How I found a place in the sun...
...and now work from home earning money on the internet

My name is Helen and I live on a beautiful island in the Mediterranean called Cyprus.

Wouldn't everyone like a place in the sun and a lifestyle free from a 9-5 office routine? I lost my well-paid job 5 years ago through redundancy - it was real kick in the teeth.

But I moved abroad to start a different life and I solved my financial worries. You could too.

Want to know how? Read my story...

Redundancy - a blessing in disguise

I always had a yearning to run a fitness business but the safety of a full-time job always seemed preferable to the risk of starting out on your own. I was also on my own so had no-one else to support me if things didn't work out.

But when I met my husband-to-be 12 years ago, our passion for the outdoors fuelled our dream of setting up a mountain bike and hiking business someplace in Europe.

We even planned how we were going to do it but the plans remained a dream...until the day my world fell apart after 20 long years working in retail.

I was bluntly informed that my job was redundant.

I had actually seen it coming as times were tough in retail back then but it was still a cruel blow.

The redundancy money was fine to tide me over for 6 months but the pressure was there to find another job. But you know I just didn't have the heart after working such long hours for my last company. I instinctively felt that this was meant to be somehow and that my life was going to take a new direction.

So my husband Al and I sat down and did some maths. We had recently paid off our tiny mortgage thanks to the bonuses I used to get from my well-paid job. If we moved somewhere new where everything was cheaper, maybe our dream could beacome a reality?

...the best thing that could have happened!

We moved to Cyprus 6 months after I received my redundancy notice!

Deciding to start a cycling and walking business was as much driven by passion rather than solid reason but sometimes you just need a firm jolt to start a new chapter in life.

Cyprus was well known to us and we knew it was the perfect haven for mountain biking plus there were not many competitors offering tours and quality bike hire on the island.

We put together our business plan and worked flat out for 3 months finding routes, doing paperwork and setting up a website (my husband did that side of things then) then we waited for the business to arrive.

Customers came of course but we found we were spending a fortune on marketing the new business, trialling different types of marketing to find out what worked best.

We absolutely loved the cycling and we didn't need much to live on but making money out of doing what you love wasn't giving us quite enough income.

We needed to find a secondary source of income, one that was flexible enough to fit in with our cycling and walking business.

So I made a new goal...

"To find a second income that pays 50% of the bills, that fits perfectly alongside our biking business and that does NOT involve working for anyone else!"

Sounds impossible? No it's not because I've done it. So could you.

Make Money from the Internet

I make money through this website and as a freelance writer for several online publications.

This website is my second. How I started my first one, Cyprus Travel Secrets, is...well...a stroke of luck really. I was surfing the internet just looking for ideas on how to make money online working from home, when I somehow stumbled upon a company called SBI.

I really did not have the first clue about html coding and building websites and I hated PC's when I worked in retail (!) but I was intrigued by the passionate stories of people who had all built successful websites just by writing about what they love.

I took a closer look and, after several weeks soul searching, decided to have a go at building my own website, mainly as they offered a 30 day free trial.

I felt I could build a Cyprus travel website that would help drive customers to our biking/hiking business by telling them how fabulous the island is and, after all

What did I have to lose except some of my time?

To be totally honest, building a website was VERY HARD at first. There was so much information I felt like I was going into brain melt-down! But I stuck with it, read all the help in the SBI forums, followed the step by step action guide and before I knew it, I had gotten the hang of it...totally.

I was so proud of myself when my first page went live and even more pleased when, within two months, my first cents rolled in.

From there on, it's been a rollercoaster internet ride!

I started Cheap Wedding Secrets a year ago after the success of the first and in the last year I also started freelance writing to add to my web writing portfolio - I'm now proud to be the Feature writer for cycling and mountain biking at Suite101.com.

Is Writing Online giving us a Good Second Income?

Absolutely! You can find out more about how I'm doing here at my Cyprus site.

How do I make money online?

Well there are various ways such as revenue from advertising (you may have seen those Goooogle ads in various places around the site) or by recommending products from quality companies like cheap wedding dresses or where to get great value wedding favors.

I'm living my dream right now doing several jobs I really love and I believe that anyone can do the same if they have the right attitude and set their minds to it.

"We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us happy is something to be enthusiastic about." Charles Kingsley (1819-1875)

Don't just dream. Try SBI. If I can do it, believe me anyone can.