Ditching Hourly

Business development director and Raleigh commercial real estate enthusiast Jed Byrne joined me on Ditching Hourly to walk through the entire process of self-publishing his first book, Start Small Selling, from idea validation to Kickstarter funding to final production. We cover testing your book idea with real money, writing a first draft in 35 days, running a Kickstarter campaign to fund profess...

Principal at Superstruct and author David Guttman joined me on Ditching Hourly to talk about using OpenClaw and AI agents to delegate outcomes instead of micromanaging code. We talked about AI employees, chat-based agents, why OpenClaw feels different from coding tools, how David qualifies repeatable tasks for delegation, secure setup choices like Tailscale, and what collapsing software costs coul...

Learning and development facilitator Nikki Cross joined me on Ditching Hourly to share how she turned business books into a private podcast book club that helps members apply what they read. Nikki explains the mechanics of her Inner Work Business Book Club, how she uses a private podcast to turn book ideas into implementation, and why structure matters when business books are trying to change beha...

Founder of Upshift, Shawn Yeager, joined me on Ditching Hourly to talk about how AI is killing the billable hour and what professional services firms can do about it.  Jonathan and Shawn dig into judgment versus execution, what firms should commercialize after AI, why cost-cutting is only the first move, and how agent workflows change what small and midsize firms can do. 00:00 - Introduction 01:54...

Angular expert Alain Chautard rejoined me on Ditching Hourly to share how he scaled his certification business through partnerships and automation. Jonathan and Alain talk about turning niche expertise into a certification business, reducing support demands, using expert partners across time zones and languages, negotiating a licensing-style partnership, and what happens when a soloist plugs their...

Data science consultant and podcast host Genevieve Hayes joined me on Ditching Hourly to talk about podcasting as a boost for an expertise-based business. Chapters 00:00 - Genevieve Hayes and Value-Driven Data Science 02:27 - Committing to Start a Podcast 05:35 - Simple Production Is Good Enough 07:02 - First Guests and Inbound Momentum 11:46 - The 100-Episode Surprises 15:07 - Relationships Beat...

In this episode of Ditching Hourly, host Jonathan Stark welcomes Carl Franklin, co-host of the .NET Rocks podcast, to discuss the intricacies and benefits of value pricing. Listeners will gain insights into how value pricing can transform their business approach, moving away from the traditional hourly billing model. The conversation covers key topics such as the differences between fixed pricing...

Pranav Kale returns for another reverse interview — this time grilling Jonathan about his personal productivity and time management system. Jonathan walks through the system he's refined over two decades and used with his private coaching students: from consolidating all your to-dos in one place, to creating SOPs for recurring tasks, to the "event loop" that drives his day. The core idea: when you...

Best-selling author, speaker, and management adviser Joe Pine joined me on Ditching Hourly to discuss his new book, The Transformation Economy, why it applies especially well to consultants, coaches, and advisors, and gives some tips on how to price transformations. Joe's Bio B. Joseph Pine II is an internationally acclaimed author, speaker, and management adviser to Fortune 500 companies and entr...

Jason Staats joined me on Ditching Hourly to talk about his progression from being an employee in an accounting firm to running the top accounting community on the planet. Links Jason's website Jason's YouTube Chapters ---- Do you have questions about how to improve your business? Things like: Value pricing your work instead of billing for your time? Positioning yourself as the go-to person in you...

Rural planning advisor Ben Kettle joined me on Ditching Hourly to share his transition from hourly billing “nonsense” to risk-based project pricing. Links Ben's website » https://areteruralplanning.co.uk/ Chapters (00:00) - Ben Kettle (00:20) - Meet the Guest: Ben Kettle (00:36) - Ben's Background and Career Journey (02:57) - Challenges with Hourly Billing (09:01) - Transition to Fixed Fee and Val...

Co-founder of Conversion Factory, Zach Stevens, rejoined me on Ditching Hourly to give us an update on how he's growing his subscription SaaS marketing agency in year 3. Links We Mentioned Conversion Factory Website Zach's partner Corey, on X The Superstruct Manifesto by David Guttman The "If You're Such An Expert" Ditcherville Comic Chapters (00:00) - Introduction and Welcome (00:10) - Zach's Bus...

Charles Miller of Platoon joined me on Ditching Hourly to discuss “good” taste, how you get it, why you might want it, and what to do when your clients don’t have it. Links Charles’ personal site » https://www.charlesmiller.com/ Charles’ portfolio site » https://www.platoon.studio/ Chapters (00:00) - Introduction and Guest Welcome (00:11) - Defining Taste (00:19) - Charles Miller's Background (00:...

Author of No BS Strategy , Alex M H Smith, rejoined me on Ditching Hourly to help define a very important word that few business people understand correctly. Chapters (00:00) - Introduction and Welcome (00:11) - Guest Introduction: Alex Smith (01:30) - Understanding Business Strategy (02:02) - The Misunderstood Concept of Value (04:15) - Creating Value in Business (07:55) - Innovating Beyond Tradi...

Professor-in-residence at StoryBrand and host of the new podcast Badass Softie, Dr. J.J. Peterson, joined me on Ditching Hourly to discuss how to strike a balance between authority and empathy. And be sure to stick around to the end to hear J.J.'s take on AI's impact on professional services and how to avoid creating ‘louder garbage’ :-) Chapters (00:00) - Introduction and Guest Welcome (00:17) -...

Solo data advisor Shachar Meir (ex-Meta, ex-PayPal) joined me on Ditching hourly to share the details of his transition from being a manager in massive corporate environments to becoming a successful solo consultant. Chapters (00:00) - Introduction and Guest Welcome (01:05) - Shachar's Professional Background (03:47) - Transition to Solo Entrepreneurship (13:51) - First Steps as a Solopreneur (15:...

(NOTE: this ep was recorded in October 2025, but I didn't get around to publishing it until March 2026. It was WILD listening to the AI portions of the conversation five months later - post OpenClaw.) Old friend and self-described “workaholic” developer Tim Dietrich joined me on Ditching Hourly to share his journey from FileMaker freelancer to the undisputed SuiteQL expert in the NetSuite ecosyste...

Big Idea archaeologist Pranav Kale joined me on Ditching Hourly for a reverse interview about my journey to the center of the solar system. Chapters (00:00) - Introduction and Guest Welcome (00:39) - Pranav's Evolution and Current Focus (03:01) - Jonathan's Epiphany on Hourly Billing (06:26) - The Trust Fracture in Hourly Billing (07:45) - Jonathan's Problem-Solving Journey (16:59) - The Move to R...

Laravel expert Joel Clermont joined me on Ditching Hourly to share how he and his co-founder run their successful dev subscription business.  Chapters (00:00) - Introduction and Guest Introduction (00:16) - Joel's Background and Business Model Transition (01:54) - Launching the Dev Subscription Model (04:47) - Marketing and Initial Success (07:44) - Client Profiles and Demand (11:19) - Managing Cl...

Digital marketing strategist Eleanor Mayrhofer joined me on Ditching Hourly to describe exactly how she productized her web design services. Links: Eleanor's website » https://www.eleanormayrhofer.com/ditching Eleanor's LinkedIn » https://www.linkedin.com/in/eleanormayrhofer/ Chapters: (00:00) - Introduction and Guest Welcome (00:14) - Eleanor's Background and Business Model (00:52) - Straight to...

Founder of The Upside, Erin Halper, joined me on Ditching Hourly to share her pro tips on creating and sustaining a premium online community. Erin's Links: Erin's community » https://betheupside.com/ Erin's LinkedIn » https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinhalper/ Chapters (00:00) - Introduction and Guest Welcome (00:19) - Erin Halper's Background and The Upside Community (03:19) - Challenges and Evoluti...

Communications consultant Lynn Safranek joined me on Ditching Hourly to learn how to apply value pricing to an industry where the consultant can't control the outcome. (00:00) - Introduction and Guest Welcome (00:11) - Understanding Upstream Contributions (00:23) - Lynn's Background and Expertise (01:05) - The Value Pricing Dilemma (01:21) - Client Communication Challenges (02:45) - Media Engageme...

Brand strategist and founder of SwayRise Creative, Diane Whiddon, joined me on Ditching Hourly to talk about how adding a discrete - and legitimately useful - AI-based productized service to her branding business tapped into a longstanding demand in her client base. Diane's Links SwayRise Creative » https://swayrisecreative.com/ Content Creator Lab » https://aicontentcreatorlab.com Chapters (00:00...

Author, speaker, and human-first AI strategist, Alastair McDermott, joined me on Ditching Hourly to talk about his new book and how experts can use AI to enhance productivity, decision-making, and learning. (00:00) - Introduction and Guest Welcome (00:46) - Alistair's Background and Journey (03:02) - The New Book: Use AI, Stay Human (04:15) - AI as a Tool for Experts (06:55) - Practical Applicatio...

Author of Leaving The Casino, Jessica Lackey, joined me on Ditching Hourly to discuss the importance of understanding different business models, pricing strategies, and the concept of the 'zone of enoughness' in building a sustainable business. (00:00) - Introduction and Guest Welcome (00:09) - Jessica Lackey's Background and Career Journey (01:05) - Introduction to Jessica's Book (03:13) - The Ca...