About This Site - Why Did I Build It?

About this site - Lets start with why I built this website. I'm a general contractor. I build houses. Well, at least I did when people were buying them. When the housing market was booming, making a good living was easy. Build it, and somebody will buy it! Usually before I finished a house, somebody would buy it. I've even experienced bidding wars in the front yards of houses. Buyers were offering more than I was asking. Times were good! Then - like a water faucet - it stopped. It didn't slow down, it stopped. Nobody was buying any more. I had houses finished and I had houses in process. But I had no buyers. I was fortunate to have two or three custom houses to build, so for a while I was able to make ends meet, although I was doing about a tenth of what I had grown accustomed to. The bills were still coming in. My two sons still liked to eat and wear clothes. Something had to change.

I've never been big on pity parties and I've never lacked for confidence. I'm a Christian and I trust in God to provide for me and my family. I was sure He had something in store, but I was also believed that I needed to make something happen, rather than sitting around waiting for God to do it Himself. He certainly doesn't need my help, although I couldn't make it without His. But I believe that God expects us to make our best effort with the gifts He has given us, and that if we do that, He will always do His part. The trick was finding the right thing to do.

What did I know how to do? I'm an ex-cop who started building houses for a living about ten years ago. I kept looking for "ex-cop wanted" postings in the want ads but nothing ever popped up. And we've already talked about the housing market.

The Epiphony

I noticed that while people weren't buying and selling very many houses, they did continue to to improve them. I did some research and came to the conclusion that as people realized they were going to be living in the same place longer than they might have anticipated, they were interested in making improvements in the houses they couldn't sell. Many of them wanted to make changes or additions to their existing house, making it more enjoyable in the short term, and more valuable in the long term. So, I set about to get my share of that market. While building houses, I had also built the porches, decks, patios, sunrooms, outdoor kitchens, etc. that went with those houses. So I had the knowledge, the contacts, the experience and the bubbly personality to make this happen. Okay, well... the knowledge, the contacts and the experience.

While I built decks and sunrooms, added living space to existing houses, and remodeled kitchens and bathrooms - I realized that folks wanted information about what options were available to them. I also realized that there was very little in the way of resources available to them. I knew what was out there, but I was in the business. Most people would probably do more if they knew what options were available. They just didn't know what the options were, and whether they would work in their particular situation. Unfortunately, I also saw some examples of really bad choices made by people who didn't know any better. Every great project, big or small, starts with an idea. I decided to help people with their outdoor projects by providing information and ideas that would allow them to make smart decisions about what they wanted to do.

Eureka!

The idea of building a website and working from home had been in my head for a while. Actually, this isn't my first website. This is just my first successful website. I built another website before. I like to write and I usually don't run out of things to say, (no comments from the peanut gallery please) so I thought it was a sure thing. And frankly, maybe it would have been - if I had a clue about how to build a successful site. A business in fact, not just a website. I used free blogging software to make an attractive page, and wrote my heart out. Some of it at least was pretty good stuff, at least I thought so. The problem was that nobody was reading it. I was getting no traffic to speak of. I had learned the hard way what a waste of time and energy it is to build a website, rather than a business. So, not being one to accept defeat easily, I set about to learn how to do it right.

As I read and studied about how to build a successful online business, I learned that there is a tremendous amount of knowledge required to be able to put together a productive website. And I realized that I knew almost nothing that I needed to know, and that well intentioned friends and family knew even less. I knew nothing about html language and frankly, didn't want to learn. I just had some knowledge, some ideas, and a willingness to work to share that with others. I felt trapped by the lack of know-how. I looked into taking courses to learn how to build a site that would build a business. I looked online and found some sites, particularly blogs, that dealt with the subject, but frankly if you are starting from nothing, you are so far behind the discussions that you'll never catch up. I was really getting discouraged. I was determined to learn whatever I needed to, but I really dreaded it and all the time it would take. I just wanted to build an online business, from home. I didn't want to learn all about html code, CSS, and that other stuff, but it looked as though I would have to. Fortunately, I found the alternative before I got in too deep.

Now you know a little about this site and why I built it. To find out how I built it, click here .

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