Meet Tina McAllister

For this Truly Outstanding Woman interview, I’d like to introduce Tina McAllister. In her brief bio, Tina says:

Without further ado, let’s get on with the interview.

Q: What is the name of your company and when did you start it?

A: Beyond The Pen, LLC was started officially in April 2008, though I have been ghostwriting books and other business material for several years as a freelancer.

Q: What was the motivation behind your company?

A: I was ready to go full-time into writing. I was tired of the grind. Though a steady paycheck and nice benefits are quite comfy, I was ready to do my own thing and follow my passion. I wanted to dive in 110% and to do that I needed to go full-time. And think more like a business owner versus a freelance writer.

Q: How long did it take you to earn a profit from your business?

A: Pretty much immediately. I had writing projects I was working on the side before I went full-time and it was becoming a struggle to juggle the day job, the writing and family responsibilities. So when I made that switch to full-time, I had a couple of large projects I was working on already.

Q: Now that 2008 is behind us, what obstacles (if any) did you face during 2008 & how did you overcome them?

A: I felt pulled in a lot of directions. I had interest from different types of prospects. And for different types of writing projects. And it made for some scatter-shot marketing as well. So it came to the point where I needed to decide where my true passions lie, and move toward that.

Q: Did you ever feel like just giving up at times? If so, what keeps you going?

A: I’ve never felt like giving up. Never. I love, love, love what I do.

Q: What qualities (i.e., family support, discipline, time management) do you think are necessary for a women entrepreneur?

A: It definitely helps if a woman has the support of her family. A business is a time-consuming and at times, stressful, entity. If the family thinks the business is a waste of time, or worse, a joke – then that makes it all the tougher on a female entrepreneur. Beyond that, I would say she needs to think like a business owner, and have a handle on the operational side of things. And over time, she should evaluate what she’s good at and what she’d rather not do and then outsource. You don’t have to be all things to all people and I think women especially have that kindof mentality in work and at home. We want to be Superwoman. We are almost conditioned that we are supposed to be Superwoman. So we take on that persona at home and within our businesses. And we don’t have to. We can actually be more efficient if we delegate, find partners, etc.

Q: What is the one thing (book, website, coach, tool, blog, service, etc) that you value and can say has contributed to your success?

A: Oh gosh…this is a toughie!! There are a lot of factors involved in where I am today and where I am headed. It’s difficult to pinpoint a single thing. I will say that I raised in an entrepreneurial family. I worked in a family business for many years, so I got a feel and a love of working for one’s self. But I also wasn’t deluded by any fantasy about the reality of having one’s own business. I knew it would be a lot of work. I will say that right now I am reading a book by Michael Port called Book Yourself Solid and a lot of things in it have really hit home. And reading that book led me to a business coach, Trish Lambert of Success in Sweatpants.

Q: What is your favorite quote, saying, Proverb, or scripture?

A: You know, there are several quotes, both biblical and not, that hit home with me. But something that I take with me in everyday life is the Golden Rule. Seriously, I think everyone should think long and hard about that and integrate it into ALL aspects of their life. Business doesn’t have to be messy or ugly. If everyone would just treat others with respect and integrity…it’d be a prettier business world.

Q: What advice would you give to someone just starting out in business or thinking about taking the leap into entrepreneurship?

A: I would say to look at things realistically, not romantically. The reality is that when you are in business for yourself, EVERYONE is your boss to a degree. Also, it’s WORK. I work harder now than I ever have. But I love what I do, so it doesn’t feel so bad. But if you really work at it and put in the time and effort, you can put the systems into place where you are making more money and working fewer hours. It can become reality, but the groundwork has to be laid at the start.

Q: Looking into 2009, what are a few goals for your business this year?

A: I am re-working my target market to focus on home business entrepreneurs, with an emphasis on parents, and those parents who are currently working the grind and want to work from home with a business. I plan on creating several products that will help these people leave the grind behind and learn how they can use ebooks to market their home business or use ebooks as a revenue generator. I plan on holding some teleseminars and doing more coaching to help home biz entrepreneurs brainstorm ebook ideas, develop outlines and then bring those ebooks to fruition. I’m pretty excited about it!

I told you that Tina is truly outstanding! Please take a moment and visit Tina’s websites:

• www.TinaMcAllister.com
• www.BeyondThePen.com
• www.WAHMBizTips.com
• www.72HourBrainstorm.com
• www.Twitter.com/TinaMc (be sure to follow her…you’ll love her Tweets!)

Thank you, Tina, for allowing us to learn more about you!

Until next time…wear your heels well!

P.S. Rumor has it…Tina is going to be a Featured Guest on Diva Talk Radio. Stay tuned…I’ll keep you posted!

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