SBI! Reviews: Local Business

What A Difference A Year Can Make!

Before

After

My name is Judd Burdon. I am 24 years old. I own 4 online businesses and thanks to SBI!, my life has changed dramatically for the better over the last 12 months. I put my "Before" and "After" photos up for fun, but they really do tell the whole story.

A year ago, I was working long hours and not making much money. I was highly stressed and always under financial pressure. I ran a seasonal asphalt paving business, which meant that I was effectively out of work during the freezing cold winter months up in Montreal, Canada.

Compare that picture to the past few months. My family and I have just spent the last 3 months living in Florida and running my online businesses from there. We are now over on the island of Anguilla at our family home, in the British West Indies (Caribbean), for the next three months and I will continue to run my businesses from there.

Here's My Story - And How I Did It

First, let me give you a little background. I finished junior college and decided not to go on to university. I just didn't like school and never really did that well.

I've always been a pretty good "people person" and I was a natural salesman. I started working for an asphalt company as a commissioned sales representative and it didn't take me too long to "see" that there was good money in paving and coating driveways.

So, rather than work for someone else, I asked my dad for some backing and started my own business - I was 17 years old at the time.

I had an old diesel Volks Jetta with a trailer. I used it to pull around my equipment. I got started and I stuck with it. Over a period of three years, my partner and I grew the business to the point where we had over 4 rigs and a crew of 14 men working for us. I was committed and dedicated to the task at hand and did my very best.

I'm not afraid to work hard. And during the next few years, I was indeed working my butt off, had a bunch of employees and sales people and equipment and was growing the business. But I didn't seem to be lining my pockets proportionate to the level of effort that I was putting in on an annual basis. And winters killed us.

On top of all of this, Christina (my wife) and I had started our family and I was the sole breadwinner in the family. There was a lot of pressure on me at this time in my life because I was unsure of what my future held. I was unsure if I could succeed and do as well as I really wanted to, since at that point, I only knew the paving industry. I had worked my way into a desperate corner, working to support others, barely getting by - and no real prospects for things to get any better.

The Asphalt Man Meets "Digital Doc"

I finally sat down with my dad and asked him for some personal advice. It didn't take him long to figure out that I was spinning my wheels and that the problem was that I didn't have the right structure and business model in place to drive bottom line profit results. Simply put, I was a great employer - making lots of work for lots of folks - but not making enough money for myself, which at the end of the day was important for my family and me.

It didn't take me too long to realize that he was right and that I had to make a change or be stuck in "hard work - low profit results"... endlessly.

Dad suggested that I meet with a close friend of his - Dr. Ken Evoy, who had created a web site building and marketing "operating system" called "SBI!". I didn't have a clue about any of this stuff, not a clue. I checked e-mail from time to time but never in my wildest dreams would I think that I could or would ever build an online business - and what was I going to build it on?... I really had no clue.

It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Ken Evoy was special after reading just SOME of his material. "Dr. Ken" (that's what my Dad calls him) is a medical doctor, an inventor, and a very smart businessman. Clearly, this guy was worth listening to. He was very open and kind to me and he offered me the opportunity to try his SBI! program and build out the first site of my life - I still had no clue what it was going to be on.

You likely will never meet Dr. Ken, except through his writings. So let me tell you the reason his words ring so true - he means every word. He really cares about people. As he talked to me, I felt his passion. I understood that the world was changing, and that I was being left behind. Dr. Ken was also quite stern, no-BS - he told me that he just didn't have the time anymore to do 1-on-1 tutoring and that I should not need it - the deal was that if I brought my Brain And Motivation (he calls it BAM), SBI! would more than keep up its end of the bargain.

That was it! My father agreed to get me a new computer, desk and chair - and I decided to take the leap from being "asphalt man" to become "online man." I sold my 50% interest in our asphalt business to my partner and used the proceeds to bankroll our living costs over the next few months. I still had no clue if the Internet could ever provide me with an income that would allow me to have the future which I always dreamed of having.

Clueless But Committed

As I said, I'm not afraid to work. I committed to SBI! with the same determination. Others were clearly making it work for them, so I would too. Of course, I still didn't have a clue how the heck I was going to do it.

I dug into the SBI! Action Guide that came as part of the SBI! purchase. It was written in a very down to earth manner that even I could understand. It was prepared in a step by step manner which made it very easy to follow. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't "easy" - to the contrary - this was going to take some work, but the good news is I understood it all and each step was do-able.

Things were explained in a very simple, logical manner... It was almost as though Dr. Ken was there to guide me in person. (While I was very lucky that my Dad is a friend of Dr. Evoy, don't think that he spent personal time tutoring me - I think only Nori, his daughter, gets that luxury! No, I learned from him the same way everyone else does... through the Action Guide and online help.)

Well, I decided that I had better focus on something I knew, and I sure knew lots about the asphalt business and rather than bore you with all kinds of background on this, just go to asphaltkingdom.com. Take a look around the site and you'll get a feel for what I was able to achieve. This was my first site EVER. I did not know a thing about html and did not know anything about creating a web site that would work - I didn't even know how to register a domain name and SBI! even did that for me -- I just had to click a button.

As I started developing the site and once I got a fairly good first draft put together, I asked Dr. Ken for his input and suggestions. I guess Dr. Ken was impressed with the work because he had some encouraging words and good feedback, that spurred me on. He was never there in person for more than 30 minutes (managing SiteSell eats up all his time and allows him to help thousands at a time) and even then he always recommended that I go back to the Action Guide to find my answers and advice... which I did.

(And that is the most important advice I can give to anyone who starts SBI!. Just leave yourself in the hands of the Action Guide. Follow it to the letter. It will all make sense. And most important... it works!)

It took me about three weeks to get the site into a reasonable state. The more I read the SBI! program instructions, the more I "got it" and began to develop the site's "monetization" elements - i.e. how I could make money from my site. Here's a short list of a number of these key monetization elements:

I sell an asphalt maintenance business right in a box. It includes everything to start a successful asphalt business turnkey for a very minimal investment.
I sell asphalt maintenance equipment individually.
I sell asphalt sealing products.
I do not sell heavy asphalt equipment from the site but decided I would NOT prevent myself from earning another stream of income. So I joined a heavy asphalt equipment affiliate program and link my site to theirs. Extra income.
I will find a local asphalt driveway repair specialist in your local area that will seal your driveway with the right products... Yes, I earn income off this as well... They pay me 20% commission on the price of the seal job.

After about three months of my site being up and running, I started getting traffic and inquiries. People were actually coming to my asphalt site and asking questions. It's such a queer, amazing feeling, I can't really describe it.

I mean - I knew it was supposed to work. But I was still amazed. Dr. Ken told me that, even though he built SBI!, when Nori started getting traffic to her anguilla-beaches.com site (she's 14 years old and makes over $1000 per month from the site, even though she only adds one page per week!), he had that same curious "unreal" feeling. And he's the president of the company!

Anyway, this was working! Real people actually visited my site from the search engines, just like Dr. Ken told me would happen all the way through the Action Guide. And some of them started to convert into income. I was hooked. Once you see the traffic start - real people who want the information you provide - it's just a matter of doing more and more of the same. It's really simple once you know how. Build more and more traffic. "PREsell" by giving people information they want, and THEN monetize (how you are going to make money off your site).

The U.S. Army Contacts The Online Man

I woke up one morning on the 3rd month of my site being up and running to find a question from the U.S. Armed Forces in Bishkek, Kyrekistan. They wanted to get a quote on some asphalt maintenance equipment that was displayed on my asphaltkingdom.com site. So, here I am with the U.S. Armed Forces inquiring about my business from overseas - about my very own web site that I had no clue how to build or even start 3 months earlier!

I was able to reach the global market 24X7, rather than just the local market for my paving company that I was used to reaching in the past. I had left the manual-labor era and had become what Dr. Ken calls a digital worker... a knowledge worker who can reach the globe by using his brain.

And here's another amazing thing. Like I said, I'm not a tech guy. I'm not even a "Net marketer." I'm a business person. So I don't want to worry about being up to date in Net marketing stuff. I just want to grow my business.

Well, next thing you know the SBI! e-zine, SBI! Xpress, is telling me all about Google AdSense. Their SBIX takes all the stuff from all kinds of cutting edge gurus and newsletters and boils it down to the small amount of important, practical information that I need for my online business. They literally save me hundreds of hours. I wouldn't do all that other reading anyway - I don't have time.

Anyway, SiteSell was one of the first to write about Google AdSense - they even have a site all about it. So here I am, an asphalt guy, applying to be a Google partner. Ha! Double ha!

Well, surprise! I was accepted as a Google advertising partner immediately, and I now make over $200 per month from them. That may not sound like a lot, but it's from only one site (I now have four) and I do absolutely no extra work for it.

Actually, I have not touched the asphaltkingdom site for months. But as I write this, another customer is driving from Ontario to pick up $9,000 worth of equipment. I will earn a 10% commission on it. All I did was create a web site -- I'm in Anguilla as I write this. I've earned over $8,000 in commissions despite not touching that site in months.

My Next Experience

I met with a gentleman named Alan Lofft on my 4th month into my online adventure. Alan works with the folks at Axiom Audio (axiomaudio.com), a high-end speaker manufacturer that wanted to start selling direct-to-consumer via the Web. They wanted to build a web site that would drive targeted traffic to their main site. So I chatted to them about SBI! and the way it worked. They were very impressed and asked if I would like the opportunity to build a site for them.

I agreed, as I had the time on my hands.... Asphaltkingdom.com was running on its own and I had plenty of time to work on another project. So, I began my 2nd site on a completely different topic. I worked through the SBI! process the same way I did with my first site and actually re-read the Action Guide for the second time. Mr. Lofft provided me with content, since I'm not an expert here -- I simply entered it "the SBI! way."

To make a long story short, audiolofftreport.com generates hundreds of targeted visitors per day and then sends them to axiomaudio.com to complete the sales. Once again it was happening - targeted traffic turned to sales - and SBI! showed me how to do this step by step. (As planned, Mr. Lofft has now learned enough to manage the site on his own. He's delighted.)

I Start Working At SiteSell!

I now had 2 sites under my belt and I was only 5 months into my online adventure. At about this time, Dr. Ken offered me the opportunity to respond to SBI! customer inquiry e-mails and phone calls. I think he saw that I was someone who could use/read his system and make it work. And he knew I loved talking to people. But he also told me that this was not about "selling" -- my job is to, as Dr. Ken says, merely match what people need with what SBI! offers. And if there is no fit, then I send them to a product that fits what they do need. Dr. Ken is obsessed with customer happiness.

I answer peoples questions from all over the world and give people the best advice I can. I love doing this, and I am pretty good at it. I now run the SBI! advisor group at Sitesell for Dr. Ken. We now have a team expert advisors who work with me. We have had wonderful feedback on this advisor program, and I think it's exactly because we don't sell. We help.

Entrepreneur Lessons

Dr. Ken says there are three ways to fail as an entrepreneur. Here's how he puts it...

1) FIRE... Ready-Aim -- people who start without proper preparation, just jump in and go.

2) Ready-Aim-Ready-Aim-Ready-Aim-Ready-Aim-Ready-Aim-Ready-Aim-Etc. -- people who prepare forever, but never get started

3) FIRE-FIRE-FIRE-FIRE-FIRE-FIRE-FIRE-etc. -- people with too many ideas, who don't focus on the single best opportunity and start there."

The simple fact is that SBI! is the secret weapon in any business and I sure do believe in it as I have experienced it first hand, with four different sites (me, the "asphalt man"!). It can be used by network marketers, infopreneurs, product sellers, affiliate marketers, those who have a service to sell, or by local business to increase the effectiveness of their sales by a long shot. Want to see how your business fits with SBI!? See this site - find.sitesell.com.

After doing three sites and talking to hundreds of people, I know that SBI! is perfect for most small businesses. Actually, it's the best. Look at me. I have gone from asphalt man, stuck in an old world business with no future, to "digital man" whose life knows no limits.

I know that I can work from whatever location in the world and achieve my dreams and goals online. I started in cold Canada and am now at my home in the Caribbean, finishing this story with the sound of waves and the warm tropical breeze flowing in through the window.

I'd thank Dr. Ken and SBI!, except for one thing. He'd say the same thing he tells everyone...

"Not everyone succeeds at SBI!, just the folks who want to. SBI! is just the tool, Judd. You swung that e-hammer and built your life. Thank yourself for having the courage to go out and do it. You deserve that pat on the back."

Well... thanks anyway, Dr. Ken. I know that I did it... but I could not have done it without SBI!.

Judd Burdon