[woodysfj40]

<a href="http://forum.ih8mud.com" target="_blank">http://forum.ih8mud.com</a>

first step to any successful forum of your own is to spend lots of time studying the successes and failures of other sites....quietly keeping a pulse on other's traffic will provide you with the tools to properly make your own site successful. Despite the continued growth of mine, I still actively track a dozen other large forums to understand what they are or aren't doing to grow.

The other key is to have a site that is an extension of a passion you already have...my site began as an extension of my own passion for offroading, and I continue to participate actively both online AND thru my attendance at events....amazing how well passing out free coffee mugs and stickers and koozies can work for brand recognition.

I'm hard pressed to keep my weekly time below 40 hours...fortunately, my present job (professional offroad driver) allows me sufficient downtime to keep up.

From a $$ standpoint, my 2006 business taxes ran over $10,000...including penalties....uugh