How Would You Like Earning Money Doing Something You Love?
- Solo Build It! (SBI!) Review -

Born out of necessity (as we couldn't sell our balloon decoration services in Germany), this website turned into an adventure of its own.

As a mother, I've always been on the outlook for a possibility to work from home, at my own pace. Or at least to earn some extra money from home and to slowly increase this income until I could quit my day job (and work from wherever I want, when I want to).

By the way, I achieved that goal. I am working from home and moved to a country of my choice. The photo below shows my daughter enjoying a swim with her grandparents during their visit to Nicaragua, where we currently live.

My daughter and her grandparents having fun in our pool

I just never thought that a website could be a solution for me because I had...

• no design skills,
• no clue about HTML editors, and
• not the faintest idea how to make money with a website.

It seemed to me that the only way to make money on the web was either being a well-known brand (e.g. Amazon, Target, Argos, etc.) or ripping people off (aka "Sign up now and make $10,000 in your first week" - yeah, right!).

I got ripped off once myself, by a so-called proven MLM or Multi-Level-Marketing scam. I lost $600, hundreds of hours and a lot of trust into the Internet as a place to do business.

What's So Special About Solo Build It! (SBI!)?

So why did I invest, yet again, $299 into an online business offer?

Because it makes me jump out of bed every morning, excited that I am on my way to create the lifestyle I am dreaming of, for my daughter and myself. I have been with SBI! since the beginning of 2006, and it still excites me as much as it did on the first day.

Let's talk serious now. The most burning question you will have is: How much money do I actually make with this site? And how many hours do I work on it?

It is May 2016 as I write this, and my site earns me about $500 per month. My income could be higher, but I chose to monetize via passive methods, like Google AdSense ads and promoting affiliate products. Passive monetization has a lower profit margin than selling your own products or services, but it also requires less time commitment.

Recently I increased my weekly hours, but for a long time I worked only a couple of hours on Balloon Decoration Guide.

As my traffic keeps growing, so does my income. See for yourself. The following graphic shows you how many people come to Balloon Decoration Guide every day, and how many pages they view.

Traffic to my site is seasonal, with the best months being from January to July, and the slowest months from August to December. Overall though you can see how the numbers are increasing over time.

Balloon Decoration Guide Traffic Stats 2016 / 2017

Frequently Asked Questions About SBI!

I decided NOT to explain the many features and tools you get with Solo Build It!. Instead I'll answer some of the most frequent questions that people ask me. This should be the easiest and quickest way for you to find out whether SBI! is for you or not.

But first, here's a 60 second video overview...

I have never built a website, let alone a business before. Where do I even begin?

This little fellow here will show you. He's the mascot of the "Action Guide". Printing out and reading the "Action Guide" is the first thing you do when you start with SBI!. You can also watch the guide in video format or listen to the audio recording.

This will give you the big picture overview... and a headache from the wealth of information. No, just kidding. ,-) Don't feel overwhelmed. You know what they say... every journey begins with a single step.

The Action Guide is laid out as a 10-day process, from brainstorming ideas to building long lasting relationships with your visitors or customers. Depending on your circumstances, one day can actually last one day or three months. All you have to do is follow the guide. Read every chapter and watch its video version. Then do it.

The SBI! Action Guide, Your Most Important Business Building Instrument

I have no technical or graphical skills. Can I still do it?

Absolutely. Page creation is as simple as riding a bike with its training wheels still attached. No need to know HTML. The block-by-block builder trains you how to write a page that is both "Search Engine and human effective."

SBI!'s drag-and-drop BlockBuilder is perfect for beginners, but even many "advanced" users (including myself) continue using it. 

When it's time to create your site's Look & Feel, SBI! provides fully customizable, easy-to-use templates. You can create a professional-looking website, even if you have no design skills. And if you're a designer, you can create and upload your own. 

Sounds good, but what shall I write about?

Ask yourself: what excites me? What could I talk about for hours? What do I do in my spare time? What skills did I learn in my job?

Then scribble down the answers that come to your mind. I bet you get at least 3 topics out of this mini-brainstorming. That's all you need as a start. SBI! then helps you to choose the best and most profitable site concept.

There are thousands of possible niches out there. Get a taste of what others write about on this page. 

How long does it take until I earn any money?

This depends a lot on you and on the niche you choose. The more time and effort you spend on building your website in the beginning, the sooner you will see results. On average, people build between 1 and 2 pages per week. Once you have 30 pages up and running, your traffic will start to increase and only then will you begin to see some money coming in.

If you have a full time job and/or kids, you might not have much time to work on your site and only build one page every two weeks (that's roughly what I did). But that's the beauty of SBI! - you can set your own pace.

I bought SBI! in January 2006. In March our homepage went live, by July we had 30 pages up, and on 4th of August 2006 we received the first click on our AdSense ads - the beginning of our income stream (I was so excited that I marked the day in my calendar!).

Ok, let's say I give it a try. Are the $329.99 a one time fee? What about other costs? And what if I don't like it?

The $329.99 is the yearly subscription fee. It works out to $27.50 a month. No catches or hidden costs whatsoever. The package includes everything you need, all the building and reporting tools, domain registration and super fast, reliable web hosting.

You can also choose the monthly payment option of $34.99. 

If you decide, at any time, that SBI! is not for you, you simply say so and you'll get your money back. No questions asked. The way I see it: you can't go wrong by trying it. You have everything to win and nothing to lose.

One last question: What if I am not good at writing?

Don't mix up talent with skills here. Writing like Hemingway is a talent, that no one can teach you. But writing a compelling web page is a skill that you can and will learn with SBI!. I learned it too, and English isn't even my mother tongue.

Ken Evoy, the founder of SiteSell (that's the company behind SBI!), wrote two e-books, known amongst experts as the "dynamic duo of web-writing". As a non expert I simply call them mind-blowing :-)

They used to be sold by SiteSell, but are now available for free. So, whenever someone tells me they can't write I send them these links:

• Make Your Content PREsell!
• Make Your Words Sell!

I recommend reading "Make Your Content PREsell" first. It's tailored to internet beginners, and even if you never write a single page for the web, you still can make good use of it. For example, to write letters or emails that finally get the responses you want (e.g. a long deserved pay raise from your boss).

On the other hand, if you already have a product or service to sell, and if you'd like to make your sales soar, then "Make Your Words Sell" is a must-read for you.

Still wondering whether YOU could be successful with a website? The best way to find out is to give it a try. With SBI!'s rock solid money back guarantee, you've got everything to win and nothing to lose.

Disclosure: Like I said in the beginning, I am a long term Solo Build It! user. I also work as a freelance consultant for SiteSell, the company who created Solo Build It!. As a member of their affiliate program, I will earn a commission if you purchase one of their products through any of the links above. Thought you should know before making a decision. If you’d like to find out more about how I use Solo Build It! to build an additional income stream, please contact me.