Welcome to our Start a Blog Series

Before we dive in, I’d like to tell you why starting a blog is a great move.

Ok. But First What’s a Blog?

When I say blog, I really mean website of any kind. I call Family Money Plan a blog, but there aren’t a lot of personal stories about myself, because that’s not what’s important to my readers. So you can use blog or website when I mention the word blog.

Before I Got Started

When I started this site I didn’t know what would happen. My internet experience wasn’t much more than looking up hockey highlights and asking Google the odd question about what was going on in the world.

My internet know-how was seriously lacking.

I could literally count the sites I visited on my fingers.

So if you are wondering if you can start a site without a lot of internet knowledge, you can. I’m living proof of that.

Now it’s hard to imagine my life without this site. It has brought me so many choices and opportunities.

Here’s what just a few great about having a blog

You’re in control.

I work when I want to and hit pause when I don’t. This was a big factor deciding to build a site. The ability to start and stop when I want is a HUGE freedom factor for me.

You literally make money when you sleep.

This is the dream and I still pinch myself when it happens. It’s pretty cool. I don’t make the tens of thousands others do… yet, but that’s ok. I’m in this for the long haul and when you have a long term perspective everything is easier.

You can do it from anywhere

When you have a website as long as you have a laptop you can work from anywhere. It’s super nice. We are headed on some trips this year and all I will need is my laptop and an internet connection and I can do my thing from there.

It’s dynamic.

There are so many things that you can try that you are never bored. At the same time, you can totally ignore other parts of the online world (my Instagram account is a great example). You’re the boss and it’s entirely up to you what you focus on.

There’s no ceiling on how much you can earn.

I love that I can earn more and more from being online. It’s not like other businesses where I have to be there to make money.

That’s become I’m not trading my hours for dollars. I’m trading my effort for dollars.

That’s a big difference.

Most businesses seems like when you take the foot off the gas, you dwindle, but with this you are constantly going because your site is live All. The. Time.

You will make a difference in other peoples lives.

That might sound a bit corny, but it feels really good. I love getting emails from people telling me that they are starting to payoff their mortgage faster. Or that they are starting a new side venture from something I have mentioned. It’s incredibly gratifying.

It’s ridiculously cheap to start a blog

Here’s what else I like about it over other investments.

It’s cheap to start out. For under $4 a month you can have a site up and running. Seriously! It’s less than a cup of Starbucks.

The return on investment can be astronomical. That doesn’t mean it’s easy, I don’t want to mislead you. Having a blog is hard work. But when you stick with it you will out last all the others who give up quickly.

Beyond the hosting and a domain name (you get that part free the first year with Bluehost).

If you are thinking: “That’s way too cheap what’s the catch?”

Well, you’re right, the catch is this:

It’s incredibly cheap to start blogging, but it takes time to get momentum going.

I’ll share with you a secret.

This is a long term game.

I’ve been doing this for a few years now and it’s amazing how many other sites have come and gone. I think a lot of people get into blogging thinking they will be millionaires overnight.

That might happen once in a while, and of course we hear those stories a lot.

Usually it’s a steady climb, and you need to be willing to stay the course.

I just want you to be well prepared for it, because that’s how it was for me.

That’s why when I started I bought 3 years of hosting (it was cheaper that way) and I told myself, that I would need to stick with it at least that long.

Because I was so green to this online thing, I figured I would need 3 years to be profitable.

But it took much less than that.

My advice for people starting out is to treat this like a business and think long term. It makes a huge difference in your approach.

Don’t get me wrong you can invest in courses to move you along quicker. I bought several courses as time went on (more on those in another email).

The biggest question for you to think about tonight is this: What is it about starting a blog that is so important to you?

Be honest, if it’s helping others, money, celebrity,​ there’s no wrong answer just give it some thought.