My Personal Journey

My name is Lindy McLean and I consider myself to be one of the most fortunate women in the world. I have a wonderful husband and two of the brightest kids on the planet. I can say that because I am their mother. ;)

My children and I

Not only do I have a great family, but now I have an internet business that I absolutely adore. Here is the story of my personal journey.

From the Beginning

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My husband and I are high school sweethearts. We went to Calvin College (in Grand Rapids, MI) together and married during college. My summers during college were spent nannying for a wonderful family and working in the preschool room at a daycare facility.

I graduated from Calvin with a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education. After obtaining my teaching certificate, I was hired at a local school to teach in an early childhood education classroom.


While I was teaching, I began working on my Master's Degree in Language Arts/Reading. Delving deeper into the art of teaching reading really satisfied my intellectual curiousity. I love learning and know that I will be in the contant pursuit of knowledge.

Things Were About to Change

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Several years later, I found out I was pregnant. After an uneventful pregnancy, my daughter ended up being born 2 months prematurely. After agonizing for weeks, my husband and I decided that I would resign my teaching position to stay home to care for our fragile little girl.

She spent some time in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of our local Children's Hospital, with me commuting back and forth to spend time with her. After she was discharged, we spent a couple of scary weeks trying to adjust to this sweet baby.

I loved watching her grow and learn, and knew I had found my new calling - being a mother. No matter what else I did in life, nothing would compare to this job.

Nine months later I discovered I was pregnant with our son. During that pregnancy, I developed complications and was ordered on strict bedrest for 2 months. I could only get up to use the restroom and to take a 10 minute shower every other day.

In spite of the bedrest, he was still 2 months premature. He also spent time in the NICU (it seemed like we were just there!) with the amazing doctors and nurses taking care of him.

This reaffirmed my decision to stay home with my children (who, by the way, are healthy and rambunctious now!). I knew there was no way I could leave my children in daycare!

I loved being home with them and not missing any of the important milestones in their life. I was there for their first words, their first steps, and their first "owies." 

What? Laid Off?

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Then came the news that my husband (who was in the automobile industry) lost his job. I knew I had to earn an income now, to help support our family through this crisis.

I had always been interested in working from home and I thought that I might be able to start an on-line business of some sort. I read everything I could get my hands on. I thought I had a pretty good plan but then I got stuck.

I became so paralyzed with fear that I chickened out and went back to work in the safe environment of education, this time as a full-time teacher aide, as teaching jobs were sparse in my area. Things started out pretty smoothly there but soon all heck broke loose in my personal life.

What Now?

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My children enjoyed going to daycare at first - they got to meet a lot of kids their age, they had lots of new toys to play with, and all kinds of fun activities and crafts to do every day. The childcare center that we chose was excellent, really.

Even though they were having fun, they started to miss being at home every day with me. In the mornings, they would cry because they didn't want to be rushed to get out the door. They would cry when we got to daycare because they didn't want me to leave.

Things at home weren't any easier. I would get home in the evenings exhausted from being on my feet all day, but knowing that I still had tons more to do: dinner, dishes, bath time, bedtime routines, then any cleaning or laundry that had to be done.


I was miserable. I felt like I was never really where I was supposed to be. At work, I would be thinking about my children and what had to be done at home. At home, I would be thinking about what needed to be done for work.

The final straw for me was when my very precocious little 4-year-old daughter said to me, "Mommy, why do you work teaching other kids and not us anymore?"

As I saw my family unhappy, I began thinking there had to be a better way. Wasn't there some way that I could earn a living AND stay home with my kids?

One day, I took out a piece of paper and wrote down the following goals:

• A flexible schedule that allows time with family, to be able to maintain a social life, to work out and to take care of my home
• A job in the area of education
• To earn enough money to offset household expenses and bills
• To be able to travel 
• To make a difference in people's lives

Again, I started poking around on the internet learning more about starting an online business of some sort.

But again, how was I going to even begin? I knew absolutely NOTHING about building a website.

The Fog is Beginning to Clear

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I talked with my husband and we agreed that rather than continuing to work outside the home with everyone miserable, my time was better spent trying to get a home-based web business going.

I was so afraid that I was going to chicken out again because I didn't even know what I was doing! But I made the critical decision to just do it afraid.

It was about this time, I'm embarrassed to admit, that I spent some of my hard earned cash on a couple of get-rich-quick-schemes. You know, the ones where they promise to teach you how to get a website up and running overnight so you can begin making millions of dollars immediately?

Just about the time I figured out I had been scammed, I came across a website for stay-at-home moms. The author gives all kinds of advice about how to stretch your dollars, cut expenses, and earn extra money. 

On her site, I read about Ken Evoy's product called "Site Build It!", also known as SBI!, for the first time and decided to research the product.

Some of the phrases that she used really stuck in my head, like "SBI! eliminates the need to learn HTML" and "it has extensive training in how to build and manage an effective Internet marketing business" and "the SBI! Forum is one of the most helpful and supportive forums you will find on the net."

Okay, I was almost sold. This SBI! thing sounded pretty good. Could this product really be the answer to my prayers? I needed a closer look so I typed "SBI" into Google and immediately came upon their site.

Introducing My Parachute

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I quickly found Ken Evoy's video where he talks about the theory behind Site Build It! What caught my attention right from the start was Ken stating that there is no such thing as building an effective business overnight.

It is hard work and takes time and if anybody tells you otherwise, you are getting scammed.

I watched all of the testimonial videos on the site and came away with the very clear impression that, although it would be hard work, the people at Site Build It! were going to be there to help me every step of the way. That was exactly what I needed to hear at that point in time.

I was terrified, remember?

I felt like I had just jumped off a cliff and was desperately looking for a parachute. Turns out, SBI! became my parachute.

Site Build It! to the Rescue

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I had known for quite some time that building a successful internet business was the way to meet my goals, but I had already made a couple of mistakes buying get-rich-quick-schemes so I was hesitant to spend any more of my hard earned cash.

For several days, I read everything I could get my hands on about SBI!. The following comments really jumped out at me:

• You do not need to be Net-marketing savvy, nor do you need to be brilliant or technically-minded. Okay, I really liked the sounds of this one because I am NOT technically minded at all and that was one of my biggest concerns.
• You will not read insulting words like "Get-Rich-Quick." No false promises like "fast and easy." In fact, SBI! owners are "The Anti-Get-Rich-Quick." Very reassuring since I had already gotten scammed with these exact insulting words.
• You will read words like "working smart" and "knowledge" and "passion" and "time investment" and "flexibility" and "community" and "support" and "guidance" and "monetization." I loved this comment because I had the passion for sure and was definitely ready to work hard, I just needed some support and community.
• No Search Engine expertise required -- no expensive tech, Web or graphic consultants are necessary. The complete set of tools makes it simple to build "it." Again, because I was unsure of my technical abilities, I really needed help in this area.
• Do your business and thrive, in a tenth of the time, at a tenth of the price... When I read this one, I thought about how many times in my life I tried to take a short cut and it ended up costing more of my valuable time and hard earned money. I didn't want to make that mistake again.
• Building a REAL business takes some work, yes. SBI! reduces that by 90% because it handles all the tedious, difficult and technical barriers. But you still have to bring BAM ("Brain And Motivation"). Only a human can bring that part. I mentioned before how much I appreciate SiteSell (company that makes SBI!) telling customers upfront that building a business is HARD WORK as opposed to making it sound like it can be done overnight just to sell products.

SiteSell's credibility sky-rocketed when I read these comments and really solidified my decision to purchase Site Build It!

Look What I Have Accomplished!

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It has been just over a year since I purchased SBI! Everything that I read before I bought it has come true. It has been hard work, no doubt, but just as they promised, SiteSell has been with me every step of the way.

Take a look around my site and you will see just how far I have come. My business is really starting to take off and I am now exceeding 6,000 visitors a month from countries all over the world. Imagine where I'll be a year from now!

The best part is that I wake up every day with a new sense of empowerment and independence. Can you imagine a job that you can not wait to get back to? I never thought I'd see the day.

Even when I'm laying in bed at night, my mind is still churning with all the possibilities. Ideas, ideas, ideas! They just keep coming.

The internet world is at my feet and I owe it all to Site Build It! and all of the generous people I have met in the SBI! Forums who have selflessly given their time and energy to newbies like me. I could not have done this without them and I am forever grateful.

I'm So Glad I Found SBI! While My Kids Are Still Young

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I can't even begin to tell you how glad I am that I found SBI! while my children are still young. I would have regretted missing out on these most important years if I had continued working outside the home.

If you would like more information about SBI!, below are a couple of links to help you on your way. With this powerhouses covering your back, you can not go wrong.

Site Build It! Building a profitable on-line business takes time and energy. Thankfully, Site Build It! is ready and waiting to help you with all the technical, tedious tasks that need to be done so you can focus on more important things. To learn more about this incredible product and find several free reference guides, visit my web page dedicated to Site Build It!.

My goal in telling you all this is so that you can understand where I am coming from. I know when I visit a website, I like to see who the author is so I know if what they are saying is credible.

Education is a passion for me and it is my goal to turn that passion into helping others become the best teacher they can be. Whether you are a classroom teacher, a parent wanting to learn more about their own little preschooler, or are thinking about/already homeschooling, I am here to help.

I hope you enjoy your visit to The Preschool Professor and feel free to leave me comments so I can make this site even better!

Acknowledgements

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I would like to thank several of my friends for their insights, contributions, and help on this site. Your work does not go unappreciated!

Connie Scheel, M.Ed.
Michelle Nielsen
Janet Vroegop

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