And the best part? It doesn’t matter if you’re starting from scratch, or are currently building a business. It can work for you, too.
Building a site based on information allows you to create your own incomeearning opportunity. There’s no boss, no clock to punch and potentially you can make money 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It’s yours, and it has that vital flexibility you need.
The nature of website building is such that I can stop or take a break at any point and carry on when time allows. I can work in my pyjamas and fuzzy slippers and switch from work mode to mommy/caretaker to silly dance partner whenever the mood strikes. And I’m here to answer all my kids’ questions, kiss their boo-boo’s and hear their newest words or discoveries. It’s a beautiful thing. Michelle
Each of us started out by building just one Website. Now, we’re moving on to build more – and more! But these aren’t just any websites.The best way to explain a theme-based content site is by asking you to think about how you surf the Web. You loathe badly organized sites, flashing banners “shouting” at you, messy sites stuffed with ads, or information that’s way off the theme. Whether it’s recipes, parenting tips, travel deals, or gardening advice, you want information, right? Easy to find, clear, and lots of it!
You want solutions to your problems, jokes to make you giggle, art ideas for keeping kids busy on a rainy day. Info, info and more info. If you don’t find the answer in a click or two, you’re gone and on to the next site. When you do find a site that delivers, you bookmark it, send it on to friends and family members, and go back time and again, because it’s such a great resource.
Those are the kinds of websites we build.With billions of pages on the Internet, we’ve learned the importance of standing out from the crowd (and what a huge crowd it is!). We know now that the best way to keep people coming back for more is to build a site filled with engaging and original information, with solutions to our visitors’ problems or wishes, and all the facts they’re looking for.
We call that information “Content”, and it’s content that wins the day hands down in the drive to create successful websites.This common-sense method of building a website can work for you to leverage your results if you already have a service business, or sell a product (your own, or one sourced from a manufacturer). We’ll explain more about this in Step 4.5.
But you don’t need to have a physical product or service to sell. A content-rich site can also allow you to earn money as an “infopreneur”. That means, you provide free information, and earn money through advertising and/or commissions. Or, you can package your information digitally and sell it as an ebook or e-course, using completely automated systems. Again, we’ll provide more details in Step 4.5.
We WAHMs are a committed bunch, and knowing I could earn income from something based on my passion… and do it in my own time… that’s really the ultimate situation. By the way, I just stopped taking clients and have replaced that with income from my site and freelance work that has come my way through the international exposure my site has given me. Michelle
Whatever route is best for you, there are dozens of ways you can earn money from your site, so that while your visitors get the content they love, you earn the income you need.
It’s win/win.We’ll tell you how we build our sites in Step 4. But first, you may be wondering, “What exactly is it that would make building an information-rich Website such a great choice for me?”
For us, it’s because a website fits in so beautifully with our priorities. After all, how many times have you considered a work prospect, then passed it by because it didn’t fit with your life as a mom? The start was too early, holidays were inflexible, office was too far away, you had to work evenings, the pay wouldn’t cover the cost of childcare – we could go on… and on... The bottom line? You’re a mom. Flexibility is crucial. You want work that you can readily drop when the baby’s been up teething all night or your child’s suddenly ill and can’t go to school.
When you have truly flexible work, you needn’t panic. You can handle whatever your day throws at you.At the same time, when you are working, you want every moment you spend to count. Like us, you’re already juggling a thousand things a day. Don’t you just hate wasting a moment of your valuable time? So you need a job that rewards you, even on days when you can only give it 15 minutes.
Building our information-based websites gives us that flexibility, and that satisfying use of time.Think about it. You can skip the commute and head straight for your computer when kids are asleep or at school. Whenever you can squeeze some time into your schedule – early morning, late at night, on weekends – you can access the Internet and make progress on your website.
I begged, borrowed and stole every spare moment to build my site (still do). If you are determined and it’s what you really want and it turns you on, you will do it. Patricia
You can start slowly – all of us did. If your family is very young, you might have just a couple of hours a week to spare. That’s enough to get you started. And as your children grow you’ll have a few more hours to spend, developing your site, slowly and steadily.
When I began with SBI!, I had two children aged 1 and 3, and life seemed fairly manageable. I spent about eight hours per week building my site. Then I turned around and discovered that I had a 2-year-old and a 4-year-old - and I was pregnant.
Life seemed a lot busier, and I found only an hour or two per week for my site. Now I have a baby, a 3-year-old and a 5-year-old and life is chock full. I spend less than half an hour per week on my site (usually typing with one hand while nursing the baby!)
But in every season of my momming, SBI! keeps chugging along, doing its magic. Traffic keeps building and my subscriber list keeps growing. When I'm ready to jump back in again, my site will be healthier than when I set it down months ago. Ellen
A content-filled Website grows as your babies grow. A well-planned site continues to attract visitors, earning income. If you need time out – a day, a week, or a bigger block of time, when a new baby arrives, for instance – your site carries on, growing in the background, until you can return to it.
After a while your work becomes a part of your family’s dynamics. It’s something you do alongside raising your children, an on-going project not just for yourself, but also for your family and for their future. As your children get older, you might even choose to involve them, too.
A useful add-on to that flexibility is a Website’s total move-ability. You can work on it, wherever you end up in the world.The great thing for me is that it doesn’t matter where I am. We’ve lived in four different houses over the last year and so long as I have a connection to the Internet I can carry on building my sites. Nor does it matter which country I’m in – my sites, at least, remain where they are, and have become my homes in cyberspace! Claire
Building our own websites has given us a measure of independence that no other work opportunity we’ve ever come across can offer. It could do the same for you.