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Webman Studios Pty Ltd is a totally 100% Australian owned and operated company managed by Director, Leslie (Les) Worthington (Me). The evolving of Webman Studios was certainly a rags to riches entrepreneurial success story, I am not a writer or English scholar but the evolution revolution of Webman Studios went something like this...
I first started Webman Studios as a full time home-based business in 1996 when, at the ripe young age of 39 years. I decided to leave a somewhat secure General Managers position at DOVE Australia to follow a dream in new age media development and web site design. So, I packed up my desk, said "Goodbye to everyone", and thought to myself as I left the building, "Am I crazy!?!? What the heck am I doing!?!?" I had a sickly feeling that 'Self Doubt' and 'Financial Worry' were about to become my newest best friends!
I spent the next few week setting up my home office, and from financially strained beginnings of desperately searching down the back of the lounge suite in search of those elusive lost coins, as a way of financing fresh milk for the days coffee consumption, to a 'one person' home based business that now has in excess of 100 online passive and active income streams.
So how did all these incomes streams come about?
Well I am so glad you asked... :)
During the first 12 months of setting up my home office the work load was very intense. Meeting with new clients, attending development meetings and designing the actual web sites. It wasn't uncommon to be working 16 to 20 hour days. The web management and web site design business was beginning to take shape, regularly gaining new clients and maintaining web site for existing clients in government departments, the corporate sectors and small business areas.
Towards the end of the year the work load eased as Christmas approached. Holidays and break-up parties were the main focus of clients, this is when my own web site received a little tidy up and update, or better known as, 'web site good housekeeping'. One of these web site good housekeeping practices was to check links I had placed on my web site to the various resources and web site services. These links were for resources and services I didn't offer, and were manually checked to see if they were still valid and operation. Due to the heavy work loads of the previous 12 months this was one good housekeeping practice that was continually sifted to the bottom of the priority lists.
In early January 1997 I started going through each link one by one checking and validating. Back then we added links from other web sites as a service to our customers, rather than for higher search engine rankings, as is mostly the case in modern times. Anyway back to the story, checking and validating, checking and validating, checking and validating, one link after another, updating those that were no longer valid, replacing those links to web sites that were no longer in existence. After about an hour of starting the link checking I came to a link that offered web site search engine and directory submission services, at that time it was something I knew very little about, so I had included it as a customer service link when the webman web site was first designed 12 month prior.
I clicked on the link and it took me to a web page that displayed a small lime green and black 2D disc shaped logo with a User name and password log in screen, and the message 'This advertiser has expired, please log in to update or replace you links'. "Now that's Weird? I don't ever remember registering at this web site", I thought to myself. I entered what I assumed were my log in details, and to my total surprise they were accepted and access was granted.
As I settled a little and started to take in the 'sights', in an attempt to understand this lime green corporate coloured virtual world, something unusual caught my eye, a little account information box at the top right hand side of the screen, it contained an account number, I assumed it was mine, and a 'commission amount due' cell that displayed $ 0.20 USD... OMG! OMG! OMG!...
It was at that instant a spine tingling, chilling feeling flowed throughout my whole body as I realised what had happened. I few irregular heartbeats later I realised web site was about, and what I was seeing! Gold rush fever had kicked in and I knew that I had to grab hold of this opportunity with both hands and hang on for what would be the roller-coaster ride of my life. This was the affirmation of my online home business revolution, of what is commonly referred to today as 'affiliate marketing'.
After spending many hours reading through the web site information and browsing their forums, I was excited, I mean I was really excited, I was more excited than 5 BIG KEV'S with the concept of 'affiliate marketing'! During 1997 - 1999 I scaled back Webman Studios commercial web design business model, maintaining just a small number of paying web design clients in order to keep the wolves at bay. This gave me time to explore further the dawning of this new era in home based online business opportunities.
Experimenting with new web design styles, exploring new online marketing design concepts, now called SEO or Search Engine Optimisation. I invested in many experimental and some what unproven online marketing techniques and technologies. Yes, many mistakes were made along the way, many thousands of dollars were sunk into so called 'revolutionary affiliate marketing software solutions', and I received many a wrist slap and burnt fingers along way.
It truly was a time of discovery. A time of learning, exciting times none the less. Times where trips, stumbles and falls were all part of the every day challenges. With perseverance and passion I continually picked myself up, dusted myself off. As hard as it was to stay motivated and determined, I continued on with the adventure. That's when adopted my motivational phrase 'One person can make a difference...'
The early days of affiliate marketing was a very steep, at times seemed like an impossible learning curve with no readily available resources. No one willing to, or able to offer advice or guidance, and any information that was published was written in riddles. I rode by the seat of my faded denim pants for many years and many affiliate marketing techniques were discovered from trial, error, persistence and plain old lady luck. As mentioned, during the early days of affiliate marketing there were no books, very few references, no online e-courses, e-books were almost never even heard of, and those that had already made headway in affiliate marketing were keeping their knowledge, techniques and discoveries very closely guarded secrets.
As time passed, so did peoples attitudes towards sharing information. During recent times many seasoned affiliate marketers, sometimes referred to as 'Super-Affiliates' have opted to share the information and knowledge with the masses. Today there are thousands of people involved in many different areas of affiliate marketing and online home business models, who are making regular income online working part-time or full-time. These income streams are from a technology that in the mid to late 1990's was almost unheard of. So what does the future of affiliate marketing hold?
Can we expect to see a market saturation and a blow out in affiliate marketing like many dot com disasters?
I honestly believe that home based Internet businesses are the way of the future. I know e-commerce has evolved in leaps and bounds over the years, but like any modern technology, it is developing and evolving faster and faster than it ever has in previous times.
Does affiliate marketing still offer home based business opportunities?
ABSOLUTELY! The thing to remember with affiliate marketing is you need to look at the big picture. You need to think outside the four walls you exist in. You need to realise it is a brave new world of home business opportunities that awaits, and almost anyone, with almost any budget, and an inkling of self-motivation can get started!
No longer are people restricted to marketing and promoting around their local areas. No longer are people restricted to marketing and promoting just 1 or 2 measly products, and no longer do you need the marketing budget of a multi-national corporate conglomerate! The internet and the web empowers almost anyone with low cost global marketing and home based online business opportunities to earn a part-time, or full-time income right from the comfort of their own home!
Just because there are thousands of affiliates actively working online as you read this doesn't mean you shouldn't give it a try. Some affiliate marketers will fall by the way side, others will excel beyond their wildest expectations, while the majority will steadily plod along creating new web site content, discovering new niche markets, and not really interested in setting the world on fire. Most are simply happy and content to be creating regular additional income streams to supplement their regular household income.
Webman Studios major achievements:
Despite many set backs and challenges of the early learning years, Webman Studios Pty Ltd did have a number of major achievements. I personally created of more than 500 government, corporate, business and private client web sites, including hundreds of self-owned affiliate marketing web sites, I wrote and published 3 electronic books; Introduction to affiliate marketing, The E-book about E-books and a beginners guide to web site marketing.
During the late 1990's I established Australia's first affiliate forums dedicated to providing support and encouragement to all Australian affiliates, online merchants and Australian affiliate networks, and shortly after I designed LES - Link Exchange Scripts, a set of script that via a visual web page style interfacer, allows almost anyone to easily create directory style web sites, maintain a well organised link exchange directory, and can quickly create affiliate shopping directories for those who wanted to get started in affiliate marketing but unable to design or build their own affiliate or merchant web sites from scratch.
Webman Studios Pty Ltd currently owns and operates 2 large scale Australian online shopping ventures;
- Webman Studios Sports Store, ABC Sports Online - http://www.abcsports.com.au.
- Webman Studios Adult Store, Buy Sex Toys Online - www.buysextoysonline.com.au.
Yes! It's an adult toy store!
The deployment of BSTO is an interesting story in itself, and offers a n extremely important lesson for all affiliate marketers and online merchants. Watch out for the "Rip-Off to Riches" story coming soon to the Affiliate Alliance Academy Affiliate Boot Camp!
- Webman Studios also created AuSingles - http://www.ausingles.com.au.
Australia's first 100% free online dating web site in 1998, and is dedicated to all the fun times shared with my Adelaide e-nut buds from years long past.
In closing, what started out to be a simple 2 - 3 paragraph 'about us' page turned out to be a major insight into the history of Webman Studios Pty Ltd, sorry about that! :) I guess you can't control passion nor can you contain the excitement of achievement, nor should you, and for that I make no apology!
...and for those who thrive on trivia, Webman Studios was not derived from a blue and red Lyra clad super hero swinging around on a gossamer thread as many assume, but was a longish acronym built from the words; WEB MANagement and web design STUDIOS. Webman Studios and was first registered as an Australian .com.au domain name back in the late 1980's.
Well folks, I hope the above has curbed your curiosity in finding out a little more about me, Webman Studios the company, our online business history and achievements. I must mention that none of this would of been possible without the unparalleled support from my mum, my family and past and present partners. Thank you ALL from the bottom of my heart, I will be forever grateful. :)
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for visiting and wish you prosperity, health and happiness for the future. I hope sharing my small story didn't put you to sleep. It is intended to inspire and encourage and take on the challenges our new age presents, despite the highs and lows of economic times. Embrace these challenges, encourage and then conquer new ones. You may not conquer every challenge that comes your way, but those that you do will provide fond memories of personal achievement, and hopefully, the added benefit of financial success.
...and for all those who doubted, hindered, and made the journey all the more difficult...
I no longer have little white wings, but I am soaring like a majestic bird of prey! :)
... Remember, One person CAN make a difference!
... and if all else fails, hug your teddy! :)
Les Worthington,
Director
Webman Studios Pty Ltd
Make Money Online TOC | Online Marketing TOC | E-book Publishing TOC
(TOC = Table Of Contents.)
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