Um, you know, and we even have moms who have taken, um, you know, a break from working to raise their kids. So they might have a five year gap or a 10 year gap, or even a 15 year gap where now they wanna go back to work or they’re empty nesters. Now they wanna go back to work. And some feel like it’s impossible, but it’s actually not.

Um, I actually had someone I know personally. Sign up and I didn’t even know she signed up and she had been a stay at home mom for I [00:39:00] think like 10 or 12 years, and she was able to get hired fairly quickly. So it was an administrative role and she had volunteer hours and um, she had put the things she did as a mom into soft skills. And so it really translated well on her resume because it wasn’t like a highly. Technical role and she really had a lot of confidence. I asked her, how did you get it? She goes, well, I really just believed in myself, had a con, a lot of confidence in the interview. I knew I could do everything she was needing and she just established a good rapport with the person hiring and kind of prove that, you know, I’m the right person for the job.

So even if you have a career gap, you know there are opportunities for you.

Tim Melanson: Yeah, well especially for moms. ’cause isn’t there like these like memes that go around, or these little videos that go around about all the jobs that a mom does, right? Yes.

Lesley Pyle: Yes,

exactly.

Tim Melanson: those are all

Lesley Pyle: resolution. You know, they have organizational skills, they have communication skills that

yes. There are, all of those are soft skills [00:40:00] that work well for remote ’cause no one’s telling you how to be a mom or what to do as a mom. You’re having to figure it out. So you’ve got that figure out ability as well.

So a lot of those soft skills work really well in a remote job.

Tim Melanson: Yeah, they’re transferable skills and, and I think a lot of people just don’t recognize that the things that they’re doing in their general life are things that could be businesses.

Lesley Pyle: That’s right. Exactly.

Tim Melanson: Right. They think that, oh, well I need to go get hired for this or that. But, but I mean, a lot of the things you’re doing regularly are, are things that will work.

And I, I love that, that you’re saying that, you know, this is the type of stuff that you teach people so they can actually get a little bit of help on figuring out what those skills are and how to translate them to what a business needs. Right.

Lesley Pyle: And we’ve written about that on our blog several times. So if somebody’s like, okay, tell me more about that. They can go to our blog and read some of those articles We have.

Tim Melanson: Okay, so yeah. Okay. So how do we find out more then?

Lesley Pyle: So, yeah, our website, hire my mom.com is where you can find all [00:41:00] that you need to know about our services, our blog, our concierge services. We also offer those for job seekers. Who needed a little bit more help getting hired. So it can be just a quick, um, um, session with our HR person, or it can be a whole month of basically helping you decide what jobs to apply for.

So we have both of those concierge services for the business and the job seeker, and then we’re on. Virtually all the social media platforms at Hire My Mom. So that’s, um, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, um, Pinterest, you name it. We’re there. And then, um, you can also connect with me on LinkedIn if, if you’d like it.

Leslie Pyle.

Tim Melanson: Awesome.

Well, thanks so much. That is so awesome. Guess we got place to go then

Lesley Pyle: yes.

Tim Melanson: and, and I love what you’re doing because obviously the mission here is I want more people to work for themselves to take more control. And sounds like you are doing exactly that, so that is awesome. On both sides, you’re helping businesses to grow and you’re helping people to start the [00:42:00] business, so kudos to you for all that.

Lesley Pyle: Thank you so much.

Tim Melanson: Now, last question. This is the hardest one though. Who’s your favorite rockstar?

Lesley Pyle: Who’s my favorite rockstar? Like legit rockstar. Musician. Oh, that’s a tough, I have so many. I would say right now I love country music, so right now my favorite’s Cody Johnson and he’s a Texas boy, so I don’t know how known he is, but he’s, he’s really good. Oh yeah. Yeah. I went to Nashville to see him and saw him here locally as well.

Tim Melanson: That’s awesome. Well, thank you so much for rocking out with me today. This has been a lot of fun. Listen

Lesley Pyle: Thank you.

Tim Melanson: to the listeners, make sure you go to workathomerockstar.com for more information. We’ll see you next time on the Work at Home Rockstar Podcast.