Meet Sarah Auerswald of MomsLA.com

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Auerswald

Hi Sarah, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I started blogging in 2008, just after the first wave of Mom Bloggers hit the big time. The community of people was smart, creative, and welcoming and it was really fun to be part of it. It started as a hobby and after a few years I wanted to make it into a business, so MomsLA.com was born in 2011.

MomsLA started as a way to share the journey of raising my 2 sons here in LA. My husband and I met working on a movie years ago, and while he continues to work in the film industry, I opted out so that I could be home and raise our kids. Online publishing was an ideal way for me to create a business that was flexible enough to still be there for my family.

Since launching, the site has become known for our Summer Camp Guide and the weekly list of Things to do with Kids, and we’re a trusted source of fun ideas for parents and caregivers in SoCal.

We like to say we’re in the business of helping families make memories.

The business side is that we help local businesses reach our audience with web, email, and social ads. And in meeting and working with so many local businesses over the years, I learned a lot about how to help them refine their messaging, create a compelling story, and really connect with their customers – and sometimes, how to get out of their own way.

That led to my becoming certified as a coach, so that in addition to running MomsLA, I have a practice helping business owners operate at a higher profit by maximizing their time and efforts to serve their customers.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Oh, entrepreneurship is never a smooth road all the time! There are always new obstacles in your way, and what you get to do is figure out how to solve them. That’s baked in to being a business owner.

For example:
In the early days, the site hosting was not ideal and there were times we were hacked, so we had to find stronger hosting, with more robust security features. Or I would publish a blog post I was sure everyone would love and no one would even read it. Or worse, they would hate it. So I had to learn what my audience wanted.

It was also a struggle to hire help at first. I had been doing so much by myself that learning to let go and delegate was a serious challenge. And then not every person I hired worked out, so I had to learn to train better, communicate better, create better systems for working as a team, all of that. The team we have now is amazing and I feel super lucky to be working with them!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
MomsLA is a trusted source of the best things to do with kids in Los Angeles (and Southern California), and we’ve been serving parents and caregivers since 2011. People rely on us for the number one Summer Camp Guide every year, and every week we publish a list of Weekend Activities for families.

We’ve been publishing the site since 2011, and we’re 100% female-owned, small business certified, run by local Moms since Day One.

In addition to the content on our website, we send out a weekly email newsletter that gets super high engagement from our subscribers, which has been going strong for 10 years.

In 2021 I published our first book: “Los Angeles with Kids,” which is available on Amazon, and, it’s something I’m super proud of. But truthfully, I’m proud of everything about this business! I didn’t get an MBA, so really I’ve been making it up as I went along, and that feels pretty good!

Announcement: We’re launching a Local Business Membership in 2025, so we can support the family-friendly providers and entrepreneurs who serve our audience. Reach out for more info!

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
The number one quality you need as a business owner is the willingness to try things and see what works. Not everything will – and some people call those things failures. But you have to be willing to fail and get back up again or you’ll never make it. And for sure that determination, or perseverance, or whatever you want to call it – that’s the most important reason for my success.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://momsla.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/momsla/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MomsLA
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MomsLA

Image Credits
MomsLA