The income from my site helped tremendously when we completely remodeled our home. It also allowed my husband to take a lower paying job so he could attend classes and get recertified in his passion, massage therapy.Melissa Makris from approachwellness.com
Tell us about your website, www.approachwellness.com. When and why did you start your site?
I started this site in February of 2008. I had recovered from some debilitating health issues and I had a strong desire to share what I had learned on my way back to health. I wanted to show that small changes could result in large health gains.
What do you enjoy most about being an online business owner?
I think the best part is the passive income. Before SBI! I was of the mindset that work was proportional to pay. The online world showed me that if I put a lot of work in up front, I could sit back and enjoy the rewards for years to come. It is still exciting to see a large commission come in when I am at my job or while I was sleeping!
So far, what has been the biggest challenge for you?
When it comes to this site, I have an issue with complacency. Approach Wellness has done well for me over the years, but it can do so much better. I feel guilty knowing that I am leaving money on the table, yet it has been a struggle for me to realize my site’s full potential. I keep working at it.
At one point I even listed my site for sale. I hadn’t worked on it in years and I thought my time would be better spent focusing on something else. When I tried to shore up the income to make it more attractive to prospective buyers, I was blown away at the additional income I found. Needless to say, I decided to keep it.
Are you leaving money on the table with your website and e-business, like Melissa had done? If you are struggling with monetizing your site to its full potential, mark your calendars! August will be “monetization month” here at the SiteSell Blog.
Why did you choose SBI! to build your website / online business?
For years I had always wanted to build a website. Well, not just any old website, but a successful website. Even back then I knew that it was very easy to put up a site that no one ever visited.
Still, knowing what you want and getting there are completely different animals. I would start researching the process only to become confused, disheartened and overwhelmed. I wanted to get it right the first time around and I was getting too much conflicting information to be confident in moving forward.
That all changed the day I found SBI!. Still, I waited a few days before ordering. It seemed too good to be true and I did a little more research on it before committing to the $299. That price tag, which seemed so large at the time, is just a drop in the bucket now compared to the total income the site brings in every year.
With the rise of mobile traffic, what steps have you done to give your visitors the best experience on their smart phones and tablets?
Let’s see…I clicked on Mobilize It! and I was done! This is just one of the many things I love about SBI!. They’ve got our backs when it comes to keeping us updated and prepared for any and all changes the web might throw our way. This allows me to focus on other more important things (like feeling guilty for not working on my site 😉 ).
Has your life changed since you started your site? Can you describe these changes for us?
That is a big YES! The income from my site helped tremendously when we completely remodeled our home. It also allowed my husband to take a lower paying job so he could attend classes and get recertified in his passion, massage therapy.
So, in a nutshell, my site has given my husband and me more financial freedom to pursue other life goals.Click To TweetThis is all thanks to SBI!, which of course gave me all the tools I needed to succeed with my online business.
What might not be apparent at first glance is that those same tools apply to the offline world too. My husband and I just launched a brick-and-mortar business on July 1st. It is a massage therapy clinic called Relax Blacksburg (www.relaxblacksburg.com).
In preparation for this big move, I attended a three hour Business Basics course hosted by the U.S. Small Business Administration. I figured this would provide a good gauge to see if we were on the right track. Imagine my surprise and delight when all of the information they provided was old news to me! I was a star student, answering all of their questions before the material was even covered. This gave me a secure feeling, realizing that SBI! had been preparing me for this next step all along without me even noticing!
An offline business is a large risk with big upfront expenditures and a small safety net. I feel like my site provided the training wheels necessary to turn this big move from a dream into a reality.
What one piece of advice would you give someone who is just getting started as an online entrepreneur?
I just had this conversation recently with friends who were looking to launch an online business. It was very easy advice to give. Buy SBI!, read everything VERY carefully, go through the steps slowly and ask for help when needed.
It is often a very exciting time and the tendency is to rush through. You have to resist that urge and pace yourself because building any kind of business takes a lot of time, patience, and careful deliberation. Where did I learn that advice? From SBI! of course!
Thank you Melissa for sharing your SBI! review. Apart from the financial freedom your husband and you gained, what struck me most in your story is how well your online business had prepared you for launching a brick-and-mortar business… without you even noticing it!
Are you looking for a way to achieve more financial freedom for yourself and your family, without the up-front costs of an offline business? Then check out SBI! – it may just be the solution you’ve been searching for.
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