Even weekends and on holidays you have to drag me away, because work has become play and we all love playing, don’t we?David Ralph from whats-at-florida-keys.com
Tell us about your websites, www.whats-at-florida-keys.com, www.car-spares-essex.com and www.joinupdots.com.
When and why did you start your sites?
I began working on my sites, first with Whats At Florida Keys as an escape route from my corporate gig. I had been reading a lot about people who had discovered passive income, and developed it into a full online business. I wasn’t brave enough to quit my job and go full steam into building a cash income stream, so I saw SBI as a “side hustle” that could ease my transition to a new life.
And it certainly has done that with first the Florida site and then the Car Spares site bringing in just enough for me to cover all bills. I didn’t dream however that I would end up interviewing the movers and shakers of the world when I left my job. This was a real amazing piece of things joining up before me. But I wouldn’t have been able to do this without SBI that is most definite.
Are you working full-time or part-time on building your website / online business?
Yes, I am now fully online which has been amazing as for the first time in my life I have a business that allows me the time freedom to live a life that I want. I can decide on which days I want to work and on which I don’t. And pretty much I could do all my work in two days if I wanted… but then I have five days to enjoy myself working on other parts of the business.
So far, what has been the biggest challenge for you?
I think the hardest thing was simply getting some momentum. You work so hard in the early days to create the life you want and it is never as quick as you think you it should be. But you persevere and one thing leads to another and then another and then you start to think “I am getting there and the hard work was all worth it”… but in the early days it is tough, most definitely.
What do you enjoy most about being an online business owner?
The income that you can build when you have an audience is quite astonishing and the best bit is you really don’t have to has as much traffic as you think. If you build a product around your site and sell it for £500 to only 200 people then you make six figures. £250 to 400 people the same. And that was a real eye opener to me. When it dawned on me that you didn’t need thousands of people to have a lovely life, you think why did I never do this before?
Has your life changed since you started your site? Can you describe these changes for us?
Oh my life has changed in so many ways it feels unreal. First of all as I said before I never have to worry about bills, or finding the time to do things anymore. I just fit the work around my life. That is brilliant.
But the connections I have across the globe is astonishing and is what I probably treasure the most. I call Hollywood actors, authors, sportsmen, adventurers friends, which I wouldn’t have dreamt was possible before SBI, and I love that. I love feeling inspired everyday by the greatness that the world has to offer. And I also look forward to work which I haven’t done for ages. Even weekends and on holidays you have to drag me away, because work has become play and we all love playing, don’t we?
Why did you choose SBI! to build your website / online business?
It kind of found me. I had been seeing it mentioned numerous times over a year or so, and finally I thought, “What the hell,” I’ll give it ago. And although I am not that involved in it as before, due to Join Up Dots (which I built with WordPress) becoming the real business that is exploding everything for me, I still feel that SBI is the best place to start building an online presence and recommend it to anyone who asks me where the best place is to start your business online.
The community and support is worth its price alone, and I don’t think I will ever cancel because of the way I feel, even though my two SBI sites are just left alone at the moment (left alone but still providing monthly income!).
What one piece of advice would you give someone who is just getting started in the online business world?
I would say not to be defined by your starting point to building an income. You might find that you make a bad choice at first and run out of steam, but that has still given you a huge learning curve. And set you up for the next part of your journey. If you want to make a go of it you will, but you may end up in a totally different place to where you expected. That is certainly the case for me.
Finally, can I ask for a massive favor from you, if you’ve read and enjoyed my story? The greatest thing that you could do for me, if you could spend two minutes, is subscribe to my podcast and leave a rating and review for my “Connect The Dots” show. This is like rocket power and will push me high to the top of the iTunes charts.
Inspired to start your own online business? SBI! provides all you need: process, tools, guidance and support.
Articles in this series:
Episode 1: Homemade Gifts
Episode 2: Connecting The Dots (You are here)
Episode 3: Vegan Coaching and Cooking
Episode 4: Loving My Fire
Latest posts by Margit Streifeneder (see all)
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