The Freelancers' Show: Recent Episodes
Top End Devs
Weekly discussion by freelancers and professionals about running a business, finding clients, marketing, and lifestyle related to being a freelancer.
Petra and our guest Kevin discuss the various elements that go into getting a freelance business to the next level of growth (if you choose) including systems, marketing, employees (including a few what not to do stories!) and sales. We'll discuss how we overcame certain challenges, and the one secret that caused Kevin's business to go from a team of three to a team of 25 within a short timeframe.
Panel * Petra Manos
Guest * Kevin Urrutia
Sponsors * Dev Influencers Accelerator
Links * The E-Myth Revisited * Coding Platform for Kids | Tynker * #1 Facebook Ads Agency * Twitter: Kevin Urrutia ( @danest )
Picks * Kevin- DotCom Secrets * Petra- A Series of Unfortunate Events
Chuck dives into the 3 essentials for getting the next successful outcome you want in your career. Whether that's something simple like a raise or something more complex like going freelance, you can achieve it by working on 3 main areas.
First, building skills. The most obvious type of skills you'll need is technical skills. However, don't neglect your people skills and your organizational skills as well since you're often paid for how you work with people and enhance their work and how you put your work together in the most efficient ways.
Second, building relationships. Often other people will be able to help you find the opportunities or will be the ones to make the decisions that impact your ability to get the outcome you want. Having good relationships is key to having good outcomes.
Third, building recognition. Being known for being valuable in important ways allows you to leverage the skills you have to build better relationships and create opportunities to get what you need to get the outcomes you want by giving people what they want. A podcast is a great way to do all three. Chuck explains exactly how that works in this podcast and goes deeper as part of the Dev Influencers Accelerator.
Panel * Charles Max Wood
Chuck dives into the 3 essentials for getting the next successful outcome you want in your career. Whether that's something simple like a raise or something more complex like going freelance, you can achieve it by working on 3 main areas.
First, building skills. The most obvious type of skills you'll need is technical skills. However, don't neglect your people skills and your organizational skills as well since you're often paid for how you work with people and enhance their work and how you put your work together in the most efficient ways.
Second, building relationships. Often other people will be able to help you find the opportunities or will be the ones to make the decisions that impact your ability to get the outcome you want. Having good relationships is key to having good outcomes.
Third, building recognition. Being known for being valuable in important ways allows you to leverage the skills you have to build better relationships and create opportunities to get what you need to get the outcomes you want by giving people what they want. A podcast is a great way to do all three. Chuck explains exactly how that works in this podcast and goes deeper as part of the Dev Influencers Accelerator.
Panel * Charles Max Wood
Sponsors * Dev Influencers Accelerator
Chuck explains what he taught Nathan last week when we asked how to get hired at a FANG (Facebook Apple/Amazon Netflix Google) company. Essentially, it boils down to how to build the skills and knowledge needed to pass the interview. How to build the relationships to get into the door and have the interviewer want you to succeed. And how to build the reputation that has the company wanting you regardless of the outcome.
This approach also works for speaking at conferences, selling courses, and other outcomes as well as it's the core of building a successful career as an influencer.
Panel
- Charles Max Wood
Chuck explains what he taught Nathan last week when we asked how to get hired at a FANG (Facebook Apple/Amazon Netflix Google) company. Essentially, it boils down to how to build the skills and knowledge needed to pass the interview. How to build the relationships to get into the door and have the interviewer want you to succeed. And how to build the reputation that has the company wanting you regardless of the outcome.
This approach also works for speaking at conferences, selling courses, and other outcomes as well as it's the core of building a successful career as an influencer.
Panel
- Charles Max Wood
Sponsors
- Dev Influencers Accelerator
Chuck was on a strategic call with one of his potential coaching clients talking about cryptocurrencies and realized that this is one of the major reasons that people want to become influencers. Or, rather, that many people aspire to make a difference and/or make money and the best way to do that is to become the person people go to for what you do.
So, how do you become the first person people think of when they think of that thing you know how to do? Let Chuck tell you.
Panel
- Charles Max Wood
Chuck was on a strategic call with one of his potential coaching clients talking about cryptocurrencies and realized that this is one of the major reasons that people want to become influencers. Or, rather, that many people aspire to make a difference and/or make money and the best way to do that is to become the person people go to for what you do.
So, how do you become the first person people think of when they think of that thing you know how to do? Let Chuck tell you.
Panel * Charles Max Wood
Sponsors * Dev Influencers Accelerator
Charles talks about the things that get developers stuck when they're trying to start their podcast or other influencer channel. He explains how to get around having those things hamper your journey.
Panel
- Charles Max Wood
Charles talks about the things that get developers stuck when they're trying to start their podcast or other influencer channel. He explains how to get around having those things hamper your journey.
Panel
- Charles Max Wood
Sponsors
- Dev Influencers Accelerator
Charles Max Wood talks about how to build, grow, and benefit from positive relationships within programming. He talks about how he's built genuine positive relationships with hundreds of programmers and how he and others have grown from those relationships. He also explains that you get out of relationships what you put into them. Finally, he goes into how to begin to build relationships by building a system of influence you can use on behalf of the people you want relationships with.
Panel
- Charles Max Wood
Charles Max Wood talks about how to build, grow, and benefit from positive relationships within programming. He talks about how he's built genuine positive relationships with hundreds of programmers and how he and others have grown from those relationships. He also explains that you get out of relationships what you put into them. Finally, he goes into how to begin to build relationships by building a system of influence you can use on behalf of the people you want relationships with.
Panel
- Charles Max Wood
Sponsors
- Dev Influencers Accelerator
Charles Max Wood discusses several opportunities that came his way early in his podcasting career and other opportunities that have come to other people after only a couple of podcast episodes. He explains why that happens and how you can use this to create more influence as a developer.
Panel
- Charles Max Wood
Charles Max Wood discusses several opportunities that came his way early in his podcasting career and other opportunities that have come to other people after only a couple of podcast episodes. He explains why that happens and how you can use this to create more influence as a developer.
Panel
- Charles Max Wood
Charles Max Wood started podcasting because it sounded fun and because he wanted to talk about technology. He learned pretty quickly that it got him access to people who understood the things he wanted to learn. The reasons changed over the years, as Charles explains before he talks about the big payoff he gets now from doing the podcasts.
Panel
- Charles Max Wood
Charles Max Wood started podcasting because it sounded fun and because he wanted to talk about technology. He learned pretty quickly that it got him access to people who understood the things he wanted to learn. The reasons changed over the years, as Charles explains before he talks about the big payoff he gets now from doing the podcasts.
Panel * Charles Max Wood
Sponsors * Dev Influencers Accelerator
Jason Weimann started out as an enthusiast of the Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, Everquest. After becoming a software developer and building a collaborative community playing the game, learn how he used his connections to get a job working for the company that made the game, even if it wasn't a job working as a game developer and how that led to a career working on one of the most popular online games of the time.
Panel
- Charles Max Wood
Jason Weimann started out as an enthusiast of the Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, Everquest. After becoming a software developer and building a collaborative community playing the game, learn how he used his connections to get a job working for the company that made the game, even if it wasn't a job working as a game developer and how that led to a career working on one of the most popular online games of the time.
Panel
- Charles Max Wood
Guest
- Jason Weimann
Sponsors
- Dev Heroes Accelerator
Chuck outlines how he's used his podcasts to find mentors to continue his learning journey over 12 years of podcasting. Some mentors have been long lived relationships while others have lasted only a few months or even days. This episode shares Chuck's experience learning from the top people in the development community as a programmer and podcaster.
Panel
- Charles Max Wood
Chuck outlines how he's used his podcasts to find mentors to continue his learning journey over 12 years of podcasting. Some mentors have been long lived relationships while others have lasted only a few months or even days. This episode shares Chuck's experience learning from the top people in the development community as a programmer and podcaster.
Panel * Charles Max Wood
Sponsors * Dev Heroes Accelerator
Remember the amazing adventure it was to learn a new thing every day as a Junior Developer? It's easy to feel a little stuck or lost as a Senior developer since there aren't roadmaps or people looking to mentor seniors. (Besides Charles Max Wood.) Chuck talks about how he felt that way at different points in his career and how podcasting and connecting with the programming communities helped him get past that.
Panel
- Charles Max Wood
Sponsors
- Dev Heroes Accelerator
Charles Max Wood goes into the origin story of his podcasting career and how it relates to his programming career. He starts with his interest from a young age in technology and his dreams of being a radio DJ. He moves quickly through college and into his first job after college where he was introduced to podcasts by a co-worker who had purchased an iPod.
He calls out several mentors like Gregg Pollack, Eric Berry, Nate Hopkins, Cliff Ravenscraft, David Brady, Dave Jackson, and many more.
He then explains what he'd do differently if he were starting today.
Join the Dev Heroes Accelerator at https://devchat.tv/hero
Panel
- Charles Max Wood
Sponsors
- Dev Heroes Accelerator
Charles Max Wood explains how he landed his first 4 freelance clients that took him through a few years of freelancing with only 3 years of experience and a few hundred podcast listeners. Funnily enough, they actually came to him, not the other way around.
He explains how he made himself attractive to them and then turned it into a mutually profitable relationship once he had their attention.
Panel
- Charles Max Wood
Sponsors
- Dev Heroes Accelerator
Todd Miller teaches entrepreneurs how to live a fulfilling life. He's just released his book ENRICH which outlines the process for growing as a person, finding the things that fulfill you, and live without regrets.
Panel * Charles Max Wood
Guest * Todd Miller
Sponsors * Dev Heroes Accelerator
Links * TODD MILLER
Picks * Charles- Dev Hero Mastermind * Charles- Todd Miller's Books * Todd- Spend time with friends
John-Daniel Trask, founder and CEO of Raygun, talks about his experience building a monitoring company and about how to measure the speed and quality of your code.
John-Daniel Trask, founder and CEO of Raygun, talks about his experience building a monitoring company and about how to measure the speed and quality of your code.
Get the 2020 Goal Setting Workshop + Success Accelerator Deal HERE (Coupon Code: GOALS for a massive discount)
Mani Vaya joins Charles Max Wood to walk him through the 6 pillars of success that lead to meeting your goals.
Mani has read thousands of books on success, setting and achieving goals, and personal growth and has distilled these 6 principles from the books and then figured out how to put them into practice.
He and Chuck walk through the principles and strategies that create success and allow you to set goals that will bring you the things you want during the next year or so.
Listen to this episode to learn how to crush your biggest goals in 2021.
Get the 2020 Goal Setting Workshop + Success Accelerator Deal HERE (Coupon Code: GOALS for a massive discount)
Petra describes some of the failings she used to have with her proposals and how she turned it all around. Petra now uses several savvy sales techniques in her proposals, but you wouldn't know because the proposal process is very customer-centric. In this podcast episode she walks you through a successful proposal template that has won her hundreds of thousands of dollars in freelancer business.
Panel * Petra Manos
Sponsors * Audible.com
Picks * Petra - 100 Pcs Microscope Slides Prepared for Kids Students Biology Specimen Lab Sample with Insects Plants Science Learning Home School Brand: MAXLAPTER * Petra- 50pcs Prepared Premade Microscope Slides Set for Basic Biological Science Education with Wooden Case Brand: SWIFT * Petra- Pitch Anything: An Innovative Method for Presenting, Persuading, and Winning the Deal by Oren Klaff
Michael Fleischner, SEO expert, Charles Max Wood, podcasting expert, and Petra Manos, Google Ads expert, discuss the latest tips and tricks for generating high quality traffic to your website. We bust a few myths along the way, so don't miss this episode if you want to generate traffic.
Panel * Charles Max Wood * Petra Manos
Guest * Michael Fleischner
Links * Digital Freelancers Podcast * Big Fin SEO
Picks * Chuck - Podcast Growth Summit * Chuck - Podcast Playbook * Chuck - Stormlight Archive * Chuck - Wheel of Time * Petra - Qwilr * Michael - Digital Freelancers Podcast * Michael - Story Brand
Get the Black Friday/Cyber Monday "Double Your Productivity by 5pm Today" Deal Coupon Code: "DEEP" for a GIANT discount Mani provides us with strategies and tactics to get Deep Work time and how to get our minds into that focused state for hours at a time.
He has read hundreds of books that have taught him the secrets to getting more done by getting into this state.
He starts by telling us how he was passed over for a promotion at Qualcomm in favor of someone younger and less experienced and how that inspired him to figure out what the other guy was doing differently. He learned that he needed to get more done with the time he was spending on his projects.
The trick? Deep Work!
Deep Work is the ability to spend uninterrupted, focused time on a task to bend your entire mind toward the goal.
Other developers call it "Flow" or "the Zone."
Mani provides us with strategies and tactics to get Deep Work time and how to get our minds into that focused state for hours at a time.
Get the Black Friday/Cyber Monday "Double Your Productivity by 5pm Today" Deal Coupon Code: "DEEP" for a GIANT discount
Matthew Mottola, CEO of Venture L and author of The Human Cloud, shares his insights into working as a freelancer as part of a larger corporation. He dispels myths about freelancing vs employment, explains why corporations want you, and provides suggestions into how best to present yourself to a hiring manager.
Panel * Petra Manos
Guest * Matthew Mottola
Sponsors * Audible.com * CacheFly
Links * https://www.alexa.com/
Picks Petra Manos:
- Painting rocks (hobby)
Matthew Mottola:
- New Power by Jeremy Heimans
- Second Machine Age
- Machine Platform Crowd by Erik Brynjolffsen and Andrew Mcafee
- The Inevitable by Kevin Kelly
Follow The Freelancers Show on Twitter > @freelancershow
In this episode of The Freelancers Show,we talk with Marcel Petipas and he shows us how you can analyze your business and figure out which factors are driving your profit (or lack of) and what to do about it.
Panel * Joel Schaubert * Charles Max Wood
Guest * Marcel Petitpas
Sponsors * Audible.com * CacheFly
Links * https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcelpetitpas/ * https://www.facebook.com/mpetitpas
Picks Joel:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krav_Maga
Chuck:
- Lightbringer
- Podcast Playbook
Marcel Petitpas:
- https://miro.com
- Affiliate link for The Design of Everyday Things
- https://parakeeto.com/toolkit
Follow The Freelancers Show on Twitter > @freelancershow
In this episode of The Freelancers Show, Petra walks through several mistakes she sees freelancers and small service providers make on their websites which prevents you from getting good prospects from your website efforts. If you’ve ever spent a lot of time building your website but not seen a return on your website, you might be making one or more of these mistakes as well!
Host * Petra Manos
Sponsors * Audible.com * CacheFly
Links * https://www.thequantifiedweb.com/learn-how-to-set-up-your-google-analytics-correctly
Picks Petra Manos:
- https://sharethis.com/
- How to Sell Without Selling: Step-By-Step Marketing Formula to Attract Ready-to-Buy Clients
- Get A Guaranteed Step-By-Step Process For Setting Up Google Analytics
Follow The Freelancers Show on Twitter > @freelancershow
In this episode of The Freelancers Show, Rob Cornilles and Petra Manos discuss the process of selling authentically so that you can generate more business for yourself without feeling sleazy or salesy. The two focus on an effective method for building and maintaining rapport during a sales conversation, a simple and memorable technique that will get results for both you and your clients.
Panel * Petra Manos
Guest * Rob Cornilles
Sponsors * Audible.com * CacheFly
Picks Rob Cornilles:
- Exponent.fm
- https://radio.foxnews.com/podcast/trey-gowdy/
- Game Face Execs Podcast
Petra Manos:
- Using Accessibility Mode on phone while walking dog
Follow The Freelancers Show on Twitter > @freelancershow
What is google analytics and how should I get started with it. Learn about key graphs like traffic reports, pages and how to get started with goals, events and heatmaps.
Panel * Petra Manos * Joel Schaubert
Sponsors * Audible.com * CacheFly
Links * www.thequantifiedweb.com/ecommerce-google-analytics * https://www.thequantifiedweb.com/google-analytics-cheat-sheet * https://www.thequantifiedweb.com/offer-google-analytics-course
Picks Joel Schaubert:
- Ages of Discord: A Structural-Demographic Analysis of American History
Petra Manos:
- How to Sell Without Selling: Step-By-Step Marketing Formula to Attract Ready-to-Buy Clients…Create Passive Income and Make More Money While Making a Difference
Follow The Freelancers Show on Twitter > @freelancershow
In this episode of the The Freelancers Show, guest Paul Edwards explains how important it is to connect with executives, influencers and entrepreneurs on a personal level by asking them valuable questions and connecting them with resources. The laws of reciprocity create success for those who use them. He describes how his business went from 0 to $60,000 in just a few months by following a “give first” mindset.
Panel * Petra Manos
Guest * Paul Edwards
Sponsors * Audible.com * CacheFly
Links * Superconnector: Stop Networking and Start Building Business Relationships that Matter
Picks Paul Edwards:
- Mastermind Dinners: Build Lifelong Relationships by Connecting Experts, Influencers, and Linchpins
Petra Manos:
- Playful Art Supplies for Families that Love Colour
Follow The Freelancers Show on Twitter > @freelancershow
In this episode of The Freelancers Show, Alex Sanfilippo, Joel and Petra discuss how to focus ideas and actions in order to come up with products and services that your customers actually want. The same focus, when applied to the creation of the products and services, will propel you forward, even if you don’t have a lot of spare time..
Panel * Petra Manos * Joel Schaubert
Guest * Alex Sanfilippo
Sponsors * Audible.com * CacheFly
Links * www.ourfabriq.com * www.podmatch.com * https://www.amazon.com/Go-Giver-Expanded-Edition-audiobook * https://www.amazon.com/Never-Lose-Customer-Again-Lifelong * https://www.amazon.com/Profit-First-Transform-Cash-Eating-Money-Making * https://www.amazon.com/Flow-audiobook * www.creatingabrand.com
Picks Alex Sanfilippo:
- Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life
- Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller
Petra Manos:
- 80/20 Sales and Marketing: The Definitive Guide to Working Less and Making More
Joel Schaubert:
- Mpow HC5 Bluetooth Headset V5.0, Wireless Headphones with Dual Mic
- https://www.ericdavis215.com/average-frog-membership
Follow The Freelancers Show on Twitter > @freelancershow
In this episode of The Freelancers Show, we talk with Daniel Rosehill about navigating the choices of tools a new freelancer faces. From billing to project management to client communications and marketing each tool you choose will have strong points and weak points. Daniel in his new book walks through many of the choices a new freelancer will need to address..
Panel * Joel Schaubert
Guest * Daniel Rosehill
Sponsor * CacheFly
Links * The Confused Freelancer’s Guide To Technology
Picks Daniel Rosehill:
- Synology 4 bay NAS DiskStation
Joel Schaubert:
- Tennis lessons
Follow The Freelancers Show on Twitter > @freelancershow
In this episode of The Freelancers’ Show, we talk with Jay Clouse about some of the adventures he’s had on his path to freelancing. In college Jay had the idea that you’d have one career and possibly one job until retirement so you’d better pick wisely. There’s a whole other world out there of startups, freelancing, and so many ways to make your path.
Panel * Petra Manos * Joel Schaubert * Brad Large
Guest * Jay Clouse
Sponsors * CacheFly
Links * https://jayclouse.com * https://freelancing.school
Picks Jay Clouse:
- Follow Jay on Twitter > @jayclouse
- https://www.youtube.com/marcrebillet
Petra Manos:
- Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship
- Netflix Anne with an E
Brad Large:
- String Swing
- Hiking Project
Joel Schaubert:
- https://devchat.tv/podcasts/clean-coders/
- Code Complete book
Follow The Freelancers Show on Twitter > @freelancershow
Michael Katz walks the panelists through his strategies for staying in touch with prospects through the use of email newsletters. Storytelling is key here, and so Michael suggests ways to weave stories through your correspondence in order to make your content more personable and entertaining.
Panelists * Brad Large * Petra Manos
Guest * Michael Katz
Sponsors * CacheFly
Links * unroll.me * mailstrom
Picks Brad Large:
- 1000 True Fans
Petra Manos:
- File Manager Plugin
- How To Make Maximum Money with Minimum Customers
Michael Katz:
- Blue Penguin Development Resources
Follow on Social Media:
- The Freelancers Show: @freelancershow
In this episode of The Freelancers' Show, the panelists and guest, Jason Montoya discuss the problems with having just one of anything, and other factors that lead to fragility for your business. We discuss how the current COVID-19 pandemic has exposed those weaknesses for some, and how we've dealt with them.
Panelists * Joel Schaubert * Petra Manos
Guest * Jason Montoya
Sponsors * G2i | Enjoy the luxuries of freelancing * CacheFly
Links * Jason Scott Montoya * Path of the Freelancer * Jason's Blog * LinkedIn: Jason Montoya * Twitter Jason Montoya: @jasonsmontoya * Jason's Podcast
Picks Joel Schaubert:
- JBL Speaker
Jason Montoya:
- Guns, Germs, and Steel
- Letterboxd
Petra Manos:
- No B.S. Ruthless Managemnt of People and Profits
- Magnoplasm
Follow on Social Media:
- The Freelancers Show: @freelancershow
Guest, Marc Summe shares the ins and outs of building a company from the ground up, especially as it relates to SAS products. As developers, we are not always trained on how to do startups - so check out this very informative episode of The Freelancers Show.
Panelists * Charles Max Wood * Brad Large
Guest * Marc Summe
Sponsors * G2i | Enjoy the luxuries of freelancing * CacheFly
Picks Charles Max Wood:
- toggl
- The Obstacle is the Way
- 12 Week Year
- Ready Fire Aim
- Automatic Customer
Brad Large:
- Swagtron Balance Bike
- Obviously Awesome
- The New & Faster Way To Teach Your Child How To Ride A Bike
Marc Summe:
- High Output Management
Follow on Social Media:
- The Freelancers Show: @freelancershow
Jim Huffman, Petra Manos, and Joel Schaubert discuss how they've handled downturns in business due to Coronavirus and how they've been able to turn them around. Jim's company focuses on conversion rate optimization. Jim's company was growing and hiring until Coronavirus hit in March. Petra discusses her similar experience with clients cutting costs. They discuss how they did the work to turn things around.
Panelists * Petra Manos * Joel Schaubert
Guest * Jim Huffman
Sponsors * G2i | Enjoy the luxuries of freelancing * CacheFly
Links * The Hardest Day of My Career * Jim Huffman * GrowthHit * Twitter Jim Huffman: @JimWHuffman
Picks Joel Schaubert:
- Jazzadvice Music Timing
Jim Huffman:
- Masterclass
Petra Manos:
- Chris Mann YouTube
- Auto Screen Capture
Follow on Social Media:
- The Freelancers Show: @freelancershow
- Petra Manos: @PetraManos
React Native Remote Conf July 28th to 31th Will Gant, author of Remote Work joins the panel to talk about working from home and working outside of the client's office. He and the panel share their experience with working through the challenges, benefits, and methods of working remotely.
Panelists * Brad Large * Petra Manos * Joel Schaubert * Charles Max Wood
Guest * Will Gant
Sponsors * Cloudways | Use promo code "DEVCHAT" for 30% off for 3 months on all plans * CacheFly
"The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today!
Links * Twitter, Square Announce Work From Home Forever Option: What Are The Risks?
Picks Joel Schaubert:
- Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
Brad Large:
- LINPOZONE Forearm Trainer Rings
- AmazonBasics Guitar Capo
Petra Manos:
- 72 Dangerous Animals
- 72 Dangerous Animals Asia
Charles Max Wood:
- https://podcastplaybook.co/
- Autonomous Desk
- Herman Miller Aeron Ergonomic Office Chair
Will Gant:
- dd-wrt
Follow on Social Media:
- The Freelancers Show: @freelancershow
- Petra Manos: @PetraManos
- Charles Max Wood: @cmaxw
React Native Remote Conf July 28th to 31th How to get started in YouTube for an absolute beginner.
John lays out a path from picking a topic, to editing, to promoting your YouTube content..
Panelists * Brad Large * Petra Manos * Joel Schaubert * Charles Max Wood
Guest * John Sonmez
Sponsors * G2i | Enjoy the luxuries of freelancing * CacheFly
"The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today!
Links * TechLead Youtube * Bradley Large Youtube * Bulldog Mindset Youtube * bulldogmindset.com
Picks Joel Schaubert:
- Meditations of Marcus Aurelius
Brad Large:
- Daily Stoic
- The Unbranded Brand
- Salesforce Essentials Setup: Cool Guided Learning Popup
- Salesforce Essentials vs Professional
Petra Manos:
- Oversubscribed
- Oversubscribed Amazon
Charles Max Wood:
- Nikon D5600
- Teleprompter
- Course Creator Pro
John Sonmez:
- Moral Letters to Lucilius
- My Big Toe
Follow on Social Media:
- The Freelancers Show: @freelancershow
- Petra Manos: @PetraManos
Petra has been working to get blog traffic growth through the traditional social media and email marketing. She tried out promoting her blog posts with Google display ads and retargeting them to get them to come back. She outlines the details in a blog post and then walked the panel through her process.
Panelists * Brad Large * Petra Manos * Joel Schaubert * Charles Max Wood
Sponsors * G2i | Enjoy the luxuries of freelancing * CacheFly
"The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today!
Links * Petra's Blog * Google Tag Manager * Google Marketing Platform Tag Manager
Picks Joel Schaubert:
- Vue.js
- Twin Cities Sailing Club
Brad Large:
- Darn Tough Socks
- JustinGuitar
Petra Manos:
- removebg
Charles Max Wood:
- One Funnel Away
- Traffic Secrets
- Dotcom Secrets
- Expert Secrets
Follow on Social Media:
- The Freelancers Show: @freelancershow
- Petra Manos: @PetraManos
Italina Kirknis has been running a social media management company for the last 8 years. She talks to the panel about how to frame the conversation, how to be vulnerable, and how to increase your reach and stay relevant on social media.
Panelists * Brad Large * Petra Manos * Joel Schaubert
Guest * Italina Kirknis
Sponsors * Cloudways | Use promo code "DEVCHAT" for 30% off for 3 months on all plans * CacheFly
"The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today!
Links * Italina Kirknis on Instagram: @ItalinkaK * Italina Image Facebook
Picks Petra Manos:
- bannersnack
Brad Large:
- MeetEdgar
Italina Kirknis:
- Kangen Water Filter
Joel Schaubert:
- https://devchat.tv/conferences/
Follow on Social Media:
- The Freelancers Show: @freelancershow
- Petra Manos: @PetraManos
Tess Ball is an expert in marketing for small businesses. She walks the panel through doing content, social media, and other types of marketing and how to build relationships that will ultimately lead to business.
Panelists * Brad Large * Charles Max Wood * Joel Schaubert
Guest * Tess Ball
Sponsors * Study Web Development | Get 20% off "The Complete Freelancing Bundle" with promocode DEVCHAT * CacheFly
"The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today!
Picks Brad Large:
- WordPress Course
Joel Schaubert:
- Pivot Cycles
- Heart Driven Business Academy
Charles Max Wood:
- Codineer
Rytis Lauris:
- tesslorraine.com
- Alitu
Rytis Lauris joins the panelists of The Freelancers Show to discuss the use of automation tools that can personalize your contact with visitors on your website.
Panelists * Brad Large * Charles Max Wood * Petra Manos * Joel Schaubert
Guest * Rytis Lauris
Sponsors * G2i | Enjoy the luxuries of freelancing * LessAccounting | An easy to use software plus a bookkeeping service done by a real human * CacheFly
"The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today!
Links * Leadfeeder
Picks Brad Large:
- Trollberget
- Bekant
Petra Manos:
- Google Ads Tips
Joel Schaubert:
- Create a system restore point
- Control panel -> system -> System Protection -> Protection ON for your C drive
Charles Max Wood:
- Tiny PNG
- My Podcast playbook
- Codineer
- http://remoteconferenceplaybook.com/
Rytis Lauris:
- Comfortable Working Environment!
Paul Kogan from LessAccounting joins the Freelancers' Show panel this week to discuss bookkeeping and finances. They discuss bookkeeping, hiring a bookkeeper, what to look for in your finances, taxes, and much more...
Panelists * Brad Large * Charles Max Wood * Petra Manos * Joel Schaubert
Guest * Paul Kogan
Sponsors * Cloudways | Use promo code "DEVCHAT" for 30% off for 3 months on all plans * Springboard | 20, $500 Scholarship Available for Candidates who Apply with Code "DASPRINGBOARD" * CacheFly
"The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today!
Picks Joel Schaubert:
- MantisHub
- Musescore
Brad Large:
- Neewer Lighting Kit
- Ultimate Guitar
Petra Manos:
- Qwilr
Charles Max Wood:
- Less Accounting
- Devchat Conferences
Paul Kogan:
- Notion
- Zapier
JavaScript Remote Conf 2020 May 13th to 15th - register now! Scott Jones is the author of The Free Agent Mindset. He talks us through building a list of your skills and building a brand to find clients if you've been laid off and decide to go freelance. We also go into other strategies behind building up your new freelance practice.
Panelists * Brad Large * Charles Max Wood * Petra Manos * Brooks Forsyth
Panelists * Scott Jones
Sponsors * Springboard | 20, $500 Scholarship Available for Candidates who Apply with Code "DASPRINGBOARD" * LessAccounting | An easy to use software plus a bookkeeping service done by a real human * CacheFly
"The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today!
Links * BNI
Picks Brooks Forsyth:
- Pokemon GO
Petra Manos:
- From Single to Scale
Brad Large:
- Pray or meditate before and after work sessions. Try to put some mental space between your work and personal life.
- Trailhead
Charles Max Wood:
- The Star Principle
- Devchat Conferences
- Devchat Meetups
Scott Jones:
- Catch - Use referral code: scottjones
JavaScript Remote Conf 2020 May 13th to 15th - register now! The panelists discuss different business approaches for freelancing, and how moving from a model where most of your time is spent implementing for clients into a model where most of your time is spent marketing your business has pros and cons and unexpected challenges.
Panelists * Brad Large * Joel Schaubert * Petra Manos * Brooks Forsyth
Sponsors * G2i | Enjoy the luxuries of freelancing * LessAccounting | An easy to use software plus a bookkeeping service done by a real human * Springboard | 20, $500 Scholarship Available for Candidates who Apply with Code "DASPRINGBOARD" * CacheFly
"The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today!
Picks Brad Large:
- Kai Davis: LinkedIn Lead Generation
- Dux-Soup
- Thnks
Petra Manos:
- SmarterQueue
Joel Schaubert:
- Tennis
Brooks Forsyth:
- Wes Tank Fox in Sox
JavaScript Remote Conf 2020 May 13th to 15th - register now! Petra, Joel, and Charles talk about how to get started with and succeed at working from home. All three are veterans of working from home and explain the things that will help you make it work and the things that will make it hard.
Panelists * Joel Schaubert * Petra Manos * Charles Max Wood
Sponsors * Cloudways | Use promo code "DEVCHAT" for 30% off for 3 months on all plans * Springboard | 20, $500 Scholarship Available for Candidates who Apply with Code "DASPRINGBOARD" * CacheFly
"The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today!
Picks Petra Manos:
- Canva
Joel Schaubert:
- E-Myth Revisited
Charles Max Wood:
- Devchat.tv/hustle
- Self Publishing School
- Course Creator Pro
JavaScript Remote Conf 2020 May 13th to 15th - register now! Petra starts us out talking about some of the clients she has that have needed to pause their work with her. The panel brainstorms on ideas that for dealing with unexpected slowdowns as Petra discusses her approaches to things showing down.
Panelists * Joel Schaubert * Petra Manos * Brooks Forsyth * Charles Max Wood * Brad Large
Sponsors * Springboard | 20, $500 Scholarship Available for Candidates who Apply with Code "DASPRINGBOARD" * LessAccounting | An easy to use software plus a bookkeeping service done by a real human * CacheFly
"The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today!
Picks Petra Manos:
- Where's Waldo Coronavirus Edition
Joel Schaubert:
- My Corona Song
- FreshBooks
Brooks Forsyth:
- RescueTime
- Paper Dolls by Cory
Charles Max Wood:
- Devchat Conferences
- Cashflow Quadrant
Brad Large:
- Stripe.com
- Bluehost
- Kai Davis
JavaScript Remote Conf 2020 May 13th to 15th - register now! Scott Heiser joins the panel to talk about healthcare hacks for freelancers. We start out joking about the COVID-19 quarantine situation. Healthcare and health insurance turns out to be a major headache for freelancers because it's usually tied to employment. ObamaCare got mentioned and discussed. Petra chimes in with the situation in Australia. Listen in to learn how you can make freelancing less painful on this particular front.
Panelists * Joel Schaubert * Petra Manos * Brooks Forsyth * Charles Max Wood
Guest * Scott Heiser
Sponsors * G2i | Enjoy the luxuries of freelancing * LessAccounting | An easy to use software plus a bookkeeping service done by a real human * Springboard | 20, $500 Scholarship Available for Candidates who Apply with Code "DASPRINGBOARD" * CacheFly
"The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today!
Links * Healthcare is Making Me Sick
Picks Joel Schaubert:
- Your Body is Your Barbell
Petra Manos:
- The Ultimate Guide to Google's Custom Intent Audiences
Brooks Forsyth:
- Wash Your Hands Challenge
Charles Max Wood:
- Expert Secrets
- Half Marathon Training
Scott Heiser:
- Focus on the Greater Good!
JavaScript Remote Conf 2020 May 14th to 15th - register now! This week's guest of The Freelancers' Show, Will Bunker has had a long career in programming and has moved several times between freelancing and full time work. We discuss how he finds clients, his strategy for getting referrals, and how he spots what the next 5-7 year wave of popular technology will be and how he prepares for it. We also discussed a non-niche approach to being a freelancer and what kind of person might enjoy that and how to be successful at it.
Panelists * Brooks Forsyth * Petra Manos * Joel Schaubert
Guest * Will Bunker
Sponsors * Cloudways | Use promo code "DEVCHAT" for 30% off for 3 months on all plans * LessAccounting | An easy to use software plus a bookkeeping service done by a real human * Springboard | Promo code "JABBER" gives $500 off the job-guaranteed Course * CacheFly
____________________________________________________________
"The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today!
____________________________________________________________ Picks Brooks Forsyth:
- Salt Water Aquariums
Petra Manos:
- Principles for Success
Joel Schaubert:
- The Obesity Code
Will Bunker:
- The Art of Learning
JavaScript Remote Conf 2020 May 14th to 15th - register now! Marc Summe and the freelancing panel discuss the ins and outs of tracking time and billing for your time. Time tracking seems deceptively simple, but it gets complicated when you actually try to do it. You also have to decide what you are tracking time for and billing for and how to get your timesheet transferred to an invoice. This episode will answers all your questions about how to track your time and get paid for it.
Panelists * Brad Large * Brooks Forsyth * Petra Manos * Charles Max Wood
Guest * Marc Summe
Sponsors * LessAccounting | An easy to use software plus a bookkeeping service done by a real human * CacheFly
____________________________________________________________
"The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today!
____________________________________________________________ Links * Clockify * Hubstaff * TimeFlip * Xero * MYOB * FreshBooks
Picks Brooks Forsyth:
- Forestry
Brad Large:
- James Bond Books by Ian Fleming
Petra Manos:
- Disney Plus
Charles Max Wood:
- Devchat Conferences
- Kim Possible
- Chronicles of Narnia
Marc Summe:
- 20 Minute Walks
- Rockin' the Suburbs
- Seriously.....walking. It's fun! Just do it.
Mike Volkin joins the panel to discuss the pros and cons to hourly billing. The panel discusses their challenges with value based and fixed-price pricing and get recommendations from Mike and the rest of the panel.
Panelists * Brad Large * Brooks Forsyth * Petra Manos * Charles Max Wood
Guest * Mike Volkin
Sponsors * G2i | Enjoy the luxuries of freelancing * LessAccounting | An easy to use software plus a bookkeeping service done by a real human * Sentry | Use the code “devchat” for $100 credit * CacheFly
____________________________________________________________
"The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today!
____________________________________________________________ Links * The Freelancers' Show 109 - How to Determine Value and Set Pricing with Kirk Bowman
Picks Brad Large:
- The 4-Hour Body
- Assault Airbike Classic
- Tiwal 3 Small Sailboat
Brooks Forsyth:
- StackShare
Petra Manos:
- Japanese Knitting Stitches
Charles Max Wood:
- The Expanse
Mike Volkin:
- Picsnippets.com
This episode Brad, Chuck and Brooks go over what it looks like getting a podcast started for lead gen. everything from positioning strategy to tactics and hosting this is a great overview on podcasting basics.
Panelists * Brad Large * Brooks Forsyth * Charles Max Wood
Sponsors * Cloudways | Use promo code "DEVCHAT" for 30% off for 3 months on all plans * Sentry | Use the code “devchat” for $100 credit * CacheFly
____________________________________________________________
"The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today!
____________________________________________________________ Picks Brooks Forsyth:
- Vikings
Brad Large:
- PowerPress
- Brad's Intro Music
Charles Max Wood:
- ATR2100 Microphone
- Buzzsprout
- Devchat Workshops
Petra Manos joins the Freelancers' Show to talk about hiring and managing remote workers and subcontractors. Petra runs a consultancy that manages Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and Google Ads. She hires and manages people to help manage the workload for her clients. Chuck has also hired VA's. The panel dives into the ins-and-outs of growing teams, hiring consultants, and working with people who don't necessarily start out with the skills you need.
Panelists * Brad Large * Brooks Forsyth * Charles Max Wood
Guest * Petra Manos
Sponsors * G2i | Enjoy the luxuries of freelancing * Sentry Use code "devchat" for $100 credit * CacheFly
____________________________________________________________
"The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today!
____________________________________________________________ Links * The Mythical Man-Month * OnlineJobs * SweetProcess * Trainual * Clockwork * Upwork
Picks Brad Large:
- Zapier
- FinancialMentor
Brooks Forsyth:
- Logitech K480 Keyboard
Petra Manos:
- Virtual Freedom
- Monday.com
Creative visualization can help reduce stress, envision possibilities, and stay motivated. Mike Volkin talks us about how he's upped his game in several facets of life by practicing creative visualization and meditation.
Panelists * Brad Large * Brooks Forsyth * Charles Max Wood
Guest * Mike Volkin
Sponsors * Cloudways Use Promo code "DEVCHAT" for 30% off for 3 months on all plans * Sentry Use code "devchat" for $100 credit * CacheFly
____________________________________________________________
"The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today!
____________________________________________________________ Links * The Power of Neurplasticity * Mikevolkin.com * Freelancer Masterclass
Picks Brad Large:
- Thinking Fast and Slow
Brooks Forsyth:
- Hammerspoon
- Karabiner
Charles Max Wood:
- Breaking The Habit of Being Yourself
- Clean Coders Podcast
- Devchat.tv Workshops
Mike Volkin:
- The Secret
- Joe Dispenza
Fernando Angulo joins the Freelancers' Show panel to help the understand how and why to build content that will show up as answers to questions and other results in Google beyond the results listed in Google on a search.
Panelists * Brooks Forsyth * Brad Large * Charles Max Wood
Guest * Fernando Angulo
Sponsors * Cloudways Use Promo code "Devchat" for 30% off for 3 months on all plans * Sentry Use code "devchat" for $100 credit * CacheFly
____________________________________________________________
"The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today!
____________________________________________________________ Links * Fernando Angulo - SEMRush - "Content for people and for Google" - GCE * Flesch-Kincaid readability * Yoast
Picks Brooks Forsyth:
- True Lemon Pack
Brad Large:
- Obviously Awesome
- Pia Silva
Charles Max Wood:
- The Name of the Wind
Fernando Angulo:
- Getting Things Done
Felipe Millan joins the panel to talk about mistakes that freelancers make. The panel joins in with mistakes that they've made as well. The episode wraps up with Felipe talking about how he finds people online that are good prospects for outreach for SEMRush. This episode revolutionized the way that Devchat.tv finds sponsors.
Panelists * Brad Large * Charles Max Wood * Brooks Forsyth
Guest * Felipe Millan
Sponsors * Cloudways * CacheFly
____________________________________________________________
"The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today!
____________________________________________________________ Links * Find That Lead * Listen Notes * Growth Marketing & Outbound Group * SAAS Growth Hacks Group
Picks Brad Large:
- Bomb Pancakes
- Bomb Waffles
- The Irresistible Consultant's Guide to Winning Clients
Brooks Forsyth:
- Watchmen
Charles Max Wood:
- Hunter.Io
Felipe Millan:
- Gmelius
- Audible
Olga Andrienko is a Search Engine Optimization and content marketing expert at SEMRush. She walks us through the process of selecting keywords and designing content to get a snippet, or better spot on Google and other search engine searches.
Panelists * Brad Large * Charles Max Wood * Brooks Forsyth
Guest * Olga Andrienko
Sponsors * G2i * Sentry | Use the code “devchat” for $100 credit * CacheFly
____________________________________________________________
"The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today!
____________________________________________________________ Picks Olga Adrienko:
- Everybody Lies
Charles Max Wood:
- The Man In the High Castle
- Magician: Master
- Ready Fire Aim
Brad Large:
- Yoast
- Kai Davis' Emails
In this episode of The Freelancers Show, Mike Volkin describes a successful marketing funnel. One common problem in freelancing is finding your next client, a marketing funnel will be constantly bringing clients to you. Mike’s direct response funnel starts with a Facebook or Google ad. This ad will bring potential clients to your landing page. The landing page will contain a sign up for a webinar that will teach them to solve a specific problem. At the end of the webinar, they will be offered your cost-effective solution.
The panel discusses different examples for this solution and Mike explains how this funnel can be used for any business, podcast, courses, products, and coding. The panel shares their concern with the costs of ads. Mike explains how you can optimize your ad budget and the importance of targeting a specific audience to increase your ROI. You can better target clients by niching your solution. Mike explains how you can use Facebook to find your niche and target your audience.
The panel shares their niches. They also give some examples of niches and how to find your niche. Mike gives tips for making a good webinar and the panel discusses the importance of being enthusiastic and likable. Mike gives recommendations to learn more about direct response funnels.
Panelists * Brad Large * Charles Max Wood * Brooks Forsyth
- Mike Volkin
Sponsors * Freelance Web Development Pricing Get 25% off the deluxe edition of the book * Sentry | Use the code “devchat” for 2 months free on Sentrys small plan * CacheFly
____________________________________________________________ "The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today!
____________________________________________________________ Links * https://www.udemy.com/course/the-ultimate-upwork-mastery-bundle/ * https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-freelancer-school-podcast/id1469385483 * https://www.freelancermasterclass.com/ * https://www.clickfunnels.com/ * https://www.facebook.com/freelancersshow/
Picks Brooks Forsyth:
- Blind
Mike Volkin:
- Deep Work
Charles Max Wood:
- The Man In the High Castle
- Magician: Apprentice
Brad Large:
- YETI cup
- https://elementor.com
In this episode of the Freelancers Show, Mike Volkin leads the panel on a discussion of what he calls the nine traits to attract high paying clients. The first is to be attentive. This doesn’t mean overcommunicate but to better outline how and when you are going to communicate with clients. Second, is be mindful. Time is money, so put away your phone and avoid distractions during your designated working hours.
The third trait is to be caring. Care about your reputation, your clients and prospects. The fourth trait is to be resourceful. This is accomplished by doing your research on prospects, their problems and other experts in your niche. Fifth, be respectful. Respect your rates, don’t beg or lower your rates.
Sixth, be a good listener. When on a call, listen to their pain points and problems. Don’t oversell yourself, all they need to know is your name, expertise, how long you’ve been a freelance and a small part of your story. The seventh trait is to be a good communicator. This means outline your scope of work and avoid scope creep. Eighth, be confident. Be confident in yourself and in your ability to complete the work. Show prospects you are confident by having pre-written answers to common questions.
The final trait is to be a good manager. Manage yourself and manage up with your clients. Managing up by streamlining your communication. One email instead of three, send feedback, anticipate questions and understand how clients like to communicate. Mike also outlines the flow of a discovery call and shares how he targets high paying clients.
Panelists * Brad Large * Brooks Forsyth
- Mike Volkin
Sponsors * G2i * Sentry | Use the code “devchat” for 2 months free on Sentrys small plan * CacheFly
____________________________________________________________ "The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today!
____________________________________________________________ Links * https://www.facebook.com/freelancersshow/
Picks Brooks Forsyth:
- Heated blanket
Mike Volkin:
- How to Hack the Flow State and reach Peak Performance
Brad Large:
- https://jamesclear.com/
- https://habitica.com/
- https://www.stridesapp.com/
In this episode of The Freelancers Show the panel interviews Christian Lüdemann. Christian consults on Angular development and creates online training courses. Today they are talking about building online training courses and marketing. Charles Max Wood shares some of the reasons you might want to create online courses. They start by discussing how to build courses.
Christian recommends starting with an in house workshop for building courses. They can look over your work and give you valuable feedback before you get in too deep. He also explains how targeting a specific need can create more value for your course. Christian has a background in DevOps as well and uses that in his courses to create more valuable content.
The panel considers what courses to build. They recommend listening to the market and find a need. Christian explains that a course should just cover one thing but should provide a package to meet a need. With information readily available on the internet, the purpose and value of a course are in the packaging. They give an example, a webpack course would be okay but a course outlining how to find a dream developer job that included a webpack course and others is much more appealing.
The panel discusses the landing site and how it is a valuable tool. Christian reminds the panel that humans are emotional beings and explains that success comes when your site and product induces an emotional response. He likes to do this by writing a story of his ideal customer and offering your course as the solution to their problems. The panel discusses other things to include on your landing page.
Getting traffic to the landing page is all marketing. Christian tells the panel about starting his blog, this built his reputation and gave him authority. He also posts on social media. These lead people to his mailing list, which then leads them to his landing site and product. The panel considers what content to write and how to come up with blog posts that people will read.
Christian shares his journey to freelancing and course creation. He explains why he chose to become a freelancer. The panel discusses how to keep courses and content up to date. Christian explains how he uses his consulting work to keep his courses current and to come up with content for his blogs.
Panelists * Charles Max Wood * Brad Large
Guest * Christian Lüdemann
Sponsors * Sentry | Use the code “devchat” for 2 months free on Sentrys small plan * CacheFly
____________________________________________________________ "The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today!
____________________________________________________________ Links * https://christianlydemann.com/ * https://devchat.tv/adv-in-angular/ * https://thebusinessofauthority.com/ * 31 Days to Build a Better Blog * Developer Jobs * https://www.facebook.com/freelancersshow/
Picks Charles Max Wood:
- Ubersuggest
- https://www.membershipacademy.com?aff=cmaxw
- https://maximumfun.org/podcasts/adventure-zone/
Christian Lüdemann:
- Selling to Big Companies
- Blue ocean strategy
Brad Large:
- The Seasons of a Man’s Life: An Introduction
- https://www.entreleadership.com/blog/podcast
In this episode of The Freelancers Show the panel interviews Mike Volkin. Mike explains what neuroplasticity is and how it can make you a better entrepreneur. He outlines five tips to increase your neuroplasticity. The first tip is to get enough sleep. They discuss ways to make sure you get enough sleep and how to wake up the right way.
The second tip is to stand up or kneel while working. They discuss ways to do this, setting a timer, using standing mats and kneeling chairs. Tip number three is continuous learning. Mike explains that it doesn’t have to be something for your business, it can be anything that makes you happy. The panel shares some of their hobbies and discusses time management and the importance of setting goals.
The fourth tip is to reduce stress. Mike recommends meditation and mindfulness. He explains the difference between the two. The panel discusses their experiences with meditation. The final tip is creative visualization, the practice of visualizing your goals and how you will accomplish them. The panel reminds people that these practices take time to affect you and your life. Mike warns against comparing yourself to others.
Panelists * Charles Max Wood * Brooks Forsyth * Brad Large
Guest * Mike Volkin
Sponsors * G2i * Sentry | Use the code “devchat” for $100 credit * CacheFly
____________________________________________________________ "The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today!
____________________________________________________________ Links * Science of Success * https://tomato-timer.com/ * https://kanbanflow.com/ * 75HARD: A 75-Day Tactical Guide to Winning the War With Yourself, with Andy Frisella * The MaxCoders Guide To Finding Your Dream Developer Job * https://www.facebook.com/freelancersshow/
Picks Charles Max Wood:
- A Christmas Story
- Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer
- The Little Drummer Boy
- Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town
- The Ultimate Gift
- https://mckirdytrained.com/
Brooks Forsyth:
- https://www.nirvanahq.com/
Mike Volkin:
- https://www.freelancermasterclass.com/
- Undervalued
- The Power of Neuroplasticity
- Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New
Brad Large:
- Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain
- https://thefreelancersworkshop.com/
In this episode of The Freelancers Show, the new panel is introduced and they discuss getting into freelancing. Brooks Forsyth is brand new to the show. He is from Connecticut and works mostly with Angular and Ionic. He has consulted for large firms but has recently been doing more independent contracting.
Charles Max Wood has been on The Freelancers Show before but it has been a while so he introduces himself as well. Charles is the owner of DevchatTV, before that he did freelancing. They start by discussing how contracting with a large corporation compares to other contracting jobs. They also consider how those compare to moonlighting contract work.
As CEO of DevchatTV Charles has hired contractors to help him run the shows, he shares some of the ways that he has found his employees. He and Brooks discuss Upwork and sites like them. They share how they got started in freelancing and how they found their first jobs.
Charles tells the listeners that it was worth it and gives them some advice to help with the stress of starting out. The panel gives recommendations on finding clients and Charles shares his method for finding your dream client which has been adapted from his book. They discuss billing hourly or by project and the importance of an emergency fund.
Panelists * Charles Max Wood * Brooks Forsyth
Sponsors * Sentry– use the code “devchat” for two months free on Sentry’s small plan * CacheFly
____________________________________________________________ "The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today!
____________________________________________________________ Links * Hourly Billing is Nuts * https://www.facebook.com/freelancersshow/
Picks Charles Max Wood:
- The Bishop’s Wife
- How The Grinch Stole Christmas
- Scrooge
Brooks Forsyth:
- Elf
In this episode of The Freelancers Show, Reuven Lerner gives some insight into recessions, how they work and how you can prepare for them. He explains that an economy will rise and fall but is always growing. A recession is when instead of growing the economy decreases, there is less business activity, layoffs, etc…
Reuven explains why some people are talking about an upcoming recession. It is impossible to predict a recession but economists can use various events as signs of possible recessions. He explains how the long expansion, trade wars, and the inverted yield curve all point to an upcoming recession. Recession doesn’t always affect every sector, Reuven shares examples of recessions and the sectors they hit.
Reuven lists ways to prepare your business for a recession and share examples of how he has been doing this for his own business. First, make sure you cast a wide net for potential clients. Next, specialize in something specific and make sure the world knows your name and what you do. He stresses the importance of starting a mailing list.
Reuven warns against remaining in one vertical sector. He also warns to be careful about employing anyone full time and shares the pain he suffered during a recession trying to pay everyone’s salaries out of pocket. He advises moving from only working business to business to business to customer and gives tips on how to start that move. Finally in encourages everyone to keep up with economic news.
Panelists * Reuven Lerner
Sponsors * Sentry– use the code “devchat” for two months free on Sentry’s small plan * Adventures in .NET * My Ruby Story * CacheFly
Links * https://www.facebook.com/freelancersshow/
Picks Reuven Lerner:
- Slate Money podcast
- Marketplace
- Double Twist
- Podcast Addict
- BlueMail
In this episode of The Freelancer’s Show the panel discusses setting boundaries on the scope of engagements. This means not taking jobs that are too big or too small for you. They begin by define projects that are too small. They explain how many may not realize that there is such a thing a project that is too small. A too-small engagement may be too short in duration or not profitable enough.
An example Erik Dietrich shares is a two-hour job that is three hours away and they are only paying your $200, between travel, and labor that is 8 hours of work for only $200 which is not worth it. Jeremy Green shares an example from his past. He fell into the trap of taking on 2-hours per month retainer contracts. The problem with contracts like these is that clients cannot intuitively understand how long things will take or may feel that the 2-hours they paid for should roll over when a month goes by without using them.
They explain how setting boundaries defining what is too small is better than trying to use your judgment at the time of the engagement. Many developers have an any work is better than no work mindset, the panel explains how this is not true especially when you are losing money to the overhead of communicating for 5 hours, doing a 5-hour job and only getting paid for 5-hours of work, ostensibly cutting your profits in half.
Erik walks listeners through a helpful exercise of putting numbers to your costs, working your way backward through the numbers to decide how much you would actually have to make in order for a project to be worth your time. He explains that he wishes he had started doing this years ago. This exercise will also arm you with information that will help you from a negotiating perspective. It allows you to speak with authority about what you will and won’t do, giving you the power in the sales conversation and allowing your clients to see what they are really asking of you.
Besides the time spent and how much money you will make, the panel shares another scoping boundary, turn around time. They explain that if a client tells you they needed this done yesterday, run. It is a red flag, this means they haven’t done enough planning and it will only lead to a bad situation. Jeremy explains the difference between those who say they want it as soon as possible and those whose hair is on fire and they need it now now now.
Some ways to set boundaries for this is to require a certain number of weeks before you can begin a project and a certain number of weeks for actually working on the project. By setting these boundaries you make sure the project is sane and workable. Erik explains that as the professional you have the experience to set a reasonable timeline for the work required, which means you should have control over the conversation of time.
Next, the panel moves on to establishing boundaries with clients. They explain the importance of setting expectations when it comes to contacting your and the hours you keep. Also, set expectations on how quickly you expect them to respond to you. Jeremy shares times when short projects were dragged out because the client failed to respond to his emails. The panel discusses strategies for getting feedback from clients and escape routes for when clients refuse to communicate.
On the opposite end of the scale are projects that are too large of an engagement. How large is too large depends on the individual. Some developers may want a year-long contract where they work full time on one project while others may be looking to build a consulting practice. However, no matter what you are looking for it is always possible to get in over your head.
The panel advises listeners to have a realistic view of what you can actually do and what you want as a freelancer. Do you want to work solo or over a team? This decision will affect the types and sizes of jobs you will take. You don’t want to take a job that should be done by a team when you want to remain solo, on a similar note you wouldn’t want to take on a job that you could do alone but still have to pay a whole team.
The panel warns against taking on projects with an undefined scope of work, something vague like building an e-commerce site could be dragged on and on as the client adds on more and more features they want. They advise that if you take a job with a project fee to make sure you charge for discovery. Jeremy shares a time where he agreed to one job and once he saw the code he realized the job was not what he agreed to. The panel shares ways to avoid this problem. One way is to agree to work for a number of weeks and revisit the scope of the work after getting your hands into the code.
Now that they have explained how to set your boundaries, the panel shares advice on how to disengage from engagements that do not fit the boundaries you have set. The engagements that are too small are easier to disengage from. Using the 2-hour retainer model from earlier, explain to your clients that you have increased the minimum number of hours needed to keep you on retainer and that they do have need of that work. If they agree then great, if not it gives you a reason to move on and find work that fits your needs.
Erik explains two rules of thumb when disengaging from a client. First, a great phrase that no one can argue with is “I can’t make a business case for this”. The other is that when disengaging to err on the side of generosity, give them a generous refund or allow them to keep a sample of your product.
Extracting yourself from an over scoped project is much more difficult especially if they have paid you a large sum upfront and you have put a lot of work into the project. The advice the panel gives is to go to your client as early as possible and explain that the project is going to take a lot more time and resources that you first thought and hopefully you will be able to work something out. If possible, before engaging in any project the panel advises you to determine the worst-case scenario and to work safeguards into the agreement.
Finally, the panel lists questions to ask yourself to determine the perfect projects for yourself. Do you want to hire subcontractors? Is there a time limit you want to work on one project for? What are your costs? What and how many hours do you want to work each day? How much communication do you want to have with clients? What fo you want your business and life to look like. Once you answer these questions and set your boundaries the perfect scope of engagements will be easier to define.
Panelists * Erik Dietrich * Jeremy Green
Sponsors * Sentry– use the code “devchat” for two months free on Sentry’s small plan * Adventures in DevOps * My JavaScript Story * CacheFly
Links * https://twitter.com/daedtech * https://www.facebook.com/freelancersshow/
Picks Erik Dietrich:
- American Express Travel Insiders
- HitSubscribe Mailing list
Jeremy Green:
- The Raconteurs
In this episode of The Freelancers Show, Erik Dietrich explains the term economic buyer and how it can affect freelancers and business owners. An economic buyer is the person within an organization who has the authority to purchase something. Knowing who your economic buyer is will affect how you market your product, for freelancers, this includes labor or services.
Starting with the most desirable, Erik lists the main types of buyers’ situations. The first is the autonomous buyer situation. A lone buyer makes the decision about purchasing a product. Erik shares the example of a manager taking the team out for lunch. They didn’t have to consult anyone and decided to do that on their own.
The next situation and the second most desirable after the autonomous buyer situation is the buyer and research assistant/influencer. For this situation, Erik uses the example of the CIO or director of engineering choosing the new IDE for a new project. They may not care about the finer details or don’t have the technical know-how or time to do the research, so the pick someone to do the leg work and allow them to advise them on the purchase.
The next situation is the buyer committee. In this situation, the committee debates the purchase and will eventually make the purchasing decision. Erik shares an example of an organization overhauling its website and wanting to get a CMS and starting a blog for marketing purposes. This involves IT and Marketing and has multiple paths to choose from.
The last and least desirable situation is the system/algorithm. The example Erik shares is the hiring process for a large organization. An interview is held by someone who has little or no authority in hiring, they are there to play their part in the system. The actual buyer would be the CIO or VP of engineering, who would sign your checks. They can’t be involved directly so they delegate to someone who delegates to someone else, leaving standing orders to fill a specific number of positions. The developer hired is as Erik puts it of no valuable than a stapler to an office manager, they are replaceable.
Erik explains the more you can talk directly to the buyer the more advantageous the situation is. He goes over examples of different types of economic buyers. The economic buyer you deal with will vary based on the size of the organization, the larger the organization the more vertically distributed the economic buyers get. The highest authority starts at the top and slowly trickles down, the economic buyers you deal with have varying names and degrees of authority.
Next, Erik explains what difference this all makes from a sales and marketing perspective. With a system/algorithm it is very difficult as each process differs, so marketing to a system takes a lot of effort and time for each organization. With a buyers committee, it is possible to train yourself to address rooms full of people and maintain more control over the process. Buyers and research assistant/influencer situation is even easier with only two people to convince. The best situation is dealing directly with the buyer, with only one person to get to know and convince.
Erik gives advice on how to go from appealing to the whims of a system to working directly with the economic buyers. First, he suggests switching things up and marketing to smaller organizations that don’t have a system. Doing this could help you the credibility needed to work directly with economic buyers higher up in a larger organization.
Another way is by looking at the four-step problem-solving solution. This is where you diagnose a problem, prescribe a therapy, apply the therapy and finally, reapply the therapy. Start by looking at your context in the solution, most likely you are applying therapy. Knowing this you can work your way backward and find the diagnoses. The diagnoses made by the economic buyer can help you understand what the buyer cares about.
Another suggestion he gives is working your way up the value chain, working through each level of economic buyer, finding what the next level cares about and marketing towards them. Or, he suggests selling smaller offerings that will change up your economic buyers. Finally, he explains the first step to any of this is by thinking about who your economic buyer is, get your wheels turning on how to reach those people. Just doing this will help you market more efficiently which will lead to more work and help you be better in what you do.
Panelists * Erik Dietrich
Sponsors * Sentry– use the code “devchat” for two months free on Sentry’s small plan * Sustain Our Software * My Angular Story * CacheFly
Links * https://twitter.com/daedtech * https://www.facebook.com/freelancersshow/
Picks Erik Dietrich:
- Million Dollar Consulting
- The Hit Subscribe Side-Hustle Email List
In this episode of The Freelancers Show the panel share advice and experiences for publishing technical books. Each of the panelists has experience publishing books. Reuven Lerner published a book, Core Perl back in 2000, using a publisher and has self-published two more books in recent years. He is currently republishing one of his self-published books using a publisher.
Erik Dietrich has written three books, two of which were published through a friend and the third was self-published. Jeremy Green contributed to The Independent Consulting Manual and runs a SAS called Remarq, a tool for those who want to self-publish.
Why write a book? The panel warns listeners that if your goal is to make money that most likely will not happen. They explain that authors who make real money from their books are rare and authors who make money off of technical books are even more rare. One reason to write a book is so that people will know your name and want to hire yours. Another reason is that writing a book will give you more credibility with clients.
Having published a book can really impress clients, Erik shares how his book has brought him leads. Reuven explains how it shows prospective clients how knowledgeable and reliable he is, this is one reason he is republishing his book through an actual publisher. By having a publishing company publish his book it verifies his expertise for prospective clients, or as Erik puts it a book is social proof of your expertise. By having a published book, Erik receives a lot fewer requests for references or other proof of knowledge.
The panel addresses the profits made by publishing a book. Reuven shares a little of his experience both with a publisher and without one when it came to making money. His first book Core Perl he went through a publisher and didn’t make more than the advance they gave him. Frustrated he decided to self-publish his next two books. Reuven admits he was a fool for turning down the publisher when they approached him about one of his books. Since working with that publisher, they have sold more than 4x as many copies as he had in four years. He may not make more money but his name will reach more people.
Jeremy explains one of the downsides of going through a publisher. When a publisher sells your book you don’t get any information on who buys your book. You can’t reach out to them. You can’t share other products with them. When self-publishing you get all that information and are able to do those things to drum up more business.
The panel explains that there are three parts to self-publishing a book. First is the production of the book, writing it. Next, how and where to sell your book. The last thing to consider is marketing, how do you reach the people who will buy your book. The panel addresses each step and shares advice.
Jeremy explains how Remarq uses markdown in the production step of publishing the book. Reuven shares what he is currently using for his publishers and admits he would rather be using Remarq. In the past, Reuven has used so many different toolsets and each one was frustrating. The once piece of advice the panel has for production besides the tooling is to focus on the informational content first and design second.
Selling the book, Reuven explains how he used nearly everything to try and sell his book the first time around. Selling your book on your own is a major time suck and headache. Reuven suggests doing as he did and going through a third party, they have it all figured out.
Lastly marketing, Erik advises building a funnel to your site using youtube or other media, if you are unwilling to use amazon to market your book as he does. Reuven explains how he advertises his books like courses and mentions his book everywhere he can. It is hard to compete with publishers when it comes to marketing, they have the numbers and the followers.
Writing for a specific audience will make marketing easier. If you know who you are writing for then you will know how to market to them before your book is even done. Jeremy suggests using people from your target audience to read and review your book as you right, not only will this help you focus your book but will also have people who will spread the word about your book.
Now that they cover self-publishing, Reuven shares what it is like working with a publisher. It starts with a development editor, someone who finds authors and books to publish. Then you sign a contract with or without the help of an agent. Only after you sign the contract do you get assigned to an actual editor and a technical reviewer. These will read everything you write and give you feedback. His work is also read by a group of reviewers who give back feedback, some of which is a little harsh but all of which helps the book be better. Reuven explains how all of this has been a positive experience and that his book is better for it.
The last topic address in this episode is when you should you write a book. First, you must like to write, the panel advises those who hate writing not to write a book. Second, you must have something to write about. Publish something in a niche. You won’t make any headway writing a book about a well-known language and a well-known topic. Next, you need to have a plan for your book. Ask yourself what you want to get from writing this book. Lastly, find your audience, write a book that will appeal to your client base, not your peers.
Panelists * Jeremy Green * Erik Dietrich * Reuven Lerner
Sponsors * Sentry– use the code “devchat” for two months free on Sentry’s small plan * Adventures in Blockchain * React Native Radio * CacheFly
Links * Core Perl * Python Workout * Blurb * AsciiDoc * Gumroad * https://twitter.com/jagthedrummer * https://twitter.com/daedtech * https://twitter.com/reuvenmlerner * https://www.facebook.com/freelancersshow/
Picks Jeremy Green:
- Remarq.io
- The Independent Consulting Manual.
Erik Dietrich:
- Starting to Unit Test
- Developer Hegemony: The Future of Labor
Reuven Lerner:
- The Perfect Weapon: War, Sabotage, and Fear in the Cyber Age
Episode Summary In this week’s episode of The Freelancers Show the panel discusses the importance of defining success. Jeremy Green explains why this concept of defining what success means to you is so important. Without success behind defined you might put your nose to the grindstone and miss your own success. Inversely you might be grinding away, missing the signs that what you are doing isn’t taking you to success and you need to stop and reevaluate.
The panel considers some of the obvious signs of success like key performance indicators. Are you making enough to pay your bills, save and play? It is easy to think success is making a million dollars. If that is your definition of success, the panel explains that you will all your success along the way. They invite everyone to sit down and really think of what success means to you. How do you want to spend your time? Are you doing something you love? Do you want to spend more time with friends and family?
Jeremy explains why he wanted to talk about this topic. He went to a conference and this seemed to come up a lot during talks at the conference. It can be hard to reconcile how you feel about success when looking at other people and their circumstances. Deciding what success means to you can help guide your life and get rid of some of that uncertainty.
Erik explains the hedonic treadmill, which shows a phenomenon that says highs from successes wear off fasters than the pain of failure. No matter how high you climb there is always someone higher and your success of getting where you are is forgotten as you attempt to catch the person above you. If you set goals then you can more easily see the success as the come along.
Jeremy shares some of his success criteria. He realized at this conference that he was doing well enough in freelancing and consulting that could pull back and focus more on other things he has been wanting to improve. He realized he got sidetracked and started grinding towards saving as much money as he could for retirement. By figuring out his goals, he saw that was actually doing much better than he thought and didn’t need to grind so much.
Erik describes a similar moment of realization for him at the end of 2016. He was feeling pretty burnt out from traveling, so he sat down and quantified all his work for that year and decide what he wanted out of his lifestyle and made goals in his work life to help him reach that lifestyle.
Erik explains that by not having explicit goals, implicit goals be pressed on us by our surroundings. The panel considers how in this world there is never enough money, but by defining our earning goals and deciding what is enough for us, we can find success in more than one way.
The panel considers how easily freelancers can get carried away overworking and pushing themselves. Employees have an employer that won’t let them overwork, employees have gaurd rails that protect them from this sort of abuse. Freelancers constantly feel that pressure to use their time wisely, to do more. By defining success, you give yourself a way to take an objective look and say I am doing well, I can’t take the night off.
Erik shares his approach to this process. He explains that he starts by looking at his life and what will make him happy and work his goals back to work from there. He gives tips on how to quantify qualitative things in your life so you can evaluate your success.
The definition you give to success is very personal and will differ for each person. The panel considers it from a Maslow’s Hierarchy of business standpoint. The survival needs being are you staying afloat and the different needs moving up a pyramid all the way up to self-actualization or success.
Finally, the panel discusses the need to define failure as well as success. It’s important to know when to bail out or reevaluate a situation.
Panelists * Jeremy Green * Erik Dietrich
Sponsors * Sentry– use the code “devchat” for two months free on Sentry’s small plan * Adventures in DevOps * Views on Vue * CacheFly
Links * https://www.facebook.com/freelancersshow/
Picks Jeremy Green:
- Company of One
- The Mythical Man Month
Erik Dietrich:
- The 4-Hour Workweek
- Hit Subscribe
Episode Summary In this week’s episode of The Freelancers Show, Reuven Lerner teaches about B2B and B2C business strategies, giving advice and examples from his own life. He begins by defining B2B or business to business, selling your services to businesses. This type of exchange usually happens behind scenes, Sysko being one example of a B2B company. B2B doesn’t necessarily mean businesses, it could be government agencies or non-profits.
Reuven defines B2C or business to consumer, selling a product or service to individuals. This type of business is seen all the time in advertisements and tv commercials, Coca Cola is the example he gives. The first thing to decide is what you want to sell and then to whom.
Next, Reuven explains why most freelancers go with B2B. It is an established and safer route, especially if you are offering something like web development or web design. Companies are always looking for that kind of help, using contractors and agencies. Reuven does Python training for companies, which is a B2B service.
Reuven goes on to talk about how to find B2B clients. There are two ways to do this outbound or outreach and inbound, which Reuven prefers. Outreach, he explains is reaching out to companies and offering them your services. Reuven gives some advice on this but explains that it is very difficult to get in and very easy to be brushed off. Inbound, meaning your clients find you. He explains that inbound is all about making yourself recognized as an authority, which can take years to build that kind of reputation.
Why works so hard for B2B business? The simple answer Reuven gives is money. He explains that if you do get in then you can become that company’s go-to person for years. An example he gives form his own life is a company that purchases trainings from him every year. Reuven gives the most common timelines from making contact to actually doing the job at 6 months to a year and advises listeners to plan ahead.
Reuven’s advice for getting in is to get in front of a head technical person. The way he does this is through speaking at conferences but webinars and blog posts will help with this. Webinars and blog posts could not only catch the eye of a head technical person but will also them you know what you are doing.
Next, Reuven prepares listeners by explaining what businesses will expect from you. B2B will be way more formal, including paperwork and contracts. He advises listeners that businesses will expect them to be incorporated and insured, treating them as a business.
Moving on to B2C, Reuven discusses the types of products developers might offer to consumers, e-books, online courses, training, and coaching. He explains that the main advantage of B2C over B2B is that there are a lot more people in the world than there are businesses. Rueven explains that the key to success with B2C is volume. He goes over ways of reaching people, videos, blog posts, and posts using Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook, Youtube.
Reuven spends a lot of time discussing mailing lists. He shares the doubts he felt about mailing lists when he first heard of them but strongly suggests that everyone has one. He explains the advantages of using mailing lists. Reuven shares free content with subscribers, getting his name out there, while also including advertisements for his products. Reuven shares some of the specific details of how his mailing list works.
YouTube is the next topic Reuven talks about. YouTubers can get thousands of followers, Reuven himself is currently working on building up his following. In his videos, he shares free python information all while advertising his products and building up his credibility.
One last tip for B2C, Reuven suggests you have multiple products. More product means more for people to buy. People can become very loyal and you could end up with groupies waiting for your next product.
Cross overs between B2C and B2B, Reuven explains is very unlikely. He shares instances where this has happened which were quite rare. He explains a way he is hoping to see more crossover through his mailing list. Considering that both B2B and B2C both take considerable amounts of time, Reuven suggests focusing on one.
When it comes down to it, Reuven, for the most part, suggests B2B. He explains that it is easier to get started in B2B. B2C is very risky because you start out as an unknown and untested resource. Reuven talks about the time that he tried this in the beginning and it did not go well. The only exception he makes is if you have a niche market that fills a hole, a product or course that people are desperate for.
Panelists * Reuven Lerner
Sponsors * Sentry– use the code “devchat” for two months free on Sentry’s small plan * Adventures in DevOps * Views on Vue * CacheFly
Links * https://www.drip.com/ * https://www.youtube.com/reuvenlerner * http://lerner.co.il/newsletter * https://www.facebook.com/freelancersshow/
Picks Reuven Lerner:
- Lab Rats: How Silicon Valley Made Work Miserable for the Rest of Us
- AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order
Sponsors * Sentry– use the code “devchat” for two months free on Sentry’s small plan * Adventures in DevOps * Views on Vue * CacheFly
Panel * Erik Dietrich
Summary Erik Dietrich, the owner of Hit Subscribe, does a solo episode on the journey from freelancer to agency owner. He starts by defining three different roles in this journey, freelancer, business owner, and agency owner. He overviews the typical journey from freelancer to agency owner and evolution of roles and responsibilities that occurs on this journey. He then outlines his own journey.
Erik discusses the possible motivations one might have for becoming an agency owner, money, equity, and time. He also addresses the struggles of being an agency owner. He lists questions to ask yourself before deciding to go down this path. He ends the episode by giving advice to those who decide this is something they want.
Links * https://daedtech.com * https://join.dynamitecircle.com/ * https://www.facebook.com/freelancersshow/
Picks Erik Dietrich:
- Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You
- http://www.paulgraham.com/makersschedule.html
- https://www.hitsubscribe.com/
Sponsors * Sentry– use the code “devchat” for two months free on Sentry’s small plan * Adventures in DevOps * Views on Vue * CacheFly
Panel * Erik Dietrich
Summary Erik Dietrich does a solo episode sharing his content marketing expertise. Erik runs a content marketing agency, Hit Subscribe, he starts by sharing his background and how he got to this point. He defines marketing as a strategy to show your goods to your customer, content marketing is doing this with content. He explains that by offering free content you build trust with your audience. Listing the various types of content, blogs, video, podcasting, email and more, Erik ranks them on their effectiveness and gives his recommendations.
Start with one source of content and make it sustainable, this is Erik’s first recommendation, once you have that down, expand but maintain that sustainability. Unless your situation is desperate, Erik encourages everyone to start content marketing. He explains the benefits, filtering out clients that are a bad fit, finding leads, and the value of an audience. He also explains that content marketing is the long game and to manage your expectations while staying motivated. Erik leaves the listeners with valuable tips for how to get started and to maintain and how to grow your content marketing.
Links * https://www.hitsubscribe.com/ * https://devchat.tv/freelancers/choosing-content-marketing-topics/ * https://devchat.tv/freelancers/228-fs-non-writing-content-marketing-methods/ * https://www.facebook.com/freelancersshow/
Picks Erik Dietrich:
- Hit Subscribe’s Youtube Channel
- Whiteboard Friday
- Ahref’s Youtube Channel
Sponsors * Sentry– use the code “devchat” for two months free on Sentry’s small plan * CacheFly
Panel * Erik Dietrich * Jeremy Green
Summary Jeremy Green and Erik Dietrich discuss the unforeseen pain points of becoming a freelancer and share solutions that they have used in their lives and businesses to address these pain points. They considered pipeline management, not having enough work, having too much work and having ill-fitting work. How companies treat vendors and dealing with rejection are discussed. The loneliness of a freelancers life and how to combat it are considered. The hidden cost of working on your own and owning a business are addressed, including health insurance and taxes. The positives and negatives of time and money management are compared. They warn against bad clients and give warning signs against them.
Links * https://www.facebook.com/freelancersshow/
Picks Erik Dietrich:
- The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It
- The Pumpkin Plan: A Simple Strategy to Grow a Remarkable Business in Any Field
Jeremy Green:
- The Independent Consulting Manual
- Increase Your Consulting Fees - Email Course
Sponsors * Sentry– use the code “devchat” for two months free on Sentry’s small plan * CacheFly
Host: Charles Max Wood
Episode Summary Charles talks about his journey as a podcaster and his mission with Devchat.tv. Devchat.tv is designed to home podcasts that speak to all developer communities. Charles also plans Devchat.tv to host shows for technologies that are on the verge of a breakthrough and will be a lot more widely available in the near future such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR). There are new shows being added continuously to reach out to new communities, some examples of which are: a Data Science show, a DevOps show and an Open Source show. As a kid, Charles would record his own shows on a tape recorder. He was always interested in technology. While studying Computer Engineering at Brigham Young University, he worked in the University's Operations Center. Upon graduation, he started working for Mozy where he was introduced to podcasts. Listen to the show to find out the rest of Charles' story, some of the lessons and tips he learned throughout his journey and the evolution of the shows on Devchat.tv. If there isn't a show for your community and you would like there one to be, reach out to Charles. Also if there was a podcast about a programming related subject that ended abruptly and you would like it to continue, reach out to Charles. Devchat.tv would like to host these podcasts.
Links * Charles' Twitter * EverywhereJS JavaScript Community * EverywhereRB Ruby and Rails Community * Find Your Dream Job As A Developer * Devchat.tv on Facebook * Devchat.tv
Picks * EverywhereJS JavaScript Community * EverywhereRB Ruby and Rails Community * Netlify * Eleventy * https://github.com/cmaxw/devchat-eleventy
Sponsors * Sentry– use the code “devchat” for two months free on Sentry’s small plan * CacheFly
Panel * Erik Dietrich * Reuven Lerner
Summary Erik and Rueven define indefinite engagements, warning against staff augmentation type of consulting and contracting gigs. They explain how this is not a good business strategy. Thinking of yourself as a business is the first step to breaking out of these types of engagements. Erik and Reuven give more advice for breaking away including having savings before breaking away, identifying what your best at, market testing and weaning your current client. The benefits and drawbacks of working shorter and more high powered gigs are considered. The episode ends with a discussion of the importance of maintaining good relationships and a good reputation.
Links * https://www.facebook.com/freelancersshow/
Picks Erik Dietrich:
- https://TubeBuddy.com/
- http://HitSubscribe.com/
Reuven Lerner:
- https://YouTube.com/reuvenlerner
- Long, daily walks -- try it!
Sponsors * Sentry– use the code “devchat” for 2 months free on Sentry small plan * Paymo |Opt for monthly & get 30% discount on paid plans for 6 months * CacheFly
Panel * Eric Dietrich * Reuven Lerner
Summary The panel shares experiences and advice for managing finances as a small business owner. They discuss the differences in personal finance as a salaried employee and consultant. The panel explains unexpected expenses when becoming a freelancer such as health insurance, taxes and gives advice on how to handle them. The importance of savings and retirement are considered. The panel advises keeping personal funds and business funds separate and consider what you can expense to your business for tax right offs.
Picks Eric Dietrich:
- Expensify.com
- streamable.com
Reuven Lerner:
- The Tick - Season 2
- https://store.lerner.co.il/pandas
Sponsors * Sentry– use the code “devchat” for 2 months free on Sentry small plan * Paymo | Opt for monthly & get 30% discount on paid plans for 6 months * CacheFly
Panel * Eric Dietrich * Reuven Lerner
Summary The panel discusses different billing models and their experiences with each. They start by sharing their current billing model, upfront payment. Net +30 and Net +60 are discussed; the panel advises freelancers to get used to waiting for payment. The upsides and downsides of hourly billing, fixed rates, value pricing, and retainers are considered. The panel explains how to choose a billing model, how to evolve to other models and how to raise your rates.
Picks Eric Dietrich:
- Million Dollar Consulting
- https://www.hitsubscribe.com/apply-to-be-an-author/
Reuven Lerner:
- Alexander Hamilton
Sponsors * Sentry– use the code “devchat” for 2 months free on Sentry small plan * Paymo | Opt for monthly & get 30% discount on paid plans for 6 months * Try GanttPRO FREE for 14 days | Software Development project template Use coupon code “devchat” to get $50 for using GanttPRO * CacheFly
Panel * Eric Dietrich * Jeremy Green * Reuven Lerner
Summary The panel discusses working across borders, sharing examples and advice. They discuss the best ways to receive payment. Currency exchange rates are considered. The panel discusses paying taxes and the different types of taxes in different countries. They share how they communicate with clients and how they manage contracts. They advise getting the correct work visas and professional insurance.
Links * https://stripe.com/
Picks Jeremy Green:
- Chernobyl Miniseries on HBO
Eric Dietrich:
- transferwise.com
- zoom.us
Reuven Lerner:
- A Fine Mess: A Global Quest for a Simpler, Fairer, and More Efficient Tax System
- https://www.azlo.com/
Sponsors * Sentry– use the code “devchat” for two months free on Sentry small plan * Paymo| Opt for monthly & get 30% discount on paid plans for 6 months * Try GanttPRO FREE for 14 days| Software Development project template Use coupon code “devchat” to get $50 for using GanttPRO * CacheFly
Panel * Jeremy Green * Erik Dietrich * Reuven Lerner
Episode Summary The panel discusses the advantages of having a booth at a conference. Having a booth at a conference is a great way to learn about how conference advertising and finance works. It is also a great way to network and collect leads. Reuven talks about his experience at getting a booth at Pycon 2019. He shares tips on what to give out at the booths such as flyers and t-shirts and how many to order and in what sizes. He talks about the best way to work out the logistics for the materials for the booth and tips on attracting visitors to the booth. One takeaway Reuven had for his next booth was to have more Medium sized t-shirts made! Listen to the show to learn about more tips on getting a booth at a conference and the best spot to place your booth at the conference job fair.
Picks Jeremy Green:
- Interactive Composition by V.J. Manzo and by Will Kuhn
- Chernobyl Miniseries on HBO
Erik Dietrich:
- RetroGames Website
- Putting Your Phone on Airplane Mode Overnight
Reuven Lerner:
- Logitech R800 Wireless Laser Presentation Remote
Sponsors * Sentry– use the code “devchat” for two months free on Sentry small plan * Paymo | Opt for monthly & get 30% discount on paid plans for 6 months * Try GanttPRO FREE for 14 days | Software Development project template Use coupon code “devchat” to get $50 for using GanttPRO * CacheFly
Panel * Jeremy Green * Erik Dietrich
Summary The panel goes into detail on the most common reasons to give a discount, sharing experiences and whether or not it's a good idea to give these types of discounts. They generally agree that a "friends and family discount" is never a good idea and discuss the long term problems it can cause both in relationships and your business. The panel discusses offering a discount to get your foot in the door and to better your portfolio. Supporting non-profits and making sure you receive the proper credit for your work is discussed.
Offering discounts as part of your business model is considered, discounts such as paying upfront or high volume discounts, are weighed. Jeremy Green shares an experience and warning against helping a business just because you like what they are doing. The panel gives advice on how to say no to someone asking for a discount. They finish the episode with more advice on why to give a discount and explain some of the negative effects giving out too many discounts or giving discounts for the wrong reason can have on your business.
Links * https://www.squarespace.com * https://www.shopify.com
Picks Jeremy Green:
- Practical Object-Oriented Design, An Agile Primer Using Ruby
Erik Dietrich:
- Ready Player One
- Hit to subscribe
Sponsors: * Sentryuse the code “devchat” for 2 months free on Sentry small plan * .TECH – tech/Freelancer and use the coupon code “FREELANCER.TECH” and get a 1 year .TECH Domain at $9.99 and 5 Year Domain at $49.99. Hurry! * Try GanttPRO FREE for 14 days| Software Development project template Use coupon code “devchat” to get $50 for using GanttPRO * CacheFly
Panel: * Jeremy Green * Erik Dietrich * Reuven Lerner * Jonathan Stark
Episode Summary: In this episode of the Freelancers' Show, the panel talks about advantages of using a CRM software in their freelance business. They share their own experiences of how their business improved when they started using it and why they needed one in the first place.
Picks: Jeremy Green:
- Sanebox
Erik Dietrich:
- The Hiring Post
- Giftly
Jonathan Stark:
- The Trusted Advisor
- Interview with Charles Green, author of the Trust Advisors
Reuven Lerner:
- The Trusted Advisor
- Disrupted
- Amazing sandwich suggestion: peanut butter + pickles + hot sauce
Sponsors: * Sentry use the code “devchat” for 2 months free on Sentry small plan * .TECH - Go.tech/Freelancer and use the coupon code “FREELANCER.TECH” and get a 1 year .TECH Domain at $9.99 and 5 Year Domain at $49.99. Hurry! * Try GanttPRO FREE for 14 days| Software Development project template Use coupon code “devchat” to get $50 for using GanttPRO * CacheFly
Panel: * Jeremy Green * Erik Dietrich
Episode Summary: In this episode of the Freelancers' Show, the panel talks about how to handle “stump the chump” interviews. These are type of interviews where tech companies ask developers whiteboard questions or algorithm questions.
The panel advises that this type of interview is a red flag about the company and how they view freelancers and share tips on what to do and say in such an interview. They then share tips on how to create a better reputation as a freelance developer so that the quality of interviews get better.
Links: * https://devchat.tv/
Picks: Jeremy Green:
- Authority by Nathan Barry
Erik Dietrich:
- Hit Subscribe
Sponsors * Sentry use the code “devchat” for 2 months free on Sentry small plan * .TECH – Go.tech/Elixir and use the coupon code “ELIXIR.TECH” and get a 1 year .TECH Domain at $9.99 and 5 Year Domain at $49.99. Hurry! * Try GanttPRO FREE for 14 days | Software Development project template Use coupon code “devchat” to get $50 for using GanttPRO * CacheFly
Panel * Erik Dietrich * Reuven Lerner * Jeremy Green
Summary The panel starts by discussing why career development as a freelancer is important and what skills to work on for career development. They share mistakes and use examples from their own businesses. The panel gives career tips for those just starting out as well as freelancers who are advanced. Networking and masterminds are considered; the panel advises developers on how to choose a mastermind to join. The episode ends with a discussion on improving technical skills.
Picks Reuven Lerner:
- http://store.lerner.co.il/numpy
- https://www.pipedrive.com
Erik Dietrich:
- http://HitSubscribe.com/
Jeremy Green:
- http://PersonalMBA.com/
Sponsors * Sentry use the code “devchat” for 2 months free on Sentry small plan * .TECH – Go.tech/Elixir and use the coupon code “ELIXIR.TECH” and get a 1 year .TECH Domain at $9.99 and 5 Year Domain at $49.99. Hurry! * CacheFly
Panel * Erik Dietrich * Reuven Lerner
Summary The panel discusses various “things not to do” that they have seen others do. First, they advise not sticking with a single client in a pseudo employment situation. The panel also warns against biting off more than you can chew. Erik brings up not relying on global freelancing platforms like upwork.com, while Rueven cautions against saying yes to all business. The panel considers overworking and hourly rates. They also debate when to get a virtual assistant and communication tools. The panel ends with consideration on what technologies to use and warns against chasing new and shiny technologies. The episode ends with an invitation to the listeners to share their own “things not to do”.
Links * www.upwork.com
Picks Erik Dietrich
- https://gramblr.com/uploader/#home
- https://www.addictivetips.com/windows-tips/view-clipboard-history-on-windows-10/
- https://think-boundless.com/the-failed-promise-of-freelance-consulting-talent-platforms/
Reuven Lerner
- http://LinuxJournal.com/
- https://us.pycon.org/2019/
Sponsors: * Sentry– use the code “devchat” for $100 credit * .TECH – Go.tech/Freelancer and use the coupon code “FREELANCER.TECH” and get a 1 year .TECH Domain at $9.99 and 5 Year Domain at $49.99. Hurry! * CacheFly
Panel: * Jeremy Green * Erik Dietrich * Reuven Lerner
Special Guest: Steve Pomerantz
Episode Summary: In this episode of the Freelancers' Show, the panel talks to Steve Pomerantz, Founder and CEO at Freelance Collection. Steve has worked on projects as a freelancer where he has not been paid and he noticed that there aren't that many resources to help guide freelancers that are in this position. He founded Freelance Collection to help others who are unable to collect payment from their clients.
Steve gives guidelines on how to handle such situations and when to hire a professional vs. when to walk away. Steve also reminds that a lot of freelancers have had projects where they have not been paid and the golden rule is to be proactive and take the necessary actions within the first month following the project, as the longer the process drags out the less the probability to collect the total money owed.
The panel shares some of their personal experiences where they have had difficulty with clients. Steve then lists some of the red flags that freelancers should watch out for in clients before they start projects.
Links: * Steve's LinkedIN * Freelance Collection Twitter * Freelance Collection * 20 Types of Nonpaying Clients and Strategies for Getting Paid
Picks: Jeremy Green:
- How to Fight a Hydra
- Lawgood.io
Jeremy Green:
- Apply to be an Author
- Dev Community
Reuven Lerner:
- Mission to Zyxx
Steve Pomerantz:
- And Co
- HelloBonsai.com
- 20 Types of Nonpaying Clients and Strategies for Getting Paid
- TMZ Video
Sponsors: * Sentry– use the code “devchat” for $100 credit * .TECH - Go.tech/Freelancer and use the coupon code “FREELANCER.TECH” and get a 1 year .TECH Domain at $9.99 and 5 Year Domain at $49.99. Hurry! * CacheFly
Panelists: * Erik Dietrich * Jonathan Stark
Episode Summary: In this episode of the Freelancers' Show, the panel talks about how to put systems in place to thrive as a freelancer. Especially for recurring tasks, creating a procedure enables quality, consistency and sustainability. The panel advises taking the decision making part out of the process as much as possible so there is as little stress as possible when executing that particular task each time. Having set procedures in place also helps handing these tasks off to other employees easier and cuts down on the learning curve.
The panel then discusses how to turn these procedures into intellectual property so that it adds value to the business. Listen to the show to find out the what steps to take to begin putting systems in place in your freelance business!
Picks: Erik Dietrich:
- Contain Yourself! Dev's Guide to CaaS
- Getting Things Done by David Allen
- The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber
Jonathan Stark:
- Work The System by Sam Carpenter
- 10-Day Systems Challenge by Jonathan Stark
Sponsors: * Sentry– use the code “devchat” for 2 months free on Sentry small plan * CacheFly
Panelists: * Jeremy Green * Jonathan Stark * Erik Dietrich * Reuven Lerner
Episode Summary: In this episode of the Freelancers' Show, the panel talks about being nervous about pricing the services offered when freelancing. They mention that most of the time, freelancers tend to price their services on the low side due to lack of self confidence. The panel also shares possible scenarios of client feedback and the best responses that justify the price.
They discuss setting hourly rates versus results oriented pricing and share tips on how to communicate with the client during the proposal stage to figure out how much the service offered is worth to them. They then advise using this information to help set the price. Listen to the show to find out how to price freelance services with a business mindset.
Picks: Jonathan:
- Learn Your Lines
- The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker
Erik:
- Apply to be an author
- AirBNB Experiences
Jeremy:
- Increase Your Consulting Fees
Reuven:
- Asciidoc
Sponsors: * Sentry use the code “devchat” for 2 months free on Sentry small plan * CacheFly
Panelists: * Jeremy Green * Reuven Lerner
Episode Summary: In this episode of the Freelancers' Show, the panel shares client communication best practices when freelancing. They give tips on how to word binding proposals to help clarify expectations on both sides and how to make and track project schedules.
Listen to the show to find out what to do when new road blocks appear in the project that were not foreseen in the proposal stage. The panel then shares their personal experiences of client communication problems and how they dealt with them.
Picks: Jeremy Green:
- How to Fight a Hydra
Reuven Lerner:
- Thunderbird and its e-mail filters
Sponsors: * Sentry use the code “devchat” for 2 months free on Sentry small plan * CacheFly
Panel: * Jeremy Green * Erik Dietrich * Reuven Lerner * Jonathan Stark
Episode Summary: In this episode of the Freelancers' Show, the panel talks about starting freelancing later in life. They share their own freelancing/consulting journeys as well as tips for a smooth transition.
They give tips on what signs to look for to round out the services offered such as giving talks at conferences or doing case studies with clients. Listen to the show to find out more about how to correctly price freelancing/consulting services, the difference between price and rate and when/how to negotiate.
Links: * https://devchat.tv/
Picks: Erik Dietrich:
- The Pumpkin Plan by Mike Michalowicz
- Hit Subscribe
Jeremy Green:
- Don't Call Yourself A Programmer, And Other Career Advice
- https://www.remarq.io/
Kai Davis:
- 80/20 Sales and Marketing by Perry Marshall
- https://www.remarq.io/
Reuven Lerner:
- Bag Man
- https://slate.com/slow-burn
- https://trainbetter.transistor.fm/
- The foreigner's guide to WeChat payments in China by Reuven Lerner
Sponsors * Sentry use the code “devchat” for 2 months free on Sentry small plan * CacheFly
Panel: * Jeremy Green * Erik Dietrich * Reuven Lerner * Kai Davis
Episode Summary: In this episode of the Freelancers' Show, the panel talks about how/when to raise prices when freelancing. The panel advises reviewing services offered quarterly and adjusting prices accordingly.
They give tips on what signs to look for to round out the services offered such as giving talks at conferences or doing case studies with clients. Listen to the show to find out more about how to correctly price freelancing/consulting services and when to negotiate.
Picks: Erik Dietrich:
- https://www.amazon.com/Pumpkin-Plan-Strategy-Remarkable-Business
- Hit Subscribe
Jeremy Green:
- https://www.kalzumeus.com/2011/10/28/dont-call-yourself-a-programmer/
- https://www.remarq.io/
Kai Davis:
- https://www.amazon.com/80-20-Sales-Marketing-Definitive-ebook/dp/B00CGNRVHE/
- https://www.remarq.io/
Reuven Lerner:
- https://www.msnbc.com/bagman
- https://slate.com/slow-burn
- https://trainbetter.transistor.fm/
- http://blog.lerner.co.il/the-foreigners-guide-to-wechat-payments-in-china/
Sponsors * Sentry use the code “devchat” for 2 months free on Sentry small plan * CacheFly
Panelists: * Erik Dietrich * Jeremy Green * Reuven Lerner * Kai Davis
Episode Summary: In this episode of the Freelancers' Show, the panel talks about their plans for 2019. They describe their processes for planning for the new year and reviewing the past year. They reveal what projects they want to do more of in 2019 and what projects they want to transition out of. The panel advises that in freelance work, declining projects that are not a good fit frees up time for projects that are a good fit.They also recommend quantifying measurements in goals set for the new year.
Picks: Erik Dietrich:
- HubSpot Sales Chrome Plugin
- la Barbecue
Jeremy Green:
- Increase Your Consulting Fees
- Company Of One
Kai Davis:
- Kick procrastination's ass: Run a dash
- TextExpander
Reuven Lerner
- Nine Pints
Sponsors * Sentry use the code “devchat” for 2 months free on Sentry small plan * CacheFly
Panelists: * Erik Dietrich * Jeremy Green * Reuven Lerner * Kai Davis
Special Guest: Liston Witherill
Episode Summary: In this episode of the Freelancers' Show, the panel talks to Liston Witherill, sales consultant and founder of Liston Witherill Consulting. Liston specializes in working with AMs, CSMs, and consultants to provide opportunities for client improvement.
Liston shares tips on how to approach a sales process and a lists a set of questions that need to be answered about the service offered and its value proposition to the target audience in order for it to be successful.
Links: * Liston's Website * Liston's LinkedIn * Liston's Twitter * https://devchat.tv
Picks: Erik Dietrich:
- Garmin vívoactive 3 Music | Smartwatch with GPS
- Apply to Be an Author - Hit Subscribe
Jeremy Green:
- Taking Time Off
Kai Davis:
- 30-Day Meditation Challenge • Kai Davis
Reuven Lerner:
- Announcing a new course: Intro Python - Reuven Lerner
- Weekly Python Exercise — Reuven Lerner
Liston Witherill:
- Notion
- SalesIn30 - The Complete Course
- Liston's Podcasts
- Consulting Sales Bootcamp
- fenix 3 | Garmin | Fitness GPS Watch
Sponsors * Sentry use the code “devchat” for 2 months free on Sentry small plan * CacheFly
Panelists: * Erik Dietrich * Jeremy Green * Kai Davis
Episode Summary: In this episode of the Freelancers' Show, the panel talks about good practices and habits to build in freelance business in the year 2019. The panel gives examples of what they focused on while building their own freelance business and share how they approached areas such as self-care, financial planning and client acquisition goals in their business.
They discuss what strategies to follow during “feasting” cycle and “famine” cycle of business and share tips on how to save for retirement during each cycle. Listen to the show to find out more on which tools to use for bookkeeping and how to communicate with former clients for repeat business and much more!
Links: * Company of One by Paul Jarvis * Free CRM for Small Businesses - HubSpot * The Positioning Manual for Technical Firms by Philip Morgan * https://devchat.tv
Picks: Erik Dietrich:
- Free CRM for Small Businesses - HubSpot
- It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
Jeremy Green:
- Bench
- Splice
- The Positioning Manual for Technical Firms by Philip Morgan
- Company of One by Paul Jarvis
Kai Davis:
- Calm - Meditation Techniques for Sleep and Stress Reduction
Panel:
- Reuven Lerner
- Jeremy Green
- Erik Dietrich
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show Reuven, Erik, and Jeremy discuss “Dealing with Contracts.” The Freelancers cover a number of important topics that involve contracts, trust agreements, as well as how to read a Master Services Agreement (MSA). This is a great episode to learn more about ways to take control of your contract documents and MASs.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
0:50 - Reuven opens the show talking about contracts. Reuven said he did not have contracts when he first started his business. But over time he has gotten screwed over. Reuven prefaced that they are not lawyers, so take this as advice only.
3:00 - Reuven talks about things to understand are, who owns the rights, payment, insurance, and statement of work, etc. Reuven going into Master Services Agreements. Reuven asks if his peer use contracts. Erik says he uses master services agreements, and rarely contracts. Erik tries to work based on trust, and there is no motivator for contracts.
5:20 - Jeremy talks about being similar to Erik and rarely using contracts, but only master services agreements and trust. Jeremy says he does sometimes like to get paid up front. Reuven says when he does project work, he then uses a contract. Reuven says when he is doing training he does not use a contract. Reuven says sometime PO or purchase orders do serve as a type of contract. Reuven goes into to project fees and hiring lawyers.
9:30 - Jeremy talks about project fee and specifications of the scope of work and how that may or may not need a contract. Erik says it is important for him to avoid proposals but good for him to agree upon what can be delivered. Again, Erik is fond of the trust agreement. Reuven says for courses he does not need to implement contracts.
13:00 - Jeremy continues with how he implements a flat payment fee, but only when he can agree upon the scope of work. Reuven says he has only once done the pay in advance method once, and it worked great for him. Jeremy says it may be good to work with people and companies who had experience with this.
15:00 - Reuven ask if a client comes to you with their MSA or Statement of Work, how much do you want or can change it? Erik talks about his experience with marking up MSA and statements. Jeremy talks about his experience with marking up an MSA that was an employment document.
18:00 - Erik talks about using a lawyer to look at the agreement to see if that agreement might be hard not to violate. Reuven talks about his experience marking up an agreement and how all of the markups were no approved. Reuven continues with how he was able to get the company to agree to alter their agreement document. Reuven talks about having to acquire insurance to get work.
24:00 - Jeremy and Erik speak on payment terms. Reuven talks about insurance that was not available to him in Israel. Reuven speaks about need Commercial Liability insurance in order to engage in work for certain clients.
28:00 - Reuven talks about how Jonathan Stark is able to get companies to change their terms to pay everything upfront. This discussion goes into payment terms and net 30 or net 60 payment plans. Erik continues negotiating payment.
31:00 - Erick brings up the scenario of hiring a lawyer if you are new to freelancing. Reuven talks about how some can get an agreement document written up for them. The freelancers agree that you only do this if you really need to hire a lawyer for an airtight document.
35:00 - Reuven talks about adding a clause to open source software. Reuven says the client owns the IP but the changes are subject to other owners as they contribute.
36:00 - Reuven talks about a taxes in Israel and how being self-employed works in Israel. Erik asks about how the lawyer help is this situation. Jeremy mentions to pay attention to your very own customs and jurisdictions, in your place of business.
40:00 - Reuven talks about having to change the legal business title in Israel. Reuven talks about how the law is interpreted according to their jurisdiction.
Sponsors/affiliates
- Get a Coder Job
- Freshbooks
Picks:
Reuven
Bad Blood
Jeremy
Obi Fernandez's MSA Bundle
Erik
A Better Ad Blocker
Panel:
- Reuven Lerner
- Jeremy Green
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show Reuven and Jeremy discuss “Working on Your Business.” The discussion covers several topics on how you as a freelancer can carve out time to work on your business. Both Reuven and Jeremy mention how you can learn to start building and maintenance your business for events like retirement and longevity. This is a great episode on learning how to continually stop and take control of tasks your business needs to grow.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
0:50 - Reuven opens the show by describing what skill are need to be a freelancer and finding the time to work on your business. Jeremy chimes in on trying to find time to work the business by putting time away for business maintenance work.
3:10 - Reuven talks about when he tries to find and fit time into working on his business, like on the train. Jeremy talks about how tasks are sometimes overlooked and take the back seat. But getting a team to help might be the answer to working on your business.
5:00 - Reuven talks about possibly blocking out time during the week or month to work on the business. Or working at night, or before bedtime. Reuven talks about removing the junk and squeezing in the tasks and working on the business. Jeremy talks about juggling client work and building in a business, and how one might want to raise rates to compensate the time.
9:00 - Reuven talks about setting a goal for your income, and raises the question about pension. Revenue task about being satisfied with your income. Reuven talks about a conference with Rob Walling and how Rob talked about buying back your time.
13:30 - Reuven and Jeremy discuss thing you should do after carving out time for working on the business. Jeremy talks about reaching out and expanding for other kinds of great opportunities.
18:00 - Reuven talks about how he likes to expand the business into American companies to grow. Reuven continues with creating products or courses to work on the business. Jeremy mentions how he continually works on the engine of the business, so he does not dread the last two months of the year for paying taxes.
22:00 - Reuven and Jeremy talk about important paperwork they need to get in order to prepare for taxes and documentation. Reuven says another avenue to working on the business is going to conferences or consuming video or blog content to sharpen your business skills.
27:00 - Jeremy mentions creating and doing content marketing in various forms such as blogs, articles, guest writing is another way to market your product and services. Reuven talks about taking care of your website as a way to develop your business.
29:00 - Jeremy mentions writing proposals and taking on project work as another way to develop your business. Jeremy says even though the tasks is time-consuming it is a great way to gain more work. Reuven mentions listening to podcasts as a way to learn more to develop your business.
Sponsors/affiliates
- Get a Coder Job
- Freshbooks
Picks:
Reuven
New York Times Puzzle Pages
Jeremy
None
Panel:
- Erik Dietrich
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show Erik, discuss “How to Target Management or the C-Suite as a Freelancer.” The discussion covers how to develop an offer or pitch, and understanding the pain points for leadership roles, and offering value to help them in their business and getting hired. Erik provides several great tactics to warm-up the C-Suite to get a job.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
1:02 - Erik talks about targeting the manager or C-suite for freelancing. Erik talks about speaking to your peers but not the C-suite, or selling your peers in salary positions.
3:00 - Erik talks about falling into his practice of selling your skill to peers. Erik reminds us that your buyers are not your peers, but the people who have the money to buy app development. Management or the C Suite.
5:00 - Erik breaks down the buying system for tech or application development. Eric continues with vetting. Erik talks about the role of Line Management and their power to spend money on services.
9:33 - Erik talks about the Director role and their power to hire and sign off on hiring. This is important to target that right person to get hire for a job or contract. Erik shares on how to approach each of the composite buyers, VP, CIO and or Line Manager.
12:00 - Erik talks about approaching the VP for a job, but offering a compelling reason to be hired. What does that look like? Erik talks about getting in front of these people with hiring roles.
14:00 - Erik talks about constructing your pitch. But using a persona to help develop your pitch for a job. Erik share the importance of a niche and cross referencing with those who are in the hiring position.
17:55 - Erik says to understand these people with the hiring role. Next is to understand their pain points in their line of business. Erik continues with explaining new role taken by C Suite. How do you approach people in these new roles?
21:55 - Erik mentions how to approach the leadership personnel with tactics to help or lift them in their positions to get hired. Erik call this developing an offering to the leadership. Getting in to their head, and understanding their pain points.
24:00 - Erik say another important point to understand about leadership’s point of view is understanding what doesn’t matter to them. Find out what interest them, and gets them promoted. Erik gives suggestions on how you should view and help their point of view in their role as a leader. This helps you get hired.
28:00 - Erik shares how to target the C Suite in some social setting and find out what interests them in their field of business. Erik shares about refining your elevator pitch and getting an appointment.
30:00 - Erik shares tactics assuming that you appeal to the leaders and gain their interest. Erik talks about letting them know you want to pick their brain.
33:00 - Erik talks about developing your outreach and creating emails focused on them. Make the email about them and understanding their pain points.
35:00 - Erik shares about warming up that leaders seeing who you know in the business. Also asking for referrals and reaching out to other for a second degree introduction.
39:00 - Erik talks about humanizing the leaders and understand their roles and helping their pain points. The way to target them is not to waste their time.
Sponsors/affiliates
- Get a Coder Job
- Freshbooks
Picks:
Erik
The E-Myth Revisited
Developer Hegemony
Panel:
- Jeremy Green
- Erik Dietrich
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, Jeremy and Erik, discuss “Late Paying Whale Clients.” The discussion covers how to assess situations where you are not getting paid on time in your freelancing business. Jeremy and Erik cover a number of common situations and how to navigate your way to getting paid and avoid further unfortunate situations.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
0:50 - Erik and Jeremy talk how to handle late paying client who is the major part of your income. Jeremy suggests ways to avoid the situation by determining a time of when payment is collected.
2:50 - Erik says this is a right of passage for a freelancing way of employment. Erik says this is common in freelancing. Jeremy share story with working in an agency and friendships on the line.
6:14 - Erik shares a story about doing 10k worth of work and not getting paid. This want due to management changeups.
7:00 - Erik talks about asking them why you are not getting paid. Jeremy says this may be due to not getting to know everyone in the business and getting the invoice to the right person who responsible for paying invoices.
10:30 - Erik says it is important to get the invoice to the right people because invoice sent to the CTO might not be high on his the priority list. Get it to accounts payable or find out who accounts payable are.
13:30 - Jeremy says to recognize the difference between late payments and laggy payments. Erik talks net 10 or net 30 payments.
15:40 - Jeremy talks about stopping work and getting some kind of payment on late paid invoices.
17:28 - Erik talks about how some clients play games to keep putting your invoices off. Erik talks about techniques to de-prioritized work for the client to understand they have unpaid or late payments.
20:30 - Jeremy mentions knowing your worth. Erik talks about possibly talking legal actions. But asks Jeremy about how he handled not getting paid from a client who owed 80k. Jeremy shares a story on how he structured things to take the lost.
24:00 - Erik talks about thing to do to avoid legal actions. Jeremy shares how he switches to upfront payments. Jeremy explains his explanation to employers for upfront payments. Erik talks about asking them to put some skin in the game or sharing the risk.
29:00 - Erik talks about getting push back and adding fees to those who push back on upfront payment. Jeremy talks about discounts to upfront payments. Erik talks about how these strategies are about de-risking your payments.
31:00 - Erik mentions another strategy to tack on 5% late charge and mention to the client that it is accounting thing. This should serve as a reminder that they are late.
34:00 - Erik says this might be a sign to avoid working with whale clients. Jeremy says you might want to get several smaller clients and having multiple sources of income.
36:00 - Jeremy continues with how to get paid upfront with reengagement with an old client. Jeremy says to look for the structural flaws int system and get new people in the company to help you get paid.
37:50 - Erik says to hope is not a strategy and try to figure out where the issues is to get paid. Jeremy continues to understanding when to pull the plug on working for this kind of client.
Sponsors/affiliates
- Get a Coder Job
- Freshbooks
Picks:
Erik
Semantic Merge
Hit Subscribe
Jeremy
Rock & Roll with Ember
Serverless
Panel:
- Jeremy Green
- Erik Dietrich
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, Jeremy and Erik, and discuss “Starting Freelancing While Employed.” The discussion covers important topics on how to properly or successfully moonlight and transition into full-time freelancing while increasing your incoming and clients. This is a great episode on learning the ins and outs of moonlight on the side while maintaining a full-time job.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
1:00 - Erik kicks off the topic about freelancing while you are employed. Erik starts with the questions form a forum form his place of work. Erik talks about the idea of moonlighting
2:00 - Reviewing your employment working about noncompeting work or conflict of interest to avoid restrictions. Jeremy says you should definitely check with the employment agreements. More talks about signing papers on agreements as a freelancer.
5:00 - Jeremy talks about working with clients who want you to sign non-complete work or anything in the industry or nature of the work. Erik about work at Hit Subscribe. Erik shares more about working with the company to reform the agreements.
8:50 - Jeremy and Erik talk about moonlight on the “clock” which is a big issue and non-compliance. Jeremy continues to talk about the issues of doing this under the rader.
10:30 - Erik talks about doing a bad job at your full-time job because of moonlighting. Don’t do it while you are at the office. Erik talks about people at the office who know you are running a side business and how to let it be known properly. Make sure your niche is not conflicting with your employer.
14:00 - Jeremy talks about stealing clients from your employer and how that can cause employment issues within the full-time company. Jeremy talks about transitioning from employment to freelancing.
18:00 - Erik talks about bargaining for perks over salary for time or freedom to freelance with your full-time job.
20:00 - Erik shares about signing with the company or letting your employer know about your freelancing work. This will allow you to do more if it is out in the open on social media and Linkedin. Jeremy talks about this could hinder your freelance marketing.
22:00 - Erik talks about masking your identity with a brand, or working under a brand to keep from your employer from knowing about your side hustle.
24:00 - Erik says if freelancing is going to be serious, then freelancing has to be out in the open with your employers. Erik asks Jeremy about when to know to make the switch to freelancing. Jeremy shares about his strategy and mistakes in making this transition. Jeremy talks about working with loan money to fill that gap and building his business.
28:00 - Erik shares about making his jump from full-time salary to freelancing. Jeremy talks about mistakes in full-time salary and comparing that to freelancing work. How do you adjust the hourly rate or salary? Jeremy says this is selling your night and weekends. Jeremy says you will need to work on your business, not in your business. Jeremy also says you need to make more freelancing.
32:00 - Erik talks about the pricing of service and freelancing work. Jeremy talks about delivering values to the client. Erik talks about experience and moonlighting within the company.
35:00 - Erik talks about how freelancing on the side is going to mean more time working. Do what you need to do side hustling, but don’t make it a problem. Jeremy shares about his agency and how they handled moonlighting within the agency.
40:00 - Erik talks about kind of acting as an agent and bringing in moonlighting work. Erik says this is set up is not very common.
43:00 - Make sure your contractually ready to moonlight and don’t charge too little is the takeaway. Also, have a bailout condition.
Sponsors/affiliates
- Get a Coder Job
- Freshbooks
Picks:
Erik
- The North East USA during fall for the amazing views
- A Hrefs
Jeremy
- Remarq - Now with emoji support
Panel:
- Jeremy Green
- Reuven Lerner
- Erick Dietrich
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, Jeremy, Erick, and Reuven discuss the topic, “When Your Clients are Wrong.” The panel gives practical advice on how to work with different client/work situations that may not be ideal. They suggest to think about the situation logically, have a conversation with the client, and try to work out a win-win situation for both sides.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
1:16 – Let’s introduce this topic a little bit more softer than I did!
1:34 – After giving your clients some new / different options and they still aren’t satisfied.
1:58 – This is so difficult and delicate b/c it’s easier when you don’t need the money. If you only have 1 client or a handful of clients they are they only ones you can rely on for your income then it’s a lot harder and worse. Many times if a client asks you to do the wrong thing sometimes you can leave, but sometimes that’s not always realistic. If you can walk away if it really is horrible then maybe you can.
You have a solution to a problem (you know how to solve this problem!) and your client says, “no.” What then?
3:59 – For me, the arrow in my quiver would be I believe in this so much let’s try it for free and run an experiment, if that’s a cost concern.
4:45 – You are willing to invest in it?
4:53 – Nothing is coming to my mind right now. For my blogging business...
If it were years worth of blog posts than I wouldn’t do that for free.
5:47 – When I was doing consulting projects I would recommend: we should store things this way, or...Sometimes my clients will say “NO” this is not the way I want to do it. I was working with a company in Tel Aviv, and I wanted to have a bunch of different columns in the database. The CEO was like you are using all of those columns?! Right, that would work if you were living in the 1960’s! I presented my case to him, but it was the beginning of the end. He still saw himself as the CEO but also a brilliant software guy he didn’t want me second-guessing his brilliant decisions.
7:51 – It’s worth throwing it out there – you always do have the option of going on with idea. Pick your battles – live to live another day.
9:05 – If you come in and say: “I am right and this is why...” they will not go for it. It’s not good to win that argument. Kind of tease it out – let’s look at time and cost. Maybe overtime the customer will see what you are trying to do.
10:02 – It’s a good opportunity to say: Let’s take a step back and see the goals of this project. Maybe we have a mismatch of what our goals are or the current state of the project. I thought you were concerned about X but I see now that you are actually concerned with Y. I see now – maybe I misunderstood your situation. That could help the client refocus.
11:29 – They brought on this team of 40 people in Rails and then realized nobody knew Rails. I had a blast, but the way it worked if something wanted to change something then they would do a change request to the...
Panelists go back-and-forth.
15:49 – “I hope I am wrong” mentality might be better than: “Man that is horrible, you are going to fall down on your face.”
He talks about a credit card issue and showing that this case had to be implemented with this specific client/company.
18:00 – Advertisement – Digital Ocean!
18:41 – There is a wide range of “wrongness” where clients aren’t in the best place and the level of “wrongness”.
We aren’t going to steal a logo for you. Are they asking you to do something wrong or is it a difference between 1% to 2%?
20:20 – This would be a better play vs. something illegal vs. something in-between. If a client is trying to roping you into plagiarism don’t do it.
22:08 – You can say I am turning down this work b/c we won’t be a good fit or I really can’t fulfill what you want me to do and that work can come back to you from another avenue.
22:50 – If you just can’t find anything else, but I know there are people that specialize in x, y, and z. They will finish the work better than me and I would recommend these people for those reasons. They respected that.
23:42 – Blood money – I wouldn’t want to help you for the specific reasons. People will respect that b/c they will see that you have their best interest at heart.
Panelists continue to go back-and-forth.
25:47 – Was the client a cheapskate?
26:57 – Engaging with a client and see where they are. Predict future
28:05 – I have a client with a small business and their business in teetering on the edge of collapse. I have been clear with them and they tell me their budget. We just are adding duct tape to the problem just for a quick fix.
29:00 – It would be ideal that you had money but let’s figure out the next, best thing.
29:15 – Okay what do we want to do in 6 months or in a year so that way we can pay for things in installments that is less painful that way. I am trying to think – has anyone asked you to do something truly unethical?
29:48 – Yeah the logo thing was a family dispute.
29:56 – For our blogging agency I was asked to misrepresent something on a website. They asked if we could post a commercial and we were ghost writing it. Anytime that comes up I can pass. It hasn’t come up too much over the years. I cannot stress enough DON’T DO UNETHICAL THINGS.
31:16 – What can you do setup the relationship so this possibly isn’t an issue in the future?
32:00 – Panelist talks about clients and more.
The more consultative a relationship is the more they will listen to their expertise. Getting paid for your brains and less for your hands.
32:30 – Most times clients disregard your advice b/c they just see you as a pair of hands.
33:22 – In my initial calls with training people...
34:00 – Panelist talks about his 4-day training course and how companies try to squeeze the program out in only 2-3 days instead, because their workers are “smarter than the average person.”
35:28 – I can point to this data to show that I AM an expert. The more narrow I am with my focus the more they are inclined to hear me out and trust me.
36:11 – I have been doing this for years now I know how long it will take. Other things that we can say about this?
36:32 – General piece of advice would be if the client is disagreeing then it can be a real gut check and it’s important to keep a cool head and you don’t want to fight with your client.
37:35 – Advertisement – Fresh Books!
Sponsors/affiliates:
- Get a Coder Job
- Digital Ocean
- Freshbooks
Picks:
Jeremy
- Splice
Erick:
- GoodRX
- Manatee Trello
Reuven:
- Podia
- The Sense of Style by Steven Pinker
Panel:
-
Jeremy Green
-
Reuven Lerner
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, Jeremy and Reuven discuss “The Care and Feeding of an Email List.”Both Reuven and Jeremy cover their experience and insights with building an email list, software for email marketing, running a campaign, lead magnets, evergreen content creation, and much more. This is a great episode to understand how to integrate email marketing and lists building for your business.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
1:00 - Reuven talks about special software for an email list. Mailing for Marketing. Reuven talks about the things he learned with all the email lists.
2:00 - Reuven talks about Awebber, Drip and other types of email marketing software. Reuven continues to talks about evergreen lists, and issues with mailing lists. Reuven talks about how to write evergreen emails.
5:00 - Jeremy asks about the timing of sending out emails rather it is a regular list or evergreen emails. Reuven talks about email campaigns and other kinds of scheduled type email tasks.
7:20 - Reuven talks about what a broadcast email list is according to Drip, as well as Drop Campaigns. Reuven explains how these email campaigns work and how they function to market a product. Reuven explains how to gain or collect emails.
10:00 - Reuven explains how to write up emails to keep your audience or lists in the loop of your products or whatever you are doing?
11:00 - How to get people on these mailing lists? Reuven explains how to collect emails for your campaign. Reuven talks about how Lead Magnet work to collect emails. Reuven continues with Content Upgrades, Email Courses, and other clever ways to collect or build up a marketing list.
14:00 - Reuven explains opting out, and how this email market is a cost-free way to market. He also talks about Lead Ads on Facebook as another way to market, but it is not free.
17:00 - Some talk about the trials of unsubscribes. Reuven concludes his setup of his email lists
20:03 - Jeremy asks about reusing content and the extent of creating content. Reuven explains that this leads to people creating a book or ebook our of all the content that create for their email lists. Reuven talks about engaging with the audience or lists.
23:00 - Reuven talks about reusing content in his training material and how is cross pollenates.
24:00 - Jeremy ask about how Reuven goes about pruning his list of those who are not activate with the email content. Reuven explains open rates and other analytic measures and how to read those numbers. Jeremy says he is anti-pruning of his lists.
27:00 - Reuven talks about messages going into junk mail, and other kinds of undefined or unopened emails.
29:00 - Jeremy talks about overcoming personal views on email and putting out content to people. Reuven talks about the response email to this subscribers.
32:00 - Jeremy ask about compiling with GDPR. Is this important to know about email lists. Reuven talks about how he takes care of this GDPR compliance action. Reuven talks about ways to workaround those who want to resubscribe. Jeremy explain his actions with GDPR compliance.
35:00 - Small business and privacy verses huge corporations. Daily messages. Revue talks more about writing and hiring to write content in place of himself to product content. As well as hiring to guest post and generate sales.
Sponsors/affiliates
- Get a Coder Job
- Digital Ocean
- Code Badges
Links
- Drip: getdrip.com
- Mailchimp: Mailchimp.com
- Content Upgrades: http://rightmessage.io/
- RightMessage: http://rightmessage.io/
- Sumo: Sumo.com
Picks:
Jeremy
- RightMessage
Reuven
- Blind Ambition, by John Dean
Panel:
- Jeremy Green
- Erick Dietrich
- Reuven Lerner
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, Jeremy, Reuven and Erick discuss “Choosing a Specialty.” This episode covers the many different avenues of discovering your niche or specialty. Each Freelancer speaks about how they have become an expert in their field rather it was an organic transition or something that had to work and building. This is a great episode if you are apart of a company and want to separate yourself as an independent freelancer or entrepreneur.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
1:10 - Erick shares about a question he is asked often which is “How does one figure out exactly what to specialize in if one is about to go independent?” Erick talks about his journey working his way up to being independent. Erick shares working in consulting, marketing, and the evolution of being a Freelancer.
3:45 - Jeremy talks about his journey, working in Rails and Ember and other technologies via consulting with companies. Eventually, specializing in a few things rather a bunch of general bunch of things
6:20 - Reuven shares how he got into specializing starting from Pearl to training in Ruby. Reuven talks about how know Python led his to training more often, then eventually decided to work from Israel and working on the training/consulting platform.
10:25 - Erick talks about back into the specialty or finding what you are naturally great at. Jeremy talks about finding prospective buyers and getting in the door with them easier.
12:00 -Turning down work that is out of your specialty but take the work if you need it.
14:00 - Look around and find out what is working. Focus on what you are good at, but think more about what you are hearing people need. Listen for the demand. Reuven talks about choosing something you like and interest you.
17:10 - Noting is permanent. You can change your specialty if you need too. Marketing yourself to different people in different ways. Reuven talks about niche AB testing.
20:00 - Reuven talks about Phillip Morgan’s book on specializing. Phillip Morgan consulting.
23:00 - Erick task about listening to the pain points of your clients to find opportunities. Reuvnen talks about making his want to a consultant to a trainer. Branding yourself and people will call you up for work.
27:00 - Erick asks - Is there an organic way to find your specialty? Reuven says people he know that people just “fall-into” their speciality. Reuven gives Andrew Madsen as an example with credit unions.
31:00 - Reuven talks about the roles of peoples jobs and getting exposed to what kinds of jobs are out there. Reuven talks about going to conferences. Going to conferences of potential clients as an idea to market.
34:00 - Erick talks about gaining expertise by writing about it and seeing who contact you about it. Jeremy talks more about writing and bring in business for your business.
40:00 - Jeremy talks about when it is time to find something else. Reuven that your niche is similar to marketing yourself.
43:00 - Reuven talks about establish what you don’t do as anti specializing. Reuven talks about trying several things to understand what you want to specialize in. Erick says not to procrastinate or indecision to put of life or career goals.
Sponsors/affiliates
- Get a Coder Job
- Digital Ocean
- Code Badges
Picks:
Erik
- Guideline
- Hit Subscribe authorship
Jeremy
- Phillip Morgan consulting
Reuven
- WeeklyPythonExercise.com
- From Cold War to Hot Peace, by Michael McFaul)
- War on Peace by Farrow
Panel:
-
Jeremy Green
-
Erick Dietrich
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, Jeremy and Erick discuss “Working with Recruiters.” Both Erick and Jeremy describe their experience with how recruiters and agencies fit into the job search as a developer. This discussion brings light to the pros and cons of using a recruiter to acquire a job as a freelancer or a conventional W-2 employee. This is a great episode to learn the insights of what recruiters expect when helping one find a carrier in the software development platform.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- Hit Subscribe - and working with recruiters
- Changing relationships with recruiters
- What recruiters are looking for - full-time employees
- The preferred way of working - W2 employment
- Not being seen as worth recruiter time as a contract worker
- Placement for staff augmentation and freelance
- The downsides of working with recruiters
- Successful placement with recruiters
- Intro projects via recruiters
- Recruiters taking a percentage
- Job boards
- Organizations over recruiters
- Working as a sub-contractor via agency
- Flipping a full-time offer intro a contract
- Labor laws
- Wasting an employers time with a switch from W2 to Contract
- Make your intentions clear as a freelancer
- Working with trusted recruiters
- and much more.
Picks:
Erik:
- Hit Subscribe authorship
- Hubspot
Jeremy
- Mirror Placement
- Robert Half
Panel:
- Reuven Lerner
- Jonathan Stark
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, the panelist, Reuven and Jonathan discuss “The Essential Consultant Library,” or the books you should read for consulting, marketing and business. Jonathan and Reuven share the exact books that helped them in the current area of business. Rather it is consulting, marketing, or entrepreneurship, the Freelancers share their favorites and much more.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- You should continue learning
- Books that help in various ways for business
- Value-Based Fees by Alan Weiss
- The Positioning Manual by Philip Morgan
- Selling to Big Companies by Jill Konrath
- The Secret of Selling Anything by Harry Browne
- How to Measure Anything by Douglas Hubbard
- Just F Ship by Amy Hoy
- Double Your Freelancing Rates by Brennan Dunn
- Hourly Billing is Nuts by Jonathan Stark
- The Brain Audit by Sean D’Souza
- Patrick McKenzie website
- Getting Things Done by David Allen
- And much more!
Sponsors/Affilates
-
FreshBooks
-
Digital Ocean
Picks
Jonathan
- Little Nightmares
- Jonathan's Reading List
- The Pricing Seminar
Reuven Lerner
- We Chat
- MEET
Panel:
- Jonathan Stark
Guest: Josiah Mory
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, Jonathan of the Freelancer’s Show speaks with Josiah Mory about getting into your clients heads. Josiah talks about how his company, Kickinbahk Productions, engages with customers to increase sales with marketing strategies. This is a great episode that uncovers marketing strategies and gives insight into marketing and much more!
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- Josiah talks about Kickinbahk Productions.
- Strategies with clients
- Freelancing
- Learning from podcasts
- Offering up skills
- Allowing the conversation to flow
- Their frustrations in the business
- Building relationships with customers
- Just ask “How is business”
- Finding out where clients are at
- Optimizing Sales
- What steps would you take after finding out where your prospects are at?
- Business happens over the phone
- Cash flow
- And much more!
Links
- Kickinbahk Productions
- Joisah Mory’s LinkedIn
Picks:
Jonathan
- The Pricing Seminar
- Canon EOS M50
Josiah
- ONKRON Monitor Desk Mount
- Josiah's 5-day email course
- Josiah's website
Panel:
- Jonathan Stark
- Erik Dietrich
In this episode of the Freelancers’ Show, the panelists discuss dealing with inbound communications, what to do if you’re getting too much and what to do if you’re not getting enough. They talk about how difficult it is to manage inbound communication, especially when there is a large amount coming in, the difference between using slack and email, and Gmail plugins to help organize incoming emails. They also touch on triaging your inbox, being honest with yourself as to what you actually will do on your to-do list, and more!
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- Getting too much inbound communication VS not enough
- Needing better ways to manage inbound communication
- Very difficult to manage when there is a lot coming in
- Do you mean just email or multiple channels?
- What are your channels of inbound communication?
- Working on ways to optimize
- Moving urgent client communication to Slack
- The difference between Slack and Email
- Declaring email bankruptcy
- The ability to ignore email inbox
- Gmail plugins to help
- Buffering emails
- Only checking slack for paying customers
- Go in once a day to clean up your incoming communication
- Not knowing an email is there VS strenuously trying to avoid it
- The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
- Getting Things Done – David Allen
- Triaging your inbox
- Only focus on the urgent to-dos
- Be honest with yourself so your to do list doesn’t get too long
- If you don’t feel the need to get to it within a week, it’s not that important
- Suffering from inbox overload
- To get less email, you can respond less frequently
- And much, much more!
Links:
- The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
- Getting Things Done – David Allen
Sponsors:
- FreshBooks
- Linode
Picks:
Jonathan
- Calendly
- Guide to Winning Clients by David A. Fields
- The Pricing Seminar
Erik
- Getting Things Done
- SiteGround
- Calendly
Panel:
- Reuven Lerner
- Jeremy Green
In this episode of the Freelancers’ Show, the panelists discuss vacations. They talk about the importance of taking time off for yourself, the fact that your business won’t fall apart if you take a few days off, and the unhealthy cultural baggage that makes people feel as if they can’t take a vacation. They also touch on the fact that it’s okay not to squeeze out every cent you can out of your business if that means you can live a happier life, how to set boundaries with your clients when you go on vacation, and more!
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- Not taking vacations because you feel guilty/fear of failure
- Take vacations and enjoy them!
- Deep misunderstandings on the idea of too much work and no play
- The need to recharge
- Harder to not take vacations when you have a family
- Actually taking a vacation when you go on vacation
- Stress with dealing with clients while on vacation
- Your business won’t collapse if you step away for a few days
- Hustle culture
- Unhealthy cultural baggage
- College started these bad habits
- It’s okay not to make 100% of the money you could if you stayed up till 2 every night
- It’s better to make less and have a better life
- Forcing yourself to stay in work mode
- Working mothers
- Getting more sleep makes your more efficient
- Encourage yourself to stay on topic at work and you will have more free time for yourself
- How do you tell your clients you won’t be available?
- Boundary setting
- Prepare your clients before you leave
- And much, much more!
Sponsors:
- FreshBooks
Picks:
Reuven
- Weekly Python Exercise
Jeremy
- Melodics
Panel:
- Reuven Lerner
- Jeremy Green
- Erik Dietrich
In this episode of the Freelancers’ Show, the panelists discuss making a good impression with your clients. They talk about what you can do to make a good first impression, and a continuing impression, on your clients. They also touch on how to get the best exposure on the internet, what content you can put on your website to boost your first impression, where else you can promote a good first impression, and more!
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- A lot of questions online about what you can do to get people to notice you
- Where you should and should not put your effort
- In many cases, potential clients don’t look at your website
- Your website isn’t make or break
- Unless you show your website to people, no one will be going there
- Having a website vs a blog
- How to get exposure on the internet
- Hooking blog up to aggregation engines
- Getting the content out on your website is the most important step
- Make sure your content is aimed at your customers, not your peers
- Why people are contacting you
- Giving people weekly reminders
- When you get clients from referrals, how do you hit it off with them?
- Point people to your site
- Having a syllabus on your website
- Pointing to a portfolio
- Using testimonials from past bosses, clients, or peers
- Where else, other than your website, can you promote yourself?
- Building business off your open source contributions
- Walking the “line”
- Building a strong image of yourself
- And much, much more!
Sponsors:
- FreshBooks
Picks:
Reuven
- Can Democracy Survive Global Capitalism? by Robert Kuttner
- Robert Kuttner Talk
Jeremy
- increaseyourconsultingfees.com
Erik
- Book Yourself Solid by Michael Port
- Microsoft Azure
Panel:
- Jonathan Stark
- Jeremy Green
- Erik Dietrich
In this episode of the Freelancers’ Show, the panelists discuss writing better project proposals. Freelancers constantly present product proposals to clients in a way that clients cannot understand, making the client not want to use them again for their product or service. They talk about the fear freelancers have about being called out on their pricing, forcing your clients to be educated about your line of work when they don’t care, not understanding your customer, and more!
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- The right way to talk to clients about your good/service
- Don’t present yourself as a commodity
- Write project proposals in a “language” that people can understand
- Not always the proposal is what is bad
- Giving the clients useless updates
- Fear of being called to the carpet of your pricing
- Trying to educate clients when they don’t care
- Simple ways to get your point across to clients
- Not understanding the customer
- Having multiple types of customers
- Feeling like you’re being talked down to
- Most clients’ main priority is that you get done what they need done
- Value pricing
- Clients who like to nickel and dime you
- Clients who fight you every step of the way
- People will hire you because you are the expert
- How to be treated like an expert
- Target clients who don’t specialize in what you do
- Value-based proposals versus labor based proposals
- Sanity checks
- Why conversations
- And much, much more!
Sponsors:
- FreshBooks
Picks:
Jonathan
- Goliath
Jeremy
- Remarq
Erik
- Diablo 2
- Capital One
Panel:
Reuven Lerner
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, Reuven talks about the “Genesis of a Course,” or creating a new course. Reuven focuses on creating training material for businesses and companies. Reuven covers how to come up with new material or courses, demands for a new course, naming the course, syllabus, the takeaway of the course, teaching, competition, and much more. This is a great episode to learn about all the key points to create and launch a new course.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- Creating new courses
- Allows you to upsell
- Offer a wider variety of courses
- They (Business) see you as an authority
- Where to get Ideas for new courses
- Working with clients to get ideas
- Learning about demand
- Title of the course
- Sending the course syllabus to companies
- ROI of the course
- Teaching a months worth of information?
- Competition means there is a market
- Starting off with the course, targeting, etc
- Using Keynote
- Slide decks
- Time put in to build out a course
- Preparation equals 3-4 days for each day of teaching
- Creating exercises
- Practice adding exercises
- Resistance on a new course
- Give material out as Webinars
- Where and how to announce the new course
- This is going to take weeks and months to create
- And much more!
Links:
- https://lerner.co.il
- https://twitter.com/reuvenmlerner?lang=en
- https://il.linkedin.com/in/reuven
- https://github.com/reuven
Sponsors/Affiliates
- FreshBooks
Picks
Reuven Lerner
- Bluedio T4S
Panel:
- Eric Dietrich
- Jeremy Green
- Reuven Lerner
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, the panelist discuss “Business Cards. The Freelancers talk about the uses of business cards in today's job market. This discussion covers the many different facets of how business cards could create networks and conduits for new business. This is great episode to learn about how to positions your business cards in the freelancing world to market yourself.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- Do you have business cards?
- Bought a box several years ago - The lean approach
- Putting your business cards in peoples hands and clarifying what you do
- Taglines on your card
- What you do information on your card
- ROI on cards
- Make connections with business cards
- LinkedIn over business cards
- Marketing assets that lead to a digital funnel
- Things that stand out and make your business card memorable
- Jump drives
- QR Codes
- The main point it for someone to remember you and want to do business with you
- Digital products
- Coupons for books
- T-Shirts
- Useful things to have to market yourself
- And much more!
Sponsors/Affiliates
- FreshBooks
Picks
Eric Dietrich
- Scishow
- Amazing headphones
Jeremy Green
- Rock and Roll with EmberJS
Reuven Lerner
- Naked Statistics
Panel:
- Reuven Learner
- Jeremy Green
- Erik Dietrich
- Jonathan Stark
In this episode of the Freelancers’ Show, the panelists discuss chaos clients. Chaos clients are long-time clients who are disorganized, reactive, and constantly wait for things to blow up before “pulling the fire alarm.” These types of clients are disruptive to any business, and so the panelists discuss some things you can do if you have chaos clients. They also touch on how each of the respective panelists deal with these clients and their thoughts on the best and worse ways of dealing with a client’s self-inflicted problems.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- What is a chaos client?
- What can you do when you have a chaos client?
- Decide whether or not you want to keep the client
- Maybe fire them if you can’t see them changing
- Have individual fire-drill pricing
- Wait to address the situation in a low-emotion time
- Try to become more proactive in the future with them
- Higher price tags for these clients
- Price tag for your misery vs getting rid of these clients
- Be careful with just raising prices
- Push back in ways that make the client revise their priorities
- Understanding that not everything needs to be done ASAP
- Part of your job is to calm clients down
- Helping a client with an actual emergency vs helping a client who self-inflicts problems
- Chronic chaos clients
- Preventing these “fire drills” in the future
- Only push off other projects when talking with the person of authority on the project
- Pricing can be used to discourage clients from doing things
- And much, much more!
Sponsors:
- FreshBooks
- Linode
Picks:
Jonathan
- The Expert Video
- Flawless Consulting
- The Freelancer's Roadmap by Jonathan Stark
Reuven
- Everybody Lies by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz
- Weekly Python Exercise
Jeremy
- Remarq
- The Key to Increasing Your Consulting Fees
Erik
- Horkey Handbook
Panel:
- Jonathan Stark
- Jeremy Green
- Eric Dietrich
- Charles Maxwood
- Rueven Lerner
- Curtis
In this episode, the Freelancer show celebrates its 300th episode. The Freelancer show answers Q&A with past and new members to the panel. Topics cover best practices as a freelancer, making the jump into entrepreneurship, value-based pricing versus fixed pricing, and much more!
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- How do you get potential clients to talk to you and see if it’s a good fit?
- Person 1’s Answer:
- You want to have some sort of process in place.
- A precursor for working with client.
- Free 30-minute call for both of us.
- Person 2’s Answer:
- Go out to business conferences and business world to meet people.
- Be willing to make the phone calls, and connect on LinkedIn.
- You will meet a whole lot of people, and not everyone will be a good fit for you.
- Then you can start weeding out those that won’t be a good fit.
- Person 3’s Answer:
- Phone call, proposal phase, and then contract.
- Person 4’s Answer:
- Inbound and the Q&A.
- Person’s 5 Answer:
- Most of the leads are inbound (from conferences or blogs or Stack Overflow).
- Asking a lot of questions.
- Start the conversation over e-mail.
- Person 1’s Answer:
- For folks who have successfully disconnected time for money, what was that experience like for you, why did you do it, what were the challenges? Talk about the things you do and you’re not getting paid for your time.
- Person 1’s Answer:
- Training budgets.
- I made the disconnect the minute I stopped doing developmental work.
- How much do you really charge?
- Person 2’s Answer:
- Sponsorship episodes.
- Selling advertising it’s usually per unit.
- If you don’t think you’re getting a good value then it might not be a good match.
- Podcast sponsorships.
- Person 3’s Answer:
- In the beginning – it’s more an art than a science.
- Person 1’s Answer:
Links:
- FreshBooks
- Stack Overflow
- Trello
- Crowdcast
- Schedule Once
- Pipedrive
- Slack
- Calendly
Sponsors:
- Linode
Panel:
- Jeremy Green
- Jonathan Stark
- Reuven Lerner
Special Guest: Sherry Walling, Ph.D.
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, the panel discusses: “Beyond Burnout - How to Work Hard and Enjoy Life.” Dr. Sherry Walling is a licensed clinical psychologist with extensive experience treating stress-related problems in high achieving people. She is an academic and professional powerhouse with master’s degrees in psychology and theology, formal training as a yoga teaching, and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. For more biographical information, please checkout: https://zenfounder.com/about/.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- How to Prioritize Your Life
- Great start – you found something that you love to do as far as work!
- Have a variety of things going on in your life.
- Have backup strategies in play.
- “Make it big plan” is a low frequency event.
- Are there areas where freelancers chronically under invest in?
- Sleep
- Diet
- Exercise
- It’s easy to neglect your body.
- Time with friends
- Connecting you with human beings.
- Connections with online friends are great, but real-life friendships are better for mental health because we connect better with three-dimensional people.
-
If you make the investments into yourself (sleeping, eating well, exercising) this will better your business.
- This notion of should or shouldn’t do X, Y, Z.
- Paul Jarris’ newsletter: Defining What Enough Is For You?
- Budgeting together as a family.
- Gives you a clear sense of what “enough” is for you and your family.
- Examples:
- Elon Musk
- Works 24/7 and is CEO of many companies.
- Admired by many, but lifestyle seems toxic to some.
- Wisdom is knowing your own personal limits.
- Silicon Valley, CA
- Patrick Collison
- Humble person
- Dr. Walling was very impressed on how aware he is as a person.
- He recognizes that the right events were in-place and he put in the work, too.
- Elon Musk
-
- Burnout – different stages and things we can do to address burnout - Burnout is a syndrome where people feel detached from their work. They feel like their input does not equal their output. - It’s subjective. - It’s caused by too much work, feeling out-of-control in your work, a mismatch of daily tasks versus what needs to be done, not enough support, and working with clients who are emotionally draining, etc. - Scientifically we can view a brain that is burned-out. - Other health problems can arise due to stress. - We know how to prevent it and how people can recover. - It could take a few weeks in order to regain a healthy lifestyle to recover from burnout. - Road to recovery - 30% of adults experience burnout in some point in their life. - Dr. Christina Maslach * Her research is focused on burnout. - Time is finite and life is finite. * You will choose things that are more gratifying for you and your life. - Sometimes we forget the “love” piece. * I choose to do the activities that really bring me joy. * This will help with the longevity of your business. * Not things that you feel like you “should.” * Listen to the emotional quality to your work to help prevent potential burnout. - Hobbies * If you have some hobbies like yoga, fishing, painting, baking, knitting etc. it can definitely help prevent burnout. * Hobbies are good for a sense of accomplishment. + Mastery and it feeds your soul.
-
- Protecting Personal Relationships - Rhythms and structures in our relationships. * Regularity of date night once a week (for example) helps establishing this routine. * The same is true for friendships. - Find a good mentor. * Grow together and it’s great for psychological support. - Fitness goals * If you don’t use it, you will loose it. * This gets more important the older you get.
Links:
- Dr. Sherry Waling
- KEEPING YOUR S**T TOGETHER
Sponsors:
- FreshBooks
- Linode
- Cachefly
Picks:
Jonathan Stark
- valuepricingbootcamp.com
- Your Productized Consulting Guide
- howtobulilduourfirstproductizedservice.com
- James Clear: Building Habits – mailing list
Jeremy Green
Philip Morgan – Positioning Manual
Rueven Lerner
- The New Yorker – Japan’s Rent A Family Industry
Dr. Sherry Walling
- Book: KEEPING YOUR S**T TOGETHER
Panel:
- Jonathan Stark
- Jeremy Green
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, the panelist discuss “Charging Differently.” Jonathan describes this as charging different clients differently for different reasons. Jeremy explains the separate reasons you would charge individual clients different rates, because of interacts, implications of the jobs, and the project requirements. The discussion covers why you would consider different hourly rates, weekly rates, monthly rates, and value-based pricing. This is a great episode to learn about the strategy behind optimizing revenue while charging different rates in your freelancing business.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- Hourly Fee, Weekly rates, Monthly rates, and Value-based pricing
- Implications of the job
- Interacting differently from client to client
- Expertise
- Shifting your mindset
- Delivering outcome for their business
- Increasing leads
- Relationships and considering outcomes
- Strategically positioning yourself within your niche
- The “Generalist”
- Trying to value price large projects and small projects
- Weekly project discussion
- Updating the client ASAP
- Perceived effort
- Tips for moving from hourly to value base - offers
- How to find that type of prospect
- Productized consulting
- And much more!
Picks
Jonathan Stark
- valuepricingbootcamp.com
- Your Productized Consulting Guide
- howtobulilduourfirstproductizedservice.com
Jeremy Green
- American Utopia Tour
Panel:
- Reuven Lerner
- Erik Dietrich
- Jeremy Green
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, the panelist discuss “Responding to RFPs( Request for Proposal).” Each panelist describes their experience with consulting clients and companies and working out RFPs. Eric Dietrich of episode 296 gives great insight on ways to communicate clearly with companies when approached for bidding on a job. This is a great episode to understand appropriate precautions and understanding the “others side” of RFPs.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- Eric talks about his experience with RFPs
- Jeremy describes his past encounters with RFPs.
- Jonathan’s experience with RFPs.
- Price droppers
- Learning about the budget
- Qualifications points of the job
- Individual to RFPs
- Risk competing with companies
- Last resort
- Issues of RFPs - Not individual but by companies
- Quoting a price
- Involving a phone call
- Resumes
- Changing the conversation
- Value-based pricing
- And much more!
Picks
Jonathan Stark
- Chris Do of Blind
- Gorilla Clients
- valuepricingbootcamp.com
Erik Dietrich
- Cortana
- Top Loader for Jeep
Jeremy Green
- Increase Your Consulting Fees
- Rock’n Roll with EmberJS
Panel:
- Reuven Lerner
- Jonathan Stark
- Jeremy Green
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, the panelist discuss “Negotiating with Clients.” The panelist, Reuven, Jonathan, and Jeremy give strategies on how to accomplish a “win-win situation” when clients who are trying to bargain on price. Each panelist provides their paths and actions to stand firmly on the price of their services. This is a great episode to get some insight on what at the professionals do to get appropriate pay on their services and many other facets of negotiations that are available.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- Do you negotiate on price?
- Discounts?
- Steering away from the prices
- Comparing your services to others
- Politely decline
- “Your prices are higher than the other companies”
- Losing clients
- Finding a good fit and getting referrals
- Problems with giving one discount
- Hourly rates vs. Fixed
- Caving on prices once!
- Removing Scope
- New Proposals and re-quoting
- Other things besides money to negotiate on
- Payment options on service
- Pricing to guarantee there are not bugs
- 100% payment upfront
- 60-day net pay
- Working around policies to get paid
- More on payment terms
- Negotiating and deadlines
- Getting Leads
- And much more!
Picks
Reuven Lerner
- tranistor.fm
Jonathan Stark
- Learn Your Lines
Jeremy Green
- Increase Your Consulting Fees
Panel:
- Reuven Lerner
- Jonathan Stark
- Jeremy Green
Special Guest: Erik Dietrich
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, the panelist and guest Eric Dietrich discuss “Future of Labor.” Erik is a software developer, was an executive a software company, but turn to consulting for a number of years. Currently, Erik runs a digital content marketing agency and still does consulting. Erik is the author of a number of developer-related books, including Developer Hegemony: The Future of Labor, which is the basis of today’s episode topic.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- Demands for software
- Labor vs. Knowledge work
- Software architects to Developer
- Law firm agency, apprenticeship
- Leaving big companies
- Giving up on staffing IT, etc.
- Outsourcing
- History of corporation
- Just sitting in your basement and code…
- Business skills - Being an entrepreneur, not an employee
- What should a developer do to take advantage of this?
- Start to understand the fundamentals of a business
- Maintenance work vs. designing the future
- UpWork - and commodity labor
- Transferable skills
- Trends for Freelancers
- Becoming business savvy, entrepreneurial
- And much more!
Links
- https://github.com/erikdietrich
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/erik-dietrich-109a888/
- https://www.amazon.com/Erik-Dietrich/e/B00J6314XY=
- @daedtech
Picks
Reuven Lerner
- Slow Burn Podcast
Jonathan Stark
- Dyson V8
- Value Pricing BootCamp
Jeremy Green Increase Your Consulting Fees
- Increase Your Consulting Fees
Erik Dietrich
- Developer Hegemony
- Post Scan Mail
Panel:
- Jonathan Stark
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, Jonathan discusses “Flipping the Switch,” on a solo podcast episode. Jonathan answers questions about shut down his old mobile site jonathanstark.com and replaced the content with ExpensiveProblem.com. Jonathan continues with important insights, in his journey, when you are considering closing doors on one business and starting the next.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on: t
- Combining business at jonathanstark.com
- Closed doors on the mobile business
- Working with Credit Unions
- Horizontal expertise
- Picking a vertical market
- Mobile strategy
- Adaption
- The announcement of the iPhone and mobile focus
- Smartphone craze
- Joining open source projects
- Jqtouch
- PhoneGap
- Mobile platform
- Jonathan book launch on JQT and PhoneGap
- Being part of a tribe or a new culture of developers
- Change in 2012
- Leads? Budgets for mobile were drying up
- 2017 - Mobile become the dominant computing platform
- Main Stream
- Blockchain, AI, etc.
- Side interest - Hourly Billing
- Coaching service
- Where your name is associated
- And much more!
Panel:
- Reuven
- Jonathan Stark
- Jeremy Green
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, Reuven and Jonathan discuss “Keeping Your Skill Shape,” with Jeremey Green. The panelist discuss ways to improve their game to keep ahead of the curb in freelancing. This is a great episode to learn the different avenues of sharpening your skill with technologies, applications, courses, project, and literature to stay consistent with an ever-changing industry.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- Keeping your skill sharp
- Doing a mix of things to stay ahead
- Students and questions
- Teaching, Education, and Training
- Strategy to learn new things
- Doing Side Project to keep ahead
- Blog, Teach a Course, Write a book
- If you know more about it then everyone else, you are the expert
- Learning other technologies
- Becoming specialized in a specific technology
- Knowing how to finding information when you need it
- Crafting the right Google query
- Social Learning Theory
- And much more!
Picks:
Jonathan
- Revenue Lerner’s Git Course
- Understanding and Mastering Git
- ValuePricingBootcamp.com
Reuven
- Podcasts - Pod Save The World
- Podcasts - Chompers
Jeremy Green
- Ableton Live
Panel:
- Reuven
- Jonathan Stark
- Jeremy Green
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, Reuven and Jonathan discuss “Pros and Cons of Building a SaaS,” with Jeremey Green. Jeremy is going to be a part panelist and guest on this edition of the Freelancer’s Show. Jeremy is a past guest of the podcast, and is a software developer, independent operator, works with clients and companies, and lastly, has worked with SaaS (Software as a Service) projects for many years. Jeremy and the panelist talk about the pro and cons of working in the SaaS industry. This is a great episode to learn about freelancing in the SaaS industry, and the business perspective of working with SaaS.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- Jeremy talks about his background as a developer and SAAS developer.
- Reuven asks Why SaaS, and Why not SaaS. (Software as a Service)
- Shopify
- Woking in SaaS
- ReMark
- Working with other technologies to build software
- Launching to customers
- Software Freelancers
- Building a SaaS is seductive, but?
- Having a conversation with actual clients before jumping in
- How is Shopify a SaaS?
- Crowd Funder
- Do you categorize apps differently?
- Upside of the Shopify platform
- Standalone SaaS
- How much time do you spend on these project per week?
- How many hour to each project per week?
- Customer support
- Bug reports
- Do you talk people more now or before you did SaaS products?
- And much more!
Picks:
Jonathan
- The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories
- Value Pricing Bootcamp
Reuven
- Understanding and Mastering Git
Jeremy Green
- Boarding House Reach by Jack White
Panel:
- Reuven Lerner
- Jonathan Stark
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, Reuven and Jonathan discuss “Free Advice.” Reuven mentions the importance of how to handle free advice. Jonathan and Reuven talk about their experience with providing consultation to business owners or developers who need direction. When do you provide advice? How do you get compensated for your wisdom and expertise? How do you do this professionally and make a profit from your insight? This is a great episode to learn when and how to provide your expertise with a price tag.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- Jonathan and Reuven do some housekeeping on the upcoming Episode 300!
- Email jstark@johnathenstark.com about topics of Episode 300
- Reuven tells his story on advice.
- Being a mercenary or profiter
- Giving rules of thumb and web base advice, or best practice
- Profit building advice
- It depends? It is advice quick or will it take long to explain
- Providing advice on low risk verses high risk
- Being asked in person, email, or over the web
- Sending people to a blog or a resource to help them
- Free options, communities forums, websites, etc
- Privatise Consulting
- Blair Enns - The Win Without Pitching Manifesto
- Pitch Deck
- Opposite of sounding desperate
- Dealing with discount prices
- Payment plans options
- And much more!
Picks:
Jonathan
- The Win Without Pitching Manifesto
- I Want You to Give Me One for Free - Mad Men
- Learn Your Lines
Reuven
- Life360
Panel:
- Reuven Lerner
- Jonathan Stark
In this episode of the Freelancers’ Show, the panelists discuss sunsetting products and services and when to pull the trigger when they aren’t working. They talk about not putting too much time into a product or service that isn’t taking off, having a positive or negative ROI, opportunity cost, and many other topics. This is a great episode for freelancers who are struggling with the question of whether or not to retire certain products or services in their own business.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- When to pull the plug
- Why a product or service wouldn’t be working
- Killed off Daily Tech Video
- The importance of not waiting too long to pull the plug
- Hard to make a public commitment and then give it up
- If you’re doing something and you’re not making money, it’s a hobby not a business
- Is your ROI positive or negative?
- Opportunity cost
- Have clear goals and objectives for products and services
- Sunset if they aren’t selling well
- Getting rid of Road Mapping
- Finding a better way to produce these products and services
- Experimentation is key
- Will it make money that is fast enough for your business?
- Is it worth your time and effort?
- Mandarin Weekly
- And much, much more!
Links:
- Daily Tech Video
- Mandarin Weekly
Picks:
Jonathan
- Value Pricing Bootcamp
- The Dip by Seth Godin
Reuven
- Counterpart
Panel:
- Reuven Lerner
- Kai Davis
In this episode of the Freelancers’ Show, the panelists discuss common mistakes that they have made in their freelancing and consulting history to help you learn from their mistakes. They talk about mistakes when it comes to raising rates, hiring employees, having a home office or not, and much more and how you can avoid them in the future. They also stress the fact that communication is key when it comes to keeping a health client relationship.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- Common foibles
- When raising rates, make sure to give your clients some advanced notice
- Want to make sure you don’t ruin your relationship with your client
- Put yourself in the client’s shoes
- How to properly raise your rates
- Communication is key
- Don’t get caught up in the illusion that you must hire other people to succeed
- Don’t discount your ability to sell yourself
- Only hire on an hourly basis not a full-time basis
- Don’t be afraid to fire people if you have to in order to survive as a business
- Hire people as sub-contractors
- Having an office outside of the house pros and cons
- Importance of having a separation of spaces in a home office
- The importance of following up with past clients to see if they have new needs
- Value-based follow-up
- Always start with a contract!
- You will be scammed by people in your career
- And much, much more!
Picks:
Reuven
- The Daily podcast
Kai
- Apple Home Pod
Panel:
- Reuven Lerner
- Jonathan Stark
In this episode of the Freelancers’ Show, the panelists discuss pricing. They really emphasize the fact that you need to think about the scope last when making a sale. You should be focused on the desired future outcome and the intensity of the problem at hand before you think about the scope. They discuss this concept and give many other tips on things you should be thinking about and saying when pitching a project proposal to clients.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- What is scope?
- Coming at a project from a value basis
- Don’t think about the scope in a sales meeting
- Focus on the business goals at first
- What is going to make their business better?
- Why do they need your services?
- Get a picture of their long-term goals
- Asking these questions differentiates you
- Humanizing the conversation
- The importance of having the “why” conversation
- Always give three options in a project proposal
- Set prices and then define your scope
- Show them that what you are planning on doing will help them reach their goals
- If they succeed, you succeed
- How do you convince clients to work with you and pay you to help them?
- You have to be good at what you do
- Be comfortable speaking business language
- Let them know that you have their best interest at heart
- And much, much more!
Picks:
Reuven
- “How China Is Changing Your Internet” NY Times Video
- How To Set Up Alipay As a Foreigner by Sijia Chen
Jonathan:
- Google Wifi
- Value Pricing Bootcamp
Panel:
Reuven Lerner
In this episode of the Freelancers’ Show, the Reuven discusses what to do when people call you and ask you if you can train them. He talks about the steps you need to take when someone calls you as well as gives tips on how to be successful in it. This is a great episode for people looking to understand the process behind a successful training career.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- Consulting since 1995
- Training for Python
- He loves teaching people
- How to get training clients
- Easy to become known as an authority for training
- Once your known, people will remember you
- They want to find out about you and you want to find out about them
- Find out what they’re interested in learning first
- What are their background and experience level?
- You want to have a menu of options for people
- Less content and more exercises
- What versions of software are they using?
- Semi-negotiation over content
- Show them you care and you are listening to them
- Half days for training or horrible
- Scheduling problems
- How to schedule
- And much, much more!
Picks:
Reuven
- Trainer Weekly
- The Tic
Panel:
Kai Davis
Reuven Lerner
Philip Morgan
In this episode of the Freelancers’ Show, the panelists discuss overcoming objections that your clients might have regarding your experience. They have found that if you have good rapport with your clients, they are more likely to ask you to work on other concepts, even if it’s a little different than what you normally focus on. It’s important not to lean away from your normal too much so that you don’t overextend yourself and fail on what you promise to your clients. This episode is great for freelancer’s who want to hear about the thought process behind pushing the envelope when it comes to your experience with your clients.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- Client objections
- Proposing on new projects
- Positioning in your business
- More libraries
- Maturing markets
- Knowledge advantage
- Clients are willing to give you the benefit of the doubt if you have good rapport
- Helps to stick with what you know
- Leaning out analogy
- Balancing act
- Taking risks
- Feeling stuck and moving slowly
- The worst-case scenarios to taking risk (they aren’t that bad)
- The power of objections and critiques
- Dream Big
- Out-Bound and In-Bound channels
- Use the right career development or growth model for you and your business
- And much, much more!
Picks:
Philip
- Specializing With Little or No Relevant Proof
- 2Bobs Podcast
Reuven
- Star Trek: Discovery
- The Mandarin Companion
Kai
- The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking by Oliver Burkeman
- MARKUS Chair from IKEA
Panel:
Jonathan Stark
Philip Morgan
In this episode of the Freelancers’ Show, Jonathan and Philip discuss the introduction game. When you have people ask you to refer them to your clients or a colleague, Jonathan has come up with an idea for a referral game, which he calls the introduction game. He has these people who ask for his help send him a draft of what they want and then you can tweak it so it sounds like something that you would actually say. This way you are putting out what your friend or colleague wants and you aren’t having to come up with referrals from scratch. They also discuss how specializing your business could lead to you getting more leads, even if it doesn’t seem like it should.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- The Referral Game
- Specializing your business
- Rolodex moment
- Shelf-life runs out on the story
- The introduction game
- Must have proof to create credibility
- How to play the introduction game
- “Help me help you”
- How long does it take for this “game” to play out?
- 2 questions in the referral game
- You want to be able to tell a relevant interesting story when referring
- Value proposition
- What do others think is special about my services?
- Valuing life experience
- Ah-ha moments
- And much, much more!
Links:
- Linode
- FreshBooks
Picks:
Philip
- Discord
Jonathan
- The Business of Authority
- The Prosperous Coach
Panel:
Jonathan Stark
Philip Morgan
In this episode of the Freelancers’ Show, Jonathan and Philip discuss why it’s important to position your business so that you can generate more leads. They define both positioning and lead generation and give examples as to how you can use these two concepts to your advantage in your business. This is a great episode for freelancers who want to understand the importance behind directing your business towards a certain type of client in order to get more leads, and grow your business in the long run because of it.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- Defining positioning
- Why it’s important to specialize
- Intentionality
- Defining lead generation
- Different ways to generate leads
- How qualified is a lead?
- Difference between a lead and a prospect
- Done for you services
- How do you get into more sales conversations with leads?
- You must decide: who are you trying to reach?
- Hitting your target market
- And much, much more!
Links:
- Linode
- FreshBooks
- LootCrate
Picks:
Philip
- Value-Based Design by Nick Disabato
- Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss
Jonathan
- Getting More by Stuart Diamond
- Nick Disabato on Ditching Hourly
Panel:
Reuven
Jonathan Stark
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, Reuven and Jonathan discuss “Optimizing for Conversations.” Jonathan explains what this important tactic is and how it is used to get more leads, raise prices, and increase value. This discussion covers important strategies to help increase trust and between you and the target market, ultimately increasing leads and sales. This is a great episode for the freelancer who wants to add more strategic moves to their marketing.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- Jonathan explains the value proposition?
- Identifying the target marketed
- Validation
- Just ask people you want to help!
- Listen, Listen, Listen
- Market Research
- Validation of the hypothesis, and value proposition!
- Knowing how to get in touch with the target market
- Doing it in a way to not feel scummy
- Reaching out to the buyers and having ESP
- Existing Clients, Pass Clients conversations
- Not a sales conversation
- Talk about problems
- What keeps you up at night?
- And much more!
Picks:
Jonathan
- The Business of Authority Podcast
Reuven
- ExpressVPN
Panel:
Reuven Lerner
Jonathan Stark
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, Reuven and Jonathan discuss “How To Get Yourself Notice” as a freelancer. Reuven and Jonathan talk about the best practices for building yourself up for marketing and getting more leads. The topics covered are, how to let people know you exist, attracting clients, being different and unique, taking risks, speaking and writing, social media profiles, and much more.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- How to let people know you exist so they can call you for work
- Getting more leads
- Clients want solutions
- What you Ideal client needs
- You need to be different, and take risks
- Being able to Speak
- Being able to Write
- Who do you want to notice you?
- Examples to those on UpWork
- Billing per hour - what does that say about you?
- Direct outreach
- Blogging
- Social media profiles
- And much more!
Picks:
Jonathan
- Lerner on Getting Started in Technical Training
Reuven
- Seminar style Q&A at lecture hall scale
Panel:
Kai Davis
Jonathan Stark
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, Kai and Jonathan discuss “One Obvious Path to Increasing Your Freelancing Income,” Jonathan shares an old pricing story to kick off the discussion. The topics cover issues with hourly billing, estimates, autonomy, value base decision, the perception of value, growing your craft, becoming a peer with sales contact, and much more. This is a great episode to understand strategies to prepare your path for increasing your freelance profits.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- Jonathan’s story on Pricing
- The expert on price and freak invoice
- Taking the power away - with hourly billing
- Estimates
- Autonomy on prices
- Value base decision
- Perception of value
- Tangible ROI
- Emotional reaction
- “Keep sharpening your saw”
- Market rate
- Hourly and billable hours
- Gross revenue
- Knowledge work
- Growing your craft
- 80/20 rule
- Become a peer with your sales contact
- How do you make my clients lives better
- And much more!
Picks:
Jonathan
- Hourly Billing Is Nuts
Kai
- Quick Start Roadmapping Projects
Panel:
Reuven Lerner
Jonathan Stark
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, Reuven and Jonathan discuss “Growing Vertically,” or increasing your profits without increasing your headcount or costs. The topics covered are increasing profits, not having time to do what you are good at, growing or increasing sales, hiring and firing, increase profits not revenue, increase your prices and fees, and much more. This is a great episode for those who want to learn how to increase profits with minimal cost to your freelance business.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- Jonathan’s story on solo consultancy
- Increasing profits, not headcount
- Not having time to do the thing you once you did
- Bring in sales
- Sharing the limelight
- Enabling other to help you with your job
- Hiring, firing, etc.
- Increase profits not revenue
- Increase prices, fees, etc.
- How to increase prices or fees
- They need your help to learn what to do
- Create a new product
- Creating value for the customer and capitalize on it
- The Rub - lower revenue engagement
- How do you do the marketing?
- Shifting to Lower labor higher billing
- Charge for value
- Attending conferences and speaking
- Moving into a different crowd of people, when you get tired of this income
- Moving into a new vertical and making mistakes
- What kind of services to offer to a company?
- How long should I expect to do marketing before landing clients?
- And much more!
Picks:
Jonathan
- My Brother, My Brother and Me Podcast
- valuepricingbootcamp.com
Reuven
- Backups! Use Backups!
Panel:
Reuven Lerner
Kai Davis
Jonathan Stark
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, Kai, Reuven, and Jonathan discuss outreach to potential clients. Each of the freelancers talk about their strategy for outreach to acquire clients. The discussion covers the pain points of outreach, audience, target market, connecting online or other platforms, stimulating conversation, not coming off as a spammer and many other areas. This is a great episode to learn the best practice for market put reach and building business relationships.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- Reaching out to locate Credit Unions
- Online searching
- Looking for Chief Marketing Manager
- An online place to connect, email, etc.
- Goals to not look sleazy
- Building a leads list
- Outreach via LinkedIn
- The value you offer is it worth the time?
- Market research
- Looking into people who are already doing it
- Qualification process
- Personalize emails
- Value proposition
- Getting on their radar
- How many people to connect before a response
- How long before followup properly
- And much more!
Picks:
Kai
- Blade Runner
- freeoutreachcourse.com
- outreachblueprint.com
Jonathan
- Web Cam - Logitech C920
- howtobuildyourfirstproductizedservice.com
Reuven
- The Beautiful Country and Middle Kingdom
- Training
Panel:
Reuven Lerner
Kai Davis
Jonathan Stark
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, Kai, Reuven, and Jonathan discuss, getting started in training. The panelist talk about how to outline training, in addition to your freelancing career, to add another modality in your business and provide more value. This is a great episode to understand what areas and packages you can provide, how to build a syllabus for training, intro to advance courses, students, teaching to a student and paying clients, and how to get the first paying client, and much more.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- Who is training and why?
- Specialization and providing more value
- Your superpower - how would you change their business
- Dev shop versus Training shop
- Training is better
- Courses
- Packages for training
- Syllabus
- Providing Intro to advance courses
- Students and learning along with them
- How to I determine what the courses
- Teaching - get experience doing it first before getting clients
- Pedagogical content knowledge
- Getting paying clients
- Getting better and better at training
- Third party help
- Speaking with training managers and at conferences
- lynda.com
- Books and promotional products on amazon.com
- Positioning as a trainer
- Who do I reach out to?
- And much more!
Picks:
Kai
- Daily Email
- Robin Sloan book
Jonathan
- Freelancer Show Episode 227
- Joseph Pine Ted Talk
Reuven
- Zoom
- Steve Martin Master Class
- Trainer Weekly
Panel:
Kai Davis
Jonathan Stark
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, Kai and Jonathan answer questions from their loyal listeners in this month's December Mailbag. Topics covered are on identifying sites your target market is hanging out on most, organizing the new information you learned to implement, what can you do you bring values to people who might be further ahead than you, and many more tactics and strategies to help your freelance career.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- How do you identify places online where ...?
- Conferences
- Identifying the target market and where they hang out online
- Stonewall? Pick a different audience.
- Organizing and processing new information?
- Tactics, Strategy and Focus
- Index the information and don’t obsess over the information
- Track your time learning and implementing
- Fear of failure
- How to bring value to those who might be further along then you?
- Asking questions and closing the loop
- Recognizing the opportunity
- Feedback
- And much more!
Picks:
Kai
- No Picks
Jonathan
- Nonviolent Communication
Panel:
Reuven Lerner
Kai Davis
Jonathan Stark
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, Reuven, Kai, and Jonathan talk about organizing your business. The panels discuss important points to stay organize and systemize in your business. Important topics covered are getting to inbox zero, scheduling, building good habits, clearing your to-do lists, keeping notes, organizing your thoughts. Lastly, the freelances talk about tips and technologies they use to keep on top of their tasks. This is a great episode for those who need the implement good practices to run a smoother business.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- Why should I organize my business?
- Finding important information
- Losing important data
- Email organization
- Inbox zero - picking time to clean up
- Building habits overtime
- When you check email - Achieving to save time
- Creating to-do lists within email
- Task lists without inbox
- Due dates on tasks
- Remember the Milk app
- Blocking out time for to-dos
- Priority to-do lists
- Notes
- Brain Storms
- Evernote
- Keeping a physical notebook
- Using task managers like Trello
- Keyboard Short Cuts - aText
- And much more!
Picks:
Reuven
- Blog
Kai
- Merlin Mann on Inbox 0
- SaneBox
- The Life-Changing Magic Of Tidying Up
- Kai's every day carry notebook
- Kai's every day carry pen
- Naomi (of Itty Biz) wrote this great article on staying productize on low energy days)
- Text Expander
Jonathan
- Getting Things Done by David Allen
- Productive
- Jonathan's recommended notebook
- aText
Panel:
Reuven Lerner
Kai Davis
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, Reuven and Kai talk about planning for 2018. Reuven mentions that you should always plan your year if you are in a freelancing business. Ask yourself, how do you want to grow your business?How will you implement the changes to scale your financial growth? The end year is an important punctuation and new beginning for your freelancing business.
The Freelancer’s Show is here to help guide you through questions they ask themselves in their own businesses. This is a great episode for freelancers who are looking to grow their business in the next year, and the possible things they can do to have a positive impact on their freelancing career.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- What are my goals or system to put in place to reach the goals?
- Concerning health
- Saying no to certain opportunities
- Training to advance your career
- Training internationally
- Exploring new line of business
- Killing it off - if it does not work
- What do I want to accomplish in 5 years
- What is the one 1 year, 1 month, and day view?
- Moving toward achieving your business goal
- Automating your business to grow faster
- Group coaching
- Working from home - what does that mean overall?
- Specializing and Focus
- Budgeting time
- “Don’t run a business on the assumption that you are going to work 12 hours a day”
- When to have personal time or relax time
- Personal plans and goals
- Building systems into your daily schedule
- What is your biggest ROI?
- And much more!
Picks:
Reuven
- Falafel
Kai
- The One Thing
- 12-week year
- Deep Work
Panel:
Phillip Morgan
Reuven Lerner
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, Reuven and Phillip discuss designing a product ladder. The panel discusses the importance of offering a suite of products with a defined path from low tier to a high tier value. Furthermore, services and or a blend of products and services is also apart of the tier offerings.
Phillip and Reuven talk about specific strategies for how product ladders are implemented. Perhaps a freemium product that entices one into the bigger valued product. This is a great episode for freelancers to understand how to formulate a product line for your freelancing business.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- Offering lower and higher tier products
- A blend of service and products
- The Brain Audit
- Comparison of Apple products and purchases to top tier products
- Buying into Apple products with iTunes on Windows
- Functions of a product ladder
- What is your product ladder?
- Advance, Intermediate, and Basic Users
- Increasing expertise
- Basic level product to companion level products
- How do you learn best? Question to ask your audience.
- What would a 5 grader understand?
- Ask which level of expertise your audience needs to help them up the ladder
- Allen Weiss books and webinars
- And much more!
Links
- The Brain Audit
Picks:
Reuven
- Survey Monkey
Phillip
- Book - Get Naked
Panel:
Reuven Lerner
Jonathan Stark
Kai Davis
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, Reuven, Jonathan, and Kai discuss “Why” conversations. Jonathan outlines that, “Why” calls are the preliminary conversations of a sale call. To understand the underlying purpose of why the client wants to engage in a project with you. This is a great episode to understand how to pivot a project to increase the value of your time using a fixed rated. Also to ensure the prospect is a good fit for skills and rates.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- Why do sales call? To find out what the client needs
- “Preparing to reject their self-diagnosis”
- Engage in a conversation to increase the value of the project
- The customer is usually vague and they leave out the specifics fo the project
- Throwing objections at then customers to bring all considerations to surface
- Understanding why now?
- Urgency is the key to the project?
- Why hire someone like me?
- Confidence to get paid what you want
- Hourly rates? Market rate? Fixed pricing.
- Is hourly billing bad for the project?
- Newbies are quick to jump.
- Delivering ROI.
- Back Seat Driving to nowhere
- Predict Churn
- Constantly reminding them of the goal and be the guardian of the project
- What is the benefit of the project?
- Make it clear you don’t work for an hourly rate
- Productize service, value-based pricing, etc.
- Making assumptions?
- Who does this not work for? - Those who are still learning their craft.
- And much more!
Picks:
Reuven
- Fifty Inventions That Shaped The Modern Economy
Jonathan
- “Learn Your Lines” https://expensiveproblem.com/pricing
- Pro Leg Stretcher
Panel:
Reuven Lerner
Phillip Morgan
Kai Davis
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, Reuven, Phillip, and Kai discuss pricing and positioning as a freelancer. The discussion covers positioning your business to charge premium rates, charging more verses looking like a discount service, and getting more clients when rates are higher. The Freelancer also discuss what signal prices send to the customer? Does this matter in reference to value, and is the price justified? Also, how to position your price internationally, concerning culture and prices. This is a great episode understand your position for your fees on products, sales, or services.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- What do you position yourself to charge premium pricing for your services?
- How not look like discount services
- Looking at the market price of your service
- Pricing to low for your service - why you should avoid it
- Price is the lever we fall to - Is this the advantage?
- Becoming price locked with your client.
- What signal prices sends to the customer?
- Specialized service
- Positioning internationally
- Urgent decisions on prices
- Creating scarcity
- How sticky or memorable is your pricing?
- Strategy and increasing prices
- Charging different rates for services
- Pricing play
- The opportunities of charging more
- Raising rates by 10- 25 percent after success and wins
- Raise rates after 3 months
- And much more!
Picks:
Reuven
- Naked Money
- New Bills
Philip
- NutriBullet Blender
Kai
- Article on Steak
Panel:
Jonathan Stark
Phillip Morgan
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, Johnathan and Phillip discuss aging as a freelancer. The topics cover the meager beginnings of a freelancer’s life to the advance contractor's success. Phillip and Johnathan talk about things concerning personal energy levels in a brick and mortar job vs. freelancing, insurances, repetition of the job, staying interested in your job, and networking, and the highs and low expectation of contracting throughout a freelancing career.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- Aging as you work for yourself
- Energy
- Multiple forms of insurance
- Stability in your career
- Growing in your career
- Living out of a car or small spaces
- Expectation of freelancing
- Boredom on the job
- Finding yourself doing the same thing as your younger peers
- Making a difference in the world
- Having to learn new platforms to keep your career exciting
- Laborious feelings about specialization
- Doing vertical moves, or lateral moves
- Motivation and expertise to advise
- And much more!
Picks:
Johnathan
- https://www.crowdcast.io/e/altitude/register
- howtobuildyourfirstproductizedservice.com
Philip
- Crossing the Chasm
Panel:
Reuven
Phillip M.
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show speaks with Louis Grenier about Freelance Marketing 101. Louis is a first time guest on the Freelancer’s Show. Louis is the host of the podcast call Everyone Hates Marketers, where he teaches tech and tech marketers to sell more, without shady or “in your face marketing” tactics. Louis is also the content strategist at the company HotJar
Louis and the panel talk about what bad marketing is about, and how you can avoid the pitfalls of bad marketing. Louis cover topics on good marketing vs. bad marketing tactics, understanding your audience, actively researching your audience, and much more.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- Understanding the people you are reaching out too
- Treated like numbers
- Psychological Numbing
- Would sleazy marketing work in the long-term
- Good products vs. Bad products
- Researching your audiences and launching
- The long patience way
- Empathy
- Face to Face conferences
- Networking and hassling
- Focus on your bullseye
- Start with the customer, then the type of business you are in
- Be where your customers are - medium.com
- Ask people what they’ve done in the past
- First 3 things to do in freelancing - Don’t quit your job until you have your first paying client, have the skills to do the job, be courageous
Links:
- Everyone Hates Marketers Podcast
- HotJar.com
- louis@everyonehatesmarketers.com
- medium.com
- Traction
- Get Clients Now
Picks:
Reuven
- The One Device: The Secret History of the iPhone
Louis
- Everyone Hates Marketers
Philip
- Specializing Without Failure
Panel:
Jonathan S.
Kai Davis
Phillip M.
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show the panel does a Q&A show about positioning. The Freelancers answer questions from students and readers for the discussion topic of the episode. The discussion goes focus positioning, marketing yourself, marketing your business, confidence, value proposition, the difference between specialization and positioning, and many more aspects of positioning.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- Laser Focus positioning statement and marketing yourself
- Being clear about who you serve
- Reaching goal with the help of employees
- 50% of the business is marketing
- Spreading yourself thin across the company
- Hom page problem
- Credit union
- Waffling and leaving behind confidence
- Confidence is the key element
- Target markets
- Working outside of your focus - will is dilute your credibility
- Specifically focusing your energy
- The difference between positioning and specialization
- Specialization - Target Market
- Positioning - Pricing, Premium options
- Specialize on a vertical - easier and safer
- and much more.
Links:
- CopyHackers.com
Picks:
Jonathan
- Nespresso
- howtobuildyourfirstproductizedservice.com
Kai
- Autoresponder Madness
- carrd.co
Panel:
Jonathan S.
Kai Davis
Phillip M.
Special Guest: Jason Scott Montoya
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show welcomes freelancer and author Jason Scott Montoya. The Freelancers dive into a discussion about Jason’s book, “Path of the Freelancer”. Jason defines and outlines freelancing for those on the path or getting started. Jason talks about the 4 stages of freelancing: survivor, dreamer, visionary, and achiever stage.
Furthermore, Jason provides what he calls the 8 achievements and a formula of intentionality to streamline your path, workload, to grow your business. Jason helps you to ask yourself the right questions, to gain your full potential, as a freelancer. Listen closely as Jason and the panel outline some frequently asked questions as a freelancer.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- A freelancer is someone who works for multiple clients and multiple streams of income.
- A consultant and a freelancer
- Four stages of freelancing
- Stages of maturity
- Managing money
- 8 achievements
- Formula of intentionality
- Arriving a success
- Why am I Freelancing?
- Carrer pivot
- Values, purpose, vision, and mission
- Building a wall of intentionality
- Mission and strategy
- Billing
- You need community to build a virtual sales team
- Gaining clients and building a funnel
- Step by step process, defining your annual income
- Communication and compensation
- Blogging
- and much more.
Links:
- Path of the Freelancer
- Jason Scott Montoya
Picks:
Jonathan
- Productive App
- How To Build Your First Productized Service
Kai
- http://Sweep.cards
- Post It Notes
Phillip
- Celestial Seasons Herbal Tea
- Quitting Soda pop
Jason
- American Made
Panel:
Reuven L.
Jonathan S.
Kai Davis
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, the discussion topic is Self Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing. The panel talks about the books they’ve published in the past and the details of each experience before and after launching a book.
We learn the pros and cons of self and traditional publishing. Each panel member discusses their experience with contracts, deals, cash advances and royalties. Also, some in-depth discussion on the when and why you would want to self-publish. Lastly, the panel talks about what is next with their publications.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- What it means to go to traditional publishing company
- Advance payments and royalties
- Limitation on book sales and ending royalties at the same time
- Translations of book sales
- Collaborative process
- Software develops should at least write one book
- Tradition publishing helps get the book completed and distributed.
- Help with including in different resources in the traditional route.
- Traditional publishing helps with editing, moving copies.
- The money made on self-publishing vs traditional
- Your book is a 300-page business card
- Price of book verse the knowledge inside
- Book sales coupons codes
- You don’t have to conform with traditional aspects with self-publishing
- and much more.
Links:
- kaidavis.com
Picks:
Jonathan
- SendOwl
- Tim Grawl
- How To Build Your First Productized Service
Kai
- Stock and Flow
- remark.io
Reuven
- Amazon ECHO
- My Heritage
Panel:
Reuven L.
Jonathan S.
Phillip M.
In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, Reuven follows up on a previous episode, episode 257, about a launch on a product by Reuven. The team centers their discussion around ideas that were executed well, things that could have been done better, and next steps post-launch.
Reuven gives a brief summary of the Python exercises or classes he turned into a subscription service. Reuven talks about his marketing strategy, and the audience he pitches this course to. The Freelancers talks about the many different areas of marketing and production building to launch a successful product.
In particular, we dive pretty deep on:
- Reuven talks about his subscription service, both on a monthly and annual billing model
- Some discussion about why followers unsubscribe
- How Reuven was promoting the course or subscription to the audience
- Reuven talks about how he uses tools like Zapier to help with the email marketing strategy.
- Tools used like Easy Digital Downloads or EDD.
- Issues with unsubscribes and PayPal.
- Phillip references FS 236 about building your own system for billing and possible issues.
- Reuven talks about issues with running a business outside of the US and using Stripe
- Freelancers talk about refunding.
- What is a healthy product?
- Getting more subscribers
- Writing a sales campaign email along with Drip automation to reach the email list
- Redoing the sales page to show customer testimonials
- Discussion about Python
Links:
- Zapier
- Easy Digital Downloads
- Stripe
- Drip
Picks:
Jonathan
- Make Money Online Podcast
- How To Build Your First Productized Service
Phillip
- Python Programming Language
Reuven
- Pycharm
- Sapiens: A Brief History of Human Kind
Tweet this Episode Branden Silva is the Executive Director of his agency Ambition. He helps his clients tell stories.
This episode dives into how to create a story around you and your business. Freelancers can use the tool of storytelling to impact culture and business. Branden guides the listener through shaping a story, the elements of the story, and how to connect with your audience.
Some of the areas we dig deep on in this episode are:
- Honing in your clients' stories and how to be a facilitator of the story
- How to uniquely position yourself and your process and inject them into their story.
- The structure of a good story. The form, the tension, the obstacles, etc.
- and much much more...
Links:
- The 100 Most Trusted People in America
Picks: Curtis:
- Has the Smartphone Destroyed a Generation?
Philip:
- Ira Glass Interview
Branden:
- Pixar Storytelling on Khan Academy
- His website
- His podcast (coming soon)
FS 261: Q&A This episode of The Freelancers’ Show features panelists Reuven Lerner and Jonathan Stark. They are answering questions from the audience. Tune in to hear their answers!
[00:01:15] When you sell someone an app or website, do you sell them a maintenance package with it?
Reuven does not. He charges by the hour. He would probably consider a monthly retainer. Jonathan thinks that for the typical freelancer, maintenance work is not highly profitable unless it is your main business. He calls it “janitorial work.” Developers do maintenance work because they think clients want them to. They think that because it only takes a couple hours a month it is something they can do.
What do you do when clients ask whom to call when something happens? Jonathan says he can’t help them but that he’ll put them in touch with someone who can. This may mean that he will put them in touch with a service provider or that he will train a junior developer internally who is capable of doing the work. If you are aware enough to recognize that when you sell someone a website build that they are probably going to need maintenance later, it can be an upfront guarantee or an option that you build into your proposal. Then you can give them a quote that includes bug free, guaranteed maintenance for a specific amount of time.
The ideal option for Reuven is to use a bug free guarantee as a differentiator between you and anyone else bidding on the job. This gives you a strong incentive to do a great job the first time around. An ideal for Jonathan would be to give the client a fixed price that’s high compared to hourly estimates. Give a guarantee that indicates quality, whether that’s a bug free guarantee or satisfaction guarantee.
[00:17:42] “Four Phases of Client Engagement”
Jonathan is not a fan of long-term developer employer relationships because he feels that they start to treat developers as employees. He references a blog post, the “Four Phases of Client Engagement,” which points out the four phases of engagement.
During the four phases, profitability is highest at the beginning phases and lowest at the end phases. It is easiest when doing a diagnostic because it is easy work for the developer and they earn a big profit while delivering value to the client. The four phases are:
- Diagnosis – This is where the problems or root causes are identified as XY and Z.
- Prescription – The stage where developers tell clients what to do about their problems.
- Application – Go and implement the plan. Most operate in this phase.
- Reapplication – The maintenance phase.
[00:22:10] What about businesses that offer specialized upgrades?
This is where the client finds himself or herself in a jam and needs help fixing a high-risk problem quick. There is a potential for a high profit to be made. If you have high risk combined with high urgency and your expertise overlaps with the problems that are there, this type of company can exist and make a high profit. In this situation, maintenance is not a goal.
[00:25:15] If I go to make a list of clients I enjoy working with and the list is empty, what do I do?
Reuven’s suggestion is that this person needs to find a different focus as well as different clients. Jonathan suggests picking a vertical. While this is easy conceptually, it can be hard to convince yourself that what feels like a risky decision is not. Jonathan suggests to look for where he has expertise. Find the common thread between his clients. Whether that is a vertical focus – a type of company - or a horizontal focus – a specific technology. He also suggests to look for a story to tell that could point them in a direction of expertise. There has to be a theme to his work. Find that and frame it to show value to potential clients.
[00:33:30] If a client asks me to do something that’s out of the scope of the project I’m working on for them, how do I politely say, I’d love to do that for you, but you’re going to have to pay for it?”
Software developers usually code. Extra work – such as sitting in on a meeting – that they may be asked to do is headwork, not handwork. This shows that the client trusts them, either through a relationship developed or through a conversation that was had about a particular expertise. If they are invited to a meeting, they should try to secure that opportunity. The wrong thing to do would be to ask for payment. At this point in the relationship, they still see you as a coder but are giving you an opportunity to affirm your value to their company. This is an opportunity to be promoted. Don’t act like a mercenary in this situation. Just go do it - even refuse if they offer to pay for your time. Act like it is a sales meeting. Deliver as much value as you can without doing homework. If it goes well, finish the meeting by saying that you have time to take this on and can write up a proposal. This shows them that you were happy to do them a professional courtesy but afterwards won’t take it further unless you get paid.
If you are an expert in the field you won’t be able to give away all of your knowledge on the subject in an hour. Taking the meeting gives them a taste of how it will be to work with you and why they should hire you. Getting leads is the toughest thing so you probably will not have more than one or two of these types of meetings a year. If you begin to have more meetings than that, consider road mapping. This is an opportunity to charge clients for something that they will appreciate and that is easy to do on your end. But it is changing your business.
[00:49:15] If I specialize on a vertical, how do I reuse code from client to client?
The general rule if you are writing code for someone is that your client owns the code. If you reuse the code, it could get you into legal trouble. There are ways that you can get around it. One way is to put in the contract with the client that you still own the code. This actually happens a lot. It can be structured in different ways. If you are modifying a library then that retains an Open Source license, so you still own the code. If you come into a project with your own libraries then those also still belong to you. Just make sure to always put it in your contract.
Picks Jonathan:
- Game of Thrones
- What's the Future
Reuven:
- The Good Fight (TV show)
- Drip's workflows
Links Four Phases of Client Engagement
FS 260: Ari Lamstein on Making Money From Open Source This week on The Freelancers’ Show the panelists are Philip Morgan, Curtis McHale, Jonathan Stark, and Reuven Lerner. Special guest Ari Lamstein is here to discuss how to make money from Open Source.
[00:02:05] Introduction to Ari
Ari is a trainer and consultant who specializes in teaching the R programming language. He wrote Chloroplethr, which is an R package that makes it easy to make Chloropleth maps in R.
[00:03:45] Chloroplethr
A presidential map is a chloropleth map that expresses value for states using just one color. Other things that can be measured using a chloropleth map would be population, disease rates, and unemployment rates. The package that Ari wrote makes it easy to write maps in the R language, which is why Chloroplethr is spelled as one word.
[00:05:26] How did you get into Open Source R?
Ari worked as a software engineer in San Francisco. In 2013 he discovered the R programming language while trying to figure out how to do analysis of data at the real estate company where he was working. All the company data had a spatial component to it. Charts were not enough to analyze this data because they were trying to understand geographic patterns. In 2013 R didn’t have the ability to do exactly what he wanted so he wrote his own package. In 2014 he released it to the R community.
[00:08:04] Where you doing this on your free time?
His company was very generous. During Innovation week, which happens once a quarter, he was able to choose a project to work on. He chose this and was able to do it both during Innovation weeks at work and free time.
[00:10:30] Monetizing Chloroplethr
On February 17, 2015 everything changed. 2013 he was Learning R, in 2014 he had the skills and it seemed like an open field. Scheduled to give a talk about Chloroplethr and he got an email at work saying he was laid off due to his company being acquired by another. He knew he had to figure out how to make money from Chloroplethr. In December he monetized Chloroplethr by self-publishing a course and made $3,500 during the launch. After that he got a training and consulting lead.
[00:14:05] Did you try other approaches to monetization along the way? Was the course the first stop?
Nothing worked as well as the course did.
[00:15:19] What other things did you try?
He closed blog posts asking for people to hire him in 2015. Now he tells customers he does not provide free support for Chloroplethr but tells them about a $49 bundle a month he sells.
[00:17:14] Not Offering Free Support
There are a lot of free opportunities in the R community; free programs are not hard to find. There is a split of what people in the R community think about not offering free support. Other experienced developers in the Open Source community want to learn how to monetize their own projects. There are also a lot of hobbyists. They are spoiled by having access to a lot of free stuff, so they have been vocal about not liking that they have to pay for support. It's been surprising for him.
It is good for market research. Unanswered stack overflow questions can show the opportunity that developers have in the Chloroplethr world. There is a high demand but no supply for expertise. It also points out the disparity between people taking action that involves paying money verses their need for that solution.
[00:39:30] If someone is starting from scratch and they had a project they wanted to monetize?
The best advice Ari got was from Nathan Barry’s book Authority. In the book is a marketing strategy called audience building. Ari recommends that developers create audiences based around their project. There are three tactics he recommends for how to monetize R packages. He created an acronym for these tactics: the Best Darn System (BDS) for monetizing an R package.
- B = Build an email list of people who are interested in your package.
- D = Deliver free training to your email list.
- S = Sell a training product to your list.
Ari explains the need for an email list is because of the need to be able to initiate contact with people. Even though Twitter is active for R developers, engagement rates for email are better than Twitter. People have a hard time believing it because they think email is spam. He tries to get people comfortable using email as a marketing channel.
The most popular thing he has done online is to create a free email course called “Learn to map census data in R.” The course teaches people how to use Chloroplethr how to map census data in R. He had 600 people sign up for the course in a few days.
[00:45:05] Do you regret not having made Chloroplethr commercial?
No. He feels it is one of the most interesting things he has done in his career and loves that the R community has so much free stuff. The only change he would make would be to know what he knows now about sales and marketing when he first started.
[00:47:20] Did you ever have your employer claim ownership of anything having to do with Chloroplethr?
Ari had to speak to his lawyer when he wanted to release Chloroplethr. The package system made it a special case. He had to file it under an Open Source license. The company’s lawyer wanted it to be under a BSD 3 license, which it was eventually released under. Ari’s employer owns the copywrite but the license is a BSD 3. That is unrelated to the product that was actually sold.
Picks Reuven:
- Raymond Hettinger's talk
Philip:
- Audio Technica Mic
- Bossjock Studio
Jonathan:
- Do the Work by Steven Pressfield
- www.caddyserver.com/pricing
Curtis:
- Dave Ramsey Podcast
- Total Money Makeover
- Profit First
Ari:
- http://www.censusmappingcourse.com
- Profitable Portfolio Blueprint
Links www.arilamstein.com
FS 259: Anthony English on Making a Radical Change in Positioning On this episode of the Freelancers’ Show panelists Jonathon Stark, Curtis McHale, Philip Morgan, and Reuven Lerner talk to special guest Anthony English. Anthony discusses making a radical change in positioning. Tune in to learn more about this topic!
[00:02:30] Introduction to Anthony
Anthony has an IT background working with mid-range systems. He has recently been transitioning into being a business coach.
[00:03:31] Who do you work with and what kind of advice do you give them?
Anthony works with people who are service professionals and highly technical but not necessarily in IT. They all share similar characteristics. They feel like they can’t sale, hate networking, and do not know how to translate their skills to clients.
The first advice he gives professionals is to stop talking about their technical skills to clients because it only takes seconds to prove to the client that they are expert in their field. The questions they should be focusing on instead are: why does the client care? What problem are you solving for them? Anthony says that professionals are taking customers from point A to point B. The client needs to see how you will get them there.
[00:14:50] How did you move from IT consulting to business coaching?
Anthony still works in IT a little but states that companies do not put money into upgrading them. He was working with big companies and through agents originally, but when he tried to go on his own people companies told him they were used to paying $40 an hour. This rate was outsourced to companies in India and they wanted him to match that price. Anthony was not able to do so. He thought he should learn different skill sets but then he read Jonathan’s tweet about coding being the least valuable part of your existence, which made him decide to go a different route.
Another reason was that he saw that business owners could be in different fields: there was no vertical. In talking to them he found out what their frustrations were quickly. This made him see that he could do that for service professionals and could teach them how to talk to their clients.
[00:17:45] Was there ever an advantage to being Australian? How did that work and change over time?
The size of the companies he works with have millions of dollars invested in outsource companies. He can’t have a conversation with them about that. The companies are frustrated and know it’s not working but they can’t change it.
[00:18:35] Is there an industry norm to use outsourced body shops?
There is an industry norm for the bigger companies such as banks. For smaller companies they could not see the value of doing anything other than keeping lights turned on.
[00:19:15] What was your first sign that your value was now diminished by other alternatives?
When Anthony actually worked in the business, there was a lot of nervousness from people who had been working in the industry for ten to fifteen years. He saw seemingly irreplaceable employees being replaced easily within a week, showing the dispensable nature of people. Also, people were trying to find any new work, even without knowledge of what they were doing. That is when he realized “the writing was on the wall.”
[00:23:00] How do you get clients to trust you?
Building trust happens fast. Anthony is not sure if it is his personality or a skill. LinkedIn has been a successful method with connected with clients for him. He has made it client focused instead of focused on his own skills. He changed his headline from “IT Specialist,” to “Business Coach. I’m going to get you better leads.” He has sent leads with pointed comments about what they are doing well. This has helped people respond very positively to him, wanting to connect.
[00:36:24] Has additional LinkedIn profile views led to more leads and more business?
Anthony’s LinkedIn profile views are up 50%: he has a larger number of people viewing his profile every week. It has given him more leads. It is too early in the process to know whether it has given him more business. He has found new businesses are connecting with him. It has led him to build many relationships.
Anthony makes a point to connect with point to reach out to connections of those people who like his posts. He sends personal comments along with invitations, who almost always respond to him.
[00:39:21] What kind of people use LinkedIn?
A large number of people do not check their profiles. Service professionals mostly use the social media platform.
[00:48:00] Understand Your Clients
Anthony’s advice to professionals is to worry less about tactics. Instead, learn to understand clients and how to sale. That is the Achilles heel for those with a technical audience. Anthony urges professionals to learn how to understand and talk the language of their clients.
Picks Jonathan
- iPad
- https://jake-jorgovan.com/blog/a-simple-hack-to-generate-more-leads-on-linkedin
Curtis
- All Weather Pen
Philip
- The Consulting Pipeline Podcast
Reuven
- Das Keyboard
- Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton's Doomed Campaign
Anthony
- trinityperspectives.com.au
FS 258: Positioning, Outcomes, and States of Market Awareness Panelists Philip Morgan, Jonathan Stark, and Reuven Lerner lead the discussion this week. They discuss Positioning, Outcomes, and States of Market Awareness. Tune in to learn more about these three topics!
What does this mean?
Jonathan explains the specifics of positioning outcomes by reading from an email he recently received. He talks about pitching to the wrong audience and using activities as key points instead of outcomes of the services offered. He uses the analogy of a website that sells drills and the headline. He points out that the headline on the website should not say, "So you need a drill?" Instead it should say, "So you need to hang a picture?" Sometimes buyers don't understand what outcomes a tool or service can provide and they are often looking for the outcomes. If they do not understand the tool, it's impossible for them to connect the availability of the tool to the outcome they are looking for. In some cases talking about the action or tool is valuable but in most cases, speaking in terms of how you are an input to a process helps sell.
Technology specialists are bad at positioning the outcome.
Many developers will sell themselves as developers with a particular language and results in commoditization. To sell yourself as an outlier, you have to talk about the business and outcomes of the work you do. Also, the life of specific technology can be short and selling yourself as an expert in a specific tech isn't as long lasting as selling yourself as someone who yields positive outcomes.
Timing of the Technology can come into play.
In some cases you'll want to describe yourself as a developer in a particular language or framework. If you notice a large demand for someone who is an expert developer for a language, then it would be appropriate to sell yourself as that person first and foremost. Many cases the employer isn't as concerned about the framework or language but is looking to have something done. Over time, emerging languages will create demand and over time will be in less demand.
States of Market Awareness
Knowing what your audience is thinking in terms of what they are looking for helps to position yourself correctly. The states of market awareness describes the different awareness types that you may be in regards to your understanding of what the audience is thinking and your audiences knowledge of your product. There are five states to market awareness.
First State – “Most Aware”
Describes the customer knowing of your product, knowing what it does, and knowing that they want it. For example, something like a telephone, broom, or an air conditioner falls under this category. Customers that are “most Aware” will spend time comparative shopping but mostly know what they are going to get. Many people will positions themselves as if the customer knows exactly what they need to solve their issue.
Second State – “Customer knows of your product but does not yet know they want it."
This describes awareness where marketing has successfully informed the client or customer what the product is but hasn't been told how well it does what it does. In some cases it's down to the conditions the customer is in. In those cases, something hasn't created a demand in their situation to want to approach this product.
Third State - "Knows or recognizes immediately what the problem is, but doesn't know that there is a product that fixes it."
Often a customer will have an issue, know it's an issue, and would want something to fix the issue, but doesn't know where to go to purchase that item or service. For example, a customer is running an ad campaign and knows that it is being run poorly, but the customer doesn't know whom to go to optimize it. Often this works out for the customer by either accidentally finding a solution or reaching out to find one. Finding someone who sells himself or herself as someone who solves that particular issue often creates an immediate connection. Sometimes with this state, the value of a diagnosis is as great if not greater than the service or product itself.
Fourth State - "The prospect does not have a desire but has a need."
This is when a person recognizes the need immediately and does not recognize the connection between the fulfillment of that need and your product. This is when a person does not know your product matches his needs.
Fifth State - "Is not aware of his desire or need or will not admit to it."
This category tends to be a red flag where the salesperson or marketing department spends most of his or her energy convincing the customer that they actually do want the product instead of the value of the product. The example of 'Pilling the dog' is brought up to illustrate the overall experience the customer or client has in this state of awareness. Often the salesperson or marketing will seemingly force their suggestion of need onto the customer and this generally leads to a bad experience.
Marketing Successfully
If you pitch to the wrong state of awareness your marketing will be ineffective. The customer won’t know or understand how to evaluate their problem. Software developers usually talk over customers’ heads. HR Departments can be the blame for it being difficult to know how to market to customers. Resumes are a form of marketing, which causes people to think of themselves in terms of feature lists.
More opportunity exists in a middle state of awareness. A consumer knows the problem but they have not decided upon the solution already. Talk about yourself less in terms of outcomes in order to be the most successful. There needs to be a target market you know you are selling to first. It is difficult to understand how what you do is important unless you know whom you are selling to. A question to ask is, “how would their business be worse if they didn’t hire you?”
Worth
Worth is not objective: it is always within a context. In order to know your worth, you have to know your audience. Who are you selling your craft or product to? The value of something is different to people. The example of a car is used. Someone may ask, “how much is this car worth?” But the question that really is being asked is, “How much am I likely to get from a dealer for this?”
The Gardener Hype Cycle
When a technology is brand new, there is an increase in excitement and interest. While there is excitement, there is no demand. This is depicted by an image of a hockey stick pointing up and to the right. It eventually peaks because of the earlier hype. Then, early expectations are seen as being hyperbole. Eventually, there is a bounce back and excitement stabilizes as it becomes a mature technology and is viewed as more realistic. While it bounces back, excitement doesn’t ever reach the peak of the initial hype.
Advice
Some advice to freelancers is to know where you are in the states of awareness, know your market, and the clients you are selling to. You should be good at your craft. But you should be cautious and know that it does not take you far. Being good is only part of the package. In order to be successful, have to have more than skills. Need to be current with your craft (keep up with new tools), improve the client’s condition, and have an ability to create change for your clients.
Picks Reuven:
Drip API
Philip:
"Breakthrough Advertising" by Eugene Schwartz
Jonathan:
The Expanse Series
FS 257 Reuven’s Launch On this episode of the Freelancers’ Show, Reuven Lerner discusses product launching. He is speaking on the topic just twelve hours before the launch of his newest product. Tune in to hear him speak on his history with products and hear his tips on getting ready to launch products.
[00:2:29] Background
Reuven has been trying to sell products online for years, meeting only medium success. The first product he tried to sell was an online course, which was a live Python course. A friend told him it would be tough to sell to people that he had never sold to before. This was an introduction to an idea called a product ladder. This is the idea that people who are happy with cheaper products will then move on to buy more expensive products: first need to build products up.
Reuven wrote an e-book titled Practice Makes Python because his students asked questions about what to do after his course was over. It sold a fair amount of copies. He then wrote another book called Practice Makes Regexp targeted towards helping people with regular expressions. He says that it’s “loathed” because people hate regular expressions. Offering a book based on a topic people hate was bad idea, so it sold badly. He also wrote Jewish Guide to Visiting China, which he calls a “labor of love.”
[00:05:56] What did I learn from all of these launches?
Reuven learned that you want to have a good product/market fit. You need to answer the question of whether people will find your product interesting enough to spend money on it. This requires that you do good market research, which can be referred to as a sales safari. Go online and see what problems people have that you can solve.
A personal problem he has had with launching products is that his value prospect was not high and he didn’t have a good idea of who he was marketing to. He was marketing to his email list, which were only a few hundred people at most. This is hard because only 10% of people at most will buy from you. The list was not targeted. He decided that if he was going to launch more projects, he needed to be more serious and change a few things.
[00:07:27] Things He Changed
He began emailing his list weekly. He said that people would only join a list if they see value in it. So he targeted his teaching for the weekly email to Python and came up with the idea to use the slogan “let’s become better developers.”
[00:10:00] Where do I get people for my list?
Reuven decided that he wanted to get people on his main list. It was suggested he should get an email course. He now has six to seven courses. At the end of them, he adds those people from class to his main list. He has a main drip campaign, which is called an evergreen campaign. Once you are signed up, you get issue number one, which is the first email he wrote. This is so if he fails a week behind, most people will get continue to get the email.
With product launches, you have to play a long game. In order to have a productive launch you need to plan it for six months to a year ahead of time so that you will have someone to sell to. His email list helps him in that way.
Reuven advertised his email courses on Facebook. It was expensive. He now has 2,000 more people. He considers it a worthy investment. His blog is linked to Planet Aggregators get up to an extra 8,000 people looking at blog posts. Using general Python world audience helped gain a bigger audience. He says that relying on one method doesn’t work well. Twitter cards and Buffer are two things he has not tried.
[00:15:28] After Growing His List
He wasn’t sure what to do next, so he surveyed his list via Survey Monkey. He asked what they would like to learn from him. He had an idea to have a weekly Python exercise where his followers would get emailed a question on one day and the answer later in the week. It surprised him when more than 80% of people wanted this option. He then set up a subscription through a website and drip campaign where Tuesday people got the question and Friday they got the answer. He finally decided to use easy digital downloads. He emailed his list and told them details, where he was shocked to find people replying and asking questions before he launched.
[00:28:15] How He Will Advertise His Launch
Reuven plans to email his list in order to inform them of coupons he is using. Ten people will get a meeting with him and 30% off. There is also another coupon that has a time limit on it. He explains that he can’t just pitch to his list; that is not enough. He plans to post to his blog, twitter, and Planet Python. He will use hash tags in order to make people aware. He will possibly post to Hacker News.
Then, he has to figure out how and who he will market his product to. Because he uses drip, he has people tagged as to what people have previously bought from him. This means he can customize what he sends to people by what they are more likely to buy from him.
Have to make sure there are more people coming in than going out. People decide they do not like Python anymore and are moving to another language, while some people just leave after a month or two. There will always be a constant flow in and out flow. Who do I market to and how is a question that he is still learning.
Picks:
Easy Digital Downloads https://easydigitaldownloads.com/
FS 256 Boundaries with Clients Today’s episode features a discussion centered on Boundaries with Clients. Philip, Jonathan, and Curtis explore how you set these boundaries for yourself. Tune in to find out what they have to say!
What boundaries do you have with clients?
Jonathan keeps Thursdays completely free to do things he enjoys even if they are concerning work. Curtis only does calls on Tuesdays.
Why have boundaries?
It eliminates and helps make decisions. For example, if a new client can’t do a call on Tuesday then Curtis knows he can’t work with them because they won’t be a good fit for each other. It protects the ability to get stuff done. If you have a do not disturb mode on your phone turned on, you can tune texts out from everyone and only receive important phone calls. A good book to read on the subject is Boundaries by Dr. Henry McCloud. When people want to schedule things, have to make sure it fits into your schedule. If it is an emergency you can make adjustments.
“You should be comfortable with saying no without a justification.”
Sometimes you can’t come up with a justification for saying no, so you just say yes. Philip’s life goal is to get to the point where you can say no without having a reason. If you have trouble saying no it’s always good to have an external reason why.
Problems with boundaries
Family and work life can be a hard balance. Part of putting family first is providing for them. Freelancers can easily become overwhelmed by work if they do not set boundaries. Because of your clients out number family, demands are made continually and you feel you have to comply because work is by the hour. Some say “I am putting family first by working.”
It is easy to draw boundaries if there’s no cost or personal trade off associated with it. If you wouldn’t give up anything by having a boundary, there’s no reason to make one. If something is not a temptation resisting it doesn’t make you a virtuous person.
It is harder to say no to people the closer they are to you. It is harder to say no to a long-term client than a prospective client. Jonathan doesn’t have a harder time saying no to clients than family or friends. This is because he only works with people he likes. If you don’t control your life, someone else will. People will put demands on your life until you don’t have any time left.
Goals
The goal for clients should be to produce the best product you can for them. In order to do so, you have to work within boundaries. Clients should understand your schedule; if they do they will rework theirs if you will be most productive for them at a certain time. It is obvious if you’re overworked. If this happens you need to say no, force yourself to be more intentional with your time, and slow down.
Discipline
Boundaries can look like discipline. Mostly need to discipline yourself: have to be careful with the schedule that you create, including at home. There is a need to be conscious enough to know the warning signs of needing more discipline. For some, twitter is a warning sign. Discipline can look like deleting twitter off of your phone.
Productivity
A lack of discipline in fear response is business but not productivity. This happens when you feel like you need to do something but are not doing anything productive. When this happens you need to do something more effective. This could mean you need to stop having coffee meetings with people if it’s not working. Email and social media make you look like you’re doing something but it’s not a good use of time. There’s a difference between effective and productive work. Effective work shows you did something. It distracts you from work you should be doing.
It takes time to learn discipline and boundaries. You should have a long-term vision of where you are going. There are other blueprints out there but someone else’s blueprints are not going to work for you.
Picks
Jonathan
https://www.satchel-page.com/products/mailbag
Curtis
Boundaries: https://curtismchale.ca/recommends/boundaries/
Deep Work: https://curtismchale.ca/recommends/deep-work/
Philip
Send a handwritten card to somebody and watch them be blown away!
Fairness in Pricing Do you have questions about fairness in pricing? This episode features a discussion of this topic between Jonathan Stark, Curtis McHale, Philip Morgan, and Reuven Lerner. Tune in to learn more!
Do you think it’s fair for someone to charge you more for a product than they charge other people? Reuven’s answer is that it is fair, but annoying. He wants to feel as if he has gotten a good deal, which is based on price for him. It’s fair to charge different people different prices, but he wants it to be to his advantage. Jonathan’s take on this is that people are bad at absolute value. Is thing worth X? He argues that value should not be based on price, but instead on value. He does not believe that the word fair can be applied to pricing at all. Curtis suggests some people equate fairness and value. He buys locally and will pay more sometimes at local stores, because he sees value in that. This is called the “feel good feeling.” Philip describes that he has two decision-making skills when it comes to price. The first is that money is not infinitely available, which he dislikes sometimes because he feels like it holds him back. Then there’s a no brainer category where if something has value to him, he doesn’t compare price. But he does have a threshold where he refuses to overpay, much like Reuven. ####How do you calculate overpay? Philip suggests that there’s a feeling that he can figure out what the lowest price that a product sometimes gets sold for is and what overpaying would be for that product. Jonathan doesn’t compare the price he is given to what other people spend on the same product. He personally determines the value that he will get out of the product. Philip suggests that the value depends on situation. Jonathan, who says that it has no value to him so he will not pay much for it, gives an example of a screwdriver. He still won’t shop around to find the cheapest one – just the cheapest one for him. ####Two Types of Consumers: Maximizer and Satisfier Curtis explains the difference between the two different types of consumers. A maximizer has to find the best price no matter what. For instance, if they buy a pair of jeans but then see a cheaper pair of jeans, then the value of the purchase made decreases. A satisfier has the mindset that if he finds a product that is cheap enough for them, they don’t think about the purchase again. Jonathan has never heard of these terms before, but based on the descriptions, these are the two types of people he hears from through emails.
Why does this topic matter? Because, as freelancers, you will set prices for products and services so there is a need to be aware that those two camps exist. Jonathan thinks the best clients are the ones not looking for the cheapest price, which are the satisfiers. He calls these the value shoppers because they are looking for the best product. Curtis agrees that maximizers create the “race to zero” – they lower your price quickly. One group of people will be angry no matter how you sell, so just pick how you are going to do it and stick to that path.
Can you sell to both groups? Reuven believes that you can sell to both groups although it is challenging. He doesn’t believe many have the luxury of choosing what types of clients they work with yet. The proposed solution is to create a monopoly of a market of one; to differentiate yourself so there’s no other business to compare yours to.
Philip suggests that pricing is a big part of the overall positioning of products. There are low-end and high-end brands that are controlled by price differentiations. He uses BMW as an example. They couldn’t drop the price to $20,000 all of a sudden. Consumers would not be happy because it would no longer be a status symbol or a high-end brand.
Value-pricing It will be difficult to do value pricing well if you believe that there is fairness in pricing. While there is no scientific evidence to support this belief, Jonathan sites that his experience from clients has informed this belief. There appears to be a correlation between people who believe in fairness in pricing and their ability to value price. Because these people believe they are being unfair with their prices, they lower their prices, which make it tough for them to make money. He suggests for these people to attempt to offer products as services instead and establish set prices. This pricing point may be a better fit for these types of people’s personalities. ####Relationship between the price set for something and your brand. Philip tells a story about a Hi-Fi Man, a Chinese company that makes headphones. They made headphones in the one to two thousand dollar range. The quality was known as less than what you paid by people when they first came out. In the last six months, they introduced a product priced at six thousand dollars. The reaction from people was very negative. There is a relationship between brand and a company that can justify a price - they couldn’t. Questions are asked when this happens.
What does this mean for freelancers? Some freelancers decide they are going to price every service as the same thing out of fairness to their clients. But it wouldn’t be nice or fair to charge different clients different amounts of money for the same work. Every client wants a different result. Hourly billing is bad for everyone. People should set prices they are comfortable with selling to their clients. They should be self-aware of their pricing and know what kind of buyers they want to attract.
Picks Curtis Are you a satisficer or a Maximizer
Jonathan Leviathan Wakes
Phillip My Dad Wrote a Porno Podcast
Reuven How Online Shopping Makes Suckers of Us All
The Impossible State: North Korea, Past and Future
Building Better Training Exercises On today’s episode, Philip Morgan and Reuven Lerner discuss Building Better Training Exercises. Reuven Lerner provides insight on how he creates and makes training more effective through the use of exercises.
How can you make your training more effective by giving good exercises and questions for people to learn from? Reuven thinks that it is ineffective to teach people simply through lectures. He says that people will not remember what was said long term because they will not internalize the material. Having people do things can combat this; in other words have them do exercises throughout training in order to help them retain information.
How many and what types of exercises should they do? Exercises should be a good balance of easy and hard. They should be interesting and amusing, but also effective and stick with your audience. Reuven says that this is a hard balance to reach and takes time but is well worth the effort. In his experience, students learn and appreciate this more.
Ways We Think About Learning A typical teacher talks the entire class. During this time, students may listen and get the information taught while in the classroom. But after class, they lose a good majority of the material.
Reuven discusses Jean Piaget, a psychologist, who studied children to research how people learn. His theory is that people do not learn by hearing things. Instead, they construct their own knowledge through teaching themselves. His theory states that children are like scientists - they’re constantly doing experiments and trying new things. Reuven, like Piaget, is a constructivist - he believes people should create their own knowledge. Another person discussed is Seymour Papert who studied under Piaget. He was a mathematician who looked at how people learn efficiently. He agreed with Piaget; that people create their own knowledge. The best way is to create something that is of value to them. Talking to people isn’t going to teach them; having them do things they’re interested in will. Provoking them to think is the best way to accomplish this method.
Reueven’s goal in training is to maximize the doing and creating new things. His personal balance is that he does 30% exercises and 70% lecture/discussion. He is constantly experimenting with exercises to see what works.
Can exercise be too granular? Exercise can never be too granular; can never be too simple. He has discovered during his time teaching that the simpler the exercises are, the more people feel they are being taught.
How do you order exercises? Do you sequence or order them in some way? Typically structured so that exercises follow each new topic. For example, introduce Topic A, and then do Exercise A. Then within topics he gives multiple exercises that build on each other.
How do you help people interpret what/if they did something wrong? Reuven simply says that he doesn’t. His solution walks them through the answer step by step, which should teach them the technique they are learning. He does what is called a “think aloud,” which helps students understand not just the content, but also the process it takes to get to the content. In his email courses, he follows up by asking how the students did and what answer they got.
How could you define prerequisites so that people don’t lie or misinterpret what advanced means? There are problems with this in certain places. In order to combat this Reuven suggests using a pre-class survey. He sends this to participants of his classes in advance in order to gauge what topics need to be taught. This way he has something to show the training manager if they are to say that people complained the course was too basic.
How do you come up with a new exercise? Hitting the sweet spot between easy and hard is hard. The first time you do an exercise it usually fails. So try to make topics relevant to their lives. The smaller and easily graspable the concept is, the better. There are three popular exercises that work. One is the “monkey see-monkey do” exercise. First, I’ll do it and then you’ll do it also. The second is to take something people know and then re-implement it. Third is to do longer projects that build on themselves. Philip agrees with Reuven – he usually starts with most basic problems and builds from there. He states that this is because people do it in the real world.
Can you think of any exercises that a trainer could try himself or herself where they might develop some skills? Reuven suggests people speak at conferences, local user groups, or do webinars. Each of those are great opportunities to try out material. Will help understand where people have questions. Philip agrees that people should start small. This means speaking at webinars and venues where you can be the person who’s teaching.
Picks Phillip Stainless Steel USB Cables
Reuven Music for Makers
Trainerweekly.com
Weekly Python Exercise
Tech Training Group on Facebook
Getting Started in a New Niche Philip Morgan and Rueven Lerner lead this week's podcast. They discuss Getting Started in a New Niche. Listen to learn more!
The problem, who does it affect, why should we worry about it?
The problem: You can have a focus, validate that it is good, be excited about it, and still feel held back by not having proof that you are a low-risk choice because you have never done work in that area of focus. So the problem is how do you change your focus; how do you start something new if you have no proven track record?
The who: Everybody at some point in their career; everybody who is trying to make a change in their business.
How to tackle this from a marketing perspective
There are three options that are proposed if a company wants to see your work.
- Compromise
Alan Weiss says that if someone raises an objection when you are speaking with him or her in a sales conversation, it means they are interested. People only raise objections if they are interested in what you are saying; it means you have their attention. It's a good sign - they're listening and you have their attention. If you have a company’s attention, offer a case study discount. Tell them that you will reduce your price for them because you know it is a little bit of a risk for them because you have no proven track record, but it isn’t a big risk otherwise you wouldn’t propose it. This can also be an important lesson about discounting; you are exchanging a discount now to get new clients later on. Short-term cash for long-term success.
- Adapt existing proof.
Proof could be case studies, testimonials, examples of previous work, or a testimonial from previous clients or professors. You should look for opportunities to adapt any existing proof so that it works for your new market vertical focus. Focus on your ability to mitigate risk, solve problems, and help influence outcomes in a positive way because all of these are constants.
- Produce content marketing that focuses on the problems of the market and how you would address them.
Five Examples of Problem Solving
- A Tear Down
This is where you go to relevant companies or their websites, and research what they are doing well and why. This helps people understand what is going on behind the scenes. It is easy to do and takes a little preparation. It benefits you because it helps you to learn more about your client.
- Interviews
Demonstrates that you are interested. You put in a lot of effort: plan, schedule, execute, publish, and edit interviews with people who are in the space. It demonstrates to clients that you're applying your intelligence in a way that can be very profitable for that potential client. It also shows you can get people interested.
- Educational resource center
This is a cohesive collection of content online that focuses on a single theme. This is easy to do and can link to someone else's content within context.
- Create an email course describing the process you would use to work with the client
This is not "a shell game," it is not saying that you have more domain knowledge than you really do. It reassures clients that they aren't about to throw away their money.
- List
Curate other people's content and link to it in a weekly email and/or send a simple tip each week. Keep the emails very short. They should be 200 words tops. This will contribute to your learning and will increase the familiarity of people who are on your email list, which will help marketing.
Showing up
This has a subtle but powerful effect on people. It flatters people when you take an interest in what they are interested in and they take notice if you don't have experience. Gets your foot in the door.
Picks:
Reuven:
https://letsencrypt.org/
*Philip:*
Techflex: (https://www.techflex.com/)
(http://www.useronboard.com/)
List of resource centers:
https://philipmorganconsulting.com/what-is-an-educational-resource-center/
Brent Weaver on Sales Process On todays episode Phillip and Jonathan chat with Brent Weaver, founder and CEO of UGurus.com. Hear a bit about how Brent started UGurus to help people build their digital agency companies and to offer online courses as well as a bit about his ups and downs running his own digital agency company. Tune in to check it out!
How did UGuru get started? Brent talks about a company he ran before UGurus called Business Catalyst and how how he took that companies idea and expanded it to a wider audience of digital agency owners. This expanded version was the starting of UGurus. Brent had ran a digital agency for 12 years starting in high school. He talks about getting into making websites and made a website that had overhead in server costs and so he needed to find a way to cover those costs. He started telling people he could make websites, with his first being a $500 job that took him a couple days. This job inspired him to quit his day job. He created a company with a friend and to their surprise the business made it for a long time. In 2005 they made the business their full time business.
As a passion driven skills based entrepreneur, did you ever dislike the sales part? Brent talks about how he likes working on cool projects with cool people, and it takes selling it to be a part of that. He looks back at his first big pitch, and despite being a natural born salesperson it didn’t go so well. He adds that it was mainly due to a lack of experience as a sales person. He talks about how he didn’t learn the client before getting there and that being a major factor. After being told they didn’t get the job, they went out for drinks and discussed the business as a whole and its viability. It took years of experience to reflect what went wrong during the pitch. It wasn’t until years later that he learned a better sales discovery process. Cold calling and talking about your product doesn’t give the potential customer a chance to talk about their needs and to create a real connection with the salesperson.
What are the top things you’d recommend for someone about to do a pitch? Brent talks about coming in with no expectations and being ready to ask questions. The best clients are clients you understands well and those clients often will connect with you in a way that you can continue to do work over time. Getting them to talk about themselves is key. Also, spend at least the same amount of time preparing as you do pitching, learning about who the client was. Learning about them and their industry informs the questions you ask them. Find what the essence of why they are looking for your work in the first place. If there are multiple people in the room, they may all have varying ideas on what the work should do and how it’s important. Sometimes you will need to mediate their own conversation as well. Adding your experience to that facilitation can sometime highlight the reasons they need you and reinforce your value. Sometimes it’s about not having the questions ahead of time and learning them while being there. As a salesperson, if you can get into a consulting range and help create a high value impact in their organization it’s a good position to be in. Jonathan adds that many times when someone calls in a salesperson or consultant and starts to ‘brain-dump’ their issues, it in many cases is because they feel like they are in over their head.
“Never Say ‘WordPress’ When Selling a Web Design Project.” Brent talks about writing a post called “Never Say Wordpress When Selling a Web Design Project” and how many clients would self diagnose their situation. He would often have clients come to him and ask him to work on a project and for him to use Wordpress. He would help them dig in to find out if WordPress is actually what they need. Often times their issue isn’t fully understood and many times their solution isn’t actually fitting to the issue. This leaves a good opportunity to sell what services you offer that better fits the issue anyway.
What was your decision making process like when needing help or needing to pivot? Brent tells how they had a really nice office and the office was a bit more expensive than they could handle so eventually they reached a point where they had to borrow money to keep the lights on. A client of theirs offered to help them professionally to bring their business back to their feet. They went out to lunch and they doubled their revenue in the 12 months following the conversation and the advice. His advice was around focusing on what was important and what wasn’t. Brent started tracking his time and found out that much of his time was spent on unbilled support and training and busy work. This drained his time as well as his energy. He hired someone else to handle the type of work that ate up his time. With his extra time and energy he repositioned himself in sales. He partner suggested that he ‘divide and conquer’ by splitting up work into focused jobs, making his new job focused on sales. He also would bring in consultants when he met anyone who was smart in a field that was useful to the business. Simply asking “what can I do better?” He took on consultants for 5 years whenever he could. That process doubled his revenue in the course of a year and allowed him to sell the company with a successful exit.
Sales vs Persuasion Sales generally needs a level of persuasion, and it may sometimes look like manipulation, but if the client needs something, be it an item to service, it’s a positive persuasion. He adds that you absolutely cannot make the “Sales Salad” without the “Persuasion Sauce”. Persuasion is part of non-sales consulting relationships as well. Jonathan adds that If someone pays you to coach them, it’s your job to persuade them into action. Persuasion tends to have a negative connotation but sometimes it should just be seen as inspiring. If a client hires you to help them, they are looking for your expertise and your guidance. Brent talks about the sales person leading the process with confidence, starts with the first interaction. The sales meeting is a trial process, if they are hard to work with in the meeting you learn that they may be hard to work with over time. If you can hold a meeting and they follow the sales leading process you know that they can be a great client. If a client pushes you around during the sales process, expect them to push around when you’re working on the project.
Confidence as a Salesperson r a Freelancer. Phillip ask Brent how he has built confidence and has reached a point where he feels strongly about his ability to get work and do the work. Brent says that it’s important to know a process that works or at least be familiar. He talks about having a few processes he offers as courses. He sold it for a few years and would call those customers back to get feedback. For the people who finished it, many of them needed to tweak the course for it to work for them. Brent talks about how that always bothered and that his customers that bought the course didn’t get the that level of confidence. So he decided to offer a video course and weekly calls, with the goals of having the customer getting their first $10,000 in 12 weeks. In 2014 he launched their 10K bootcamp program to do just that. With the bootcamp, there was a 96% completion. He adds that the person to person interaction is very important. He also talks about having methods of accountability and some basic coaching about the person’s core beliefs. Often people believe that their work is not worth the money, or that the work they are offering is a commodity that can be bought cheaply anywhere. He adds that those sort of beliefs tend to be on a personal level and take some personal coaching to get past. When you beliefs change, confidence is the result.
What do you recommend for attracting the right clients? Brent talks about how the way you generate leads is important to creating the right kind of pool of clients. Leads come from your own actions and depending on those actions is where your clients come from. Brent talks about once having a mix of good clients and bad clients and going through the whole pool to figure out where those leads came from. He found that there were certain things that he did that lead him to having good clients as well as certain things he did that generally led to clients without money. For example, picking up business from a new business incubator meeting generally leads to clients without money. To illustrate he gives an example of a business that makes $50,000 annual revenue. If that business follows the Small Business Administration guidelines, they will spent 8% to 9% annual revenue for marketing and so they will have roughly $3500 for a budget for the whole year. If that is your client, the economics are against you. Chances are that client will never give you a $20,000 project, and if they do, they will be high maintenance and hard to work with. Brent gives a comparing example with one of the previous clients he worked with being a 150 million dollar a year company. Their concerns weren’t focused on the budget, but the project itself. If you want those kind of clients, you have to ask yourself, “Where do these people hangout?” You may not know the answer but asking and trying to figure it out will be a good way to start finding better clients.
“Carrying your own Bag.” Brent adds as a last piece of advice to find the people you you want emulate and create businesses like and reach out to them. Reaching out to those people and trying to create connections to those people can yield more responses than you expect and has been a vital part of his success.
Picks
Brent
$200 course on sales for free
Jonathan
Cashflow podcasting episode with Jonathan Fighting Butterflies Article
Phillip
Dev Shop Marketing Briefings - Pia Silva interview
Links ugurus.com Email Brent
Curtis, Philip and Jonathan answer some questions they have from listeners. Among them are questions about competition, team management, and dealing with clients. Tune in to Listener Q & A! They just might have answered one of your concerns, too.
On today's episode, Curtis and Jonathan discuss Getting Started with Facebook Ads with Mojca Mars. Based at Sienna, Europe, Mojca is a Facebook Advertisement Expert, author, and speaker. She is focused on helping businesses generate more leads and increase their sales using Facebook advertising strategy. Tune in to learn more!
Today's episode features Choosing Content Marketing Topics. Content marketing is everywhere. It helps boost a startup's reputation, and encourages meaningful content in the community. But, what does it typically requires? How can someone go about choosing topics? Tune in!
On today's episode, Curtis and Reuven discuss Increasing Monthly Revenue with Jason Resnick. Jason is a web developer, freelancer, and consultant. He specializes in establishing e-commerce businesses, aiming to help entrepreneurs and freelancers increase their sales by strategies and implementations. Tune in to learn more how to increase your monthly revenue 10 times in 6 months!
On today's episode, Philip, Jonathan, and Curtis discuss about Working with Designers without Wanting to Kill Them with James Stone. James is a Design Systems Engineer, and is top contributor to the open source ZURB Foundation. He also teaches at Penn State University. Tune in!
“I've had experiences in the past where I've worked, where a designer would be so caught up with their idea in a design that they'll just root for it and push it through no matter what the cost. Sometimes that ends up being a lot more engineering time to accomplish more less the same thing.” -James Stone
How do you get better? Philip, Jonathan, and Reuven have been consulting for some time already. At present, they think about how they can improve and receive feedback on their work. Tune in to episode 246 of the Freelancers' Show as they discuss about continuous improvement!
On today's episode of the Freelancers' Show, Philip and Reuven discuss Getting Started in Consulting with Bob Zeidman. Bob is the founder and president of Zeidman Consulting. He has been in the consulting industry for around 15 years, and specializes in intellectual property and software forensics. Tune in to this fascinating talk!
On today's episode of the Freelancers' Show, Curtis and Philip discuss Money Management for Freelancers with Luke Frye. Luke co-founded Timber Tax, which helps freelancers and consultants on tax compliance and planning.
He is among the first accountants at Bench.co, and appreciates the lifestyle and opportunities of working independently. Freelancers, tune in for some classic insights on taxes. Know and understand what you need to fully enjoy your pay!
On today's episode of the Freelancers' Show, Curtis, Philip, Jonathan, and Reuven discuss Rusty Screws. Tune in and discover what the episode is all about and how they connect Philip's experience to hiring freelancers.
On today's episode of the Freelancers' Show, Jonathan and Reuven discuss How to Fire Bad Clients with Erin Flynn. Erin is a web designer and developer. She is, however, more popular in helping fellow designers and developers to run their businesses better as well as to communicate well with clients. Listen and learn how to identify bad clients and how to deal with them properly!
On episode 238 of The Freelancers Show, Jonathan Stark and Reuven Lerner discuss how you can increase your online presence by Building Your Audiencewith the use of newsletters and lists. Listen to the podcast to learn how!
On today's episode of The Freelancers' Show, Philip Morgan, Curtis McHale, Jonathan Stark, and Reuven Lerner discuss Productized Service Buildup with Nathan Lee. Nathan is an expert software developer, who has been in the industry for more than 15 years. Tune in and learn about his unique offerings now as freelance developer!
Today's episode of the Freelancer's Show is hosted by Phillip Morgan and Reuven Lerner. Phillip and Reuven discuss Preparing Your Online Course.
Phillip thinks that one of the best things he has done for his online business is adding low-priced products to the mix. It's important to not be 100% reliant upon services.
Jonathan Stark, Philip Morgan and Reuven Lerner welcome this week's special guest Curtis McHale. Curtis is a marketing expert that specializes in the technical market. Today, the Freelancers discuss what it takes to market your technical online business in Curtis McHale On...
On episode 236 of The Freelancers Show, Jonathan Stark, Philip Morgan, and Reuven Lerner discuss about how you can have Your First Digital Product. Tune in, and learn what it is and how it allows you to earn while you sleep.
On episode 235 of The Freelancers Show, Jonathan Stark talks about The Difference Between Menu Pricing and Product Services. This episode is a follow-up to the previous one on productized services. Stay tuned and learn more about today's topic.
Introduction
- Productized services
- Definition
9:50: Copywriting
- Understand the problem your service solves.
- Pricing
15:30: Testing with productized service
- Draft
- Ethercycle
- Website Teardowns (Kai Davis and Kurt Elster)
19:30: Mobile Onboarding
- Blair Enns
28:30: Freelancers just starting out
- Hourly billing
- Screening out clients
- Website Rescue
38:10: Word of mouth
- Part of marketing
- Niches
- Expensiveproblem.com
45:50: Downsides to productized services
- Pricing
- Start small
- Low level of collaboration
- Minimize risk
- Give options
Picks: Building the Perfect Sales Page (Jonathan)
Internet Archive Wayback Machine (Philip)
Examples of Productized Services:
-
https://draft.nu/revise/
-
http://websiterescues.com/
-
https://doubleyouraudience.com/pricing/outreach/
-
https://memberup.co/membership-roadmap/
-
http://sessions.superspicymedia.com/
-
http://uibreakfast.com/services/
hired.com/freelancershow
Introduction
- The Indecisive Carpenter
- You be the expert.
4:15: Communication
- Set goals for the project with the client.
- Don’t ask the customer’s opinion.
9:15: Staff augmentation
- Behaving as an employee
- Become a consultant or advisor instead.
16:20: Consultant vs. employee
- Ron Baker
- Expertise translates into advice.
21:30: Client wants to be involved more.
- Run any request past the business case.
- Keep the project on course.
30:00: Target businesses without your capabilities in-house.
- Do more than just your craft.
- Ask the right questions.
- Establish yourself as an expert.
39:40: Maximize your profit.
- Not just revenue.
- Don’t give away your knowledge for free.
- Value is contextually defined.
45:45: What to say to clients.
- Find out the business goal.
- Communicate about progress.
- Ask for more information about customers.
Picks: Mike Monteiro Keynote (Jonathan)
Shard Keychain Tool (Jonathan)
Design Is a Job (Philip)
Start With No (Philip)
How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big (Reuven)
hired.com/freelancershow
1:01 Protecting yourself from “scope-creep” and unending revisions
- Measuring progress and clear communication
10:47 Freelancing without dealing with invoices and collecting payments
- Working with an agency or permanent employer
18:24 First step to launching a career as a freelance web developer
- Positioning yourself in the market and identifying your customer niche
25:58 Choosing programming skills that will be the most valuable as a freelancer
- Skills with broad range and flexibility
34:10 Feeling intimidated by freelance job listings
- Identifying poorly defined projects and not being afraid to ask questions
48:42 Freelancing as an expat
- Tax considerations
Hired.com
CashFly
00:30 Chuck leaving the show
1:18 Introducing the topic: Knowing when to move on
5:40 Leaving a successful podcast
15:11 Deciding when to move on
19:19 Being spread too thin versus being effective
22:54 Improving workflow
25:30 Chuck’s focus on online conferences
28:30 Overcoming resistance to change in business
30:05: Getting through lean times
33:22 Hiring help and outsourcing tasks
35:09 Future of DevChat.tv podcasts
Picks: Selling to Big Companies by Jill Konrath (Reuven)
Soundbreaking on PBS (Philip)
This American Life: Quitting (Philip)
Philip Morgan - Retired page (Philip)
2017 Wall Calendar - Neuyear.net (Charles)
Amazon Echo Dot (Charles)
Hired.com
Introduction
- How to differentiate yourself from the crowd
- When you’re not the cheapest option
- Fungibility
6:00: It has to matter to your client.
- Different differentiations for each client
8:50: Marketing and customizing your proposal
- Figure out who your competitors are
- Niche down on a specialty or target market
15:40: What are you offering that others aren’t?
- Training
- Tangible and intangible benefits
20:20: Developing a compelling value proposition
- Eight ways to add more value
22:00 Back it up with proof
- Credibility is critical
- Illusory superiority bias
27:00: Six categories of differentiators
- Predictable cost
- Risk mitigation
- Concierge service
- Vertical specialization
- Urgent service
- Shared worldview
32:15: Commoditization
- Be choosy
- Be passionate
- Use trial and error
42:15: Freelancing vs consulting
- Different mindsets
- Work your way up
- Let your differentiation develop over time
Picks:
Save to Google Drive (Philip)
Scanbot (Philip)
Google Keep (Jonathan)
Expensiveproblem.com/18 (Jonathan)
Thanksgiving (Jonathan)
Clean Master (Reuven)
0:20 What is everyone working on?
- Hourly Billing is Nuts
- Deadline Funnel
- Conferences
- The Eventual Millionaire
5:00: Questions to ask on a Greenfield project
- Bootstrap
- Phoenix
- Elixir
- Open Source
15:45: How to write cover letters and earn clients
- Upwork
- Conferences
- Apprentice model
- Setting the price
- Writing the cover letter
- Redmine
- The Apprenticeship Patterns by Dave Hoover
- Scott Hanselman iPhreaks episode
37:00: What to do if you have no employed experience
- Don’t lie
- Get LinkedIn endorsements
- GitHub
- Stack Overflow
- About.me
Links: Hired.com
Introduction
- FreelanceRemoteConf
- Content marketing that does not involve the written word
4:30: What Is Content Marketing?
- Showing expertise
- Helping people
- Providing value
6:20: Podcasting
- Screencast
- Creating a Twitter Clone
10:30: Missing out on client work?
- Ruby on Rails
- “Giving away the farm.”
16:40: Highly scripted video
- UberConference
- John Sonmez
22:00: Casual video or audio
- Facebook Live
- Aaron Walker
- Facebook community
- YouTube Live
- Fullscope.tv
- Publish on a consistent schedule
34:45: Case Studies
- YouTube or Google Hangouts
39:50: Practicalities
- Search engine rankings
- Transcription services
- Comparing yourself to others
47:50: Infographics
Picks:
Ditching Hourly (Reuven)
Limony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (Reuven)
Rev.com (Philip)
Trustvelocity.com (Philip)
Born to Win by Zig Ziglar (Charles)
Mindmup.com (Charles)
devchat.tv/conferences (Charles)
1:00: Introduction
- Anna Sabramowicz
- Putting together online courses
3:05: Marketing
5:00: What to put in the course
- What problems do you solve?
9:00: What type of course?
- Email (Paid or Free)
- Video
- Joe Rogan podcast
- Webinars
- HeadsUp app
24:00: Data testing
- Positioning
- Ask the right questions
38:30: Tools
- Start small
- Teachable.com
- Drip
45:30: Be a student
- Create an outline
Picks Weekly newsletters (Reuven)
Lerner Consulting (Reuven)
Ikea New Cordless Milk Frother Handheld Cappuccino Latte Espresso (Jonathan)
Ditchinghourly.com (Jonathan)
Deadline Funnel (Philip)
Ringr (Philip)
Webinar Jam (Charles)
Presentation Clicker (Charles)
Firewatch (Anna)
Papers, Please (Anna)
Mark’s Daily Apple (Anna)
Hired.com
1:00 Topic Introduction: Podcasting for Freelancers
- All panelists have a podcast
2:00 Why start a podcast?
- Building trust
- Getting to know you
- Portability
6:30 Benefits over video
- Less to get in the way of the message
- Simpler to put together
- Defining the purpose
- Different type of call to action
15:15: Getting listeners to return to the podcast
- Picks
- Marketing, display advertising, brand advertising
- Podcast Motor
22:45: Podcasting as a self-referral
- Podcasting to peers vs. to clients
- 100 Most Trusted People in America (Reader’s Digest)
26:20: What to talk about
- Define your audience
- Specific questions to ask
- Experiment
- Pick something you’re excited about
39:00: What if podcasting for your peers is not working?
- Monetizing
- Outreach
46:30: Making your content interesting
- Format
- Personality and preferences
- Make sure you’re having fun
- Pick a focus
- Making the execution the product
Picks:
Ditching Hourly podcast (Jonathan)
Todd Tresidder on Double Your Freelancing (Jonathan)
Stripped, Macy Gray (Philip)
The Online Photographer: 1000 Fans (Philip)
Podcast Answer Man (Charles)
Podcasting A to Z (Charles)
12 Week Year (Charles)
Freelance Remote Conf for 2017 (Charles)
Hired.com
1:00: How do I get good freelance gigs online?
- Solve a problem or find a better platform
- Get a more positive mindset
- Ask insightful questions
- Look for hidden opportunities
10:30: Customer discovery and roadmapping
- Brennan Dunn course on roadmapping
- Jonathan Stark: Why questions
11:50: Cold outreach
- “Are you the right person to talk to?”
- Look them up (LinkedIn, Google, GitHub)
- Come in with prior knowledge
- Know personal info
- Selling To Big Companies by Jill Konrath
24:15: Accepting profit-share as a retainer
- You’re becoming an investor
- Blended cash compensation
31:30: Updates
- PositioningCrashCourse.com
- Paul Jarvis
- Rails Remote Conf
- How to Hire a Part-Time Employee
- Entreprogrammers.com
Picks:
- Selling To Big Companies by Jill Konrath
- How to Hire a Part-Time Employee
- The 12-Week Year
0:45: Introductions
- Freelance Remote Conf
- Drew McLellan
- Agency Management Institute
2:40: Building an Agency
- Adding employees
- Traditional vs 1099 model
7:30: Where you’re spending your time
- Running the business vs. doing your craft
- Risks of agency vs. risks of freelancing
- Mistakes agency-owners make
11:00: Financial metrics
- 55% salaries, 25% overhead, 20% profit
- Smart hiring
18:40: Freelancing is a people business
19:30: Agencies must embrace all things digital
- SEO
- SEM
- WordPress
- Art vs data and ROI
23:15: The future of agencies
- Demonstrable ROI
- Pricing and value
27:00: Bringing on a partner
- Skill sets
- Types of leadership
33:40: Where to begin
- Marketing
- Time investment
37:20: Having a vision: What is your best life?
-
The Reporter
-
The 12-Week Year
- Being intentional
Picks: Drip (Philip)
Course on Drip (Philip)
Having a vision for your business (Reuven)
Dev Shop Marketing Briefing (Reuven)
12 Week Year (Charles)
A Conversation of Character (Charles)
Who (Charles)
The Radical Leap (Drew)
Traction (Drew)
Entrepreneurial Operating System (Drew)
Wunderlist (Drew)
Agency Management Institute
1:00: Topic introduction: When people ask for freebies
- Requests from friends, neighbors, family
4:40: Requests for unpaid consulting
- Sometimes it makes sense to offer this for free
- Can lead to additional marketing opportunities
9:00: Avoiding freebie requests
- Give the impression that you are not available for free services
- Remain approachable, though
12:30: Have some material available for free
-
Have a topical index so people can have their questions answered
-
Answer questions on a blog, podcast or newsletter
- Offer a book or subscription that is a fraction of your main service
21:00: Using freebie requests and questions to help narrow your market
- Know what content is high-quality for your audience
- Time = Money
23:15: Can freebie requests start a client relationship?
- Could turn into paid work
- Or could be that the potential clients are clueless about how your business works
27:30: How a potential client can show that they value your time
- Offers to pay for a quick conversation
- No presumptions that you have time to deal with random question
28:50: Solutions that can help
- Calendly can help
- Offer a strategy call as an hourly service
33:00: Sometimes you just have to say no
- Choose between your time/ability and being helpful
- Don’t damage your business or your personal life, find a balance
- OPA: Other People’s Agenda
38:30: Wrap up suggestions
- Point to free resources
- Schedule a phone call
- Share your time commitments to discourage them
- Send to another provider (pros and cons)
Picks: Weapons of Math Destruction (Reuven)
Weapons of Math Destruction podcast on Slate Money (Reuven)
Data Survey (Philip)
The Subjective Theory of Value (Jonathan)
Podcast for Coaching Business (Jonathan)
The Fall of Hades (Chuck)
Links: Hired.com
Cachefly.com
1:00: Topic Introduction
- Burnout
3:15: Set workday and structure
- Work from home vs. coworking space
- Family time
- Podcast Motor
8:00: How Chuck’s business makes money
- Philip’s explanation of how he runs his business
- Time vs. money
- Prioritizing
13:50: What is burnout?
- An opportunity for transformation
- Too tired, too overwhelmed
15:25: The importance of saying no
- “I can’t do it all.”
- Ask yourself what’s profitable
- Construct something to fill the void of working less
- Take a day off
22:00: Keeping commitments
- Procrastinate On Purpose
25:10: Automate and delegate
- Training others to take on some of the work
- Just work on the important stuff
30:45: The importance of sleep
32:00: Pre-planning
- Planning ahead of time for the week
- Derailment from the plan
36:20: Business and discipline
- Limiting checking email
- Interruptions: Slack, Skype, Instant Messenger
43:00 Talk about it
- It’s not only you
Picks: Gimlet Science Vs (Reuven)
Huawei P9 Phone (Reuven)
Fish farms, fishing, family time (Charles)
Neighborhood groups on Facebook
Paradise is There, Natalie Merchant (Philip)
Links: Hire.com
1:00: Topic introduction: Making fast cash
2:45: Reach out to past clients
- Might be a small project
- Might lead to referrals
5:55: Ask for referrals
- Give them the tools to know who to refer you to
- Be specific about what your ideal client looks like
- Use LinkedIn for second degree connection introductions
10:00 Use mental associations when making requests
- Make specific requests; don’t think in broad terms
- “Think like a fisherman, not like a fish.”
- Use inbound and outbound approaches.
- More Cheese and Less Whiskers
17:30: Cold outreach
- Might feel awkward, but it works
- Start close to home
- Pick an industry where you’ve had previously success
- Make sure you follow up
- Cold outreach episode with Kai
23:40: Be creative
- Kurt Elster blog post on handwritten notes
- Birthday cakes
26:10: Use social media
- Reach out to your email list, blog, YouTube subscribers
- Use Twitter for searches
- Use Hacker News
30:20: Offer a discount to current clients for prepayment
36:30: Create a microservice
- Brennan Dunn on roadmapping
- Unbundle services
Picks: Million Dollar Referrals by Alan Weiss (Philip)
Duct Tape Marketing blog (Philip) cheese/whiskers
ReplyApp.io (Philip)
Blair Enn’s Prospecting Email (Philip)
The Hourly Trap (Jonathan)
Freelance Remote Conference (Charles)
Slack Hangouts (Charles)
1:00: Topic introduction
- Full-time job vs. consulting
- How much money is possible or likely?
4:30: Discussion of the money
- Cost of living (Israel vs. USA)
- Can a solo consultant make $300K/year?
- Reality of what it takes
11:00: How to make a lot of money as a solo consultant
- What do you enjoy doing?
- What are you good at?
- Find a successful niche
15:15: How to get people to trust you
- Referrals
- Networking
- Example: Redmine
- Blog/Podcast/Other media
21:45: Understand your customers’ problems
- Conferences
- Meetups
24:30: Emotional fortitude to command a high rate
- Guilt
- Mindset
- Getting out of the low cash-flow cycle
31:00: Offering a mix of services
- Avoiding dry spells
- Systematic way to attract leads
Picks: Family Vacations (Reuven)
Portugal as a vacation destination (Reuven)
RentalCars.com (Reuven)
Dev Shop Marketing Briefings (Philip)
The Secret of Selling Anything (Philip)
TrustVelocity.com (Jonathan)
Million Dollar Maverick (Jonathan)
ScheduleOnce (Charles)
FreshDesk (Charles)
Sponsor: Hire.com
1:00: Simon’s introduction
- Shopify
- Four Overlooked Tactics to Find New Clients Offline
3:00: Hosting meetups and workshops
- How to set up a workshop
- Logistics involved in finding a venue and managing the event
- How to decide what to talk about
- Is it crucial that the meetups be local?
- Eventbrite
13:00: Speaking at conferences
- How it differs from hosting workshops
- How to meet people at the conferences even if you’re not speaking officially
- Getting the audience engaged and ready to take the next step
- LeadPages
22:30: Set up a booth at an industry trade show
- How the look and feel of your booth can draw in attention
- How to best choose an event
- Is it worth investing in company swag to hand out?
- Best way to collect emails at events
- .NetRocks
35:00: Cold Call in Person
- How research can help make a sale
- Why in-person meetings can be more beneficial than telephone calls
- StickyApps
41:50: More from Simon
- Get in facetime
- Find an enticing hook
- Shopify Blog
Picks: How We Hijacked an Entrepreneur.Com Event Sponsorship for $500 (Jonathan)
Hacking Conferences for Fun and Profit (Jonathan)
LeadPages (Simon)
Nvite (Simon)
1:06 - Jonathan suggested topic: Why are deadlines bad?
7:30 Deadlines are binary
11:28 Timelines
12:38 Weekly conversations
13:54 How to deal with a drop dead deadline
15:53 How do you agree to multiple features How much margin do you put on it?
17:05 Do you agree to what you think you can get done?
19:41 Why do you see developers agree to deadlines
22:06 Negotiating
24:40 Say no to clients who won’t agree to a deadline
27:27 Don’t take the risk
27:40 Solutions
31:13 Do you say no to a client who is insistent on a deadline?
35:24 Projects that drag on
38:00 Uncertain end date
43:47 An easy trap to fall into
44:27 Learn your lines
47:30 Explain the downside to a deadline
Picks * Taking time off (Philip) * How To Handle Deadlines Without Agree To Them (Jonathan) * Wood Badge (Chuck) * The Boy Scouts Of America (Chuck)
This episode is sponsored by hired.com
02:40 - Getting Started on a Project Using Value-based Pricing; Figuring Out the Why
13:33 - Setting Goals and Expectations
- Agile Methodology
33:04 - Proposals
40:06 - Can you combine hourly billing and value-based pricing?
44:28 - Retainers, Maintenance Contracts
47:24 - Startups and Value Pricing
Picks
- Win Without Pitching (Jonathan)
- Deadpool (Jonathan)
- Stranger Things (Philip)
- Tend (Philip)
- The Economist Magazine (Reuven)
- The Victory Lab by Sasha Issenberg (Reuven)
02:14 - Why automate? Are there cases where you shouldn’t automate?
- The Eventual Millionaire: Procrastinate on Purpose with Rory Vaden
- Procrastinate on Purpose: 5 Permissions to Multiply Your Time by Rory Vaden
- "The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency." -- Bill Gates
12:29 - Templates
15:26 - Figuring Out What to Automate and Delegate
- Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
26:17 - Creating Benefits; Not False Improvements with Automation
28:35 - Automation Wins
- Zapier
- Unfollowers (Now Statusbrew)
- Trello
- Gravity Forms
- SendGrid
36:58 - Getting Started With Automation
- McDonald's Corporation: A Real Estate Empire Financed by French Fries
- The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss
- The 80/20 Rule in Business by Perry Marshall
- Summary of the Perry Marshall 80/20 Sales and Marketing Book
48:30 - Chuck’s Eliminations
52:22 - Tools For Automation
- Drip
- Zapier
- Gravity Forms
- Calendly
- Google Docs
- Evernote
- Upwork
- Dropbox
- Streak CRM
Picks
- Process Street (Philip)
- "The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency." -- Bill Gates (Philip)
- McDonald's Corporation: A Real Estate Empire Financed by French Fries (Philip)
- Summary of the Perry Marshall 80/20 Sales and Marketing Book (Philip)
- The Membership Guys (Reuven)
- Reuven's Technical Training Facebook Group (Reuven)
- MemberPress (Chuck)
- Slack (Chuck)
- The Freelancers’ Show Facebook Group (Chuck)
01:54 - Listener Request: Remote Work
03:14 - Communication Technologies
- Skype
- Slack
- Zoom
- Crowdcast
- join.me
- Screenflow
- GoToMeeting/GoToWebinar
- Google Hangouts
- Basecamp
13:30 - Setting Client Expectations and Discussions
20:53 - Making the Case for Real-time Communication
29:16 - Timezones
- Calendly
- Doodle
- Fantastical
37:45 - Meeting Face-to-face
Picks
- The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis (Jonathan)
- Hourly Billing Is Nuts by Jonathan Stark 30% OFF with code FS215 (Jonathan)
- Fantastical (Philip)
- The Brothers Grimsby (Philip)
- HappyCow (Reuven)
- The Office (Reuven)
- The Big Short (Reuven)
- iPad Pro (Chuck)
- Smart Keyboard for iPad Pro (Chuck)
- Apple Pencil (Chuck)
- GoodNotes (Chuck)
01:44 - Deciding to Attend Conferences
- Double Your Freelancing Conference: Europe
- MicroConf
- MicroConf Europe
09:14 - Conference Experiences
- Receptions
13:44 - Implementing Ideas From Conferences
- The Freelancers' Show Episode #202: Live from MicroConf: Managing a Team with Anders Thue Pedersen
- Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
- Automation
- Procrastinate on Purpose: 5 Permissions to Multiply Your Time by Rory Vaden
20:41 - Expected Conference Outcomes
27:29 - Dinners and Meals
32:18 - Networking: Conference Slack Channels; Facebook Groups
35:29 - Looking at Talks and Preparing for Conferences
37:15 - Workshops
40:04 - Conferences = Investment NOT an Expense
Picks
- Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography by David Michaelis (Philip)
- Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime by by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin (Reuven)
- Double Down: Game Change 2012 by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann (Reuven)
- Bose QuietComfort 3 Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones (Chuck)
- The Overton Window by Glenn Beck (Chuck)
- The Jefferson Lies: Exposing the Myths You've Always Believed About Thomas Jefferson by David Barton (Chuck)
- The Dark Talent: Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson (Chuck)
01:45 - Gary Herman Introduction
- Jabico Enterprises
01:49 - Commoditization
10:14 - The Changing Landscape of Software Development
- Craftsman/Architect vs Entrepreneur
17:48 - Perception of Value
23:55 - Utilizing Offshore Teams vs Onshore Teams
31:09 - Specialization
34:47 - Roadmapping and Building Trust with Clients
- The Freelancers' Show Episode #201: Roadmapping with Brennan Dunn
43:55 - Giving Away Advice; Creating/Maintaining Open Source Projects Projects Expertise
48:41 - The American Freelancer and Software Development; Are there limitations?
54:17 - Helping Clients Find the Right Team
Picks
- Why DYFConf Europe Was The Best Thing Ever (And You Should Have Been There) (Reuven)
- FlightAware (Reuven)
- The Icarus Deception: How High Will You Fly? by Seth Godin (Jonathan)
- Jonathan Stark: How To Increase Your Income Without Hiring Junior Developers (Jonathan)
- Jonathan Stark on Huffduffer (Jonathan)
- AmazonBasics AA High-Capacity Rechargeable Batteries (Philip)
- AmazonBasics Microfiber Cleaning Cloths (Philip)
- The Prisonbreak Bootcamp (Philip)
- Don’t lose hope (Philip)
- Tab Wrangler (Chuck)
- Privacy Badger (Chuck)
- Session Buddy (Gary)
- I am Rebel (Gary)
- The Founder Institute (Gary)
01:44 - Jason Mundok Introduction
- Blog
- Elusive Moose
- Find Your Moose Conference
03:47 - Enjoying Work; Finding Passion and Fulfillment
-
Three Dimensions:
-
What it is that you are supposed to be doing? (that actual stuff that you're passionate about)
- Where you do it (in which industries you need to work)
- How you do it (your work culture)
11:03 - Finding Your “Why”
- The Freelancers' Show Episode #202: Live from MicroConf: Managing a Team with Anders Thue Pedersen
- Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
- Joshua Fields Millburn: 'Follow Your Passion' is Crappy Advice (Minimalist Article)
- So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love by Cal Newport
17:42 - Advising People in Consulting
- Implementing Processes
- Confidence and Conflict
- The Elusive Moose Podcast Episode 9: Resolving Conflict
- Personality Types and Finding the Right Fit
24:52 - Self-defeating Patterns; Making Changes
33:35 - Company Culture
42:29 - Passion
- Ruby Rogues Episode #268: Mazes For Programmers with Jamis Buck
More from Jason
- Jason Mundok: What Do You Mean By “Enjoy”?
- The Elusive Moose Podcast Episode 13: Enjoy Your Work!
Picks
- EngineerWorth (Philip)
- Unplugging from technology (Chuck)
- Hosting a retreat (Chuck)
- Glympse (Chuck)
- The Minimalists Blog (Jason)
- Jeff Walker’s Product Launch Formula (Jason)
02:21 - Jonathan: How do you calculate a value price?
- “The Magic Formula”
- ROI (Return on Investment)
- Upwork
- Agencies and Value Pricing
15:42 - Philip: How do I specialize?
- Vertical/Horizontal Specialization
- How do you validate that a vertical is big enough to support your business?
- The Forktruck Repair Company Invoice Checking Company Example
29:45 - Jonathan: How do you get paid 100% up-front?
Picks
- The Consulting Pipeline Podcast: The One Thing I've Never Heard Anywhere Else About How to Do a Great Interview (Jonathan)
- Bomber Jacket Cord Roll (Jonathan)
- Freeze (Philip)
01:38 - Matt Krause Introduction
- Blog
- They Might Be Giants - Istanbul (Not Constantinople)
02:56 - The Mindset Change/Attitude Adjustment and The 3 Most Common Misconceptions
- C-Level Executives
- The Elevator Speech
- Follow-up Collateral
08:50 - Impressing and Connecting with the Right People (Positioning)
- “Stalking is only bad if it’s unwanted.”
- Podcast Movement
- Toastmasters
18:53 - How do you write a speech?
- Talking to the wall (Rubber Ducking)
- Boy Meets Girl
- HGOMM (Hero, Goal, Obstacle, Mentor, Moral)
30:15 - Audience Participation
37:13 - Speechwriting No-Nos
- Do not read off of your script
40:58 - Topic Selection
- Problem => Resolution
- Philip Morgan: What Jerry Springer can teach you about positioning
- Kurt Vonnegut on the Shapes of Stories
Check out Matt’s site specifically for The Freelancers’ Show listeners!
Picks
- Lead Generation Trust Velocity (Philip)
- Inbox Zero (Reuven)
- Procrastinate on Purpose: 5 Permissions to Multiply Your Time by Rory Vaden (Chuck)
- The Malloreon Series by David Eddings (Chuck)
- Get help from the panel! (Chuck)
- Newbie Remote Conf (Chuck)
- Get A Coder Job (Chuck)
- All Remote Conferences (Chuck)
Kurt Vonnegut on the Shapes of Stories (Matt)
01:41 - Curtis McHale Introduction
- GitHub
- Blog
- Write Proposals that Win Work
02:21 - Discovery Phase
- The Freelancers’ Show #096: Value-Based Pricing with Brennan Dunn
03:48 - Proposal Format
- Current Problem
- Objectives
- Gauging Success
- Options
- Timeline
- Accountabilities
05:33 - Options (Cont’d)
06:44 - Getting to the “Why”
- The 5 Whys Method
- Curtis' Effective Questioning Archives
11:57 - Objectives (Cont’d)
14:53 - Forming Options
- 9 Questions
- Getting on the Phone
- Calendly
- Pricing and Estimation
- Bidsketch
26:22 - Common Mistakes
29:06 - Subcontracting
30:46 - Proposal Length
- 17hats
31:33 - Paying Up Front
33:01 - 9 Questions (Cont’d)
34:04 - Measuring Success
Giveaway Tell us the best proposal you sent in the comments section and get a copy of Curtis’ book: Write Proposals that Win Work
Picks
- Superchondriac (Philip)
- Start With Why by Simon Sinek (Chuck)
- Baron Fig (Curtis)
Check out Ruby Remote Conf * and Newbie Remote Conf!! * Editor’s Note: Ruby Remote Conf is over, but you can still purchase a ticket to get instant access to the talks!
02:22 - Hanging with Buyers
05:27 - Identifying a Niche and Finding That Expensive Problem
12:27 - Strategies for Getting Noticed
17:16 - Types of Buyers
21:54 - Word of Mouth; Talking to Others
- Toastmasters
- Startups For the Rest of Us
28:37 - Tips for Introverts
37:35 - Tips for Recruiters
47:43 - Value
Picks
- Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble by Dan Lyons (Reuven)
- Beaver Builder (Philip)
- Selling to Big Companies by Jill Konrath (Philip)
- The Belgariad Series (Chuck)
- Fully Alive by Ken Davis (Chuck)
- All Remote Conferences (Chuck)
Check out Ruby Remote Conf! 01:47 - Josh Earl Introduction
- GitHub
- Blog
- Simple Programmer
- The Entreprogrammers Podcast
02:23 - Creating Email Courses
03:57 - Marketing vs Email Courses
- How to Market Yourself as a Software Developer
15:26 - Length
- 5 Learning Mistakes Developers Make
18:49 - Opt-in Forms
21:48 - Single vs Double Opt-in
26:28 - Keeping People Engaged
29:26 - Offering Discount Codes
33:35 - Content
41:32 - Tips for Telling Better Stories
44:45 - Agitation
47:22 - Competition and What Comes Next?
51:02 - Asking People to Share
- SmartBribe
54:39 - Selling Services
Picks
- The New York Times Mobile App (Reuven)
- Slate Plus (Reuven)
- Double Your Freelancing Conference Europe (Reuven) Discount Code: FREELANCER
- On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction by William Zinsser (Jonathan)
- Jonathan's Webinars (Jonathan)
- Fitbit One (Chuck)
- The Entreprogrammers Podcast (Chuck)
- Wired for Story: The Writer's Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence by Lisa Cron (Josh)
- Scrivener (Josh)
- Strides (Josh)
01:51 - Gavin Ballard Introduction
- Blog
- Disco
- Shopify
02:29 - Going From Solo to Agency
04:23 - Realistic Expectations; End Goal
12:47 - Niches
15:00 - Marketing for Flexibility and Working With Other Team Members
17:12 - Changing Roles
- The Freelancers' Show Episode #200: 200th Episode: DevReps Makeover!
26:38 - Finding People
- Upwork
29:32 - Financial Changes
34:10 - Managing Your Pipeline
38:52 - Choosing a Niche in a Larger Ecosystem
43:00 - What if it’s a mistake?
44:49 - Starting an Agency
Picks
- ScreenFlow (Philip)
- Philip's Positioning Crash Course (Philip)
- The Society of Mind by Marvin Minsky (Reuven)
- Reuven's Regexp Crash Course (Reuven)
- Trello (Chuck)
- Gravity Forms (Chuck)
- Zapier (Chuck)
- Ruby Remote Conf (Chuck)
- Brian Cardarella: Lessons Learned - Three years of running a software consultancy (Gavin)
01:39 - Sherry Muterspaugh Walling Introduction
- Blog
- Zen Founder: Startup. Family. Life. By Rob & Sherry Walling
- Startups For The Rest of Us
- The Zen Founder Guide to Founder Retreats by Sherry Walling
04:18 - “Retreats”
- Retreats vs Vacations
08:19 - The Retreat Process
12:17 - Working Through Issues; Examining Our Lives
16:13 - Coming to Terms with Shortcomings (Introspection)
19:52 - Solo vs Co-Retreats
26:24 - Planning
30:13 - Taking Time Off
32:57 - Retreat Flavors
34:03 - Planning (Cont’d)
35:34 - Materials
36:41 - Writing vs Verbally Dictating Information
39:15 - Choosing a Location
41:56 - Tracking Data
- Mood Tracker
46:14 - Decision Making and Implementation
49:44 - Personal Assessment and Considering Others
- Agile Development
Picks
- Surprisingly Awesome #11 Boredom (Reuven)
- Park City, Utah (Chuck)
- Sundance (Chuck)
- Ventura, California (Chuck)
- Moab: Arches National Park (Chuck)
- Zion National Park (Chuck)
- Retreat Finder (Sherry)
- Headspace (Sherry)
- The Zen Founder Guide to Founder Retreats by Sherry Walling (Sherry)
01:46 - Kai Davis Introduction
- Blog
- Kai's suit from MicroConf
- OppoSuits
- Podcast Outreach: A Guide To Proactively Guesting On Podcasts by Kai Davis
03:31 - Podcast Tours
09:12 - Outreach Emails
- Devchat.tv Interest Survey
- Podcast Outreach Email Template
14:44 - Pitching Topics
16:28 - Appealing to Audiences
19:32 - Popularity Sorting
- BuzzSumo
- Majestic
- Moz
21:56 - Are there markets that don’t listen to podcasts?
- cast.market
24:27 - Does it matter how big podcasts are that you guest on?
34:42 - Offerings and Calls to Action
- Patrick McKenzie: Ramit Sethi and Patrick McKenzie On Why Your Customers Would Be Happier If You Charged More
41:14 - Other Podcast Guest Do’s and Don’ts
More from Kai:
- How do you write an email to get on a podcast?
- How can I use podcasts to get more traffic?
- How do I create a list of podcast owners I should reach out to about appearing?
Picks
- Double Your Freelancing EUConf (Reuven)
- JBL Flip 2 Portable Wireless Speaker (Reuven)
- 1pageleadgen.site (Philip)
- Audition for The Freelancers’ Show! (Chuck)
- 5 Outreach Tricks You’re Missing: Learn How To Email Anyone... And Get A Response (Kai)
- Draft: Revise Weekly (Kai)
- Master Facebook Marketing (Kai)
01:44 - Handling Initial Client Meetings
17:17 - Proprietary/Intellectual Property
- Lead Generation Trust Velocity
- Trade Secret
22:56 - Content Upgrades
- Philip Morgan: A Minimum Viable Funnel (MVF)
29:53 - Pitches
32:28 - If/When Property Becomes Public
- This American Life #427: Original Recipe
36:10 - Year-end Reports
Picks
- KingSumo (Reuven)
- Google Keep (Jonathan)
- Jonathan Stark: How To Write Proposals That Close Without Lowering Your Prices (Jonathan)
- Lead Generation Trust Velocity (Philip)
- SendOwl (Philip)
- Heap Analytics (Philip)
- The Primal Blueprint (Chuck)
In this episode, Chuck interviews Anders Thue Pederson of TimeBlock at MicroConf 2016.
The two discuss team building for businesses and go over important aspects such as planning, hiring, and managing employees and subcontractors.
Picks
- News Feed Eradicator for Facebook (Anders)
- Booting Facebook Posts (Chuck)
Check out All Remote Confs!
02:41 - Brennan Dunn Introduction
- GitHub
- Blog
- The Freelancers’ Show #77: Recurring Revenue with Brennan Dunn
- The Freelancers' Show #96: Value-Based Pricing with Brennan Dunn
- Double Your Freelancing Rate by Brennan Dunn
- Double Your Freelancing Conference
04:00 - Roadmapping vs Estimating
05:28 - Why Brennan Started Roadmapping
09:38 - Paying for Roadmapping
16:03 - What goes into a roadmapping proposal?
19:14 - Reducing Risk
21:52 - Fixed Bids
25:32 - Common Objections
32:23 - Courting a Client
37:13 - Roadmapping for Strategic Projects
44:53 - Pricing
48:29 - Mistakes Made Along the Way
Picks
Dropshare (Jonathan)
Horace and Pete (Jonathan)
The Expanse (Philip)
Thrive Landing Pages (Philip)
Machine Learning Mastery (Reuven)
The Terrible Two Get Worse (Reuven)
The Microsoft Build Conference (Chuck)
HoloLens (Chuck)
Retreats (Chuck)
MicroConf (Chuck)
Advance Custom Fields (Brennan)
WooCommerce (Brennan)
Mastering Project Roadmaps (Brennan)
Double Your Freelancing Conference (Brennan)
02:42 - Mandy Moore Introduction
- DevReps
04:54 - Weekly Billing vs Hourly Billing
11:08 - Retainers
14:41 - Outsourcing
- Podcast Motor
16:29 - Value Creation
21:53 - Wealth Creation
24:37 - Building a Team
35:56 - Chuck’s DevChat.tv Vision
39:16 - When is enough, enough?
- Return On Investment (ROI)
45:01 - Mandy’s DevReps Vision
49:42 - Budgeting & Pricing
Picks
“Worry is a misuse of imagination.” - Dan Zadra (Jonathan)
The Cook and the Chef: Musk’s Secret Sauce (Jonathan)
BusyCal (Reuven)
Lead Generation Trust Velocity (Philip)
Prisonbreak Bootcamp (Philip)
DesktopServer (Chuck)
Advanced Custom Fields (Chuck)
Sublime Text (Chuck)
Plan to Eat (Mandy)
Laredo Boots (Mandy)
Suggest a show topic!
02:37 - On Remote Consulting
06:29 - Meeting with Remote Clients
10:43 - Communication Tools
- Skype
- Zoom
17:21 - Filesharing
- Dropbox
- Google Drive
22:39 - Commodification
28:27 - Language/Communication: Remote vs Local
- Asynchronous Communication
34:14 - Finding Remote Clients
- We Work Remotely
- Upwork
38:55 - Project Management Tools and Techniques
- Trello
- Pivotal Tracker
- Basecamp
- Asana
- ZenHub
44:44 - Whiteboard Solutions
- Highlight
48:05 - Which software tools can you expect customers to be familiar with/have installed?
- Slack
- Skype
50:35 - Common Miscommunication Pitfalls
Picks
Zoom (Philip)
We Work Remotely (Philip)
Desktastic (Philip)
ZenHub (Reuven)
The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It . . . Every Time by Maria Konnikova (Reuven)
Kindle (Reuven)
Trumpcast (Reuven)
Submit a topic for The Freelancers' Show
03:52 - First-time “No” Experiences; Fear and Pressure
14:26 - Reasons to Say “No”
- Communication and The Power Dynamic
- Customer Support
24:31 - Using “No” as a Tool to Get Where You Want to Go
25:35 - Obtaining the Ability to Say “No”
30:20 - Changing Your Mind
32:14 - Techniques for Saying “No”
Picks
Pitch Anything: An Innovative Method for Presenting, Persuading, and Winning the Deal by Oren Klaff (Philip)
Positioning Crash Course (Philip)
Silicon Valley (Reuven)
02:39 - Training Backgrounds
- New Horizons Computer Learning Centers
- Check Point Software Technologies
- Microsoft Learning
12:50 - Do I need to know training before I start training?
- SISQO
16:32 - Open-Enrollment Courses
- Paul Jarvis: Creative Class
19:57 - Getting and Incorporating Feedback
22:34 - Instructional Design
23:23 - Training: Best Practices
29:49 - Solo vs Teamwork; Metacognition
34:17 - Introductory vs Advanced-level Courses
36:38 - Getting Your First Training Gig Working For a Company
- Non-Compete Clause
41:29 - Pricing Training Services
44:07 - Don’t Teach Too Much
- Questionnaires and Surveys
50:09 - Problem Students
01:00:03 - Answering Questions
01:05:41 - Working AND Training
01:06:52 - Introverts and Speaking
Picks
LegalZoom (Philip)
Standing Desks (Reuven)
02:39 - On Failure (GitHub Issue)
03:49 - What does failure look/taste like for a freelancer?
14:22 - Irritability, Shame, and Embarrassment
20:00 - What does it mean to fail for your psyche, your family, and your position in your community?
24:33 - Warning Signs
30:13 - Should I give up or push through?
32:56 - Once you've spotted warning signs, how can you change course (especially in light of the fact that you are probably short on cash and hustling flat-out already by this point)?
39:06 - Success
- Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Picks
Startup: A Silicon Valley Adventure by Jerry Kaplan (Reuven)
Dreaming in Code: Two Dozen Programmers, Three Years, 4,732 Bugs, and One Quest for Transcendent Software by Scott Rosenberg (Reuven)
Surprisingly Awesome (Reuven)
Brené Brown (Philip)
Draft Evidence: Essays About Design & Independent Business by Nick Disabato (Philip)
02:53 - “Micronar”
11:46 - Effective Marketing (Sales Funneling)
16:34 - Webinars as a Revenue-Generating Tool
28:31 - Contents and Packaging
- getacoderjob.com
38:09 - Online Summits/Remote Conferences
- Email Success Summit
41:45 - Tools and Tactics
- Crowdcast
- ClickWebinar
- Zoom
- Periscope
51:47 - Getting Feedback and More Info
Picks
Crowdcast (Jonathan)
Wait But Why (Jonathan)
27‑inch iMac with Retina 5K display (Philip)
Word Swag (Chuck)
Dreamstime (Chuck)
The Best Podcast Rap Video (Chuck)
02:52 - What do I do with an audience?
- Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World by Gary Vaynerchuk
09:15 - Growing Your Audience and Keeping Them There
- SumoMe
17:03 - How do you get the traffic?
- Podcasts
- Webinars
- “Planet Aggregators”
- Planet Python
- Planet PostgreSQL
- Borrowing Audiences; Guest Posting
25:19 - Churn
- SurveyMonkey
32:33 - How do you monetize the audience?
- Alignment
- Mandarin Weekly
- Facebook Advertising
- FFmpeg
- RubyFlow
- Hacker News
51:33 - Email Courses
55:11 - Changing a Lead Magnet
- Drip
Picks
Practice Makes Regexp (Reuven)
The System Club Letters: 57 Big Ideas to Transform Your Business and Your Life by Ken McCarthy (Philip)
Drip (Chuck)
SumoMe (Chuck)
Freelance Remote Conf (Chuck)
All Remote Conferences (Chuck)
02:44 - How To Create New Forms of Value for Clients
08:02 - How do you create more conversations with clients?
14:33 - Different Forms of Packaging
- Books by Alan Weiss
- creditcardjs.com
19:58 - Giving More Value as a Full-time Employee (FTE)
30:00 - Productization
- Minimal Viable Funnel (MVF)
- Naming
- Kurt Elster
- Micronar.com
- Heartbleed
- Nick Disabato (Nick D.)
38:58 - Communication
- Groupthink
01:01:33 - Website Welcome Mats
- SumoMe
- Thrive Leads
Picks
LeadPages (Philip)
Blue Ocean Strategy, Expanded Edition: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant by W. Chan Kim (Philip)
Lean Customer Development: Building Products Your Customers Will Buy by Cindy Alvarez (Philip)
Catan Universe (Reuven)
Jonathan Stark: How To Increase Your Income Without Hiring Junior Developers (Jonathan)
Jonathan Stark: How To Price Your Services Without Leaving Money On The Table (Jonathan)
Coaching Call with Jonathan Stark (Jonathan)
SumoMe (Chuck)
The DevChat.tv Blog (Chuck)
The Freelancers’ Show Mailing List (Chuck)
02:42 - Ryan Waggoner Introduction
- Blog
- Lead Curation: LetsMakeApps
04:30 - Getting Over the Hump
- Goal Setting
- Productivity Habits
06:05 - Preparations for Freelancing
07:33 - Job Security
10:08 - Pricing
12:31 - Working with Startups
15:35 - Low Lifetime Value
- Million Dollar Consulting by Alan Weiss
18:15 - Equity For Payment
19:27 - Vetting Process
21:16 - “Hustling”
- Craigslist
30:04 - Filtering Criteria
32:58 - Cognitive Load
34:54 - Project Billing
- Trust and Communication
For our listeners: please visit letsmakeapps.io/fs/ to get
- PDF guide: "Lessons Learned from My First Million Dollars from Freelance”
- 50% discount on paid plans for LetsMakeApps.io when they launch (worth $294)
Picks
Sony MDRMA900 Over-the-Head Headphones (Philip)
Million Dollar Consulting by Alan Weiss (Ryan)
Solo Retreats (Ryan)
Pick Four Notebooks (Ryan)
Working Podcast (Reuven)
02:48 - What is trust and why do we care about it?
06:21 - Establishing Trust with New Clients
- Asynchronous Interactions and Synchronous Interactions
18:20 - Maintaining Trust with New Clients (Engagement)
25:58 - Establishing Trust Remotely and Physically
- Small Talk
38:59 - Measuring Trust
42:56 - Big Takeaways
Picks
Your First 1000 Copies: The Step-by-Step Guide to Marketing Your Book by Tim Grahl (Philip)
The Trusted Advisor by David H. Maister (Jonathan)
Trust Fractures: How Hourly Billing Hurts Software Projects (Jonathan)
How to Prevent Scope Creep (Jonathan)
The Victorian Internet: The Remarkable Story of the Telegraph and the Nineteenth Century's On-line Pioneers by Tom Standage (Reuven)
Mr. Lincoln's T-Mails: How Abraham Lincoln Used the Telegraph to Win the Civil War Paperback by Tom Wheeler (Reuven)
02:42 - Trevor McKendrick Introduction
- Blog
03:41 - Why do we have to care about taxes and accounting?
04:48 - Quarterly Estimated Tax Payments
07:05 - Deductions
08:48 - Forms
- W9
- 1099
10:55 - Recordkeeping
12:45 - Freelancer Income vs Salaried Income
17:19 - Auditing
25:27 - Doubling Your Income and Taxes
29:27 - Deductions (Cont’d)
- Home Office Deduction
31:14 - Avoiding Self-Employment Tax with an S-Corp
33:16 - Categorizing Expenses
35:17 - Costly Mistakes
- 1099-K
39:27 - Product Revenue
41:32 - Finding a Good Accountant
Picks
AppSumo (Trevor)
nathanbarry.com (Trevor)
Accounting For Entrepreneurs and Freelancers Course (Trevor)
Pu Erh Tuo Cha Tea Cakes w/Rose (Philip)
Safari Books Online (Reuven)
02:40 - Bryce Bladon Introduction
- Blog
- Hell To Pay: Everything a Freelancer Needs to Know About Earning Good Money
03:07 - Clients From Hell
04:27 - Favorite Stories
08:16 - Client Patterns and Red Flags
18:50 - Qualifying Clients
- Expectations
- Project Communication
26:26 - Billing and Estimates
- Value-based Pricing
- The Freelancers' Show Episode #04: Fixed Bids vs Hourly Work
- Getting Started
55:35 - Scope
57:43 - Firing a Client From Hell
Picks
Being on time (Philip)
Instant Pot IP-DUO60 7-in-1 Programmable Pressure Cooker (Philip)
Dropshare (Philip)
Mike Monteiro: Keynote from Interaction Design Association (Jonathan)
27b/6 (Jonathan)
Pat Flynn: How to Write a Book - The Secret to a Super Fast First Draft - SPI TV Ep. 1 (Chuck)
Freelance Remote Conf (Chuck)
Ruby Remote Conf (Chuck)
iOS Remote Conf (Chuck)
David McRaney: Anchoring Effect (Bryce)
Dan Ariely: Are we in control of our own decisions? (Bryce)
Soylent (Bryce)
Freelance Remote Conf will run from February 24th-26th. Get your ticket today!
03:04 - Panelist Experience with Public Speaking
04:35 - How do you get picked to speak at a conference?
09:19 - Why should I bother with public speaking?
- The Consulting Pipeline Podcast: Samuel Hulick: What Happens When You Combine Constraints and a Narrow Focus?
16:35 - People Want Your Slides / Calls to Action
- SMS Opt-in
23:19 - How do you hold the attention of a group of people? How do you know you’ve got what it takes?
28:13 - What do conference organizers look for in a speaker?
33:09 - What kinds of things do you want to avoid if you’re giving a talk?
37:21 - Preparation: aka Know Your Stuff
52:50 - Know Your Audience
59:06 - What to Wear
Picks
Michael Port's Steal The Show Podcast (Jonathan)
Chris Anderson: How to Give a Killer Presentation (Jonathan)
Spectacle (Philip)
HP Instant Ink (Philip)
Philip Morgan: A Minimum Viable Funnel (MVF) (Philip)
Freelance Remote Conf (Chuck)
Toastmasters (Chuck)
Go check out Freelance Remote Conf!
Freelancers’ Show GitHub Repository: github.com/devchattv/freelancerstopics
02:48 - Luca’s question
05:40 - The Right Things To Do in the Right Order:
- Work on your mindset
- Interview potential clients (Identify the expensive problem)
- Lean Customer Development: Building Products Your Customers Will Buy by Cindy Alvarez
- Build a lead magnet and build social proof
- Build a landing page for your lead magnet
- Build a month’s worth of articles; set up an email list
- Start teaching. Go on forums and point to your lead magnet.
08:34 - Timeframe
13:17 - Do you need a blog?
14:21 - Social Media Presence (Earn Traffic and Attention)
16:47 - Starting a Business While Still Working at Another Job
22:53 - Impostor Syndrome
- Social Learning Theory
34:46 - Citing No Past Experience
- SoHelpful
- Beta Clients
37:48 - Webinars and Micronars
45:09 - Your Mailing List
Picks
Jessica Jones (Reuven)
SoHelpful (Philip)
Brennan Dunn: How To Start a Freelancing Business That Won't Fail (Philip)
The Tim Ferriss Experiment: Derek Sivers Reloaded – On Success Habits and Billionaires with Perfect Abs (Jonathan)
8 Tips For Software Developers Starting Their Own Business (Jonathan)
Veronica Mars (Jonathan)
CES (Chuck)
Las Vegas (Chuck)
04:27 - The Skyscraper Technique
- BuzzSumo
11:05 - Impressive Examples of Teaching Activities; Increasing the Trust-O-Meter, and Opt-in Techniques
- Giving A Talk (In person = best)
- Podcast Guesting
- Talking at Local Meetups
- Webinars
30:28 - Introverts and Freelancing and Nurturing Your Clients
35:47 - When You’re Intimidated by Speaking
- Jonathan Stark: Public Speaking Tips For Consultants
40:12 - Is there a way to skip content marketing? What is considered content marketing?
49:30 - First Steps to Content Marketing
Picks
Todo.txt (Philip)
The Everyday Messenger by Peak Design (Jonathan)
Jonathan Stark: Public Speaking Tips For Consultants (Jonathan)
Better Than Before: What I Learned About Making and Breaking Habits--to Sleep More, Quit Sugar, Procrastinate Less, and Generally Build a Happier Life by Gretchen Rubin (Reuven)
Check out Freelance Remote Conf!
03:25 - Getting Into the Corporate Training Gig Arena
13:31 - Where do I get my content?
18:17 - Marketing Your Courses
- Webinars
- Dabbling vs Taking the Plunge
27:52 - Going Solo vs Joining a Training Company
36:40 - Remote Training vs In-person
41:21 - Preparation; Composing New Material
47:33 - Surveys
53:22 - Charging for Training
- Per Day
- Per Person
58:12 - Trainee Preparation
01:03:30 - Don’t just educate: Entertain
Check out React Native Radio
Contribute to the show in The Freelancers’ Show GitHub repository!
For more information on this topic, go to lerner.co.il/coaching.
Picks
- Frontend Masters Courses (Jonathan)
- Reuven's Webinar about technical training: Pedagogy, logistics, and business (Reuven)
- Planet Money Episode #672: Bagging a Birkin (Reuven)
- Fathead (Chuck)
Check out Freelance Remote Conf! It will run from Wednesday February 24th thru Friday, February 26th. Early Bird tickets are available until January 24th.
03:10 - Goal Setting and Planning
- “Where do I want to be in five years?”
- “Where do I want to be next year?”
- “Where do I want to be in 90 days?”
11:18 - Managing Execution; Prioritization
- Getting Things Done by David Allen
- Calendly
26:52 - Mastermind Groups
30:35 - Email
- SaneBox
- Slack
- Autoresponders
- TextExpander
48:39 - Bookkeeping
50:32 - S.M.A.R.T. Goals
Picks
Hot Pot (Reuven)
INBOX PAUSE (Jonathan)
Calendly (Jonathan)
BusyCal (Chuck)
Basecamp (Chuck)
Star Wars (Chuck)
Freelance Remote Conf (Chuck)
Check out Freelance Remote Conf! The schedule is coming together quite nicely!
02:47 - Connor Hood Introduction
- GitHub
- Blog
03:33 - Nate McGuire Introduction
- GitHub
- Blog
04:00 - Code My Views
07:17 - Commoditization Pressure
09:40 - Fees & Differentiation Between Agencies
13:34 - Why should someone work something like Code My Views?
19:20 - Dealing with Scope Creep
22:56 - Pricing
24:12 - Content
25:08 - When Clients Insist on Particular Stacks/Expanding Stacks & Focusus
28:46 - Updating Skills
30:15 - The Evolution of Design
32:50 - Getting Agencies as Clients
34:31 - Is the idea of a solo freelancer approaching an agency a dying concept?
37:53 - Who should not come to Code My Views?
39:03 - Estimates in One Hour
41:51 - Hiring
Picks
Force Block: the Star Wars spoiler blocker (Jonathan)
Flu Shots (Jonathan)
The Ridge Wallet (Philip)
Invisible Ink: A Practical Guide to Building Stories that Resonate by Brian McDonald (Philip)
KIWI Brand deba Style Flexible Stainless Steel Knives (Philip)
Laracasts (Connor)
Browsersync (Connor)
SalesLoft (Nate)
Sendbloom (Nate)
Let's Encrypt (Reuven)
02:49 - Pete Keen Introduction
- GitHub
- Blog
- Handle Your Business by Pete Keen
03:59 - Business Entities and Taxation
- S Corporations
- Limited Liability Company (LLC)
11:23 - Choosing Professionals to Help You with Your Business
14:38 - Opening a Bank Account
17:04 - Common Misconceptions
- Liability
- State/Country Tax Laws
22:26 - “Friendly to Freelancers” Areas in the U.S.
- B and O Tax
23:29 - Legal Issues
- Verbal Agreements and Contracts
- Master Services Agreement (MSA)
- Statement of Work (SOW)
- Nick Disabato (Nick D)
- The Freelancers' Show Episode #137: Productized Consulting with Nick Disabato
- International Clients, Contracts, and Jurisdictions
28:57 - Finding Clients
- Double Your Freelancing by Brennan Dunn
- Mastering Modern Payments by Pete Keen
- Authority by Nathan Barry
31:03 - Mistakes Made; Lessons Learned
34:32 - Healthcare and Health Insurance
38:58 - Liability Insurance
39:53 - Hiring People
Picks
The Independent Consulting Manual by Philip Morgan Use the discount code FREELANCESHOW for 25% off all packages (Philip)
Rohto Cool Redness Relief (Philip)
0.30000000000000004.com (Reuven)
WebEx (Reuven)
Freelance Remote Conf (Chuck)
All Remote Confs (Chuck)
Clash of Clans (Chuck)
Star Wars: Commander (Chuck)
The Independent Consulting Manual by Philip Morgan (Pete)
Neko Atsume (Pete)
Check out and get your tickets for Freelancer Remote Conf!
02:59 - Mojca Marš
- Super Spicy Media
- Facebook Ads Manual: Everything you need to know to get started by Mojca Mars
04:02 - As freelancers, why do (should) we care about Facebook?
- Brennan Dunn
06:22 - Where do you start? How often should you post?
09:18 - Who is going to see my page if I don’t advertise it?
11:41 - Who is going to see my new content?
12:52 - Growing a Community (Facebook Page) vs Growing Your Mailing List
16:07 - Why are people on Facebook? Who is on Facebook?
- Gary Vaynerchuk
19:39 - What should I post? How do I post without being salesy?
- Be yourself!
25:38 - What kind of page should I make?
31:25 - Should all businesses advertise on Facebook?
35:24 - Building Trust with Users
37:41 - Involving Your Audience
39:11 - Building a Community and then Marketing to that Community
42:30 - Experimentation and Testing
Picks
CodeMonkey (Reuven)
Sriracha Ketchup (Jonathan)
The Independent Consulting Manual: An Insider’s Guide to Building Six-Figure Solo Consultancies (Philip)
All Remote Confs (Chuck)
Freelancer Remote Conf (Chuck)
Clash of Clans (Chuck)
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg (Mojca)
Spark (Mojca)
Staples Easy Button (Mojca)
Dinosaur Onesie (Mojca)
02:54 - How do you know when a project has gone wrong?
07:52 - Setting Expectations
- Risks and Assumptions
13:22 - Client Relationships and Improving Communication
17:16 - Horror Stories
- Lawsuits
35:37 - Rescuing a Project (After Things Have Gone Wrong…)
37:42 - Scope, Rescoping
- Jonathan Stark: First Do No Harm
Picks
Crossing the Chasm, 3rd Edition: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customers (Collins Business Essentials) by Geoffrey A. Moore (Philip)
Jonathan Stark: First Do No Harm (Jonathan)
Creative Class Contract (Jonathan)
Facebook Ads Manual: Everything You Need to Know to Get Started by Mojca Mars (Reuven)
02:45 - Welcome new panelist, Philip Morgan!
- Website
- The Freelancers' Show Episode #160: A Deep Dive on Positioning Yourself As a Specialist with Philip Morgan
- The Positioning Manual for Technical Firms
07:12 - Client Qualification Criteria
14:49 - How Philip’s Business Works
- The Consulting Pipeline Podcast
25:42 - 15 Minute Podcast Listener chat with Charles Wood
28:00 - Finding Opportunities to Be a Guest on Podcasts
- QuickMail
- Outbound
33:46 - Converting Guest Appearances into Mailing List Subscribers/Paying Customers (“Action”)
- Email Crash Courses and Vanity Domain Names
- Philip's Free Crash Course on Positioning for Software Development Shops
39:10 - Mastermind Groups and Referrals
- View from the Top
Picks
13 Ways Designers Screw Up Client Presentations (Reuven)
Design Is a Job by Mike Monteiro (Philip)
Salestools.io (Philip)
Highrise (Chuck)
The Positioning Manual for Technical Firms (Chuck)
02:06 - Steven Bristol Introduction
- Blog
- LessEverything
- LessAccounting
- LessFilms
- LessConf
- LessChurn
02:32 - “Churn”
03:08 - The Genesis of LessChurn
04:04 - How does it work?
06:45 - SaaS Products
- Benchmarks
09:41 - Steven’s Background
- Alan Branch
10:58 - The SaaS Path (Advice)
- The 37Signals Blog
- Bacon Biz Conf
- LaunchRocket
18:36 - Churn University
21:48 - Outbound
24:14 - Pricing
26:43 - Customer Trust
32:44 - The Psychology of Churn
34:54 - Zombie Revenue
36:28 - Keeping Customers Around
- Onboarding
- Mandatory Field Feedback
Picks
Why Johnny Can't Brand: Rediscovering the Lost Art of the Big Idea by Bill Schley (Philip)
MOO (Jonathan)
Tend (Steven)
Free Will by Sam Harris (Steven)
Peter Kirn: Alchemy synth is now a part of Logic Pro X; here’s what’s new (Steven)
less_interactions (Steven)
Contacts+ (Reuven)
01:21 - Building Paid Communities
- The Freelancers' Show Episode #177: Repurposing Material and Building Courses with Keith Perhac
- Book Yourself Solid: The Fastest, Easiest, and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients Than You Can Handle Even if You Hate Marketing and Selling by Michael Port
04:45 - Platforms
- Slack
14:05 - Benefits of Paid Communities
19:17 - Moderation
21:42 - Jumpstarting Conversations
27:18 - Keeping People Around
29:35 - Starting a Community
34:04 - Test Cases/Pilot Programs
- Codes of Conduct
43:38 - Presense
- 15 Minute Podcast Listener chat with Charles Wood
46:36 - Rallying Additional Helpers, Mentors, Friends, etc.
55:48 - Platforms (Cont’d)
- Discourse
Picks
The Top 16 List Building Strategies of 2015 by Bryan Harris (Reuven)
Slack (Jonathan)
The Traffic Manual by Kai Davis (Jonathan)
Selling to Big Companies by Jill Konrath (Philip)
FamilySearch (Chuck)
Relative Finder (Chuck)
01:28 - Keith Perhac Introduction
- Blog
02:09 - How do you find stuff that you can repurpose?
05:37 - “Course” (What you call things and the value proposition)
- Getting Real: The smarter, faster, easier way to build a successful web application
14:32 - Chunking Up and Instructional Design
- Curation and Delivery
29:16 - Building an Audience
31:21 - Making a Successful Course Worth the Price
33:30 - Tiered Pricing
- Interviews
- Refunds and Chargebacks
Picks
Work the System: The Simple Mechanics of Making More and Working Less by Sam Carpente (Keith)
The Brain Audit: Why Customers Buy (and Why They Don't) by Sean D'Souza (Keith)
Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products by Nir Eyal (Keith)
Skype (Keith)
Schedule Once (Keith)
Edgar (Jonathan)
Facebook Ads Manual: Everything you need to know to get started by Mojca Mars (Jonathan)
Blab (Philip)
Website Teardown with Kurt Elster and Kai Davis (Reuven)
Putting tabasco on popcorn (Reuven)
Spending time with your family (Chuck)
@cmaxw (Chuck)
Freelance Remote Conf (Chuck)
00:44 - Balancing Availability and Handling Huge Time Differences
- ScreenFlow
- Jing
10:42 - Jonathan’s Double Your Freelancing Conference Recap
- Brennan Dunn
18:36 - Is there a way to get the benefits of attending a conference without attending a conference?
- Slack
- Meetup
27:10 - Reading Books
- Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
- Value-Based Fees: How to Charge - and Get - What You're Worth by Alan Weiss
- The Brain Audit: Why Customers Buy (and Why They Don't) by Sean D'Souza
- Jonathan’s Reading List
36:23 - Double Your Freelancing Conference Recaps
- Matt Inglot: #DYFConf 2015 and the Mindsets of Successful Consultants
- Jonathan's #DYFC Page
- Kurt Elster: #DYFConf2015 Retrospective: My Personal Journey From Introvert to Public Speaker
- Julie Elster: My OH SHIT Moment; Pushing Through The Uncomfortable and Conquering My DYFConf Talk
38:41 - Reading (Cont’d)
- The Positioning Manual For Technical Firms by Philip Morgan
- Book Yourself Solid: The Fastest, Easiest, and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients Than You Can Handle Even if You Hate Marketing and Selling by Michael Port
- Steal the Show: From Speeches to Job Interviews to Deal-Closing Pitches, How to Guarantee a Standing Ovation for All the Performances in Your Life by Michael Port
- The Freelancers' Show Episode #81: Book Yourself Solid with Michael Port
Picks
Crowdcast (Chuck)
Pebble Time Steel (Chuck)
00:52 - Marcus Blankenship Introduction
- Blog
01:38 - Moving Towards Management
- Having Difficult Conversations/Don’t Hire Friends or Family
09:12 - Firing/Letting People Go
- ABC = Always Be Communicating
20:04 - Growing your business doesn’t always mean hiring more people.
- Being the “Lone Wolf” or “Small Pack”
26:16 - Quality Control
28:33 - How do you find, hire, and keep good people?
- Try Before You Buy
30:52 - Trust and Communication
- “Self-Managing Individuals”
48:26 - Checking In and Setting Milestones
Picks
Drip (Jonathan)
100 Percent Up Front (Jonathan)
Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams by Tom DeMarco (Reuven)
MONEY Master the Game: 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom by Tony Robbins (Chuck)
Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims: Time-Travel Adventures with Exceptional Americans by Rush Limbaugh (Chuck)
Behind Closed Doors: Secrets of Great Management by Johanna Rothman and Esther Derby (Marcus)
The Trusted Advisor by David H. Maister (Marcus)
Preface: The Positioning Manual for Technical Firms by Philip Morgan
01:20 - Identifying the “Who”
06:16 - Providing Added Value
10:39 - Identifying Potential Clients and the Ideal Target Market
27:41 - Showcasing Demonstrated Skill and Being Accessible
34:19 - Narrowing It Down
36:55 - Communication Tactics
42:51 - Takeaways
- Ask: The Counterintuitive Online Formula to Discover Exactly What Your Customers Want to Buy...Create a Mass of Raving Fans...and Take Any Business to the Next Level by Ryan Levesque
Picks
This American Life Episode #569: Put a Bow on It (Reuven)
Steal the Show by Michael Port (Jonathan)
MONEY Master the Game: 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom by Tony Robbins (Chuck)
The Positioning Manual for Technical Firms by Philip Morgan (Chuck)
00:55 - Laura Roeder Introduction
- LKR Social Media
- Blog
- Edgar
- @meetedgar
01:10 - How Edgar Works
03:31 - Why should you share you own content more than once?
06:25 - What is the most effective approach to scheduling content?
09:01 - Getting Over the “Spammer” Mentality
11:51 - Scheduling
14:47 - Handling Feedback (Complaints)
16:43 - What should you be saying on social media?
19:59 - Should you have multiple accounts? Should you use different platforms for different purposes?
26:06 - How do people even keep up with social media?
30:27 - Hashtags
- Conference/Event News
33:58 - Facebook Pages
36:14 - Social Media Etiquette
39:42 - The Business and Background of Edgar
42:17 - “Request Access” (List Building)
43:51 - Getting Started with Social Media
45:58 - Twitter Cards
46:23 - Email Marketing
49:56 - Keeping Up with Social Media (and targeting the wrong ones)
Other tools mentioned on today’s show
- Hootsuite
- Tweetbot
- Snapchat
- Periscope
- Meerkat
Picks
feedly (Reuven)
Super Spicy Media Blog (Jonathan)
Resources for DYFConf attendees by Kurt Elster (Jonathan)
Edgar (Chuck)
Hootsuite (Chuck)
Tweetbot (Chuck)
Unfollowers.com (Chuck)
Basecamp (Chuck)
Pocket (Laura)
00:57 - Jonathan’s Career Path Background and Transitions
- FileMaker
06:21 - Chuck’s Crossroad
- Remote Conferences
- Angular Remote Conf
- Sponsorship/Advertiser Liaison
- Apple TV
08:16 - Reuven’s Crossroad: Development => Training
11:35 - How do people recognize that they need a change? (Transitioning)
23:00 - How do you make THE decision and know that it’s the right decision?
- Lightbulb Moment
- Passion
33:16 - Scheduled Self-Evaluation
35:42 - The Identity Crisis
Picks
Startups For The Rest Of Us Episode #225: Moving on From Auditshark (Reuven)
Remarq (Jonathan)
RCA Outdoor Digital HDTV VHF UHF Yagi Type Antenna (Chuck)
TV Fool (Chuck)
00:51 - Jeremy Green Introduction
- GitHub
- Blog
- Remarq
- @remarqio
01:10 - “Good-looking Documents”
07:13 - Use Cases
- The Positioning Manual For Technical Firms by Philip Morgan
08:07 - Typography, Branding, and Spacing
13:00 - Audience & Users
14:20 - Images, Charts, and Graphs
15:30 - Markdown
- Softcover
19:35 - Formatting For Books vs Reports
20:42 - Fonts
21:47 - Image Enhancement
22:36 - Modifying Style Standards
24:14 - Horizontal Rules
25:50 - Decoration
26:38 - White Space and Bulleted Lists
27:53 - Breaking Up Content / Page Breaks
28:59 - How Remarq Works
- Pandoc
- LaTeX
30:24 - The Business Side
31:50 - Upcoming Features
- Dropbox Integration
- Zapier Integration
32:55 - Marketing
Friends of The Freelancers’ Show: Get 25% off Remarq with this special discount code!
Picks
Planet Money: Episode 650: The Scariest Thing In Hollywood (Reuven)
Planet Money: Episode 651: The Salmon Taboo (Reuven)
Planet Money: Episode 653: The Anti-Store (Reuven)
Stripe (Chuck)
Crowdcast (Chuck)
Calendly (Jeremy)
The Traffic Manuel by Kai Davis (Jeremy)
00:55 - Host Updates
07:24 - Let’s say you’ve been billing by a week on a large project. The project slows down, meaning there is less to do and requests are sporadic and unpredictable, so weekly billing no longer makes sense to you or the client. What do you then switch to keeping in mind that it’s unpredictable work?
11:27 - ^^ I’m trying to avoid hourly. They don’t know my hourly rate.
14:35 - When other contractors on a client project go MIA off and on, and the work plays a vital role in the project, do you suggest replacements to the client?
24:22 - Company Structure and Business Entities
43:00 - Merchant Accounts and eCommerce
51:47 - Do you let clients text you about projects? I found that once you let that happen, they start texting about things that should be emailed or handled elsewhere. Or, texting expecting a faster response. Or, texting at inconvenient times like when you’re driving with your family.
Picks
Naomi Dunford: How To Confidently Raise Your Rates (Eric)
Blair Enns: Seven Universal Truths About Money (Eric)
01:56 - Rest & Leisure Time (Away From the Computer!)
- 100 Days of Burpees Facebook Group
11:44 - Making Time and Creating Habits & Routines
22:23 - Professional Development Training
- The Miracle Morning
- Daily Tech Video
- Terrifying Robot Dog Podcast
30:11 - Days/Nights Out with Family & Friends and CoWorking & Networking (Getting Your People Fix)
- Toastmasters International
37:03 - Scheduling Commitments
41:19 - Business Upkeep (Bookkeeping, Client Follow Ups, etc.)
48:07 - Make Small Changes
Picks
100 Days of Burpees Facebook Group (Jonathan)
Kirk Parsley: America's biggest problem @ TEDxReno (Jonathan)
Philip Morgan: CTA-able Content Marketing (Eric)
Twitter Analytics (Reuven)
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food For Life by Barbara Kingsolver (Reuven)
ElectoralVote (Reuven)
15 Minute Podcast Listener chat with Charles Wood (Chuck)
Pebble Time (Chuck)
00:55 - Paul Jarvis Introduction and Background
- Creative Class
- Smashing Magazine
- pjrvs.com
01:42 - Freelancing Patterns
- Frustration
04:38 - Contracts and Negotiations
08:12 - Coaching Creative People
- Slack Channel
12:35 - Why work as a one-person business?
14:53 - Marketing
- Niches
- Networking
20:55 - Gaining Audience and Getting Booked
- Creating Specific and Focused Content
32:01 - Testimonials and Feedback
Picks
DYFConf 2015 Video Conference Sessions (Jonathan)
Mr. Robot (Paul)
Huawei P8 lite - 5" Unlocked Android 4G LTE Smartphone (Reuven)
00:50 - Managing Multiple Projects & Clients (Context & Experience)
13:46 - Committment Management
16:19 - Communication & Setting Expectations
- Systems & Tools
- Slack
- Basecamp
- Trello
- KanbanFlow
- Asana
- Redbooth
30:07 - Avoiding Overwhelm
- The Pomodoro Technique
- Delegation & Automation
- Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen
- Habits and Routines
45:58 - Managing Requests for Your Time on Multiple Projects and Contracts
47:27 - Calendaring
Picks
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo (Eric)
Philip Morgan: 3 Content Marketing Ideas For the Time-Constrained Dev Shop (Eric)
Mojca Mars: Get High-Value Clients With Social Media (Eric)
Android Wear (Jonathan)
Calendly (Jonathan)
Double Your Freelancing Conference (Jonathan)
Connie Chan: When One App Rules Them All: The Case of WeChat and Mobile in China (Reuven)
Penn & Teller: Fool Us (Reuven)
Reuven's Training/Coaching Program (Reuven)
15 Minute Podcast Listener Chat with Charles Wood (Chuck)
The Freelancers' Show Episode #168: Branding with Sunny Bonnell (Chuck)
01:06 - How do you deal with unexpected requests for your time?
- INBOX PAUSE
07:57 - How do you find your first few clients?
- “eBombing”
- Podcast Appearances
- Incentivization
19:14 - Having trouble finding clients as a junior developer => going freelance
- Open Source
- Recruiting/Recruiters
28:26 - Is it wise to rely on one big client or many smaller ones?
- Reinventing your business & creating new offerings
- Establish savings for job security
Picks
Zapier/Slack Hack (Eric)
IKEA Wireless Chargers (Jonathan)
Cell Phone Tripod Adapter (Chuck)
NeewerHandheld Video Stabilizer for DV GoPro Mini Cameras (Chuck)
01:05 - Sunny Bonnell Introduction
- Motto
- @wearemotto
- Ashleigh Hansberger: @ashleighsnotes (Sunny’s Co-Founder)
01:38 - Archetyping
- Is Your Brand the Rebel, Hero or Lover? Discovering Brand Archetypes
- Understanding The Brand Archetype
05:48 - Is archetyping important for the solopreneur?
- Johnny Cupcakes
12:21 - Identifying Your Archetype
15:37 - Branding ROI
21:44 - What do you do once you choose your archetype?
- Munk Pack
- Anthony Bourdain
25:12 - Implementing Motto’s Archetype
26:04 - Can you blend archetypes?
28:47 - Finding a Target Audience
33:54 - Changing Brands
42:27 - Client Intake Process/Discovery
- Red Flags/Turning People Down
49:14 - The Audience
- TOMS Shoes
51:51 - Changing Archetypes
- Levi's
Extras
- Best Advice I Ever Got: Don't Be a Slave to the Ordinary
- 10 Ways to Find Your Purpose as a Designer
- 12 Principles For Leading An Extraordinary Company
- Five questions to get to the heart of your business
- Follow Your “Why,” Not Your “What”
Picks
Circa Notebooks (Jonathan)
Expensive Problem Coaching Call (Jonathan)
Naomi Dunford: What Is Price Anchoring? (And Should You Do It?) (Eric)
Setting a goal, making a plan, and executing a plan (Chuck)
Masters of Sex (Sunny)
Readymag (Sunny)
Niice (Sunny)
Yellow108 (Sunny)
Checkout RailsClips and Angular Remote Conf!
01:03 - Panelist Experiences With Hiring
03:00 - Hiring Virtual Assistants (VAs)
- Mandy = @therubyrep / DevReps
- Virtual Staff Finder
10:02 - Hiring For Design Work / One-Off Projects
- Wet Frog Studios (Aaron Mahnke)
- Podcast Motor
- Elance
- Fiverr
- Odesk => Upwork
16:23 - Hiring Subcontractors
- Infinum
27:58 - Hiring Employees
Picks
Uber (Reuven)
Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat by Bee Wilson (Reuven)
Morgan’s Paradox for Freelancers (Eric)
Marcus Blankenship (Jonathan)
The Mortified Podcast (Jonathan)
Developer On Fire Episode 017 - Charles Max Wood - Get Involved and Try New Things (Chuck)
Elevator Saga (Chuck)
Check out RailsClips and Angular Remote Conf!
01:39 - Purchase Criteria
08:09 - At what point to do you switch/kill off/upgrade services and/or hardware?
- Lost Productivity Costs
21:03 - Justifying Big Equipment/Furniture Purchases
32:58 - Try Before You Buy
37:04 - Travel Expenses
47:33 - Quality = Positive Return On Investment (ROI)
- Self-Representation
Products and Services Referenced During This Episode:
- BuiltWith
- Edgar
- Buffer
- Basecamp
- Dropbox
- CleanMyMac
- Synology
- Drobo
- Emacs
- Keynote
- IPython Notebook
- Uber
Picks
ExpressVPN (Reuven)
Young Money: Inside the Hidden World of Wall Street's Post-Crash Recruits by Kevin Roose (Reuven)
CommitStrip: A Very Common Coder’s Youthful Mistake (Eric)
Paul Jarvis: The one thing every aspiring freelancer, college student or person with access to a time machine should know (Eric)
Amazon Echo (Jonathan)
1-877-223-0342 (Chuck)
freelancershow.com/15minutes (Chuck)
00:57 - Do you find it hard to work 40 billable hours in a week? If so, how do you explain it to an outsider?
08:59 - How do you set aside time for admin work? Billing, blogging, etc.
15:41 - How can someone measure when they are "ready" in their skills to break into freelance from a full-time job? Is it better to just dive in and see what happens?
26:26 - Is it still important to niche down right away? Might it be more helpful to wait a little longer until I have more experience to choose a niche from?
32:55 - When do you suggest is an appropriate time to start billing when you’re ramping up a project?
Picks
Proposal Template PDF (Jonathan)
Existential Comics (Reuven)
Check out RailsClips!
00:58 - Marie Poulin Introduction
- Blog
- Digital Strategy School
- Doki
01:42 - Marie’s Background and Digital Strategy School Evolution
04:57 - Working with Breanne Dyck
- The Freelancers' Show Episode #164: Teaching and Learning Courses wit Breanne Dyck
06:55 - Freelancer => Strategic Business Owner
- “Everything that’s on your plate is there because you said yes to it.” -- Danielle LaPorte
09:33 - Mindset: Looking At Your Business as a Business (Getting Serious)
14:55 - Business Audit: Why are you doing what you are doing? What do you want to accomplish with your business?
- Tara Gentile: Know Where You’re Headed (Your Chief Initiative)
- Monthly, Quarterly, Yearly Check-ins
- Changing Your Business Takes Time
21:38 - Execution
24:27 - Accountability and Discipline
- BJ Fogg
- The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg
- What’s happening now? What’s happening later?
- “Work with your energy”
- Track Tasks
- [Skillshare] Get Stuff Done Like A Boss: Design Your Workflow and Double Your Productivity in 21 Days with Tiago Forte
- Track Tasks
- What is at stake? (F This Moment)
29:13 - Making Tough Decisions
35:18 - Mastermind Groups
- Entreprogrammers
44:44 - Doki
Picks
Vornado 530 Compact Whole Room Air Circulator (Eric)
Paracord (Chuck)
Soto Pocket Torch (Chuck)
The Strategic Designer: Tools & Techniques for Managing the Design Process by David Holston (Marie)
Creative Confidence by Tom and David Kelley (Marie)
[TED Talk] Brene Brown: The Power of Vulnerability (Marie)
Check out RailsClips and RemoteConfs!
01:14 - Breanne Dyck Introduction
- My Name Is Breanne: Master the Business of Teaching Online
02:13 - Transitioning: Contracting => Teaching Courses
- Content Marketing
05:59 - Structuring Content
- Deep vs Wide Business Model
10:19 - Where do you start?
13:05 - Getting Results
- Levels of Mastery
- Surface-Level Learning
- Higher-Level Mastery
- Badass: Making Users Awesome by Kathy Sierra
- Spectrum of Confidence/Competence
- The Backwards Brain Bicycle
24:15 - Setting People Up to Succeed
- Pilots, Alpha and Beta Phases
- Outcomes and Objectives
- 80/20 Rule (Pareto Principle)
33:57 - Should I charge for pilots? (Pricing)
- Ramit Sethi
35:39 - Experimentation > Textbook/Traditional Learning
43:22 - Selecting Content For Your Course
- The 5 Whys Technique
- Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability by Steve Krug
52:50 - Getting and Keeping People Interested in Your Courses Through Completion
- Massive Open Online Course (MOOCs)
- Passive Participants
- The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg
- Planning For Success
Picks
The Art of Outbound Lead Generation by Blair Enns (Eric)
Is Positioning Professional Services Different Than Products? Al Ries Explains (Eric)
Badass: Making Users Awesome by Kathy Sierra (Eric)
remoteconfs.com (Chuck)
God (Chuck)
Jesus Christ (Chuck)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Chuck)
Brain Rules (Updated and Expanded): 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School by John Medina (Breanne)
Brilliance by Design: Creating Learning Experiences That Connect, Inspire, and Engage Kindle Edition by Vicki Halsey (Breanne)
Quiet Power Strategy by Tara Gentile (Breanne)
Your Perfect Participant: Unlock What Buyers Want & Need From You by Breanne Dyck (Breanne)
01:47 - Context For Discussion
05:13 - Getting That Last Check
08:03 - When Things Aren’t Working Out…
- Business Value
11:26 - Pricing Features (Billing)
18:20 - “Offboarding”: The Handoff Phase/Transitioning
- Client Mailing List
- Screencasts/Video Tutorials
- Transcripts
27:30 - Parting Ways on a Good Note
30:44 - Asking For Referrals, Gaining Introductions
37:59 - Horror Stories? Uncertainty Sucks
- Working With Startups
45:47 - “Offboarding” Cont’d
Picks
Podcast for America (Reuven)
HRV4Training (Eric)
Terrifying Robot Dog (Jonathan)
Bartesian: the Ultimate Home Cocktail Machine (Jonathan)
Mandy's Fiancé's Video Game Fund (Chuck)
Downcast (Chuck)
Aftershokz AS500 Bluez 2 Open Ear Wireless Stereo Headphones (Chuck)
01:23 - Matt Inglot Introduction
- Tilted Pixel
- @tiltedpixel
- Freelance Transformation
- Podcast
02:22 - Transitioning (Mistakes Made)
- Scaling
- Generalization
- Fixed Overhead
04:13 - Specialization, Positioning, and Targeting Clients and Customers
- Virtualization
08:30 - Pivoting to Being a Remote Agency
- Getting Clients
- Networking and Referrals
- Inbound Marketing
- Direct Outreach
13:34 - Running a Remote Team
- Contractors, Subcontractors
16:55 - Company and Team Identity
- Adding Overhead
26:57 - Scale
28:10 - Pricing and Billing; Recurring Revenue
30:18 - Recurring Services
- Campaign Management
- SEO
- Building Email Marketing Services
31:16 - Prompting Change in a Business
34:52 - Specialization (Cont’d)
39:49 - Being a “Web Agency” / Calling Yourself ____
49:05 - Choosing a Niche
Picks
aText (Jonathan)
Amy Cuddy: Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are (Eric)
Sonic Pi (Chuck)
Freelance Transformation (Matt)
Kirk Parsley: America's Biggest Problem | TEDxReno (Matt)
01:40 - Prepayment, Deposits, Trust, and Risk
14:55 - Pricing a SaaS (Software as a Service)
- Tier Pricing
- Grandfather Clauses
- Beta Test Features
- Unlocking Features
27:02 - Scope
30:07 - Tier Pricing (Cont’d)
- The Win Without Pitching Manifesto by Blair Enns
38:49 - What’s a marketing/lead generation channel that’s been successful for you that you hadn’t expected to be successful for your consulting business?
- Podcasting
- Speaking Engagements
45:03 - The Get Clients Now Approach
- The Freelancers' Show Episode #20: Get Clients Now! with C.J. Hayden
46:47 - If you could give yourself two or three bits of advice when you first started out, what would they be?
- Specialize
- Book Yourself Solid by Michael Port
- Charge More
- Don’t Be Afraid to Make Mistakes
51:03 - Mastermind Groups
Picks
Pay Your Love First (Eric)
The Consulting Pipeline Podcast (Eric)
Drip Sherpa (Jonathan)
Double Your Freelancing Conference (Jonathan)
CodeNewbie Podcast (Chuck)
This Is Your Life Podcast (Chuck)
02:02 - “Budgeting”
04:01 - Incentive
- Jesse Mecham
11:09 - Time Cost/Emotional Cost
14:47 - Approaching a Budget
- YNAB Features (Desktop)
- YNAB for iPhone
- YNAB for iPad
- YNAB for Android
21:31 - Keeping Up a Budget (Discipline)
- Financial Accounting
- Managerial Accounting
39:14 - Amending Budgets
- Budgeting for Taxes
- Depreciation Expenses
46:19 - Expense Division?
- Dave Ramsey
54:15 - Getting Started
- Buy YNAB
55:56 - Default Questions
- Cash Flow Statement
- Is it worth it?
- Do I have enough extra to invest?
59:34 - Reconciling Accounts (Transfers)
- Using PayPal
Picks
The Positioning Manual for Technical Firms by Philip Morgan (Jonathan)
Econtalk (Reuven)
Blair Enns: 5 Reasons You Should Offer Guarantees (Eric)
YNAB (Chuck)
Serial Podcast (Chuck)
Startups For the Rest of Us (Chuck)
Aftershokz AS500 Bluez 2 Open Ear Wireless Stereo Headphones (Chuck)
Get your Ruby Remote Conf tickets and check out the @rubyremoteconf Twitter feed for exciting updates about the conference.
02:09 - Philip Morgan Introduction
- Philip Morgan Consulting
- The Positioning Manual for Technical Firms by Philip Morgan
02:30 - Thinking About Positioning and Communicating What You Do
- Expensive Problem: The Benefits of Pigeonholing
27:08 - Finding Target Markets
35:25 - Acquiring New Skills to Support a New Position
39:00 - Refining Your Positioning
- Marketing, Publicity
56:07 - Positioning Exercise
Picks
Kurt Elster: Email Templates for Freelancers (Jonathan)
Expensive Problem: Market Research Cold Email Template (Jonathan)
Bryan Harris: How I Made $10,000 in 24-hours With My First Product (Case Study) (Reuven)
Jewish guide to visiting China by Reuven Lerner (Reuven)
Spark by Readdle (Eric)
AmazonSmile (Chuck)
Listen to other people’s views (Chuck)
Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind by Al Ries (Philip)
Rolls MS111 Mic Switch Latching or Momentary Microphone Mute Switch with Passes Phantom Power (Philip)
The Consulting Pipeline Podcast (Philip)
07:06 - Finding Work on Sites Like Elance and Upwork (formerly oDesk)
- Danny Margulies The Non-Scuzzy and Totally True Story of How I Earned 6 Figures in 12 Months by Mastering the “Hidden Elance Economy”
- Danny Margulies: How to Make Money On Elance – My $100,000 Year
- Fiverr
14:24 - What sort of project/scope documentation do you generate for clients to supply time/budget estimates?
- ROI (Return On Investment)
- ChiliProject
23:26 - How much time do you spend with the client defining the scope of the work before you sign a contract?
27:20 - Do you have a timeline to review deliverables (weekly) or is it ad-hoc based on when the work is finished?
33:12 - You have mentioned, at least in the early podcasts, that you do about 20-30 hours of billable work per week, and you also have multiple simultaneous clients/contracts. I'm currently working a W2, 40+ hour week with a large product backlog that has me busy all week, so I'm struggling to visualize what a week in the life of a freelancer looks like.
If you only work 20-30 hours per week, and have at a minimum of 2 clients, does that mean you only dedicate 10 or so hours per client?
42:50 - What sort of non-development tasks do you bill for that fill up some of the extra time?
46:12 - How much development time per week do your clients expect you to dedicate to the project?
49:58 - Have you ever had a client specify a maximum number of hours per week in your contract?
50:27 - Is the feedback loop so slow that you always have time to work on another contract while you're waiting?
53:54 - Do your clients ever feel like you're not putting in enough time per week? How do you respond that?
Picks
Danny Margulies The Non-Scuzzy and Totally True Story of How I Earned 6 Figures in 12 Months by Mastering the “Hidden Elance Economy” (Eric)
MicroConf (Chuck)
Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results by Stephen Guise (Chuck)
Habit Stacking: 97 Small Life Changes That Take Five Minutes or Less by S.J. Scott (Chuck)
How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie (Chuck)
Slate's Whistlestop Podcast (Reuven)
01:47 - Rob Walling Introduction
- GitHub
- Blog
- Startups For the Rest of Us
- MicroConf
- @MicroConf
- Drip
- @getdrip
02:46 - Rob’s Background in Email Marketing
- Rob Walling: The Number One Goal Of Your Website @ Business Of Software 2010
04:32 - Email Marketing ≠ Spam
- Personalization
- Small vs Large Companies
10:07 - Drip Features
- Tagging
- Targeted Emails
14:25 - Templates
19:20 - Best Practices
- Email Capture Forms Everywhere
- Autoresponders
- Lead Scoring
- Eric's Mailing List
25:58 - Frequency and Growing Your List
- Patrick Mckenzie
- Software by Rob
- James Clear
29:01 - Exclusivity
- Permalinking
- Nick Disabato P
- Public, But Not Visible
- Social Shares
35:20 - Updating Content
- Michael Port
40:06 - Vanity Metrics
46:07 - List Segmenting
- NeverBounce
52:04 - Lead Magnets (Opt-in Rewards)
- Clay Collins
Picks
Saas Marketing Essentials by Ryan Battles (Rob)
Bloxels: Build Your Own Video Games with Blocks by Pixel Press (Rob)
Circa Notebooks from Levenger (Jonathan)
Book Yourself Solid: The Fastest, Easiest, and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients Than You Can Handle Even if You Hate Marketing and Selling by Michael Port (Jonathan)
Content marketing isn’t the dirty word you think it is (Eric)
LEGO Mindstorms (Reuven)
Brixton Brothers Books (Reuven)
Pleco (Reuven)
Check out Ruby Remote Conf!
01:56 - Alex Hillman Introduction
- Blog
- The Coworking Weekly Show
- Indy Hall
- @indyhall
- Amy Hoy
- Unicornfree
- 30x500: Build and Launch a Profitable Product Business Without Venture Capital
02:57 - Collaboration and Coworking Spaces
08:34 - Nights and Weekends? (After Hours/Night Owl Working)
- Unconferences and BarCamps
13:05 - Coworking is NOT a Talent Agency
15:02 - Isn’t Coworking Distractive?
- Choice Architecture
- Full-Time / Flex-Member Separation = Bad
22:33 - Forming Relationships for Collaboration
- Examples:
- Parker and Jake
- Flycops
- @flyclops
- Domino
- Flycops
- Amanda and Christine
- Lanternfish Press
- @lfpbooks
- The Legend of Sherlock Holmes Kickstarter Project
- Lanternfish Press
- Parker and Jake
35:13 - Interns
36:54 - Collaboration vs Cooperation
- Choice vs Forced Collaboration
- “Half Baked Ideas”
- Where Good Ideas Come From by Steven Johnson
45:20 - Committing to a Coworking Space
49:39 - Should You Cowork?
- Self-Management
- Confidence: “If I can do it, you can do it.”
- Honest Exposure
01:03:58 - Starting a Coworking Space
- Core, Committed People
- Community Barn Raising
- Resources:
- How To Fund Your Coworking Space
- How Much Does It Cost To Start A Coworking Space?
- The Three Necessary Ingredients For Community. Do You Have Them?
Picks
The Tim Ferriss Show - Lazy: A Manifesto (Eric)
Kai Davis: How to Hire a Part-Time Employee (Jonathan)
Working Podcast (Reuven)
Startup Podcast (Reuven)
Fundraising While Female (Reuven)
CodeNewbie Podcast (Chuck)
Ask Me Another Podcast (Chuck)
Ruby Remote Conf (Chuck)
Reply All Podcast (Alex)
Just Listen: Discover the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone by Mark Goulston M.D. (Alex)
Check out Ruby Remote Conf!
02:36 - Estimates
- Offering a Range
- Educated Guess
- Confidence Score
- When Clients Balk
- Trail Map
- Adding Buffers
12:09 - Roadmapping
- Eric’s Sample Trail Map
- Identifying and Reducing Risks
18:12 - How to Sell It
23:06 - Roadmaps vs Estimates (Defined & Differences)
- Wireframes
30:21 - Dealing with Conflict (Estimate Pain Points)
- Communication: Feedback & Check-in Points
33:10 - Budget and Value
- Hourly Billing / Fixed Bid / Weekly Billing
39:43 - Mismatched Expectations (Communication Cont’d)
- Red Flags Episode
44:47 - Productized Services and Consulting
- Kurt Elster
- Website Rescues
- The Freelancers’ Show Episode #131: Tiny Sites and Productized Consulting with Kurt Elster
Picks
Eric's Sample Trail Map (Eric)
Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder by Nassim Nicholas Taleb (Eric)
The Terrible Two by Mac Barnett (Reuven)
INBOX PAUSE (Jonathan)
CouldApp (Jonathan)
Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman (Chuck)
99Designs (Chuck)
Fiverr (Chuck)
04:07 - At what point does it make sense to register as a corporation? Apart from liability, I assume. If you have profits to reinvest in the business?
- Types of Business Entities:
- Sole Proprietorship
- Limited Liability Company (LLC)
- S-Corporations
- “Piercing the Corporate Veil”
- Errors and Omissions Insurance
- Annual Minutes and Organizational Meetings
13:25 - Do you umbrella all your products, brands, DBAs, etc. under a main corp?
- DBA (Doing Business As)
18:32 - What was the comical, but legit contract you mentioned on a show recently? (Contracts)
- Contract Killer
- Sue => Fold
21:35 - Expensing Home Office for Tax Purposes
- Tax Deductions
- Tax Credits
31:12 - Errors and Omissions Insurance (Cont’d)
34:38 - Marketing to Launch
- Jeff Walker of The Product Launch Formula
41:26 - Contract Resolution
43:29 - If expensing a home office, do you pay for bills, utilities, etc. out of a personal or business account?
45:44 - Prototyping Tools
50:20 - Partnerships and Investments: “My friend has an idea!! ... I actually like this one!!”
- Even small-scale apps or services?
Picks
Just Fucking Ship by Amy Hoy (Eric)
The Brain Audit: Why Customers Buy (and Why They Don't) by Sean D'Souza (Jonathan)
The Silkworm (A Cormoran Strike Novel) by Robert Galbraith (Jonathan)
The Positioning Manual for Technical Firms by Philip Morgan (Reuven)
WASD CODE 87-Key Illuminated Mechanical Keyboard with White LED Backlighting - Cherry MX Clear (Chuck)
Grifiti Fat Wrist Pad (Chuck)
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (Chuck)
Mastery by Robert Greene (Chuck)
Join us for our next Live Q&A on Tuesday, May 26th 2015! Sign up and get The Ultimate Guide of Marketing Tools for Freelancers here.
02:44 - “We just fired our last dev. Can you help us?”
05:40 - Temporary Gigs
07:42 - Unrealistic Timeline
09:26 - “Our developers are above-average smart!”
- Lake Wobegon Effect
10:40 - Lack of Communication / Communication Skills Suck
- Prescreening Questions
14:15 - Bad CEOs / Crazy Personnel Changes
19:27 - When Clients Go Dark
28:03 - “We’ll pay you in equity!” or “We’ll give you a share of our profits!”
29:59 - Ridiculous NDAs (Non-Disclosure Agreements)
32:04 - Vetting Processes
37:06 - Payment
44:56 - Low-Budget Companies
Picks
Kai Davis: Microconf 2015 Recap (Eric)
Pricing with Confidence: 10 Ways to Stop Leaving Money on the Table by Reed Holden (Jonathan)
CleanMyMac 3 (Reuven)
01:32 - Nathan Powell Introduction
- Blog
02:05 - Why move away from doing UI/UX consultant to a product?
03:38 - Nusii
- @nusiiapp
- Michael Koper, Co-Founder
06:01 - Getting Started
- Start Small, Stay Small: A Developer's Guide to Launching a Startup by Rob Walling
10:41 - Finding a Co-Founder
12:46 - Customer Feedback
14:36 - What Makes Nusii Unique?
17:46 - Nusii as SaaS Proposal Software
- Alan Weiss
- Brennan Dunn
25:57 - Templates
- Episode #153: Workshop with Robert Williams
35:08 - Transitioning From Consultant to Product Owner
- Mastermind Groups
- Get a Co-Founder
40:17 - What Would Nathan Have Done Differently? (Advice)
- Find a Co-Founder Right Away
- SaaS’ Are Big
- Have a Mentor
45:43 - Pricing
46:25 - The Creator’s Guide to Better Proposals (Coming Soon!)
Freelancers’ Show T-Shirts are available! teespring.com/freelancersshow
Styles include unisex up to 3x, ladies', sweatshirts, and long sleeve tees. Teespring also offers international shipping so that all of our listeners have a chance to buy!
Picks
LeadDigits: Why We’re Betting Big on Mobile SMS Marketing (and a Sneak Peek at Our Newest Product) (Jonathan)
Revive Old Post Pro (Nathan)
Nick Disabato: Solving the Best Problems (Reuven)
Gastropod (Reuven)
02:07: “Sales Conversation”
- Starts as:
- Initial Contact From a Prospect
- Culmination:
- Homework and Brain Dump Research for Phone Calls (on Both Sides)
- Writing a Proposal
05:47 - Value-based Pricing Resources
- Episode #96: Value-Based Pricing with Brennan Dunn
- Episode #109: How to Determine Value and Set Pricing with Kirk Bowman
06:08 - Is There an “Expensive Problem” to be Solved?
08:32 - “Value”
- ROI (Return On Investment)
10:38 - Qualifying Customers as People You Want to Work With
- Be Picky
12:49 - Sales Conversations When In Demand vs When You Need Work NOW
- Do NOT Be Desperate or Needy
- Confidence
20:19 - Doing Your Homework
24:01 - Pitches and Avoiding Wipe Out
36:20 - What Do You Want to Communicate to a Client?
- Requirements: Get Treated Like an Expert and Professional
- All-Inclusive Rate/Fee
- Traveling Rates/Fees
54:02 - Demonstrating Your Value
Picks
Talk Python To Me (Reuven)
The Martian: A Novel by Andy Weir (Jonathan)
Pitch Anything Book by Oren Klaff (Jonathan)
The Reckoners Series by Brandon Sanderson (Chuck)
The Magic of Thinking Big David J. Schwartz (Chuck)
Check out Jonathan’s new coaching services site, Expensive Problem!
02:07 - Robert Williams Introduction
- Workshop
- @letsworkshop
- Emails That Win You Clients by Robert Williams
02:28 - How Does Workshop Work?
- Lead Generation Newsletter
- Help a Reporter Out (HARO)
04:07 - Getting Picked (Competing For Leads?)
05:24 - How is it Different From a Job Board?
- All Freelance Jobs
- All Project-Based
- All Remote
07:35 - Other Curating Services Compared
- Peter Cooper Newsletters
- Crew
09:47 - Finding Leads to Offer
- Wheelhouse
11:54 - Success Stories > Statistics
- Josh Pigford of Baremetrics
15:27 - Pricing and Value
- Kurt Elster
- Shopify
20:14 - Email Content
22:10 - Expanding / Contracting / Refocusing Based on Feedback?
23:56 - Writing Emails: Emails That Win You Clients by Robert Williams
- PR LEADS
- Top Tips:
- Short
- Deliver Something of Value
- Thumbs Up/Yes for More Info (Kai Davis)
- Optimize Subject Lines
35:56 - Referrals
37:06 - Upsale Opportunities and Maintenance Agreements
- Non-compete Clause
Picks
Simplecast (Jonathan)
Amazon Dash Button (Jonathan)
Welcome to Night Vale (Reuven)
Steelheart (The Reckoners) by Brandon Sanderson (Chuck)
Paparazzi (Robert)
Just Tell Julie (Robert)
The Magic Email (Robert)
06:09 - Q1: Do you group your products / services into one big site to pool traffic, or do you think its better to build them as their own brands?
- “Online Split Personalities” to Appeal to Specific Groups
- Jonathan’s Starbucks Gift Card Story
17:39 - Q2: As a freelancer, a designer has a portfolio. As a programmer, do you think your blog / user group and conference speaking says enough? Or, do you need to have Open Source to help backup your work? Obviously, it depends if the person hiring knows what GitHub is or not. I'm thinking about screencasts to add more visible portfolio items since it’s not easy to show code by itself. Thoughts?
27:29 - Q3: If you are preparing to go freelance, you're wanting to show you're an expert and build clientele. You have some good long-term customers for the existing business. How do you recommend getting a testimonial from them that you could use while at the current business, and when you go freelancing, without compromising the business relationships? Do you try to steer clear of any links to old work, or just direct them to LinkedIn so that it’s obviously linked to you and avoids complication?
35:20 - Q4: My thought is, if you do blogs, create screencasts, and are active on GitHub, etc., it would put you in the top 10% [of developers] right there though, right? Most developers are “dark matter developers”: you can't see or hear them, but they're still there.
- Reference: Scoff Hanselman: Dark Matter Developers: The Unseen 99%
- “Garbage Disposal Guy” Example from John Sonmez of Simple Programmer
42:53 - Q5: Should you import your old blog posts from old websites to new ones?
- Michael Port’s Website
51:43 - Q6: What about Content Marketing and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) with having so many sparse sites? Versus pooling?
- Find Your Buyer: Is there a conference for it?
59:07 - Referrals
- The Brain Audit: Why Customers Buy (and Why They Don't) by Sean D'Souza
Picks
Pebble Time Kickstarter (Jonathan)
If This Then That (IFTTT) (Jonathan)
Naomi Dunford: On Learning and Keeping Stuff (Eric)
Emails That Win You Clients by Robert Williams (Reuven)
80/20 Sales and Marketing: The Definitive Guide to Working Less and Making More by Perry Marshall (Chuck)
Miracles and Massacres: True and Untold Stories of the Making of America by Glenn Beck (Chuck)
01:57 - Tools and Scheduling Apps
- Google Calendar
- Sunrise Calendar
- Calendly
- YouCanBook.me
- Due: The Superfast Reminder App
- BusyCal
08:16 - Prioritizing and Planning a Productive Day (Making a Commitment and Sticking to a System)
- The Pomodoro Technique
- KanbanFlow
- Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen
18:27 - Getting Started
- Leo Babauta’s MIT Idea (Most Important Task)
- The “Dragon Task” <= That ONE Task
- Tracking Back and Forth vs Having Everything in One Place
25:17 - Booking and Filling Time Gaps
- Following Up with Past Clients and Contacting New Leads
28:16 - Weekly / Monthly Reviews
29:29 - Avoiding Scheduling Conflicts and Being Consistent with Your Scheduling
- Expectation Setting with Clients
- Being (or at least) Appearing to be “In Demand”
41:14 - Routines
47:08 - Keep Some Flexibility in Your Schedule and Setting Minimums to Avoid Stress
49:01 - Offloading to Free Up Your Schedule
- Have a “Workshop” Every Week
- The Ultimate Sales Machine: Turbocharge Your Business with Relentless Focus on 12 Key Strategies by Chet Holmes
Picks
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Reuven)
The Complete Guide to Finding and Selling eCommerce Clients: Learn How to Find, Price, and Sell Clients on Your High-Value Service by Brennan Dunn (Eric)
Starcraft II (Chuck)
Q&A Signup: Freelancers’ Answers
01:35 - Josh Earl Introduction
- GitHub
- Blog
- Books
- Sublime Productivity: Code Like a Pro with Today's Premier Text Editor by Josh Earl
- Writing Sublime Plugins by Josh Earl
- Mailing Lists
- The Sublime Text Tips Newsletter (Sublime Text)
- DeskHacks (Standing Desks)
- JoshuaEarl.com (Marketing)
02:17 - Getting Started
- Leanpub
- Peter Cooper
- Running a Contest
05:17 - Format
- Wes Bos
- Sublime Text Power User: A Complete Guide by Wes Bos
- Tutorials
07:44 - Promotion and Getting Subscribers
- Contests
- Guest Blogging
11:40 - Sharing Content
- ROI (Return On Investment)
- Drip
- Autoresponders
- Lead Scoring
- Courses
- Open Loops (i.e. Cliffhangers, Arcs)
23:58 - Lead Magnets
- Courses
- Free Report
- Content Upgrade
27:00 - Driving Traffic: Website or Email List?
- Email Marketing Clients
- Drip
- Rob Walling
- Startups For the Rest of Us Podcast
- Rob Walling
- AWeber
- MailChimp
- Drip
- Lead Scoring Feature (Drip)
35:13 - Is This [Concept] New?
- Infusionsoft
42:07 - Strategies for Growth
- Twitter
- Twitter: Capture user interest with the Lead Generation Card
- Guest Posting
- Josh Earl: What I Learned From Growing My Email List 3,418% (Nearly 200k) in Just 11 Days
46:38 - Facebook Ads?
49:15 - Survey Subscribers
- SurveyMonkey
50:09 - Marketing From the Stage (Public Speaking)
- Texting Opt-in Services
Picks
Nathan Powell: Jobs to be done, and jobs that are simply done (Eric)
FlipBelt (Eric)
Ez Texting (Jonathan)
Perry Marshall: Look Over My Shoulder as I Craft Living Soul Connections via Email, The World’s Most Intimate Marketing Medium (Josh)
Autoresponder Boot Camp (Josh)
RumbleRoller Beastie Ball (Josh)
TextBlade (Josh)
Gumroad (Reuven)
01:46 - What is a Proposal?
- 3 Tier Options
- Budget
- Middle
- High-value
- Statement of Work (SOW)
- Alan Weiss Sample Proposals
- PO (Purchase Order)
15:18 - Legal Situations?
- Reuven’s Cautionary Tale
- Arbitration
- Mediation
19:31 - The Proposal is NOT a Pitch (80/20)
- RFP (Request For Proposal)
- Negotiations and Agreements
- Have Someone On Your Side (Work With the Right People)
- Value-based Pricing
27:45 - Recycling Proposals vs Starting From Scratch
- Use Templates
- Modify Text as Needed
30:34 - Things NOT to Put in a Proposal
- Never Change the Price or Give a Discount (Prevent Haggling)
- Write Everything Down => Meeting Notes
33:39 - Sales Conversations Are Everything
36:44 - Proposal-Writing Tools
- Bidsketch
- Nusii
40:11 - Understand Client Wants and Needs
Picks
Getting More: How You Can Negotiate to Succeed in Work and Life by Stuart Diamond (Jonathan)
The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick) by Seth Godin (Eric)
Workflow (Eric)
YouCanBook.Me (Reuven)
Calendly (Reuven)
Ask your questions via Twitter! Tweet to @freelancershow
or
show up to our next live Q&A on Tuesday, March 24th at 11AM Pacific, 2PM Eastern: http://freelancersanswers.com/webinar.
01:40 - Are RFPs (Request For Proposals) worth applying to if you’re a solo freelancer? What are some strategies for landing RFPs?
08:26 - Handling Taxes
- Hire an Accountant!
- Save Extra
13:02 - Subcontractors
- Form W-9
- 1099s
15:11 - Partnerships
19:56 - How does one break into a market to launch a product?
- Entering a Niche
- Email Lists
- MailChimp
- Podcasting
- Writing Newsletters
- Tweet/Interact on Social Media
- Attend Conferences/Meetups
- Be Genuine
28:06 - Popups, Guest Posting, Lead Magnets, and Giveaways
See Also
- Authority: Become an Expert, Build a Following, and Gain Financial Independence by Nathan Berry
- No Is NOT a Curse Word by Curtis McHale
Picks
Launch: A Startup Documentary (Eric)
The Best of Art of Value Podcast (Curtis)
The Quitter by Jon Acuff (Curtis)
BLU Life 8 Phone (Reuven)
John Sonmez's How To Build A Blog That Will Boost Your Career (Chuck)
Freelancers' Answers -- Go here to submit questions for The Freelancers’ Live Q&A shows!
Check out RailsCasts on Kickstarter!!
02:19 - Lifestyle Choice and Changes
03:09 - Clients That Have Run Their Course
05:29 - Having More Work Than You Can Handle
- Hiring Subcontractors
- Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
- Seasonal Highs and Lows
- Disappearing Clients
12:40 - Non-Résumé Worthy Work
13:33 - Getting Bad Vibes From Potential Clients
- Just Tell Julie
21:44 - Transitioning to New Kinds of Work
- Splitting Your Focus
- Moving to Product Building
37:14 - Management
39:13 - Reopening Doors to Previous Offers
Picks
Carbon Copy Cloner (Reuven)
Vivis™ Knight V3 13000mAh Dual USB Portable Charger External Battery Pack (Jonathan)
Gin Gins® Spicy Apple Chewy Ginger Candy (Eric)
YouTube (Chuck)
FFmpeg (Chuck)
Ruby Remote Conf (Chuck)
Developer’s Box Club (Chuck)
The panelists welcome back Jonathan Shank to talk about how to attract clients without doing sales.
The Freelancer's release their third live Q&A session which was recorded on December 23rd, 2014.
Neal Ford joins the discussion and talk to the Freelancers about life as a traveling consultant.
The Freelancer's release their second live Q&A session which was recorded on November 25th, 2014.
The Freelancers talk about the importance of being healthy and staying fit while running your own business.
The panelists talk to The Sales Evangelist, Donald Kelly, about minimizing prospects wasting your time.
The panelists talk to Travis Northcutt about finding your confidence as a small agency and/or freelancer.
The panelists talk to Tim Paige of the ConversionCast Podcast about landing pages and increasing conversions.
The panelists talk to DockYard's Brian Cardarella about the lessons he has learned building his own software consultancy.
The panelists discuss popular products and tools needed to start and sustain your business.
The panelists continue their "Preparing For Freelancing" series by discussing lifestyle.
The panelists continue their "Preparing For Freelancing" series and discuss finding ideal clients.
The panelists continue their "Preparing For Freelancing" series and discuss finding a niche.
The panelists discuss getting ready for freelancing and what you need to know about keeping your business on the up and up government-wise.
Eric and Curtis discuss how their learning has changed from the start of their career to now.
The panelists talk to John Sonmez about how to market yourself as a software developer.
The panelists talk to Kirk Bowman about how to determine value and set prices for your business.
The panelists talk to Stephan Kämper about testing and why it is important in the freelancing world.
The panelists talk to Bryan Helmkamp, of Code Climate, and Anthony Eden, of DNSimple, about building and running a SaSS company.
The panelists talk about all aspects of freelancing: contracts, healthcare, life insurance, and more with Amos King.
The Freelancers talk about the UserVoice question: Is there such a thing as web developer anymore?
The panelists talk about what to do if you find yourself without work and how to avoid getting in that position in the first place.
In this episode, The Freelancers share their personal stories about times when contracts went wrong and how to make things better for all who are involved.
The Freelancers' Interview Erik Fisher of the Beyond the To-Do List Podcast about productivity and social media.
The Freelancers interview Leslie Samuel of the Become A Blogger Blog and The Learning With Leslie Podcast.
John Saddington joins the Freelancers to talk about building a successful Kickstarter campaign.
The Freelancers discuss the idea of creating a subscription screencast series. They discuss how to choose a topic, length, approach, series, etc.
The Freelancers talk about taking time off for sickness, vacation, holidays, family events, etc. And how to approach clients about time off.
Mandy Moore, the podcast's producer and Chuck's VA, join the Freelancers to talk about how to become a virtual assistant and how freelancers can use virtual assistants in their businesses.
Michael Port joins the Freelancers to talk about his book Book Yourself Solid. He gives a ton of valuable advice for building your business and clientele
The freelancers talk about how they went freelance and some of the mistakes, struggles and triumphs they experienced.
Panel Pippin Williamson (twitter github Pippins Plugins) Curtis McHale (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:28 - Pippin Williamson Introduction Pippins Plugins Easy Digital Downloads Restrict Content Pro 01:53 - Making Money Making Plugins Product Development Custom Development 02:57 - GPLv2 Licensing ThemeForest Support Disabling Features 11:45 - Building a business around open-source Audience 12:48 - Transitioning from freelance to product work Graduality 072 – Saying NO Doing products during spare time Brian Casel The Bootstrapped Web Podcast 19:10 - Starting with products vs consulting 22:38 - Occasional Consulting 23:41 - Marketing Products Personal Brand Word-of-Mouth Referrals 25:42 - Customer Support 27:17 - Advice for people getting into commercial development Go the extra mile for your first customers 28:01 - Deciding what products to build Building what you need Best Practices 31:30 - Pippin’s Plugins CodeCanyon Easy Digital Downloads 34:26 - Pippin’s Support Team 36:45 - Tools to Run the Business Github WordPress Skype WordPress-GitHub-Plugin-Updater HALL Ronin Twitter Picks 1Keyboard (Curtis) Radium (Curtis) Episode 148 | Online Marketing Trends with Special Guest Clay Collins (Eric) The Online Marketing Makeover Training Course (Chuck) Bloons Tower Defence 5 (Chuck) SearchWP (Pippin) FacetWP (Pippin) Next Week Our Stories Transcript [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net.] [You're fantastic at coding, but do you have an action plan to take it to the next level? The upcoming book, Next Level Freelance, will help you optimize your freelance business for happiness. The book is packed with actionable steps to make more money, case studies, tips to find more clients, and exercises for you to establish your desired lifestyle. Extras include: 9 interviews with freelancers who make great money while enjoying great work-life balance, videos on strategies to find quality subcontractors, and videos on making more free time by outsourcing your daily tasks. Check it out today at nextlevelfreelance.com!] [This episode is sponsored by Planscope. Planscope is a project management and collaboration net built for freelancers in the way they work with clients. It makes it easy to price out new estimates and once you’re underway and help answer the question, these get done on time and under budget. I’ve been using Planscope to do my estimates and manage my projects and I really, really like it. It makes it really easy to keep things in order, and understand when things will get done. You can go check it out at Planscope.io.] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 79 of The Freelancers' Show! This week on our panel, we have Curtis McHale. CURTIS: Hello! CHUCK: Eric Davis. ERIC: Hi! CHUCK: I’m Charles Max Wood from DevChat.tv. We also have a special guest, and that is Pippin Williamson. PIPPIN: Hi everybody! CHUCK: Since you haven’t been on the show before, do you want to introduce yourself? PIPPIN: Sure! As he said, my name is Pippin Williamson. I’m a WordPress plugin developer. I spend my days writing plugins, supporting plugins, and generally running a business around commercial plugins. I have a couple of large plugins out there. One called “Easy Digital Downloads” and another one called “Restrict Content Pro” that I’ve considered my main ones. That’s pretty much what I do day-to-day. CHUCK: I’m a little curious, generally, when you’re making money writing plugins for WordPress, are you writing the kind that people pay for and then they download the code and stick it in the WordPress installation? Or, are you doing custom development for people? Or, both? How does that work?
Panel Curtis McHale (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Reuven Lerner (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:30 - Panelist Training & Coaching Experience 02:40 - Traveling for In-Person Training 05:52 - Rates 08:35 - Teaching College Courses 10:43 - Online Training Recorded Videos Live Sessions Forums/Discussion Groups GoToMeeting Skype tmux Pair Programming 17:15 - The Value of Training Expense vs Investment 19:54 - Structuring Exercises Canvas Working in Pairs 27:58 - Screencasting The Freelancers’ Show 071 – Recording Video 29:32 - In-Person Training vs Online Training Non-Verbal Communication Asking Questions 34:53 - Teaching Preparation 38:51 - Charging What You’re Worth Picks Joshua Clanton: A Drip of JavaScript (Reuven) Sensei (Curtis) Curtis McHale: Don't be an Idiot: Learn to run a viable business (Curtis) Zite (Eric) Civilization IV (Chuck) Discourse (Chuck) Book Club Book Yourself Solid with Michael Port! He will join us for an episode to discuss the book on September 24th. The episode will air on October 3rd. Next Week Freelancers Show: WordPress Plugins with Pippin Williamson Transcript CHUCK: [Stretching] [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net.] [You're fantastic at coding, but do you have an action plan to take it to the next level? The upcoming book, Next Level Freelance, will help you optimize your freelance business for happiness. The book is packed with actionable steps to make more money, case studies, tips to find more clients, and exercises for you to establish your desired lifestyle. Extras include: 9 interviews with freelancers who make great money while enjoying great work-life balance, videos on strategies to find quality subcontractors, and videos on making more free time by outsourcing your daily tasks. Check it out today at nextlevelfreelance.com!] [This episode is sponsored by Planscope. Planscope is a project management and collaboration net built for freelancers in the way they work with clients. It makes it easy to price out new estimates and wants you on their way and help answer the question just to get done on time and under budget. I’ve been using Planscope to do my estimates and manage my projects and I really, really like it. It makes it really easy to keep things in order, and understand when things will get done. You can go check it out at Planscope.io.] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 78 of The Freelancers' Show! This week on our panel, we have Curtis McHale. CURTIS: Hello! CHUCK: Eric Davis. ERIC: Hi! CHUCK: Reuven Lerner. REUVEN: Hi there! CHUCK: I’m Charles Max Wood from DevChat.tv. This week, we’re going to be talking about “Training and Coaching”. Just to start this off, how many of you guys have done much training or coaching? CURTIS: I do run a blog that does coaching or training all the time for WordPress stuff, and then I do it with clients as well. REUVEN: I do a ton of training. Probably 2-4 days a week is a good estimate where I go to companies and I train them in person. And then I’ve done a fair amount of coaching as well where I go to companies and I sort of move around and sit with their people and do pair programming and look over their shoulder. CHUCK: I’ve done a fair bit. I haven’t done like on-site, stand up in front of people kind of training except maybe at users groups. But I’ve done a bunch of coaching. I’ve had several people come to me, “Can you sit down and help solve this problem?” Or, “Can you sit down and basically teach me these things that I don’t understand?” and I just get on and kind of pair program with them over the internet to do the coaching. CURTIS: I’ve done stuff at local user groups as well where they’re teaching really basic stuff. Or,
Panel Brennan Dunn (twitter github blog) Reuven Lerner (twitter github blog) Curtis McHale (twitter github blog) Ashe Dryden (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:37 - Brennan Dunn Introduction Planscope Double Your Freelancing Rate by Brennan Dunn The Blueprint -- Learning to Sell Online by Brennan Dunn Consultancy Masterclass 02:46 - Closing the Consultancy We Are Titans 04:31 - Working on and Marketing Products 05:37 - Recurring/Predictable Revenue Gail Goodman, Constant Contact. How to Negotiate the Long, Slow, SaaS Ramp of Death 11:28 - Onboarding Clients for Retainer Deals Provide Recurring Value 22:43 - The Proposal Provide a Guarantee 26:49 - Training Engagements and Seminars Lower vs Higher-end Offerings 35:19 - Scalable Training (Video) Mastering Modern Payments: Using Stripe with Rails 36:45 - Marketing Nathan Barry: How To Launch Anything “Be Everywhere” 48:14 - Struggles with building a product Marketing Finding Time Nostalgia for Consulting Pricing 56:05 - Packaging Picks Chromoji (Ashe) PuzzleJuice (Curtis) The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness by Dave Ramsey (Curtis) Thank You For Arguing, Revised and Updated Edition: What Aristotle, Lincoln, And Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion by Jay Heinrichs (Reuven) INTRO TO JPEGOPTIM AND OPTIPNG (Jeff) Having a Clean Office (Chuck) Fujisu ScanSnap S1300i (Chuck) Informly (Brennan) indieconf (Brennan) Book Club Book Yourself Solid with Michael Port! He will join us for an episode to discuss the book on September 24th. The episode will air on October 3rd. Next Week Training & Coaching Transcript CHUCK: Eric is our ‘Yes’ man. [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net.] [You're fantastic at coding, but do you have an action plan to take it to the next level? The upcoming book, Next Level Freelance, will help you optimize your freelance business for happiness. The book is packed with actionable steps to make more money, case studies, tips to find more clients, and exercises for you to establish your desired lifestyle. Extras include: 9 interviews with freelancers who make great money while enjoying great work-life balance, videos on strategies to find quality subcontractors, and videos on making more free time by outsourcing your daily tasks. Check it out today at nextlevelfreelance.com!] [This episode is sponsored by Planscope. Planscope’ is a project management and collaboration net built for freelancers in the way they work with clients. It makes it easy to price out new estimates, and once you’re underway and help answer the question, this gets done on time and under budget. I’ve been using Planscope to do my estimates and manage my projects and I really, really like it. It makes it really easy to keep things in order, and understand when things will get done. You can go check it out at Planscope.io.] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 77 of The Freelancers' Show! This week on our panel, we have Reuven Lerner. REUVEN: Hello there! CHUCK: Curtis McHale. CURTIS: Hello! CHUCK: Ashe Dryden. ASHE: Hi everyone! CHUCK: Eric Davis. ERIC: Hi! CHUCK: Jeff Schoolcraft. JEFF: What’s up! CHUCK: I’m Charles Max Wood from DevChat.tv. This week we have a special guest, Brennan Dunn. BRENNAN: Hey guys! CHUCK: Brennan, since you haven’t been on the show before, do you want to introduce yourself? BRENNAN: Sure! My name is Brennan Dunn. I came from running a consultant business. Within the last year and a half, I’ve actually fully transitioned to making all of my income through products. I’m probably best known for Planscope, which is my project management app.
Panel Ashe Dryden (twitter github blog) Reuven Lerner (twitter github blog) Curtis McHale (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 04:12 - The Writing Process Outlines X number words per day goal 07:59 - Picking and Pulling Relevant Information Make a blog post 09:30 - Getting Feedback Hiring an Editor Crowdsourcing 13:20 - Cover Art 17:35 - Tool Chain Markdown LeanPub Scrivener InDesign Kitabu 22:55 - Panelist Books Don't Be An Idiot: Learn how to run a viable business by Curtis McHale Becoming a WordPress Development Professional by Curtis McHale The Diverse Team by Ashe Dryden The Freelancer's Guide To Long-Term Contracts by Eric Davis Core Perl by Reuven Lerner 24:27 - Gauging Crowd Interest 25:29 - Technical Reviews 26:04 - Marketing Books Mailing Lists Nathan Barry: How To Launch Anything Authority by Nathan Barry 27:32 - Launch Pages Eric's Launch Page 28:26 - LeanPub 29:17 - Content for Email Subscribers Aweber MailChimp Constant Contact 35:20 - Making Money 39:59 - Twitter Accounts for Books 40:25 - Why LeanPub? 45:26 - Competition 47:22 - How much money should you expect to make off of writing a book? Indiegogo Picks Cory Miller's eBooks (Curtis) Mophie Juicepak Air (Curtis) Kitabu (Eric) The Noun Project (Eric) Bullet Journal (Eric) 1Password (Reuven) Modeling Commons (Reuven) Writing to authors you like (Reuven) RubyWarrior (Ashe) The Internet Wishlist (Ashe) Urbanears: Medis Black (Ashe) 4 Pics 1 Song (Chuck) Pluralsight (Chuck) PeepCode Play by Play: Katrina Owen (Chuck) Book Club Book Yourself Solid with Michael Port! He will join us for an episode to discuss the book on September 24th. The episode will air on October 3rd. Next Week Recurring Revenue for Freelancers with Brennan Dunn Transcript REUVEN: So the secret to finishing a dissertation after 10 years is ignoring family and work! ASHE: [Laughs] CHUCK: Oh, is that all? [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net.] [You're fantastic at coding, but do you have an action plan to take it to the next level? The upcoming book, Next Level Freelance, will help you optimize your freelance business for happiness. The book is packed with actionable steps to make more money, case studies, tips to find more clients, and exercises for you to establish your desired lifestyle. Extras include: 9 interviews with freelancers who make great money while enjoying great work-life balance, videos on strategies to find quality subcontractors, and videos on making more free time by outsourcing your daily tasks. Check it out today at nextlevelfreelance.com!] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 76 of The Freelancers' Show! This week on our panel, we have Ashe Dryden. ASHE: Hi everyone! CHUCK: Reuven Lerner. REUVEN: Hello! CHUCK: Curtis McHale. CURTIS: Good day! CHUCK: Eric Davis. ERIC: Hello! CHUCK: And I’m Charles Max Wood from DevChat.tv. This week, we’re going to be talking about “Ebooks”, and if we have time, we’re going to talk about Launching and Marketing them. I think I’ve listened to a few other authors. From what I understand, writing the book is 10% of the work, and then marketing, it is the other 90%. CURTIS: I thought it was 5% of the work, but okay! CHUCK: Okay. ERIC: I’ve heard 4.8, too. [Laughter] CURTIS: Eric’s probably right, actually. REUVEN: Take it from the accounting guy. CHUCK: Yup. Eric, you just launched your book, didn’t you? ERIC: Yeah. Last Wednesday, I launched – I guess it’d be 2 weeks ago when this comes out, but yeah. CHUCK: And Curtis, you will have launched by the time we launched the podcast? Or, pretty close? CURTIS: As we’re recording, I guess it will be next week,
Panel Mike Brooks (twitter linkedin) Stephen Gardner (twitter linkedin blog) Reuven Lerner (twitter github blog) Jim Gay (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:27 - Mike Brooks Introduction Nuclear Chowder Nuclear Chowder Podcast 03:57 - Mike Gardner Introduction 05:38 - Marketing for SEO Quality Content Syndication Calls to Action Giveaways 12:30 - Targeting Keywords SECockpit SpyFu Google AdWords: Keyword Tool HitTail LinkedIn Social Media Examiner 18:40 - Getting to #1 Right Message Right Media Right Market 26:00 - Putting Keywords in the Right Place 29:35 - JavaScript and SEO 30:45 - Google vs Bing vs Yahoo 34:11 - Webmaster Tools Google Webmaster Tools Bing Webmaster Tools 35:46 - Optimizing for Local Search 41:37 - “Be Everywhere” Marketing Picks HitTail (Eric) Continuum (Reuven) swissmiss (Jim) Design*Sponge (Jim) LessAccounting (Chuck) Web Presence Optimizer (Steven) Book Club Book Yourself Solid with Michael Port! He will join us for an episode to discuss the book on September 24th. The episode will air on October 3rd. Next Week Writing Books Transcript [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net.] [You're fantastic at code, but do you have an action plan to take it to the next level? The upcoming book, Next Level Freelance, will help you optimize your freelance business for happiness. The book is packed with actionable steps to make more money, case studies, tips to find more clients, and exercises for you to establish your desired lifestyle. Extras include: 9 interviews with freelancers who make great money while enjoying great work-life balance, videos on strategies to find quality subcontractors, and videos on making more free time by outsourcing your daily tasks. Check it out today at nextlevelfreelance.com!] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 75 of The Freelancers' Show! This week on our panel, we have Eric Davis. ERIC: Hello! CHUCK: Jim Gay. JIM: Howdy! CHUCK: Reuven Lerner. REUVEN: Hello there! CHUCK: I’m Charles Max Wood from DevChat.tv. We have 2 special guests this week, Mike Brooks. MIKE: Hi everybody! CHUCK: And Steven Gardner. STEVEN: Good afternoon! CHUCK: I know Mike; he’s in my Mastermind Group. So we talk a couple of times a month, we’ve talked outside of the group a little bit about different things. And I’ve heard Steven on Mike’s show, The Nuclear Chowder Marketing Show. I’m going to give you guys the chance here to introduce yourselves, and then we’ll get into the show. Mike, why don’t you go first? MIKE: Sure! As you said, I met you through the Mastermind Group, and it’s been a real pleasure getting to know you and hearing what you do, Chuck. You really, really got a great handle on what it is you’ve been doing and it’s been more pleasure to learn something [inaudible]. My company is an internet marketing company. We do Web Design, Search Engine Optimization, and Social Media that’s why I can kind of explain it and sum it all up; we’ve got the combination of such even flow, introduce some stuff in a moment, myself and our Social Media Manager. It has some different elements, the company we have, so we’re not just an SEO company, we’re not just an internet marketing company, we’re not just a website company, we bring all those elements to it. One of us disagrees with something, the other is doing based on our expertise; we can make sure we’re giving the best solution for client so that not only where they found that we’re going to get conversion to our customers or prospective customers. That’s pretty much what my company does. Of course, I’ve got my own podcast, The Nuclear Chowder Online Marketing, small business podcast, not to mention. That’s one of my very favorite things to do.
Panel Curtis McHale (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Reuven Lerner (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:41 - Subscribers 04:02 - Email Lists vs Blog Content Freelance Funnel 11:39 - Content Updates 16:31 - Layout, Servers, Services & Personalization MailChimp Aweber CSS Support in Email Eric Davis: My simple HTML email template 34:02 - Launching Products Nathan Barry: How To Launch Anything Soft Sale/Hard Sale Email Frequency 40:17 - Email Courses Rails Security Controller Refactoring Course Picks Aweber (Eric) MailChimp (Eric) premailer (Eric) Logitech C920 (Curtis) Zotero (Reuven) Unsubscribing (Reuven) Patience (Chuck) Twitter Bootstrap (Chuck) Book Club Book Yourself Solid: The Fastest, Easiest, and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients Than You Can Handle Even if You Hate Marketing and Selling ! He will join us for an episode to discuss the book on September 24th. The episode will air on October 3rd. Next Week SEO with Mike Brooks and Stephen Gardner Transcript CHUCK: When I speak robot, I sound like R2-D2. [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net.] [You're fantastic at code, but do you have an action plan to take it to the next level? The upcoming book, Next Level Freelance, will help you optimize your freelance business for happiness. The book is packed with actionable steps to make more money, case studies, tips to find more clients, and exercises for you to establish your desired lifestyle. Extras include: 9 interviews with freelancers who make great money while enjoying great work-life balance, videos on strategies to find quality subcontractors, and videos on making more free time by outsourcing your daily tasks. Check it out today at nextlevelfreelance.com!] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 74 of The Freelancers' Show! This week on our panel, we have Curtis MacHale. CURTIS: Good day! CHUCK: Eric Davis. ERIC: Hello! CHUCK: Reuven Lerner. REUVEN: Hi everyone! CHUCK: I'm Charles Max Wood from DevChat.tv. This week, we're going to be talking about "Email Lists". One thing I want to say before we get started, one of the reasons I do this show is to help me kind of get business. It looks like I'm going to have a slight low, so if you need help with your Ruby programming, let me know. Alright -- ERIC: Hey, wait! Chuck, I need help with my Ruby programming, can I let you know? CHUCK: Do you have money? [Laughter] ERIC: Oh... REUVEN: This is not a typical interaction they help. [Laughter] CHUCK: Anyway, let's talk about email lists. I'm sure you guys, or at least some of you guys, have email lists that you manage, or email lists that you don't manage. CURTIS: Yeah, it's the both. CHUCK: [Laughs] Yeah, that's much more my case. I'm a little bit curious, do any of you have more than a few hundred subscribers in any of your lists? ERIC: I have a little less than 700 on my main list right now; I have the dashboard in front of me. CHUCK: Awesome! REUVEN: I don't run a list for my work, but I run a community list that is about 2700 people on it. CHUCK: Well, if you're talking about something like Ruby Rogues Parley, then I have one. [Laughter] CHUCK: I don't really think of it that way. I don't go and -- I participate in as opposed to send out updates or however you want to talk about -- ERIC: Yeah, the exclusive person on it. REUVEN: Right. CHUCK: Yeah. And maybe we can talk about those lists, too. But I was thinking more along the lines of the newsletter lists or the marketing lists or whatever you want to call them. CURTIS: My main one up until real recently was from my first book that I wrote about becoming a WordPress development professional. I've sent out a few emails on that,
Panel David Allen (twitter David Allen Company) Reuven Lerner (twitter github blog) Curtis McHale (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:06 - David Allen Introduction David Allen Company Getting Things Done by David Allen 01:27 - GTD’s Conception The Strategic Value of Clear Space 05:37 - Organization 08:24 - What GTD Does Orientation Maps Weekly Reviews The Lost Horizon 10:58 - Getting Things Done Writing Things Down Habits To-Do Lists 14:42 - Using Lists Context 23:17 - Outcome & Action Thinking 25:48 - The Power of NO Being Appropriately Engaged Multi-Tasking Who Multi-Tasks and Why? Multi-Tasking Ability, Perceived Multi-Tasking Ability, Impulsivity, and Sensation Seeking Placeholders 31:12 - Managing Your Inbox 35:54 - Dealing with Overwhelm 39:40 - Implementing GTD 44:03 - What Has Changed Since GTD’s First Edition Lifelong Mastership Technology 46:36 - David’s System Lotus Notes Evernote iOS Snagit Skype Dropbox eProductivity GTD Software Setup Guides Picks Readkit for Mac (Curtis) Brennan Dunn: The Definitive Guide To Project Billing (Eric) Merlin Mann: Kick procrastination's ass: Run a dash (Eric) GTD for org-mode (Reuven) Plugable 10-port USB Hub (Reuven) Dominion (Reuven) Dominion Online (Reuven) Omnifocus (Chuck) Evernote (Chuck) OpenTable (David) Uber (David) Flipboard (David) The Week (David) The Atlantic (David) Paper | FiftyThree (David) Adonit (David) Scrivener (David) 23andMe (David) Next Week Email Lists Transcript DAVID: This is David Allen, and you're listening to The Freelancers' Show! [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net.] [You're fantastic at code, but do you have an action plan to take it to the next level? The upcoming book, Next Level Freelance, will help you optimize your freelance business for happiness. The book is packed with actionable steps to make more money, case studies, tips to find more clients, and exercises for you to establish your desired lifestyle. Extras include: 9 interviews with freelancers who make great money while enjoying great work-life balance, videos on strategies to find quality subcontractors, and videos on making more free time by outsourcing your daily tasks. Check it out today at nextlevelfreelance.com!] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 73 of The Freelancers' Show! This week on our panel, we have Reuven Lerner. REUVEN: Hello there! CHUCK: Curtis McHale. CURTIS: Good day! CHUCK: Eric Davis. ERIC: Hi! CHUCK: I'm Charles Max Wood from DevChat.tv. This week we have a special guest and that is, David Allen! DAVID: Hi folks! CHUCK: Since you're new to the show, do you want to introduce yourself really quickly? DAVID: I guess so! Sure! I'm David Allen, I'm the inventor/engineer of GTD Getting Things Done, wrote the book, do all kinds of stuff around the world, coaching, training, teaching, helping people clear their head and get more space to do meaningful things! CHUCK: And that's what the book's all about, which is pretty awesome! I have to ask, how do you come up with a system like this? DAVID: It was a string of 30 years of epiphanettes; there was no big wake up in the morning, "Tah-dah!" suddenly, the clouds part and the chair has come down, there wasn't none of that. It was really just kind of peace meal, there were some fairly significant events. I had a mentor who taught me the next action concept and doing record on bout of your head and how powerful those things were. Being [inaudible] a tribute that, I talked about them in the book, at least briefly. I had several people and things along the way. And then at a certain point, these things started to be kind of bigger than some of the parts. As I say,
Panel Reuven Lerner (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Curtis McHale (twitter github blog) Discussion 01:18 - The Power of “NO” Getting Things Done by David Allen Instapaper Evernote Omnifocus 06:56 - Just-in-Time Learning 09:02 - Saying “NO” in Hindsight Overcommitment 11:54 - Getting Comfortable with Saying “NO” Derek Sivers: No more yes. It's either HELL YEAH! or no. Confidence Risk Level 19:14 - Having a Financial Cushion Accounting The Freelancers Show 072 - LessAccounting with Steven Bristol 23:04 - Red Flags That Mean an Instant “NO” Client Investment Slimy People The Ruby Freelancers Show 054 - Red Flags with Potential or Current Clients with Ashe Dryden Disrespectful Clients 32:31 - Irregular Clients Project Minimums Referring Clients to Other People Picks Das Keyboard (Reuven) Kalzumeus Podcast 5: Quitting Consulting Via Productization (Reuven) About the Facebook platform, from Pando Daily (Reuven) Derek Sivers: No more yes. It's either HELL YEAH! or no. (Eric) Filmic Pro (Eric) Jaybird Bluebuds (Curtis) Next Week Book Club: Getting Things Done with David Allen Transcript CURTIS: So, am I the leader since I'm recording? REUVEN: I guess so! [Laughs] CURTIS: Whoo-hoo! ERIC: Curtis, leader! [Laughter] CURTIS: That's right, you can call me "The Leader" for the whole show. [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net.] [You're fantastic at code, but do you have an action plan to take it to the next level? The upcoming book, Next Level Freelance, will help you optimize your freelance business for happiness. The book is packed with actionable steps to make more money, case studies, tips to find more clients, and exercises for you to establish your desired lifestyle. Extras include: 9 interviews with freelancers who make great money while enjoying great work-life balance, videos on strategies to find quality subcontractors, and videos on making more free time by outsourcing your daily tasks. Check it out today at nextlevelfreelance.com!] CURTIS: Welcome to the Freelancers' Show Episode 72! Today, we're going to talk about the "Power of No". We have, Eric Davis joining us. ERIC: Hi! CURTIS: And Reuven Lerner. I'm Curtis McHale, filling in for Chuck today because he is, I don't know, he's off, probably sitting on the beach somewhere, not doing much. Like I said, today's topic is the "Power of No". As we've been coming up to the bookclub, I've been reading the "Getting Things Done" book and I think the thing that's continually been impressed on me more and more and more is that so many of the issues are all these tasks and 9000 things that are flying at us are just the power of 'No'. I actually been used it yesterday in my Instapaper queue at 97 articles and decided, "I'm never going to read half of these, why they even put them in?" and just said 'No' to them all and dropped down to like 25 actual real articles that I will make time to read. What about you guys? Eric, have you used no or have you, I guess, not over-committed yourself? ERIC: No. CURTIS: [Laughs] Thanks! ERIC: Oh! Yeah! [Laughter] ERIC: I have to say that a lot. While you're talking, I open up my Instapaper, and god! Maybe a month ago, I actually went in there and there's a button, I've been afraid to hit it. It basically says, "Delete everything that's aloo in 30 days." I've had Instapaper stuff in there that came from tags that I had in Delicious, which were from 2005-2006 that I've -- CURTIS: I don't know there is that button. That's just on the web view? ERIC: Yeah. CURTIS: I manually deleted all mine! ERIC: Oh, yeah! Look for an "Archive All", it's on the right side. But yeah, I overcommit stuff. I've had times where I've had over a thousand items on my to-do list, and the Getting Things Done stuff, that's not really...
Panel Jim Gay (twitter github blog) Reuven Lerner (twitter github blog) Ashe Dryden (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:16 - Screencasting Backgrounds Teach Me To Code 03:41 - Software ScreenFlow FFmpeg Jing Camtasia Final Cut Pro Screeny QuickTime Adobe Premier Pro CC Screenr 10:10 - Features Ease of Use Export Formats Add-ons Quality Readable Text 16:04 - Sound 16:26 - Modifier Keys 17:01 - Highlighting OmniDazzle 17:19 - Talking and Explaining during Screencasts Notes PeepCode Teaching Developers | Free PeepCode Blog 20:32 - Presentation Software Keynote Present.js VideoHive After Effects Apple Motion 26:04 - Recording Lectures/Vlogging 28:51 - Getting Work via Screencasts 30:52 - Equipment Audio/Speaker Quality 32:54 - Audio Encoding HandBrake 35:41 - Hosting YouTube Vimeo Libsyn Amazon S3 OneLoad Blip.tv LeadPlayer 41:31 - Subtitles & Transcripts Picks Bookends (Reuven) Boomerang for Gmail (Ashe) OpenEmu (Ashe) Archive.org list of MAME roms (Ashe) Logitech Gamepad F710 (Ashe) LeadPlayer (Eric) Seth Godin: Clients vs. Customers (Eric) The Freelancer's Guide to Long-Term Contracts by Eric Davis (Eric) Flowdock (Jim) OneLoad (Chuck) AudioJungle (Chuck) VideoHive (Chuck) Create Awesome Online Courses (Chuck) Book Club Getting Things Done with David Allen! He will join us for an episode to discuss the book on July 30th. The episode will air on August 7th. Next Week Saying No Transcript CHUCK: That's why my kids call onto this to, "Daddy, did you make lots of words about that?" [Laughter] ASHE: That's what I do for a job, honey! CHUCK: [Laughs] Yeah! [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net.] [You're fantastic at code, but do you have an action plan to take it to the next level? The upcoming book, Next Level Freelance, will help you optimize your freelance business for happiness. The book is packed with actionable steps to make more money, case studies, tips to find more clients, and exercises for you to establish your desired lifestyle. Extras include: 9 interviews with freelancers who make great money while enjoying great work-life balance, videos on strategies to find quality subcontractors, and videos on making more free time by outsourcing your daily tasks. Check it out today at nextlevelfreelance.com!] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 71 of The Freelancers' Show! This week on our panel, we have Jim Gay. JIM: Hello! CHUCK: Reuven Lerner. REUVEN: Hi everyone! CHUCK: Ashe Dryden. ASHE: Hi there! CHUCK: Eric Davis. ERIC: Hey! CHUCK: And I'm Charles Max Wood from DevChat.tv. This week, we're going to be talking about "Screencasting and Making Videos" and that kind of stuff. I'm a little curious, I know Eric, you've done some screencasts and some video stuff, have any of the rest of you done much? ASHE: I actually do it for end-user training, especially when I'm building something that people going to have to go on in like put content in. A lot of times, I will do videos for them and then transcribe them, so that's basically the documentation for them. CHUCK: That makes sense. JIM: Yeah, I'll do the same thing, but I'll use it for anybody, either like a project manager giving them my high-level overview of something, or a user showing them how to use something, or a developer like, "Here's how I attack those bit of code," something like that. CHUCK: Some of the folks on the show will know that I did Teach Me To Code for about 2 years and I did a whole bunch of screencasts for that. I do some screencasting for my clients, but not really a whole lot. Most of the time, they are technical enough to understand it. And if they aren't,
Panel Steven Bristol (twitter blog) Reuven Lerner (twitter github blog) Curtis McHale (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Jim Gay (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:15 - Steven Bristol Introduction LessEverything LessAccounting LessFilms LessConf 02:11 - Bookkeeping Why it Sucks 06:04 - Analyzing Numbers Categorization Tagging 08:31 - Why Use LessAccounting? 12:07 - Looking at Your Books (Frequency) LessTimeSpent 14:38 - Steven’s Accounting/Bookkeeping Background 16:42 - LessAccounting vs QuickBooks 19:54 - Building a SaaS Business 21:35 - Consulting 23:24 - Transitioning from Consulting to Product Work 26:34 - Marketing Niche Markets Blog Articles - LessEverything 31:32 - LessEverything Company Makeup Having Employees 34:27 - Building & Running a Business Picks MacBook Pro (Reuven) Relately (Jim) Capsule (Curtis) Manage Your Day-to-Day: Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus, and Sharpen Your Creative Mind (Eric) Software Indie Podcast: From Consultancy to a Product with Rob Rhyne (Eric) Nathan Barry: How To Launch Anything (Jeff) Daring Fireball: Markdown Syntax Documentation (Chuck) Readme Driven Development (Chuck) Dan Gilbert: The surprising science of happiness (Steven) Planscope (Steven) Couch to 5K (Steven) Book Club Getting Things Done with David Allen! He will join us for an episode to discuss the book on July 30th. The episode will air on August 7th. Next Week Recording Video Transcript CHUCK: Why can't those idiots who write software right software? [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net.] [You're fantastic at code, but do you have an action plan to take it to the next level? The upcoming book, Next Level Freelance, will help you optimize your freelance business for happiness. The book is packed with actionable steps to make more money, case studies, tips to find more clients, and exercises for you to establish your desired lifestyle. Extras include: 9 interviews with freelancers who make great money while enjoying great work-life balance, videos on strategies to find quality subcontractors, and videos on making more free time by outsourcing your daily tasks. Check it out today at nextlevelfreelance.com!] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 70 of The Freelancers' Show! This week on our panel, we have Reuven Lerner. REUVEN: Hello there! CHUCK: Curtis MacHale. CURTIS: Good day! CHUCK: Eric Davis. ERIC: Hi! CHUCK: Jeff Schoolcraft. JEFF: What's up! CHUCK: Jim Gay. JIM: Hello again! CHUCK: I'm Charles Max Wood from DevChat.tv. This week we have a special guest, and that is Steven Bristol. STEVEN: Hello! CHUCK: Getting started, Steven, do you want to introduce yourself? STEVEN: Sure! My name is Steven Bristol, I run a company called "LessEverything". We do a couple of things. The first thing we do is something called "LessAccounting.com", which is a bookkeeping accounting software we run up in the cloud geared towards small business owners and accountants that hate QuickBooks that hate difficult that want something finally easy in the world of accounting and bookkeeping. We've been doing that for about 6 years now. In addition to that, we have another company called "LessFilms", where we do small films animation, conference videos, that sort of thing for people. And we used to do a thing called "LessConf", which was the best conference in the world; just ask anybody. We started off as a consulting company and bootstrapped our way into a product company. So we've done a little bit of everything in the tech world. CHUCK: Nice. So between you and me and the other few people who might be listening to this -- STEVEN: Sure! CHUCK: Bookkeeping sucks! [Laughs]
Panel Reuven Lerner (twitter github blog) Curtis McHale (twitter github blog) Ashe Dryden (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:16 - Setting Work Hours “Do Not Disturb” iPhone feature 06:51 - Making Clients Aware of Boundaries 08:33 - Handling “Emergencies” Deciding How Clients Should Contact You 11:48 - Keeping Chat Logs, Meeting Notes, Recordings, etc. Ecamm Call Recorder for Skype 13:15 - Email 15:58 - When Clients Set Boundaries with You 17:44 - Working with/for Family and/or Friends 24:32 - Setting Boundaries for Working at Home with Family Metal Door Stop Sign Is Daddy on a call? A BusyLight Presence indicator for Lync for my Home Office - Scott Hanselman Messages (iMessage for Mac) Picks Drafts (Eric) Sleeping with Your Business Partner by Becky Stewart-Gross (Eric) Fluid App (Curtis) Postman (Jeff) Shift by Hugh Howey (Ashe) Google Apps (Chuck) Fringe (Chuck) Book Club Getting Things Done with David Allen! He will join us for an episode to discuss the book on July 30th. The episode will air on August 7th. Next Week Less Accounting with Steven Bristol Transcript CHUCK: If I ever disappear, it's because I told my Dad that I was moving more than an hour away with his grandchildren. [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net.] [You're fantastic at code, but do you have an action plan to take it to the next level? The upcoming book, Next Level Freelance, will help you optimize your freelance business for happiness. The book is packed with actionable steps to make more money, case studies, tips to find more clients, and exercises for you to establish your desired lifestyle. Extras include: 9 interviews with freelancers who make great money while enjoying great work-life balance, videos on strategies to find quality subcontractors, and videos on making more free time by outsourcing your daily tasks. Check it out today at nextlevelfreelance.com!] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 69 of The Freelancers' Show! This week on our panel, we have Reuven Lerner. REUVEN: Hello from Chicago! CHUCK: We have Curtis McHale. CURTIS: Hello! CHUCK: Ashe Dryden. ASHE: Hi everyone! CHUCK: Eric Davis. ERIC: Hi! CHUCK: Jeff Schoolcraft. JEFF: What's up! CHUCK: And I'm Charles Max Wood from DevChat.tv. This week, we're going to be talking about "Setting Boundaries" and how to handle that. Have any of you had a project where you tried to set boundaries with a client and then went poorly? ASHE: I have. Definitely with a certain type of client, my biggest boundary that I set with new clients is the hours that I work. There are certain class of clients that believe that people should be available all the time no matter what; no matter if it's emergency or not, they didn't really care for this trekked work hours. CURTIS: Yeah, I think we've all had that. I had a client email me once and then call me at 2 am, and my response was my rate went up based on how annoyed I am because -- [Laughter] CURTIS: I was really annoyed! I actually tell clients that my weekend rate and my evening rate is based on how annoyed I am. [Chuck laughs] ASHE: Nice. CHUCK: I just tell my clients that it's double after 5 or 6 pm, whatever is side, unless I decide to work. In other words, if it's on my terms; but if they call me, yeah. I also tell them I don't have an on-call rate because I won't be on-call. CURTIS: Yeah, fair enough. I had one client that was upset a couple of weeks ago that I wouldn't launch their site at midnight for their whole 10-people a day and I told them that I would for $10,000; if they want me to do it, that was my going rate for midnight launches. CHUCK: Nice.
Panel Ben Lachman (twitter blog) Robert Cantoni (twitter) Ashe Dryden (twitter github blog) Reuven Lerner (twitter github blog) Curtis McHale (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:29 - Ben Lachman and Robert Cantoni Introduction Nice Mohawk 02:26 - Finding Work Dividing Client Communication Handling Marketing and Sales 06:52 - Forming a Partnership Contracts 08:23 - Partnerships vs being on your own Finding work for others 15:39 - Managing larger consultancies 16:18 - Potentially expanding the business 18:33 - Marketing Avenues Referrals/Word-of-mouth 23:02 - Working with other consultancies 24:59 - Ideal vision for the business 29:10 - Advice for someone looking to build a consultancy Pick your projects wisely Picks A/B Testing (Curtis) 2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love by Rachel Aaron (Eric) Coursera Public Speaking Course (Ashe) Nairobi Developer School Indiegogo Campaign (Ashe) Amy Cuddy: Your body language shapes who you are (Jeff) Patrick Mackenzie: What Product Companies Can Learn From Consulting Companies (Reuven) David Siteman Garland: Create Awesome Online Courses (Chuck) Jefferson's Bourbon (Ben) Matasano Crypto Challenges (Ben) ustwo Pixel Perfect Precision Handbook (Robert) Mike Monteiro: Getting Comfortable With Contracts (Robert) Book Club Getting Things Done with David Allen! He will join us for an episode to discuss the book on July 30th. The episode will air on August 7th. Next Week Setting Boundaries Transcript CHUCK: Ashe is our voice of reason. BEN: Great. [Reuven laughs] ASHE: Oh, we're in trouble. [Laughter] ERIC: Can we mute her then? [Laughter] [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net.] [You're fantastic at code, but do you have an action plan to take it to the next level? The upcoming book, Next Level Freelance, will help you optimize your freelance business for happiness. The book is packed with actionable steps to make more money, case studies, tips to find more clients, and exercises for you to establish your desired lifestyle. Extras include: 9 interviews with freelancers who make great money while enjoying great work-life balance, videos on strategies to find quality subcontractors, and videos on making more free time by outsourcing your daily tasks. Check it out today at nextlevelfreelance.com!] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 68 of The Freelancers' Show! This week on our panel, we have Ashe Dryden. ASHE: Hello from Madison, Wisconsin! CHUCK: Reuven Lerner. REUVEN: Hello there! CHUCK: Curtis McHale. CURTIS: Hey! CHUCK: Eric Davis. ERIC: Hello! CHUCK: Jeff Schoolcraft. JEFF: What's up! CHUCK: I'm Charles Max Wood from DevChat.tv. We also have a couple of special guests! Our first guest is Ben Lachman. BEN: Hello from Athens, Ohio! CHUCK: And we also have Robert Cantoni. ROBERT: Yup! That's my name! Hi, everybody! CHUCK: Why don't you guys introduce yourselves before we get going? BEN: Go for it, Bob! ROBERT: [Laughs] Okay! Ben and I work together, we have a company called "Nice Mohawk Ltd.". We do iOS development and lots of freelancing stuff. We have one app of our own that's sort of out in the store, that's what we do; mostly contract work at this point. CHUCK: You say nice mohawk, and I think bikers. ROBERT: [Laughs] Like motorcycle? CHUCK: Yeah. ROBERT: Motorcycle bikes? CHUCK: Yup. BEN: Not tricycle. ROBERT: Yeah. CHUCK: Not tricycles [laughs]. Sweet. [Robert laughs] CHUCK: Ben, anything you want to add to that? BEN: No! I mean we have -- so I started out on my own. And then a little over a year ago, we started Nice Mohawk together,
Panel Wayne Breitbarth (twitter linkedin) Reuven Lerner (twitter github blog) Curtis McHale (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:07 - Wayne Breitbarth Introduction The Power Formula for LinkedIn Success by Wayne Breitbarth 01:37 - Importance of LinkedIn 02:39 - Making Connections Advance Search Filtering 03:16 - Handling Random Requests/Spam 04:16 - Finding Others vs Getting Found 07:34 - Profile Advice Catchy Headline Descriptive Summary Establish Credibility List Resources 12:50 - Profiles vs Resumes Attention Span Calls to Action 17:39 - Groups 20:00 - Choosing LinkedIn over other platforms (i.e. Google+) 22:03 - Endorsements 26:06 - Free vs Paid Accounts 28:19 - Getting the most out of LinkedIn Cool Profile Strategic Connections 31:28 - Volunteer Causes and Experiences 34:39 - Profile Pictures 35:53 - Finding and joining good groups 37:38 - Handling Profile Views Finding out how people find you 41:27 - Spending time on LinkedIn 42:29 - Reaching out to others via LinkedIn 43:36 - LinkedIn Third Party Applications LinkedIn App Hootsuite 44:27 - Status Updates 44:48 - Company Pages Picks S5: A Simple Standards-Based Slide Show System (Reuven) org-S5 (Reuven) Backups (Reuven) PHPStorm Tutorials (Curtis) My Daily Scrum (Curtis) Scrivener (Eric) Bartender | Mac Menu Bar Item Control (Jeff) Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World by Michael S. Hyatt (Wayne) This Is Your Life Podcast (Chuck) Platform University (Chuck) Next Week Freelancers Show: Building a Consultancy with Ben Lachman and Robert Cantoni Transcript [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net.] [You're fantastic at code, but do you have an action plan to take it to the next level? The upcoming book, Next Level Freelance, will help you optimize your freelance business for happiness. The book is packed with actionable steps to make more money, case studies, tips to find more clients, and exercises for you to establish your desired lifestyle. Extras include: 9 interviews with freelancers who make great money while enjoying great work-life balance, videos on strategies to find quality subcontractors, and videos on making more free time by outsourcing your daily tasks. Check it out today at nextlevelfreelance.com!] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 67 of the Freelancers Show! This week on our panel, we have Reuven Lerner. REUVEN: Hello! CHUCK: Curtis McHale. CURTIS: Good day! CHUCK: Eric Davis. ERIC: Hi! CHUCK: Jeff Schoolcraft. JEFF: What's up! CHUCK: I'm Charles Max Wood from DevChat.tv. This week, we have a special guest and that's Wayne Breitbarth. WAYNE: Hi everybody! CHUCK: Since you haven't been on the show before, do you want to introduce yourself? WAYNE: Sure! My name is Wayne Breitbarth, I'm the author of "The Power Formula for LinkedIn Success" - sort of a self-taught, self-made LinkedIn expert; didn't want anything to do with social media, but now has found a way to actually make a living doing it and just having a blast doing so. CHUCK: Awesome. I've been reading your book, and it's really, really good. And I'm really excited to talk about a lot of the stuff related to LinkedIn. For us as freelancers, I'm a little curious, what do you think the most important part of LinkedIn is for us? WAYNE: I think what we all have to do -- we're all sort of in the game of trying to build our business every single day of the week, right? One of the most important things you got to do is make a lot of connections - the right connections. Secondly, you got to make sure that your profile has got all the critical keywords. I know you are very techy guys, so you probably get that part that many people don't.
Panel David J. Soler (twitter blog) Curtis McHale (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Reuven Lerner (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:04 - David J. Soler Introduction Relationship Marketing & Sales Podcast davidjsoler.com 01:54 - Building Relationships and Getting Referrals Trust, Likability, Credibility + Value (TLC+V) Handwritten, Personal Notes 13:39 - Trust Integrity Reputation Consistency 23:52 - Unconventional Marketing ‘Wow’ Factor Before, During, and After Items of Value 30:11 - Referrals 32:10 - Meet Your Clients 34:31 - Appreciation and Encouragement 36:37 - Relationships Over Business Picks Thou Shall Prosper: Ten Commandments for Making Money by Rabbi Daniel Lappin (Curtis) Ladda Buttons (Curtis) Freelancing Rules of Thumb (Eric) Apple Developer: for WWDC Videos (Jeff) Mac Pro (Jeff) httpie (Reuven) Reversing PDF Documents (Reuven) Explore It!: Reduce Risk and Increase Confidence with Exploratory Testing by Elisabeth Hendrickson (Chuck) The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy (David) Next Week Freelancers Show: LinkedIn with Wayne Breitbarth Transcript DAVID: Are we live on the show? Are we broadcasting...or just setting up? CHUCK: I'm just doing some quick sound checks and then we'll get going... DAVID: Okay, great! CHUCK: Which is just me watching the volume meter while everybody talks. So, go ahead. REUVEN: Ohh! Is that what secretly happens? [laughter] REUVEN: And here I thought you're just trying to get us to be friendly. [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net.] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 66 of The Freelancers Show! This week on our panel, we have Curtis McHale. CURTIS: Good morning! CHUCK: Eric Davis. ERIC: Hello! CHUCK: Jeff Schoolcraft. JEFF: What's up! CHUCK: Reuven Lerner is trying to connect. I guess the wiring in Atlantic Ocean got cut; somebody wrong it over or something. I'm Charles Max Wood from DevChat.tv. This week, we have a special guest and that's David J. Soler. DAVID: Hello everybody! Thanks for having me! CHUCK: No problem. Do you want to introduce yourself really quickly? DAVID: Sure! My name is David J. Soler, I am the host of the Relationship Marketing and Sales Podcast. You can learn more about me at davidjsoler.com. I am here to share and answer new questions that I can that you guys want to ask! CHUCK: Awesome! Now, I know David because we're in the same Mastermind Group, so we talk twice a month and he has helped me with quite a bit of marketing stuff. The thing that really kind of got me excited about getting you on the call besides your podcast, which is awesome, you've had some great guests, too. I think my favorite is the one with David Siteman Garland. DAVID: Yeah, it was blast. He's just a real smart guy, online entrepreneur, and just lot of great helpful tips. I'm glad you enjoyed it. It's been a blast to interview people like him. CHUCK: Yeah. Anyway, you did something that was a little bit kind of outside the box that got me thinking, so I thought we'd bring that on and have you talk to us a little bit about some of the, I guess, less conventional things that you do. What you did was you sent 'Thank You' cards out to everybody in our Mastermind Group. I have to say, I don't usually get Pay-Per-Mail unless it's Pay-Per-Mail that says, "You owe us money." [David chuckles] CHUCK: So, I thought that was interesting! I was just wondering, what other ideas or techniques or ways of coming up with things like that, that we could do in our freelancing businesses to kind of make a connection? DAVID: Sure, definitely! Well, the thing about it and approach that I'm trying to take you say unconventional, really,
Panel Jevin Maltais (github Quickjack Solutions) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Ashe Dryden (twitter github blog) Curtis McHale (twitter github blog) Reuven Lerner (twitter github blog) Charles M...
Panel Curtis McHale (twitter github blog) Reuven Lerner (twitter github blog) Ashe Dryden (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 42:46 - Social Media Panel Activity Levels SaneBox 03:12 - Primary Social Networks Twitter Facebook LinkedIn 04:07 - LinkedIn Recommendations Job Leads Resume @ProBlogger: The Ultimate Guide to Making Money with the Amazon Affiliate Program 10:25 - Twitter Censorship Visibility 16:54 - Facebook Games Facebook Ads Rob Walling: The 5 Minute Guide To Cheap Startup Advertising 22:10 - Social Media Management Apps Tweetbot HootSuite Buffer Instapaper If This Then That (IFTTT) Pinboard 24:57 - Automated Tweeting 27:47 - The benefits and pitfalls of using Twitter Is that Owned Content Worth Anything? - Curtis McHale Building and maintaining relationships 31:45 - Google+ Google+ Communities SEO Benefits Google Authorship 35:15 - Forum Sites Reddit /r/freelance FreelanceSwitch Hacker News Harassment and bullying Paul Graham: What I’ve Learned from Hacker News 43:11 - Membership Sites 5000bc Dynamite Circle Picks HappyCow: Vegetarian Restaurants, Vegan Restaurant, Natural Health Food Stores (Reuven) Mouseflow (Reuven) Python Module of the Week (Reuven) xkcd: Is It Worth the Time? (Jeff) 78,000 Apply for A One-Way Ticket to Colonize Mars | Singularity Hub (Jeff) Favstar (Ashe) feedly (Ashe) TripIt Pro (Ashe) Chrome Messenger Bag (Curtis) Philips O’Neill Over-Ear Flex Headphones (Curtis) Review - Philips O'Neill The Stretch Headphones - Curtis McHale (Curtis) Ergotron Monitor Stand (Curtis) Authority by Nathan Barry (Chuck) Candy Crush Saga (Chuck) Next Week Handling Prospects' Poor Technology Choices with Jevin Maltais Transcript CHUCK: My daughter put, "My dad's job is cutting the grass," and my son put, "My dad's job is working..." [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net.] CHUCK: Hey everybody, and welcome to Episode 64 of the Freelancers Show! This week on our panel we have, Curtis McHale. CURTIS: Hello! CHUCK: Reuven Lerner. REUVEN: Hello there! CHUCK: Ashe Dryden. ASHE: Hi there! CHUCK: Jeff Schoolcraft. JEFF: What's up! CHUCK: I'm Charles Max Wood from DevChat.tv. And this week, we're going to be talking about "Social Media" for freelancers. How active are you guys on your social media? ASHE: I'm on a limb here and say I'm probably the most prolific Squidoo-er of all of us. CHUCK: I would guess you're right. [laughter] CURTIS: I'd certainly go into heads down mode, probably once a day or I don't post anything for extended extended periods. CHUCK: Yeah. I put funny odds and ends that people say on Twitter and then I do interact with people on Twitter. So if you tweet at me, then I'll probably reply if you say something that is more interesting than just yes or no. But other than that, I'm really not on there too much. REUVEN: So I'm going to be at the other end of the spectrum from Ashe, and I think I might have not tweet once. I'm starting to get convinced that it's worth doing, but so far, that's like -- once you are sent out a note on Facebook, so in everyone, thanks for all the happy birthday wishes. So if there's anywhere I'm active at all, it's on LinkedIn. But even there, it's pretty moderate. CHUCK: Wow. CURTIS: Yeah, on Facebook, I always checks as my wife were saying happy birthday. So I'm going to get like a million updates in a day, and they all email me because I check it so infrequently that I just have it set to "email me". CHUCK: Yeah, mine set to "email me", and then I use "SaneBox", and SaneBox sorts it all off so I never see them anyway. [laughter] ASHE: Awesome!
Panel Curtis McHale (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Reuven Lerner (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 00:37 - Reuven Lerner Introduction 01:10 - Curtis McHale Introduction WordPress The Coderpath Podcast 01:57 - Consulting, Tools & Apps fvrb (Curtis’ Ruby Brigade) Billings Pro Ronin Trello Evernote Dropbox Evernote Hello Evernote Skitch Napkin Mailbox IFTTT (If This Then That) 10:21 - Ronin FreshBooks Harvest Harvest Online Invoicing & Time Tracking: Curtis McHale Multiple Currencies Marketcircle: Daylite Complete Review of Daylite 4: Curtis McHale 13:16 - Customer Relationship Management The Trello/Evernote Combo Highrise Salesforce Curtis’ Trello Gist Podio 15:50 - Trello 17:18 - Booking Out Work 18:38 - Consulting in WordPress 21:33 - Getting Leads & Establishing Connections 23:15 - Application Development with WordPress Tom McFarlin 25:51 - Advantages of WordPress Joomla/Mambo Drupal 29:18 - Dealing w/ new WordPress Versions Security Issues Metasploit 34:39 - Resources curtismchale.ca WP Theme Tutorial Become a WordPress Development Professional by Curtis McHale sfndesign.ca Picks IRS Cracks Down on Independent Contractors - What it Means for Your Small Business (Eric) WordPress Core is Secure - Stop Telling People Otherwise (Eric) One Tab Chrome Extension (Jeff) Arrested Development (Reuven) ridiculous_fish (Reuven) zsh-syntax-highlighting (Reuven) Hanping Chinese Dictionary Pro (Reuven) iOctocat (Chuck) ioctocat on GitHub (Chuck) Kinesis Freestyle Keyboard (Curtis) Unfinished Business Podcast (Curtis) The Trello/Evernote Combo (Curtis) Next Week Social Media Transcript [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net.] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to the Freelancers Show Episode 63! This week on our panel we have, Eric Davis. ERIC: Hello! CHUCK: Jeff Schoolcraft. JEFF: What's up! CHUCK: I'm Charles Max Wood from DevChat.tv. We also have, Reuven Lerner. REUVEN: Hi there! CHUCK: We also have a special guest, and that's Curtis McHale. CURTIS: Hey! CHUCK: So I'm going to have Reuven introduce himself first, and then we'll have Curtis introduce himself. REUVEN: Sure! So I'm a web developer mostly doing Ruby on Rails and Postgres stuff; I've been freelancing since 1995. I would say I divide my time between actual programming and consulting, and then I'm off a lot of training as well; I teach a lot of courses. And I live in Israel, which you might not figure out from my accent. CHUCK: Yeah, we have 3 time zones, 4 time zones represented on the show right now. [Reuven chuckles] CHUCK: And Curtis, you want to introduce yourself? CURTIS: Sure! I'm Curtis McHale. I actually started, I guess many years ago now, doing some frontend Rails and Ruby stuff. But now, I pretty much only do WordPress work. That's what I do; I've been building sites and stuff since 1996, I guess. That's when I started dabbling in it in amidst to have a psychology degree. CHUCK: Yeah, I have to say I remember listening to you and Miles on the Coderpath Podcast. CURTIS: Yeah, that's when I was doing my list of it, like I was saying earlier just before the show, I went to Mountain West and did a bunch of stuff, but I did not come in as frontend Rails so I needed to pay the bills and that's what I did. CHUCK: That makes sense! [Curtis chuckles] CHUCK: So I'm a little curious, we got you on here to talk about WordPress, we also got you on here to talk about your consulting in general, so how do you wind up making that transition? Did you just take the work that was coming in, and that was WordPress? Or, was there more to it than that? CURTIS: Well,
Panel Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 00:53 - Consulting/Giving time away for free 04:59 - Giving away content to generate leads 09:16 - Tier content and pricing ...
Panel Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Ashe Dryden (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 00:44 - Packing 03:15 - Traveling for clients vs conferences 06:38 - Packing cont’d & flying Rick Steves Packing Cube - 3 Set 08:05 - Lodging Staying w/ friends Airbnb Hotels 14:01 - Traveling w/ electronics New Trent iCarrier 12000mAh Dual USB Ports External Battery Pack TP-LINK TL-WR702N Wireless N150 Travel Router StrongVPN 19:51 - Getting through the airport & flying Alaska Airlines Mobile App TripIt Instapaper Dream Essentials Sweet Dreams Contoured Sleep Mask with Earplugs and Carry Pouch 27:15 - Staying off the beaten path 29:38 - Taking care of yourself while traveling 32:43 - Getting around Car rentals Public transportation 37:05 - Finding deals & saving $$$ KAYAK Bing Travel Fare Predictor Travelzoo 40:40 - Traveling within driving distance Picks StrongVPN (Eric) Funding your startup with a "one on / three off" setup (Eric) Lonely Planet (Ashe) Wikitravel (Ashe) Markdown Here (Ashe) Anker Battery Pack (Chuck) D-Link SharePort Go Mobile Companion with Rechargeable Battery (Chuck) D-Link SharePort Go Review (Chuck) DevChat.tv Indiegogo Campaign (Chuck) Next Week Giving Things Away For Free Transcript [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 61 of the Freelancers Show! This week on our panel we have, Eric Davis. ERIC: Hello! CHUCK: Ashe Dryden. ASHE: Hello! CHUCK: I'm Charles Max Wood from devchat.tv. This week we're going to be talking about "Travelling for Work". This is something that I do frequently and suck at terribly, so I'm a little curious as to what suggestions you guys have for travelling. I think most of my angst comes from like packing and I always wind up forgetting stuff. [laughs] It's just the way it is. I just throw a whole bunch of stuff in the duffle bag, put on my computer stuff in my computer bag, and then curse the TSA in my head the whole way through the airport. ASHE: Ain't that's how a lot of us do it? [laughter] CHUCK: Yeah. So, I know you travel quite a bit, Ashe. ASHE: I do. I travel a lot for conferences. CHUCK: So, what's kind of the biggest thing that makes your life easier when you travel? ASHE: I have a separate bag that I use for travelling, and I actually have like a separate copy of everything that I use in my regular life that goes inside that bag. So like I have a toiletry bag, and my toothbrush, and hairbrush, and everything always stay in there. That way, I never have to remember to pack that stuff because the things that I always tend to forget are my hairbrush and my pajamas - every single time. I'm not entirely sure why, but those are the two things that I always forget. So I try to minimize the damage by trying to keep as much stuff in my like travelling bag as possible. CHUCK: That makes a lot of sense. There I admit that when I went down to New Media Expo -- my wife doesn't listen to the show, so I won't be in trouble -- but she hadn't on a laundry in like two weeks and I had no clean clothes, so I drove down to Las Vegas and I went and bought underwear and socks so I would have clean clothes to wear while I was down there. ASHE: Nice! [Chuck laughs] ASHE: I know a lot of people that when they travel internationally like they'll pack everything very tightly. And then when they're getting ready to leave, they actually throw out their underwear and their socks and I mean that's kind of cheap to replace, so they have room for souvenirs or whatever else they're bringing back. ERIC: Yeah, I've heard people that do that. Like what they'll do, is they'll travel to a place that's kind of cold then pick up a jacket there. And then if they leave,
Panel Ashe Dryden (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 00:58 - Project Management 02:46 - Project Management Software Pivotal Tracker Redmine Asana 05:26 - Communication and Clarification Discovery and Estimation 09:59 - Agile Methodology Workflow 15:28 - Billing Project Management Time Harvest 18:57 - Managing Internal Projects To-Do Lists Outsourcing Board of Advisors 25:46 - Managing Future Projects and Ideas Getting Things Done by David Allen 28:47 - Book Writing Workflows Picks National Geographic Found (Ashe) Will You Sponsor Me? - Elise Worthy (Ashe) MediaElement.js (Chuck) Hover (Chuck) Next Week Travel Transcript ASHE: Life's a little weird sometimes... [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 60 of the Freelancers Show! This week on our panel we have, Ashe Dryden. ASHE: Hello! CHUCK: And I'm Charles Max Wood from devchat.tv. We have a few people out at, I think it's MicroConf...I should just look it up so I know the name of the conference. Anyway, they are in Vegas and I think we might have one or two people at RailsConf, or it may just have stuff going on today. So, it's just the two of us! ASHE: Sounds good! [laughs] CHUCK: It feels like you're filling in for Eric! ASHE: Eric can never be replaced... CHUCK: [laughs] Only temporarily, huh? ASHE: Only temporarily. I'm just standing up for you, buddy! CHUCK: [laughs] Awesome. Alright, so this week, I was thinking that we could talk about "Managing Projects", both projects, kind of internal projects I guess, and for clients - client projects. I have to say this is something that I'm really not good at, so I'm hoping that you can impart some wisdom. ASHE: Oh, I'll do my best. I think this is something that a lot of people struggle with. I don't think that many of us come from a Project Management or like any kind of Management background, really. So, it's something that's very new that we don't necessarily have the skills for right off the bat. CHUCK: Yeah. But at the same time, if you've worked for a company on a team, using somebody managing the project, whether they were aware of it or not… ASHE: Yeah. I think that working at a couple of places is definitely given me an idea of what Project Management isn't, which might help to kind of stir in the direction of what Project Management should be. CHUCK: So, you're going to give us an 'anti-definition' then? ASHE: Yeah...I don't know. I've struggled a lot. I think that a lot of people have similar complaints about project management styles or like the kind of stereotype of what a Project Manager is; promising things too soon or promising things without actually running it by the developers. Or, trying to figure out what actual problems are in the project management process instead of just the tools that are involved, because I've seen that one a lot. Where, "Oh, something's not working! Let's just change the project management software that we're using because that must be the problem." [laughter] CHUCK: That's right. It's always the tools. ASHE: Yeah! So, that's definitely not the way that I would go. I'm kind of interested, what are you doing for project management right now for software? CHUCK: I've used, in software projects anyway, I've used Pivotal Tracker; really really like Pivotal Tracker. I've looked at Redmine, and I want to get to know it better mainly because I have people coming to me and asking me to customize it. And so, I wanted to get to know it a little bit better. But for the most part, that's what I'm using. And then for other projects, I've been using Asana lately, which was mentioned on the show by Farnoosh Brock, if you want to go back and look at that. So yeah, that's kind of what I've been doing.
Panel Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Ashe Dryden (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Jim Gay (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:13 - Coping with Burnout Taking up hobbies Outside job stressors Exercise 07:21 - Overcommitting 09:59 - Expectations Having children Setting boundaries PPC Principle = Production vs Production Capacity (The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey) 16:32 - Work/Life Balance Your personal definition of relaxation 20:26 - Depression 22:27 - Coping Mechanisms Partner support Talking through it 29:43 - Preventing Burnout Don’t push your limits Regrets of the Dying Frustration Driven Development by Evan D. Light Picks Slate Magazine | Boston bombing breaking news: Don't watch cable. Shut of Twitter. You'd be better off cleaning your gutters. (Eric) Happier (Evan) Happy: The Movie (Evan) Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life by Martin E. P. Seligman (Evan) If You're Too Busy to Meditate, Read This - Peter Bregman (Evan) A Wet Towel In Space Is Not Like A Wet Towel On Earth (Ashe) Mou (Markdown App) (Ashe) No Equipment? No Excuses: 20 Exercises You Can Do At Home (Ashe) My Best Mistake: Too Much Success - Gary Vaynerchuk (Jim) Unplugging the TV (Jim) Battlestar Galactica (Chuck) Downton Abbey (Chuck) Downton Abbey at 54 Below - Season 4, Episode 1 Sneak Peek (Chuck) @freelancershow (Chuck) Next Week Project Management Transcript CHUCK: Alright, I'm still adjusting volume here. JIM: Am I too loud? EVAN: Oh, no! But, you're way too deep... [laughter] [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 59 of the Freelancers Show! This week on our panel we have, Eric Davis. ERIC: Hello! CHUCK: Ashe Dryden. ASHE: Hello! CHUCK: Evan Light. EVAN: Hellooo! CHUCK: Jim Gay. JIM: Hello! CHUCK: I'm Charles Max Wood from devchat.tv. This week's topic is going to be "Dealing with Burnout". Just to give you a little bit of background, I actually chose this topic because I am dealing with burnout. Anyway, I thought it'd be interesting to talk about it to see if you guys experience this and -- EVAN: No, never! Ever! JIM: Alright, it's been fun! [laughter] EVAN: That's it. CHUCK: I'm totally burned out on these guys, I'm leaving. EVAN: You have a nice model object. CHUCK: [laughs] Anyway, I got off this project a couple of weeks ago, and I don't know! I just haven't been able to really sit down and want to write code. And, it was really hard for me because I was burned out all through the month of most Ruby Conference. I enjoyed talking to people, but usually I wind up messing around with code and stuff during the conference and I'll come home and go the whole bunch. I really enjoy writing code! And, I'm really not enjoying writing code...And so, I was wondering what you guys do to cope with this kind of thing? EVAN: [inaudible] [laughter] EVAN: I'm serious! I just work a little bit less and maybe I don't produce many hours and maybe I spend more time doing complete things that have nothing to do with the computer. ASHE: Yeah. A couple of years ago, I had a really bad case of burnout. It probably last to close to a year. I just hated doing work every single day and I started picking up hobbies. I had nothing to do with sitting in a computer like I picked up meeting, which for most people who know me like I'm not like a very domestic does-curly-girl-type thing, so picking up meeting was kind of different for me, which I love doing now and I really enjoy doing that; rode my bike more, spent more time outside. I was trying to get like my work-life balance back in order, so it's only working a maximum of 8 hours a day. [Chuck laughs]
Panel Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:13 - Is there value in testing and refactoring? Client Value vs Developer Value Unit Tests Acceptance Tests 09:22 - Saving time and money Better Code Maintainability 13:45 - When not doing tests hurts 14:39 - Refactoring “Changing Shit”/Restructuring 19:48 - Approaching restructuring “Leave it better than you found it” Use metrics Coding “taste” and style 30:36 - Software exists to provide value 32:33 - Documentation 34:45 - Getting clients to see the value in tests Characterization Tests 41:04 - Deployment 42:57 - Client Dictatorship Using specific libraries or tools or databases The Trust Factor 054 – Red Flags with Potential or Current Clients with Ashe Dryden Draconian technology Picks Software Engineers Spend Lots of Time Not Building Software (Eric) Status Board (Eric) Backbone.js (Chuck) Toy Story: Smash It! (Chuck) Next Week Overcoming Burnout Transcript [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 58 of the Ruby Freelancers Show! This week on our panel, we have Eric Davis. ERIC: Hello! CHUCK: I'm Charles Max Wood from devchat.tv. It looks like everybody else is busy, so it's just going to be us this week! So how's it going, Eric? ERIC: I'm not that busy. I had a busy week last week; and basically, I actually took yesterday off. So, I'm just starting to kind of get back into things again so I actually have a bunch of time. CHUCK: Yeah. I just picked up another contract so things are starting to ramp up for me again. And then I'm trying to get all these stuff together for a few other things I've got going on. But yeah, there's always something to do. ERIC: Yeah. The hamster world never stops spinning. CHUCK: Yup. I'm seriously thinking about going and taking a nap after this instead of working, though. So this week, we're going to be talking about "How to Convince Clients of the Value of Test and Refactoring" and things like that. I guess we should talk about the premise really quickly of "Is there value in Test and Refactoring and stuff?" ERIC: Yeah. I don't know, I don't agree with a lot of the kind of popular opinion about bits on how you test everything and all that stuff. I'm very -- pragmatic is a good way of raising about it, I'm not sure -- I think there's value there, but I don't think there's as much value as a lot of people place in it. And especially if you consider it from the client's perspective, there might not be as much value in testing and refactoring, all that stuff, as developers put into it. CHUCK: Okay. What value do you see in tests? ERIC: For client, the value that they're going to get out of test is going to be "Regression Type Test", like this bug occurred, it was fixed; there's a test to prove it's never going to come back. There's also value in kind of like "End-to-End Test" - some people call that "Exception Test" or "Integration Test" where the system works from point A to point C going through point B. That's where the clients are hopefully really involved with like writing the test, how it's going to flow, and all that stuff. In those cases, I think there's a lot of value for the client. Depending on the client and the type of software you're building, they might not want to put a lot of time into it. I've had couple of clients where they are too busy to actually write this Sentence test, and so I would write them based on what the client would tell me, and then as we iterate on it like the workflow, we would tweak or understand the system and I would take that understanding and write the test for them. On the other hand, "Unit Test" I think for a client, there's very little value for them directly in unit test. I think,
Panel Ashe Dryden (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 00:39 - Experience working with fixed bids 04:08 - Risks Value 06:45 - Collecting Payment Working in phases and milestones 08:56 - Are fixed bid projects fair? 16:57 - Nailing down specifics 19:51 - Dealing with scope creep Contract clauses/additional contracts 26:15 - Getting clients to agree with your fixed bid or hourly preference 28:29 - Estimates Prioritizing Point estimation 37:11 - Transitioning from fixed bid to hourly work 38:42 - Figuring out what to bid Project management Value-Based Fees: How to Charge - and Get - What You're Worth by Alan Weiss Option pricing 44:41 - Ask clients why they prefer fixed bid pricing Picks Healthy Programmer by Joe Kutner (Ashe) DuoLingo (Ashe)
RubyThanks (Ashe)
Becoming a Better Programmer Indie GoGo campaign (Ashe) Douglas Rushkoff: Wall Street Journal adaptation from Present Shock (Eric) Ruby Heroes (Chuck) Colloquy (Chuck) Value-Based Fees: How to Charge - and Get - What You're Worth by Alan Weiss (Jeff) Next Week How do you convince clients of the value of tests, refactoring, etc.? Transcript ERIC: Chuck, I'm cold. Keep me warm! [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 57 of the Ruby Freelancers Show! This week on our panel, we have Ashe Dryden. ASHE: Hello from Madison, Wisconsin! CHUCK: Eric Davis. ERIC: Hello! CHUCK: Jeff Schoolcraft. JEFF: What's up! CHUCK: I'm Charles Max Wood from devchat.tv. This week, we're going to be talking about "Fixed Bids". How much of you guys done with fixed bids? ASHE: I used to do them a lot more than I do them now; I actually tried to not do fixed bids. CHUCK: Is there a reason for that? ASHE: Yeah. It never really sticks really well with the fixed bid; I mostly do hourly now. I prefer hourly because it allows the client to kind of expand or contract their needs without feeling limited by the contract and it makes me feel less mean. CHUCK: Oh, it makes sense. ASHE: So I don't have to constantly say "Well, that wasn't really part of the original contract". I can give them what they need and what they want without having to have that difficult conversation. CHUCK: How about you guys, Eric and Jeff? JEFF: I've done a few very small fixed bid projects. But by large, I'm mostly hourly mostly for the same reason as Ashe has. And beyond that, it's really hard to get a scope timed on off and it makes it comfortable for me to try to bid on something. ERIC: For me...I don't know, maybe 20% if that -- I actually have a different reason. I don't mind fixed bids, but the project has to be very specific. There has to be a lot of trust between me and the client first off so that I can trust that they're going to understand what's cocube is; we don't have those problems or discussions. The other side of it is, the project has to be [inaudible] and that it's something I've done before or there's not a lot of technical risk on the project. If there is a lot of technical risk for a lot of unknowns, then I basically say "We're going to have to be hourly because I can't guess this upfront and commit to it". CHUCK: Yeah. I've done a couple of fixed bids myself, they were less than a thousand dollars effect; both of them were $500 a piece and it was an enough work that it wasn't that risky. One of them, I really actually didn't get paid on; and it was because I was setting up some software, some third-party software, for somebody on their server. He was unhappy with the result because there was a bug in the software that I set up, but I didn't actually write it. Anyway, it's kind of interesting I haven't done major fixed bid projects,
Panel Ashe Dryden (twitter github blog) Jim Gay (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:20 - Finding Projects 04:50 - Being up front with clients about what you do and don’t know 06:14 - People who don’t know as much as they think they do Dunning-Kruger effect 08:21 - “Fake it til you make it” Honesty 11:23 - Offering a technology before you know it can be done Referring someone else instead Contract Specifics 15:59 - Lowering your rate to take a project to break into a new market Value Discounts/Comping Time 22:37 - Getting stuck and taking time to figure things out Time Tracking Reaching out for help in exchange for ____ (temporary mentorship) Velocity Subcontracting 28:35 - Taking a project because you want to learn a specific skill 30:02 - Refactoring Convincing a client that it’s good to refactor Showing good code vs bad good Is it code that you’re proud of? Client budget 34:45 - Educating clients on technology Episode 1 - Mongo DB Is Web Scale (NSFW) Technical Risk 37:05 - Panelist New Technology Interest Picks xkcd: Password Strength (Eric) GRC's | Password Haystacks: How Well Hidden is Your Needle? (Eric) Diceware Passphrase (Eric) SaneBox (Eric) Mailbox (Evan) Flexibits | Fantastical for Mac (Evan) How much sleep do we really need to work productively? - The Buffer Blog (Jim) The Visual Display of Quantitative Information by Edward Tufte (Jim) Most Productive Vim Shortcuts (Ashe) UX Apprentice (Ashe) Wool by Hugh Howey (Ashe) Robocalypse (Chuck) The iPhreaks Show (Chuck) Next Week Fixed Bids Transcript [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 56 of the Ruby Freelancers Show! This week on our panel, we have Ashe Dryden. ASHE: Hi there! CHUCK: Jim Gay. JIM: Hello from Sauna in Virginia Beach! CHUCK: Eric Davis. ERIC: Hello! CHUCK: Evan Light. EVAN: I'm truly confused [inaudible] CHUCK: Is there an order? JIM: Yeah, we had an order? EVAN: I'd do Eric, and then you do me, and then you do whoever else up in a Shell Bluff. CHUCK: Oh! I'm Charles Max Wood from devchat.tv, and I'm doing it wrong...So this week we're going to be talking about "Taking a Project to Learn Something". I think Ashe said it better, so I'm going to let her explain what we're talking about. ASHE: Sure! So basically, the concept of taking on a project specifically say "you can learn something new and expand upon what you already know", so learning on the job kind of thing. CHUCK: You mean like speaking coherently when you didn't sleep last night? ASHE: Exactly like that! [laughs] CHUCK: [laughs] Awesome! JIM: I'm curious then right off of that, because I haven't done a whole lot of that. How do you find these projects? It's one thing to think or I'm going to work on this new technology, but then actually finding somebody who needs it and convincing them that you're the person for the job. ASHE: Well for me, most of the time it's people coming to me asking if I know how to do a certain thing or if I've done a certain thing before. That gives me an idea that that's something that people are looking for, or it's maybe something that I should look into more and maybe think about learning. I don't generally go out of my way to find projects that are for something that I haven't been learning or haven't wanting to learn. EVAN: Yeah, same here. My current projects -- I'm doing a lot more JavaScripts than I normally do and I've been doing JavaScript off and on for a long time, but I haven't play with Backbone, my friends expect this project has a little bit. So what I told the client, because he'd ask if I knew that the other contractor,
Panel Jenn Swanson (twitter Communication Diva eBook) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Ashe Dryden (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 00:32 - Jenn Swanson Introduction C...
Panel Ashe Dryden (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 00:48 - Ashe Dryden Introduction Indie Developer and Conference Organizer from Madison, Wisconsin 02:39 - Contracts Signing yours vs theirs Having a contract The Ruby Freelancers Show 049 - Contracts with Attorney Jared Richards 09:08 - Working with Down Payments and Deposits 10:35 - Clients asking you to reduce your hourly rate or paying you in something other than money 13:26 - Discovery (DaaS - Discovery as a Service) 19:35 - Referral-based Work 20:58 - Business Hours & Availability Poor Project Management Needy Clients Setting clients up to work in a way that works well for you 26:28 - Clients treating consultants and contractors as employees Points of contact 31:49 - Clients not knowing what they want 33:58 - Signing unreasonable non-compete agreements 37:57 - Timelines and Deliverables Asking clients for what you need to do your work/keep deadlines Setting expectations before work begins 45:05 - Communication Meeting in the middle Has the client worked with a freelancer before? 48:02 - Deal Breakers Expertise Conflicts Emergency Deadlines 55:20 - Managing Non-Payment Non-refundable Deposits One strike, two strike approach Mike Monteiro | F*ck You. Pay Me. (Video, NSFW/language) Freelance Contracts That Anyone Can Understand: Ashe Dryden ashedryden / freelance-contract 58:53 - Client Respect Disappearing Clients Punctuality Meeting Agendas Meetings Picks Arduino (Eric) amperka / ino (Eric) Block Fortress (Evan) Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra Star Trek TNG Shirt | eBay (Evan) Sevabot (Jeff) Google Calendar (Chuck) Amazon S3 (Chuck) graze (Ashe) Gittip (Ashe) DAYTUM (Ashe) Next Week Better Communications with Clients, Prospects, and other Contractors with Jenn Swanson (Communication Diva) Transcript CHUCK: That's true. I have pretty high tolerance for a lot of things. EVAN: Well, you work with Dave Brady, right? [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 54 of The Ruby Freelancers Show. This week on our panel, we have Eric Davis. ERIC: Hello! CHUCK: Evan Light. EVAN: It's really episode 42.. CHUCK: Jeff Schoolcraft. JEFF: What's up! CHUCK: I'm Charles Max Wood from devchat.tv. We have a special guest this week, Ashe Dryden. ASHE: Hi there! CHUCK: Do you want to introduce yourself really quickly since you haven't been on the show? ASHE: Yeah, that's fine. My name is Ashe Dryden, obviously. I live in Madison, Wisconsin; I'm an indie developer and conference organizer, and generally, community harasser. CHUCK: [laughs] Yes. EVAN: It fits in the one who are troublemaker. [laughter] CHUCK: Yup. We're learning from the best. [Evan laughs] CHUCK: Anyway, this week we're going to be talking about "Red Flags" with potential and current clients. It was interesting the way it came about. I had been fighting with -- I don't want to use the word 'fighting' -- but I had been emailing former client who hadn't paid me for probably like 7 or 8 months. And so there was this whole discussion that we had on Twitter about deposits and things like that, and Ashe mentioned that she has this list -- I don't know if it's a formal list or kind of a mental list -- of red flags that she watches for. So we thought we'd get her on the show to see what red flags she has for current client, some potential clients. I'm sure we all have things to add and experience that we've had with clients that can tell you that some -- EVAN: Oh, no! All my clients have been saints, so I don't know what you're talking about. [silence]
Panel Farnoosh Brock (twitter facebook Prolific Living Prolific Living Podcast The Healthy Juicer’s Bible) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 00:37 - Farnoosh Brock Introduction Prolific Living New Media Expo 01:41 - Marketing 04:00 - Marketing Coaching Services Book Yourself Solid: The Fastest, Easiest, and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients Than You Can Handle Even if You Hate Marketing and Selling by Michael Port Target Audience 06:05 - Giving away products vs time and services The Ruby Freelancers Show: 006 - Setting Your Rate 08:32 - Pricing The Prolific Living Podcast Episode 83: 4 Bold Steps to Communicating Your Prices without Apology Price higher than you feel comfortable Handling price criticism 12:54 - Levels of Access Freebies 16:48 - Value Working backwards pricing idea 19:39 - Advertising Mailing Lists (some at different levels of marketing aggressiveness) Guest Posting Blogging Social Media LinkedIn Groups Forums 23:59 - Closing Sales on the Phone Zig Ziglar 26:40 - Video Marketing Free content as teaser to paid content Credibility 31:51 - Effective Marketing Strategies Escape from Cubicle Nation 48 Days, LLC Cliff Ravenscraft 36:17 - Podcasting 37:46 - Getting on other people’s radar 39:33 - Help a Reporter Out (HARO) (Vocus will call you once as soon as you create an account. Saying you aren't interested will stop calls.) 45:39 - Speaking/Webinars SlideShare Speaker Deck The Ruby Freelancers Show: 036 - Speaking at Conferences 49:09 - Book Marketing (Self-Publishing) Amazon Author Central Reviews Farnoosh's Amazon Page Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) 55:13 - Book Marketing (w/ a Publisher) Taking the lead 59:05 - Self-publishing vs going w/ a traditional publisher 01:03:19 - Making the right product for your market Building your platform Amy Hoy The Formula You Need: 30 x 500: Zero to Launch for Your Very First Paying Product Picks Seth Godin's Blog: Choose your customers first (Eric) "If it Bleeds, it Leads" (Evan) Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture by Martin Fowler (Evan) Ruby Midwest (Evan) VIM to EMACS (Evan) Hazel (Chuck) Battlestar Galactica (Chuck) House of Cards (Evan) Young Justice: Invasion Destiny Calling - Season 2 (Evan) Asana (Farnoosh) Scrivener (Farnoosh) Edirol Recorder (Farnoosh) Paul Graham: You Weren't Meant to Have a Boss (Farnoosh) On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft by Stephen King (Farnoosh) Next Week Red Flags with Potential or Current Clients with Ashe Dryden Transcript [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 53 of The Ruby Freelancers Show. This week on our panel, we have Eric Davis. ERIC: Hello! CHUCK: We also have Evan Light. EVAN: Chuck had to think about Eric for a moment there... CHUCK: [laughs] I'm Charles Max Wood from Devchat.tv. And this week we have a special guest, and that's Farnoosh Brock! FARNOOSH: Hi! Thank you so much for having me on! CHUCK: You haven't been on the before; do you want to introduce yourself really quickly? FARNOOSH: Yes! My name is Farnoosh Brock, and I am the president and founder of Prolific Living, and that's at prolificliving.com. Chuck and I met at New Media Expo back in January and we had a lot of fun! He was really shocked that he met an electrical engineer -- an ex-electrical engineer -- at the party there, and we just hit it off! So, thank you so much for inviting me to the show. CHUCK: Yeah, no problem! It was kind of interesting when we met. First off, I met your husband before I met you. He's a photographer,
Panel Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 00:57 - Wanna be a regular Ruby Freelancer Panelist? Tweet interest to @rubyfreelancers02:12 - Big Company Layoffs ...
Panel E. Scott Sweeney, CPA (Scott@CPASweeney.com 801-756-3394) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:02 - Scott Sweeney Introduction The Ruby Freelancers Show 01...
Panel Steve Kloyda (twitter facebook linkedin youtube The Prospecting Expert) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:03 - Steve Kloyda Introduction The Prospecting Expert The Prospecting Minute 02:38 - Being a good prospector Never stop prospecting Passion 04:42 - Prospecting and Selling To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth about Moving Others by Daniel H. Pink 08:10 - Marketing and Sales Cliff Ravenscraft 12:05 - Prospecting Tools Email Text Messaging Video Social Media The Icarus Deception: How High Will You Fly? by Seth Godin The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuk 19:25 - Audience Connect Educate Engage 24:54 - The Wizard of Oz Purpose Who Game Plan Solution Next Step 34:03 - The Best Next Step 38:31 - Referrals Fear of rejection Psychology Centers of Influence 46:51 - Keeping the sales process simple Ask for the business Objections Picks Indie Game: The Movie (Eric) Anker Battery Pack (Chuck) Parade of Homes (Chuck) Evernote (Steve) Evernote Hello (Steve) Evernote Food (Steve) Nozbe (Steve) How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling by Frank Bettger (Steve) The Icarus Deception: How High Will You Fly? by Seth Godin (Steve) Next Week Bookkeeping and Business Expenses with Scott Sweeney Transcript [Are you a busy Ruby developer who wants to take their freelance business to the next level? Interested in working smarter not harder? Then check out the upcoming book “Next Level Freelancing - Developer Edition Practical Steps to Work Less, Travel and Make More Money”. It includes interviews and case studies with successful freelancers, who have made a killing by expanding their consultancy, develop passive income through informational products, build successful SaaS products, and become rockstar consultants making a minimum of $200/hour. There are all kinds of practical steps on getting started and if you sign up now, you’ll get 50% off when it’s released. You can find it at nextlevelfreelancing.com] [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 50 of The Ruby Freelancers Show. This week on our panel, we have Eric Davis. ERIC: Hello! CHUCK: I'm Charles Max Wood from devchat.tv. I just want to remind you that you have one week left to go sign up for Rails Ramp Up at railsrampup.com. And we have a special guest and that is Steve Kloyda! STEVE: It's great to be here, thanks for having me. CHUCK: Oh it's great to have you! I met Steve at the New Media Expo. He was hanging out with the bunch of us from Cliff Ravenscraft's "Podcast Mastermind", and it turns out that he knows a lot about prospecting for potential clients. And it seems like that's one of the hard things that we have to do as programmers - to find new clients. So I invited him to the show and we are happy to have you. STEVE: It's really great to be here. And yes, we are all searching for new clients at point or another and it's probably one of the biggest challenges that entrepreneurs, small business owners, and sales people face on a daily basis. So I'm really excited to be here to talk about it because this is my passion. CHUCK: Awesome! You're also the podcasting expert at thepodcastingexpert.com, correct? STEVE: Yes "theprospectingexpert".. CHUCK: [laughs] Sorry.. STEVE: It's alright. Theprospectingexpert.com is my website address and then I have a podcast that I do every week called "The Prospecting Minute" podcast. CHUCK: Is it longer than a minute, I take it? STEVE: Actually it's 3-5 minutes. Sales people tend to have a very short attention span, and some of my -- I do interview some people and sometimes I go 25 or 30 minutes, but the average show is between 5 and 7 minutes in length. That'll like to give them quick,
Panel Jared Richards (twitter jrichards@btjd.com 801-438-2040) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:21 - Attorney Jared Richards Introduction Bennett-Tueller Johnson & Deere of Salt Lake City, UT @UTStartupLawyer 03:37 - Things you should have in a contract Who owns what Work for hire/licensing 10:40 - Prospective Liability and Disclaimers of Liability 13:07 - Risk Management Tools Warranty and protection against data loss Limitations on liability 16:25 - Copyright & Patent Infringement 19:57 - Getting paid for your work Cash up front On-going retainers Escrows Credit card authorization forms Interest penalties Collection costs 29:18 - Acceptance and Rejection Procedures 36:25 - Is a Statement of Work necessary? 40:20 - Subcontracting 42:25 - Client turnaround and response time provisions 43:24 - Purchasing of services/expenses 46:21 - Using client contracts instead of your own Jurisdiction Indemnificaton Liquidated Damages Provision 52:20 - Conflicts of interest 58:56 - Arbitration, Mediation & Litigation 01:05:05 - Subcontractor Agreements Insurance Regular reporting Picks Growing Developers - Curated Conversation About Building Developer Talent (Evan) Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment by George Burr Leonard (Evan) Exercise (Evan) Take Time Off Work (Eric) Breathe (Eric) Fire Up Ember.js | PeepCode (Chuck) Meet Chef (Part 2 of 2) | PeepCode (Chuck) Google Advanced Search (Jared) Next Week Better Prospecting for Freelancers with Steve Kloyda Transcript JARED: I prefer keep away from the attorney jokes. They get told behind my back, I don't really get to hear them in person. [Are you a busy Ruby developer who wants to take their freelance business to the next level? Interested in working smarter not harder? Then check out the upcoming book “Next Level Freelancing - Developer Edition Practical Steps to Work Less, Travel and Make More Money”. It includes interviews and case studies with successful freelancers, who have made a killing by expanding their consultancy, develop passive income through informational products, build successful SaaS products, and become rockstar consultants making a minimum of $200/hour. There are all kinds of practical steps on getting started and if you sign up now, you’ll get 50% off when it’s released. You can find it at nextlevelfreelancing.com] [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to The Ruby Freelancers Show, Episode 49. This week we're going to be talking to Jared Richards, he's an attorney, about contracts. Before we get started, let's introduce the panel. This week on our panel, we have Eric Davis. ERIC: Hello! CHUCK: Evan Light. EVAN: I'm back! CHUCK: I'm Charles Max Wood from devchat.tv. This week we have a special guest, as I said before, Jared Richards. JARED: Hey everyone! CHUCK: Jared, you want to introduce yourself really quickly so people can know who you are and how to find you? JARED: Yeah absolutely. Jared Richards, I'm with the law firm in Salt Lake City, Utah called Bennett-Tueller Johnson and Deere, more casually known as BTJD. We have a large corporate practice and a lot of our group focuses on startups, more specifically technology startups. So we handle wide array of things from IP protection, contracts, venture capital, and sales of businesses. That's where we spend all our time, and thanks for having me on the show. You can find me on Twitter @UTStartupLawyer. CHUCK: Yeah. So I met Jared a year or so ago...nah! I think it was longer than that. Anyway -- JARED: Yeah I think it's been a couple of years, yeah. CHUCK: Yeah, it was at launch up,
Panel Jonathan Shank (twitter Your First Virtual Assistant) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:03 - Jonathan Shank Introduction Your First Virtual Assistant 02:13 - Odesk Witmart 03:45 - Types of jobs you can outsource Translation Research Transcription 08:35 - Picking the right people 11:18 - Figuring out what to outsource 13:39 - Hiring domestic vs overseas workers 16:52 - Sampling groups vs hiring regulars 21:05 - Improving delegation skills 23:27 - Mistakes people make when getting started outsourcing Be Specific 26:11 - Letting strangers into your business Training 31:19 - Fiverr Crowdsourcing 99 Designs 34:29 - U.S.-based VA firms 36:38 - Outsourcing technical things Picks Bidsketch: Freelance Marketing 101: Creating a “Magnetic” Freelance Business (Eric) Presto 04213 Electronic Timer (Chuck) David J. Soler (Chuck) Work the System (Jonathan) Next Week Contracts with Attorney Jared Richards Transcript CHUCK: Yeah it's all fun and games until you put a nail through your foot. [Are you a busy Ruby developer who wants to take their freelance business to the next level? Interested in working smarter not harder? Then check out the upcoming book “Next Level Freelancing - Developer Edition Practical Steps to Work Less, Travel and Make More Money”. It includes interviews and case studies with successful freelancers, who have made a killing by expanding their consultancy, develop passive income through informational products, build successful SaaS products, and become rockstar consultants making a minimum of $200/hour. There are all kinds of practical steps on getting started and if you sign up now, you’ll get 50% off when it’s released. You can find it at nextlevelfreelancing.com] [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 48 of the Ruby Freelancer Show! This week on our panel, we have Eric Davis. ERIC: Hello! CHUCK: I'm Charles Max Wood from devchat.tv. And we have a special guest, Jonathan Shank. JONATHAN: Hello! CHUCK: So Jonathan, do you want to introduce yourself really quickly? JONATHAN: Sure! My name is Jonathan Shank, I've been working with Virtual Assistance for a couple of years, which I guess the reason that I'm up (here). I represent [inaudible], by that kindly to be on your podcast. I guess I started a couple of years ago as working on my own business on the side and I found that when the whole world of virtual assistant is open to me, I realized there's so many people out there that can help me with my business that it really was something that really helped me out quite a lot. So as a result, I've been working with them for a couple of years, and I've had so much success personally that I kind of decided that I just want to share that with others. So I started the website "yourfirstvirtualassistant.com", and a podcast, and there is other thing. Basically, (I'm) just trying (to) show people just from square one how easy it is to take a lot and find your first virtual assistant. So that's kind of how it started. Now whenever I have a chance, I kind of spread the news of how you can use them on various businesses. CHUCK: I went to your talk at New Media Expo and it seem like you were mostly talking about oDesk. Is that the way you usually go? Or are there other avenues you take to find people? JONATHAN: Yeah. I would say that the vast majority of what I use has been oDesk. I've tried a lot of the other sites as well, and for me, how I work it seems to be the best, at least as really conducive to how I like to do things. For instance, if you have a fixed-price job, it's very easy to quickly have a small [inaudible] avenue to get a lot of people that do inexpensive work. You go to some of the other sites,
Panel Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Jim Gay (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 03:45 - Long-Term Contracts 07:14 - Marketing while under contract 10:01 - Working on other projects while working full-time 16:10 - Energy 17:01 - Money Emergency funds 21:41 - Lone developer vs team projects 28:05 - Full-time contract pros and cons Renewing Flexibility Meetings Routine 40:50 - Finding full-time contracts Picks ruby-orgs (Jim) dtao / safe_yaml (Jim) Freebook Sifter (Eric) Discomfort Zone: How to Master the Universe (Eric) Doctor Who Sonic Screwdriver of the 10th Doctor (Chuck) Contactually (Chuck) Dropbox App (Chuck) Next Week Outsourcing and Odesk with Jonathan Shank Transcript CHUCK: I'll get ideas from my ideas. There's an idea. [Are you a busy Ruby developer who wants to take their freelance business to the next level? Interested in working smarter not harder? Then check out the upcoming book “Next Level Freelancing - Developer Edition Practical Steps to Work Less, Travel and Make More Money”. It includes interviews and case studies with successful freelancers, who have made a killing by expanding their consultancy, develop passive income through informational products, build successful SaaS products, and become rockstar consultants making a minimum of $200/hour. There are all kinds of practical steps on getting started and if you sign up now, you’ll get 50% off when it’s released. You can find it at nextlevelfreelancing.com] [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 47 of the Ruby Freelancers Show! This week on our panel, we have Eric Davis. ERIC: Hello! CHUCK: We also have Jim Gay. JIM: Hello from Arlington, Virginia's greatest suburb, Washington, DC! CHUCK: Awesome! I'm Charles Max Wood from devchat.tv. And real quick, I want to mention this to a few people. I get request from people who listen to all of the shows that I do, so some of you will be interested, some of you won't. That's fine. If you're not interested, I apologize. You can't help by getting the word out, but I'm going to be teaching a Ruby on Rails course starting in March. And I'd love to get people to sign up, if they want to learn Ruby on Rails. I think the approach that I'm taking is a little bit different from what a lot of other people do, and that it's a course over 8 weeks. I encourage you to build an application and then we get it deployed to a server or to Heroku or both and just help you figure it out, help you find what road blocks you're going to run into as you build whatever application it is and kind of get you all the way through the process in 8 weeks. I don't think you can get that from a book, from videos, or from a 2 or 3 day in-person course class. So if you're interested, go to railsrampup.com and sign up! And I just appreciate you listening. If you're not interested, then I would appreciate it if you just tweet that out and let people know that it's available. ERIC: Awesome! Yeah I think that would be great. Like I know a lot of people who come to local meet-up groups and say "Oh, I'm trying to learn" and they spend some time hacking away from reading tutorials and cobbling stuffs together from the internet. But a long course like that could really help people kind of get over the hump and understand. CHUCK: Yeah that's what I found. I've had a few people actually come to me and say "I read this book, (or) I took this class, and now I'm trying to build my app, and I'm running into these issues." And so that's what this is kind of designed to work around. ERIC: Cool! CHUCK: Alright! Well let's get into today's topic. We're going to be talking about full-time clients or full-time projects, I guess. Either way. JIM: Neither projects where you're what?
Panel Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:28 - Working From Home Distractions Environment 07:35 - Pros of Working From Home Animals Purr Programming 2.0: Lance Gleason Schedule/Flexibility Naps Deliveries/Home Repairs Commute 11:57 - Focus & Productivity Renting an Office 14:22 - Cons of Working From Home Office Neighbors/Noise Pollution Furnishing an Office Cabin Fever 22:37 - Working in an Office Social Outlet Others’ Opinions 25:31 - Overcoming Distractions Family Comes First Making up Time 29:54 - Staying on Task Shifting your Work Set Hours Pomodoring Setting Boundaries 37:35 - Fixed Number of Hours xkcd: Ballmer Peak Picks Hydrofarm Thirsty Light (Chuck) Powermat Power Dual 1200 Rechargeable Backup Battery (Chuck) PVC Pipe in Plants (Eric) iPad Mini (Evan) Transcript ERIC: Replace Chuck with a recording robot. [Are you a busy Ruby developer who wants to take their freelancing business to the next level? Interested in working smarter not harder? Then check out the upcoming book “Next Level Freelancing - Developer Edition Practical Steps to Work Less, Travel and Make More Money”. It includes interviews and case studies with successful freelancers, who have made a killing by expanding their consultancy, develop passive income through informational products, build successful SaaS products, and become rockstar consultants making a minimum of $200/hour. There are all kinds of practical steps on getting started and if you sign up now, you’ll get 50% off when it’s released. You can find it at nextlevelfreelancing.com] [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 46 of the Ruby Freelancer Show! This week on our panel, we have Eric Davis. ERIC: Hello! CHUCK: Evan Light. EVAN: Hi! CHUCK: And I'm Charles Max Wood from devchat.tv. This week we're going to be talking about Working Locations. I've had a few people talk to me in the past, when I tell them that I'm a freelancer and that I work from home, they just look at me like "How do you do that? How do you deal with all the distractions? I mean, I'd just go and e-pop corner in front of the TV all day or something”. And so I thought we could talk about the work locations, some of the pros and cons, and how you deal with distractions and things like that. So, I tend to work from. I know that Eric, you usually work from home as well, right? ERIC: Yeah. Like maybe one or two days set up a year, I might not work from home. But I'm here; this is where I'm at. CHUCK: Yeah. And Evan, you used to work from home, didn't you? EVAN: I did until about 2 months ago, and then I rented an office. CHUCK: Alright. Did you just go with like an executive suite type thing or -- EVAN: Well, yeah. I went on craze list. Well I looked around a lot, but ultimately I went on craze list and found a small -- a local realtor who is leasing by the room and just basically got a room that I came equipped with a desk and internet and power and what not. Grabbed my Aeron chair and there it was, and computer was good to go. CHUCK: Yeah that's what they have out here, I don't know if it's just the term out here, but they call them executive suites. Basically, you're renting like a room and then you get access to the conference room when you need it, and the building furnishes power, that kind of stuff. EVAN: I don't think we have a term for it out here because that would imply that we have enough civilization to come up with terms like that. CHUCK: [laughs] Yeah. Adobe built a huge building that's right outbuy where most of those suites are out here. So, I'm kind of curious as to what your experiences been working from home you guys.
Panel Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:41 - Employment History 06:58 - Perks of Being a Freelancer Variety of Job Areas Choose Your Work Flexibility & Freedom 15:22 - Paycheck Security Unemployment Contractors Vs Employees 20:54 - Coast-Along Employees 21:50 - Health Benefits 23:34 - Marketing & Selling Providing Value to a Company 27:27 - Business Skills 29:37 - Self-Direction & Motivation 32:48 - Loans 34:51 - Going Back to Work (after freelancing) Picks Free Agent Nation: The Future of Working for Yourself by Daniel H. Pink (Eric) Powermat Home & Office Mat (Chuck) Une Bobine (Chuck) Transcript ERIC: Hold on, I got to shut my door. My dog opened it and I don't want the cats to come fly in here. [Are you a busy Ruby developer who wants to take their freelance business to the next level? Interested in working smarter not harder? Then check out the upcoming book “Next Level Freelancing - Developer Edition Practical Steps to Work Less, Travel and Make More Money”. It includes interviews and case studies with successful freelancers, who have made a killing by expanding their consultancy, develop passive income through informational products, build successful SaaS products, and become rockstar consultants making a minimum of $200/hour. There are all kinds of practical steps on getting started and if you sign up now, you’ll get 50% off when it’s released. You can find it at nextlevelfreelancing.com] [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 45 of the Ruby Freelancer Show! This week on our panel, we have Eric Davis. ERIC: I had tea to drink! CHUCK: And I'm Charles Max Wood from devchat.tv. This week we're going to be talking about the Risks of Freelancing versus Fulltime Development. The general idea is that -- I get a lot of people that we talk to and basically the idea is this that they're like "well, I would go freelance because it looks like you'll get a lot of perks, but I just can't stand the risk". To me it just doesn't feel as risky. So we're going to talk about that; talk about some of the what's and why's and maybe why freelancing is or isn't as risky as being a fulltime employee and some of the other things that related to that. I'm a little curious Eric, what is your kind of your employment history? ERIC: I worked when I was in high school, just normal high school type jobs. Went to college, did some college jobs like delivered pizza, that sort of thing. And then right after college, went to work for a software company and actually got started there in technical support, then went to testing, and then went to software development. So I was like going through and by the end of it, I was doing desktop software development, wasn't in a mobile at the time. I did all the web development, manage all their servers, manage their network, and so I like had my hand in a lot of pies by there. Then after that, we moved and I started my own company. CHUCK: Wow! After college you worked for one company and then went freelance? ERIC: Yeah, pretty much. In college, I'd say freshman year or maybe sophomore year-ish, I got heavy into like reading about entrepreneurship and all that. I've actually started 2 or 3 businesses. I didn't know what I was doing and basically, looking back at it now, it was stupid for me to do those. But I learned enough at that time and figured out that I like running my own business. And so basically most of the jobs that I had were just stop gaps to pay the bills and to learn more and tell I was actually felt confident enough that I could actually run my own company. CHUCK: Yeah that makes sense. So my work history is somewhat similar. I worked in high school, too, I worked at grocery stores as baggers and checkers, and whatever.
Panel Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Jim Gay (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Discussion 01:16 - Keeping Passion for Work Alive Happiness vs Money Maslow’s hierarchy of needs 04:14 - Making it a Craft 08:45 - Client Fit Raising Rates 10:41 - “Safety” and Satisfaction The Ruby Freelancers Show 012 – Getting Starting as a Freelancer 13:41 - Self-Actualization Community Exposure Praise 25:04 - Practice Every Day Mastery by Robert Greene 27:08 - Having Outlets 31:31 - Change & Creating New Habits Balance Tiny Habits w/ Dr. BJ Fogg The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg 38:34 - “Serious Practitioners” Picks Functional Programming for the Object-Oriented Programmer (Jim) Multitenancy with Rails by Ryan Bigg (Jim) Writer’s block and the drip: Seth Godin (Eric) Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment by George Leonard (Evan) Transcript EVAN: Eric, you there? ERIC: I'm chewing... EVAN: I don't believe I've heard that particular voice before... [Are you a busy Ruby developer who wants to take their freelance business to the next level? Interested in working smarter not harder? Then check out the upcoming book “Next Level Freelancing - Developer Edition Practical Steps to Work Less, Travel and Make More Money”. It includes interviews and case studies with successful freelancers, who have made a killing by expanding their consultancy, develop passive income through informational products, build successful SaaS products, and become rockstar consultants making a minimum of $200/hour. There are all kinds of practical steps on getting started and if you sign up now, you’ll get 50% off when it’s released. You can find it at nextlevelfreelancing.com] [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net] EVAN: Hello! And welcome to the Ruby Freelancers Podcast! Today, I am hosting -- my name is Evan Light. Normally we have Chuck Wood hosting, and I have here Eric Davis. ERIC: Hi! EVAN: Eric is only somewhat conscious, so we can only ask yes or no questions. ERIC: Yes. EVAN: [laughs] And Jim Gay! JIM: Hello! EVAN: So today we decided we are going to talk about "keeping the passion for the work alive", and the tradeoffs involved in doing work we enjoy versus doing work that pays well. This came from a Skype chat that Jim and I, I guess we're getting into undecide during other Skype chats [inaudible]. And I was explaining that I value doing client work that I enjoy more than earning a buck. And Jim was pushing and pointing that, pushing out pushing back that earning a buck is really gushed or unimportant. JIM: Yeah I think we're both kind of agreeing and disagreeing at the same time. When we were talking earlier before we started recording the show, I was thinking of Maslow's hierarchy of needs which -- if people aren't familiar with that, basically on the lowest level of hierarchy it's like "can you survive?" Are you eating? ERIC: The reap of your head? JIM: Yeah, exactly. That type of thing. And then higher up the scale is like the top self-actualization; being pleased with who you are. And I think as long as you've got enough income coming in that you can pay for your house and feed your family and things like that, then you can start going up the path that's like figuring out "okay do I actually care about the work that I'm doing?" EVAN: But there's also -- Well, yeah, okay so potentially there's (I don't know if this is a matter of potentially -- I really need to complete this sentence though), there's the boundaries where we perceived to those boundaries to be in Maslow's hierarchy. I mean this is something -- Maslow's hierarchy: self to something like consider a lot, but the question of where you perceived those boundaries to be might different from person to person. The physiological,
Panel Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Jim Gay (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:39 - Addressing Team Issues Implementing Change Stand-Up Meetings 04:44 - Stand-Up Meeting Issues 07:37 - Organization Politics Expetise Experience 11:21 - Idea Resistence People Problems Control 18:16 - Problematic Coworkers 20:26 - Team Communication Internet Relay Chat (IRC) Skype Hubot Campfire GoToMeeting Adobe Connect Google+ Hangouts tmux 28:10 - Assigning Tickets & Stories 36:22 - Finding Solutions to Problems You Don’t Understand 38:04 - When Change Doesn’t Happen Satisfaction Level 40:01 - Management Issues/Changes 42:43 - Team Planning Planning Poker Estimations 48:17 - Ideas for Integration Leveraging Experience Picks Poor man’s guide to managing Ruby versions (Jim) Extreme Programming Pocket Guide (Eric) Practical Object-Oriented Design in Ruby by Sandi Metz (Chuck) Transcript ERIC: Helloooooooo! [Are you a busy Ruby developer who wants to take their freelance business to the next level? Interested in working smarter not harder? Then check out the upcoming book “Next Level Freelancing - Developer Edition Practical Steps to Work Less, Travel and Make More Money”. It includes interviews and case studies with successful freelancers, who have made a killing by expanding their consultancy, develop passive income through informational products, build successful SaaS products, and become rockstar consultants making a minimum of $200/hour. There are all kinds of practical steps on getting started and if you sign up now, you’ll get 50% off when it’s released. You can find it at nextlevelfreelancing.com] [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 43 of the Ruby Freelancer Show! This week on our panel, we have Eric Davis. ERIC: Hello! CHUCK: We also have Jim Gay. JIM: I'm back! CHUCK: You are back! We missed you! JIM: Thank you. CHUCK: I'm Charles Max Wood from devchat.tv and I've been working hard on railsrampup.com. So if you wanna learn Ruby on Rails, go check it out! Alright, this week we're going to be talking about -- I don't know what the title of the show would be yet, but we're going to be talking about like improving team, processes, communication, etcetera, etcetera. When you're a freelancer on the team and -- we may go into like what you can do when you're new, what you can do when you've been around and earn some street cred, but let's just jump in and talk about some of the stuff. Just to kick it off, I generally like to just come up with something that's relevant from my experience. I'm working on a team right now, and the things that actually been reasonably good over there. And most of the time if I have a concern, or a thought, or an idea, I can just get away with going to the Director over the project and he'll usually talk through it with me and then implement a change if it's good idea. So, I just kind of wanna throw that out there because sometimes the solution is pretty simple. JIM: Yeah! I've definitely done that; making sure that I'm constantly talking to whoever the project manager is. I don't know, I've kind of looked at conversations like around process and comments and say "You know, I've noticed this and I wonder about changing it to that". Just in terms of thinking like "let's try it!" or maybe "we should try it!". Or if you don't wanna try it, fine. I'm sure there will have other things. But I've never felt like even though sometimes I felt really strongly, we really ought to find a better way to communicate or something like that. I never tried to put my foot down like "look, it must be done this way". And sometimes I feel like I want to be the guy who will do that,
Panel Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:18 - Planning For the Year New Media Expo Consumer Electronics Show MountainWest RubyConf Rails Ramp Up 06:57 -...
Panel Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 02:33 - Designers Referrals 12:00 - Bookkeepers Accountant recommendations/preference 19:44 - Virtual Assistants ...
Panel Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code) Discussion 01:28 - What do you do when prospective clients only want to hire you full-time? Employees vs Contractors On-site work 08:35 - How to get clients from a different country or timezone Enforcing contracts Marketing 13:49 - Do people hire you because you’re specifically a “Ruby” freelancer? 21:02 - What types of jobs do you accept and what types do you refuse? Will the project be successful? 30:35 - What types of jobs are you getting from Ruby on Rails? 33:35 - How do you deal with uncertainty or risk when writing a Statement of work? Identify risky areas Be as specific as possible 39:25 - Building LinkedIn recommendations Testemonials 43:32 - Working on a retainer Support Agreements/On Call work Picks Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB Cardioid Dynamic USB/XLR Microphone (Eric) Nexus 7 (Evan) SCOTTEVEST Fleece 7.0 Jacket (Evan) Twitter Bootstrap (Chuck) Downton Abbey (Chuck) Rails Ramp Up (Chuck) Transcript CHUCK: Yes, I put my microphone right on my face. So you get all of the good noises that come out of my mouth. [Are you a busy Ruby developer who wants to take their freelance business to the next level? Interested in working smarter not harder? Then check out the upcoming book “Next Level Freelancing - Developer Edition Practical Steps to Work Less, Travel and Make More Money”. It includes interviews and case studies with successful freelancers, who have made a killing by expanding their consultancy, develop passive income through informational products, build successful SaaS products, and become rockstar consultants making a minimum of $200/hour. There are all kinds of practical steps on getting started and if you sign up now, you’ll get 50% off when it’s released. You can find it at nextlevelfreelancing.com] [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 40 of the Ruby Freelancers Show! This week on our panel, we have Eric Davis. ERIC: Hello! CHUCK: We also have Evan Light. EVAN: Hello CHUCK: And I'm Charles Max Wood from devchat.tv. This week we're going to kind of work through some of the questions that have been put on our user voice panel. There are a handful of them that we don't think necessarily merit a full show. Meaning that, we don't know if we could talk about them for a full hour so we'll just ask some of the questions and then work our way through them. So the first question that I see that I want to go over is "what do you do when prospects only want you as a full time employee?" And there's a bit more to this, Bryan Ray put it up and it says "I'm pretty new to freelancing. I moonlight in pretty much all of my prospects in the past couple of months, seemed interested after a couple of conversations, but eventually they are only looking for full time employees right now. Either full time or 30-40 hours a contract work, which at that point you're basically an employee working for one client's stricter hours indefinite work as opposed to distinct projects, etc. I'm pretty sure it's due to the fact that I can't dedicate many hours per week right now. Do you guys run into this problem? Or did you when you first started out?" EVAN: For me, I tend to work for one big client to one smaller client at a time so I'm not quite fulltime with a client, but I tend to dedicate a lot of time to one client, but not fulltime. And I've gotten some people who want me to work fulltime and I generally try to avoid those period. If they said that's what they want, usually they're inflexible on it, then I just move on find someone else. At least that's been my experience. ERIC: It's been a bit different. I did, I think it was 2 up to maybe 4 or 5 clients at a time for a while there.
Panel Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code) Discussion 01:47 - Static sites vs Wordpress Jekyll 03:33 - Important parts of a Website Placeholder sites Contact information 04:27 - Getting contacted Wufoo 07:43 - Blog Posts theAdmin.org 08:45 - Portfolios Eric’s Portfolio Landing Pages 11:05 - Testimonials 11:55 - Mailing Lists/Newsletters Trustbuilding Waiting list of clients 14:13 - Landing Pages Small pages Guide people to their goal 16:33 - Social Media 17:22 - Logos LogoWorks 19:22 - Static Site Generators 21:07 - What do you want people to do when they visit your site? Welcome Gate: LeadBrite Contact Me littlestreamsoftware.com (Eric) intentionalexcellence.net (Chuck) 23:40 - Products/eBooks 25:49 - Landing Pages Headline Subheadline Call to action 29:23 - A/B Testing for Wordpress Optimizely 30:33 - Analytics 31:23 - About Pages Use “I” not “We” 34:07 - SEO 36:35 - Project Inclusion in Portfolios Picks Arkon Portable Fold-Up Stand (Eric) Oversized Low-Profile Creeper (Chuck) Floor Jack With Rapid Pump (2.5 Ton) (Chuck) Transcript [Are you a busy Ruby developer who wants to take their freelance business to the next level? Interested in working smarter not harder? Then check out the upcoming book “Next Level Freelancing - Developer Edition Practical Steps to Work Less, Travel and Make More Money”. It includes interviews and case studies with successful freelancers, who have made a killing by expanding their consultancy, develop passive income through informational products, build successful SaaS products, and become rockstar consultants making a minimum of $200/hour. There are all kinds of practical steps on getting started and if you sign up now, you’ll get 50% off when it’s released. You can find it at nextlevelfreelancing.com] [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 39 of the Ruby Freelancer Show! This week on our panel, we have Eric Davis. ERIC: Hello! CHUCK: And I'm Charles Max Wood from devchat.tv. This week we're going to be talking about "What Should Be On My Website". And this was kind of my idea as far as something that I wanted to do mainly because I've been playing with the idea of putting together a website for my freelancing business. It's kind of shocking, I think. To think that I've been doing this for two and a half years and still don't have a really functional website for my business. But at the same time, I mean I have some ideas of things that I think should be on there, and I know Eric has been doing this for a while and has a website that does bring him business. So I thought we could just jump in and talk about some of the things that we think should be there or some of the things that people put on there that maybe they "un" put on there or maybe don't give them as much of a win as they think it gives them. So Eric, I'm a little curious before we start talking about what's on the website, is your website built on like WordPress or anything? Or is it something you built on Rails? ERIC: Yeah so right now I was just using WordPress. Let's say I started with a static site, built a custom Ruby, or actually Rails CMS, scrapped to because I'd rather work on client projects or paid projects than to maintain my own CMS system. And I jumped around to just different stack side generators, but I ended up going back to WordPress just because it worked, it's functional, and I can get basically all the features I needed without having to tip-down and write code and maintain all the code for it. So yeah right now, it's for now on WordPress and I got a custom VPS built for it. So it's all of my sites are actually hosted on a private server, it's not like a shared host or anything. CHUCK: Yeah that makes sense.
Panel Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Jim Gay (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Intro to CoffeeScript) Discussion 01:11 - Optimizing your sales and marketing pipeline Lead generation (marketing) Lead conversion Project delivery 08:54 - Follow ups 11:24 - Lead categories Want to work right now Trying to decide Decide against you 12:26 - Closing a client (sales) Not just going for wallets Leads who take advantage/getting something for nothing “Velvet Roping” Book Yourself Solid by Michael Port 15:57 - Client fit Qualifying 17:36 - Marketing Mailing lists Open-source contribution Being active in communities 19:31 - Referrals Where do they come from? 22:05 - Recruiters Responding to recruiters Dealing with recruiters 28:01 - Website traffic analyzation Google Analytics 31:41 - Newsletters Listening vs reading Getting newsletter subscribers MailChimp AWeber Autoresponders 47:09 - What should I do? Where do you want people to wind up? Make it easy for people to contact you/get them where you want them to go Landing pages Comments on blogs 53:31 - Your personal ideal pipeline Picks BrowserStack (Eric) PipelineDeals (Eric) Sad Trombone (Jim) GetClicky (Chuck) AWeber (Chuck) Omnifocus (Chuck) POP App (Jim) Transcript EVAN: If someone takes a poker and makes it really hot and shoves it in your behind, that would be a branding problem. [Are you a busy Ruby developer who wants to take their freelance business to the next level? Interested in working smarter not harder? Then check out the upcoming book “Next Level Freelancing - Developer Edition Practical Steps to Work Less, Travel and Make More Money”. It includes interviews and case studies with successful freelancers, who have made a killing by expanding their consultancy, develop passive income through informational products, build successful SaaS products, and become rockstar consultants making a minimum of $200/hour. There are all kinds of practical steps on getting started and if you sign up now, you’ll get 50% off when it’s released. You can find it at nextlevelfreelancing.com] [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to episode 38 of the Ruby Freelancer Show! This week on our panel, we have Eric Davis. ERIC: That's me. CHUCK: Evan Light. EVAN: I wasn’t ready! CHUCK: Jim Gay. JIM: Hello from a standing desk. CHUCK: And I'm Charles Max Wood from devchat.tv. This week, we are going to be talking about Optimizing Your Sales and Marketing Pipeline. Sounds like a mouthful. So do we want to start with a definition? What is the-- JIM: Is this Ruby Rogues? Did we dial in the wrong place? CHUCK: [laughs] Yeah I kind of felt like-- [laughter] ERIC: Yeah, I would like a definition. CHUCK: Well, my understanding (and you guys can and probably will correct me) that the sales pipeline or marketing pipeline is effectively the process that you put your prospects through basically from the moment that they encounter your website or market message all the way up until you convert them to a sale or to a client. Is that oversimplified or did I miss something? EVAN: I would say “leads” not “prospects”. CHUCK: Leads? EVAN: Yeah. ERIC: Yeah. It basically starts at leads. Like you know, this person might have come to your site like an anonymous visitor or maybe they heard of you or something that was like, “Oh, who’s Chuck?” and that's kind of where they start that. And then it goes to… what is it… suspects? No, actually suspect is fair. Suspects are people that might be a good candidate for your business. Then its leads when they actually kind of contact you… there's also prospects. It’s hard.
Panel Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Intro to CoffeeScript) Dicussion 02:50 - Overcoming Isolation Working from coffeehouses Lunch dates 06:25 - Recruiting others with similar interests 07:40 - Talk on Twitter 07:46 - Evan’s Apprentice 09:46 - Pairing Remote vs Physical 11:19 - Personality Types 12:13 - Coworking Spaces Creative Work Busy Work 14:51 - Walking and Driving 15:33 - Meetups and User Groups 17:53 - Commiserating and Ranting 19:08 - Attending Conferences 23:26 - Working Onsite for Clients Picks Strong VPN (Eric) Cloak (Evan) OS X Server (Evan) The Ruby Object Model and Metaprogramming by Dave Thomas (Chuck) New Media Expo 2013 (Discount code Wood20) (Chuck) Transcript EVAN: What's the background noise that... Is there any? CHUCK: I hear people talking. It’s OK. EVAN: OK. Why can’t I crank my volume up louder than this? What the hell? Oh, well that might be why. Now say something. CHUCK: Something. EVAN: Good! You did exactly what you were told to do. Thank you. ERIC: Right. EVAN: Right. Actually that should have been my response, “Right!” CHUCK: So what we are talking about… last week we were talking about-- EVAN: [inaudible] CHUCK: Right. EVAN: Right. Talking about “right”? CHUCK: We were thinking about… talking about— EVAN: [laughs] We were thinking about talking about— CHUCK: OK! ERIC: I think Chuck is stuck on a loop. [Are you a busy Ruby developer who wants to take their freelance business to the next level? Interested in working smarter not harder? Then check out the upcoming book “Next Level Freelancing: Developer Edition - Practical Steps to Work Less, Travel and Make More Money”. It includes interviews and case studies with successful freelancers, who have made a killing by expanding their consultancy, develop passive income through informational products, build successful SaaS products, and become rockstar consultants making a minimum of $200/hour. There are all kinds of practical steps on getting started and if you sign up now, you’ll get 50% off when it’s released. You can find it at nextlevelfreelancing.com] [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 37 of The Ruby Freelancer Show! This week on our panel, we have Eric Davis. ERIC: Hello! CHUCK: Evan Light. EVAN: I love my brown pants. CHUCK: And I'm Charles Max Wood from devchat.tv. This week, we are going to be talking about Combating Isolation and Loneliness -- since we work from home and stuff. So I have to say, I'm a little bit punch-drunk because I've been pulling insane hours for my client. EVAN: So you are rich now? CHUCK: Uhh… EVAN: [inaudible] Oops, we can leave the singing out of the transcript please. Thank you. CHUCK: [laughs] Yeah not yet. They haven’t paid me for all my work I guess. ERIC: --- on paper. EVAN: The only one who is punch-drunk today. CHUCK: Wow. EVAN: Real drunk might be better. CHUCK: Real drunk? EVAN: --- actually be topical. Oh wait -- sorry, folks this is what happens to you when you have too much isolation. CHUCK: [laughs] Yeah. So, any who, so we all work from home -- mostly generally. EVAN: And coffeehouses. CHUCK: Right. EVAN: Right. CHUCK: So, what do you do to combat that? How do you overcome the working in a room by yourself all day-- EVAN: I thought you were going to say “overcompensate” instead of overcome because somehow that seems more appropriate right now. [laughter] Second, you record a lot of podcasts like Chuck. I had to get that one out there. Third, you start recording more podcasts like me. [chuckles] OK. Seriously, so you go out to a coffeehouse which is where I am -- which is why if you hear background noise, well,
Panel Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Intro to CoffeeScript) Discussion 02:02 - Picking topics Passion Frustration Driven Development: Evan’s WindyCityRails Talk 2012 Listener questions/interest Lynchpin by Seth Godin “Doing what you love and sharing with other people” 07:08 - Speaking at User Groups vs Conferences Practice runs Keydown 09:46 - Twitter inquiries 10:16 - Topic proposals Marketing Abstracts 13:28 - Marketing to conference owners/marketing to the audience Making memorable talks 16:32 - How speakers are chosen Individual merit/”Hero Worship” Keynotes by invitation Past experience 20:56 - Preparing for a talk Practice Keynote / Keydown 25:04 - Writing a book/writing a presentation Flexibility Stream of consciousness writing Markdown Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery by Garr Reynolds 31:37 - Code in slides Syntax highlighting Wrapping lines Screen resolution Geekfest 35:18 - Practice, practice, practice Time your presentation Possibly leave time for Q&A Skipping slides Real-time edits 39:29 - Talking about something/convincing people to try something Avoid library talks Try to get people to shift perspectives 41:56 - Don’t change topics at the last minute 45:58 - Communication between conference organizers 49:32 - Giving talks, getting leads and referrals, and being recognized as “an expert” Picks Pilot G2 Retractable Gel Ink Color Rolling Ball Pens (Eric) Keydown (Evan) Kensington 33374 Wireless Presenter with Laser Pointer (Chuck) QR codes (Chuck) Transcript EVAN: Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue. [sniffs] [Are you a busy Ruby developer who wants to take their freelance business to the next level? Interested in working smarter not harder? Then check out the upcoming book “Next Level Freelancing: Developer Edition: Practical Steps to Work Less, Travel and Make More Money”. It includes interviews and case studies with successful freelancers, who have made a killing by expanding their consultancy, develop passive income through informational products, build successful SaaS products, and become rockstar consultants making a minimum of $200/hour. There are all kinds of practical steps on getting started and if you sign up now, you’ll get 50% off when it’s released. You can find it at nextlevelfreelancing.com] [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to episode 36 of the Ruby Freelancer Show! This week on our panel, we have Eric Davis. ERIC: Hello! CHUCK: We also have Evan Light. EVAN: I'm back! CHUCK: And I'm Charles Max Wood from devchat.tv. And this week we are going to be talking about “Preparing for and Speaking at Conferences”. EVAN: Conferences. CHUCK: And I'm kind of inclined to also talk about speaking at users groups. EVAN: Yeah you should. We should. Actually we should let you do all the talking about users groups. CHUCK: Why is that? EVAN: Because I just said ‘you’ first instead of ‘we’. CHUCK: [laughs] What did I do to you? EVAN: [chuckles] Right. CHUCK: So let’s start talking. So Evan, I think you spoken at more conferences than either Eric or I have. EVAN: Or just spoken more, as in ‘talk a lot’. Yeah, especially I’ve done quite a bit this year too. So I remember in the user voice, the person who suggested this topic started with “How do you pick your topics”, and I think it’s pretty much how do you pick your topics and how do you present and how you get accepted. Picking my topics for me is one of two things -- or actually no, it was really one thing – at the end of it, it’s always, it’s something important to me that I wanna share. That I feel strongly about and I wanna share.
Panel Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Intro to CoffeeScript) Discussion 01:36 - Duct Tape Marketing by John Jantsch (Eric) 04:51 - Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen (Chuck) David Allen Company Podcast 06:30 - Time Management for System Administrators by Tom Limoncelli (Eric) 08:47 - The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey (Chuck) 12:26 - Get Clients Now!: A 28-Day Marketing Program for Professionals, Consultants, and Coaches by C.J. Hayden (Eric) 15:08 - Book Yourself Solid: The Fastest, Easiest, and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients Than You Can Handle Even if You Hate Marketing and Selling by Michael Port (Eric) 17:09 - 48 Days to the Work You Love: Preparing for the New Normal by Dan Miller (Chuck) 48 Days Podcast 20:10 - The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering by Frederick P. Brooks Jr. (Eric) Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams by Tom DeMarco (Eric) 24:11 - Rich Dad Poor Dad: What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! by Rober T. Kiyosaki (Chuck) 26:29 - Million Dollar Consulting by Alan Weiss (Eric) 28:50 - The Passionate Programmer: Creating a Remarkable Career in Software Development by Chad Fowler(Chuck) 32:18 - Dead Tree Books vs eBooks Tactile feel Convenience Note-taking 39:20 - Managing to-dos Phone apps & email Highlighting Quotes folder Tweets 40:35 - Skipping/Skimming parts of books Book samples 42:57 - Finishing books Reading multiple books at once Reading more than one genre at once 45:09 - Books as mediums for learning 46:52 - Reviewing books Picks Developer depression: Isolation is the biggest problem by Lauren Maffeo (Eric) RubyTapas Episode 4: Barewords (Eric) HandBrake (Chuck) BitTorrent (Chuck) Transmission (Chuck) Transcript [Are you a busy Ruby developer who wants to take their freelance business to the next level? Interested in working smarter not harder? Then check out the upcoming book “Next Level Freelancing: Developer Edition Practical Steps to Work Less, Travel and Make More Money”. It includes interviews and case studies with successful freelancers, who have made it by expanding their consultancy, develop passive income through informational products, build successful SaaS products, and become rockstar consultants making a minimum of $200/hour. There are all kinds of practical steps on getting started and if you sign up now, you’ll get 50% off when it’s released. You can find it at nextlevelfreelancing.com] [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to episode 35 of the Ruby Freelancer show. This week on our panel, we have Eric Davis. ERIC: Hello. CHUCK: And I'm Charles Max Wood from devchat.tv and this week, we are going to be talking about… we were looking at like the top five books that we recommend, and I think we are just going to kind of add and just recommend our top books. It’s hard for me to make a list of top five and it sounded like Eric had like, four that he’d recommend outright and then it was a tie between another four or five. We’ll just kinda see how it goes. Eric, what is your top book? I'm kind of curious to hear about that. ERIC: And by “top” you mean top of the pile of books that's sitting on my desk? CHUCK: Yeah, the one that you would recommend the most, I guess. ERIC: OK. So I think the one that’s had the best impact was I think “Duct Tape Marketing” by John Jantsch. It’s very much a marketing oriented book, but it has a lot of good like how to run your business and it’s just not just marketing but sales and customers and who you are working for and kind of like what services you are providing. And it’s kind of an older book. I have used it for many,
Panel Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Jim Gay (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Intro to CoffeeScript) Discussion 01:58 - Brownfield Projects Contrast to Greenfield Legacy Code 06:50 - Labeling and defining a Brownfield Project Age Decrepitude 08:37 - How to handle Brownfield Projects Upgrading Modernizing Tree (Unix) The First Step of Refactoring a Rails Application Socratic Method 15:48 - Rescue Project versus Brownfield Project State of the Client versus State of the Project Urgent Need 20:02 - Technical Problems Business Leadership Problems Conway’s Law Working Effectively with Legacy Code: Michael Feathers 26:56 - Refactoring and Testing Show, Don’t Tell (Leading by example) Redesigning Agile: Part II - Introducing Intridea Forge 31:46 - Educating team members Correcting mistakes Learn how others work Lead by example 36:57 - Pushback Trying new angles Leave the project Lower standards Picks Rails Commit (Eric) Practical KnockoutJS (Eric) The Delighted Developer (Evan) Dead Man’s Snitch (Jim) TweetBot (Chuck) Therapeutic Refactoring: Katrina Owen (Chuck) 069 Ruby Rogues: Therapeutic Refactoring with Katrina Owen (Chuck) Transcript JIM: Brownfield's project, I’m just thinking, reminds me of this joke I heard where there's like a cabin boy on a pirate ship and the captain is always telling, when they are going in to battle, captain turns and say, “Arrr! Get me my red shirt!” And so, you know, they’d go to a battle and every time they go, “Arrr! Get me my red shirt!” And so, finally, the cabin boy goes to the captain and captain says, “Sir, why are you always telling to ‘get me a red shirt’?” “Well, I don’t want the men to see me bleed if I get stabbed.” And so, the next time they were travelling through the entire like Spanish Armada comes out and just completely surrounds them. And the captain turns to the cabin boy and says, “Arrr! Get me my brown pants!” [laughter] [Are you a busy Ruby developer who wants to take their freelance business to the next level? Interested in working smarter not harder? Then check out the upcoming book “Next Level Freelancing: Developer Edition Practical Steps to Work Less, Travel and Make More Money”. It includes interviews and case studies with successful freelancers, who have made it by expanding their consultancy, develop passive income through informational products, build successful SaaS products, and become rockstar consultants making a minimum of $200/hour. There are all kinds of practical steps on getting started and if you sign up now, you’ll get 50% off when it’s released. You can find it at nextlevelfreelancing.com] [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to episode 34 of the Ruby Freelancers Show. This week on our panel, we have Eric Davis. ERIC: Hello. CHUCK: We have Evan light. EVAN: Today, I have whiskey. CHUCK: And we also have Jim Gay. JIM: I am ready to go. CHUCK: I'm Charles Max Wood from devchat.tv and this week, we are going to be talking about Brownfield Projects. And who says it’s such-- EVAN: It doesn’t sound very pleasant, right? CHUCK: [laughs] Yeah. There was some discussion before the show about that. JIM: That term is terrible. I mean-- EVAN: It’s poopy. CHUCK: Oh geez. [laughs] Somebody has to say it, right? JIM: Actually before we start talking, I started searching like is there a Wikipedia entry for brownfield? Like, who came up with the term “brownfield”? EVAN: Well, we can get it in the Urban Dictionary pretty fast. [laughs] CHUCK: Oh geez. [laughs] I usually hear it as a contrast to “greenfield” is what I hear. JIM: Yeah, I’d certainly understand that. I always like I mentioned before,
Panel Evan Light (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Jim Gay (twitter github blog) Discussion 01:30 - Dealing with unrealistic expectations 03:13 - “The Iron Triangle” Cost Performance Schedule 04:02 - Bad management 05:07 - Establishing expectations Prioritizing Schedule & Budget 08:08 - Rescue Clients & Projects 11:34 - Developers are not interchangeable 12:03 - Approaching a project 13:55 - Business owner and end user communication 16:58 - Client Communication Trade-offs Hired guns 21:47 - Amateurs vs Professionals 24:04 - Managing communication expectations 28:57 - Engagement & Evaluation of process 34:24 - Wrapping up a project 38:36 - Types of projects Clearly defined outcomes Ongoing 42:23 - Client domains 47:33 - Influencing clients and teams towards better practices 50:30 - Clients that don’t want your input Picks Kalzumeus Blog (Eric) gfxCardStatus (Jim) The New CTO: Uncle Bob (Jim) Verizon LTE (Evan) Kalzumeus Podcast 3: Growing Consulting Practices, with Brennan Dunn (Jeff) IBM 168 | Earning Passive Income with Software, an Interview with Dane Maxwell (Jeff) Anvil for Mac (Jeff) Transcript JIM: Are we the optimal people to talk about this? EVAN: Oh, god. How long are we going to spend figuring this out? [Are you a busy Ruby developer who wants to take their freelance business to the next level? Interested in working smarter not harder? Then check out the upcoming book “Next Level Freelancing: Developer Edition” Practical Steps to Work Less, Travel and Make More Money. It includes interviews and case studies with successful freelancers, who have made it by expanding their consultancy, develop passive income through informational products, build successful SaaS products, and become rockstar consultants making a minimum of $200/hour. There are all kinds of practical steps on getting started and if you sign up now, you’ll get 50% off when it’s released. You can find it at nextlevelfreelancing.com] [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net] EVAN: Hi and welcome to the Ruby Freelancer podcast. I'm your temporary host in lieu of Chuck not being here. This is Evan light and today, I got here Eric Davis. ERIC: Hey! EVAN: Jeff Schoolcraft. JEFF: What's up. EVAN: Jim Gay. [silence] Jim Gay? JIM: Yeah, I'm here. EVAN: OK. Cool. JIM: Thank you. That mute button is not working like I thought. EVAN: (laughs) Nice. And that is already in the recording. And today we are going to talk about Managing Client Expectations. So, who wants to get started? JIM: the first thing that comes to me with managing client expectations is an experience I had on a project where, we were in crunch mode right in the start of the project. It was a rescue project and it was terrible code and the project manager was agreeing to his superiors that we would get x,y and z launched by a certain and who would come and tell us the date. And that's always a recipe for disaster. And we have a new developer come on to the project. He had been there like, I think he came on Friday and we had to do work for the weekend. So he, like his first start on the project was over the weekend, Monday morning. We missed the deadline of course because things weren’t working right. And the project manager came in; we were doing our stand up meeting Monday morning and the first thing out of his mouth was, “You guys are killing me.” And it totally killed our morale. So right from the get go, we all have to put everything together and figure out, like, “Oh, how are we going to work on this person who clearly has a misunderstanding of what can be done on the project or with the development team.” So that was the challenge right from the get go for me. EVAN: In my experience,
Panel Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Jim Gay (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Intro to CoffeeScript) Discussion 01:26 - Topic: Pivoting Into New Development Areas 02:00 - Taking time off as a freelancer 02:39 - Business of Freelancing: Eric Davis & Brennan Dunn 03:52 - Podcast Answer Man: Cliff Ravenscraft 04:14 - Chuck’s Intro to CoffeeScript Webinar 04:58 - Pivoting from one technology to another 05:12 - Jim’s experience with ‘pivoting’ 08:20 - Clojure 08:39 - Partial pivoting Learning new skills Trying new programming languages Satisfaction & what works best for you 12:08 - Eric’s experience with ‘pivoting’ 14:47 - Chuck’s experience with ‘pivoting’ 17:09 - Client requirements 18:43 - Transitioning to something you don’t have expertise in Diving deeper Find a tool that is similar to what you’re already doing 22:13 - Billing yourself as an expert 23:20 - Repercussions of pivoting into a new technology Shortages of work Jack of All Trades/Master of None Cutting edge technologies Making up time lost in old communities 26:19 - Personal reasons for pivoting Enjoyment factors Trying new technologies Growing as a developer Preventing burnout 30:05 - Pivoting into new technology versus learning new technology to broaden your horizons 32:31 - Other possible ‘gotcha’s’ of starting from scratch 34:37 - Was it lucrative to pivot out of areas? 39:09 - Adapting to a certain company’s technologies 40:14 - What technologies are people getting into? JavaScript Mobile techonology .NET mruby Perl 6 49:05 - Closing out contracts with current clients before pivoting Picks Business of Freelancing (Eric) Automating with convention: Introducing sub (Eric) Adhearsion (Jim) Rebuilding Rails: Noal Gibbs (Jim) heckle (Jim) f.lux (Chuck) Transcript ERIC: I’ve seen a lot of problems with the Apple ear bud headphones because for me at least, it gets caught under my collar. And so, you can still pick up enough audio, but when you turn, it’s like rubbing on your shirts. You know, like top and bottom. JIM: You’re dressed when you do this? CHUCK: [laughs] ERIC: Yeah. I just have a shirt on. CHUCK: We know we’ve got Eric at least half covered folks. [Are you a busy Ruby developer who wants to take their freelance business to the next level? Interested in working smarter not harder? Then check out the upcoming book Next Level Freelancing: Developer Edition: Practical Steps to Work Less, Travel and Make More Money. It includes interviews and case studies with successful freelancers, who have made it by expanding their consultancy, develop passive income through informational products, build successful SaaS products and become rockstar consultants making a minimum of $200/hour. There are all kinds of practical steps on getting started and if you sign up now, you’ll get 50% off when it’s released. You can find it at nextlevelfreelancing.com] [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 32 of the Ruby Freelancers show. This week on our panel we have Eric Davis. ERIC: Hello! CHUCK: We also have Jim Gay. JIM: Hello. CHUCK: I’m Charles Max Wood from devchat.tv. This week we’re going to talk about “Pivoting into other Development Areas”. Before we get going though, I want to ask you guys; is there anything interesting going on in your businesses of lives lately? ERIC: I’m sick, that’s interesting. JIM: That’s not good. I have been renovating my house unexpectedly. And actually, I’ve been talking with a friend of mine, Sean Marcia and he’s done freelancing and he’s been employed. We have discussions on what’s the benefit of being employed versus being a freelancer and I’ve taken… you know, I plan to take a month off to finish writing my book,
Panel Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Intro to CoffeeScript) Jim Gay (twitter github blog) Discussion 01:07 - Jim Gay is a new member of the Ruby Freelancer’s regular panel! Author of (upcoming) Clean Ruby Cofounder of Arlington Ruby Co-organizer of DC RUG 02:03 - Freelancing and Experience 03:48 - Radiant CMS 05:34 - Liability Insurance 07:52 - Kinds of liability insurance Professional/errors in omissions General liability Umbrella policy 10:15 - Disclaimer: The Ruby Freelancers are not insurance agents, attorneys or financial advisors 10:45 - Putting liability back on the client 11:47 - Seeking advisors and professionals who specialize in your needs 13:20 - Proof of insurance 15:07 - Following best practices 16:26 - Insurance brokers versus salesmen versus financial planners/advisors daveramsey.com: Endorsed Local Providers 20:02 - Health Insurance Personal Plans versus employer plans 24:31 - HSA: Health savings accounts Cafeteria plans Medical emergencies Debit savings cards 28:20 - FSA: Flexible savings accounts 30:44 - When laws change industries change 31:50 - Life Insurance: term life 33:52 - Purpose is to replace income and pay off debts 38:05 - Whole life insurance 41:15 - Contingency plans 45:42 - Disability Insurance Long-term Short-term 50:27 - Working from home: business insurance 57:41 - Go to Meetups, do a presentation, build your career 59:05 - The Ruby Hangout Picks Pomodoro Technique (Eric) TED Talk: Clay Shirky: How the Internet will (one day) transform government (Eric) The Rails View (Jim) Responsive Resources (Jim) Manager Tools (Jim) Easy Voice Recorder (Chuck) Endorsed Local Providers (Chuck) Internet Business Mastery (Chuck) Transcript CHUCK: Should we kick this thing off then or do you wanna do some small talk first? EVAN: Small talk? I don’t know what it is. JIM: [laughs] I was going to make the same joke. [Are you a busy Ruby developer who wants to take their freelance business to the next level? Interested in working smarter not harder? Then, check out the upcoming book “Next Level Freelancing: Developer Edition” Practical Steps to Work Less, Travel and Make More Money. It includes interviews and case studies with successful freelancers, who have made it by expanding their consultancy, develop passive income through informational products, build successful SaaS products and become rockstar consultants making a minimum of $200/hour. There are all kinds of practical steps on getting started and if you sign up now, you’ll get 50% off when it’s released. You can find it at nextlevelfreelancing.com] [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net.] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 31 of the Ruby Freelancers show. This week on our panel, we have Eric Davis. ERIC: Hello! CHUCK: I'm Charles Max Wood from devchat.tv and this week, we have a new member of our regular panel and that is Jim Gay. JIM: Thank you for having me. CHUCK: Why don’t you introduce yourself really quick, Jim? JIM: Sure. I am currently writing “Clean Ruby”, which about writing applications that reflects business processes a little bit better than we typically do it. I am a co-founder of “Arlington Ruby”, which is a meet up in the DC area; I'm the co-organizer of that. Co-organizer of DC RUG. And, I used to be a graphic designer. I did a lot of freelance graphic design work and then started getting into Ruby when I heard about Rails and saw how great it was, I guess about… I don’t know… 6 or 7 years ago, probably 6. I don’t know. I never marked it on the calendar. So, whenever it was… one point something rather that I got involved, so. That's my story. CHUCK: Wow. So how long have you been freelance?
Panel Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Intro to CoffeeScript) Discussion Preparing for lean times Cash on hand Marketing (BCP - Business Continuation Practices) List of productive activities Bank account fuel meter Emergency funds Acquiring skills Small but consistent jobs $15,000 In Income From An EBook, How I Did It: Jim Gay Prioritizing your expenses Changing your style of living and knowing what to cut Networking Reviewing expenses Wish list of companies User Groups Knowing what’s coming before it does: line up work Get Clients Now!(TM): A 28-Day Marketing Program for Professionals, Consultants, and Coaches: C.J. Hayden Focus on sales Cash flow vs income Getting paid up front/deposits Getting organized Having next steps CouchDB and Me: Damien Katz’s RubyFringe Presentation Picks iPad + Linode, 1 Year Later: Mark O’Connor (Eric) Damien Katz Relaxing on CouchDB (Evan) Regrets of the Dying (Evan) The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Steven Covey (Evan) Mac Power Users (Chuck) NPR Sunday Puzzles Podcast (Chuck) No More Mondays Show (Chuck) 48 Days Podcast (Chuck) EntreLeadership Podcast (Chuck)
Panel Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Summer Camp) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Discussion Requires Time and Effort No Time vs. Not A Priority Learning Takes Energy Make a list of things to learn, set a schedule. Learning GNU Emacs Books vs. Screencasts IRC Mailing Lists The Third Tribe The Podcast Mastermind Evan's Cat The Main Modes of Learning The Learning Pyramid Picks The Learning Pyramid (Eric) Pragmatic Thinking and Learning (Eric) Downcast (Eric) Ruby Rogues - DHH (Eric) Evening on Backbone.js/Views w/ Q&A with David Heinemeier Hansson (Eric) ViewSonic VA2431WM (Chuck) 75 to 100mm VESA Converter Plates (Chuck) LG Tone Bluetooth Headset (Chuck) Go Groove Blue Sync Bluetooth Speaker (Chuck)
Panel Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Summer Camp) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Sammy Larbi (twitter github blog) Discussion Setting Time Boundaries Use Goals Dividing time between client work and product dev. Educating clients, RE: time Subcontractors Set up an emergency fund. Entitled Clients and Pricing Competing With Low Quality Developers Fixed Bids Ask questions and qualify potential clients. Picks A List Apart - Habit Fields (Eric) 8th Light - Fixed Feature (Eric) Radio Shack (Chuck) LG Tone Bluetooth Headphones (Chuck) Evan Light (Sammy)
Panel Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Summer Camp) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Avdi Grimm (twitter github blog book) Discussion RubyTapas Confident Ruby Error Handling in Ruby Dan Miller Time Spent Marketing Blogging Selling eBooks Writing - Research to Finished Product Document Formatting Speak, Publish Transcripts Free Content Destroy All Software Word of Mouth Build your own site or use an existing service for video? Picks Two Steps from Hell - Archangel, Invincible (Eric) If This, Then That (Jeff) Epic Soundtracks (Jeff) Learning GNU Emacs (Chuck) Emacs Rocks (Jeff) O'Reilly Pocket Guide for Emacs (Eric) Brother MFC7860DW Printer (Avdi) Good Strategy, Bad Strategy (Avdi)
Panel Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Summer Camp) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Discussion Accountants QuickBooks Online GnuCash Outright DNS Simple 1&1 Namecheap Hover WHOIS (command) DNS Made Easy Harvest Freshbooks SlimTimer BubbleTimer chiliproject_clocking Pivotal Tracker Trello JIRA "Use what works best for you." ZTD Omnifocus Sparrow Thunderbird Mac Mail iCal Facebook App Hootsuite Tweetdeck lowers your heating bill Buffer Tweetbot app.net Command Line Tweet Picks Byword (Eric) Keydown (Eric) LG Tone (Evan) Fujitsu ScanSnap Mobile Scanner (Chuck) The Strangest Secret Audio, Text (Chuck) Quality Sleep - Sleep Study, CPAP if recommended (Evan)
Panel Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Summer Camp) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Discussion Have 3-6 months of expenses in an emergency fund. Manage Expenses Evaluating Purchases Place large purchases on a wishlist, wait before purchasing. Deposit to emergency fund to cover large costs that are on the horizon. Personal Finance Management Give yourself an allowance. Retirement Investing Dave Ramsey Put away a small amount each month for taxes. Determining the size of your emergency fund. Writing off business expenses when there is personal activity included (check with your tax accountant). Picks Scared Shitless - Merlin Mann, Webstock 2011 (Eric) Air Compressor (Chuck) Hydraulic Jack and Jack Stands (Chuck)
Panel Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Summer Camp) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Discussion PDFpen for signing contracts OpenOffice Git Repositories Amazon S3 Time Machine Mozy Dropbox Scope Changes/Contract Addendum Pivotal Tracker Client Communications Source Code Github Code Ownership Code Licensing Assembla ChiliProject Hard Drive Encryption Remote Wipe Vulnerability Important Client Info SSH Keys Salesforce CRM Chatroom/Skype/IRC Area Wiki Documents Virtual Machines Status Snapshots Evernote Final Documentation Picks Guerilla Freelancing - 7 Items Freelancers Should Back Up (Eric) Are You As Busy As You Think? (Eric) PartyChat (Chuck) HuBot (Chuck)
Panel Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Summer Camp) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Discussion Work, Leisure, Sleep - Time Tracking Things that are business related, but not done in a business fashion. Pre-experiment Estimates Seasonal and Holiday Variance Breaking marketing time out for specific tracking. How often do we do regular time tracking. PO Boxes Earth Class Mail UPS Store Self/Professional Improvement Time "Janitorial Thought Work" Picks Weekly Tech Learning - (Eric) Around 'Hello World' in 30 Days (Eric) Brakeman Open Source Vulnerability Scanner (Eric) Lookout Test Engineer (Evan) Kerbal Space Program (Evan) Space Pirates and Zombies (Evan) Rescue Time (Jeff) Starbase Orion (Jeff) Jing (Chuck) Skype Screen Sharing (Chuck)
Panel Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Summer Camp) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Discussion Get Clients Now! by CJ Hayden Strategies and Stages Daily Worksheets Cookbook-Style Approach "It made marketing click for me." See what you're doing/what you're not. The 28-Day Marketing Plan Repetition One Person Marketing Plan Weely cycles start on Saturday. No reusable templates. Not a lot of fluff. Book Yourself Solid Success Ingredients Properly using your human resources. Quara - Is There A Good Invoicing Plugin for Redmine Picks Duct Tape Marketing (Jeff) Business Model You (Eric) Speed Dial 2 (Chuck)
Panel Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Summer Camp) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Discussion Working in teams Client interaction Trying new techniques "Hurry up and wait" Freelance development is an experiment. Influence on/working parallel with development teams. "Agile is not really defined" Adaptation to change Pivotal Tracker Showing regular progress Use a staging server Be more agile than "Agile" "Picture of two people shaking hands" How much of the Agile process do you expose to the client? Try to adapt to the client's process and tools. Point vs. Time Based Estimation Keep features under control Discovery Process Basecamp ChiliProject Campfire Propane for Campfire Skype Google+ Hangouts Skitch Jing Cloudapp Dropbox Picks Mr. Reader - iPad (Jeff) Instapaper (Eric) Vimux (Evan) Sinjimoru Sync and Charge Dock for iPhone (Eric) Agile Ruined My Life (Eric) The Chaos Model (Eric) Salesforce (Chuck) P90X Workout Plan (Chuck) Foam Roller (Eric)
Panel C. J. Hayden (twitter getclientsnow.com) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Summer Camp) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Discussion Following Up Keeping the Pipeline Full Use the book as a coach. Work with the book. Advantages of one-on-one coaching. Benevolent Peer Pressure Getting Things Done by David Allen Socratic Questioning Evoking Interest > Telling What to Do How do you find a coach? Not all coaches are a good fit. Many Tactics, 6 Strategies Direct Contact and Followup Networking and Referral Building Public Speaking Writing and Publicity Promotional Events Advertising Effective self promotion comes from a place of passion. Scale, to prevent burnout. Getting Referral Sources Using CRM Effectively Referring people to articles/blog posts Picks Marketing Monday (Eric) The Busy Trap (Evan) TweetBot (Evan) Yahoo Voice Hacked - Change Your Passwords (Jeff) Twitter Bootstrap (Jeff) Ultra Mega Job Board List (Jeff) Motor Oil (Chuck) Rapportive (Chuck) Why You Don't Market The Way You Should (C. J.) In Marketing, One Size Does Not Fit All (C. J.)
Panel Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Summer Camp) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Discussion Businesses need a brand Easier to talk about, than to build How to name your business vs. building a brand "Real words and interesting" "Not-real words and compelling" Igor Naming Guide Dictionaries of uncommon words SEO Phonetic ambiguity Individual proprietor vs. teams Selling out, business vs. personal name Gary Vaynerchuk/Wine Library/VaynerMedia Rebranding Selling product vs. selling service Start a personal brand, grow into a company Talk to an attorney Tumble Log Give value to your customers RailsTutorial.org - Book Refactoring Redmine Redmine Tips Blogs (posts) add credibility to your brand Feeding time Open source software to build your brand through added value FasterCSV thoughtbot Rick Olson Form a business entity at least within the tax year of starting freelance work. Picks Stash Tea - Gunpowder Green, Silver Needle White (Eric) WWDC Videos 2012 (Jeff) Inspiring Words of Encouragement Podcast (Chuck) Voting (Chuck) Sunlight Labs (Eric)
Panel Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Summer Camp) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Discussion Blogging Write a Case Study for your client projects Startups Company Benefits Startups attract developers with "new shiny" Lifestyle Starting a Business Sacrifice Silicon Valley Learning from your clients' mistakes Negotiating tactics Kill fees How do you balance between two projects when one pays the bills and one is your passion? Picks Due app (Eric) The perfect smoothie formula (Eric) FreelanceSwitch - Freelance Freedom (Jeff) Freelance Radio (Chuck) Google Reader (Chuck) Instapaper - iTunes (Chuck) Feeddler (Chuck)
Panel Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Summer Camp) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Discussion Subcontracting programming Assistants Subcontracting design Communication breakdowns oDesk Screening Processes CSS Mac App Development Chop-chop Pair programming Subcontractors talking directly to the clients Desired attributes of a subcontractors
Can work remotely without supervision Reliability People you already know Great communication skills
Problems that can crop up with delivery You are responsible for your subcontractors' work (including the screw ups) Have a contract Communicating with subcontractors
Chiliproject Skitch Skype Email CloudApp Pivotal Tracker Dropbox Balsamiq Mockups AIM/iChat TeamViewer Join.me Screenflow
Tracking Subcontracting Time
Harvest Freshbooks
Billing for the subcontractor's time
Hourly with a rate markup Hourly with no markup Hourly under a fixed bid project
Passing along subcontractor's invoices included with your invoices Including subcontractor's time on your own invoices Picks Canable (Evan) Presentation on Distraction (Eric) Podcasting A to Z (Chuck) Brother Labeler (Chuck) Book Club We're reading Get Clients Now and will be talking to C.J. Hayden at the beginning of July.
Panel Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Summer Camp) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Discussion Spare bedroom L-desk Standing desk Ergonomics Get an external monitor and peripherals if a laptop is your primary workstation Mouse and keyboard Monitor stand iCurve by Griffin iMac Open space is nice Geekdesk 30" cinema display apple keyboard apple mouse aeron chair windows in the room 11" macbook air Bose QuietComfort 15 iPhone Tax deduction for having your own space for work Corner desk 4 24" monitors on a mac pro 13" macbook air 8' whiteboard CXO chair by Nightingale Blue Snowball mic on a boom arm iPod on 2x cubicle showerboard whiteboard Mind-mapping Metrics iPad scratch paper monitor arms tax writeoffs for equipment purchases Office Depot document holder Bluetooth full size keyboard Spaces iTerm tmux vim Picks Avery Peel and Stick Dry Erase stickers (Eric) Weekly desk cleaning (Eric) SimplyNoise (Evan) Bose Noise Canceling Headsets (Evan) Batik (Evan) Work harder on yourself than you do on your startup (Jeff) Backup (Jeff) MindMeister (Chuck) iWork (Chuck) Book Club We're reading Get Clients Now by C. J. Hayden. We'll be talking to her at the beginning of July.
Panel Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Summer Camp) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Discussion Charge for almost everything Sometimes the estimate - if you negotiate that Coding Meetings on the phone Are you adding value? Learning new technologies doesn't count unless the client specified that technology Try to only do one risky thing at a time Do the risky stuff first You can discount time if it wasn't well spent Tell your client that you discount time Tell them about time you saved Should we bill for time managing subcontractors? If the task requires a team, then bill for the additional time managing people If the task is delegated to a subcontractor when you would be able to do it all yourself, then don't bill the client Make sure the client understands the terms of hiring you and having subcontractors Don't violate client expectations Do you bill for travel time? Look for opportunities to make the client's life better by coming out and meeting in person Bill for travel time if the travel is obligatory Working on the plane can be a way for billing for travel time Do you bill for invoicing? Don't bill for the cost of doing business Bill for email when it adds value Bill proportionally for lunch meetings or social interactions Assets vs Services (one-time vs recurring) They should pay for materials Recurring expenses (services) should be paid for by the client Don't pay for and expense hosting to the client - Make them sign up Bill for research that adds value Bill for time prototyping the app to get things right Services mean
Domains SSL Certificates Monitoring Error Reporting Hosting Code Repository Hosting
New Relic Missed calls Be understanding! Varies by the relationship Client smells Compensating time when sick Get enough sleep Picks Game Dev Story - itunes store (Eric) Ze Frank's A Show - itunes store, website (Evan) The Avengers movie (Evan) Blender 3D (Evan) Blender from Noob to Pro (Evan) Unity 3D book (Evan) Tutorials on the Pixelmator website (Evan) Pixelmator - mac app store (Evan) Equilibrium movie (Jeff) iPad3 Retina Lock Screen (Jeff) Chronomate (Jeff) Lift Off book (Jeff) Working with Unix Processes by Jesse Storimer (Chuck) Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki (Chuck) The Podcast Mastermind (Chuck) Book Club We are reading Get Clients Now by C. J. Hayden and will review it sometime in June.
Panel Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Summer Camp) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Discussion Elance Odesk Start local Be involved in the community User Groups Subcontracting Go to conferences RailsConf Get involved in Open Source projects Screencasts Ruby DCamp Join Mailing List Speaking at Conferences Write an ebook Freelance Switch Blogging Comment on other People's sites Join and participate in forums Podcast List everyone you know and tell them you're freelance Referrals John Jantz - The Referral Engine Michael Port - Book Yourself Solid Build systems around your marketing Set the expectation at the beginning that they will give you referrals Do a retrospective or review Survey your client and if they're happy then ask for referrals Deliver underbudget and early Ask for referrals on milestones 33 touches (Real Estate) Be specific BNI Project Rescue Communicate well Set accurate expectations The quality of your website Make it easy to contact you Put together a well defined persona the represents the market you're trying to reach Talk to other freelancers Talk to local companies that need staff augmentation Never Eat Alone Picks It's not what you read, it's what you ignore (Eric) Cats trying to knock things over in my office (anti-pick) (Evan) CloudApp (Evan) RubyVis (Evan) RubyMotion (Jeff) Worth Every Penny [amazon.com] (Jeff) GitlabHQ (Jeff) Never Eat Alone (Jeff) Doctor Who (Chuck) Users' Groups (Chuck)
Panel Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Summer Camp) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Discussion Developers playing Systems Administrators Automated scripting Chef Puppet Heroku Moonshine Phusion Passenger Apache HTTP server Nginx Server Setup Ongoing Maintenance Engine Yard Chef Recipes CouchDB PuppetLabs Ubuntu Debian apt apt-get CentOS LTS Releases Rails 3.x RailsMachine Rails 4.x is ditching plugins Why are you doing DevOps? Stores your Operational changes in git. Saves you time on more than one server. Copy up a script and then script the login and script run. Puppet in Solo mode Bootstrapping your server Vagrant Testing configuration Nagios Virtualbox Staging - should mirror production Chirk Slicehost Linode Rackspace Cloud Make the client pay for hosting and do the systems administration yourself Amazon EC2 & S3 Memcached Deploy with git Scaling Load Balancers Provisioning a VM PostgreSQL VPS - Virtual Private Server Redundancy Monitoring Sinatra Mail Gem Pingdom Twilio New Relic Airbrake Be Proactive screen Picks Deploying Rails (Eric) Zite (Eric) Prismatic (Evan) Wemux (Evan) Solar Clipper (Jeff) Chronomate (Jeff) Getting Things Done (Chuck) Last Pass (Chuck) Book Club We'll be reading Get Clients Now and discussing it on the podcast sometime in June.
Panel Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Summer Camp) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Discussion All you need is a client Business entity Startups for the Rest of Us Business Insurance iamindependent.com LegalZoom Get a Contract Health Insurance Dave Ramsey ELP's Aflac Group policies for companies SERP 401k Find a CPA and talk to them INGDirect Pay Down Debt Get some savings Disability Insurance The Freelancer's Guide to Money Bob Walsh The Total Money Makeover Financial Peace The Richest Man in Babylon Marketing Start a Blog Pay it Forward Don't oversell your abilities Take a reduced rate if you're not experienced Subcontract to someone who is more experienced Chad Fowler Explain that they'll have to pay for you to learn to do the work Contribute to Open Source Experiment with the code StackOverflow rubypair.com Picks Pick an Open Source project, find a feature request, and build it and give it to the project. (Eric) If you don't know about business or marketing, take a day a month learning. (Eric) cells (Evan) proxylocal (Evan) ToDo by Appigo (Evan) Simply Noise + Sound Blocking headphones by Boze (Evan) The Power of Habit (Jeff) If you're not a Ruby person who is a designer, donate some time to an Open Source project. (Jeff) Startup Marketing (Jeff) Remote pairing (Jeff) 48 days podcast (Chuck) Changelog podcast (Chuck) Mixergy (Chuck) Wait! Wait! Don't Tell Me (Chuck)
Panel E. Scott Sweeney, CPA (email 801-756-3394) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Summer Camp) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Discussion Why you want a CPA?
Accurate Returns Tax Savings Understanding of Tax Code
You'll likely wind up paying taxes rather than getting a return. Home Office Deductions Itemizing Your Return Likelihood of getting audited Keep your receipts on every expediture Mileage - Begin odometer reading and ending odometer reading The IRS cannot audit you back 4 year Statute of limitations on fraud is 7 years Tax deadline for 2012 is April 17. Failure to pay penalty Filing an extension avoids the failure to file penalties Officer's salary in an S-Corp or a guaranteed payment in an LLC Wages and salary vs draws and dividends Self employment tax is 13.3% Picks Robbie McDonnell talk on goals (Eric) Freelancing Weekly (Jeff) iOS Biz Weekly (Jeff) Paleo Weekly (Jeff) Freelance Funnel (Jeff) Hootsuite (Chuck) Scott Sweeney CPA (Chuck) Contemporary VA (Chuck) oDesk (Chuck) A good bookkeeper (Scott) Excel (Scott)
Panel Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Summer Camp) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Discussion Ruby Java .NET JavaScript Ruby on Rails Rescue Projects Redmine Chili Project Legacy Code Sinatra Rack Spree Ryan Bigg Radiant rails_admin Padrino Plugins attachment_fu Upgrading around customized plugins acts_as_commentable_with_threading Twitter API Facebook API Email LDAP authentication Single Signon authentication "Ruby is the glue that doesn't set" Facebook Connect ACH gateway OmniAuth Facebook Graph API Minitest Minitest-spec RSpec Cucumber Spinach Coulda "I want something like except it does ." Big Rewrites Nagios Picks Vagrant (Eric) Rookies in the Bike Shed by DHH (Eric) ActiveAdmin (Jeff) VeeWee (Jeff) The Power of Habit (Jeff) OO vs Functional Design (Evan) Pry (Evan) Mass Effect 3 (Evan) Scrivener (Chuck) railstutorial.org (Chuck) Crafting Rails Applications (Chuck) RubyKoans (Eric)
Panel Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Summer Camp) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Discussion 30x500 by Amy Hoy See Project Run Refactoring Redmine Redmine Tips Authoring Ebooks Chirk SAAS Freelance Funnel Newsletters iPhone Apps BDDCasts Rails Beginning course Evan's iPad app Scratch your own itch Marketing works well over time Batch up work Scheduling blog posts Bufferapp.com Budgeting time to do product development Marketing takes up the most time microconf Micropreneur Academy Why are you building what you're building? Project vs Product Momentum Marketing to build momentum 4 Hour Work Week Lean Startup How do you find a product to make that your market wants to buy from you? Yes, 50 scientific whatever,.... Product focused business - The product is the most powerful Market focused business - The market is the most powerful Opportunity cost of product development Time and location freedom Picks Seth Godin's blog post on "People think Photographers spend their time..." (Eric) 21 times (Eric) 30x500 (Eric) Tripit (Evan) Steven Baxter's manifold series (Evan) Nathan Lowell's Trader Tales (Evan) Hugo and Nebula awards (Eric) Yes, 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Persuasive (Jeff) James Bond - Ian Fleming (Jeff) Robert Heinlein (Jeff) Goodreads (Chuck) Things (Chuck) Siri + Reminders on the iPhone 4S (Evan)
Panel Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Summer Camp) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Discussion Wordpress Templates Designers Branding and Design Referrals from Clients Referrals from your network Client supplied designers Designers in the family ThemeForest WooThemes oDesk eLance iPhone App design 99designs Rails Rumble Requires a ton of feedback API interviews Use a subcontractor Accountability Photoshop PSD files PDF files HTML & CSS jQuery Animations Have a designer break it up into assets Using existing design (Redmine, Chiliproject) Twitter Bootstrap UI/UX designers User testing A/B testing Should you manage designers? Website layouts Logo nerds oswd.org medialoot.com micropreneur academy elegant themes Picks Eon (Jeff) Freshbooks (Jeff) How Designers can help Developers by Matt Gemmell (Jeff) How Developers can help Designers by Matt Gemmell (Jeff) Freelancing Weekly (Jeff) Chop Chop (Jeff) Compass (Evan) First Class (Evan) Bootstrapping Design by Jared Drysdale (Eric) Font Deck (Eric) Stylate (Eric) Acorn (Chuck) GIMP (Chuck) Pixelmator (Evan)
Panel Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Summer Camp) David Brady (blog witter github ADDcasts) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) JT Zemp (twitter github) Discussion Doubling your rate and doubling your business Exchange of value Communication counts Rate setting is about perception Experiment with your rate The "gasp technique" Sales confidence You may be able to charge more if you can get it done quickly. Freelance Switch Rate Calculator Take your yearly salary and divide by $1,000 Rate based on your cost The cost of employing a person is something you have to cover "Do the hustle" - Obie Fernandez What is the minimum that Rails developers should be charging? $100/hour? $150/hour? Talk to people who do what you do and see if they tell you to raise your rate If they want you to subcontract to you, you might be too low Look for subcontracting opportunities if you're willing to lower your rate and pass off the marketing, etc. Do you lower the rate or negotiate if the client wants lower? Correlation between your rate and your value Don't give discounts, negotiate your rate If you speak first, ask for $20/hour more than your normal rate so you can negotiate to what you want Put your price out there to filter requests "We fix $5 haircuts." Rescue work Fixed bids Estimate, add padding, multiply by rate, and round up Bid on putting in a bid PERT methodology Slide Rule Labs Rate Sheet Picks Shane Perlman - What should I charge? (Eric) 500 Words before 8am (Jeff) Negotiating your salary - how to make $1000 a minute (Dave) How to outnegotiate anyone even a used car salesman (Dave) Never negotiate with yourself (Dave) How to win friends and influence people (JT) Power sales negotiation (JT) Evernote (Chuck) Talking to Experienced People (Chuck)
Panel Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Summer Camp) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Discussion Separate things out by day Set a fixed schedule The downside of being hourly Flexibility Ebb and Flow with balance Get help Hire a VA Subcontractors Contracting out Design Work Cut back Batch up the work Food delivery services (frozen pre-cooked/pre-made meals) Cleaning services Batch dinners Every Sunday pay bills/expenses Balance the checkbooks Build systems Earth Class Mail Concentrate FitBit Exercise & Sleep Recumbent bike Build it into your routine Picks Happiness Tracker iPhone App (Eric) TED talk on maintaining air quality (Eric) Concentrate App (Jeff) Treadmill Desk (Jeff) Standing Desk (Jeff) Geek Desk (Evan) Finding Outside Help (Evan) Theme Forest (Chuck) Keep a Water Bottle at your Desk (Chuck) Camelbak Water Bottle (Eric) Ruby on Ales (Evan) Mountain West Ruby Conf (Evan)
Panel Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Summer Camp) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Discussion Fixed bid Time and materials Give a budget to the client Scope creep Do you renegotiate the contract on scope creep? Short fixed bids can help manage costs and risk Customer management Fixed vs. Hourly is a discussion of risk Provide options for a fixed bid Multipliers for each unknown Risk is added for each new technology added to the stack Alan Weiss Start up with a courting period and then renegotiate after the courting period Shorten the scope of the project When you lower your bid, remove features (value) from the bid Charge more! Picks Find a Mastermind or Group of people who do what you do (Chuck) Heil PR-40 Microphone (Chuck) Other dynamic (Chuck) Behringer XENYX (Chuck) Roland R-05 (Chuck) Resounder (Chuck) Adobe Audition (Chuck) Million Dollar Consulting (Eric) The Consulting Bible (Eric) Peepcode Play by Play (Eric) Destroy All Software (Eric) (anti-pick) iMac Microphone (Evan) (anti-pick) Eric Davis' Internet Connection (Evan) Math Minute Additions (Jeff) Steel City Ruby Conf (Jeff) Mass Effect 3 (Jeff) Star Wars the Old Republic (Evan) Transcript CHUCK: Anyway I’ve got to hang up and get off so-- EVAN: Yeah, whatever. ERIC: Yeah you got what you need out of us. I see. CHUCK: Yeah exactly. EVAN: At least you kiss us after you f--- us. JEFF: That has got to be the sound. CHUCK: Hey everybody! Welcome back to the Ruby Freelancer Show. On today’s panel we have Eric Davis. ERIC: Hello. CHUCK: We also have Evan Light. EVAN: Hi! CHUCK: And we also have Jeff Schoolcraft. JEFF: What's up? CHUCK: Now we’ve kind of been a quite bunch this morning, so we have to see how the show goes. So we were discussing what we want to talk about and one of the things that somebody brought up (and I’ve been asked a few times) is whether or not to take fixed bids. And I'm pretty sure I know what you guys are going to say, so if anyone wants to chime in and share their opinion on whether fixed bids or hourly, or either one or both are okay, go ahead. ERIC: Well why don’t we start with actually defining what fixed bid is, because I see people say, don’t do fixed bids. But they actually don’t mean the same thing on someone else. CHUCK: Okay, so when I say fixed bids, what do you think? ERIC: For me, it’s basically a set cost, typically a set of features and then there will typically be like a set deadline which goes wishing by usually. CHUCK: Right, and then the other side of the spectrum is every hour I work, you pay me X amount of money right? ERIC: Yeah and some people consider that hourly. CHUCK: What else would you consider hourly? JEFF: Not government based, we will call fixed bid from fixed price and that's all the expenses everything, you are doing for whatever scope the project is, rolls up to some big number. And the other to way to do, is time and materials. So, you charge for every minute you work on that project and every pencil you buy or whatever you do to clear it up. But that is the other, I don’t know, vernacular terms I heard for those two billing concepts. CHUCK: Right. I want to see you code with a pencil, that would be fun. JEFF: Sometimes it will be faster. CHUCK: It's easier to debug. You just turn it over and use the eraser right? ERIC: Yeah I actually do it lot on index cards, when modelling or whatever, just kind of write stuff on index card. If it's not going to look like it's going to relay just throw the index card away. It’s a lot faster than removing code. CHUCK: That's true. That’s kind of an interesting planning phase or I guess modelling phase. And you can do agile, so that you are consistently updating your model as you code.
Panel Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Summer Camp) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Discussion George Bush misquote Cashboard Non-payment/Late payments Lack of Communication Working for a client is like a dating relationship Subcontracting Blame Local vs. Remote Corporate Culture Find clients who are willing to learn Communicate before you fire the client Watch out for people who push back on non-negotiables in your client The client must sign a contract It makes a difference if the client appreciates your work If things become emotional, just nod and say "Thank you for the feedback." Watch out for long silent spells Zero Bullshit Policy We want clients to be more like business partners rather than masters (with us as servants) The Shrink Principle Have a website 3 day reminder from the billing system F* you, pay me. Make sure you get a deposit Be helpful and professional Punctuality for meetings Overused relationship metaphors Fire them as soon as possible if it can't be saved Book Yourself Solid by Michael Port Picks The Secret of Consulting by Gerald Weinburg (Evan) The SaaS class at UC Berkeley (Jeff) The SaaS book for the UC Berkeley class (Jeff) Stanford on iTunes U for iOS (Jeff) FutureRuby talk by Dr Nic (Eric) Fk it (Eric) Hubspot (Chuck) The Third Tribe (Chuck)
Panel Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Summer Camp) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Discussion ChiliProject/Redmine Website Contact Form littlestreamsoftware.com business/niche apps libraries getting involved in open source projects Refinery Fat Free CRM Instructure speaking at conferences talk to other developers, have a community presence users groups referrals from other/larger firms subcontracting blogging and podcasting for lead generation be an expert in your field build trust with potential clients the tiers of intimacy do what you enjoy doing job boards -but- not job boards compete not on price, but on qualities recruiters government contracts and associated suicide accessories don't work for equity unless you're fine as an investor vetting clients define availability, timetable, deadline and rough spec research the client Obie Fernandez' Master Services Agreement Statement of Work New Leaders Master Service Agreement (CC) subcontractor agreements if the client gives you a contract, it will be slanted toward the client if you give the client a contract, it will be slanted toward you considering a client "in the pipeline" signed contract deposit in the bank determining sufficient deposit deposit in escrow does the client set off alarm bells? Picks TextExpander (Chuck) exercise and make time for yourself (Chuck) sleep (Eric) SaneBox (Eric) OtherInbox (Evan) limit your billable hours per week (Evan) Siri on iPhone 4s (Evan) Preneurcast (Jeff) How to Read a Book (Jeff) Read It For Me (Jeff)
Panel Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Summer Camp) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Discussion Transition from other work to freelancing Finding clients Have money in the bank Have no money in the bank Selling yourself short Billable time, administrative work and time spent working Finding prospects Get involved with user groups, the community, for networking Host events, get behind podium, have credibility Confidence for getting clients and not selling one's self short First and second degree contacts Find out where your customers are Picks Harvest (Chuck) VIM (Chuck) MacVIM (Chuck) Freshbooks (Evan) Getting Things Done by David Allen (Evan) The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey (Evan) Pinboard (Jeff) Skype (anti-pick) (Jeff and Evan) Cashboard (Jeff) James Bond by Ian Flemingy (Jeff) A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin (Jeff) The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins (Jeff) Reading for fun (Evan) Get Clients Now!(TM): A 28-Day Marketing Program for Professionals, Consultants, and Coaches by C. J. Hayden (Eric) Book Yourself Solid by Michael Port (Eric) Duct Tape Marketing: The World's Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide by John Jantsch (Evan) Freelancing Weekly (Eric)