How I got into wine......and made a website about it My name is Matt. I live in San Diego, California. In my opinion, it's one of the most beautiful and laid-back places in United States. There are wineries nearby in Temecula, wine bars, tasting rooms, and about a million amazing restaurants all over San Diego. I think it's safe to say that I really like being here. Not only do I enjoy living here, I love what I do. I spend my free time eating and drinking, learning about wine, traveling around, and writing for my website. The best part is, I get paid for it. Yes, it's true, I actually get paid to travel, drink wine, and eat food. I have a lot of big plans for the site, including some wine get-togethers for my regular readers, and eventually sponsoring some tastings and events at wineries around San Diego and Temecula. I have a lot of fun with it, make some good money, and meet quite a few cool people who share my interest in wine. A lot of people have told me they envy the lifestyle that my website provides. They tell me that they would love to travel, or write, or explore other hobbies, but they lack the time, the money, or both. This is a common complaint, and a common problem. I faced this problem myself, and thought I'd be stuck forever in a cycle of boring jobs and struggling to make rent. But, I figured out a way to overcome it and it actually wasn't that hard.
Setbacks, hurdles, and obstacles...Traveling and wine have been passions of mine for a long time. It started when I was in college (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo), where I was introduced to the wineries up in Paso Robles and the surrounding area. As I started exploring wine regions farther and farther away, in California, Mexico, and Oregon, I fell in love with the thought of wandering through new and strange countries, sampling unfamiliar local cuisine and tasting fantastic wine. But alas, the real world interfered...jobs, bills, and money always seemed to keep me from fulfilling my dream of world travel and wine adventures! Now don't get me wrong, I have a good engineering job in San Diego that I still enjoy very much. I have always enjoyed my work, but I worried that it would consume my life, and I would never have the chance to live my dreams because of work. For months I plugged away, enjoying the job, but with a nagging feeling that I was wasting an important time in my life. I didn't want to leave my great job, but I wanted to experience all that the world had to offer Well, as it turns out,
there is a way that I can have both!One day I realized that there was a way that I could turn my passion into a way to make money, and that I could use it to pay for my wine tasting weekends and getaways. In fact, if I wanted to, I could quit my day job altogether and still live comfortably. It's nice to have the option! Does this sound unrealistic? It's actually not. At some point, I realized that I had to think about what I want from my life, and turn off the negative voice in myhead saying "you can't". Believe me, you can.
The solution...is so simple that I'm amazed I didn't find it sooner. Make money doing what you love! Duh! Why didn't I think of it sooner! As soon as I realized that I could make money writing about wine, I went to town. Knowing very little about the internet, I struggled for a while, trying to figure out hosting, and html, and all the other stuff that was basically just in the way of me writing about wine. Eventually of course I figured it out, and of course, now I know there is a much easier way (I'll explain more about it later). Well, now that I know that at least I can pass it on to everyone else and save them the frustration that I went though at first! Many people ask me, "How exactly do you do it? What are the steps I have to take to make money doing something fun that I enjoy?" That's exactly what I'm doing, and many other people as well. I will show you how I am doing it. My passion is wine, but you can do it with your own passion, hobby, or skill. You can even do it in your spare time, like I do. As I said earlier, at first I spun my wheels trying to make a website. Most of the hosting sites and site builders out there really don't make it easy on a beginner! Without some kind of guidance, there is a steep learning curve, and even then you will never find everything you need to know in one place. Then I stumbled onto SBI. SBI stands for Site Build It! and it helps you turn your hobby or passion, whatever it is, into a profitable online business. Most people don't realize that any topic can be made into a money-making website. I had never built a website before, and all of the lingo and skills were completely new to me. However, this entire site was built using SBI, so you can see that anyone can build a profitable website. You don't need any programming expertise, web design knowledge, or business skills. All you need is what SBI calles "BAM", brains and motivation. SBI has all of the tools you need, and teaches you step by step how to use everything. They take you by the hand and lead you through the entire process. They help you select the perfect topic for your site, build the pages, and bring traffic to your site. I have not found any other program that acually guarantees that you will get traffic. They even help you make money with it, no matter what topic your site is about! How it works...If you want to know how it works, take a look at this Video Tour . If you are using a dial-up internet connection, watch the Quick Tour instead. The video will give you a pretty good idea what SBI is all about.Also, take a look at the hundreds of successful SBI websites that were built by normal people like you and me. All of the sites listed are in the top 1% of most successful websites online! You will see that there are sites about all different topics, and they were build by normal people; moms, carpenters, students, not web programmers. Here's a quote from a fellow SBIer: "My mom became interested in SBI! about a year after I started my first site. Since then she's been working on her own sites which are now bringing in a nice monthly income for her. Many people ask me about how I earn a living. They're all curious... lots of questions and a sparkle in their eye as they think about how they could do it too... and they could! In truth though, most of them don't. So seeing my mom go ahead and create her own success is incredible!" I started this website in July 2009. In only a couple of months I began making money. Of course it started with a trickle, then picked up steadily. In less than a year it is now making me enough money to finance all of my wine tasting travels and adventures. And the best part is, all I'm doing is spending time doing what I love, writing about things I enjoy, and helping out people who share my passion. It doesn't get much better than that! I'm not going to lie to you. Yes, in the beginning, it does take work. But, since you are working on something you enjoy, it never really feels like work. And you can work on it whenever you want, in your spare time, at your own pace. The main thing is, it is a risk free way to turn your passion or hobby into an online business. SBI has a full money-back guarantee, so you can try it out and see if you like it. Here's another quote from a fellow SBIer: "Having the opportunity to share Vieques and Puerto Rico with so many people around the world is a great satisfaction. As a bonus, I get to go on a tax-deductible vacation every year. I can visit my beautiful island, ride my jeep, take lots of photos, meet great new people, and write travel guides about places I love. I felt that money would just be the icing on the top. Of course, I did not realize how much icing my cake would have." You might be wondering how exactly I make money from this site. Most of the money I make comes from advertising. When you browse through my pages, you might notice the boxes that say "Ads by Google". Whenever someone is interested and clicks on one of the ads, I make money. I also make money by promoting other people's products. When I find a product or online company I like, and if I think their product is worth promoting, I put links to them on my site. If someone likes the product and buys it, I get a small commission. These are just two of many ways that you can make money online. Depending on the nature of your site, you could sell your own product, write an ebook and sell it, or offer some kind of service. No matter how you decide to monetize your site, SBI shows you how to do it.
Nothing beats working from home.
I tell lots of people my story, and about how my website allows me to live the lifestyle I want. Many people have created successful SBI sites and you can too. No matter what your goal; escape the 9 to 5, travel the world, add some extra income from home, it is up to you. What are you waiting for?
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