Ditching Hourly

Zach Stevens, co-founder of Conversion Factory, came back on Ditching Hourly to give an update about how things are going with his “all-you-can-eat” subscription-based service business after two years in business. Zach's Links Conversion Factory Zach's LinkedIn Zach's Twitter Other Links MicroConf Tiny Seed FreePik Visual Electric Somewhere ---- Do you have questions about how to improve your busi...

Author of Ditch The Billable Hour! , Shaun Jardine, joined me on Ditching Hourly to explain how he transitioned his 240-person law firm off the billable hour.  Shaun's Links Shaun's Book Shaun's Website Shaun's LinkedIn Shaun's Twitter The book Shaun mentioned: Our Iceberg Is Melting by John Kotter ---- Do you have questions about how to improve your business? Things like: Value pricing your work...

The author of No Bullsh*t Strategy and founder of Basic Arts, Alex M H Smith, joined me on Ditching Hourly to discuss what business strategy is, why it matters, and how to get started. Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Background 03:00 Defining Strategy and the Importance of Unique Value 07:53 Trade-Offs: Creating Space for Unique Value 13:36 Strategy vs. Being Better than the Competition 19:26 Appl...

LinkedIn Ghostwriter Pranav Kale joined me on Ditching Hourly to do a reverse interview about what I've learned during my recent experiment of posting daily on LinkedIn. Pranav’s Links:  Website: https://www.pranavkale.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pranavkale120/ ---- Do you have questions about how to improve your business? Things like: Value pricing your work instead of billing for...

Matt Kerbis, also known as the Subscription Attorney, joined me on Ditching Hourly to share his novel approach to ditching hourly billing in the legal space with a subscription model. Matt's bio from his website: ”My name is Mathew Kerbis, I’m The Subscription Attorney, and I believe subscriptions can help bridge the access to justice gap and incentivize attorneys to modernize and scale their prac...

Ben Zettler, owner and founder of Zettler Digital, joined me on Ditching Hourly to discuss pricing tactics for agencies. Ben's Links: Zettler Digital Ben's LinkedIn AI-Generated Stuff: SUMMARY Ben Zettler, owner and founder of Zettler Digital, joins Jonathan Stark to discuss value pricing for agencies. Ben shares his background in sports and how he transitioned into building his agency. They discu...

Strategic lawyer and IP expert Erin Austin joined me on Ditching Hourly to talk about the intersection of plagiarism, copyright infringement, and generative AI.  Erin's Bio A graduate of Harvard Law School, Erin Austin is a strategic lawyer and consultant who uses her 25+ years of practicing law, including roles as COO and general counsel at large and small IP-driven companies, including Warner Br...

Co-founder and Head of Design at Under, Eden Vidal, joined me on Ditching Hourly to talk about productizing design sprints, optimizing your business to suit your personality, and convincing contractors to ditch hourly billing. Eden's Links: https://edenvidal.com/ https://weareunder.design/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/edenvidal/ AI Summary: Eden Vidal, a designer and developer, shares his success w...

Sam Browne, lifestyle entrepreneur and LinkedIn expert with more than 100k followers joined me on Ditching Hourly to share his insights on growing your audience on LinkedIn. Sam’s Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-browne/ Gumroad: https://sambrowne.gumroad.com/ Takeaways Know what you want to be known for on LinkedIn and focus on educational content to build authority. Map out a ser...

Long-time friend-of-the-show Kevin Freidberg joined me on Ditching Hourly to share how he helps freelancers and consultants create effective websites by starting with email conversations. Kevin's Links: https://marketyourselffirst.com/ AI-Generated Info: Summary Kevin Friedberg shares his approach to helping freelancers and consultants create effective websites by starting with email conversations...

Residential architect Jason Comer joined me on Ditching Hourly to brainstorm how he might migrate from commodity labor to productized leverage with his expertise in home design. Even if you're not an architect, I think you'll find the discussion useful. Jason’s Website: https://www.jasoncomerarchitect.com/ ---- Do you have questions about how to improve your business? Things like: Value pricing yo...

WP Engine founder Jason Cohen joined me on Ditching Hourly to talk about why AI is different from other big tech advancements. We also discussed why niching down in a single ideal customer profile will bring you 10x more customers than you expect and how a regular writing practice makes the world a better place (and maybe even builds a legacy). Jason’s Links:  A Smart Bear AI is Different Selling...

Corey Quinn joined me on Ditching Hourly to discuss his excellent new book, “Anyone, Not Everyone.” In it, Corey shares insights on deep specialization, selecting a target vertical market, and using gifts like cookies to transform outbound marketing.  Corey's Links: Anyone, Not Everyone by Corey Quinn Deep Specialization podcast by Corey Quinn Corey's Website 0:00 - Episode intro 0:17 - About Core...

Geraldine Carter and I swapped interviews about why niching down doesn't lead to boredom.  Geraldine's Links: Geraldine's website Geraldine's newsletter Geraldine's podcast ---- 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 your space? Productizing your services so you nev...

Tim Dietrich and Eric Grubaugh invited me to join them on SuiteScript Stories to talk about the pros and cons of a platform specialization, the paradox of positioning, and, of course, the horrors of hourly billing. Tim and Eric were kind enough to let me post the interview here on Ditching Hourly, but if you're a NetSuite developer, you should check out their podcast at https://suitescriptstories....

Indie game consultant Joe Quadara (aka Joe Q) joined me on Ditching Hourly to share his journey from putting out fires for indie game studios to advising them to accurately scope and fund their projects. Joe's Links: Joe's website: Recurver Joe on LinkedIn   AI Summary: In this episode, game developer turned consultant Joe Quidara shares his journey from putting out fires for game studios to helpi...

Bryghtpath CEO and Ditcherville lifetime resident Bryan Strawser joined me on Ditching Hourly to share the secrets behind his huge business wins in 2023. Bryan's Links: Website: https://bryghtpath.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Bryghtpath Podcast: https://bryghtpath.com/resources/managing-uncertainty-podcast/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanstrawser/ Summary (ai generated): In...

The handsome and talented Louis Grenier had me on Everyone Hates Marketers to go behind the scenes on how I run my business. Much to my delight (and true to form), he asked very specific and pointed questions so we could avoid the typical BS you hear on business podcasts. It's also on YouTube if you prefer to watch: Watch Now » Louis’ Links: https://www.everyonehatesmarketers.com/links ---- Do you...

Alexander Lapa joined me on ditching Hourly for a tour-de-force journey through the paths available to tech folks operating with a post-hourly mentality. Talking Points: Setting fixed prices and sticking to them can result in profitable client relationships. Specializing in a specific target market, such as nonprofits, improves marketing efforts and increases client trust. Value-based pricing allo...

Fellow daily emailer and No-BS marketer Rod Aparicio joined me on Ditching Hourly to bust the myth of personal branding. Rod’s Links Twitter Profile Email List AI Summary In this episode, Jonathan Stark and guest Rod Aparicio discuss the concept of personal brand and its misconceptions. They emphasize that personal brand is more about influencing perceptions rather than controlling how one is perc...

Graphic designer, product marketer, and co-founder of Conversion Factory, Zach Stevens, joined me on Ditching Hourly to explain how he and his co-founders went from zero to more than $36k MRR in one month with a productized subscription business that helps SaaS teams turn traffic into revenue. Zach's links: https://www.conversionfactory.co/ https://twitter.com/zstvns https://www.designdive.co/ Tal...

David Shriner-Cahn of Smashing the Plateau joined me on Ditching Hourly to talk about how longtime corporate execs can increase the odds of going out on their own successfully.  Key Points Taking the leap into entrepreneurship can be daunting, but with the right support and mentorship, it is possible to build a successful business. It's important to decide whether you want to look for another job...

Our resident crypto/web3 expert and longtime friend of the show, Luke Willis, re-joined me on Ditching Hourly to talk about how having a weekly podcast and daily mailing list contributed to a product launch that generated $39k in 24 hours.  Luke’s Links: https://lukewillis.com/ https://thekoinpress.com/ https://kap.domains/about Summary In this episode, Luke Willis discusses the successful launch...

Denis Gontcharov joined me on Ditching Hourly for a coaching call to help brainstorm a positioning statement for his data consulting business targeting the aluminum industry. ---- 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 your space? Productizing your services so you n...

The Agile Attorney, John Grant, joined me on Ditching Hourly to share how he helps his clients transition from inefficient workflows, WAY too much work, and low margins, to efficient workflows, a comfortable amount of work, and higher profits. Key Points Expectations for attention to detail and planning increase in high-dollar professional services like law practices. Many law practices lack upfro...