Today we’d like to introduce you to Egberto Willies.
Egberto, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I am a degreed mechanical engineer who have always been a political activist during and after college. After working in the oil business and for NASA companies as a senior software engineer/analyst/research engineer for five years, I decided to create my own software company, Willies Computer Software Co.
After doing business successfully for 20+ years, while I loved what I was doing, my passion has always been political activism. In fact, even as I ran my software company, I blogged politically under various pseudonyms.
Kingwood is a very conservative suburb and I did not want to out myself as a left-wing progressive for ill-effects it may have had on my daughter in school and during other activities. When she went off to college, I wound down my software company to work full time in political activism. It was the right time as our country is divided and tumultuous. I think I have the wherewithal to do my part to help heal the wounds and help bring the country together.
I started the radio/media program Politics Done Right, the first program under my new company Willies Media LLC. It uses a voluntary funding method from our audience who see the importance of our work.
I was fortunate that KPFT 90.1 FM Houston was interested in Politics Done Right a few years after its inception. As such, we are able to fulfill part of our activist media actions. We do one day a week live on-air and five days a week over the internet (YouTube Live, Facebook Live, Periscope, Twitch, and every major podcast network)
Our goal is to discuss our political flashpoints from a Progressive point of view. We give people from every ideology the opportunity for civil dialogue. We also interview local, national, and international political activists, politicians, and everyday citizens, ensuring everyone has a voice.
We intend to add other programs covering topics beyond politics but with humanity always at the forefront. We intend to add Spanish programming as well.
All our programs are blogged at http://politicsdoneright.com and our news, opinions, and stories are blogged at http://egbertowillies.com.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
For most, the road to success with any company comes with ups and downs. It was no different when I formed Willies Media LLC.
When I transitioned from my software company to this activist media company, it was not solely altruism. I knew I would not possibly make the income my software company afforded me. But money is not all that it is cropped up to be when you know that you feel your purpose has much more value in activism than maximization of income from business. Money does not buy happiness.
That said, I had reduced the family’s debt substantially and expenditures so that we could live on what my websites were bringing in. We brought traffic to our website via several websites and Facebook pages we owned. Facebook changed its algorithm and Google changed in search metrics. In virtually one day, I lost 90 percent of my income.
It was clear we could no longer depend on advertising by entities we had no control over and who could potentially manipulate or coerce.
I want everyone to have access to our videos, MP3s, news. and stories irrespective of their incomes. But I also needed income. That is where Patreon, PayPal, and GoFundMe came to the rescue. People who appreciate the work and the purpose of what we do, fund us via monthly subscriptions, donations, equipment & travel funding for everyday operations via Patreon, PayPal, and GoFundMe respectively. This puts our audience in control instead of corporate rulers of the internet.
I have always used obstacles as an opportunity to get better. This setback was no different and our audience slowly responded to the new paradigm.
Please tell us about Willies Media.
Willies Media LLC is a media company intent on ensuring the Progressive message is distributed widely to prevent its corruption and maligning.
Our flagship website is EgbertoWillies.com where we provide local, state, & national news and opinions. We distribute our articles via Facebook, Twitter, and email blasts.
Our flagship media program is Politics Done Right. We blog it at PoliticsDoneRight.com. It is broadcast with video over Facebook Live, YouTube Live, Twitch, and Periscope daily. Once a week it is also done live on KPFT 90.1 FM in Houston Texas.
We also report, document, & record at rallies, conferences, protests, and everything in between.
We research and report original content as well as expose content that needs more exposure. I am the author of several books that we sell and that our subscribers have full access to over the internet. We also have a store where we sell products with our logo and messages.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite memory as a child was finding some chemicals that could create propulsion. I built a rocket out of a spray can. Me and my posse took it to an open area. It took off and then exploded. It was dangerous but we were lucky.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://politicsdoneright.com
- Phone: (281) 826-6979
- Email: info@politicsdoneright.com
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/ourpoliticsdoneright
- Facebook: http://facebook.com/politicsdoneright
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/egbertowillies
- Other: http://egbertowillies.com
Suggest a story: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
