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.