Step 3: Build a Web Business
Via a Theme-Based Content Site

Building an Information-Rich Website

Yes, that is the common-sense approach that each of us found in our own way. It solves so many of our work-at-home dilemmas.

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 Website based on information allows you to create your own income-earning 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.

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).

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 e-book or e-course, using completely automated systems.

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?”

Enjoying Total Flexibility,
And Making Good Use of Precious Time

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, 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.

 
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.

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.

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.

Earning the Income You Need

As a mom, you work hard for your family.

Yes, you may have a partner who shares the load, and that helps. But we know how
many hours you’re putting in, because that’s what we do, too.

We know that when you’re not soothing babies, playing with toddlers, driving kids
around, helping with school work, you’re doing laundry, shopping, cooking – all the
myriad tasks that go into keeping a home and family running smoothly.

The reward? It’s in the deep satisfaction of seeing your children happy and growing.
You’re there to share day-to-day life with them, find your toddler’s lost cuddly, help with your 10-year-old’s project, sympathise with your teenager’s broken heart.

But there’s one thing you don’t get in return for all those hours of loving labour.

Money.

Money - who earns it, who spends it, what it means – raises a whole bunch of questions for moms. We like earning. It empowers us in many different ways. But we love raising our kids, too. Like you, we want to do both.

Maybe you’re not interested in earning a whole lot of money right now. If you’ve chosen to take time out of the job market, chances are you can manage on your family income – but a bit more would probably be welcome.

Or maybe you need funds now. Perhaps you’re a single parent, struggling to make ends meet, or your partner has taken a pay cut and it’s up to you to bring home the difference.

Whatever your financial situation today, take a moment to stop and think.
How would you like to find an earning source that took up only the time you could
comfortably offer?

One that could give you a small income fairly soon – and had the potential to
g-r-o-w spectacularly and consistently in the future?

Imagine if that work began to bring in money. Not much to start with, but a steady
trickle, that gradually turned to a stream.

Money that came in, not just during your working hours, but during the many more hours that you spend tending to your family.

Money that came in while you slept… or while you went on holiday.

Money that still came in, if you needed time off.

Suppose that as long as you carried on chipping away, bit by bit, you were rewarded
with a stream of income that kept on growing and continued to come in far, far into the future.

What would that mean to you?

In time, you could dump the £5-an-hour job. Or ease yourself out of a full- or part-timejob that pays, but makes colossal demands on your time and energy, and leaves you worn to a frazzle.

You could pull back on the party plan or the medical transcription. Or
focus your net-based efforts into a more satisfying and rewarding direction.
That’s what developing a content-filled Website could give you.

Make no mistake. This is not a get-rich-quick scheme.

There is no promise about money this week, or money without work... steady, focused work.

As to how much you can earn, there’s no easy ballpark answer there, either. The
amount varies, and depends on many factors. Everyone’s experience is different.

Approached in the right way, building a Website, as we and many other WAHMs are
doing, can answer your wish to earn income, and offer you a slow-burning, long-term money-making proposition.

We particularly like the idea of nurturing our sites as we do our kids, putting our best
efforts into making them as strong as they can be. And, like our children, our income will continue to grow into the future, slowly... but surely.

Getting Beyond “Mom”

Now let’s talk about you. Not “you” as in “Mom”, “Wife”, “Cook”, “Teacher’s Aid”, “Choir Member”, or “Team Mom”. Just you.

What’s on your wish-list that’s just for you?

What are your wants and dreams? Do you get to share your hobbies and passions with other interested people on a regular basis?

Or has that part of you gone on hold, as the important job of raising a family takes
precedence?

You recognise the pride your kids feel when they come home with a star for behaving well in class? You’ve seen the grin on your husband’s face when he’s just received a raise or pulled in a new client.

Perhaps you remember moments, pre-kids, when you felt that warm glow of achievement, too.


Where’s your applause now?


Of course, you feel great when you look at your kids. We’re not suggesting that bringing up a family is anything but a fantastic achievement. But we are suggesting that there can be even more than that in your life.

Building a content-based Website lets you tap into your passions, show off your skills,share your ideas, receive recognition for your expertise... that’s your gold star.

Not only will you learn new skills, challenging yourself on a regular basis, you’ll find “you” again.

Or discover a whole new person.

The Internet doesn’t care if you hold a college degree or graduated from high school. It doesn’t know if you live in Outer Mongolia or the Big Apple, or give a hoot if you’re the queen of gourmet dinners or the crockpot mom. On the Internet, everyone has the same chances and opportunities to get to the head of the class.

It’s a place where you can shine.

Find the you that goes beyond “the mom”. Use the satisfaction you gain now, to build choices into your future.

And it’s all very do-able. We know, because that's how we work. Not only do we enjoy the benefits of staying home with our children, but our "beyond mom" needs are fulfilled, too.

What could be better than earning money... on our time, doing work we love?


So now, for the details on how we do it, let’s move on to Step 4