About
Hello, my name is Arnold Aranez and I make money online by blogging and running Mr.Gadget Australia, my online gadget store.
I started Mr.Gadget in 2003 when I saw a gap in the personal technology gadget market. There were some websites selling gear they knew nothing about and their prices were quite steep. I felt that with my background and education I could offer online shoppers more.
To date we have shipped over 24,000 orders and turned over more than $5million. This is not to say that we are cruising or filthy rich, as part of our journey has included making some mistakes and overcoming challenges of running a growing business.
Arnold’s Background
I was born in the Philippines but migrated to Australia when I was 2. My parents were your typical wild-eyed migrants, keen to make a better future in a land of opportunity. They worked hard to provide for us as we grew up in Melbourne’s western suburbs.
Even at a young age I loved pulling gadgets to bits. Dad got annoyed so much one day with my reformatting and optimizing my 386sx16Mhz that he hid the mouse. This forced me to learn workarounds and keyboard commands.
After many years of pain and even tears, I completed my Masters of Information Systems at Melbourne University specialising in management information systems and eCommerce. My first graduate role was at Telstra Mobiles as an IT Business Analyst. Worked around the traps growing my SDLC reportoire till I decided I wanted to be my own boss with Mr.Gadget. I still do special contract jobs from time-to-time in the Telco field.
I am happily married with 2 young daughters living in Melbourne, Australia. My hobbies include church, basketball, my Ustream.TV Gadget Live Show, beach volleyball, reading, blogging and Plurking.
Evolution of the Mr.Gadget Blog
In 2004, I used Blogger to add a blog to the front of my shop, first to talk about the latest catalog additions but then evolved to talking about the latest international gadget news. The readership and popularity of this blog section grew to a point where I could sell advertising spots and therefore create a new revenue stream for the website. We now use Wordpress as the blogging application of choice.
Why another website?
I’ve been wanting to create another website focused more on blogging and ecommerce tips and advice for a while. Now that I have more help on hand at Mr.Gadget, I have time to devote to this venture.
This website is geared more towards newbies who are just starting off in blogosphere or considering starting their own online store. However, it may also be of use to those who have been in the game longer.
Without readers like yourself, my gadget blog would not have been successful, so I would like to give back on what I have learned.
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Other ways you can connect with me are:
Plurk | Twitter | Friendfeed | StumbleUpon | Digg
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