A Supplement to the Daily Grind

How I Changed Boredom and Frustration into Passion and Profit

Do you hate your job?

If the answer is yes, I'm not all that surprised. It happens to a great many people during the course of their careers.

I saw it happen to my parents (they're both HAPPILY retired now), and I saw it happen to my wife (she quit and will never go back).

It even happened to me a few years ago. But then I discovered something that turned everything around.

In the paragraphs that follow, I'll tell you all about it.

The Beginning of The Fall

I started my career in web development back in 1999 and I had a lot to learn.

Web sites were in their infancy, and there was a world of possibilities out there. Every day there was something new to discover and something interesting to learn.

I diligently went to work every day, and enjoyed the work that I was doing. I was passionate about the material and was excited about the new challenges that were right around the corner.

But as the years went on, a slow deterioration took place.

First, I had mastered the material - the challenges were fewer and farther between and the work became routine. My job transitioned as well: instead of building web sites, I found myself writing a LOT of technical documentation.

I won't get into the gory details - if you've been in the same position then you're well aware of how a job that starts off with a bang can end with a whimper.

As time went on I became more and more dejected.

Getting up in the morning took more effort and the quality of the work that I was doing suffered. My heart just wasn't in it anymore.

Let me say this about myself: I'm not a quitter.

I kept trying to find ways to make the work interesting but just couldn't regain the enthusiasm that I had when I first started.

After months of agonizing over the situation, I finally came up with an answer: even though my job no longer provided an outlet for my creative impulse, I could find a way to satisfy that need in my spare time.

And so I began work on my first major web site.

Trial and Error

Before I set out to build my first site, I did my homework.

I read up on how to get your site found by the search engines, and how to turn information into profit.

I purchased a wide variety of how-to guides, and devoured books on such topics as print advertising, writing for the web, and web site design.

Several months (and several hundred dollars) later, I was ready to get started. I felt that I had discovered the key to building a successful site: CONTENT.

After all, while some people use the Internet for shopping, the vast majority use it for information research.

I figured that if I could create a site that was chock-full of information, the site would be found by the search engines, and therefore people would find their way to the site.

I began to write.

Page after page of material poured out, and as I completed each one I posted it to my site. I created free downloads, a running weblog, tutorials and any other content I could devise.

It won't surprise you when I tell you what the topic was: digital cameras.

I was intimately familiar with my material, which made it easy for me to keep writing new articles to post.

Over the course of a year, I spent every moment of free time I had during the evenings and weekends cranking out content for my site. Having a creative outlet improved my mood, and I became less depressed about my day job.

Curious about what I put together? Well, the site still exists to this day, although I don't spend as much time on it as I used to. It's called DigicamGuides.

So why am I telling you about this? Why do I refer to this site in the past tense, and how is it that you found your way instead to the Digital SLR Guide?

Let me explain...

Traffic? Not Really

Despite my diligent efforts to create a site that would garner a lot of search engine visibility, it never did.

Each week I would check the traffic numbers to my site and each week it never changed.

When I built the site I had used every single technique that I had picked up from the books, guides and web sites that I had read. It seemed to me that some search engine somewhere should be able to properly catalogue the content of my site and present it to people doing online research.

As time went on, my enthusiasm over the site began to wane.

Without traffic and without readers, there wasn't a whole lot of incentive to share all this information that I had about digital cameras.

I was unable to build the momentum for the site that I had so desprately hoped for. Yes, the site had provided me with a creative outlet, and yes it did make me able to work my day job without feeling miserable.

But ultimately all of that hard work and effort went to waste.

I gave up adding new content to the site, and decided instead to spend my time attending to my wife who was pregnant at the time.

DigicamGuides fell into decay, and with it my hopes of staking a claim to my own small part of the Internet.

A Change of Life and a Change of Plan

The day my son was born was a revelation.

Holding the little squealing bundle in my arms, it became apparent to me that my life would never be the same.

Up to that point, my efforts to create a web site had been wholly self-centric. Call it what you like - pride, ego - or simply a desire to feel like a celebrity from time to time and have my work recognized and commended.

With the arrival of my son, I became immediately aware of why children are called dependents.

He needed my wife and me to provide for him in every way, and needed us to make the right decisions about when to feed him, burp him and relieve him of the discomfort of a wet diaper.

Caring for him during those first critical months resulted in a real shift of attitude.

Once again, the idea for a web site was kindled, but this time it was for entirely different reasons:

• I wanted to create a site for the benefit of others - a place for people to learn at their own pace in an environment that was friendly and relaxed
• I wanted to share my passion - I learned a lot about digital SLR cameras taking photos of my son, and my wife had a limited tolerance for my camera chatter
• I wanted to turn a profit - this last part of the puzzle was key, and I'll explain why in just a moment

My son brought about not just a change in attitude, but also a change in our financial situation.

I mentioned at the beginning of this article that my wife hated her job. When she became pregnant, we made a joint decision: when the child was born she would quit her job for good, and spend time at home.

And so she did.

But this posed an interesting challenge for us: since we were both behind the idea of her staying home (we really didn't want to put our son into daycare), how were we to make ends meet on just my salary alone?

Some extreme budgeting was clearly in order, and we added up the numbers. We concluded that she might be able to stay home for a year before funds got tight.

Well, it's been two and a half years now and she's still at home and loving it.

The Missing Link

Way back when I did my diligent research to create DigicamGuides, I came across a very interesting e-book.

It was called Make Your Site Sell.

This e-book was a guide that showed step-by-step how to create a content-rich web site that would drive traffic. I read it cover to cover and applied a LOT of what I learned in it to DigicamGuides.

But I was missing a key component...the right web hosting solution to do the job.

Take the following quote from the page about the Make Your Site Sell e-book:

"Most Webmasters even, cannot actually overcome all the technical aspects of building a successful online business. Sure, it is cheap-quick-easy to put up a site. Anyone can do that today. But what then? Instant gratification is followed by slow, expensive failure, due to an inability to drive traffic. In other words... no business."

Trust me, this statement is true - I am living proof of it.

The irony is that there was a solution lying within the pages of that book, and I had completely missed it.

The online service that I had needed all along to make my idea into a living breathing web site was called SiteBuildIt! (a.k.a. SBI!)

A New Beginning

Before I get into the details of what SBI! is all about, I'd like to tell you how this Digital SLR Guide came to be.

I've already told you about how dissatisfaction with my day job lead to the creation of DigicamGuides, and how that provided a nice creative outlet for me.

But that's not quite the end of the story.

After I realized that DigicamGuides wasn't getting the traffic I was hoping for I fell into deep despair. My little online "experiment" was a failure, and I certainly didn't want to spend the time and effort on any more projects like it.

My son was growing fast, and I devoted the entirety of my free time to his care.

In between going to work each day and taking care of my son during the evenings and weekends (to give my wife a break) I lost touch with that creative expression that I needed as an integral part of my life.

My frustration with my job returned in full force - and yes, the word "hate" was uttered on many occasions.

But I was now in a bind - departing a job with a newborn and a mortgage (and only one income!) ranks pretty high on my list of "top 10 stupid ideas".

Something HAD to be done to improve my mood and outlook, and that something could not involve stomping into my boss' office and giving notice.

I still had the idea of a digital camera web site in my head, but took a long time convincing myself that SBI! was the right tool for the job.

Finally - one day in August of 2005 in the dark hours of the night - I bit the bullet, clicked SUBMIT and signed up for SBI!

My Mistakes Become Clear

When you first sign up with SBI! you are introduced to the Action Guide: a blueprint for the success of your site.

Before I chose a domain name or wrote one word of content, I sat down with the Action Guide and read it cover to cover.

As I went through it, I immediately realized the two most significant flaws of the DigicamGuides web site:

1. The topic was WAY too broad
2. I had just been creating content, NOT content people were actually searching for

So the first step that I had to take was something I never had done with DigicamGuides: research.

Using SBI!'s powerful brainstorming tools I went on a hunt for the most commonly used search terms associated with the digital camera topic.

This research and investigation phase took me over a month, but was well worth it in the end (and a testament to the structured approach of the Action Guide).

I had learned three very valuable pieces of information:

• The digital camera category was saturated with web sites, making high search engine rankings difficult
• Tons of people were performing searches around the topic of digital SLR cameras
• No other web site devoted itself to explaining digital SLR technology to beginners

And so the Digital SLR Guide was born.

Today, the Digital SLR Guide is well-ranked for MANY search terms associated with digital SLR cameras, and the traffic that comes in from Google alone is nothing short of astonishing.

A Dream Becomes Reality

The rest, as they say, is history.

Every goal that I have set for the Digital SLR Guide has come to pass:

• My Digital SLR Newsletter is growing in membership by leaps and bounds each and every month
• The Guide has seen a steady increase in traffic and visitors - and those numbers just keep going up!
• The additional income that I get from the site covers the bills enough so my wife can stay at home
• Most importantly - I continually get rave reviews from people who visit the site who say "Thank you - I have learned so much"

I couldn't be happier with how well the site has progressed, and I have the SiteBuildIt! tools and resources to thank for it.

And the success of the Guide has produces two VERY interesting side effects.

When I first started working on the Digital SLR Guide I was financially motivated. The birth of my son and my wife quitting her job to stay home with him made additional income a priority.

But now that the site brings in enough each month to cover the bills, I've discovered something: it's not about the money anymore.

Yes, that is certainly a great benefit and yes, it's a powerful motivator to keep me working on the site.

But even more powerful is the thanks and appreciation that I receive from the people who visit the Guide. It's hard for me to describe how gratifying it is to read the comments of those who have learned something new, saved some money or have avoided making an expensive mistake.

With the power of SBI! behind me and the Digital SLR Guide, I am able to reach people who are desperately searching for help.

The value of this goes beyond any sort of financial compensation.

Speaking of finances, let me tell you about the second interesting development in my life: now I really enjoy my day job.

What, you say? Frome HATE to ENJOY? How is that possible?

It's possible because of the immensly powerful side-effect that having a successful site can have on your mood and outlook on life:

• I am always learning new things as I work on the Guide. In turn, I have found that I can apply this knowledge to my day job in new and interesting ways
• I don't have a lot of time to work on the Guide, so I have to stay organized, which has helped me organize my work day so that I feel much more efficient
• Whenever there is a catastrophe at work, it doesn't affect me like it used to. The sense of accomplishment and success I get from the SLR Guide carries me through even the most difficult days

So What Is SBI!?

I've told you how SBI! and the Digital SLR Guide has had a profound effect on my life.

But how can it apply to you?

I can guarantee this: in more ways that you can possibly imagine. Each and every day I am surprised by where my site has been and where it's going.

There are SO many possible ways for you to use SBI! to your advantage that it's difficult to summarize them all.

For example, SBI! can be used by...

• Work at home moms looking to earn some additional income
• People who are passionate about their hobbies (like me and cameras)
• Anyone who runs an offline business and would like more online exposure
• University students trying to pay off those expensive educational loans
• Those who have retired from the workforce and who'd love to have extra income to travel

As you can see, the possibilities are virtually endless.

And here's the key: SBI! is EASY to use no matter what your level of computer and Internet expertise.

Yes, I came around to SBI! with a background in web development, but that is not a prerequisite to building a successful online business with SiteBuildIt!

You just have to bring one thing to the table: passion.

So long as you are passionate about your topic, and eager to learn new things, then SBI! can open you to a world of opportunities.

If I've piqued your interest, and you'd like to learn more, I encourage you to take a closer look at SBI!:

• Pressed for time? Read the 30-second nutshell summary
• Want to find out more about the features of SBI!? Take the quick tour and SEE for yourself how SBI! works
• Have time and a fast Internet connection? The video tour is the way to go

And please, please, please don't just take my word for it that SBI! works. My story is just one of several hundred, and I encourage you to read how others have succeeded and find out how SBI! can be used in any number of ways to help you share a business, ideas or your passion with others.

If you have questions you can ask them - the SiteBuildIt! support team is second-to-none and will be happy to provide you with answers. You are also welcome to contact me at any time for more information.

If you do decide to take the plunge and start building a site of your own, I wish you the best of luck.

SBI! is certainly the right tool for the job, and my own experience shows that trying to go it on your own is not the best approach (especially if you'd like to save time and money).

Thanks for reading - I'm off to take some more photos of my son!

-- Chris Roberts, Your Digital SLR Guide