If you need to make a change in your life
You need to know about SBI!

I'd already had some experience creating websites. I had built them for classes in instructional design and I'd also built one as an ad for my local writing service.

The problem was I had no idea how to make a website that attracted traffic. I knew that unless I built a website that would be found by people who had never heard of me and didn't know my site existed, the site would not provide me with the platform I needed to sell my books.

A website is not like a ball field. Just because you build it doesn't mean they will come.

After hours of researching web hosting services, I still knew nothing about how to build a website that attracted traffic.

Then I discovered Site Built It! (SBI!).

Testimonials about SBI! grabbed me

What got my attention about SBI! was the first-person stories from people who made a successful business from ideas that I couldn't imagine being profitable.

One thing they all said about SBI! was that it gave them all the information they needed for starting a web business that got traffic.

I bet I read those testimonial pages about SBI! 18 times. The more I read about SBI!, the more impressed I was.

But still I hesitated.

Then I dilly-dallied.

Then I hesitated a while longer.

Looking back, I see it wasn't the $299 that was the issue for me. It was the commitment to a business that I could make work — or let fail.

Finally, in December 2007, I plunked down my money. In less than five minutes, I had my confirmation email and was printing out the Action Guide. When I had too many pages to fit in a 1-inch binder, I knew I was going to get my money's worth!

SBI! might be perfect for you

Since you are reading this page, you probably already are thinking about starting a business based on the web. Believe me, if you can teach writing, you can build a successful web business.

Writing teachers:

• Love to share knowledge and skills.

• Don't expect miracles overnight .

• Know the value of consistent effort.

• Understand the importance of clear writing.

• Are interested in people.

Perhaps you'd love make a website about some school subject you can never get enough of, like Greek mythology or transformational grammar.

Or perhaps you want to do something totally different from what you did for 30 years in the classroom — something that doesn't require ever seeing another student as long as you live. One ex-college prof SBI-er has sites about juggling and parrots.

Whatever your passion, whatever you know about, SBI can help you find a way to turn it into a successful web business.

SBI! lets you work at home

A web-based home business gives you the freedom to turn your passion into an income. Working from home isn't the answer to every maiden's prayer, but it is a good option for folks like me who:

• Aren't going to relocate.

• Need a flexible schedule.

• Physically can't handle a full-time job.

• Need additional revenue sources.

• Are self-disciplined.

• Are willing to learn new skills.

One of the extra benefits for me is meeting people with whom I share common interests. I have more friends in SBI! forums than in my town. Wait. There are more people in the SBI forums than in my town, so maybe that's not such a great testimonial.

Incidentally, work-at-home moms have their forum about SBI! business building. If you are a homeschooler, you'll find lots of company in that group. There's also a group where folks over 50 talk about SBI! businesses they run. If you know more about Chaucer than computers, you can learn all you need to know about with SBI! materials and forums.

SBI! offers education — cheap

Another thing about SBI! that isn't obvious: SBI! is a really cheap way of getting training in some of today's hottest job skills.

For example, SBI! trains each SBI! owner in search engine optimization techniques. The training is included in the $299 annual fee.

University of California, San Diego extension presently offers a SEO course promising "better rankings with the top search engines . . . enhanced visibility, better brand awareness and increased sales." UCSD charges $650 per person for its SEO training. For less than half what you'd pay UCSD, SBI! gives you the same training — plus SBI! helps you start your business.

SBI!'s training is so good, it's used at major universities. Click, then scroll to the bottom of the page for a quick look at some of the names.

Oh, and another plus about SBI! training is that you can do it at home in your robe and bunny slippers instead of in a classroom in San Diego. I like that part, don't you?

Build an income, leave legacy

Most of the training materials about SBI!'s program use examples from a website that the daughter of SBI founder Ken Evoy began when she was 14. Income from her website is putting Nori through college.

Ken isn't the only proud father of an SBI! teen entrepreneur. Many SBIers build sites with their kids, some with grandchildren. Those folks are passing on skills, attitudes, and values — all while building equity in a business.

I don't expect to build an estate to rival Bill Gates or Donald Trump, but my website is a financial asset I can pass on. How big an asset? That depends on whom you ask. I made three inquiries on Jan. 2, 2009, less than a year after I put up my first page, and got three different results.

Site Value Calculator came up with this:

Cube Stat provided this figure:

Website Outlook had this:

Although those figures vary widely, one thing is for sure: In less than a year (my first page went up Jan 21, 2008) I built a site worth far more than my $299 payment to SBI!. Those figures are just for the site itself, not for the associated business assets.

Which of your investments did that well in 2008?

True confession

I haven't been as successful as I would like. It was my own darn fault. I made the same mistake I warn my students repeatedly not to make: rushing instead of planning well.

Do students listen to me?

No.

Did I take my own advice?

No.

I rushed to get my site started instead of taking my time the way the SBI! told me again and again to do. "Follow the way of the tortoise," SBI! says. I should have listened to SBI.

When I make my next SBI! website — I have ideas for several others — I vow I'll do it right.

Could I make money with a website?

If you follow the procedures SBI! lays out, you can make money. Hey, I'm making a profit in less than two years in business just from the Google and Infolinks ads that don't require any work. When I start publishing my books, I expect to start making real money.

If you are ready to invest in your own SBI! business now, here is the place to do that.

Disclosure: If you invest in a web-based business through SBI!, as an SBI! affiliate, I get a finder's fee from SBI! for the referral and I'll keep getting a fee for as long as you maintain your SBI! affiliation. As an SBI! site owner, you can get in on the same deal.

Another great SBI deal is its educational program. SBI! developed a curriculum for its affiliates to teach at educational institutions. The teacher gets paid by the college or university and gets a percentage of sales to class members. Teaching for SBI! is one of my plans for after I publish the books that were my initial reason for joining SBI!.

If you want to snoop about SBI! at your leisure 18 times the way I did, this link will take you to general information on the company's services. If you have a question about SBI, you can get an answer quickly from SBI's answerers-in-residence.

And you are welcome to keep checking back here to read reports on my business progress.

Warm regards,

Linda Aragoni