How I Got Here….

This site is about my successes, failures and lessons learned while starting and growing my online businesses.  I guess I should start off with my story up until today (hopefully the Reader’s Digest version).

My online adventure started on March 4, 2006 when I entered my credit card info at Site Build It! (SBI!) and purchased my first website.  It actually started way before that because one of the main goals of my life has been to be completely self-employed.  Through the years I have tried many different things - I even supported my family via eBay for 3 years (more about that in a minute), but I had never found what it was I was "meant" to do - although I knew I was somehow "meant" to be self-employed, otherwise I would not desire it so strongly.

I have been a Registered Nurse for 24 years (half my life - you do the math) and have had a very successful career.  For the last 18 years I have been in management and leadership, and today I have a great job and earn a great salary.  But my one burning goal is to replace that great salary being self-employed and to have the FREEDOM to do my on thing.  For me it is all about FREEDOM  - the freedom to do my own thing, alone the way I want to do it.  My life is really awesome right now, but it wasn’t always that way.

In late 2000 I had been happily married to my college sweetheart for 19 years, we had a perfect 6 year old daughter, we both had successful careers and we were happily pursuing the American Dream.   In one instant our lives changed forever.  Two days after my husband’s 43 birthday he had a massive cerebral hemorrhage (stroke) and was left with huge physical, emotional and mental disabilities.  He died 6 days shy of the 5th anniversary of his stroke.  Those 5 years were the hardest of my life.  In an instant I lost my best friend and husband and was left with a completely disabled husband and daughter to completely take of and support.  During that time I gave up my career so I could be at home to take care of my family and worked from home (eBaying) for 3 years.  Making your living on eBay is very hard work, but I loved the freedom and being at home with my family.  The thing I didn’t have was financial freedom and it was a constant financial struggle.  I had gone back to work 3 months before my husband passed away and was enjoying a regular paycheck more than I was missing my freedom.  But within just a few months I was yearning to be on my own again.  I knew I didn’t want to go the eBay route so I started to investigate other ways to earn a living online.    I have written the story of how I found SBI and my experience in starting my first website here - so I won’t repeat it again.

After I started my first website I knew almost immediately that this is what I was "meant" to do - I always thought I had a unique set of skills, talents and abilities and wondered how in the world I would ever use them together - I found out when I started building my Mineral Makeup site.

So here I am almost 2 1/2 years later.  I now have 5 SBI websites and several other projects in development.  In the last 2 1/2 years I met and married the man of my dreams (I honestly didn’t think I would ever even have a serious relationship, much less remarry) and we bought our dream home.  I am so happy and my life is so wonderful that if this is as good as it gets, I am blessed and grateful.  But my primary goal in life is to replace my salary with income from my websites so that we may truly live the life of our dreams.  Today I am halfway there and I am more determined and motivated than ever for this to happen as soon as possible!  Part of my plan to take my businesses to the next level is this site - it will serve as the "mother ship" for all of my businesses - and I hope along the way I can meet new friends and share all that I have learned and am learning with anyone else who goes to work everyday yearning for the freedom to do their own thing.

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