The Background Story
You might be wondering how we four work-at-home moms got
together to write this Masters Course. Let us introduce
ourselves, the WAHM-IT! team, and tell you our story…
The WAHM It! Team - Who We
Are
Elizabeth
http://www.healthy-eating-made-easy.com/
I live in the UK and have two children. My background is in
women’s magazines and publishing, and I’ve worked at home as a
freelance writer and editor since my kids were tiny.
Why did I get into building Websites? Because freelance work is
precarious. I wanted to grow a new source of income long-term,
so that by the time my children were through university I
wouldn’t still be chained to my desk, working until 2am to meet
deadlines.
I didn’t have a clue how I’d do it, but I needed something with
great financial potential, that offered total flexibility, and
where I called the shots.
I turned to the Internet – where else - did loads of research,
and in a mood of excited trepidation bought SBI! at the end of
2004.
It took three months to settle on a topic. I discarded all my
original ideas, and finally focused in on the question of how
to produce healthy-but-yummy family meals using fresh, seasonal
and unprocessed food. I launched healthy-eating-made-easy.com
in 2005.
At first the learning curve was vertical, since my skills were
minimal, but I did some reading here, some page-building there,
and gradually it began to make sense.
The site has grown slowly, but steadily. My traffic builds,
month-on-month, and so, steadily, does my income. I’m not in a
rush. I’m still working at my day-job, but I can see my site’s
potential, and I’m looking forward to growing it over the years
to come, and creating other sites too.
I found what I was looking for. But I discovered a lot more I
hadn’t expected – and that’s been the secret bonus! I’ve cured
the isolation of working freelance through connecting with
other site owners around the world.
And I’m forming a vision for my future working life
that’s better than I could ever have imagined.
For current details, visit…
http://www.healthy-eating-made-easy.com/about.html
Cate
http://www.home-budget-help.com/
I live in upstate New York, USA with my husband, son and two
daughters. Between
church, school, baseball, football, dance, soccer and golf,
we’re always on the go!
I left a 10-year corporate finance career in 1999 to stay home
with my then two-year-old and infant daughter. I became a WAHM
right away, juggling medical transcription and motherhood.
However, as great as it was to be home with my kids, I still
had a boss to report to, reports that had to be typed every
weeknight (even if the kids were sick or I was up with a
colicky baby) and at least one weekend a month when I was on
rotation.
If I didn’t work, I didn’t get paid.
In 2002, my husband lost his job and my transcription agency
lost their major contract, so I was out of work, too.
We decided to start a home business and truly work for
ourselves. “Job security” just didn’t exist for us any more. I
began researching opportunities on the Internet and found Site
Build It! almost immediately. The idea of building content
Websites had never occurred to me before, but I quickly
realized its potential.
I started my first site in March 2003. Immediately my site
began to see traffic, but then I built another Internet
venture, and didn’t work on my site for about three years!
When I came back to it, I realized that traffic to my
Website had remained constant, and even grown, and I decided to
build a portfolio of Websites, with different monetization
models. While currently revising and re-building
budget-and-prosper.com, I have two more SBI! sites in
development.
I love being an online WAHM. I don’t have to commute and I can
work a different schedule every day, depending on what’s best
for my family. My brain is “engaged” more than it’s ever been!
And instead of feeling isolated at home, I’ve met wonderful
people from around the world (like Elizabeth, Jen and Erin) and
developed lasting friendships, some of which have turned into
profitable joint ventures.
I’ve never enjoyed “going to work” as much as I do now.
For current details, visit…
http://www.home-budget-help.com/home-budget-about-us.html
Erin
http://www.home-organize-it.com/
I live in the Midwest, USA and I have 3 children. My work
background began with Golf Club Management. But after having
children, long work hours drove me to look for different,
preferably work at home, options.
Finally, in 1999, I started my “It’s About Time
Organizing Service” that I continue to run.
When word-of-mouth referrals slowed, I knew I needed to market
my organizing service differently. After much research, I
decided a Website would be the best solution to promote my
business.
Being a do-it-yourselfer, I looked at how I could build my own
site, hoping to find an all-in-one solution. Not being exactly
“tech-inclined”, I needed a step-by-step approach. You know…
point here, click there.
When I found Site Build It!, there was just something
different about it. Not only was the CTPM concept a real “aha!”
moment for me, but it spoke to my heart. They seemed to be
saying if you’re ready to work hard, you CAN do this… quite
contrary to everything else I had seen! So I guess you could
say I thought it was believable.
And it is.
Choosing SBI! and building my own site, www.home-organize-it.com,
put me on a most unexpected and rewarding journey.
I originally planned to build a site to just promote my
local organizing service.
However, not only did I get so much business from my
site, I also learned how to generate other income streams by
recommending and referring quality organizing products and
related services to people around the world.
Organizing in the homes of busy moms also has led to a side
business...
helping moms achieve their own dreams of working from
home by building their own content-rich Websites, based on
their passions and interests. After getting several of these
moms started, I began a second site:
www.niche-build-it.com that
offers help and guidance to WAHMs.
The combination of these ventures gives me variety and a
respectable income. But what’s best of all? Flexible hours, so
I can be there for my children.
For current details, visit…
http://www.homeorganizeit.com/myorganizerjourney.html
Jennifer
http://www.favorite-puppy-names.com/
I live in sunny San Diego, California, with my sexy Canadian
husband and our four kids.
Before entering the world of Internet marketing, I worked in a
variety of administrative assistant positions, from talent
agencies (you haven’t lived until you've sat next to Johnny
Depp... trust me on this one) to law offices.
Though I’ve always valued my skills and worked hard at my
jobs, my heart was never in it. What did I want to be when I
grew up?
Fast forward to Spring 2004. Pregnant with my last baby, I was
put on bedrest due to complications.
I quit my part-time legal assistant gig working with the
best boss in the world (hi, Dad!) and suddenly, had a lot of
time on my hands. How many episodes of “Blind Date” or
“People's Court” can one woman watch, anyway?
It was during this four-month period that I turned to the
Internet for solutions to my boredom and unemployment. When I
discovered people actually make money by promoting affiliate
programs on their own Websites, I knew it was the answer.
I learned everything as I went, teaching myself Frontpage,
choosing a site concept (online dating... let’s just say, bad
idea), picking a domain name, selecting hosting,
marketing my affiliates.... ack!
I suffered information overload, becoming easily confused
by the contradictory advice espoused by Internet “experts”, and
when I didn't make a million dollars, let alone a profit, by
the end of that year, I sold my Website to the highest bidder
on eBay.
After working another home business (anyone need skin care
samples?), I realized I spent all of my energy trying to sell
product and build my downline online, by creating a great
Website with keyword-rich content and uploading terrific
graphics to appeal to my visitors. I didn't throw one
party!
Clearly, I really wanted to get back to the building of
Websites. But, I needed better, consistent information to guide
my Internet success dreams.
So why Site Build It? Because the CTPM process just made sense
to me. There’s no magic pill, no false promises, no hype.
Sitesell’s founder, Ken Evoy, understands that hard work,
patience, and being true to yourself = success. Novel concept,
isn’t it?
Besides www.favorite-puppy-names.com,
I have other Websites in progress, one with my fellow SBI'er,
Erin.
I love the creative element of building, coupled with the
practical aspects of business. And as long as those Google
checks keep coming, I’ll keep building.
For current details, visit… http://www.favorite-puppy-names.com/about-me.html
And
there you have it…
Four very different individual WAHMs, with different
backgrounds and experience, at different stages.
So, how did we come together to write this Masters Course?
Through the Site Build It! Forums…
Just about the first thing we discovered when we started
working on our sites was the SBI! Forums. Once you start
building a site, you have access to these, and they are a
goldmine.
Whenever we had a problem or got stuck – and in the early days,
that was pretty often – we’d turn to the Forums for help,
advice or inspiration.
And we found it. The Forums are populated with exceptional
people, people who have similar visions to ours, who want their
sites to succeed and are prepared to put a lot of effort into
making that happen.
But that was just the tip of it. We found that folks on the
Forums were often willing to spend a great deal of time, and go
to a lot of trouble to help us.
It’s like belonging to a great community of colleagues,
who are happy to share their knowledge, and who will go out of
their way to cheer each other on.
Just 8 days…
And then, in September 2005, Claire (one of our Case Studies)
put up a post, where she mused on the experiences of
work-at-home-moms on the Internet.
She knew that lots of moms visited her site:
|
|
Now, if readers
are reading sites like mine, we
know they like the Net, that
they are seeking something to
fill their time/improve their
life... and that some of them
will already have their own
sites…and that some of them
will have thought about "doing
something online". But they
don't know
what…
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Claire knew that some of those moms would be very interested in
working at home to build a site like hers. She wanted to send
those moms to the Sitesell site, where they could learn more
about SBI!.
But there wasn’t a page that “spoke” to those moms.
…. I am a bit worried that the
[existing Sitesell] pages just might not fit the
bill. Claire
A simple post, sharing a thought – but it opened the
floodgates!
A flurry of posts followed from WAHMs who were using SBI! and
who, like Claire, weren’t sure how to tell others about it. The
energy began to build.
Why not have a page just for WAHMs? What were the special
concerns and issues that WAHMs were facing every day? Claire
had touched a nerve and as the momentum gathered, post after
post came in, posts full of passion and ideas.
|
|
"My three friends
who have all just started with
SBI!! have one thing in common
that stands out to me. They
could not imagine how anyone
could ever have enough time
around raising a young family
to even get started, much less
gain momentum.
I kept them frequently up to date
on how things were progressing with
my online "adventure" despite the
fact that I was also raising a
family, working at other jobs part
time and experiencing personal
challenges all at the same
time."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
After a while,
they started thinking..
|
|
"Well if SHE can do
this with all of THAT
going on in her life,
maybe...
and after a year ALL three of them
were convinced that if I could,
maybe they could after all."
Mary
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ken Evoy, founder of Sitesell, was right in there too. Despite
Ken’s heavy workload, he spends considerable time frequenting
the Forums and during this month in 2005 he was amazed at what
was unfolding before his eyes.
|
|
"Some more great
posts. Sometimes half the world
(women in this case) can be
sitting right in front of you,
and you just don't get it…
Dilemmas have been identified.
Frustrations are voiced that moms
haven't dared to speak of (yet that
are normal). Desires and needs
uncovered…
Each and every post is sheer gold,
obviously took much thought. Thank
you so much for the collective
brain power."
Ken
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
And so, this terrific dialogue continued to build. Dozens of
posts rolled in. Moms reflecting on why they bought SBI!… How
it worked for them – and what could be changed… Unravelling the
reasons why they work, what they love about working, what they
find difficult... Thinking about the dynamics of family life,
what it means to invest time in children, to step off the gravy
train, and into the world of home…
|
|
"If my husband
works, he earns money. If I do
housework and run around all
day - I don't.
There are two kinds of investment
here. One is economic, the other
human… Kid investment is
different.
You're moulding a person, helping
to build not a house but a
character. Teaching a sense of
humour through play and
interaction. Spending a huge chunk
of your time and energy on
something that is invisible: the
development of your child and
his/her future…
Eventually this investment flies
the nest..."
Claire
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Moms talked too, about the challenges so many women face and
how they overcome them.
How having a business enterprise to return to, maybe even to
take refuge in, can be a life-saver after starting a family.
The same themes came up repeatedly: moms are desperate to do a
great job raising their kids, but they want something else, as
well.
|
|
"It's interesting
to see that while we have
extremely different
backgrounds, come from places
all over the world, with
various levels of education and
expertise, at the end of the
day, we all desire the same
things."
Jen |
|
|
|
|
|
|
More days passed, and still the thread rolled on. Moms pondered
– could they build sites together? Did WAHMs need a forum of
their own? How do you build a site when suffering from rampant
sleep deprivation, or working outside the home and caring for a
family?…
They shared feelings: what it had been like starting out with
their own sites, how much they’d learned – how much there was
still to learn – and what a blast they were having while
learning it!
The communication was passionate – and all done from the midst
of domestic life, as the toddler was doing goodness knows what
with the magic markers…
Such a level of passion clearly demanded a response – and it
got one. First, Ken gave Claire, who had set the whole ball
rolling, the job of writing a new Sitesell page, aimed directly
at WAHMs.
You can see it here: http://wahm.sitesell.com/sbi_uk
But it didn’t end there! Once WAHMs get thinking and talking,
there’s no stopping them. And SBI! tends to attract types
who’ll pick up the ball and run with it. Ideas and suggestions
flooded out, enough to fill far more than just a page and all
of them much too thoughtful and valuable to be ignored.
A Masters Course is born…
And so, gradually, the idea of a unique resource written by
WAHMs, for WAHMs emerged. That’s what you’re reading now.
We four, Elizabeth, Jen, Erin and Cate, stepped forward from
the Forums to form a team to write this course, and at the end
of eight momentous and memorable days, Ken closed the thread,
which he described as:
… this perfect example of collective
wisdom and collaborative action.
Writing the
Course…
And so it began.
We, the WAHM IT! team, started work. Between us… we have 12
children, we own several SBI! Websites (in various stages of
development), and we live in four different time zones. Some of
us work part-time outside the home as well as working on our
Websites. And of course, alongside work, we handle loads of
domestic stuff. Just keeping in touch presented quite a
challenge.
During our weekly progress chats (via instant messaging), we’ve
sometimes had more than 10 kids around - losing teeth, having
melt-downs, clambering over the laptop, demanding hot
chocolate. We’ve kept going through it all, because that’s what
WAHMs do. We’re used to it. We like it, even!
It has been a huge experience. A great experience! We’ve shared
a lot of laughter, a few tears and a stack of hard work.
There’s one thing about this Masters Course, we hope, that
makes it stand out from so much of the other stuff out there on
the Internet. It comes from the heart, and if it rings true –
and we hope it does – it’s because we are four real people
who’ve connected to pool not just our experiences, but the
collected wisdom of the numerous other WHAMs we’ve been
privileged to get to know from their voices on the Forums.
And brings us to a special group of voices that we wish to
extend a big…
THANK
YOU!
Our warmest thanks go to all the women who took part in the
original dialogue that set this whole ball rolling, or who have
contributed their ideas about being a WAHM elsewhere in the
Site Build It! Forums.
Some of you are quoted in this e-book – see below – but there
are many, many more.
We simply didn’t have space to include all your wisdom.
Thank you, to all those people, for sharing your thoughts. You
inspired us.
And a special toast to the women who allowed us to quote their
fascinating insights…
Ann www.healthinsurance-help.com
Annabel www.puzzle-club.com
CJ www.yummycrockpotrecipes.com
Kellie www.spa-living-for-health.com
Kristin www.natural-health-ideas-that-work.com
Mary www.its-a-girl-thing-ltd.com
Michelle www.style-hair-magazine.com
Nicole www.kids-fun-and-games.com
Patricia www.kids-party-paradise.com
Rachel www.dream-vacation-in-tuscany.com
Rena www.home-jewelry-business-success-tips.com
Rina www.fun-baby-games-online.com
Tracy www.womensdivorce.com
Now
what?
An important, life-changing
question that only you can answer
(with a little help, of course)…
Is SBI! for Me?
|
