Matt Report

Follow my WordPress newsletter https://thewpminute.com/subscribe The house that WordPress built…or will build. It can be challenging for new WordPress freelancers to get started in this industry. You have to find the right tools, the right customers, get paid and…actually build the websites! Is there a right path to take? Meet Terry Carter , Manager at Newfold Digital WordPress Live & Blue Sky...

Follow my WordPress newsletter https://thewpminute.com/subscribe I’ve known today’s guest before I even ventured into the professional WordPress industry. In fact, it wasn’t his themes that revolutionized my thinking, it was the checkout process. Brian Gardner launched a theme company using a payment portal and delivery tool called e-junkie. I just checked, they still exist, they were the Gumroad...

Follow my WordPress newsletter https://thewpminute.com/subscribe Welcome back to the Matt Report, where we continue our special 2-part series with Josepha Haden Chomposy . If you haven’t listened to the previous episode, I suggest you go back and learn what the WordPress Executive Director does on a day to to day basis. Today, we’ll be exploring some meatier topics that come up in the community li...

Follow my WordPress newsletter https://thewpminute.com/subscribe If you’re like me, you know Josepha Haden Chomposy is the Director for WordPress the open source project in title, but you probably don’t know what she does on a day to day basis. Or that she’s part of the Open Source Group Division inside of Automattic. Something I always knew, but once framed that way in discussion, was more intere...

Follow my WordPress newsletter https://thewpminute.com/subscribe WordPress news is hard. I mean, it’s hard to turn it into a real business. I get away with covering WordPress here on the Matt Report because our guests share lessons on how they built their business or spend time telling us how they navigated the community, until they found their way. But news? Well, that’s why The WP Tavern has bee...

Follow my WordPress newsletter https://thewpminute.com/subscribe I typically open up my monologue with setting some tension or to attempt to provoke how a grand idea might come together in the upcoming audio. I don’t have that today. What I have is a young entrepreneur that impressed me with his story, branding, and how he’s approaching the business of…college movers. I know you normally tune in f...

Follow my WordPress newsletter https://thewpminute.com/subscribe A tricky part about all of this stuff we do in business and online is to not let the work consume you. I know people say that your work is not your worth, and I get it, but it’s really hard for me to disconnect from that. To show the world what you’ve built and put it into the hands of your super fans. To punch up as the underdog and...

Follow my WordPress newsletter https://thewpminute.com/subscribe “Just when I thought I was o ut…they pull me back in” a famous line from Godfather Part III and a recurring theme I’ve noticed for those of who have used WordPress for a while. No matter how much we might moan about the shortcomings of WordPress, it’s still pretty darn powerful. The core of WordPress is getting better, read: Gutenber...

Follow my WordPress newsletter https://thewpminute.com/subscribe There’s no better feeling than when you launch something that just clicks with people. I guess at the end of the day, folks that build businesses or create content are simply seeking acceptance. We want to see our idea flourish, to be adopted by the masses, and to leave an impact. When Maciej Palmowski launched WP Owls with his wife...

Follow my WordPress newsletter https://thewpminute.com/subscribe Now that the WordPress acquisition market has cooled a bit, it’s time to stoke the fire on all things Gatsby and JAMStack-y-ness…. again . Don’t let Full Site Editing steal all of the thunder, there’s still so much happening around headless WordPress and the ability to integrate 3rd party APIs to take the place of plugins. Look, I kn...

Follow my WordPress newsletter https://thewpminute.com/subscribe I mentor at a local business accelerator for sustainable startups that have community impact. Small — no, tiny — startups that are just getting out of the idea phase. More often than not, this is the founder’s first leap into running a business. About 6 weeks into this 12 week program, I teach a class on web & marketing. By this...

Follow my WordPress newsletter https://thewpminute.com/subscribe As designers or developers — even product makers — when WordPress is your hammer, everything looks like a nail. WordPress is certainly in an inflection point. Where as the software is evolving, read: gutenberg + fullsite editing, the community of users grapple with what WordPress really is. I feel like that’s a statement which has li...

Follow my WordPress newsletter https://thewpminute.com/subscribe The WordPress acquisition world was rocking this week . If this week were a heavyweight fight between Learn Dash and Sandhills Development, Pippin would certainly be the beloved veteran. You can hear more about his side of the story in this podcast interview. Today I got to sit down with Syed Balkhi , founder of Awesome Motive, to re...

Follow my WordPress newsletter https://thewpminute.com/subscribe Today’s a bittersweet moment in WordPress business land with the announcement of Awesome Motive acquiring Sandhills Development suite of plugins including Easy Digital Downloads, AffiliateWP, and more. I’m honored to call Pippin my friend who has helped me “grow up” in the WordPress community. I’m happy for him, and sad that he’s ret...

Follow my WordPress newsletter https://thewpminute.com/subscribe Even with all of the WordPress consolidation happening, there’s still plenty of opportunity ahead for the industry. There’s lots of potential users, customers, and room for investment (note: we just saw the acquisition of Yoast happen by Newfold, formally EIG. If I had to guess, somewhere between a $30-50M deal.) If you though the pl...

Follow my WordPress newsletter https://thewpminute.com/subscribe Is there ever a right time to start a business? We could subscribe to every podcast, take every online course, thumbs up every video Troy Dean puts out on Facebook and we still wouldn’t be 100% ready. Imagine having a full-time job and peddling your small piece of software on the side. Before you know it, it’s making 500 to 1,500 in...

Follow my WordPress newsletter https://thewpminute.com/subscribe I appreciate a good side hustle story. Someone slogging away in the cubical but slowly building up an audience on Twitter on the weekends. I’m sure you know all about the “build in open” movement, and today’s guest really shocked me with that. See, maybe like you, I’ve listened to Dave Rodenbaugh on his podcast (with my boss Craig) R...

Follow my WordPress newsletter https://thewpminute.com/subscribe Probably just like you, the exploration for the secret ingredient to running a successful business is a tricky one. Speaking for myself, I can tell you that I’m constantly trying to learn and dissect what some of the most successful brands are in my space. How did she do it? What does the website look like? Productized service or dig...

Follow my WordPress newsletter https://thewpminute.com/subscribe The important role of an in-house media creator (or content creator) to a brand, especially in the software space, has been a topic weighing on my mind for a while. In today’s episode, I break down a few clips from a recent episode of Bootstrapped Web , where hosts Brian & Joran discuss their challenge of filling this role. I ref...

Follow my WordPress newsletter https://thewpminute.com/subscribe Forming a successful partnership in business might be the most powerful, yet, most challenging things to do right. This goes beyond simply linking to each others business or handing over the occasional customer referral. I’m talking about two (or more) partners both handling responsibilities and working towards a shared goal for the...

Follow my WordPress newsletter https://thewpminute.com/subscribe There’s a fine balance between optimizing your services for profits and providing satisfactory value for the money you charge your customers. Let me frame that for you: A high-touch, white glove services business is people + time intensive. If you own a boutique agency, you’re aware of the time and money you invest on all of processe...

Follow my WordPress newsletter https://thewpminute.com/subscribe Today’s guest used to sit on the opposite sides of the WordPress hosting competition table from me. At one point in his career, he was pumping out content on Kinsta’s blog like an absolute machine while I was raging against that machine, selling would-be customers on Pagely’s hosting stack. So where is Brian Jackson , former marketer...

Follow my WordPress newsletter https://thewpminute.com/subscribe It took me a while to draw out what I wanted to say in today’s monologue about our guest. This will be his 6th appearance on the show. With this episode, we’ve covered 4 different SaaS based businesses, with a handful of digital products and one service-based business that’s still running, of which, I’ve never fully interviewed him a...

Follow my WordPress newsletter https://thewpminute.com/subscribe I came across Kristen Youngs’ YouTube channel while I was exploring the popular no code Bubble.io platform. At first, I thought she was creating the typical tutorial videos channel around this very popular app building platform, but as I explored more, I realized she was building a very unique business behind the scenes. I think most...

Follow my WordPress newsletter https://thewpminute.com/subscribe Over the last few years, I think one of the most important lessons we’ve learned is that our community can go beyond WordPress. From the tools and the code, to the neighboring software’s we use to get the job done. Whatever that “job” is for you. It could be publishing a simple blog or helping a university with a multi-site solution...