Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

We start a new interview with Jay Aigner about launching a project-based business. He started with a need to earn some extra money and grew into a multi-million dollar organization. A form of modern-day rags-to-riches story. Except, it is real life and not some children's story. A Project-Based Business From Scratch The promise of using a site like Guru.com or Upwork.com to build a business instea...

We wrap up the interview with Beate Chelette by discussing how to grow a business and her five-star success blueprint. The discussion explains why you should have a system and how it can make you more likely to win clients. There is more than having a system. You also want it to be seen as valuable. Your System And The 5-Star Success Blueprint We can create very complex systems and solutions. Thos...

We start a new conversation with the growth architect, Beate Chelette. We dive right into reasons to launch a business, and she shoots down traditional fears for taking that step. This is not an episode for those that want to rest on their fears. We quickly show how your biggest fear should be staying where you are instead of pursuing that dream. Wisdom From The Growth Architect Beate offers us se...

We wrap up our discussion with Naomi Gora with a look at how multiple founders can make it a chore to find the voice of your brand. Each founder may have a strong personality type or a presence that makes it hard to pick which one truly leads the company in this area. It is not likely to be a mix of the personality types and instead will gravitate towards one of the founders and their style. Findi...

We start a new conversation with Naomi Gora about how your business personality type needs to be a match for the founder or founders. Everyone has a personality type, and we talk about how businesses and brands do as well. This can be challenging when your business has a personality that does not match yours. Even success can lead to discomfort and a sense of being trapped rather than joy and cont...

Our conversation with Annelise Worn concludes with a deeper look into remote team building and how to make sure you get the right people. The world has gotten smaller. Thus, it is now possible to hire across the globe, no matter the size of your business. That has good and bad for someone starting out. There is a need for skilled workers, but they can be challenging to interview and assess. We dis...

We start a conversation with Annelise Worn to help you with launching your business based on her story and lessons learned. Her story is not unlike many others. She realized she needed to avoid spending so much time on her work. Likewise, she wanted to escape the trap of trading time for money. Her time was worth too much. Launching Your Business Requires Confidence You can take many nuggets of wi...

Our discussion with Michaell Magrutsche transitions into the area of work balance and whether more productivity really leads to more happiness. The whole concept of working faster and better does not seem to be leading us to worthy results. We are not seeing vast amounts of free time and instead often are chained to our desk of phone. The promise of freedom has become more chains. Return To The Fo...

We start a new interview and delve in to the topic of human based systems. This topic is one that should be a common one as AI grows. Our discussion with Michaell Magrutsche goes a bit off the beaten path as we look at the road less traveled. This journey leads into examining what makes a system useful and a focus on why we should build one in the first place. The Basis For Human Based Systems Thi...

Our discussion with Ricky Howard continues with a dive into all of the government work resources for finding and landing a contract. We talk about sites like usaspending.gov. It is where one can see where the money goes. That provides an insight into what departments are a good starting point for your research. There is a lot of research and groundwork to do to win a contract. However, he provides...

We start a new discussion and new topic of how to land software development government contracts—in short, working for the government. Ricky Howard takes us through the ins and outs of finding opportunities and winning a contract. While this can be a lucrative and steady line of revenue, it does take an investment of time. Nothing worthwhile is easy, and our discussion shows how this path follows...

We change gears and talk about how to dress with success with Robyn Balsley. Yes, even developers benefit from a first impression. Furthermore, that is important for remote and work-from-home employees. Professional dress is not just for those in the office. We can adjust those Zoom calls, but we still need to make a good impression. Even Developers Need To Dress For Success There is often a view...

We continue our discussion with Neha Naik and talk about how to create a better resume. We look at how to make yours stand out. There is more to your work history than a list of skills and titles. However, those are also essential steps in getting seen by the right people. We include topics like certifications and degrees for those wondering how to navigate the world of job searching. Create A Bet...

You have several recruiter options when you are looking for a job. While similar, each has strengths and weaknesses. We start our discussion with Neha Naik with an introduction to the recruiting world from the recruiter's perspective. Many of us see recruiters as a means to an end when we want to land that perfect job. However, that is just a piece of what they do and how they get the job done. Ne...

We continue our conversation with Liz Scully and explore getting the most out of a mastermind. Spoiler alert, it is engagement. This is one of those areas in life where you get out what you put in and (hopefully) more. While we talk primarily about what makes a good mastermind group, we keep pointing to the goal of making it worth the investment of each member. The result at the end of a group is...

This episode starts a new interview with Liz Scully and focuses on the question, "What is a mastermind?" We go far deeper than that. However, that is not a question that is worth answering quickly or simply. There is a sort of art to good masterminds, and we delve into all the artsy details as we craft our answer to the question. What is a mastermind? The idea of a mastermind can be different for...

We continue our discussion with Naomi Johnson and examine some of the more advanced ways to use your profile to close deals with LinkedIn. She provides a story that is a convincing way to view how we can use our profile to talk to a customer. This focus is not on people in general but on how to reel in that client that is considering a purchase or hire. It is that final step in a funnel that Linke...

This episode starts a discussion with Naomi Johnson about creating a better LinkedIn profile to advance your career, reach, and brand. She is a specialist in working with LinkedIn and leveraging it for your needs. We cover the features and layout of LinkedIn pages and how to use those to tell your story. Be prepared to update your profile after listening to this episode. Use A Better LinkedIn Prof...

The second half of our discussion with Benjamin Friedman digs into how you plan for the future and scale through automating solutions. The key to this step is understanding and documenting your processes in a way that makes them easily repeatable. Then, e, grow and talk to Benjamin Friedman about exactly that. The discussion goes into what we need to know about our business to survive and then to...

We start a new interview with the founder of build, scale, grow and talk to Benjamin Friedman about exactly that. The discussion goes into what we need to know about our business to survive and then to excel. Accounting and finance might seem like dry subjects, but this interview brings out the importance of knowing where we sit with regard to finance in particular. A Firm Foundation To Build, Sca...

We wrap up the interview with Don Colliver talking about key stumbling blocks like presenting data heavy content. There are a number of other misconceptions and improper approaches he addresses in this discussion of becoming a better presenter. The essential point is one we often see. You should remember why you are presenting it. That, of course, points back to his earlier three questions of know...

This interview is a new one with Don Collliver, and we go deep on effective presentations. There are a lot of best practices and rules you have heard that he breaks. His approach is not simply to be different. He has seen the value in using his approach for business presentations that focus on getting the point (or series of points across). The goal is communication, in this case, rather than ente...

We wrap up the Allison Graham interview with a deeper dive into how she manages stress of all kinds and her consulting about the same. She has taken her unique approach and turned it into something she can share with others and often does. Her approach is pragmatic and easy to follow. We just need to take the time to follow each step. Managing Stress By The Steps There is much in managing stress t...

Our discussion with Allison Graham starts with someone with a long road and a lot of practice overcoming adversity. However, there is far more to the story than simply overcoming. She provides excellent tips for us all. Her journey through tough times and her thought process as she learned how to fight through her pain and challenges provide excellent tips for us. She has taken a unique approach a...

The discussion with Bastien Siebman continues and starts with a plan to write a book in record time. He uses Asana for productivity hacks like that and gives us a lot of great ways to improve. There is a firm foundation of getting things done that he uses as part of his approach. However, the key for Bastien is Asana and how he tailors it for each customer. Write A Book In Thirty Days There are ma...