Site Build It! and Dr Ken Evoy

I've been asked several times why I have Solo Build It! websites. So here goes, I'll try and keep it short.

I'd decided that the internet was never going to be far from the centre of my activities. Cutting a very long story short, my income producing work went into general training on computer and applications use. Then I had the opportunity to develop a web portal based around human resources.

That first site wasn't great. In practice, it was designed by an unofficial management committee whose members each thought they knew something about the internet. It was never going to be a commercial success unless the philosophy and management activity behind the site could be clear. It wasn't clear, and there was too much politicking for there ever to be such clarity.

I moved on. (Be patient, not to Solo Build It! yet...!)

My second site, was built with a company that saw some potential with the internet as a commercial venture. They appreciated that content was the reason that people would visit a site, and so there was a constant drive to create new content. Unfortunately, they didn't appreciate things like search engine optimisation or keyword research. Worst of all, the majority of the 'real' content pages were hidden four or five clicks away from the home page - too deep for most search engines to be bothered with.

Meanwhile, the site and the newsletters were being deluged with advertising brought in by a dedicated advertising sales team. Content started to come second to advertising.

The business model wasn't sustainable. Something had to give.

So I did the giving. I gave them the chance to work without me.

There was really only one thing for it. Go it alone. I still had a huge learning curve to go through though.

My first go-it-alone site was really a way of learning different coding, and different techniques, for producing web pages. It was..., well..., basic!

My web hosting package, was with a reasonable quality host, but it didn't provide the back-up services that a start-up web business needed. Still, I was reasonably happy. Unfortunately, over time, that company was bought out, then bought out again. Prices went up. Service quality went down, and what had been a low quality and quantity of newbie support went to being non-existent.

That first go-it-alone site wasn't great, although it did make a little money. Most of it went on buying the latest flavour of the month product that might possibly lead to a huge income of millions. ( - Yeah, right!). I bought far too many products that I just didn't need, but the purchases were justified on the basis that I would use them some time in the future. ( - Yeah, right! again)

I built my second site using the same web host. I'd missed the small print on the annual renewal which said that if didn't give them a month's notice of my intention not to renew then I would be liable for the second year's hosting charge. OK, legally they can get away with that, and I accept full responsibility for the consequences, but I concluded that customer service isn't their strong point!

The second site was much prettier than the first. On the downside though, it wasn't standing out from the crowd. It wasn't getting the traffic and the traffic it was getting, wasn't returning. I may have had content, but it wasn't communicating with the market I wanted to reach.

There was still something else I needed to learn, and I wasn't quite sure what.

There are times in life when you need to take a risk, and it was one of those times. I'd come across Solo Build It! some years before. It sounded good - almost too good - but I'd decided against it. After all, conventional wisdom tells us that if it sounds too good to be true, well, it probably is. (You don't know how many times I've kicked myself since!)

Anyway, I decided to give it a go. After all, this wasn't just a web host. This was a web host, with domain name registration and automatic renewal, with an autoresponder, with a mailing list manager, with a step-by-step training course in video and text formats, with keyword research tool, with support forums, with marketing support, with writing guide, with template designs, with C2 guides, with best practice guides, with traffic stats, with SE submitter, with search engine reporting tool,
with...,
with...,
with...,

It was after I'd been using Solo Build It! a few weeks that I realised just how much knowledge I'd gained. More than that though, I was enjoying all those terrific benefits which I'd seen at one time as too good to be true. Importantly, I was building up the traffic coming to the site. The best bit of all though, was that I was getting all of it for less than I'd been paying my previous webhost alone.

Now there are those people who will criticise Solo Build It! The arguments usually come down to having the same old recogniseable design layout, or similar writing styles, or something else along those lines.

I just answer, by saying, "Yes, you're absolutely right, if that's what you see, you must be right. But of course, it's like that because it works!" For me, it reminds me of a choice between two cars:

Which would you rather have?

• A Ferrari with no engine, no gearbox, no electrics, no suspension and no brakes, or

• A fully working and serviced Ford.

It seems like a no-brainer to me. The Ferrari may look pretty, but if it doesn't do the job, you're in trouble! Take the Ford!

It's the same with building a web business: There's little point in buying the pretty package if you have to buy all the extras on top and assemble it yourself!

What I can say about Solo Build It! is that it suits me. It allows me to learn and it allows me to earn. And, importantly to me, it allows me to do it with integrity, without resorting to trickery, and get-rich-quick ideas. Just plain ol' honest business. If there's anyone who has little or no experience of setting up income producing web activities then I generally point them in the direction of Solo Build It!

If you want more info, here's some links to specialist Solo Build It! explanation pages:

 

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Link to Site Build It! home page

Online Self-Study E-business Course

It's Not About "Hosting," Not Anymore

A special message for (wannabe?) Work at Home Mums

 

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This "Site Build It!" intro page

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