Less than a year into owning and operating two small businesses, Tara M. Bloom already has plenty to say about the life of the entrepreneur. Calling it “big advice for the little guy,” she chronicles her start-up path in her blog, “Ditch the Dusty Widget (http://www.dustywidget.blogspot.com).” Interweaving marketing expertise (she was employed in marketing and sales for 14 years before striking out on her own) with business resources and lessons-learned, her blog is a well-written mix of anecdote and article to benefit every small business owner. I’ve been reading her blog since she launched it in the late summer of 2007 and invited her to coffee last week to talk more about the start-up experience.

When did you start your business?

I’ve been self-employed as a freelance copywriter and marketing consultant (http://www.bloomcopywriter.com) since May 2007. I incorporated my company, Aveta Corp., in June 2007 and opened a luxury maternity retail boutique (http://www.maternitique.com) just after Thanksgiving.

Why two businesses at the same time?

I didn’t set out to do that! I had been looking at business to buy for about a year and a half, the final one being where I was employed at the time. When purchase negotiations with my employer failed, I knew it was time to start something of my own. I began with writing, because it’s what I know best and didn’t require a lot of overhead.

Would you recommend two start-ups at once?

No! Multi-tasking is fine, but multi-tasking with two brand-new endeavors is challenging. I push myself pretty hard, trying to get both businesses to “hurry up and grow.” That’s a good way to make mistakes.

For example?

When I first opened Maternitique, I tried to short-cut the time it takes to earn customers online by spending lots of money on a single national advertising effort. I know better! It takes repetition and testing to make an effective ad campaign, but I cut corners anyway. That was a costly mistake!

Any other mistakes you’d like to share?

So many! Another was that I doubted my own ability to get attention from national audiences. I hired a New York PR professional with the belief that she could do it better than me. I was so wrong. Her efforts didn’t go anywhere. Ultimately, I realized that the story is mine to tell and no one can do it as passionately as I can. Since then, I’ve been invited by regional bloggers, local magazines and national pregnancy guides to write about maternity topics. By just talking about what I do and why I do it, I’ve had more response than the agent did. But it cost me a lot of headaches and money to learn that.

What are your goals?

To grow Maternitique and hand over its operations to someone else while I build out the other arm of Aveta Corp.—Aveta Productions, which develops educational resources for modern expectant moms. I want to do for natural childbirth what has been done for organic food and yoga—make it an appealing choice for the mainstream! Eventually, I want to be able to focus on my own personal writing full time and write books.