People always ask about how WBO came to be, so here it is, the real story of how it all began…
If you want to know about me, visit my personal site at www.chris-curtis.com

In the beginning, there was chaos.
Donald Trump once said – “Find the best people. Hire them, and let them do their jobs.”

I was working on a project, with a customer who wanted to do everything I knew wouldn’t work for the goal they had in mind. I kept thinking to myself that I wished there was a place, a definitive source, that I could send them to that would give a more powerful perspective of what it really means to do business online. I wanted them to understand that the decisions they were making were awful, and I wanted them to see that it wasn’t my personal point of view. It was “the way of the web.”

The Search.
I began scouring the ‘net looking everywhere for a resource that did more than give instructions on how to do HTML, or refer you to some crazy number of affiliate programs for stuff you either didn’t need or wouldn’t want, once you understood what it was for. I found nothing that was comprehensive. What I did find was a hodge-podge of sites about web development, sites about marketing, sites about web design, and sites about programming – all of which, for the average Joe, would do nothing but excite the senses and create more flux for the web developers who had to work with them. I looked for 2 months and couldn’t find anything like what I had in mind.

The Lightbulb.
I finally came to the conclusion that since I’m very adept in the craft of design and programming, and can build it myself, “Why not just build it?”. So I started to think about all the things that someone would want and need to know about monetizing a web site, and building an online business. The concepts came quickly and I kept a notebook of my ideas so as not to miss a beat in building the ultimate web business repository.

For the first time I became my own client, to build a global resource, and a worldwide campaign that was very much needed. I was building this phenomenal thing, using only free tools and faith – and with all the people who agreed to do the Web Business Ownership Series.

The Cheese.
I started thinking about a slogan. I didn’t want something cliche, so for a while there just wasn’t one. As I looked to my bookshelves for inspiration, I came across the book “Who Stole My Cheese”, and I remembered how I really loved that book. I flipped through it and read a few pages of the chapters I had been engrossed in once upon a time. That’s when it hit me. The mice. The cheese. But web business, isn’t really about getting the cheese. Anybody can get cheese. Cheese runs out. To win the game, you have to own the entire cheese factory. That way, you can make as much cheese as you want! And so the slogan was born. – “It’s Not About Getting the Cheese. It’s About Owning the Factory.”

The People.
The countdown was on, and the recordings for the Web Business Ownership Series began. From January 16th to February 28th I was knee deep in scheduling, web development, audio production, and interviews. 19 audios were completed during that time and my head almost exploded from the infusion of intellect, information and instructions that were given over the airwaves. People who had heard the live tapings started emailing me and asking when more shows were going to air. The fan base grew fast!

Web Wise.
With the web site launch just days away, and people encouraging me to continue the audios, I decided to complete the launch and then schedule more interviews with more people who were willing to share their experience and expertise. I had to come up with a name for the show , so I sent out a blast on MySpace asking my “friends” for their suggestions. WebWise Business became the name, and the show that we look forward to on Sundays at 6pm EST. I picked that time because its when most business owners are already on the web. It was a longshot, but as you may have guessed, it worked out great!

March 13, 2007
I could hardly sleep. I got up earlier than the birds that day. I turned the site on and immediately started sending out press releases. I spent the day doing all the things that web business owners do to announce and promote a new site.
Web Business Ownership was live, and the rest is history…or her-story whichever you prefer.

Sidenotes
The web project that fueled my personal quest to build WBO flopped horribly. The customer never came around to my recommendations – even after WBO went live. It’s still up, by the way, and sometimes I just like to look at it, in all its terrible splendor – and smile.

The little girl who says “That’s a good look, Chris!” at the end of all the audios, is not my daughter. It’s 3 year-old Daja Ross.