Meet Maarten, the visionary founder of Studio Wombat, a thriving business that specializes in creating and selling WooCommerce plugins for WordPress. While WooCommerce is a powerful platform for transforming WordPress sites into e-commerce stores, it often lacks specific features that store owners need. Maarten’s innovative plugins fill this gap, providing enhanced functionality that helps users elevate their online shops. What began as a side project has now blossomed into a lucrative venture, generating over $15,000 per month.
The Business: Studio Wombat
How It Works
Maarten develops and sells five unique WooCommerce plugins, each priced at $49/year. His clientele primarily consists of individuals and agencies building e-commerce websites using WordPress. These plugins offer essential features that WooCommerce does not include by default, allowing store owners to significantly improve their site’s functionality and user experience. From business hour indicators to opt-in wheels, Maarten continually expands his portfolio with new products, ensuring his offerings meet the evolving needs of online retailers. Studio Wombat operates as a lean, bootstrapped business, with Maarten managing both development and operations.
Financial Insights
Studio Wombat boasts impressive financials, earning over $15,000 monthly from plugin sales. The business employs a subscription-based pricing model, which promotes recurring revenue. Customers can choose between yearly subscriptions or a one-time payment option, which includes lifetime updates and priority support at a higher price point. This pricing strategy effectively balances customer acquisition with long-term retention.
The Idea: How It All Started
In 2015, Maarten took a leap of faith by leaving his IT consultancy job and traveling across Australia for a year. This newfound freedom inspired him to create a business that would allow him to travel without financial stress. As a skilled web application developer, Maarten leveraged his expertise to earn a living online. He identified the growing demand for WordPress and WooCommerce, focusing on plugin development rather than website building. He recognized the plugin ecosystem as a niche where he could make a significant impact.
First Plugin: Learning by Doing
Maarten’s first plugin, the Business Hours Indicator, was a straightforward solution allowing WordPress sites to display opening hours—a feature that was lacking at the time. He quickly enhanced it with advanced features, including dynamic closing-time messages. After launching this plugin on the WordPress repository, Maarten was thrilled by its success and the positive feedback from users.
Growth: From Side Project to Full-Time Business
Initially, Maarten did not anticipate his plugins evolving into a full-time endeavor, generating only about $2,000 per year initially. However, everything changed in 2017 with the creation of the successful WP Optin Wheel, which began earning him a few hundred dollars each month. This success prompted Maarten to establish Studio Wombat and commit to plugin development seriously. By the end of 2020, the revenue had reached a point where he could quit freelancing and fully dedicate himself to Studio Wombat.
Running the Business
Maarten’s revenue soared through organic marketing strategies, particularly leveraging the WordPress plugin repository and optimizing his website for SEO. By carefully crafting plugin descriptions with targeted keywords, he ensured his offerings ranked prominently in search results, attracting more customers. The combination of yearly subscriptions and one-time payments facilitated faster profitability.
Lessons Learned: Scale Through Delegation
A crucial lesson for Maarten was recognizing the importance of delegation. Initially hesitant to hire help due to profit concerns, he found that 60% of his time was consumed by customer support requests. Earlier this year, he outsourced customer support and content writing, which significantly increased his productivity and allowed him to focus on developing new products.
Tools & Resources
Essential Tools Used
- WordPress: For building Studio Wombat’s website and managing plugins.
- Paddle: For seamless payment processing and invoicing.
- Levelup: A support team for efficient customer request management.
- Slack: For effective team communication.
Instead of relying on books or podcasts, Maarten gathers insights and advice from the WordPress community on Twitter, staying connected with industry trends.
Future Prospects
Maarten’s main goal is to expand his plugin offerings significantly. He is considering acquiring other plugin businesses to accelerate growth and avoid the lengthy development process for new products. Additionally, he is exploring the idea of launching a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) product, but is waiting for the right concept to inspire him.
Advice for Entrepreneurs
Maarten’s top piece of advice is to start today. Perfection is an illusion; you’ll learn everything you need along the way. Had he waited for the perfect plan, he wouldn’t have made the significant progress he has achieved today.
