WA is 19 Years Old! Here are 19 Things We Have Learned.
Well, today is the big day. 19 years ago today, we started out on a journey within the affiliate marketing world with a small website called "Wealthy Affiliate." Carson and I set out to help others achieve success as we had online, and that is how this entire party started.
I know reaching 19 years in business is no small feat, especially in the fast-paced, ever-changing world of online business and the Internet. We've navigated the highs and lows, the wins and challenges, all while keeping one constant: putting YOU first. That is one thing that hasn't changed, and it won't change. That is our promise to you.
This year on our birthday, I thought I would do something a little different. I wanted to share 19 lessons that we have learned about running a successful online business with you. I think you will find it insightful, and if you have been in business for any amount of time, you have likely experienced many of these lessons as well.
For those of you just getting rolling, I think you may really find these insightful. So here it is...
19 Lessons That We Have Learned in the Last 19 Years.
Lesson #1: People Over Profit. Success in business starts with treating customers like actual people, not numbers. The needs of your audience (in our case, community) should be the driving passion of every decision.
Lesson #2: Adapt or Perish. The online space evolves quickly, as we all know, and those who don't adapt get left behind. We've continuously evolved to stay ahead and continue to innovate at the fastest pace we ever have.
Lesson #3: Listen to ALL Feedback. Some of our best features have come directly from listening to our community’s feedback, positive or negative. In fact, it is the negative feedback that typically drives improvement.
Lesson #4: Data Is Your Friend. While instincts and intuition matter, decisions driven by data lead to growth. Understanding user behavior guides many of our platform improvements.
Lesson #5: Building Trust Takes Time. Trust is built through transparency, delivering on promises, and maintaining high standards. It can also be lost very quickly, so consider the "trust factor" with every single action you take as a business owner.
Lesson #6: Embrace EVERY Challenge. Every challenge presents an opportunity to learn and a new opportunity to grow. From server issues to technical issues to putting out community fires... to training getting outdated at times, the trials and tribulations have made us stronger.
Lesson #7: A Strong Community Is Priceless. Our community has been our backbone. When people feel like they belong, they stay for the long haul and contribute to everyone’s success, and the community as a whole succeeds at a much higher rate.
Lesson #8: The Odds Are Against You. Statistically, 20% of small businesses fail within the first year, and 50% don't make it past year five. Beating the odds requires perseverance and adaptability... and, as I blogged about this week, consistency.
Lesson #9: Continuous Learning Is Key. Stagnation is death in the online world. That’s why we invest in providing the most current training available to help our community thrive, but we are also learning each and every day. Though Carson and I have been full-time for the last 22 years, we are still very much learning.
Lesson #10: Customer Complaints Are Opportunities. Every complaint is an exciting opportunity to improve. People typically don't complain without merit. Sometimes it is because of confusion or frustration, other times technical. But it needs to be looked at carefully and used to better our platform.
Lesson #11: Celebrate the Small Wins. Success is built on daily progress. We’ve celebrated everything from our first user to launching revolutionary new features. The celebrations are short-lived, as we are always onto the next small win right away.
Lesson #12: Innovation Never Sleeps. There is no “end” to innovation. We've constantly pushed the boundaries with new tools and technology to stay relevant, and we will continue to do so.
Lesson #13: Overdeliver, Always. Whether it’s customer service or feature releases, exceeding expectations creates long-term loyalty in business.
Lesson #14: Learning From Failure. Not every idea works out. In fact, I would say most don't. Failures have been the most valuable teachers in our journey.
Lesson #15: Your Team Matters. A business is only as strong as the people behind it. We've built a team that shares our vision for excellence, innovation, and customer care.
Lesson #16: Self-Care for Entrepreneurs Is Non-Negotiable. The grind can wear anyone down. Knowing when to step back and recharge is essential for long-term sustainability. Take a break if you need it. Take a deep breath. And then move forward.
Lesson #17: Timing Is Everything. Some ideas we have had were ahead of their time. Launching the right feature at the right moment can truly be a key to success.
Lesson #18: The Power of Collaboration. Working alongside like-minded people and businesses has helped us expand our reach and helped us achieve goals we certainly couldn’t have on our own. The community here is our best collaboration tool.
Lesson #19: The Best Is Yet to Come! After 19 years, the excitement hasn't waned. In fact, it has only continued to grow. We’re entering our most revolutionary year yet at probably the most revolutionary time we have seen on the Internet. With game-changing updates and innovations coming frequently and fast, we have a lot in store for our community.
As we look back at 19 incredible years, we’re more excited than ever about what’s to come, but it is also nice to reflect on the journey that got us here. I can assure you that our year ahead is going to be our most revolutionary and innovative yet. Though we are over 19 years into business now, we feel we are just getting rolling, and our focus on the FUTURE of WA we feel is a main component of the magic of the platform and community here!
Here's to your success and all of our success in the year ahead!
Cheers,
Kyle & Carson
Recent Comments
182
Good morning Kyle,
Congratulations on reaching 19 years in business; that really is quite an achievement! That means I have been with the platform for over half of those years! My only regret is that I didn't find the platform before!
It's interesting about people over profit, it's something that's always been taught here.
I like embracing every challenge. There is always that temptation to run from challenges, but I understand we have to stand firm and go through these tribulations!
It's great to have the community around me, although I didn't join for that reason, I joined more for the up-to-date training. However, it's so important to have good and like-minded people around us.
That's interesting about the odds of small business failure, I didn't know what the figures were, but I'm not surprised. I agree that consistency always seems to be the key to an online business.
I was one of those people who really disliked school; it just didn't interest me whatsoever. What a difference it makes when we can learn about something that we really enjoy; I've actually surprised myself! It's great to have access to the training 24/7.
A failure may seem terrible, but I agree we can learn so much from it.
I have found that work balance is so important. As much as I like working online, it's important to take a step back sometimes. Getting to bed on time and early nights are also important; we can only work so many hours a day productively.
It's never failed to amaze me, Kyle, how you are continually moving the platform forward. I admire your drive and the way you come up with different ideas to make the platform even better.
Wishing you a fantastic day.
Roy
Thanks for the kind words Roy and for sharing your personal insights into all of the 19 points. We have certainly learned lots over the years (often times through trials and tribulations), but we continue to march forward in a more skilled manner as result of all of these learning moments.
It is wonderful to have folks like yourself as part of the community here at WA, and I really do look forward to working with you in the year ahead
It's a pleasure, Kyle!
I always feel it's worth sharing personal insights as I know that you do your best to respond to feedback and continually making the platform better.
I can believe that there has been many trials through the years, especially with so many members using the platform and the sheer size of the website.
Thank you, Kyle; good things ahead!
Have a great day.
Roy
Celebrating 19 Years of WA: 19 Things We’ve Learned! 🎉
Happy 19th Birthday Kyle and Carson!!
Wow, can you believe it? Wealthy Affiliate is turning 19 years old! 🎂 Over the years, we’ve gained so much knowledge, experience, and insight. To celebrate this milestone, we’re sharing 19 things we’ve learned along the way—lessons that have shaped this incredible community and helped so many achieve success.
From building strong foundations, fostering creativity, to embracing constant learning and adaptability, these lessons are a testament to what makes WA special.
Here’s to many more years of growth, support, and success! 🚀
Cheers,
Arisara
Yeah, time definitely flies by. I still remember our very first member when we launched way back in 2005. It was the most exciting thing, though we had MANY "sales" in affiliate marketing prior, starting a new venture and realizing you can help so many people in an industry we had been thriving in for several years was exciting.
Now here we are 19 years later, from the clunky old keyword list website.
Appreciate you, and you being part of the community here. Here's to the year ahead and beyond! :)
Happy 19th Birthday Kyle and Carson and WA team yaayyyyyy.
It was my 51st birthday too on the 10th of September hahah and I keep on coming back to celebrating my belonging here in WA and all I am learning each year and every day I show up, thanks.
I love all your 19 lessons which I do love number 19 the most #thebestisyettocome
Thanks for being so ethical in business :)
Kind regards
Erica
Awesome, well Happy Birthday to you. WA and you share the same Birthday, it was meant to be! Enjoy your cake!
And glad you like those lessons, I could have probably gone and and share many more, but these are some of the key ones that we have learned over the years. :)
Hi Kyle and WA Fam,
Happy Birthday Wealthy Affiliate. To the WA team, thanks for all you do. It is much appreciated.
These are some good tips.
One of my favorite is: Lesson #1: People Over Profit. Success in business starts with treating customers like actual people, not numbers. The needs of your audience (in our case, community) should be the driving passion of every decision.
Thanks again.
Thanks so much Pastor, it has been wonderful getting to know you over the years.
And yes, "people over profit" is the only way in my mind. You have to uphold your values and ethics at all times in business, and sometimes that may be sacrificing revenue (and usually only in the short term).
The reality is though I look around in this industry, and there isn't a single company in our space that still exists that existed back when we started out in 2005. So our approach has evidence that it is the ideal for establishing a long term business.
Happy Birthday, WA! Kyle and Carson, y'all set a high standard in the affiliate, ecommerce industry with the tools and training you've created and curated to help push our online businesses into overdrive. You offer a wealth of information and even since recently joining, I've seen how you continue to elevate your game! Really appreciate y'all!
Cheers to 19 years, and many, many more to come!
John
Thanks Johnny!
We definitely have very high standards for ourselves, and we are also glad that our community here expects high standards for anything we do. If something is not working as it should, or it could work better, we get feedback on that and work to improve the platform.
Do this for 19 years straight, and you get the platform that you see here within WA. We are excited about the year ahead, and the next 19!
Happy birthday Kyle and Carson. The self care message is spot on. We have to carve out time to exercise. Find a physical activity you enjoy and make sure you do something that makes you sweat every day. Exercise is like an antidepressant and a stimulant! Life and business is a marathon not a sprint, so you've got to take care of yourself physically and mentally to sustain success.
Well stated, Dr. Dave! I couldn't have said it more plainly how important it is to exercise!
John
Happy Birthday🥳🎂A very BIG congratulations to you both!👏👏👏
So happy to be a part of this brilliant platform and sharing your 19 lessons, are HUGE and meaningful!
I thanks you both for this putting together this amazing opportunity and helping others follow suit!
Keep up the good work, as my journey here has been nothing more than excellent!👌
So wonderful to have you here as part of the platform (and family) here at WA Julia. It has been a pleasure getting to know you! We are going to keep evolving, innovating and improving based on the communities feedback so I can assure you it is going to be a fun 19th year of updates ahead. :)
Congrats to you and Carson, who have 19 years in business together today. You guys have improved this platform so much over the years. I am grateful for everything you do here for us. What I like about you guys is that you are humble and never show off a wealthy lifestyle with all the bells and whistles, not even a Bugatti. I remember your blog post almost six years ago about discussing the Bugati; it's a guy thing. Guys with their machines. Both of you are so humble. I see other high-ticket marketing companies flashing their wealthy lifestyle and taking money from people. They don't care about their affiliates. You two are very special to me in my heart. You have helped many of us no matter what we've been through. You've been there through thick and thin with us all the way. As a Deaf person and signing in ASL 🤟🏻🤟🏻🤟🏻🤟🏻 !!! Here are many more years to come!
Thanks so much Brenda, and we appreciate you so much. I know that not every day is perfect, and it never is in business. We are fine with that, and we have come to learn that it is those imperfections that are required to improve and get better (and we have had a lot of them over the years).
And for the glitz and glam, that is not what a business is about. It is about helping others, and the byproduct of that is often times success....but what is more important that showing of "my stuff" is showing off the awesome community here. :)
Here's to many more years to come 🤟🏻🤟🏻🤟🏻🤟🏻, right back at you!
From a person in their first year, and being very dubious after a bad experience when first joining, I have learned very quickly how powerful this platform is, and how the community helps you every day in every aspect.
I learnt many years ago when I was a CEO to make myself accessible, to my workforce and customers, just like you and Carson have done here.
Here we are all connected to a community on the internet in a safe environment, which is more than can be said for many platforms.
The friendships are felt even though we don't meet.
Happy 19 WA.
Thanks so much Rob, and it has been a pleasure getting to meet you over the years. It has been great to see your growth and progress thus far and I look forward to seeing what you accomplish in the year ahead!
We are going to continue doing what we are doing. Helping others, taking your feedback in an ongoing basis, and continue to improve the platform and service here to best suit you and your business. Lots to look forward to!
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Happy 19th Birthday to our favorite WA. Many more to come.
Looking forward to more updates and newer levels, especially in this era when blogging is almost dead.
I'm sure that in the coming years, WA will also emerge as an industry leader in the AI era, as it always has been in the blogging space.
Thanks so much Akshay, and yes, AI is a big part of everything we do. Content will never die, nor will content creation. And websites will be a foundation to build off of, but the reach you can get within the online world is very much decentralized now.
And as AI evolves and new platforms arrive, we will be there to teach on them as we have always encouraged change.
Thanks so much, and I hope you are doing well!