The Dream That Lead Me To Build This Website...

Is it possible for a “non-techy” to build a successful website?
If you have a subject you like to write about and a dream to have a small business of your own, I think the answer is absolutely YES!

I had a dream that I turned over for almost ten years... What was (is!) it, you might ask?

Well, ever since I had visited Ireland way back in college, I wanted to get more involved in it, and do something that would allow me to spend more time there. I just fell in love with the place and the people, and wanted to get back.

The Insipiration
If you’ve read that pages of this site, I hope you have a feeling that Ireland is a pretty fascinating place. But I think it’s a different place than the what’s portrayed in commercial tourist guides. There are many shades of green and the people are friendly, but there’s a lot more to it. For one thing, Ireland has changed more in the past 15 years than almost any other country on earth (except China maybe!). It’s no longer a land of rural farmers scraping by and quietly chatting (and drinking!) in country pubs. Because of the “Celtic Tiger” economic phenomenon that’s occurred there, there’s a whole generation of people in Ireland now who are used to driving nice cars, traveling internationally for vacations and generally looking at the world in a drastically different way than their grandparents did.

Some who used to visit Ireland in the old days aren’t that happy with the new reality there. But I think the place is as interesting as it ever was. In fact, I think it’s absolutely fascinating to watch a tradition-bound country collide head-on with the modern world. You know what? In some ways I think they’re completely botching it up, but in others I think they do a pretty darned good job of handling the changes – maybe even better than we do here in the USA!

BACK TO MY DREAM...
I’ve always known there are a lot of people who feel a connection to Ireland, often because they have Irish ancestors. It’s absolutely amazing how many of them go to Ireland once, and get “hooked” on it. If you ask them if they will every visit Ireland again, they look at you like you’re a little crazy and say “of course!” as if there’s no other possible answer.

So my dream was to create a way that I to gather people together who feel drawn to Ireland and give them (and me!) a way to stay in touch with it in between visits. I figured that along the way, I would uncover lots of less-known facts that make Ireland interesting and lots of great places to visit there that even I might not know about yet.

Other Ireland Websites: So-So
I’ve got nothing against the other websites about Ireland out there – in fact I read them all the time. My only problem is this: they try to make Ireland look so perfect that it seems kind of fake to me. I just don’t think you need to do that, because it’s a country that gets more and more interesting when you look at it more clearly – warts and all!

The other thing about most Irish websites is that they’re all trying to sell you the same thing: a 10-day trip where you:
A) take a guided tour of the Guinness Brewery in Dublin
B) take another guided tour of the Blarney Castle where you wait in line all day long to kiss a rock
C) take another guided bus tour of the Ring of Kerry where the main thing you see is a lot of other busses
D) and maybe, just maybe, take a boat ride to see a dolphin living in Galway Bay that’s seen more tourists in the past decade than the train station in Times Square.

There are so many other ways to experience Ireland – and that’s what I wanted to talk about with this website.

The Obstacle: How In Blazes Do You Build A Good Website?
The truth is that I’m not a complete novice to internet marketing. I’ve worked on a couple of websites in my day job. But you know something? That’s only made me more aware of the fact that most websites are a huge pain in the neck to build, don’t attract very many visitors and cost an arm and a leg to run.

Then I found SBI – the system that allowed me to build this site for a very minimal investment, and which allows me to add new stories and generally upgrade the site in a way that’s actually fun – unlike other systems I tried that generated nothing but headaches.

Best of all – especially if this is your first try at an online business – SBI offers all kinds of tools that help you hone down your goals and understand what’s actually do-able, so you end up with an online business and not a website that only your relatives and friends visit.

Would you like to learn more about how a “non-techy” can create an online business? Make yourself a cup of coffee, settle in and have a look at the details of what went into making this site a success. Read:
"How I learned to build a successful website"

...you can also go to this website for an overview of what you need to think about before building a website, and a special offer that can get you started easily.


I can tell you from experience that there are a ton of internet marketing gurus out there who will waste a lot of your time and money and provide zero benefit. The dream I had when I started my Ireland site is now paying dividends, and it’s largely because SBI allows me to spend my time putting up cool stuff that people will want to read about Ireland, instead of agonizing over technical details. Have a look for yourself, and decide if this system can add some fuel to your dream!

Not many web marketers think enough about their customers. But you’ll only be successful with a web business if you follow a very old rule: the customer is king! I’ve been able to deliver more than my customers – or “viewers” – because I found a great company to help me build a website. Here's a video presentation you can watch on how it works.

It’s the best way available, I believe, for a “little guy” to compete with big companies online – any even beat them. Have a look at some of the other creative and successful websites that have been built this way by clicking here.

Good luck! Bob Sullivan