Highly Acclaimed Expert and Entrepreneur Mary Goulet Launches “MomsTown”
Mother’s Day was Sunday May 10, 2009 and only a few short days before that special day I came across an amazing woman and opportunity for “Mom’s” across the country.
Mary Goulet
Mary Goulet is a renowned author, radio host and brand spokesperson. Her focus and expertise is on women and “mothers’.
She and her business partner Heather Reider have launched ‘MOMSTOWN”.
This is a fantastic opportunity for women with children to have the option of making some additional dollars for their household.
I queried Mary if she would do a Q and A with me about her career and her new venture.
Below is her very informative interview.
Q: Can you explain your background and how you got into the field of ‘mom squad’/MomsTown/ expert ?
A. Heather Reider, my co-author and business partner, and I met in 2003 when she e-mailed me to cross-promote MomsTown during my radio show, The Mary Goulet Show. My show focused on entrepreneurs. It was a natural fit for us to combine our website and radio efforts to help mom entrepreneurs start and grow a business so they could have the freedom and flexibility to earn money while staying home with their kids. Two months later we received an e-mail from an editor at Hyperion Books
Asking us to write a book for moms, that became our first book, The Momstown Guide to Getting It All; A Life Makeover for Stay-at-Home Moms. Then we were by an agent in Los Angeles and we became Dr. Phil’s “mom squad”.
Q. How did you conceive of the idea of MomsTown?
A. Heather came up with the concept of MomsTown after searching the Internet for a site that was for women who were moms. All she found were sites that spoke to moms in pastels or in cartoons and crayons. She wanted a site where she could connect to other moms as women who are mothers and not just focus on her role as a mom. Women’s identities are redefined after becoming a mom and MomsTown is a place she can go to tap into her inherit creative power and carve out a passion that they can make money from. Also, MomsTown became a website where women can connect virtually and meet locally which was the genesis for the Mayor program and has now evolved into the MomsTown Network.
Q: Have you received a positive reaction?
A. The reaction has been strong and enthusiastic. We have a very solid group of approximately 37,000 members. They are creative women who want to make money doing what they love to do. They are very supportive of one another, too.
Q: Do you have moms signing on to be MomsTown Mayors?
A: We’ve always had MomsTown Mayor’s but what we really wanted to provide was a business model for them and that’s why we’re very excited about the MomsTown Network. The Network of Mayors is to connect local moms with local businesses to keep Main Street alive. We give the women a website and they go to their local businesses owners with affordable advertising rates and she then places their ad on her site and in her newsletter to her potent, targeted list of moms in her community.
Q: Can you give us a few details how this can earn a stay at home mom some additional income?
A: We offer the site to women at a very nominal set-up fee and low monthly support/hosting fee and she keeps all advertising revenue. We provide content to the moms to post on their site and they can also post community and school events. It’s a win-win-win. The businesses get affordable advertising to a targeted list of women in their town; the members of her site have a local online destination in their town to learn of the best deals and community events and the site owner has a business she can run on her own time.
Q: Do you feel in today’s economy this is a good option for a mom who wants to earn a little extra income for her family?
A: We do. We’ve had a great response to the Network and many of the moms have a business; a service or product, which they find they can reach more potential customers through her town site as well. Also, she becomes pretty well known in her town and she has complete control over the term and rates she presents to business owners. So, essentially she can make as much or as little as she wants.
Q: How many women are you seeking to join?
A: In the beta-phase, as we work out the kinks, we have 16 moms working on their sites in only two months. Our initial goal is 100 sites by December 1st, 2009 then growing it from there.
Q: You are also an author- can you describe your latest book?
A: Heather and I co-authored two books the recent; It’s All About You; Live the Life You Crave (Free Press 2007). It addresses the busy lives of mothers and is filled with caring, helpful support for the overextended mom (isn’t that all of us?) with insightful suggestions on how to find the perfect balance between living a richer, fuller life and being the best mother they can possibly be. It covers time management, organization, money, sex, meals, and business – issues that busy moms struggle with, often alone or with little help or support.
Q: You are a branding expert and travel on the road, can you describe what you have to do for the brands.
A: I take a clients product on the road to 10 morning shows across the country. My job is to inform the viewers of the product benefits. Because of my background on Wall Street I am hired to represent items that help people save money or earn money. Also, as a mom and co-founder of MomsTown.com I, of course, represent a lot of mom/kids/family-related products to represent. It’s a great job and I enjoy the travel and working with the morning show producers and hosts.
Q: What are your goals in the coming year with all your projects?
A: Heather and I want to grow the Network of town sites to 100 by the end of the year. I’m completing the second edition of my decision-making book, Go With Your Gut; How to Make Decisions You Won’t Regret in Business, Love and Money which I do presentations on as well. I want to work on all of that as well as spending as much time as possible at the beach this summer with my two daughters!
I want to thank Mary for her time to complete this interview. If you want to learn more go to:
www.MaryGoulet.net
www.MomsTown.com
