A year ago I never would have dreamed I'd be poring over websites and books toward the purpose of creating my own website. I know of a woman who's been taking classes for at least months in order to learn website design. And I'm not artistic enough to think of myself as a website designer. Weirdly, I think of myself more as a website builder. I want to make a website; I'll think about "design" either as I go or after I get it made. I know it's not likely to be as pretty as some of the amazing blog websites I see, but still...
The fun thing is, this is the era, now is the time to create a website. I found out that I don't have to learn the programming languages that I think all website designers used to have to learn before they could create. The tools are available and probably almost all of them are available for free. Which means that a person can create even their own family business on a very shoestring budget. What a time we live in! Not too many years ago, a person had to have a storefront to have a business. Okay, maybe more years ago than I think--I guess I'm getting old, and can remember things that most people today might not.
It's an amazing time we live in, and when people complain that they're not in the top 1% of one of the richest nations in the world, I have some questions: 1) Why do you need to be in that top percentage? 2) How many people can expect to be in the top 1%? (Answer: Only 1%. And when you join that 1%, that means you shoved someone else way down into the 2% category, which is now part of the 99%. How uncharitable of you!) 3) Whose fault is it that you're in the percentage that you're in? (Answer: Only yours.)
So in today's technology, if you have internet access, you basically have the resources you need to be as rich as you want. You don't even have to go to school to learn website design; just do your research on the internet. And the answers that the internet doesn't have for you, you can find in books that you can check out at your library. Learning doesn't have to cost you money! Starting a business hardly has to cost you anything. It just takes some initiative, time, willingness to learn, creativity, and...courage. I dare you, get to it. Bump someone else out of the top 1%. But be charitable in the process and help others along the way.
So here are some websites that are at the tip of the iceberg of what's out there on the internet for potential business owners:
My Own Business – An international nonprofit organization helping people succeed in business since 1992. Offers a free training course for prospective business owners.
My Own Business, home-based business page
And here are some for (business) website building, starting with being an affiliate (this isn't what I'm aiming at, but I'm glad it's there in case I want an easy way to start) and I haven't personally checked these out, so beware:
AFFILIATE, READY-MADE BUSINESS WEBSITES:
MAKE YOUR OWN WEBSITE (though I'm not sure we need to know programmer tools and coding any more; still learning):
Let me stress that this is only the tip of the iceberg. Look for articles on e-commerce, customer care, time management, boosting productivity, etc. If you don't find what you need online, go to the library and get books on creating a website or starting a business or e-commerce. No matter what you need to learn, the information is available for free.
I also want to share that in one book that I checked out of the library, Basic Website Creation, by Peter Cope, the author describes (to my amazement) how you can make a website (not hosted, just designed) on Microsoft Word. Really. If you have MS Word, you’re probably halfway there. Try it out, you have nothing to lose!
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