My computer! Although the brainstorming for the first site, this one, involved my friends, I was actually the only one who saw the real potential there. Could I possibly make a living on the internet? The notion excited me, and I jumped on it. But I didn't know a thing about building a website! Was it hard? Could I learn how to do it?

I went online and started educating myself. I bought a beautiful page template, and invested in Front Page, software which automatically turns your typing into html (web language). I thought I was good to go. But then I found out about the search engines, and I learned that it wasn't enough just to put together a beautiful web page, you have to get it on page one or two of a Google search, or no one will ever see it! (Or buy your stuff).

Hmmm....  more to it than I thought. But I was not ready to give up my dream yet. There I was, poised to sign up for an online "search engine optimization" e-course when I came across something in a book I had bought about Front Page.

There tucked away in "Other Options to Consider"  was this short entry:

I did... I bought... and the rest is history. This , Findlove-Keeplove, was my first website, and I put it together using SBI (Site Build It). My girlfriends helped with some of the content, and contributed lots of relationship advice, but the actual nuts and bolts of building a website was left to me.

I'll be honest with you. There was some hard work in the beginning as my "learning curve" peaked. But the process got much easier, the traffic built up, and the profits started coming in, that made it easier, too.

Site number two, Recover From Grief, came about as an extension of my "day job" as a nurse and grief counselor. I get a lot of satisfaction from helping grieving souls through this website, and it has proven a much “better fit” for me in the nursing arena. By the way, as of this writing, I am making more profit from the grief site than the other two! Passion sells.

Now my partner, Simon, and I have recently created my third website, Hydroponics-Simplified.com, to celebrate our love for hydro and help spread the word about this healthy, clean and green gardening method. This site is in its infancy, but is already getting lots of enthusiastic visitors and positive feedback.

You don’t need three websites to succeed (I’m just a website junkie… never have known the meaning of the word moderation). There have been many SBI success stories from just one site. You can get some more ideas from what other SBIers are doing. Just have a look at the  Case Studies .
 

Today, I earn a substantial income from my websites. I probably work on them an hour or two a day, and I truly love doing it, because I chose niches I was passionate about. [I still do some online nursing reports, for supplemental income and to keep the medical insurance]. Each morning I brew a big pot of coffee, and start checking my email in my PJs. Mama Cat keeps an eye on me every day) :-)
 

                       
                          See what I have to deal with?
 

Have you recently found yourself among the unemployed, or does your household need some extra income in order to survive these tough financial times? Or do you just want the freedom and calm lifestyle that working from home provides? Then give the  Site Build It! system a look-see.  Creating a website could change your life, just like it did mine!


"Never be afraid to try something new; remember, amateurs built the ark, professionals built the Titanic."


              

P.S.: Since we posted this page, it has generated a lot of feedback and questions about SBI. So we decided to put together this  FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions).

Good luck to you!

*[Using FrontPage 2003, © 2004 by Paul Colligan and Jim Cheshire, p934].