Week one is in the books. I have a niche. I have a name (Small Business AI Labs). I've chosen my hosting provider--Bluehost. And I have a pile of notes, second-guesses, and half-written content briefs that remind me every new project starts as controlled chaos.
This is the first of what will be a fully public, unfiltered build log for Small Business AI Labs—the niche site I'm using to prove out everything I teach on this blog. No cherry-picking. No pretending I made great decisions I didn't. Just what actually happened, week by week.
This week, two key decisions locked in: the niche and the hosting provider. Let's go through both.
Why I Chose "AI Tools for Small Businesses"
I spent about three weeks before this build evaluating niches. I won't rehash the full framework here (that's its own post), but I'll tell you why this one won.
The short version: this niche sits at the intersection of high demand, relatively low competition at the informational layer, and a clear affiliate monetization path.
Small business owners are not developers. They're not AI researchers. They're a florist in Columbus, a two-person HVAC company, a freelance bookkeeper. They hear terms like "ChatGPT" and "automation" constantly—but no one is giving them plain-English guides on what any of it actually means for their business, their budget, and their situation.
"There's a massive gap between the AI hype machine and the small business owner who just needs to know if a $20/month tool will save them three hours a week."
That gap is the niche. I'm not trying to rank for "best AI tools" against TechCrunch. I'm going after specific, intent-driven queries: AI tools for plumbers, automating invoicing for freelancers, the best CRM with AI features for under $50/month. Real people, real problems, real search intent.
Why the Monetization Path is Clear
Most of the tools I'll write about—CRMs, scheduling software, AI writing assistants, automation platforms—run affiliate programs paying anywhere from $30 to $150+ per referral. That's strong affiliate revenue potential even with modest traffic. Display ads can layer on later once the traffic is there.
The niche also has product longevity. AI tools aren't going anywhere, and small businesses aren't going anywhere. I'm not chasing a trend—I'm building around a fundamental shift in how small businesses will operate for the next decade.
Clear audience ✓ Search demand ✓ Affiliate programs ✓ Informational gap ✓ Long-term viability ✓ Competition manageable ✓
Why I Chose Bluehost (And Almost Got Sucked Into AWS)
Here's an honest confession: I almost spent my first week building an AWS setup for a site that currently has zero visitors.
I started down the AWS route because it's what I know from a past life in tech. S3 for static files, CloudFront for CDN, Route 53 for DNS, Certificate Manager for SSL, WAF for site protection, maybe a Lambda function or two if I got ambitious. On paper, it's the "right" infrastructure decision—infinitely scalable, fast, cheap at scale.
In practice? It was going to take me the better part of two days to set up properly, cost real mental overhead every month, and introduce a half-dozen moving parts I'd have to maintain for a site that serves static HTML. And it's expensive at such a small scale
AWS vs. Bluehost for a New Static Niche Site
- Complex multi-service setup (S3 + CloudFront + Route 53 + ACM + WAF)
- 2–3 days of configuration before writing a single word
- Monthly billing that requires active monitoring
- Overkill for a site with no traffic yet
- Mental overhead that eats into content time
- Expensive at such a small scale
- Up and running in under an hour
- Flat monthly cost—no bill surprises
- Firewall built in to the service
- SSL, CDN basics, and caching built in
- Inexpensive. Less than monthly AWS cost ... for a year of hosting
- Focus stays on content, not infrastructure
The pivot wasn't about Bluehost being technically superior to AWS. It wasn't. It was about recognizing that the constraint at Week 1 isn't infrastructure—it's time. Every hour I spend wiring up IAM roles and S3 bucket policies is an hour I'm not writing content, and content is the actual asset I'm trying to build.
For a new niche site serving static HTML, Bluehost does everything I need right now. When I'm at 50,000 monthly sessions and need more performance control, I can revisit. That's a good problem to have, and future-me can solve it.
Optimize for the constraint that matters right now. At Week 1, the constraint is output speed—how fast can you get a working site live and start publishing? Don't let infrastructure become a procrastination vehicle.
What's Coming in Week 2
The foundation is set. Here's what's on the list for next week:
I'll report back on all of it—including whatever I mess up, which is usually the most useful part anyway.
If you have questions about the niche decision or the hosting choice, drop them in the contact form. I'm genuinely building this in public, which means I'm also happy to defend my reasoning or be told I'm wrong.