A year ago, i bought my first domain name and hosting package. I went with DreamHost.
A year ago i had no idea how to make a website, how to work a server.. i didn’t even know there was such things as php and perl and all those languages. I’d heard of html and java – that was about it. The rest was gobble-de-guk.
Why did i buy a domain and host? The real reason was to push me into learning about how websites work. I wanted to learn html and how to get a basic site up and running (i never intended to make a living out of websites, i wanted to be an IT manager). So i got hold of dreamweaver and quickly realised it could do the html for me – nice one 
After a while this domain – smemon.com became my first live and active website. Standard 5 page website with a custom skinned php forum, chatroom and a manually updated ‘news’ page. Needless to say, it didn’t last long. Zero traffic, about 3 members and a site full of ads 
I guess we’ve all been there 
That was my first lesson. So determined to carry on, i designed theleavingcert.com and added articles – they’re still on it today (no nonsense, ‘what you need to pass’ articles). I also added a forum on there and that went rather well. Adsense started to get results – 1 or 2 clicks per week 
From then on, i’ve been hooked. Stumbled upon wordpress, became a little master at it, learned the tricks of the trade in SEO and the rest is history. So although i have a few sites under my belt, i actually can’t code at all or design at all I *understand* coding and design though, which i feel is just as valuable.. for example, when installing plugins into wordpress, you need to understand what you can’t and can edit and what goes where.. so although people will say any eejit can put together a blog, that’s not quite true 
Over the past year, i’ve formed 3 partnerships. 2 died, neither my fault. The guys i was dealing with simply disappeared/never replied. This, after spending hours and hours talking and coming up with plans etc.. Both were from the States so i realised that was an issue (time difference, never being able to meet up etc..). I still didn’t give up on an e-partnership though. I came up with the idea for BeerChief – firmly believing it would be a success. With limited experience, funds and skills, i just had to get a partner though.. having failed twice, i was reluctant to have another go.
So this time i snubbed the States and went looking for an Irish partner on an irish webmaster forum. Luckily enough i met Adam through that and the rest is history. He shared my enthusiasm and belief in BeerChief and we’ve now gone about bringing it all together. We’ve both invested a lot of time and money into BeerChief, so i’d regard that as a successful e-partnership
And that’s where i am at the minute – on the verge of launching my first real pet project. Of course, there is this blog which in itself is turning into one of my biggest sites. This time last year, secretly, i would have been expecting to be making a living online by now. That hasn’t happened. But the experience and knowledge gained over the year is perhaps more valuable for me than actual cash at the minute.
I know that sounds cheesy, but it’s the truth. Having no cash can only push me on further and make me hungrier for success. Coming up to launching a site i believe in – that’s the best possible line of thought i can have 
