Officehours.fm

Meet Peter Suhm, a man with great entrepreneurial spirit. Traditional employment doesn’t quite suit him (I can relate!) and he’s tried his hand at various startup projects. One of these is the WP Pusher plugin, a WordPress plugin designed to ease a specific pain in a developer workflow (Git deployment). WP Pusher is not allowed in the WordPress plugin directory (tune in to hear why), which is a distinct disadvantage when it comes to visibility and promotion. I’ll discuss with Peter his alternative marketing efforts to get WP Pusher in front of people and how (or if) that’s worked. Peter’s been around the WordPress community since 2007 and is also an active contributor in the Laravel community.

If anyone knows the heart of an entrepreneur, it’s Bob Dunn. He transitioned his business to WordPress in 2008 and has never looked back. He’s also got a heart for those beginning with WordPress. His service offerings have varied of the years, but he’s really landed in his sweet spot with training. Join us for a discussion of Bob’s journey, how he’s decided what to try next each time he’s grown his business, what’s worked, and what’s hasn’t. Let’s learn with Bob!

Join Brian Casel and I to learn what exactly a productized service is and if it’s something you can apply in your business.

Join me with WP101 creator Shawn Hesketh. We talked about how WP101 has grown to where it is today, challenges of scaling an online training product, and cigars!

We're celebrating the 100th episode of the show! Also, guest Matt Medeiros gets real about his process for launching new ideas - when to launch and when to know to pull the plug.

Making the Leap to Self-Employment, Episode 99 by Carrie Dils

Storytelling and Selling, Episode 98 Aired on April 14th, 2016 with Chris Lema Leave a comment FacebookTweetLinkedInGoogle+ What the heck does storytelling have to do with selling yourself, your products or your services? If you ask this week’s guest, Chris Lema, he’ll tell that it has everything to do with selling. We all tell stories. Don’t believe me? Ask your mom if you ever lied as a kid. But there are other kinds of storytelling that can have power in business – ways to engage an audience that is helpful. Let’s talk about that… – Chris Lema Too often you see folks selling by telling would-be customers about features and benefits (I’m guilty). In a landscape that’s full of similar-looking people selling similar-looking services, what helps you stand apart? Your story. No one else has it. It’s yours to share as part of your marketing efforts. Join me with Chris Lema as we discuss the art of storytelling and how you can use stories to strengthen your brand.

Guest Rebecca Gill

I believe a big part of success in my business comes from the fact that I hang around people who are smarter than I am. Does that mean I’m dumb? Of course not, but I know there are plenty of areas where I either don’t have experience or have a hard time seeing clearly because of my proximity to a situation. It’s why I preach relationships and community. I was thrilled to meet Brandy Lawson (a.k.a. TekGrl) at Pressnomics 2016. Brandy understands the importance of relationships in business (especially for the lone entrepreneur), so much so that she’s launched a business around developing and nurturing entrepreneurial communities. Tune in this week as we discuss how to find the right people to connect with, the various structures a mastermind can take, and even how to know when it’s time to move on.

Ever feel like you’re competing against every other WordPress developer, designer, or consultant out there? The reality is you’re not competing – you have a unique value proposition you bring to the table. There’re so many folks that don’t realize that. They keep lowering their prices, offering a wider variety of services, and doing their best to appeal to the masses. The sad result is that a lot of what you and I do for a living is viewed as a commodity. How can you charge what you’re actually worth when someone is offering (what looks to be) the same service on Fiverr. Meet Philip Morgan, a consultant to consultant. He literally wrote the book on how technical firms should position themselves. If you’re feeling like a little fish in a big sea and want to know how to stand out (swim out?), this is an episode you don’t want to miss.

Continuing on this season’s theme of growing your business skills, we’re spending this episode talking the importance of taking care of yourself. Maybe that sounds touchy-feely, or like it doesn’t have any place in a business discussion, but I can personally attest that taking care of yourself is one of the best investments you can ever make in your business. In this episode I’m chatting with Cory Miller and Pippin Williamson, creators of iThemes and Easy Digital Downloads, respectively. Both Cory and Pippin have publicly written and spoken about the important role mental health has played in their businesses. I consider these guys pillars of success in the WordPress community and it’s absolutely refreshing to hear them acknowledge how critical personal wellness is to running your business. Join us for a fun and frank conversation on what it means to take care of yourself so that you’re able to take care of your business.

Relationships and the Role they play in Business Growth, Episode 94 Aired on March 10th, 2016 with Tom McFarlin View Transcript Join the Discussion Video Player 00:0000:00 We started of this season of the podcast talking about the importance of communication in business. In this episode, we continue in that vein to discuss the role relationships play in growing your business (and how poor relationships can cripple your success). Join me with WordPress guru and small business owner Tom McFarlin as we chat about the root of true success: great relationships.

It’s hard to get started when you have no momentum – that’s true whether we’re talking about going to the gym after a long break or starting up a new project. When it comes to your business and making the leap to “what’s next,” maybe you don’t feel like you know enough to take the right steps, that you have no momentum to leverage. But what if you have momentum that you didn’t even realize? In this episode, Mendel Kurland joins me to talk about using previous successes (no matter how little) to build your business. Be encouraged, be inspired, and, by all means, be ready to get started on your “what’s next.”

Most freelancers begin as sole proprietors. It’s an inexpensive way to start, especially when you’re trying to land your first few clients or when freelancing is really just a side-gig. But as you start to grow, how do you know what type of legal business entity is right for you?

When your business is young and cash isn’t exactly pouring in, it’s tough to know when to take financial risks. Sometimes it’s a $40 risk on a plugin, sometimes it’s a $4,000 risk on hiring some help. But how do you make sure you’re taking the right risks? Being the owner/operator of your business means you will need take financial risks to grow, so the question is not “will I take risks”, but rather “how do I be smart about risks?” Join me on this episode with Brad Touesnard of Delicious Brains (if you don’t recognize his company, you’ll like recognize his flagship product: WP Migrate DB Pro). Brad started as an independent web developer and has grown into a full-on business-owner, supporting his career and the folks that work with him. We’ll talk about the evolution of freelancer to employer and hear Brad’s experience on taking risks to grow a busines

In this episode I’ve got Curtis McHale on to share what he’s learned over the years about writing killer project proposals. The perfect proposal convinces a prospect you’re the perfect person to do their job. – Curtis McHale Curtis has grown his consultancy to 6 figures and understands well the role proposals play in growing a sustainable business. Could you stand to write better proposals? This episode is perfect for you if you’ve ever: Had a potential client reject your proposal, or Underbid a project, or Had something in the proposal (or left out) that came back to bite you in the butt Join us in this episode for an in-depth chat to learn how you can write better proposals.

Does your email marketing suck? Yeah, mine isn’t great either. That’s why I’m excited to introduce you to this week’s guest, Chris Handy. Chris is the founder of Fort Worth, TX-based Thinkhandy, an inbound marketing company with a special emphasis on Hubspot (they’re a HubSpot Silver Certified Agency Partner). Whether it’s a free consultation or one of his local Hubspot workshops, Chris is a master of giving away value and serving his potential customers in a way that keeps his sales pipeline full and his business growing. Join us for this episode as we discuss the tips and techniques Chris has used to build and nurture his email list and how you can do the same in your business.

Want to be successful in business? It feels like there’s a million things to know, from how to balance finances to how market your services. There’s one skill, though, that’s particularly essential for success. If you do this one thing well, it makes all the other pieces fall more easily into place. What is it? Communication. The ability to communicate well is at the heart of finding new customers, maintaining good customer relationships, and developing a solid standing in your business community. In this episode I’d like to introduce you to Topher DeRosia, someone who understandings the art of growing a network through real-life interactions, telling stories, and making genuine connections.

This is the official kickoff Officehours.fm Season 2! It starts with the theme Growing Your Business Skills. This year I'm switching to "themed" seasons, each one consisting of 12 weeks touching on specific topics related to the season's theme. The reason for the change? By introducing more continuity between episodes, I want to help listeners more successful in their business, whether you're freelancers running a business or working full time for an agency.

This week I’m visiting with Nick Davis of themevalet.com. Nick is an active member in the Genesis Framework community and produces a weekly roundup highlighting news, updates, and other things happening around Genesis. Join us this week as we talk about what it takes to start up your own WordPress business and why its important to stay connected to a developer community.