Two Years? Really? I can't believe it! Reflections on how my life has changed since I found Buzztouch and this beautiful community….It is my hope that everyone who wants to share their story will today as well! If you don't know me by now...my name is Sheri Miles. Yup that's my actual real name. I live in Washington State. We are on the side where it doesn't rain so much. I am surrounded by pine trees, lakes, mountains and of course Big Foot! I have always been a bit of risk taker. Love the adventure and I am ALWAYS trying to figure out how things work. As an army trained nurse after several years in healthcare, I had reached the goals I wanted out of the career. I was able to travel, teach and connect to people and I am so thankful for the experience. However, like most people looking for a career change.. I had a yearning of "there has to be more". I wanted more freedom to do things I enjoyed. To create my own schedule. Find a place where I can get paid to be creative and play. Probably the same reason why you landed here too... How did I end up at Buzztouch? I am not sure about you….but I tried all sorts of things to obtain this dream. You name it. I probably did it. In fact I went to seminar to learn how to make my app empire…. and an app idea came to me... So I asked the guru's around me. How would I do it? Now these guru's were just started out but already made millions they claim on the app store. I was even able to meet them face to face and told them about my idea and they said...."Easily done. Just go to O'desk and you can hire someone" They also told me that there are these great "app maker" sites that I could use RSS feeds and make an app in five minutes! Now you may of heard of these guru's …and I am not here to bad mouth them or single them out.. Actually, I have first hand knowledge that a lot of them are Buzztouch members. There is some great information they deliver...but for me, making apps is not one of them. A lot of them claim that hiring a programmer can be lucrative. But for me, it is udder (pardon the term) bullshit. On Odesk, I had no problem finding the programmers. The difficulty was I could not speak the language on my needs. That frustrated the programmer and frustrated me. Not to mention the cultural difference where it is difficult for men to take directions from women. My app dream was not a success. I lost thousands of dollars and still did not have the app. Rant:Now I will not say I never use Odesk…. but what I found my experience I use them the same as I change my oil. You see thanks to my Army training, I know how to change my oil and heck I even know the difference between changing the oil and changing a tire….All kidding aside, it's a skill I don't necessarily like to do it. I rather pay the money to have someone do it who has the right equipment and space. If I can give you any advice...use Odesk as you do to change your oil. You wouldn't ask someone to change your tires if all you needed was an oil change would you? Go to Odesk when you know what you need SPECIFICALLY and you just need to get the job done--Ok End of Rant Ok..so what about the "app maker" sites..One of which is this one. Buzztouch. At first, looking at Buzztouch I was way overwhelmed and couldn't figure it out and I was so I went on to the next "app maker" site I had found out that yeah I could make an app with RSS feeds! Awesome! I did it! 12 apps Both on Google Play and Apple Generated money too...but here is the catch. I didn't get my source code and I wasn't able to upgrade. So I went to the forum to ask for help none or very little….and guess what? They are out of business. What I did see in the forum everyone was heading to Buzztouch to make apps….. So that's what I did…. I went back to Buzztouch. It seemed way too complicated before but I was so determined to make this app! With Buzztouch I had to stop for a moment and read things ....I found incredible tutorials and even more so incredible people. In fact, I nearly fell of my chair when the owner and creator actually emailed me back to help me get my self-hosted server up. Then another person reached out to me and said hey! I was in health-care too! I am going to have a meet-up you should come! You can even stay at my house. So…crazy adventure person I am I decided to go… Looking Behind The Curtain .. The one thing that many years of health care has taught me is how to read people. You must be able to read people to help them. Sometimes by reading their lab results or most the time by just looking into a person's eyes. You can tell if they are in pain. If they are happy. Or even if they are not telling you the truth. Now I am not claiming that I am psychic but ask any healthcare professional and they will tell you the same. It's our job to take care of people's needs. So we have to have this 6th sense about us….With my first guru seminar I was able see that most the guru's had no clue what they were talking about when it came to actually coding an app. They told you specifically they didn't know either…..But the thing I came away with at the seminar was yes….there is a new industry unfolding but looking their eyes they were way over their heads ….. When I got the opportunity to go to the Buzztouch Meetup it was my chance to look into the creators eyes of Buzztouch and see what I could see…. So, I left to see the man behind the curtain. Who was this David Book? What was in his bag of tricks? What kind of angle is he going to tell me? The day of the meet up There was five of us ….No stage was present. Just a guy. A guy with a dream. A dream to become the #1 place where you go make an app. I asked all the questions that I could. He handle every one. No gimmicks No special tricks. Just one message. "Do the work" I remember looking into his eyes that day I could see a person who wanted to help….really help. He knew the industry and was successful. However, he didn't have shout it from the rafters. He just rather show you his discoveries….In all my days nursing I only saw this look in someone eyes….in a special department….that of hospice. You see, right before a person dies they have this way of looking at you. They look at you like hey…while I was on this earth…..I learned all this amazing stuff….can I share it with you before I leave? ….ok ok….weird analogy…Believe me when I shared this with David I think he thought I was off my rocker too…..but that's the only way I can describe it… My Life Today & The Future I went back home from glimpse behind the curtain and I have never been the same. Here I am two years later…..What are the results? I did finish my dream app and many others came afterword, for not only myself but others. My schedule is my own. My life is full of creativity and fun. Currently I own and operate three mobile app businesses. One with my husband (hint get spouses involved makes it more fun!) I currently teaching myself new languages such as php/mysql,jquery, html & css and now have more confidence to tackle other programing languages I was afraid to before. I consider myself a newbie still and learn each day the business of making apps. The Future looks amazing! The Biggest thing that has changed since I began this journey is I Don't look for Guru's I look within myself to get the answers. There is no tricks to this business. The Buzztouch Community has been like an amazing family to me. Watching everyone grow has been the best inspiration no other guru could achieve. So my Buzztouch Birthday message I give you that was once given to me….just ….. "Do the Work" More importantly Believe in yourself! You can do it! Thank you for an incredible two year ride! Looking Forward Many Years Of More Buzztouch Creations! -Sheri Buzztouch The #1 Place To Create An App!

Yeehaw! :-)

And she lived happily ever after... :D

Thank you Sheri for sharing this. Echoes much of my own sentiments towards Buzztouch, David Book and this community at large. BTW, three mobiles businesses? What do they do and why did you have to separate them?

So true, Sheri! Thank you for sharing this. You are an inspiration.

Sheri, you have a habit of writing really long forum posts! Anyway, I congratulate you for this achievement. I am totally the same. Buzztouch is one of those sites I have stuck to. Facebook and iCloud are the only other sites I regularly use that requires a login.

I love it! You are an extremely valuable member of this community, and feedback like this is exactly why! Happy Buzztouch Birthday, Sheri! Here's to many, many more, and to 1000's of successful apps! Mark

Lots happened in two years :) Long winded sorry :) Three Companies: 1-Mentoring young women in developing apps 2- Indie Musician Promotion 3- Healthcare Educational Apps Baby stages on all three. So many business you can create with buzztouch Will give more details as they grow!

Thanks everyone for making these couple of years memorable and looking forward to many more!

Hi shery, Great story to read. Also great to hear that Buzztouch can make such a difference in someone's life (I think most of the active members exactly know what you are talking about) Very inspiring story and I hope there will be one day when we could all meet each other in person! Continue living your dream.... Best Regards, Danny

Great Story Sheri! I enjoyed every syllable! BT seems to fit my bill rather nicely as well :) Cheers! -- Smug

Always good to know the journeys of those who have gone before… thanks for sharing yours. Just motivates me to keep on pressing. and thus I shall. €

happy buzzday lol Great story Sheri

Sheri, Thanks for the great post! Buzztouch has really grown since 2011! The community here is amazing! Where most services focus on $$ BT is really making a real difference by CARING about us... the developers, users, newbies, fans, geeks... us! It takes time, money, resources, work, effort and perseverance to make apps, build an awesome community, create this tool and much more! Big thanks to the whole Buzztouch Team and to everyone on the forum (that means you who are reading this)! BTW: I am that cheery chap who mention Buzztouch.com on the App Makr forum because I enjoyed it so much :D

Awesome Sheri! Great story its always nice to hear. Looking forward to seeing more of your work!

Happy Buzztouch Birthday :) Jake

Happy Buzztouch Birthday! Thank you for sharing your adventure. Mike

Sheri's path is quite similar to mine. I repost it on my blog, with her permission: <a href="http://duskosavic.com/blog/buzztouch/happy-buzztouch-birthday-to-me-what-i-have-learn-in-the-last-2-years/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://duskosavic.com/blog/buzztouch/happy-buzztouch-birthday-to-me-what-i-have-learn-in-the-last-2-years/</a> because her experience mirrors my own experiences in app development. Quite unrelated, it seems in late 2011 we both started searching for the magic silver bullet site that will let us develop full apps from two or three RSS feeds and then make piles of money with them. I even created a site called BestAppBuilders.com, thinking that if I reviewed them all, then I’d be able to find what I wanted. It turned out that most of the sites that I was describing two years ago are now out of business. I transferred that blog to my personal blog because app development for me is both wonderful and time consuming, an inseparable part of me now. A personal thing, if you want. Buzztouch has an unusual way of getting under your skin and becoming an integral part of your life. Well done Sheri! Keep up the good work! But... Well done David Book also! You too keep up the good work and thank you for your vision!

Happy Buzztouch Birthday :)

Great story! "Indie Musician Promotion" - these are guys that def need help and can really benefit from app development - but the one common thing they all share in common is a lack of time and $$$! Still waiting for that smart one that sees the real potential of an app and wants to spend a little time and $$$ to build it!

I can relate to your Odesk experience. Found out the hard way but its not for first time app makers. Better to make an app or two on you own before hiring someone to do it for you.

@Dusko Thank you so much for including me in your blog. I love the statement " I shall concentrate on me and my apps, not on someone else’s.". I for see great success on that statement! @ATRAIN53 Indie musicians are for my husband and his son's project. My step-son has quite the following in town and not ready for itunes...labor of love with a hope to launch a different business. Interesting how the mobile app business does that....launches another area like promotion and marketing. Great passion and creativity comes out of this group :) @Buzztouch Family. Thank you so much for the love and support!