The Builders

Today I’m joined by Geoff Chan.  He is the found of a digital agency called StackFive.  It’s a great conversation about his journey to becoming a web developer.  We share our stories about how our Father’s influenced us along with others. “Getting in the reps”.  One of the key ways he gets better at something is to set a goal to do 'x' number of projects and then back filling t...

In this episode we are joined by Brian Bauer.  He is the founder of a CRO Agency called Bauer Entertainment Marketing.  We first talk talk about his journey from becoming a 3rd generation drummer in his household, his work on in radio , becoming a member of a touring band and landing in Nashville where he eventually takes all that experience in the entertainment industry and builds an ag...

In this episode, Matt’s joined by Ilisa Millermoon.  Ilisa is an “ Intuitive Energy Artist ” working in Acrylic Ink and Gouache.  But through this conversation there’s so much more that she does.. the art is a means to an end – it is a ‘tool for healing’.   It’s interwoven into more services and the content she creates for her ‘tribe’. We talk about her journey to becoming an a...

In this episode, Matt talks about marketing for non-marketers .  There are a lot of people that find themselves in business because of their passion, talents and just because they do their thing.. their craft.  But at some point think, “I would really like to market this business now”. But that sounds easier said than done.  You’re busy!  You don’t know much, if anything, about...

In this episode, Matt provides his perspective on estimating - from the trenches.  Estimating is an important part of any agencies business.  That’s how we win business after all.  But if one is not careful, estimating can soak up a lot of time .  Time that would be better spent in our areas of your business or taking care of your existing projects, clients and team. Learn how...

In this episode, Ryan Lawrence joins us again to discuss WordPress Full-site editing (FSE) and it’s impact on existing or future client sites and projects.  Both Ryan and I service clients and other agencies that use WordPress.  In fact, for both of us, the vast majority of our clients have WordPress sites or build them. But a lots been changing with WordPress.  And the reality is t...

Today Ed Fox joins us.  Born and raised in Australia (now living in America) Ed’s been a serial Entrepreneur since he was a kid!  He was finding creative opportunities to sell stuff already when he was 7 years old.  He was building businesses when most people are still trying to figure out who they are in their teens. But this is not by accident.  Ed grew up in an environment s...

In this episode Matt dives into a topic near and dear to his heart: project and time management … getting things done . He starts out recapping how 2022 is going, networking and his experience so far with his new VR headset. Then we he shares his experience from THE TRENCHES as it relates to the main topic. A big part of how he manages his day to day is having an awesome team to help him in a vari...

In this solo episode with Matt, he talks about ‘building’ from a different angle.. building YOU and your confidence. You can have a perfect idea and a perfect plan to execute that idea, but if you don’t have the confidence or ability to see it through, then that’s a sad state of affairs. You deserve more in your life! We have enough obstacles and things to overcome in life and business, we certain...

In this solo episode with Matt Levenhagen, he talks about what him and his team are building!  In 2022 they are on a path to launch their own product called Unified Toolkit (UTK).  It is currently in development.  This is not his first product.  He’s built, launched and sold many products over the years.  So his insights will most certainly be unique.. especially around so...

In the first solo episode of the year, Matt talks about Virtual Reality , it’s impact on web design and businesses.  We first learn about one of Matt’s pastimes to set the stage for the topic.. why is he getting into this topic now and why the interest?  Then we learn about what VR is and how it relates to AR or mixed reality . With that foundation we delve into aspects of VR that will s...

In the last episode ( last solo episode ) this year, Matt Levenhagen shares 6 big takeaways . These are things that made a big difference, impacted sales and helped grow his agency. One of the great things about a podcast that shares stories from the trenches is that the lessons are relatable and translatable. Take one or a few of these and they could have a positive impact on your business as wel...

This week we Rhonda Negard joined me to talk about her journey and provide advice about starting your own business. How many people are at a corporate job right now and have dreamed about being in business for themselves? She shares her advice on how to make that transition and be prepared ahead of time. Of course, in between there you’ll find many other nuggets. From networking, not being afraid...

In this episode I’m joined by Bridget Willard.  She’s written marketing books, does consulting and helps people with marketing, strategy, copywriting and social media account management.  She’s got a really interesting background… we are taken on her journey to discover herself and what she’s meant to do. Mid-way through Bridget shares her challenges with mental health and how she overca...

I’m joined today by Alexandra Spalato.  She’s a freelance developer and entrepreneur with several years of experience working as a WordPress expert at Codeable.  Alexandra is a co-founder of “Gatsby WP Themes” and is super passionate about the building Gatsby themes for WordPress AND Headless CMS .  So, of course, after discussing a bit about her background and journey, we dive head...

My guest today is Jennifer Denney - her second time on the show!  This is a relatively focused episode around the topic of business reviews and planning .  She talks about her philosophy around end of the year reviews and what she things of them. This takes us into a fuller, more robust approach to year round planning which takes into account a great number of things including the ever c...

Today's another solo episode.  First, I dig into my efforts around improving this podcast and my video/audio.  Just because I can code and am a web developer, doesn't mean I'm good at THIS! haha..  But I am learning and working hard to slowly improve over time.  A big issue for me, even though I have a decent mic, is background noise and static.  But hopefully I'm resolvin...

In this episode, I talk about a couple business topics.  Have you ever tried to go paperless with your notes?  If you are like me, you like to take notes on notepads.. not just typing them into the computer.  I have been using a solution for years and introduce you to a new way to do it! Scannable and searchable . I talk about some new Twitter friends, my end of the year review.. mo...

In this episode I'm joined by Lorraine Ball .   Lorraine has an amazing story and shares her journey from 20 years in corporate America, running her own agency for 19 years before selling it to what she does today - podcasting and training. There are a lot of lessons within. We talk about motivating teams to meet big goals.  We are walked through an experience while working for an i...

In this episode, Al Wagner joins me to talk business and networking.  Al has built a sizeable payroll business called TruPayroll - they are located in 24 states.  He's certainly an authority on building businesses and, the topic we'll talk a lot about, networking.  A bulk of his business stems from his networking efforts. Like we do with all our first time guests we start with his j...

In this episode I touch on a couple of business topics related to clients, products and services.  We start off by discussing the 'added value' service called 'Teaching'.  While some providers are built to just get the job done with minimal communication, there's another side to that coin.  You can help a client solve problems, execute on their website's roadmap, but also communicat...

I’m joined today by Ryan Lawrence.  Ryan has been a freelance web developer, working from home, for more than 15 years.  As I have also worked at home for at least that long.. a bit longer.. we have a lot in common with how we manage working from home and dealing with our day to day. We talk in depth about having good work-life balance, how we personally manage it and the stresses of wor...

I'm back with Shoumo Ganguly in a valuable episode for small businesses looking to compete and reel in larger clients .  Shoumo's experience having worked inside larger corporations and organizations and understanding how they operate provides a lot of insights.  His experience as a consultant and mentor to small businesses shines through as well -- it's always good to talk to someone in...

Danielle is back with me for another episode. Today I wanted to talk to her about her new website service, “Overnight Websites”. I really wanted to dig into the idea.. we start by laying the groundwork and learning about the service itself.. the choices she made (eg, choosing Oxygen as the framework). Then we go deeper into the idea. I was interested in how she generated the idea, what inspired it...

In this solo episode I talk about a variety of topics.. My addition of YouTube as a place to post episodes, my experience with Riverside.fm so far. I talk about doing podcasting while try to run a very busy web design agency and business. The challenges there.. and how I'm careful not to add too much to my plate. I chose a couple other business related topics to dig into including ‘choosing your c...