How Did I Become an Internet Entrepreneur?

And how you can too...

I didn't set out to become an internet entrepreneur. It was actually a very happy accident.

Before I started my jewelry business, I was an independent contractor (semi-self employed) throughout the majority of my career, and I loved the freedom that came with self employment.

I worked for many years as a career specialist, helping people determine and reach their career and business goals. I worked from home and had extremely flexible hours, which was ideal because it allowed me to spend a lot of time with my young son.

Suddenly, and without much warning, massive changes were made to the program I worked under as a career specialist. Working in that field was no longer a reasonable option for me, but I really did not want to return to a traditional office job while I had a very young child.

That's when I started selling my handmade jewelry

I had worked in a creative field before I became a career specialist, and, as much as I loved supporting my clients in reaching their goals, I also felt the need to have work that provided a more creative outlet.

When I started selling my jewelry, I was lucky enough to be accepted into a year-long program that trains new entrepreneurs. Through that program, I worked with mentors who had run their own businesses, marketing professionals, tax specialists and other local specialists in small business development.

I learned a lot in that year, more than I would have if I had been left to figure things out on my own.

The Beginnings My Online Business

I was happily working from home, selling my jewelry, when I started researching the possibility of creating a website for my jewelry business.

My plan was to create a simple site that would serve as a virtual business card/gallery to promote my work to local customers, shop owners etc. I had no idea my research would take me on this amazing journey.

In the course of researching resources for creating and promoting a website, I discovered Site Build It!, which is the set of all in one Internet business building tools I use to build and promote this site.

At the time, I knew almost nothing about online marketing, but the more I read, the more intrigued I became with the idea that I could add a new facet to my business and become an Internet entrepreneur.

I realized that I could take all of my experience as a career specialist helping clients build new careers and combine it with everything I had learned about building a craft business to create a site that was a comprehensive business resource to support other professional craft artists.

Success Beyond Anything I Could Have Imagined

When I started this site back in 2006, I really didn't know what to expect. I wanted to share and chronicle everything I learned and experienced selling handmade jewelry, but I had no idea that this site would become a reliable source of income for me and my family.

Since I launched this site I have seen some wonderful results

• I work on this site on a part time basis, and I earn a good part time income which is enough to:

• Pay for much needed renovations to my family's century home
• Take my family on vacations, including a trip to Disney World
• And, of course, cover more mundane things like the grocery bills

• When my second son was born, I was able to limit my work hours for the first six months and focus on caring for him. I wrote articles ahead of time while I was pregnant, so you would continue to get new content to read in spite of my sleepless haze, and I simply took a little time to post them about once a week while my newborn was napping.

  The income from my site also allowed me to cut back on selling at craft shows while I was pregnant (some of you may be more intrepid than I am, but running a craft booth while eight months pregnant was not something I looked forward to) and after my youngest son was born. The jewelry I make uses resin, and I was not comfortable working with resin while pregnant (It may be fine, I really don't know, but I didn't want to take a chance).

• I love knowing that I am able to share my experience and help thousands of people each month to create their own fulfilling businesses.

  As a career specialist I helped about 500 people each year. Through this site, I'm able to help more people than that every single day.

• I work every day doing something creative that is uniquely my own. My Internet business allows me to live, work and parent exactly the way I want to, and that, in my mind, is absolutely priceless.

If You'd Like to Build Your Own Internet Business...

It takes commitment to build a profitable site.

If you think you might like to become an internet entrepreneur and you're interested in SBI, I'd recommend learning as much as you can to make sure it's a good fit for you. If you have any questions, you can contact an experienced SBI user.

I'm thrilled with the tools and genuine help and support that I can access easily. My only regret about starting my SBI site is that I didn't hear about it sooner.

Most people visit this site to learn more about building a business based on their own creativity, and in my opinion, SBI can really be a great match for that goal.

Whatever direction you do decide to take with your own business, I wish you all of the success, freedom and fulfillment in the world.

"You can't cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water." Rabindranath Tagore