So had I not found Solo Build It! 20 years ago and built my website, which is a labor of love, I don’t think we’d be where we are now financially! John Shank, www.shedking.net
What does it take to turn a lifelong passion for building into a life-changing online business?
For John Shank, the journey started not online, but after a 22-year career in grocery store management that left him yearning to make a living doing what he truly loved: working with wood.
He became a professional shed builder, learning every detail of the craft through grueling physical labor. But he dreamed of using his hard-won knowledge in a better way.
His first attempt at a website was on a cheaper platform—as he says, “I was dead broke at the time!” After two years with little to show for it, he knew he needed a different path.
Convinced by the Solo Build It! process, John made a decision that speaks volumes about his commitment: he took out a personal loan, using $300 of it to finally buy his one-year SBI! membership.
That was over 20 years ago. Today, John calls it “the best business decision I have ever made,” with a thriving online business that has sold over 29,000 shed plans.
In our interview, John shares the remarkable story of his two-decade journey—the “eureka” moments, the “roller coaster” of Google updates, and the lessons learned that have kept his business successful and relevant for many years.
1. John, it’s been a decade since our 2015 interview, and more than 20 years since you started shedking.net. Can you share a few highlights from this journey, the good, the bad and the ugly?
My journey, since I started using Solo Build It! (or Site Build It!, as it was called back then) for building shedking.net, has been one that I am extremely happy with, and one that I am eternally grateful for.
To this day, I can’t wait to get out of bed, which is normally around 5am, make a cup of coffee, turn on the computer, and see what my sales have been for the previous day. It’s an addiction.
I’ve pretty much been following this routine just about every day of the week since I started developing my own shed plans for sale. The very first time I sold a shed plan, way back in 2010, it was like eureka!
I couldn’t believe someone actually bought a shed plan from me. I was scared and excited at the same time.
I just knew that person would email me right away and ask me why I sold them such a piece of crap. I waited and waited, but I never got that nasty email. Thank God!
I knew from that day forward, this was some type of dream that I was finally able to realize. My dream of selling something online. My shed plans.
I’ve tried so many money-making schemes in my life that failed, but SBI! was not a scheme. SBI! was the one thing in my online journey that actually helped me to generate an income.
What a side hustle it’s been! A very profitable side hustle. I’ve since sold upwards of 29,000 shed plans.
Before I had my shed plans for sale, my income from my site was via Google Adsense. I did ok with the earnings from AdSense; it was enough at the time to pay for my monthly Solo Build It! subscription.
As for the bad and the ugly, my online journey with SBI! has not been all wine and roses. I suffered many setbacks with Google’s algorithm changes over the years. It’s been a roller coaster ride to say the least. I was never really devastated to the point that I felt like I had to give up.
So in that sense I consider myself lucky enough to still be in the online game, generating a fairly decent income with my site.
I’ve had major keywords in my niche go from being in the top 5 at Google, to dropping all the way into pages 3 and 4, with no recovery. Fortunately for me, though, I’ve come to realize that the majority of my traffic comes from long-tail keywords from T3 and T4 pages.
Today, I have around 55 shed plans (digital downloads) that I sell, ranging anywhere from $6 to $29. So for me, having digital products to sell has been a blessing.
I’ve been blessed first off to have found SBI! all those 20 some years ago, and blessed to have had the ability to learn all the software and programs that have allowed me to make and sell those shed plans online.
His “eureka” moment of the first sale—feeling both scared and excited—is something every new entrepreneur can relate to. It’s that turning point where your idea becomes a real, income-generating business.
He started with AdSense earning just enough to cover his subscription, then transitioned to selling his own digital products, which created a “very profitable side hustle.”
This is a classic monetization strategy we teach at Solo Build It!. Creating and selling your own products, based on your unique knowledge, has a much higher income potential than ad networks like AdSense.
John’s story also provides a dose of reality. The journey isn’t a straight line; it’s a “roller coaster.” But by focusing on a proven process and not a “scheme,” he built a business that could withstand the ups and downs and provide a life-changing income.
A note about “long tail keywords from T3 and T4 pages”… if you’re wondering what John’s talking about, we’ll cover this at the end of the interview. So, keep reading!
2. Traffic from Google is still, by far, your number one traffic source, and seems undisturbed by recent algorithm changes, like the Helpful Content Update. What’s your “secret”? Has your content strategy changed over the years?
Several years back I started using a service called RankIQ. It was recommended by fellow SBIer Gerhild Fulson from JustLikeOma.com.
I started using it in conjunction with SBI!’s keyword brainstorming tool and page builder. It helped me to zero in on pages with good demand and low supply numbers, while adding in other terms that Google wanted to see in the content that was written about those topics.
Out of the 15 to 20 pages I wrote based on RankIQ suggestions, I would say 80% of them ranked in the top 5 search engine results for the keywords I targeted. Some pages took two to three months to rank, others were somewhat quicker like one month.
I also used RankIQ along with Tai (SBI!’s AI assistant) to update some of my older outdated pages.
This work has already paid off. My Google traffic has gone up significantly this year.
The second thing I am doing is spending more time on Facebook and Instagram. I participate in Facebook groups and look for individual posts that are closely related to anything having to do with building sheds, shed houses, chicken coops, etc.
My thinking behind this approach is that people visiting these types of groups may be interested in purchasing one of my shed plans.
I don’t post anything blatantly obvious like “Hey all you chicken lovers, I’ve got some chicken coop plans for sale here at shedking.net. Come on over and buy a plan from me!”
My interaction is more of being an innocent bystander who can help people in these groups with advice I’ve gained from being a professional shed builder and home remodeler.
Sometimes I add a picture from the hundreds of photos I’ve taken over the years of a related construction issue, and the picture has shedking.net on it for branding.
Then I will also include a link to the relevant information I have on my site that might help them understand the solution to their problems in more detail.
Some of those visitors may buy a shed plan from me!
I also do this on Instagram, but it doesn’t seem to be as easy on that platform.
For Pinterest — I have lots and lots of pins there as well. Those are more geared towards selling my plans with pictures that show the benefits of building one of my sheds, and those link directly to that plan’s sales page.
I use Tai Freestyle quite a bit for writing titles and descriptions for all my social media postings.
In the past I’ve also run ads on Facebook, but without much success. At the time I was doing the ads, I was spending $5 to $10 a day without much return. My problem was not spending enough time learning the best ways to optimize my ads.
First, for his content, he combines an external tool (RankIQ) with his core Solo Build It! process. He isn’t replacing what works; he’s enhancing it. He uses the tools to find low-competition topics and then builds his pages the SBI! way, a process that has clearly paid off with high rankings.
This is a great lesson for any long-time business owner: stay open to new tools that can complement your proven system.
Second, his approach to social media is a masterclass in modern marketing. He’s not on Facebook to broadcast ads; he’s there to help. By participating in groups and offering genuine advice as a professional, he builds trust and authority. The links he shares aren’t spam; they’re helpful resources.
This value-first approach is the essence of PREselling, a core concept we’ve taught at Solo Build It! for decades. You build a relationship and establish credibility before ever asking for a sale.
3. You’ve started using our AI assistant, Tai. As a long-time SBIer who has built a successful site “the old-school way,” how are you integrating a modern tool like AI into your workflow? What specific tasks do you find it most helpful for?
As I mentioned above, I like to use Tai Freestyle for helping me come up with titles and product descriptions for my Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram posts. I’m constantly amazed how intuitive Tai is and how easy it is to use.
There are times when it almost feels like Tai has the ability to read my mind when I can’t seem to get the prompt input just the way I want it.
I mentioned previously that I used RankIQ to help me write new content pages. RankIQ generates a list of words that Google likes to see in the content associated with the keyword you intend to write about.
Having copied these words off of RankIQ, I’ll then go over and open up Tai, specifically Prompt Build It. I’ll go through each of the steps following the specific guidelines for each step.
When I get to step 6 (Pertinent Connections), I will enter the primary and secondary keywords, then down at the bottom for the sentiments section, I will paste in all the words I previously copied from RankIQ that are the words Google likes to see in the content.
Once Tai has generated the content for me, I will then copy this content, then go back to RankIQ and open up the content analyzer. RankIQ then spits out some figures letting you know if the word count is enough, and also whether or not you’ve covered enough of the needed words that Google considers worthy of being in your webpage/blog.
RankIQ also gives you guidelines on writing good headlines based on headlines written by the websites that rank in the top 10 for the keyword you’re targeting. I generally take advantage of that option as well for my webpage/blog.
Once I have edited the content in RankIQ to get what they consider to be good enough to post, I’ll copy that content, then go over to SBI! and create a new web page about that topic.
I edit the copy some more, adding headings and sub-headings, and appropriate images that I have personally made over the years with my shed building information and shed plans. I consider myself to be very fortunate here as I am able to use all my own original images.
With this new page pretty much completed, I will then run it through SBI!’s page analyzer and make adjustments accordingly. Then I’ll go ahead and publish the page.
He doesn’t just push a button; he has a repeatable, multi-step system:
Research -> AI Draft -> Refine -> Humanize.
- He starts with research (using RankIQ) to identify what Google wants to see in a page about his chosen topic.
- He feeds that research into Tai’s Prompt Build It! to create a strong initial draft. This is where his process gets really clever. In Step 6, “Pertinent Connections,” Tai asks for keywords and sentiments—related concepts that help the AI stay on target.John takes his entire list of words from RankIQ and pastes them into the sentiments field. This “bathes” the AI in the precise language Google wants to see, ensuring the first draft is super relevant.
- He then refines that draft using RankIQ again to ensure it meets quality metrics.
- Finally, and most importantly, he humanizes it in SBI!’s BlockBuilder by adding his own voice, structure, and unique, original images.
This is a brilliant hybrid approach. The most crucial step is that final one. It’s a perfect demonstration of a core principle highlighted in our Tai Guide: “Just. Add. You!”.
AI provides the foundation, but John’s personal expertise and unique assets are what make the content truly valuable and trustworthy.
4. What do you see as the biggest benefit of using a tool like Tai for your business? On the flip side, what potential pitfalls should solopreneurs be mindful of when using AI for content?
I’ve found the older I get, the harder it is for me to write content. That’s where I really love Tai. I would have to say that I use the Freestyle option more than the Prompt Build It option.
I’ve used Tai Freestyle extensively and have given it all sorts of queries ranging from webpage info such as good meta descriptions to creating a business plan for advertising the benefits of using virtual or augmented reality for selling my shed plans.
Tai is just simply amazing to me in how it helps me jog my brain to figure out the best avenues to take on whatever I decide to use it for.
I find that the biggest pitfall to using Tai for content is that you have to make sure that whatever gets generated is absolutely factual. It’s very easy to just skim over the generated content without actually making sure that everything is 100% accurate.
I found this to be the case when I first started using Tai. I was so excited when it first came out that I didn’t check the content it created thoroughly. Now, I go over everything as best as I can, adding my own voice and images, and making sure everything is legitimate.
For anyone who has ever felt stuck or found it harder to come up with fresh ideas over time, this is a key insight. He uses AI as a creative partner to overcome mental blocks and explore new avenues—even complex ones like using virtual reality for his business!
And his advice on the flip side is just as important: the biggest pitfall is complacency.
John admits that when he first started using Tai, he was so “blown away by its capability” that he didn’t verify the AI-generated content as thoroughly as he should have. It’s easy to assume that because the text sounds authoritative, it must be accurate.
This is why the final step is non-negotiable: you must go over everything, fact-check it, and infuse it with your own voice and experience. It’s another reminder of our core principle: Just. Add. You! Use AI to spark creativity, but always be the final, human expert.
5. In 2015, part of your advice for our readers was to learn all about and use social media. Would you still give this advice today? Has your own usage of social media changed over the years?
I use social media almost every day. As I mentioned above, I make a lot of comments in Facebook Groups related to my niche, trying to be as helpful as possible rather than trying to sell to them.
I can definitely see a correlation to my Facebook posts and increased sales of my shed plans. It seems the more I contribute, the more I sell.
I also try to post as much as I can on Pinterest and I get anywhere from 5 to 10 Pinterest likes a day on my posts.
I’m not good at checking in on Google Analytics to determine what’s working the best for me. It’s something I need to delve into more. However, I’d rather spend my time on generating more sales by commenting in Facebook Groups rather than obsessing over my stats.
He’s not just posting content; he’s actively participating in niche communities, specifically Facebook Groups. He acts as a “helpful, innocent bystander,” sharing his professional expertise and building trust long before he ever suggests a sale.
John’s results prove it works: “the more I contribute, the more I sell.”
What I also find insightful is his admission that he doesn’t obsess over analytics. He’d rather spend his limited time on the very activity he knows is driving sales.
This is a practical lesson for every solopreneur: focus on the actions that generate results.
6. Many successful online businesses rely heavily on their email list. What role does email marketing, including your newsletter ‘Shed ‘N Sight,’ play in your overall business strategy?
I could definitely do more with my newsletter. I’m sad to say that I’ve probably sent out fewer than 20 newsletters in the last 20 years! I do have an account with Kit, formerly Convert Kit. As it stands right now, I have around 2000 subscribers at Kit, and about 500 subscribers on my SBI! mailout list.
My original payment processor for selling my shed plans was E-junkie and through them, or so they claimed, I had over 28,000 subscribers. I don’t feel this number was correct. I think this was simply the number of shed plans I had sold over the years that I was with E-junkie.
I’ve since switched over to Shopify as my payment processor and those 2000 subscribers at Kit have come from my Shopify buyers.
My niche of shed building is to me kind of a ‘One and Done’ deal where they came to my site for a plan to build their shed, and that’s all they’re interested in.
His reasoning—that shed building is a “One and Done deal”—is understandable on the surface. But to me it highlights an untapped opportunity.
Think about all the visitors who land on his site who aren’t ready to buy a shed plan that day. They’re interested, but they’re still in the research phase. Without a way to capture their information, those potential customers are lost, likely forever.
This is where an email list becomes so valuable, even in a “one-off” niche. Imagine if John offered a simple freebie, like a checklist that solves some common problem in shed building, in exchange for an email address.
He could then send a series of helpful tips. When those visitors are finally ready to build, who will be top of mind? The ShedKing, of course!
Even successful businesses have room for growth. So my advice to John would be to give email marketing a try. We have a whole section about it in our knowledge base for SBIers.
7. In our original interview, you spoke about building an additional income stream for retirement. Looking back, did you achieve that goal? Could you also share how your site earns income today and how that has grown or changed since 2015?
Yes, I have achieved that goal. I have consistently maintained that goal for the last 10 years and I feel pretty comfortable where I am financially right at this moment in time. I have however tried to not be too dependent on the earnings from my site.
My wife and I have been able to sock money away into savings and retirement accounts, and we have our house paid off, and also own a rental that is fully paid off.
Was this due to my income from my SBI! site? I can definitely equate the dollar amounts of allowing us to become debt free to the money I’ve generated with my website.
So had I not found Solo Build It! 20 years ago and built my website, which is a labor of love, I don’t think we’d be where we are now financially!
His online business has been a reliable income source for over two decades, weathering everything from the Panda and Penguin algorithm updates to the recent HCU and global economic crises. This isn’t just a “side hustle”; it’s a resilient asset.
And what does that kind of long-term stability create? The tangible, life-changing results John talked about: paying off a house, owning a debt-free rental property, and building a secure retirement.
His own words say it best:
“So had I not found Solo Build It! 20 years ago and built my website, which is a labor of love, I don’t think we’d be where we are now financially!”
This is the true value of a sustainable online business. It’s not just about building a website; it’s about building a better, more secure future, year after year.
8. After all these years, what do you still find most rewarding about being an online business owner?
For me it’s being able to make money from my knowledge while helping customers out at the same time by providing a solution to their problem(s).
I feel like this is the key to someone just starting out with an online presence. Take what you know or feel passionate about and share it. Use your website to promote your knowledge and sell your knowledge either by writing an ebook, or developing a course.
One to one is not the key, but rather one to many. Use the web to reach a global audience to sell your knowledge.
I feel fortunate to have a website—which I’ve developed with the help of SBI!—that has given me fairly consistent income almost every year since I started it in 2004.
He then offers this as advice, and it’s a golden nugget for anyone starting out:
“One to one is not the key, but rather one to many.”
This is the fundamental shift an online business offers. Instead of helping one client at a time, your website allows you to share your knowledge with thousands—or in John’s case, tens of thousands—of people around the world, 24/7.
This principle is the very foundation of the Solo Build It! process. We help you take your unique knowledge—whether it’s about sheds, baking, or travel—and turn it into a scalable business that helps a global audience.
It’s this combination of purpose (helping) and profit (earning) that makes this journey so rewarding.
9. Finally, what is your most important piece of advice for long-term solopreneurs who are working to keep their mature website successful and relevant year after year?
One of the things that I didn’t mention earlier was that I’ve gone back and revamped older pages on my site. I looked for pages that were not as comprehensive as they should have been and added more valuable and up to date content.
I think this too has helped to increase my rankings, especially for long-tail keywords.
So, this would be my main advice for people with a mature website:
Regularly review your pages or blog posts, especially the ones you wrote long ago, and improve them with useful, up-to-date content.
I plan on doing more of this in the near future myself. I also recently read something that Ken Evoy had said in the SBI! forums: his advice was to add more T4 pages on our websites. That’s awesome advice for all of us and I plan on doing more of that as well.
His core strategy is simple: go back and revamp your older pages. He actively looks for content that isn’t as comprehensive as it could be and enriches it with more valuable, up-to-date information. This not only keeps his site relevant for visitors but, as he notes, also helps his rankings for long-tail keywords.
He then reinforces his strategy with high-level advice he gets from being part of the SBI! community. He specifically mentions a recent tip from Ken Evoy, our founder and CEO, in the SBI! forums: add more T4 pages.
For those wondering, Tier 4 (T4) pages are a key part of a well-structured website, which is beneficial for both human visitors and search engines.
Think of your site like this:
Tier 1 is your home page, representing your site concept.
Tier 2 pages are the main categories of your site concept.
Tier 3 pages cover specific topics within those categories.
Tier 4 pages dive into even greater detail on a single idea mentioned in a Tier 3 page. They often answer very specific, long-tail questions (like those used in voice search) and are the in-depth content that builds authority and attracts exactly the visitors you want to get to your site.
What Are the Key Lessons For Long-Term Online Success?
John’s 20-year journey, from taking out a loan to building a legacy, is packed with advice that applies to any niche, not only shed-building.
I’ve distilled his answers into these four core principles (feel free to copy and paste them on a sticky note!):
- Productize Your Knowledge: John’s business transformed when he shifted from AdSense to selling his own digital products—his shed plans. Turning your expertise into a scalable product is the foundation of a sustainable online income.
- Build Trust Before You Sell: He doesn’t advertise on social media; he helps. By offering genuine advice in communities, he builds authority and trust, which naturally leads to sales. This is the essence of PREselling, one of Solo Build It!’s core teachings.
- Continuously Improve Your Assets: A mature website is not a set-in-stone document. John’s strategy of consistently revamping and improving his older content is crucial for maintaining relevance and rankings year after year.
- Embrace the “Labor of Love”: Through all the “roller coaster” moments, John’s genuine passion for his work and the business he built was the fuel that kept him going. Long-term success requires both a smart strategy and a deep commitment.
Feeling inspired by John’s story?
He is one of the thousands of “everyday people” who’ve built successful, life-changing businesses with Solo Build It!.
For even more inspiration, sign up for our free 10 Real Life Success Lessons email series. Each day, you’ll meet another successful SBIer and discover a unique, actionable lesson to help you on your own online business journey.
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