I’ve had the chance to talk to some really smart and down to earth people lately.

Today’s guest, Marcus Couch of WordPress podcasting fame (though don’t say that around him), joins us to chat about the ups and downs of running your own business. From landing large national client’s with hundreds of websites, to losing ten’s of thousands of dollars betting on the wrong partner.

This episode is about as real as it gets, narrated by a guy who knows his stuff. Enjoy!

Interview with Marcus Couch

Listen to the audio version

I’m just a member of the community. ~ Marcus Couch

I wanted to open up with that quote, as it paints the picture really well about our friend Marcus.

I joked at the top of the show (as we WordPress podcasters do) and mentioned that he was the Simon Cowell of WordPress podcasting. Marcus parried and stated he was just a member of the community — not a celebrity.

He’s doing things for the love of the software and for the love of the job. It inspires him, allows him to create and he can do all this while making a living. I relate to this very well , as I’m sure you do too.

So many of us get caught up in the money and the “fame” of a startup that we burn out or find ourselves not loving what it is we do. Curtis McHale recently wrote a post about this that you should read.

Hard lesson learned

There’s a point in the episode that things get real. Really real.

This is another lesson I sorely relate to — as I fear some of you have learned as well. I couldn’t write about it on this post to do it justice, so you’ll just have to listen. I can say, pick the right partners and hire the right people for the job — it could cost you more than you think.

You can find Marcus Couch at his website, marcuscouch.com

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