Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

The Gig economy has many facets.  One of the big positives for many people is the option of remote work.  There is a freedom that comes from being able to get away from a desk and an office outside of the home.  This goal is achievable.  However, some planning is required to be productive while working remote and making this your regular routine. A Good Workspace We have discussed your workspace i...

When you need to create a minimum viable product (MVP) the process is not that different from designing any other product.  However, the process is more challenging.  The process requires tighter control over the scope of requirements through to deployment.  This type of product is becoming a standard way to step towards funding and is worth closer examination. Why Create An MVP? As with any softw...

We have looked at certifications before.  However, now we go a little deeper in our final part of the development languages overview.  The bulk of this episode focuses on development language certifications, and then we go back and look at some related to databases and other tech areas. Development Language Certifications as a Learning Method The best part about working on certifications is the ex...

Slow and steady wins the race.  This is a fact of life we are taught in grade school.  Unfortunately, it is one that is easy to forget.  Some goals and objectives seem too big for us to achieve them.  However, we can use the approach of steady improvement to reach heights that seem unobtainable. Steady Improvement and Momentum The concept of momentum is one of the most important ones that come fro...

This episode is the second in a two-part interview with Connor Gillivan of Freeeup.com ( Part One is here ).  This time we look at his company and how they might be an excellent resource for you.  That holds whether you are a provider or if you are looking for help. A Curated Model Conner describes their model and approaches far better than I.  However, I will say that they have a different proces...

As we continue our overview of IT and development languages, in particular, we examine the idea of development language families.  This includes how those can impact our ability to quickly adapt to a new environment. Modern Development Language Families The good news about this concept is that the most popular modern languages fall into only a few categories of families.  Thus, once you have even...

Your job may dictate your workspace and environment.  However, you likely have at least a little say in the way that space is configured.  Also, your side hustle workspace or home office can be configured to your personal style and situation.  Although it may seem minor, a productive workspace is important to your mental and physical health. A Productive Workspace Is Focused When you build a home...

One of the benefits of the popularity of social networks is that we can build a personal brand and reach a broad audience.  We can open our target market up to the world and are not limited to our city, state, or country.  It is tempting (and common) to have a presence on several platforms rather than restrict our reach.  Yes, there is overlap, but why not reach as far as possible when these sites...

Just like software, your professional development will go better with a solid plan.  In this episode, we look at how to create a career roadmap and advance along the path.  Every individual has their likes, desires, and needs for their professional development.  We start with general technologies and platforms then proceed to look at some specifics and keeping your roadmap in mind. Creating the Ca...

Life is busy and hectic.  Our modern lives include not only a potentially overwhelming amount of responsibilities but copious amounts of "stuff."  Thus, sometimes the burden of daily life causes stress and extra work.  An excellent answer to this struggle is to simplify things wherever possible.  When you have less to worry about there will be more free time and focus becomes almost automatic. Dig...

The interview process is a part of every facet of a business.  This is no less a part of IT and technology-related jobs.  In fact, the mobility of technology jobs and prevalence of short-term or part-time positions make mastering the interview critical for your career.  In this episode, we cover some great ways to approach an interview.  These will help whether you are looking for a new team membe...

In this episode, we continue our overview of development languages with a focus on the types that exist.  We looked at some of the core concepts in the first part of this series.  The similarities (think dialects) among languages were also highlighted.  At this point, we look at some specific ones and how there are programming language types that make some better than others for the tasks at hand....

When we think of productivity tools we tend to think about our work life.  They do not tend to show up on our radar of ways to live an easier life.  Buckle up because the Internet has brought us an incredible number of tools.  These are for our day-to-day lives and not just our job. Automation and Communication The strength of the Internet and related applications is the ability to easily communic...

There are businesses that make their mark as a one-stop shop for a broad range of needs.  However, these are few and far between.  The most successful companies have a story, a vision, and their product or service catalog a based on that brand.  Therefore, it is worth looking at your offerings to look for ways to build your business by reducing offerings. Analysis Paralysis There have been studies...

In this episode, we focus on programming terms and concepts.  This is the first in a short series that focuses on providing an overview of development languages.  We will include modern languages but also will look at some older ones to help build a full context for understanding how these relate. First Step: Programming Terms We start the overview with a definition of terms and concepts.  These a...

We have all fallen prey to clicking on a list article of some sort.  This is a well-known way to get readers to click on your post.  However, you may not know that you can use lists to improve productivity.  The same reason they have an attraction for us is a way to use them as research tools. Lists Are Everywhere We can all think of click-bait sites (and Facebook) that lure us into clicking on an...

This episode is the first in a two-part interview with Connor Gillivan of Freeeup.com.  We started out with a focus on what he has learned as an entrepreneur at a couple of businesses.  We discuss five ways to streamline your work that are easy to implement and highly cost-effective.  I had a great time talking to him and hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed the conversation. Spoiler Aler...

  We have flown through the first seventy-five episodes of this podcast.  The website has also grown to over a hundred posts and articles.  Thus. it seems like a good time to review what we have to offer as well as what to look for in the future of the building better developers podcast. Embracing Apple Podcasts and Amazon Alexa We have always been hosted on Apple podcasts and now have added Amazo...

One of the most significant secrets to happiness is wisdom.  Even though knowing the right thing to do and doing it are two different challenges, knowing is half the battle.  There are many ways to gain wisdom.  However, the most prevalent source is the people around us. Listen Before You Leap A skill that often comes up in the improvement of career, relationships, and customer satisfaction (among...

Written communication is a significant part of how we work in business.  It is obvious when you look at how much of an MBA program includes writing.  Many companies even push business writing classes as part of their employee training. Let Us Count The Ways We write emails every day.  This is an excellent place to work on writing fundamentals.  These include spelling, grammar, vocabulary, and even...

This episode takes us through part 2 of the databases overview series.  We spend time looking at the major players in the industry and then some of the job roles typically seen in this area of technology. The Major Players We start with a tour of the most significant players in the industry.  These are almost all familiar names with IBM, Oracle, and Microsoft all in the top five.  The other names...

We can get through life on our own.  However, it is better when shared with others.  This fact is one of those secrets to living a better life.  It applies to team sports, groups we work with and any group activity.  Great peace and enlightenment may be attributed to a guru on a mountaintop.  That is not the same as true joy.  In fact, do we ever picture a joyful experience as a person by himself?...

Even the lowliest of developers will come to a point where they are asked to look into a potential decision.  Their role may only be as an advisor.  However, evaluating vendors to some extent falls into our lap as a task to perform.  There are "big" approaches to these evaluation requests, but proper use of free tools can be as valuable. The Vendor Is as Important as The Tool A typical error in ev...

There are a broad range of reasons for logging or tacking the work we do.  In technology work, we have such a varied bunch of tasks we perform that this becomes a crucial habit for avoiding re-inventing the wheel.  At a high level, logging your work is a good habit.  Thus, let's look at the ways this can be a benefit that more than pays for the time spent. Trial and Error There are times that we f...

Hope is a critical factor in a happy life and, in my opinion, that includes thinking big.  The challenge is in remembering that any goal we set is a journey, not a "beam me up, Scotty" teleportation to that end.  This can crush our hopes if we see that goal as too big to get to from here.  Do not throw out your goals for being too big.  Find a waypoint (or several) to help you avoid being overwhel...