Yep. You are going to need a website. For the uninitiated, this can be a daunting task. It is very easy to get your dream of an online business “stuck” at this point.
For my first online business (20+ years ago) I hired a professional programmer to create a site for me from scratch. I don’t remember what I paid him but it was thousands of dollars and it was thousands of dollars I didn’t really have to spend frivolously.
The business became a success and the investment turned out to be worthwhile. One issue I did have, however, was that every single time there was a problem or I wanted something new, I had to work with him and pay him more money. It was just one of the costs of doing business but the delays and all of the “design” back and forth were frustrating.
A few years later I discovered some platforms that let me take control of the process and I did a couple of my own sites. They too were successful but I would be embarrassed for you to see them. Hey, it was the dawn of a new age (the Internet) and people were willing to overlook design flaws I guess.
At some point, I came to the conclusion that I wanted to add blogging to my bag of tricks and after some research, I decided on a platform named WordPress. It was magical. In a few short hours, I had created my own blogging site and was making a name for myself writing articles on nursing. I linked it to my main website and used it to publish the articles and express my opinions on the happenings in the industry. What I liked most about it was the control I had. I could add new content almost instantly and whats more didn’t have to go through Drew to get it done. It was really empowering.
Then about four years ago I decided I needed to upgrade my main nursing site and I went shopping for a professional to do the job for me. I settled on a husband-wife team and was not sorry. They walked me through the process and created a beautiful new website for my business with all of the bells and whistles.
Our final telephone meeting was to turn it over to me, walk me through the administrative side and then turn me loose. They designed it so that I could make changes on my own. I could add pages and features without needing to call them (or pay their $75 an hour rate) when I had a new idea. I was as empowered as I was with my blog. You know why?
They created the entire website on the aforementioned WordPress platform!
The cost? I paid them $5000 and I was happy to do it.
Well now it is 2018 and I have discovered a way for any of us to create our own website for very little money and with lots of hand holding. My friend Donna, the founder of MavroCreative has put together an inexpensive course on designing your own website using the aforementioned WordPress. It is purposely designed to use free (or very inexpensive) resources on the Internet. She patiently walks you step-by-step through the process and even has a Facebook Group where you can ask her and other members for help along the way.
I have personally taken the course and highly recommend it. I’m now building my own websites and using the money I used to spend for other things (like Ben & Jerrys!).
If you would like more information on Donna’s course you can find it HERE.
