Why wouldn’t a seasoned blogger like Jessica DIY her next big thing? Or want that “thing” to not be so big, actually? Because experience taught her better.
Jessica’s first blog, Exploring the Local Life, was wildly successful. Eventually. But starting it — dealing with all the tech setup, design dilemmas and charlatans eager to cash in on a new blogger’s inexperience — was a major headache. Even after she gained enough experience to recognize a lot of places where she wished she could get a do-over, some were a hassle to fix, too expensive to correct, or both.
We first began working with Jessica to help resolve a major hosting debacle that took the Exploring the Local Life site down. We helped her move hosts, then got her on Site Care to ensure the site she built stayed safe and up to date. She, and the site, were in a pretty good place, all things considered.
Until Jessica was diagnosed with cancer.
Surviving became job #1. As a wife and mom of two, the stakes were high. Although the blog was far more than a hobby project — it helped support the family — its primary content creator was fighting for her life. The site had to take a back seat. Eventually, Jessica knew she had to let it go completely.
There’s a lot more to the story, but it’s Jessica’s to tell. It all factored into her decision to start again, and take a slightly different path. Not just with the content she created and audience she wanted to serve, but in how she decided to start off.
Jessica wanted to write (and walk, and paddle, of course). Even though she’d learned a thing or two from building Exploring the Local Life, the last thing she wanted to do was spend valuable writing/hiking/paddling time building another website. So once she decided she was doing this thing, she went straight to work on blog content. Meanwhile, AFV and copywriter Sarah Kuiken handled the Walk and Paddle home page.
Staying in her zone of genius, keeping it small with a one-pager, and bringing in a little professional expertise all helped bring Jessica’s vision to life in a matter of weeks.
I didn’t want to repeat the struggle of setting up my own site
I chose to work with Teresa at AFV because I didn’t want to repeat some of the struggles I had when I set up my own site.
While my first site worked well initially, I quickly ran into issues. Teresa helped me fix them all. I knew that if I had a website built by her from the very beginning, I wouldn’t have to worry. She knows her stuff. By hiring her, I can have a pretty and functioning website that I couldn’t break.
