A Little About Me

For those of you who may be a little curious about me and how I came to create this site, my name is Valerie Dansereau. I am a middle-aged mother of two and grandmother of one who experienced a life-changing event in 2004: I was laid off from my banking job of 15 years. The bank I had been so loyal to was swallowed up by a bigger bank, and I was among over 350 people to lose their jobs.

A couple of years before I lost my job, my husband was diagnosed with liver disease. As his health declined, my role as head of household became more and more apparent. Since I had previously spent eleven years as a single parent, the juggling act I was doing didn’t throw me. What did throw me were astronomical medical bills. Although I found another job after experiencing being laid off, I was making less than I had before. I was supporting five people by myself and I wasn’t making ends meet.

Clearly, I needed to find a way to supplement my income and it needed to be by working from home. (I was juggling too many doctor appointments for me to even consider a second job). I began to research the possibilities, and on this site, I share some of what I have learned.

When I decided to start my own website, I came to a fork in the road. Should I go it alone – find my own web hosting, trust in my own desperate determination to learn about html, search engine optimization, link building, blogging, etc.?

There was another option. I could purchase a site through Site Build It! I had stumbled upon their site, and I spent a lot of time browsing, especially reading impressive case studies. I was definitely impressed, but there was still the devil on one shoulder telling me I would be able to figure this all out on my own and save a few bucks.

Ultimately I decided that since the web hosting was included in the purchase price, it would be worth it to have a little help and guidance. I didn’t have time to be fumbling. And I would say to anyone out there considering setting up their own site, before you consider a less expensive web hosting, consider the cost of failure.

Well, folks, I can tell you that I have gotten EXTREMELY more than I expected from Site Build It! They have left no stone left unturned. There is a tremendous amount of education and resources. Everything is explained clearly, and when I find I don’t quite understand, there are dozens of very helpful people available at their forum.

Because of my situation, I needed to succeed. I needed someone to take me by the hand and lead the way, like a candle in the darkness. Although I was hopeful Site Build It! would make it a little easier, I never expected to practically be carried at times.

The most rewarding thing I’ve ever done in my life is raise children. The second most rewarding thing I’ve ever done is create this site. Every hour I spend working on it is truly a joy.

I won’t say I couldn’t have made it without Site Build It! because I have more faith in myself than that. But with Site Build It! as my partner, I didn’t have to tackle every problem alone. I’m sure I saved myself hours of headaches.

And I won’t say I’m glad I lost my job or that my husband is ill. On the other hand, without those catastrophes, I wouldn’t have been so driven.

Every cloud has a silver lining.

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