Come On A Little Journey...

In Search of a Different Path.

Hi my name is Nicole and I'd like to welcome you come on a little journey with me...

I am guessing that you are visiting my site because you are a parent, or carer who wants to spend quality time with their kids, just like me. The journey of parenthood is certainly one full of highs and lows as I am sure you are aware.

The biggest lesson I have had so far is that the time that I spend with my kids is much more important than ANYTHING I could ever buy them.
That is why this site is all about cherishing and valuing kids.

Having kids has completely changed my life and hopefully made me a better, and definitely more patient person, but it has not been without its challenges.

Career or Kids?

Can you believe that not so long ago I was a 25 year old architectural graduate (with honours!), with all intentions of becoming the career girl of my family. I was not even sure if I would EVER have kids.

Ten years on, with two amazing children, but no longer married, life looks very different.

My priorities have certainly changed. My kids come first and rather than having a 'career' I am more interested in maximising my earning potential while spending the greatest amount of time I can enjoying my children.
Over the last couple of years I have realised that a traditional 'job' is not the way to achieve this.

A year after the birth of my first daughter I decided to return to architectural work. I had restricted options because I wanted to work part-time in an industry that doesn't do 'part-time'.

I took a position with lower pay and much less responsibility than I had previously enjoyed. By the time I discovered that I was pregnant with my second child my job had become casual, and I was at the whim of my boss as to how much I could earn, all this for someone with a university degree, I felt like I had no control.

A New Direction

The month after my second daughter was born, I had my third baby, okay, okay, contain your gasps of shock!
I mean this website, which has been like a baby to me. I have nurtured and watched it grow in size and income for 3 years.

In that time I have also built two other websites for myself and have built or helped to build another 8-10 sites. (Yes, I have been told that I am 'busy'! I can only blame my genes for that!)

One of my sites is very new, but follows my passion for architecture and sustainability. In time you will be able to watch the building of my strawbale house. Still a year or two away, but that's the dream that keeps me going. You can take a peek at Green House Healing here.

My other website is my 'business front' where I promote my services as a web consultant, and am now branching into running courses to show people how to do it themselves. It brings me multiple streams of income, through the consulting jobs that I do, commissions I make, and soon a teaching income too.

Don't get me wrong, it probably sounds like I work an eighty hour week, far from it. I am lucky to only work about twenty hours a week. That is my choice, I have made the decision that while I have a toddler at home my business comes second. In a few years it might be different, but for now my kids come first.

I get to enjoy walking to and from school, doing canteen duty, and doing all the things that stay-at-home parents do, but also building a successful business in the background.

A NEW 'Boss'

I still have a boss, me! And I am probably tougher on myself than any boss I've ever had, but I can also be a generous boss, giving myself a day off after spending all night up with a sick child, or an extended lunch to squeeze in a walk if that's what I need.

During that year I only sporadically worked on my sites. Still my traffic grew, my income grew, and I gradually regained my confidence and the will to make my sites better with new content, and new ideas.

The web-building system that I use is called Site Build It! or SBI for short. They have a little logo, the tortoise, of which I am the epitomy! I have only ever done this VERY part-time and at my own pace. But the tortoise motto is the one that I live by..

"Slow and steady wins the race."

Life just gets busier, and busier, but I thank my lucky stars that I am not still stuck in my awful job and get to be at home to enjoy my kids before they get to age where they're embarrassed to be seen with me!

If you'd like to learn more about how I make money from building websites then please read on...

SBI Case Studies . Work From Home . Try SBI

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In health and happiness,