How to Build a Profitable Website on
Your Hobby or Passion

Becky and Piper

Thanks to Shetland Sheepdogs, I quit my day job and am now living my work at home dream in New Zealand.

With very little technical knowledge, I turned my passion for Shelties into this income-generating website. By recommending my favorite dog products and placing pet store advertising on my site, I can earn a healthy living online. In fact, I now earn my entire living from the internet with four hobby websites exactly like this one.

You'll be pleased to know that anyone with basic computer skills can do this - making websites is not just for nerds. And I'm not talking about get rich quick schemes either. This is a legitimate way to earn a living from the internet, while working at home at the same time.

If you have any interest in earning some extra money by working from home, I urge you to learn more about this simple site building method based on your own hobby!

Starting my Work-at-Home Dream

I began pursuing my work at home dream when I first moved to New Zealand because I wanted to have the most fulfilling life possible. For me, that means:

Having a creative outlet that pays the bills
Being self-employed and working from home
Being able to take extended vacation time
Owning a business that earns passive income 24/7

Was I dreaming? Apparently not... because this is the lifestyle I now have!

Shakespear Regional Park, a beautiful nature reserve near our house on the Whangaparaoa peninsula in north Auckland

Escaping London's Rat Race

I was born and raised in the UK. By my early 20s, I was working a stressful Editor job in London's financial district and was desperate to quit the rat race. Those few years in various desk jobs had left me disenchanted by the corporate world. I didn't want to be micro-managed anymore. I didn't want to be a wage slave.

I wanted to be free!

That was what motivated me to start my own income-generating website when I first landed in New Zealand. The problem was, I had no idea where to start.

Fortunately, I soon hit on the answer. I found a program online that promised to teach me exactly how to build a profitable website, with no technical knowledge whatsoever!

It also promised that I would make steady money from my website, with the aim of eventually being able to quit my day job altogether. The program was called Site Build It.

What is Site Built It?

Site Build It (SBI) is an education in online business and a step-by-step program that automates the entire web-building process. In 10 lessons, SBI taught me all the essential secrets of building my own income-generating website, including:

Researching my most profitable hobby or passion
Choosing the domain www.SheltiePlanet.com
Designing my site using point-and-click templates
Writing for the web - just like talking to a friend
Attracting free traffic from the major Search Engines
How to make money without spending a dime on advertising

The process that SBI teaches is based on the idea of delivering high value content on your passion or hobby. It has worked for thousands of people already. Over time, your website attracts thousands of visitors who will click on adverts and buy products that you recommend. This generates a steady, passive income stream every month for years to come... even when you're not working on your website.

Who is Site Build It For?

Site Build It is for almost anyone looking to make a living from the internet - regardless of age, experience, IT skills, location, or any other factor I can think of. I know students, retirees, and work at home moms who make money from their hobby websites. SBI is the complete guide to building a profitable online business with zero technical skills - so just about anyone can do it and be a huge success.

"I feel so fortunate to be a part of it and I suppose I'd be considered 'one of the lucky ones,' living the best of both worlds... At home to raise my kids, giving them the gift of always being there for them, while running a successful business at the same time. Passion, freedom and fulfillment... Does it get any better?!"

- Michelle Schill, www.Style-Hair-Magazine.com

What SBI Did For Me

You'll know by know that SBI completely overhauled my career. I went from being an office monkey to a creative cat. It means I get to live my work at home dream - I set my own work hours, I live anywhere I like, and I take as much vacation time as I need. And best of all, my income is unlimited.

Plus, there's a lot of rat race crap that I no longer have to endure: the office politics, the dress codes, the endless commuting. The most stressful part of my day now? Getting our Shelties down to the beach before the tide comes in...

My Dream Career Has Many Benefits This lifestyle change happened fast. When I began building my first hobby website, World of Lucid Dreaming, I spent a couple of hours per week following the practical step-by-step lessons. It was all just a hobby back then. I still had a "proper job" to take care of (most people do when they start their SBI website).

Soon, I added some passive income streams to my website, such as:

books on Amazon
relaxation CDs and MP3s
text and banner adverts

I never have to sell any of these products myself, so there is no stocking, mailing or customer queries to deal with. I just recommend products I like on the net, and in return I get an affiliate commision (usually 50% of the sale price).

After six months, I was delighted to see that my lucid dreaming website was getting 500 visitors per day - and they were generating US$1,000 per month!

Best of all, I had not spent a dime on advertising. Site Build It taught me how to create internet traffic for free and that would translate to more income. That's when I realized I was onto something amazing.

My SBI Websites

As soon as I realized the potential of running a niche content website, I started building my next online business. I knew that the more websites I set up, the greater the passive income I could have over time.

Today, I own four income-generating websites. They looked much more basic at the start, but over the last two years I have got a lot better at it:

World of Lucid Dreaming

My first website went live in mid-2008. I make money online by writing articles about lucid dreaming and placing affiliate links to quality lucid dreaming products. This is a very good demonstration of the content model that Site Build It is based upon.

Improve Vision Naturally

Realizing the immense potential of online business, I created my second website about natural vision improvement. This was something I had just learned about and fascinated me. I make money on this site by recommending a popular eye exercise program.

Sheltie Planet

This is my latest website, based on my love of Shetland Sheepdogs. Again, I followed the SBI Action Guide to build Sheltie Planet so it was just like having a personal tutor guide me through each step. I make money on this site by recommending my favorite dog related products, like dog training books and toys.

Career Evolution

In 2010, Pete and I decided to create our first joint website on becoming self-employed. Career Evolution is a guide to entrepreneurship - for work at home moms and dads, or anyone who wants to quit the rat race and run their own home-based business.

For most people, one website is enough to create a basic income - at least a few hundred or thousand dollars per month. It is even possible to earn tens-of-thousands from a single website, if you pursue your niche hard enough. I have chosen to spread my efforts over several websites as I find it more interesting.

How to Choose Your Niche

I strongly recommend you start with just one simple website idea like I did. This is usually a hobby, passion, or area of interest. It can be a sport or creative craft, an area of personal development, something you collect or do to enhance your life.

If you don't have an idea for your site right now - that's perfect. It's much better that you start SBI with a blank canvas and then develop your ideas when you discover what makes a profitable website in the first place. You will be amazed by the number of potential websites you can make once you get going with Site Build It.

So if you want to quit your job and live the work at home dream like me, I urge you to take a good look at Site Build It. It's the bees knees of work at home business :)

Got a Moment?

I think the best way to understand the big picture of Site Build It is with a visual tour. So take a moment to watch the 2-minute video guide below.

If you have more time, watch the extended tour. If you're serious about your work at home career, this could be the most important 30 minutes of your life.

"I now have a business that I can grow over the years. A business that is fun. I'll never do a 9 to 5. I'll always own my own life.

That, more than money, more than learning about the Web, more than Anguilla-Beaches, more than learning how to write well, that is the most important thing I've learned from SBI. Own your own life. If you don't, what's the point?"

- Nori Evoy, www.Anguilla-Beaches.com

Doing it Tortoise Style

SBI Tortoise Style! This is a note for people who are worried abut the technical aspects of building a website. In short, don't be!

There's no denying that website design and development is a highly technical area of expertise. But with Site Build It, you don't have to be an expert. That's because all the tecchie stuff is automated for you, right down to the point-and-click design templates. Even building pages is easy with SBI's text Block Builder.

In each lesson, you will watch a video that explains the theory and the practical elements. You can rewind and watch it as many times as you like. This way, there is no rush to move on before you're ready. You do everything at your own pace. And if you get stuck, SBI has the friendliest forum I've ever known. There is a fantastic ethos of paying it forward - help and be helped.

Lastly, if you would you prefer a personal tutor to guide you through the entire SBI process, then consider SBI eLearning. This is a 12-week version of the SBI course led by a skilled instructor, to make 100% sure that you succeed. They created this option so that literally everyone could build a career in online business.

Start Your Own Profitable Website

I hope that answers your questions about Site Build It and starting your own income-generating website. I was in the same position as you not so long ago. I wanted to kick-start my new creative career (and earn lots of money while I was at it) but had my doubts as to whether it was all just a pipe dream...

In the end I just went for it - and a lot has changed since then! Site Build It ensured that I got my online career off on the right foot, and I have found a new type of freedom working for myself as my business grows solidly through the recession.

It has been a very rewarding journey, and I've encouraged lots of my friends and family to start their own SBI hobby websites. I love to work on my sites every day and have high hopes for the long term potential of Sheltie Planet.

To get started building your own profitable website business, I recommend you visit the Site Build It website and have a good look around. If you have any questions whatsoever, you can contact SBI directly and they will bend over backwards to help you - they are a great bunch of people with your true aspirations at heart.