Mom to Mom: An Interview with Lucy Seligman

Lucy and I just spent eight weeks in a Mastermind group together lead by Amber Temerity. It was a great group of ladies who shared lots of information and supported each other. I really enjoyed getting to know Lucy!

Tell me a little about yourself and your family.

I am a single Mom to a 16 year old daughter who I adopted from China when she was 7 months old. We live in the Bay area in a house on a hill overlooking two bays with our beloved and fairly crazy smooth fox terrier, Shadow!

Tell me about your two businesses.

I have two of them. Leave it to Lucy, my Virtual Assistant business, and Lucy Seligman, CCHT. I am a Medical Hypnotherapist, specializing in pain and stress relief. I am also a Reiki master. Reiki is a form of hands-on healing from Japan. What’s so funny is that I lived in Japan for over 13 years and never knew about reiki!

How to you balance having two separate businesses?

It’s a big challenge; but I really like the variety of both and since I am at heart a problem-solver, that side of me gets satisfied in either of my businesses. I also like the balance of it. After hours in front of the computer, it is very nice to have a hands-on reiki session, or in-person or even Skype hypnotherapy session. Also, to be able to make my own schedule and have such flexibility, and to be available and around for my daughter is HUGE!

What is your daily/weekly schedule like?

The eternal struggle! I am usually booked out a few weeks in advance for my VA work—so that is good, as it gives me an idea of what is coming up. At the end of November, I designated Mondays as a home office day, which is really helping me keep up to date with not only my clients but with my marketing work. I should add that I am a bit of a hybrid; I also make house calls as a personal assistant, but I am trying to get more virtual as house calls are very time-consuming! I also have started outsourcing a little which has given me the opportunity to not only increase my income, but to take on more work.

How do you market yourself?

This has been a real learning experience for me. I have two websites, two FB business pages, a LinkedIn profile that is specifically for my VA business, business cards that are the same design as my websites, and I also have my monthly e-newsletters. I am very active on Facebook groups, a local woman’s networking group, and now that I have a business address that is not my home address, will start doing more online marketing. I also offer a discount to VA clients who successfully refer me to new clients. Always trying something new!

What are your favorite business tools/apps?

I love Wunderlist! I have been using it since the summer, and it is a great way to keep organized since I am the Queen of lists! I also couldn’t live without my cell phone which has my calendar on it! Everything goes on my calendar. I keep experimenting with other apps; some I have discarded, and others, I have kept.

What is your big goal for 2017?

I definitely want to substantially increase my monthly income and make it more steady and predictable, and become more virtual in both of my businesses. I also want to become more consistent with posting on social media; such as blog posts, etc., as well as doing more marketing. That’s a big part of being a Mompreneur. I also want to automate tasks more to save time and not to have to reinvent the wheel with every new client. Finally, I want to move to more packages in my VA business, so that I have an idea of my monthly income more reliably, which will also help me with my planning.

What has been your biggest win for 2016?

I’ve had quite a few; my VA website is up and running, as well as both of my Facebook business pages. I am getting more repeat and regular clients in my VA biz. I did two Mastermind groups in the fall which in their own way were invaluable; not to mention the networking and connections that I have made from them.

What tips would you give to a mother who wanted to start a new business?

I would say go for it, but make sure you have some savings socked away and also a business plan. Everything will take longer and be more costly than you could ever imagine! But so worth it. Also, you don’t have to do everything yourself! There are so many talented other Mompreneurs out there who can help!

Final thoughts?

In my spare time (LOL!), I want to publish a cookbook of my experiences as a food historian/journalist living in Japan for so many years. It was way too daunting to do this this year, but I will start small with a simple blog in early 2017, and go from there. Having a daughter who is as obsessed as I am with Japanese food is a real incentive to me to get this going!