9 Good Years
I started my journey online in 2007. I got married in 2012. My wife Amanda quit her job in 2014 and since that time we lived a life I only thought possible in dreams.
We traveled, did what we wanted, bought what we wanted, had two kids, took them with us everywhere, and just experienced true freedom.
She went back to her career in April, after 9 good years of freedom, partly for a challenge, and mostly because we now needed the security a full-time job offers, especially with children.
I'll be honest. I haven't paid as much attention to my business as I should have. It's hard with kids. The checks kept coming in each month (albeit slightly less each time) and it was easy to brush it off to the side. I was apathetic towards running it and being a full-time Dad just took priority.
Besides, we were traveling the world and barely having to work.
What more could you ask for?
Well, I'm not done yet.
My business took a substantial hit back in December 2022 and I didn't have it in me to fight for it.
I could easily blame Google or the rise of AI for my decline, but the truth is, I just haven't been paying attention or keeping up with any of the latest trends in the SEO industry. Things were easy for so long that I didn't care to fight.
Not anymore.
Once you've had a taste of the life we were living, it's hard going back to a life that's dictated by 40 hour work weeks in the office and limited amounts of vacation time per year.
Don't get me wrong: Amanda's career has been a huge blessing for everyone. But I don't want to sit and watch my business go to zero any longer.
And this is where my journey resumes.
Taking inventory
Back in 2019, I wanted to diversify. I had all of my eggs in the ivetriedthat.com basket and our livelihoods were too susceptible to algorithm updates. I started working on 2 new sites immediately, have launched 2 more of my own, and partnered on 2 more projects.
At the time, this was a great move. We quickly got 3 sites up to speed and they were growing nicely. I felt the fire again, I wan ambitious, I had ideas, and I was publishing a lot.
Once they caught on and started earning, I noticed my overall income didn't really go up. These sites were merely replacing lost income. That's okay because now I had 3 sites instead of 1 and I'd be a little more insulated from algorithm updates.
Right?
Wrong.
Turns out, it's 3x more devastating when Google decides to smack down all 3 of your sites at once.
Now, instead of trying to fix 1 problem, I had to figure out how to fix 3x as many problems. The fire dwindled, my ambition waned, and it all quickly became overwhelming.
I now have 3 sites with no direction. No voice. No identity. No brand. I'm barely behind them at all.
So that's what this new project is about.
This is my journey to revive my business with full in-depth details that I've never shared before.
I want to return my voice to ivetriedthat using these blogs. I started that site to figure out if it's really possible to make money online. I'm living proof that it is and there's no better guide than everything you have here at Wealthy Affiliate.
My First Project
I'm not going to attempt to revive all of my sites at once.
I'm going to start with one site and go from there. Each site will teach me (and you) something new about what works and doesn't work in this industry.
I run an online deals website that in the past has done really well for me. I haven't provided any new articles or updates to it in over 6 months. This is my lowest hanging fruit and will be the focus of my next few blogs going forward.
I have a pretty good idea of what I need to do to get this site back on track and you'll be able to follow along with me every step of the way.
I will be providing you all with monthly updates in terms of traffic, revenue, changes I've made, how these changes have impacted my site, and just overall thoughts and ideas going forward.
These upcoming blogs will definitely be the most personal and intimate look into my life that I've ever shared online.
Most of my work will start in about 2 weeks time. I need to start taking inventory and devise a road map on how to get this site back to it's former glory.
Keep an eye out for my next update. It'll be posted here soon.
It's good to be back.
-Steve
PS. If you guys have any general questions about me or my life, feel free to fire away in the comments below.
Recent Comments
32
Oh wow Steve, I literally just thought about you today. Always nice to read your posts here!
Sorry you've been experiencing this, must be tough facing these challenges after 15 years of stable traffic and income.
Everything AI has been driving me nuts, but hey c'est la vie. We must adapt.
Wishing you good luck with your sites, man!!
Hey Zarina! Good to hear from you. I've made my peace with it really. The business overall still provides us with a lot each month, but I know I can get it back to where it was and then some.
This is more long-term planning for us and setting us up to be even more financially secure in the long run.
Thanks for sharing your life experiences with us, Steve. You are a living example of commitment and hard work. Looks like you had a real taste of the good life we all seek and are ready to rinse and repeat. The beauty of a growth mindset. Kudos to you and your beautiful family.
Rachele
I loved reading your post. I wish you lots of luck reviving your business. I have two questions for you. How long did it first take you to make income from your blog? What are some tips you can give a new person so that they push a little faster? I am pretty new to things here at WA. I am not sure if I should push harder or throw in the towel. I am searching for answers to try to make decide what to do next.
I've been running my site since 2007, so my experiences are going to differ vastly from someone who's joining today. It's a marathon, not a sprint and I'd be willing to bet you're closer than you think to making it work.
That makes sense. I hope you are right! I just followed you. I am going to def try to make progress.
Steve...Bro, it's been an incredible journey for you in both online business and personally - you've got an amazing family, and I can see it in your posts - you're truly happy, always with smile on your face - it's awesome!
I'm also excited to hear that you're digging back into the online business side of things. The "game" has changed, but it's become an even more powerful engine to generate revenue. AI has changed things and for us here at WA, for the better 1000%. Things that were once arduous tasks, are now done brilliantly with the assistance of AI - that saves time to be able to get to a point where folks can spend time on being publishers and creators. It's truly game changing having AI in our back pockets now and we're pushing full speed ahead with ground breaking things using AI.
Your post is great - you have always had a knack for writing and telling a story. That comes through in your content, and it's why you've had millions of visitors to your websites. You connect with people and that ability is going to continue to serve you very well as you embark on this next adventure!
We've spent many years together in Vegas rapping about the online world and I look forward to getting you (and Amanda) back there for a reunion! Maybe the kiddo's are at an age where that could happen?!?
Can't wait to see what you can do this time around Steve, you've got this!
Carson
See more comments
Hello Steve,
Thank you for your interesting blog post, it's great to hear that you had nine good years and have done so much with your family! That's a great achievement in itself. At the same time, I'm sorry that your income has gone down, it just shows the importance of keeping on top of things!
I'm glad you have your passion back to get things moving forward again, that sounds like a great plan. I actually signed up to Wealthy Affiliate through you, almost 9 years ago.
I look forward to watching you grow your business again.
Have a great weekend.
Roy