Podcasts about audience ops

In this episode, Brian Casel, founder, and CEO of ClarityFlow, discusses the benefits of asynchronous messaging for coaches and the recent rebranding from Zip Message. They also talk about the importance of name changes and pricing strategies for SaaS startups, and ClarityFlow's success with their demo-led approach and upcoming updates, including mobile apps, courses, community spaces, and payments integration. Lastly, Casel emphasizes the value of sales calls for research and development.Brian Casel is a software company owner and founder known for his expertise in software product design and web development. He is the mastermind behind ClarityFlow (formerly ZipMessage), a popular asynchronous messaging tool for professionals in coaching, consulting, and remote teams. With a successful track record of founding and operating businesses like ProcessKit, Audience Ops, and Productize, Brian's vast experience also extends to his roles as a designer, web developer, and podcast host. Here are a few of the topics we'll discuss on this episode of Product Launch: Clarity Flow is growing to include payments for coaches, personalized coaching programs, and community spaces for coaching groups Castle and his team are 100% asynchronous and use tools like Slack and GitHub to collaborate effectively Names can affect the success of a product and the perception of its direction. Customer research, both live and asynchronous, can provide valuable feedback for naming and strategy decisions. Analyzing usage data and creating custom reporting can also help identify a target audience and pricing strategy. Inbound demo requests have become a preferred way for some coaching businesses to evaluate the product The success of a demo-led approach influences product development, marketing materials, and customer success Resources: ClarityFlow NxtStep Podcast Chef Connect with Brian Casel:LinkedInConnect with the host: Sean Boyce on LinkedIn Sean Boyce by Email Quotables: 02:59 – “My team and I, we literally don't have calls live, like live calls. We're a hundred percent asynchronous. And it's weird, it's a little bit weird, but I'm not exaggerating. Like we literally just have, we use Slack and we use GitHub issues and stuff like that when we're working on stuff. But we do have like video meetings where they're seeing my face, they're seeing my screen, I'm seeing their response. We're collaborating together on things, but we're doing it across the world, across time zones and spread out at a time that makes sense” 03:38 – “But we can really still have the same level of collaboration as if we're on a live call together. I actually would even argue that it's better because we have space in between our collaboration. So I could ask something and then my marketing assistant can think about it and do some work and jot down some notes and then get back to me with her thoughts and then I digest that and I get back. So, I really think that communicating asynchronously and having these meetings at like a slower, more spread out pace really, really helps a lot.” 04:41 – “I can't help but think sometimes nowadays when I'm on one-to-one meetings, or even worse if I'm in a group setting at so many meetings and so much time and effort and energy is largely wasted because yeah, only one person could be talking at a time, right? So if you've got a meeting with like 10 people on it or grows even larger than that, just the, the cost to hold that session when most people aren't really doing much. It's asynchronous for the win all day there.” 11:229 – “So if you look at our site now, it's like, yeah, we're still like an async conversation at the core, but we're building into more of a platform to run an entire coaching business. So I got to really understand exactly what they're trying to do, and then that informed all the features that we're rolling out now.” 19:18 –  “I think especially when you start to gain traction with your product, right? Prioritization becomes critically important because if you put the wrong step in front of a step that should have been prioritized. Like you said, you could pause something that's really important for a really, really critical moment, like an inflection point.” Free Email CourseHow to Build a Profitable AI-Powered B2B SaaS Business for Less Than $750Notes generated by Podcast Show Notes  (podcastshownotes.ai)

Ashley Guttuso is a Chief Strategy Officer. She joins us to talk about how to do effective content marketing that helps sales teams be successful.Her overview on content marketing is an important starting point for the conversation. Flagging where a lot of teams get started on the wrong foot. And considering what Google is really looking for these days when it comes to SEO.Then she introduces the serving vs. selling framework and how this can be applied to product and content marketing. Ashley includes a detailed approach for ensuring that you're always talking to customers to better identify, understand, and resonate with your ICP. Find Ashley on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleyguttuso/Learn more about Audience Ops: https://audienceops.com/

This week, joining the podcast is special guest, serial entrepreneur, and the king of shiny objects, Brian Casel. Brian is the founder of Zip Message, a popular video messaging tool for async conversations, which launched at the beginning of 2021. Brian recently sold and exited some of his earlier businesses, including Audience Ops and ProcessKit. Brian firmly believes that with each business opportunity came great learnings and experiences, which he has carried forward to get him to where he is today. Get ready to dive into an episode filled with fascinating insights and advice as Brian brings us on his journey from freelancing to fearlessly launching and running multiple businesses. In this episode, Brian offers brilliant advice for business start-ups as he openly shares how to talk to your customers, tactics on building an audience, how to master sales calls and how to approach the awkward conversation of pricing. Key points throughout the discussion include: The leap from freelancing to building businesses.The joy of obtaining your first customer. Building an audience through networking. Mastering sales: how to get the most out of sales calls.Customer observation: learning from customer pain points. Curiosity is key: questions to ask your customers. Attracting your ideal customer base. Increasing brand awareness and speaking directly with potential customers. The benefits of asynchronous communication. How to discuss pricing with potential clients. Assessing and filtering through business ideas. Book recommendations for business builders. Brian's advice for obtaining your first 10 customers.  ‘'I went through this long list of businesses. I would never have landed on Zip Message if I didn't learn things from Process Kit. I never would have landed on Process Kit if I didn't learn a ton from Audience Ops and Audience Ops came from what I learned from Restaurant Engine. I wouldn't have landed on those ideas unless I had gone through that experience.'' – Brian Casel. Connect with Brian Casel:https://briancasel.com/ https://briancasel.com/podcasts https://www.linkedin.com/in/briancasel/ https://twitter.com/CasJam https://zipmessage.com/   Connect with First 10 Podcast host Conor McCarthy: https://www.first10podcast.comhttps://twitter.com/TheFirst10Podhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/comccart/ Resources:Book: The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick.  http://momtestbook.com/  Book: The Cold Start Problem by Andrew Chen.https://www.coldstart.com/ Podcast partnersBuzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1389931Otter: https://otter.ai/referrals/ETRNKY16Calendly: https://calendly.grsm.io/ilev18qxpn1eProduced in partnership with podlad.com

Brian's bio Brian Casel is a serial founder who currently runs ZipMessage.com. In the past, they've built (and sold many of the following): ProcessKit, Big Snow Tiny Conf, Audience Ops, Productize, Thready, SunriseKPI, Ops Calendar, Restaurant Engine, Hotel Propeller, WP Bids, ThemeJam. Their website reads: I love the hard, creative work of designing products just as much as my mission to build a business that lasts. Join thousands and follow along. —— Links Brian's Twitter: https://twitter.com/CasJam Zip Message: https://zipmessage.com Brian's website: https://briancasel.com/ Reddit SaaS: https://www.reddit.com/r/saas My Twitter: https://twitter.com/chddaniel My product: https://Simple.ink/notion-forms/

Brian Casel is a web developer, freelancer, and founder of multiple productized services and internet-based businesses. Here are a few of the topics we'll discuss on this episode of Product Launch: How Brian transitioned from freelance web design to building internet-based businesses. Why Brian got into freelancing and how he got the idea to start his own productized service business. The value of building a productized service that can run without continuous input. The challenges of building a productized service business. The benefits of using a productized service business model. Where your product ideas should come from to lead to a successful business. How to determine where to dedicate your time while building your product business. The importance of having deep knowledge of the niche you are working in. What it takes to manage multiple businesses at the same time. Resources: Process Kit Audience Ops Restaurant Engine Woo Themes StudioPress Press75 Productize Bootstrapped Web Podcast NxtStep Podcast Chef Connecting with Brian Casel: LinkedIn Website Twitter Connecting with the host:Sean Boyce on LinkedIn

Productized or Software as a Service? A hot topic often discussed on TMBA. Of course, there's no right or wrong answer but on today's show Brian Casel talks to Dan about the factors that contributed to him changing from one to the other by selling Audience Ops and starting ZipMessage and also the different challenges of the two: “With a productized service, it really was much more about the processes. And building a service that is highly repeatable … but in a SaaS, it's less about process, it's just much more about building. And every single month there's something new. It's not only just building new features, but what's the next marketing channel that I can try to tap into and unlock a new pocket of customers.” You'll also hear about Brian's decision to take funding this time around, having always bootstrapped before and selling Audience Ops without using a broker. Plus, And the return of one our favorite participation games - ‘donate a business idea'.

Brian Casel, founder of ZipMessage discusses his transition from Audience Ops to a new venture and what he has learned along the way. Get more insights from the podcast.  ZipMessage is a video messaging tool that facilitates asynchronous conversations with remote teams and customers. Brian Casel recently sold his content marketing company to focus on ZipMessage. He talks to Geordie about his journey.   What You'll Learn Why Brian sold Audience Ops The difference between a productized service and an agency How did Brian conduct the Audience Ops sale process? What was Brian's initial idea for ZipMessage? Why the asynchronous approach is ideal for teams working across time zones Why is ZipMessage viral?  In This Episode  Brian has sufficient experience in web and front-end development, and design. He has also spoken about productized services for many years. Over the years, Brian has created a course and developed audience applications. His interest in software, SaaS, and product design and the need to improve his full-stack skills with Ruby on Rails started in the last few years. Brian says he sold Audience Ops to focus on building ZipMessage.   Knowing what you can or cannot do is crucial when starting a business. Brian says he relied on a few rules for guidance during the beginning and running of Audience Ops. While he is a good writer, Brian did not want to complete writing tasks for his clients. Instead, he hired a team of professionals from the beginning, with whom they collaborated to grow the company into a five figures MRR. Apart from being sustainable and profitable, the company gave Brian lots of liberty to focus on SaaS ideas. Brian explains how Audience Ops operates and the tools they use. Get all the details in the podcast.   Brian also touches on his first SaaS idea, Process Kit, and highlights some of the challenges he experienced with onboarding new customers and convincing them to adopt a new tool. He says Process Kit is still operational and sustainable. However, when the ZipMessage idea came along, he focused all his energy on the new venture. At some point, he mentions shiny objects, saying they often solve many of the challenges he may have encountered in the previous project. Brian's sentiments are enough to conclude that he suffers from the shiny object syndrome, where he gets distracted by new ideas easily, abandoning his current venture to focus all his attention on a new concept.   Audience Ops was already successful, but Brian says the idea of selling it had crossed his mind in the first four years of running it. He decided to delay the plans until 2021 came, and he could no longer continue running it. Brian explains what was running through his mind before he finally sold Audience Ops. He also provides comprehensive details of the sale process, picking the buyer, and why he did not use a broker. Listen to the podcast for the details.   Brians's previous SaaS experience came in handy to help him build the initial ZipMessage prototype in less than a month. His developer would then come in to help him transform the prototype into a version one MVP, and within three months they had their first paying customers.   During the ZipMessage MVP development process, Brian watched the market closely for patterns and trends. He says he has worked remotely and been asynchronous throughout his career, an experience he leveraged when dbuilding ZipMessage. Brian explains how ZipMessage works in an extensive section that you do not want to miss. The ZipMessage solution is available in three plans which you can learn about in the podcast. ZipMessage features a viral aspect and Brian explains why in the podcast.  With the world adopting remote work, various agencies are using ZipMessage to cut down calendar calls, facilitate team and sales conversations, and offer customer support. Coaches are also using it for student conversations and coaching. Brian explains what the team is doing to market ZipMessage and get more partners on board. According to Brian, the shiny object syndrome has played a core role in his growth. He believes he would not have achieved tremendous success had he stuck with one business concept. Brian concludes the podcast by advising entrepreneurs to learn along their business journey, determine what worked and didn't, and establish strategies to improve their upcoming products. He also believes that entrepreneurs do not just stumble on ideas. Instead, there is always some form of luck in everything they discover.  Resources  ZipMessage Brian Casel LinkedIn Brian Casel Twitter Brian Casel Website  

JD Graffam, digital agency owner, tells Geordie what he considers before choosing businesses to buy and the direction he hopes to follow in the future. Listen to the podcast for more insights.   Purchasing three SaaS products within a year and running them successfully can be a difficult task. How has JD Graffam navigated challenges and risks to emerge victorious? He tells Geordie about his journey in this podcast. What You'll Learn  The acquisition process of Recharge Why JD does not do outreach What type of business does JD avoid? Importance of delegating  In this Episode  JD Graffam recently acquired Audience Ops, a content marketing service from the previous owner who wanted to spend his energy and time on a new business venture. JD says he has been working with the Audience Ops team to create new services, optimize and propel it to the next level. Before Audience Ops, JD had bought Delegated, a dedicated virtual admins service business. Delegated is ideal for individuals and organizations looking for executive admins, executive assistants, or personal assistants. Delegated collaborates with customers to discharge dedicated virtual admins who engage with customers and become a part of the company and business. Listen to the podcast for more details on what Dedicated does. JD gives a brief narration of how he started buying software businesses. He mentions that every moment he buys a new business is a learning experience.  Over the years, JD was afraid of purchasing something that did not work out because he was investing crucial funds into the businesses. According to JD, a business that has been in operation for three to four years with no customer acquisition cost, revenue churn, or shrink, and still attracts the same number of customers as it loses and gets some traffic can sell itself. By converting such a business into SaaS, you expose it to more people where it will sell itself and things will work out right. JD has always yearned to have a great product, and when he came across ARPU, he knew that was his defining moment. ARPU is a Recharge app for Shopify which merchants can use to sell subscriptions. JD describes Recharge as a grand app with massive growth. When he learned that ARPU was up for sale, it had not yet met his requirements. As a result, he took time to understand it and figure out whether it was worth investing in and the risk factors. JD says he had to learn everything about ARPU, and you can find the details in the podcast. He would later buy the business after a long time of doing due diligence. He talks about the acquisition process and how he continued working with Recharge. When did ARPU and Recharge go separate ways? JD talks about what they have been doing to make ARPU a success. Word of mouth is a powerful tool for marketing and acquiring deals as JD mentions in this podcast. He says he has acquired most of his best deals through human connections. JD and his team are looking forward to buying an influential signature business with a massive following.   JD says his digital agency has evolved from having eight people to approximately 100 people currently. As a result, he believes focusing on what they have right now is the best thing to do, at least to build more experience, learn how to navigate potential risks, and do an excellent job. JD is not planning to buy any new product anytime soon. Instead, he will take it slow to avoid incurring huge losses. For ARPU, he says they are considering acquiring more eCommerce add ons they can utilize to ease communication. For example, ARPU could consider venturing into the gifting or SMS industry. While the team believes they have the momentum to build a robust tool from scratch, JD says that purchasing a well-developed product would speed up their operations. On the other hand, buying as poorly built product could slow them down. Together with his team, they are looking forward to building a robust product that works well to eliminate the trouble of patching systems together. So passionate is JD at what he does that he analyzes every business portfolio keenly. At some point, he was evaluating SaaS businesses that would complete an agency model. As the agency evolves, JD says he analyzes every SaaS platform independently. He mentions how he wanted to venture into eCommerce and email businesses at some point because he saw lots of value and potential in the area. Having a great team is crucial in running a company successfully. JD talks about his team passionately and highlights some insights on running an effective team that aspiring entrepreneurs can learn from.  Resources ARPU JD Graffam LinkedIn JD Graffam Twitter

Bootstrapped Web is no longer bootstrapped, on either side! Jordan starts off this episode with his “coming out” strategy, which all starts with his initial three-post series on Rally. He also dives into Rally updates, comparing your start-up businesses, and the importance of developing a unique view of the market. Brian takes funding from Calm Fund (formerly Earnest Capital), which has been a month in the making. He talks about the different decisions and considerations to be made when exiting Audience Ops and taking funding for ZipMessage. If you have any questions, comments, or topic ideas for Bootstrapped Web, leave us a message here. “I love this [angel funding] ecosystem and how it's been evolving.” – Brian Powered By the Tweet This PluginTweet This Here are today's conversation points: Jordan’s “coming out” strategy for RallyBrian takes funding from Calm Fund (formerly Earnest Capital) “I have been sitting on so many secrets, it's not healthy. It's not healthy to be quiet and fearful. It's not my natural state.” – Jordan Powered By the Tweet This PluginTweet This Resources Rally Blog “Your Startup is a Movement” by David Sacks Calm Fund Brian on Twitter

Some news! Brian has sold his business, Audience Ops, to JD Graffam! And what better way to announce this transition than to bring JD on the show! Jordan leads the way as Brian and JD talk through how this deal came together, the process from each of their perspectives, and the successful close and transition that’s now underway. If you’re thinking about pursuing an exit from your business or thinking about acquiring one, we hope you’ll find some of our real-world experience from this deal helpful. You can read Brian’s blog post that dives deeper into the deal and thought processes that led up to the exit. If you have any questions, comments, or topic ideas for Bootstrapped Web, leave us a message here Mentioned on today’s episode: Audience Ops JD Graffam on Twitter JD’s article, Fourteen Things That Will Keep Me from Buying Your App As always, thanks for tuning in. Head here to leave a review on iTunes.

Some news!  Brian has sold his business, Audience Ops, to JD Graffam!  And what better way to announce this transition than to bring JD on the show!   Jordan leads the way as Brian and JD talk through how this deal came together, the process from each of their perspectives, and the successful close and transition that’s now … Continue reading Audience Ops Changes Hands

Brian and Jordan are back before Brian leaves to scratch his travel itch. Today, they are talking about the things they can control (launching ZipMessage and Jordan's new company), while also touching on a couple things they can't control (vaccines and concerts). They also spend a little time talking about Josh Pigford's amazing public journey, from exiting Baremetrics to starting his own company for modern financial planning & wealth management. How do you handle your professional persona? Are you an open book on your social media accounts? Are you strategic about what you post? Brian and Jordan discuss Josh's strategic and surprisingly open discussions on Twitter and how they differ in their social media personas. “I did want to step in and reiterate some of my larger goals and priorities to the team on Audience Ops, about what makes Audience Ops great. Kat really did that well, but I want to make sure that the team really knows, ‘This is why things work so well here. Let's keep this going.'” – Brian Powered By the Tweet This PluginTweet This Here are today's conversation points: The roller coaster of ZipMessage onboardingFinalizing copy and launching landing pagesAudience Ops team changes and transitionsThe vision at Audience OpsExpectations, emotions, and performative reactions during Monday morning callsThe importance of understanding the “Why”Josh Pigford's exit from Baremetrics and his professional trajectory…in publicAngel investing and asking for money “If you have an audience and you want to start a company, at this point, you can just ask for money. You can legally, publicly ask for money.” – Jordan Powered By the Tweet This Plugin

Now that the election is over the news seems pretty boring. Joining us today on this episode as we welcome special guest, Brian Casel, a designer and software developer, who owns a company called Audience Ops, he’s Founder of ProcessKit, and he builds SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) product ideas using Ruby on Rails. In addition, he also does a podcast called Bootstrapped Web. Brian tells us all about what he does and how he got into Rails We also learn more about Audience Ops, ProcessKit, Sunrise KPI, and his newest release, Thready.

In this episode of Billable Hours, I talk to Brian Casel. Brian is the founder of ProcessKit, a software tool that helps agencies document their processes and also helps them actually follow those processes. He's also the creator of the Productized online course and he runs his own productized service AudienceOps. Listen to hear Brian's advice on how to move from billable hours and into the world of productizing.

Brian Casel has built a productized agency that only requires 2-3 hours of his work each week. In this interview you'll learn how he transitioned from a traditional agency into a productized service and ultimately built his SaaS product, ProcessKit.  Resources mentioned in the episode AudienceOps - blog content productized service ProcessKit Process automation for […]

Brian Casel has built a productized agency that only requires 2-3 hours of his work each week. In this interview you’ll learn how he transitioned from a traditional agency into a productized service and ultimately built his SaaS product, ProcessKit.  Resources mentioned in the episode AudienceOps – blog content productized service ProcessKit Process automation for ... Read more

The world is in chaos but we're still here. Today we're talking about some of the trends and the future of podcasting after some big news with The Joe Rogan Experience. We're also going over some updates with Carthook, ProcessKit, and Audience Ops. [tweetthis]"It does seem like there's still that massive gap between the seed rounds and the Series A. Right? When you've grown to a certain level and you still need more firepower to grow." - Brian [/tweetthis] Here are today's conversation points: The big debate over Joe Rogan's Spotify dealJordan's (who is not soliciting for investments, SCC) fears over investorsProcessKit's onboarding course, not quite readyFunding: social media ads, marketing partnerships (affiliates and referrals)Jordan's biggest deal ever...and he didn't even talk to the prospectDifficult clients in Audience Ops [tweetthis]"You've been working on something for over five years. This is all you care about. You love it. You love the job, the company, the people. There's so much involved in that. How are you supposed to find investors that are going to respect that?” - Jordan [/tweetthis] Resources/Links: Substack SunriseKPI Productize Audience Ops ProcessKit   Carthook  As always, thanks for tuning in. Head here to leave a review on iTunes.

The world is in chaos but we’re still here. Today we’re talking about some of the trends and the future of podcasting after some big news with The Joe Rogan Experience. We’re also going over some updates with Carthook, ProcessKit, and Audience Ops. Here are today’s conversation points: The big debate over Joe Rogan’s Spotify … Continue reading Navigating Stress & Distractions

Show Notes In this episode of Startups For The Rest Of Us, Rob and Brian Casel of Audience Ops, answer a number of listener questions on topics including assessing product market fit, finding a mastermind and more. Items mentioned in this episode: Bootstrapped Web Podcast The TMBA Podcast Dynamite Circle Productize Course MastermindJam Transcript Rob: […]       

Show Notes In this episode of Startups For The Rest Of Us, Rob talks with Brian Casel of Audience Ops, about recovering from a 40% decline in MRR.  They start the story back in 2016 and work through the decline, audience ops rebound, the start of Ops Calendar, and Brian’s decision to learn how to […]       

Today’s co-host is Brian Casel. Brian is a designer and full-stack developer, as well as the founder of ProcessKit and Audience Ops. While Brian started as a freelance designer, he has transitioned into a business owner by productizing his own services.

Today’s episode focuses on Software as a Service (SaaS) lead generation strategies. From Audience Ops to Zapier, many tools and plugins are available. Jono Landon is the founder and CEO of Hubbli, a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and SaaS company that works with private schools find prospective parents to grow enrollment. Jono describes Hubbli’s use of lead generation tools, software, and strategies. Topics Include: Hubbli generates sales leads via target audience, cold calling, products, content, education, and paid traffic funnel to schedule demo Webinar Elements: What’s the roadmap to reach a buying decision? Infomercials are ridiculous, unless you’re the person needing a solution to a problem Sales Metrics: Results show drastic increase in price point and shorter sales cycle Webinar: Way to engage audience, improve attendance, and offer real value Subject Matter Experts (SMEs): Build trust to get people to part with their money Tools to Try: WebinarJam, Audience Ops, Infusionsoft, Leadpages, Zapier, and more Links and Resources: Hubbli Jono Landon Jono Landon on LinkedIn Amy Porterfield WebinarJam EverWebinar Audience Ops Brian Casel Zoom Buffer Infusionsoft Leadpages Zapier Funnelytics Facebook Ads LinkedIn Sales Navigator Google Ads Google Boomerang Callbox

I first heard of Brian Casel when he was doing Restaurant Engine. It was a SaaS type website builder for restaurants, built on WordPress multisite.  In this podcast we discuss how he built it, then had to pivot as he learned about his market. It turned out restaurant owners wanted someone to build everything for them, so that became an important part of onboarding customers.  Brian is famous for talking about "productized services," he even has a course called Productize. The idea for a productized service came from his experience onboarding customers for Restaurant Engine. He ended up selling it, along with another entity called Hotel Propeller, for low six figures.  He then created Audience Ops, another productized service. His latest endeavor has been learning how to code, and he's just putting the finishing touches on a new SaaS called ProcessKit. Brian sold a few companies, including a theme company in 2015, and more recently his Content Upgrades plugin to iThemes.  We talk about that and lots more, enjoy!

Who’s the mystery voice that only gets better as you listen to this episode? Actually, you’re probably already familiar with the work of the man behind the microphone. Derrick is busy moving to a new home, so Ben’s co-host is Brian Casel of BootstrappedWeb, ProcessKit, Audience Ops, and Sunrise KPI. Today’s Topics Include: Ben and Brian just got back from MicroConf; it’s an annual gathering of “all our people” Some talks were among their favorites, but others were mediocre and missed the mark Brian’s goal was to meet 5-10 new people doing interesting things, and reconnect and catch up with others he’s known for years Brian is an Art of Product (AoP) podcast listener and wants Ben and Derrick to not hold back, dig in, challenge each other, and ask more questions Are more people listening to Ben and Derrick’s podcast? Fireside metrics reveal that a lot of Tuple or Level customers come from listening to it More bootstrappers need to start a podcast and find friends to share ups and downs What happened when Ben pushed Brian to learn how to code? ProcessKit - best thing Brian’s built on the Web Phenomenon of how programmers love complexity ProcessKit pricing and customer research; Ben’s advice to get people to buy/use it Tuple Update: App is great; Ben’s been emailing list, and people are buying it Links and resources: Brian Casel (https://briancasel.com/) BootstrappedWeb Podcast (http://bootstrappedweb.com/) ProcessKit (https://processkit.com/) Brian Casel on Product Hunt (https://www.producthunt.com/@casjam) Audience Ops (https://audienceops.com/) Ops Calendar (https://opscalendar.com) Big Snow Tiny Conf (https://bigsnowtinyconf.com/) Sunrise KPI (https://betalist.com/startups/sunrise-kpi) Art of Product Podcast Episode 58 with Brian Casel: Evolving Roles as a Startup Founder (https://artofproductpodcast.com/episode-58) MicroConf (https://www.microconf.com/) MicroConf Recap (https://microconf.gen.co/) Chris Savage: How an Offer to Sell Wistia Inspired Us to Take On $17M in Debt (https://microconf.gen.co/chris-savage/) Jason Fried: Q+A with Jason Fried (https://microconf.gen.co/jason-fried/) Patrick Campbell: Pricing (https://microconf.gen.co/patrick-campbell-starter/) Joanna Wiebe: Money Words: Seven of the words and phrases we use most often in high-converting copy (https://microconf.gen.co/joanna-wiebe/) Fireside (https://fireside.fm/) Transistor (https://transistor.baremetrics.com/) Castos (https://castos.com/) Blubrry (https://create.blubrry.com) AJAX JavaScript (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajax_(programming)) Tailwind CSS (https://tailwindcss.com/) Honeybadger (https://www.honeybadger.io/) React (https://reactjs.org/) Ruby on Rails (https://rubyonrails.org/) Vue.js (https://vuejs.org/) Stimulus JavaScript (https://stimulusjs.org/) Vanilla JavaScript (http://vanilla-js.com/) FollowUp.cc (https://followup.cc/) Superhuman (https://superhuman.com/) Art of Product on Twitter (https://twitter.com/artofproductpod) Derrick Reimer (http://www.derrickreimer.com) Website Derrick Reimer on Twitter (https://twitter.com/derrickreimer) Ben Orenstein (http://www.benorenstein.com/) Website Ben Orenstein on Twitter (https://twitter.com/r00k?lang=en) Level (https://level.app/) Tuple (https://tuple.app/) Tuple’s Pair Programming Guide (https://tuple.app/pair-programming-guide)

We interview Brian Casel: entrepreneur, product designer, writer, trainer at flagship training program Productize, host of ProductizePodcast and Founder of AudienceOps, a done-for-you content marketing service. Brian Casel has an expert entrepreneur's eye for turning products into services and vice versa. He runs Audience Ops, a productized service that offers all aspects of content creation for companies. Before that, he ran Restaurant Engine — a niche WordPress site provider, where he really honed many of the processes his business still uses today In this wisdom-packed episode, you'll hear Brian talk to us about transitioning from productized services to a SaaS model business generating over $500K/year. He also discusses what AudienceOps was like 6 months into development, touches on team management and how he handles developing a new product while supporting an existing one. Subscribe for new episodes at http://freelancetofounder.com. Thank you to our Sponsors for supporting this episode - Gusto: Making payroll, benefits, and HR easy for small businesses - just like yours. Sign up here to get 3 months completely free when you run your first payroll. - BlockStack: Take back your digital rights. Try a new generation of apps that put you in control. Private, secure, and you own your data. Always. Visit blockstack.org/FTF to learn more and see real stories of developers and entrepreneurs using Blockstack to make a difference. - Pactly is the first easily accessible AI based contract review tool aimed to help freelancers and small businesses understand contracts better and faster. Visit pac.sg/FTF  to use Pactly completely free forever. When you’re ready to upgrade, use FTF30OFF to save 30% on any paid plan. - LinkedIn Jobs: Reach candidates you can't find anywhere else. Get your job in front of LinkedIn members who are active on our network, engaged in their careers, and open to new opportunities. Hurry on over to LinkedIn.com/Freelance and get $50 off your first job post. If you enjoyed the show, please leave us an honest rating on iTunes. Freelance to Founder is a production of Millo—you can learn more at Millo.co. For more actionable content directly from the blog, next, try reading: 'How to Start a Blog and Make Money'. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Curious about Productized Services and how to make them successful? This week we talk to Brian Casel of Audience Ops, a successful productize content service.

Brian Casel is an entrepreneur who has created several successful businesses, some of which have been acquired. His latest endeavor, ProcessKit, helps you manage the systems in your business. The full content for Brian Casel (Audience Ops) can be viewed on WP Square One.

Welcome to another episode of Level Up Your Course! Really excited about today’s guest, Brian Casel. Brian is the founder of Productize and Scale and Audience Ops. He’s a master at productizing services. In this episode, we chat about how to leverage the Productized Service model. He also guides us through his course, Productize and Scale, and how he’s built a thriving community. Let’s go! Use customer feedback as your direction Episode Quotes "I usually start with a very big outline to get the main chapters down just to have a roadmap." "A lot of people get stuck on the idea like is this a good idea to productize?" "The main thing that I try to encourage people to do is just get something out there" "When you're doing that transition, start by doing the service first so you can hone in on your processes, strategies, and methodologies" Listen to Learn 00:25 Getting to know Brian Casel 03:24 Brian's journey from music production to freelancing 07:04 Rapid Five Questions 13:03 Brian's journey from freelancing to productizing 17:50 What is Productizing? Overview about Audio Ops 20:13 About Brian's Productize and Scale course 26:56 How Brian created the course curriculum 29:20 What is the end goal of Productize and Scale? 31:30 The learner journey, where do people get stuck in the course 35:00 More about Productize and Scale - lessons, modules and community 38:01 Brian's tips about productizing or creating a course 42:00 Awesome things coming up from Brian, links and announcements Bonus Segment Like bonuses? Brian and I recorded a bonus segment where we went deeper into how to scale your business, price your services, and more. You can grab it here: https://get.zencourses.co/extra/

Welcome to the Post Status Draft podcast, which you can find on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, and via RSS for your favorite podcatcher. Post Status Draft is hosted by Brian Krogsgard and co-host Brian Richards. In this episode, Brian is joined by guest-host Brian Casel. Brian runs Audience Ops, a productized service that offers all aspects of content creation for companies. Brian has been in the WordPress community for a long time, and for years has worked on creating processes around his business to enable him to get beyond a freelancer work life and into treating services like products. Before Audience Ops, he ran Restuarant Engine -- a niche WordPress site provider, where he really honed many of the processes his company still uses today -- which he sold for six figures. We dig in to why he decided to make a transformation with his businesses to be so process oriented, and how he turned that into the 30-person organization it is today, as well as the various courses and communities around Productize and Scale. Links Audience Ops Productize and Scale newsletter Productize Podcast Productize Course Restaurant Engine Ops Calendar Tropical MBA DC Sponsor: Yoast Yoast SEO Premium gives you 24/7 support from a great support team and extra features such as a redirect manager, recommended internal links, tutorial videos and integration with Google Webmaster Tools! Check out Yoast SEO Premium.

In this week's episode of TGM, Brian and I talk about "idea fatigue", what to do when when your idea is the same as some else's, as well as why Brian believes that a productized service is *still* the fastest way to start generating revenue. Brian has been around the block with more than a few businesses. His newest, AudienceOps, helps businesses with done-for-you written content. But he's also expanding into done-for-you podcasting. In fact, I had a bit of a mini freakout when he first announced the new service, because it was so close to Podcast Royale (which hadn't been launched yet). We talked about that and what to do when your idea is very similar to something that already exists. I really enjoyed the part of the episode where Brian talked about how he come up with the idea for AudienceOps and launched quickly. A lot of great inspiration in there. Don't forget to subscribe for access to the bonus episode. We did a deep dive into productized services, podcasting, what Brian would do differently if he had to start all over, and so much more. Bonus Episode Show Notes 0:42 - How podcasting transformed his business 4:00 - How to compete in a saturated market 7:20 - How do you manage so many different projects? 10:40 - Should you try to combine your various projects (personal writing, products, businesses, services, etc.)? 16:30 - Why Brian rebranded and reorganized all his projects 19:00 - How to increase sales of info products 29:00 - How to keep your audience engaged 34:35 - The problem with the whole “charge more” advice 41:15 - What Brian would do if starting over today Enjoy! If you want access to this bonus episode and all future bonus episodes, subscribe below. If you're on your phone, you can subscribe be texting the word "TGM" to 345345.

Things are getting back to normal in our respective business worlds. Brian has launched his podcasting service and Jordan is back to business as usual after a visit from Ben and Rok. Today we kick off our “armchair quarterbacking” sessions, and we are starting with Andrew Culver's SaaS product, Bullet Train. We also give general updates on what is going with Carthook and Audience Ops. So tune in to hear about Brian's new service and Jordan's newfound ambition after having a rare full team meetup. [tweetthis]We [founders] think in a certain way and maybe we don't remember what it is like to be an employee. - Jordan[/tweetthis] Here are today's conversation points: How having Rok and Ben around has energized Carthook's team. The presentations and social activities that helped Jordan's team get better in step with each other. Adjusting back to regular business after Rok and Ben left. Brian's new podcasting service. The hiring process Brian is using to build his podcast service. An update on the Productize Course and Brian's closed cart approach. Jordan's upcoming conference projects. The struggle of working during business travel. The benefit of doing one-on-one discussions with your employees. The first armchair quarterbacking session: Bullet Train. Why agencies would be the best fit for Bullet Train. [tweetthis]Nobody is going to get as fired up and keep pushing than the founder. - Brian[/tweetthis] Resources Mentioned Today: Audience Ops Bullet Train Carthook MicroConf. Productize Shopify Unite As always, thanks for tuning in. Head here to leave a  review on iTunes.

MicroConf is right around the corner and Jordan is gearing up for his talk for the event. He bounces some topic ideas off Brian and reveals how his topic choices are reflecting what is happening in Carthook. The version 2 upgrade is finally working properly and Jordan and his team are seeing some major cultural shifts in the business. Brian has found himself with some downtime, so now he is thinking about new avenues for Audience Ops. Brian outlines his idea for a new service offered through Audience Ops. An done-for-you podcasting service. He gets Jordan's feedback and really explores why he thinks podcasts are the next logical step for the business. He also drops a big announcement… Brian wants to learn to code. We have some interesting conversation about alternative content on this episode and some really useful reflections on the founder's role within his company. [tweetthis]If somebody asked the most valuable thing you've learned the past months it would be related to our process. - Jordan[/tweetthis] Here are today's conversation points: Get ready for MicroConf. Brian's new service launch. Considerations for future podcast topics. Jordan's March recap. Why Brian wants to launch a new service. The all-done-for-you podcast service breakdown. Brian's small beta group for the new service and the results. The benefits of podcasting content. The second version of Carthook update. Jordan's webinar experiment. The benefits of webinars. How to create pitch-hitter scenarios. How Carthook uses paid ads. The ad strategy Jordan used for the webinar. Brian's results from his Productize webinar. Why Brian wants to learn to code. How to be a full stack product person. Jordan's adjustment to a larger work team and changing the dynamic. [tweetthis]If you are a designer of web applications, you should have a full stack skillset. - Brian[/tweetthis] Resources Mentioned Today: Audience Ops Podcasting Service Bullet Train CodeMentor.io Carthook Castos MicroConf Ops Calendar Productize As always, thanks for tuning in. Head here to leave a  review on iTunes.

2017 is coming to a close and Jordan and Brian are looking back on this explosive year. They also share their plans for 2018. Audience Ops and Carthook both saw tremendous amounts of growth this year. That growth has caused the guys to reflect on 2017 and the lessons they have taken away from the experience. Brian has seen an uptake in sign-ups and Audience Ops has ridden a roller coaster this year. Brian shares what he learned from the sudden stop and go growth of the business. 2018 looks to be a major year for Audience Ops, Ops Calendar, and Productize. Jordan has had a monster of a year. He is recuperating from a breakneck year with a well deserved slow down period. Jordan shares what this year taught him about team building and how he plans to fix some of the issues he noticed during Carthook's major growth spurt. [tweetthis]Growth is great, but it will mask problems. - Jordan[/tweetthis] Here are today's conversation points: The problems Jordan discovered when onboarding new team members. Brian's surge in service sign-ups. Carthook's Drip campaign disaster. Setting new goals and themes for 2018. The downside of sudden growth. Coping with wild growth and rapid plunge of business. Jordan's tech issue in 2017 and how he plans to fix them. Productize's new course launch in January. Jordan's general observations about 2017 and 2018. Brian's general observations about 2017 and 2018. [tweetthis]I actually have a lot of firepower to play with going into 2018 now. - Brian[/tweetthis] Resources Mentioned: Audience Ops CasJam Carthook Ops Calendar Productize As always, thanks for tuning in. Head here to leave a  review on iTunes.

How do you know that your new product is going to find customers? Different validation techniques are there to help. Today our guest is Brian Casel — a founder, author, and a fellow podcaster. We talk about his extensive multi-step validation process with Audience Ops, and break down the process (and possible mistakes) for each single step. Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1441/rss in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play Music. Show Notes Audience Ops — Brian's productized service Ops Calendar — Brian's SaaS product we're talking about Bootstrapped Web — Brian's podcast with Jordan Gal iThemes, Press75, WooThemes — pioneers in the world of WordPress themes Big Snow Tiny Conf — Brian's conference with Brad Touesnard Restaurant Engine — Brian's previous productized service (now acquired) Productize — Brian's course on productized consulting Zero to Validating a SaaS: A Step-by-Step Recap — Brian's article we're talking about Episode 64: Making Freemium Work with Bridget Harris Tiny Reminder — Jane's SaaS product Episode 37: Customer Support Done Right with Alex Yumashev — an episode where Alex recommends to start with a popular product niche (e.g. a helpdesk) Stair-Stepping From Productized Consulting to SaaS with Jane Portman — Jane's recent interview at Brian's podcast Brian's website Follow Brian on Twitter: @casjam Mention UIBREAKFAST to get 30% off your first 3 months of Ops Calendar Today's Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Balsamiq. They just came up with a new web app called Balsamiq Cloud. It's the best tool for fast, approachable, collaborative wireframing. You can capture ideas, collaborate on designs, and get everyone on board. Check it out for yourself — try it free for 30 days at balsamiq.cloud Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more here. Leave a Review Reviews are hugely important because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes. Here's how.

Welcome back to Bootstrapped Web! Today we share progress reports about our respective businesses and ask the question, “Should you go freemium or not?” Jordan has begun the process of “fattening” up Carthook's systems to add value to the company and move the business to the next stage. Carthook is also growing their team and there have been some growing pains in the communication process. There have been some hard lessons in the process that Jordan hints at that could help business owners build their systems more effectively. Brian has been putting a lot of energy and time into Ops Calendar. He is getting a lot of interest in the service and the product. This new interest has given him a reason to ask the question if freemium is a viable option for Audience Ops. There is some really useful and thoughtful discussion in today's episode, so tune in to join the conversation. [tweetthis]I feel freemium is one of these things that a lot of bootstrappers have not given a fair shake as a strategy. - Brian[/tweetthis] Here are today's conversation points: The “fattening up” process of Carthook. The struggles of building an effective team. Audience Ops and Ops Calendar progress reports. Ops Calendar's features and fixing the unexpected bugs. The usefulness of Slack. The benefits of letting  people “win.” Working with freelancers and building a positive business culture around them. Jordan's marketing experiments and the results. The pros and cons of freemium. [tweetthis]I admire people who are super product focused because I think it's fun. It's so creative and interesting. - Jordan[/tweetthis] Resources Mentioned Today: Audience Ops Calendar Carthook As always, thanks for tuning in. Head here to leave a review on iTunes.

Brian Casel is the founder of Audience Ops, the host of the Productize Podcast, and a co-host of the Bootstrapped Web podcast. Throughout his career, he has started, grown, and run multiple productized online service businesses in various industries. Needless to say, he has plenty of expertise, and he’s here today to share his valuable insight. You’ll hear how Brian transitioned from a do-it-yourself service to a done-for-you service, as well as what he finds truly valuable about running a productized service business. He then offers his advice for the first steps you should take if you’re hoping to create a similar business, and what to expect along the way. Here's What You'll Discover: The benefits of productized services. How to transition from consulting and/or project work to a productized service. First steps for getting clear on what you should offer. How Brian uses podcasting to expand his business. What to expect if you want to start a productized service business. You can find show notes and other information by clicking here: http://cashflowpodcasting.com/cfp035

We have both reached a turning point in our marketing campaigns. Jordan has launched a new marketing funnel for Carthook's Shopify tool. Brian has been running a new marketing campaign for Ops Calendar. We share how the campaigns are working for us and offer each other advice on how to improve our strategies. We also discuss how we keep our team culture positive when we ourselves are super busy and can't give our undivided attention to individual projects. Our teams are growing and changing and we explore how we are coping with these mostly positive developments. It's a good time for both Ops Calendar and Carthook! [tweetthis]These calls are dripping in, inbound, organically...these just feel like good signs to me. - Brian [/tweetthis] Here are today's conversation points: Carthook's new paid marketing campaign. Ops Calendar is finding a new audience and why Brian is excited by this. How Brian uses and makes sense of Audience Ops' analytics and metrics. How Jordan set up his marketing campaign. Jordan's 3 blog post marketing strategy. Other insights into email and ad marketing. How we differ in our methods of team building and encouraging positive company culture. [tweetthis]I tell people on my team think like an owner, think what do I need to fix this - Jordan[/tweetthis] Resources Mentioned Today: Audience Ops Carthook Ops Calendar As always, thanks for tuning in. Head here to leave a  review in iTunes.

On today's episode Corey and Sam interview Brian Casel about his passion for productized services and how you can launch a SaaS product quickly.  They discuss  Brian's newest product, Ops Calendar and how that naturally evolved from Audience Ops. Listen to the episode Matt Report - A WordPress podcast for digital business owners S5B: E12: Brian Casel on building Ops Calendar Play Episode Pause Episode Mute/Unmute Episode Rewind 10 Seconds 1x Fast Forward 30 seconds 00:00 / 00:45:43 Subscribe Share RSS Feed Share Link Embed Download file | Play in new window | Duration: 00:45:43 Guest: Brian Casel started out in 2011 with a plugin called Restaurant Engine, a hosted website design service for the hospitality industry.  He grew it until 2015 when it was sold.  Now he is the owner of Audience Ops, a productized done -for-you service which he started in 2015.  In 2017, Brian launched Ops Calendar, a software tool that enables content marketers and agencies to plan a content calendar, schedule social media, and track traffic and conversions from content. Brian's role today consists of strategy for growth, product design, marketing, and customer development. What you will learn in today's episode: Audience Ops is a Content Marketing Company focused on productized services for Software and B2B clients. (6:40) Ops Calendar is a SaaS product that naturally grew and is complementary to Audience Ops. (7:20) Ops Calendar is a content calendar with smart features built into it. (ex: Social Media scheduling) (7:34) The Audience Ops service will continue in addition to the SaaS product. (9:02) The full-service product of Audience Ops will still exist where the research and writing of content is done for you. (9:13) There is a package called Audience Ops Express that provides all the tools except the writing. (9:43) Audience Ops Express will launch with Content Calendar but it is a spin on the current service. (10:52) Audience Ops was built around processes, not writing content. (28:29) The content calendar came from day to day work of producing podcasts. (29:30) You do not need to use WordPress to use the Ops Calendar. It is a standalone tool. (36:04) Challenges and Opportunities of the SaaS Product: Ops Calendar was pre sold to a beta customers group to pitch the idea. (11:02) Prepaid customers of Ops Calendar receive a lifetime discount. (14:43) Public pricing is offered when the SaaS product is delivered. (15:18) There is a side plugin business that is being created from custom tools used by Audience Ops. (17:10) Audience Ops solutions are created from customers pain points that are reported around content marketing.  (18:00) Brian is a big fan of productized services because they can be launched quickly. (20:15) You can charge for the product right away because it is offered as a service. (21:20) Pick an audience that you can relate to.  Make sure that audience is easy to reach online or attend the conferences that you attend. (25:05) Continue to solve problems for the businesses that you serve. (27:34) WordPress Features: Ops Calendar will be able to post to your WordPress site. (33:56) You install the WordPress plugin and connect it to your Ops Calendar account. (34:11) A user can save the permalink in WordPress. The composition of the post is still created in WordPress. If you create the notes in Ops Calendar, it will automatically post to WordPress. (35:30) A tracking code is put on your site from Ops Calendar. (36:32) The WordPress plugin is not going to work unless you are using Audience Ops. (37:34) Lessons Learned: Do not be overanxious and move too fast when launching a SaaS product. (38:40) Always remember that there is time ahead of you in the grand scheme of things. The product does not have to be perfect for launch. (39:16) When problems are being solved for a particular audience or market you can discover the next audience to serve. (40:50) Once you decide you have a product – launch it – do not wait. It may only need to be a core version. (43:00) Episode Resources: Restaurant Engine Audience Ops Content Upgrades Landing Pages Plugin Ops Calendar Bootstrapped Web podcast Follow Brian: Twitter Casjam If you like the show, please leave a 5 Star review over on the Matt Report on iTunes. Sponsors: Pagely Gravity Forms     ★ Support this podcast ★

On today’s episode Corey and Sam interview Brian Casel about his passion for productized services and how you can launch a SaaS product quickly.  They discuss  Brian’s newest product, Ops Calendar and how that naturally evolved from Audience Ops. (more…)

Brian Casel is an entrepreneur focused on bootstrapping online businesses that combine software with productized services. Since starting his self-employed career as a professional freelance web designer back in 2008, he has built and later sold web design/SaaS business in 2015. He now runs Audience Ops, a content marketing service focused on helping B2B software companies grow their audience and customer-base.  He writes and teaches about entrepreneurship and freelancing through his blog and newsletter at casjam.com. He also creates and sells courses and ebooks there, most notably his course, Productize, which teaches consultants how to build, launch, and grow a productized service business.   His work and articles have been featured or published in Mashable, Smashing Magazine, Mixergy, Entrepreneur Magazine, and others. He has spoken at industry conferences such as MicroConf and Double Your Freelancing Conf. He also co-hosts the Bootstrapped Web podcast with Jordan Gal, where they talk behind-the-scenes of bootstrapping their online businesses.  Being in full-time business  Brian left his last full-time job at a wed design agency in January 2008 which translates to about 9 years in business. He started doing freelance web design while also working on different product ideas that didn't take off. Started RestaurantEngine in 2011 while still doing other freelance work. Launched RestaurantEngine in 2012 and in 2013 starting working on it full-time till 2015 when he sold it.     First product  The first product business that Brian worked on was creating Wordpress themes that he would sell as digital downloads. This made him some income every month but he sold the business to someone else in 2015.  Inspiration behind leaving formal employment to freelancing then to business  While still working at the web design agency, Brian noticed that the company used to hire freelancers occasionally. He realised that the freelancers were making a living from that, which prompted him to learn freelancing through free online resources. In 2008, he decided to start doing freelance work which actually helped him through the economic downturn and gradually led him towards starting his own business.  RestaurantEngine idea  While building websites for different clients in diverse industries, he realised how difficult it was for small business owners to build and set up their websites even on platforms like Wordpress. That inspired him to create a hosted platform built on top of Wordpress in order to make it easier for business owners to build websites for their businesses. While in the planning process he realised that he could not standardize the platform for all types of businesses so he had to specialize it to one business sector and he settled for the restaurant sector because restaurants always require the same content on their websites like menus, etc. Focusing on one industry/niche made it easier for him to market the product.  Going full-time into RestaurantEngine  Brian was balancing his freelance work with working on RestaurantEngine for 2 years before he could go full-time into it. He had three people working for him in customer support, one in sales and one in content marketing. He built the site himself and had one developer on-call to support when needed.  Determining the viability of the RestaurantEngine idea  Brian didn't know whether the idea would work but it worked out eventually. He had to invest a lot in terms of time, hard work and personal finances in order to build the platform before it even launched and started generating revenue.   Tip: Validating a new product idea or business idea before going into it is very important  Transition from RestaurantEngine to Audience Ops  By the time he was selling RestaurantEngine, he had already started building Audience Ops. The sale closed in June 2015, and Audience Ops had launched and gotten its first clients in May 2015.  Reason for the sale...

We cover a lot in this episode of Bootstrapped Web. We give our listeners an update on both companies' progress and we discuss some exciting news in the startup world. Brian shares some of the goals he has for Audience Ops in the near future. Jordan has an awesome story to share about his new VIP client.  We compare our business needs and consider the unexpected problems that come with growth. We also discuss two really insightful articles that just came out, Amazon's New Customer, by Ben Thompson and Why I Bought Your Software by Justin Jackson. Both articles are great reads and we have some good takeaways from them. [tweetthis]If it's not 100% core to what we do, first option will be to integrate with the big player in the field. - Jordan[/tweetthis] Here are today's conversation points: Jordan's new VIP customer. Ben Thompson's latest article. The Amazon and Whole Foods merger. Why the merger is a good thing. Lessons Jordan has learned from his new hire. The benefits of mastermind groups. The biggest expense for any growing company. How do you know when you've reached “feature completeness?” Brian's Ops Calendar update. Justin Jackson's latest article. Seeking Wisdom with David Cancel. [tweetthis]I feel like, if you're not in such a cut-throat, competitive space, you can get by with a slower road map. - Brian[/tweetthis] Resources Mentioned Today: Amazon's New Customer, by Ben Thompson Audience Ops Carthook Drift Front App Intercom Ops Calendar Seeking Wisdom Why I Bought Your Software, by Justin Jackson As always, thanks for tuning in. Head here to leave a  review in iTunes.

 How Brian Casel, Founder of Audience Ops, Has Built a Virtual Team of Specialists to Help Grow His Online Content Marketing BusinessWant the transcript? Download it here. In this episode, special guest and founder of Audience Ops, Brian Casel, shares with us his experience of building a virtual team of content marketing specialists and how you may not always get it right the first time. Brian reveals that in order to grow a successful business in today's constantly evolving marketplace, business owners must remain responsive and ensure their own businesses continue to evolve. Some of the areas covered include:The initial challenges faced when building a virtual team of specialistsWhy systems and processes are so important in building your team up for successThe need for effective communication tools within your virtual teamEnsuring you have a sound onboarding and training process for new recruits Let us know what your key takeout has been from this episode and join the continuing conversation over in the Virtual Success Facebook Group. Resources mentioned in this show:Audience OpsCasjamSlackTrelloHelp Scout  In this episode:02:28 – Who is Brian Casel?05:57 – Initial challenges with building teams09:55 – The importance of systems and processes12:14 – Do you need a VA or someone else?13:04 – Firing yourself from business processes14:48 – Business processes are constantly evolving16:50 – Brian's business processes22:30 – Challenges of bringing new people into your team25:42 – Getting the onboarding process right26:36 – How to deal with an underperforming team member27:48 – Have your team suggest ways to improve processes29:56 – Outsourcing a task that requires talent or expertise33:18 – The need for good online content35:37 – Brian's #1 tool that has streamlined his business40:20 – Wrapping things up Barbara:  Hey everyone and welcome to another episode of the Virtual Success Show, where today I'm flying solo without my co-host Matt Malouf. When we have guests on the show, which we do today, often we find it's easier to get really good guests if we can split the shows up and not have our own schedules getting in the way, so on today's show I'm really excited because I'm talking to Brian Casel, who is the founder of Audience Ops and also has a fantastic podcast called… it's called the Productize Podcast, Brian is it? Brian:  Yeah actually I have two podcasts, but yeah Productize Podcast and the other one that I co-host with Jordan Gal is called Bootstrapped Web. Barbara:  Oh fantastic, fantastic! So guys today we're going to talk all about all things content and managing team's when it comes to content and how to get content up on your site without it overwhelming you. I know one of the questions I get a lot Virtual Angel Hub is clients who have VA's through us will say, “Well how do I get a consistent stream of content?”, particularly when the VA's able to do quite a lot of work with that content but one of the challenges is trying to actually get consistency in this area. So Brian's going to talk to us all about this today and his own journey with managing teams in this area. So Brian, welcome to the show. Brian:  Well thanks Barbara. It's great to talk to you. I just love talking about this stuff, whether it's outsourcing, working with a team, collaborating, managing people, growing, yeah. Barbara:  Me too because I think one of the key things to actually growing or scaling is getting this right, cause so many people can't nail this and it will trip you up if you can't figure out how to manage a team once you start to grow, as you and I've just been talking about off air Brian. Brian:  Yep, absolutely. Barbara:  The whole challenge of it. Okay so to kick off the show, give us first a quick Audience Ops, the Productize Podcast, all about you so give us the quick what are you doing these days with your businesses. Who is Brian Casel? Brian:  Sure. Yeah I tend to like to work backwards in this story.

In this episode, special guest and founder of Audience Ops, Brian Casel, shares with us his experience of building a virtual team of content marketing specialists and how you may not always get it right the first time.   Brian reveals that in order to grow a successful business in today’s constantly evolving marketplace, business […]

Brian Casel is an entrepreneur, focused on bootstrapping online businesses that combine software with productized services.   Since starting his self-employed career as a professional freelance web designer back in 2008, he built and later sold a web design/SaaS business in 2015. He now runs Audience Ops, a content marketing service focused on helping B2B software companies grow their audience and customer-base.   In addition, he writes and teaches about entrepreneurship and freelancing through his blog and newsletter at casjam.com. He creates and sells courses and eBooks there, most notably his course, Productize, which teaches consultants how to build, launch, and grow a productized service business.   In this episode you'll learn: [01:08] Why and how did Brian switch from an agency to a product focused business? [03:00] What does Brian mean when he says he runs an 'anti-agency'? [03:37] How does the sales process change when you're a freelancer to when you're running a B2B productized service company? [04:54] How to come up with a productized service offering? [07:38] How did Brian test out his idea before launching it? [09:30] Why is Brian's productized offering almost the same as it was 2 years ago? [11:27] How to package and sell your services? [14:40] What broke while Brian was scaling his company and how he fixed it? [17:44] What were some of the communications issues Brian had with his clients and how he fixed it? [20:40] You shouldn't fear the onboarding process [22:10] Brian's top 3 lead generation channels [24:16] How did Brian sell his business in 2015?   Links mentioned: CasJam.com - Brian's Website Productized course Productize Podcast Bootstrapped Web Podcast Audience Ops Brought to you by Experiment 27. Find us on Youtube here.   Podcast production done by BrandedPod.   If you've enjoyed the episode, please subscribe to the Digital Agency Marketing Podcast on iTunes and leave us a review for the show.   Get access to our FREE Sales Courses.

Happily, our client loads are increasing, but our staffs are starting to feel the increased workload. So, we need to hire more people to keep up. It's a good problem to have. On today's episode, we compare our staffing needs and discuss how we are trying to build a process that frees us both up for “CEO tasks.”  As our businesses grow, our roles change. Brian shares his plans to cope with a couple of team members exiting the company. While Jordan recently spent some time away with his family. He shares how that trip changed how he looks at his team and responsibilities to the company. [tweetthis]I have to perform better as a CEO...the interference portion of my equation is just preposterous. - Jordan[/tweetthis] Here are today's conversation points: The uptake in business for Audience Ops. Brian's plan to cope with the increased workload. Filling team positions for growth at Audience Ops. The ups and downs of working with a remote team. Jordan's recent trip to New York. The “performance equation:” performance= potential - interference. How the performance equation has helped Jordan look at Carthook's growth differently. How difficult it can be to transition into the “CEO role.” [tweetthis]Forget limiting the headcount, let's get more than enough people on board and spread the work around. - Brian [/tweetthis] Resources Mentioned Today: Audience Ops Carthook Productize As always, thanks for tuning in. Head here to leave a  review in iTunes.

We are both hitting some major growth right now in our businesses, and that means a lot of excitement and a lot of restructuring. We talk about project managing, hiring the right people, and the efforts we are putting into our marketing and lead generation. Jordan recently went to Europe and met up with his team. He tells us how the trip went and the exciting milestone he saw while working with the Carthook team in Europe.  Jordan has also had some people leave the company. He explains why they had to go and how he plans to bounce back. Carthook's marketing has stalled because of a sudden flux of customers, Jordan discusses his concerns and how he plans to fix the problem. Brian has really sunk into his Facebook ad campaign. He is working to generate leads for Audience Ops and filter people into a funnel that will lead potential clients to a consultation. He explains the 3 step ad campaign and shares how it is working for him. Brian is also hiring some new people and offers some advice for Jordan regarding his marketing problems. [tweetthis]We only have a certain number of bullets to fire, in terms of people we can have inside the company. - Jordan[/tweetthis] Here are our conversation points: Jordan's trip to Europe. Brian's Facebook ad campaign. Brian's current hiring needs. How to create evergreen content for lead generation. Jordan's concern about customer support quality. The “2 worlds” of Carthook. Why Trello isn't working for Jordan and his team. How to discern what is urgent in your business. What are the expectations of a Project Manager? The difficulties of firing team members. Brian's podcast relaunch. The 3 phases of online software. How to build a brand online. [tweetthis]My whole goal right now, is to drive more leads into Audience Ops. - Brian[/tweetthis] Resources Mentioned Today: Appointment Audience Ops Calendly Carthook CasJam Expert Secrets by: Russell Brunson Facebook Help Scout Intercom Seeking Wisdom Trello War of Art by: Steven Pressfield Weworkremotely.com Zendesk As always, thanks for tuning in. Head here to leave a  review in iTunes.  

We are back discussing our businesses and the progress that we have been making. On the personal front Jordan is heading off to Europe and Slovenia to work and hit the beach. Brian has been getting healthier with the BulletProof diet. Brian has been recording new episodes for his Productized podcast. He is hiring one person to take care of the editing, shownotes, social stuff, and posting. He is also trying to make two videos a week. He is also launching the Sell to Strangers webinar for his funnel. Jordan plans to get a lot of work done in Slovenia including writing a script for a webinar. He also wants to finish up the documentation for product including video. Jordan feels that he needs to go a little harder on his marketing and create more desire. [tweetthis]If you want to grow your business, you have to sell to strangers. - Brian[/tweetthis] Here are today's conversation points: Brians Productized podcast and his video progress. Jordans list of things he wants to do for his business while in Slovenia. Writing scripts for webinars. Making a public calendar or roadmap to help hold yourself accountable. Education for products has two parts - how to use the product, and how to get the most out of using it. Using webinars for funnel content. How Click Funnels grew off the back of one webinar Steal My $17,000 a Day Funnel. Case studies and client interviews and the wins possible. Marketing to marketers for Jordan's business. The project manager side of Audience Ops. Breaking down processes and putting the right people in the right positions. [tweetthis]We need to create interest and get people excited with our marketing. - Jordan[/tweetthis] Resources Mentioned Today: Carthook Audience Ops Ops Calendar Calendly Productize Podcast Baremetrics As always, thanks for tuning in. Head here to leave a  review in iTunes.

We are back from MicroConf and on this episode we share our takeaways and also update the important things going on in our businesses. Jordan shares how Russ Henneberry's MicroConf talk encouraged him to look at his business differently. After this episode you may not look at funnels the same way again. Brian explains how MicroConf often helps him refocus his priorities. He has plans to reconnect with his personal brand and create some new engaging content. We discuss how he can do that. MicroConf has been an educational experience for both of us and we have some really good take aways that we discuss today. We also have some general updates about our businesses. Surprisingly, we both are having issues with our marketing. We compare situations and see if we have something that could be helpful to the other person. [tweetthis]It's been very helpful for the team to see me very freely admit shortcomings. - Jordan[/tweetthis] Here are today's conversation points: How MicroConf changed Jordan's approach to funnels. Content marketing updates. Why you should know why your customers use your product. Brian's update about Audience Ops and Casjam. Jordan's new hires. The importance of improving SOPs. The natural progress toward corporate structuring. Why it is inevitable. Our marketing successes and woes. [tweetthis]It's more about really understanding the underlying 'why' of that problem in your customers' minds. - Brian[/tweetthis] Resources Mentioned Today: Audience Ops Ops Calendar Carthook CasJam MicroConf As always, thanks for tuning in. Head here to leave a  review in iTunes.

For the next 3 weeks, I'll be releasing an episode on Tuesdays and Thursdays, to gear up for on April 9th. These episodes will be focused on self-funded, often solo-founders. Some are on the smaller side, while others have ARRs over 7-figures, but they all have valuable lessons to share for any founder. If you already have a team or have raised money, don't skip these weeks. To succeed as a self-funded startup, you need to be hyper focused and these guests share the tactics that have allowed them to build a business with limited resources. And if you are just starting out, then these guests will help give you a plan of action so you can avoid some of the same mistakes they made. Regardless of where you're at with your startup, I know you'll get actionable lessons out of this series. Today, on the Early-Stage Founder Show, I'm talking with Brian Casel, the founder of Audience Ops, a startup that makes content marketing easier for busy founders, by offering done-for-you services as well as software tools. Most people assume that running a service business means you're selling your time for money and that it is impossible to scale with healthy margins, but Brian has proven that doesn't have to be the case. While we get into the ins and outs of how he has productized his services to allow him to grow, where we really dive in during this chat is the process he followed to validate and launch the software component of his business, the Ops Calendar. I'm sure you've heard countless experts preach about the importance of validating your software idea by pre-selling it before building it, but rarely do they get into the details. Luckily for us, Brian gives us the step-by-step process he followed to do just that.

We have some big news coming up the following weeks. Brian discussed his recent experience with Facebook ads and the pros and cons of marketing on the platform. Jordan shares his found  his new found security in his business. We are really excited about the new rewrites and product launches and we talk about it all! [tweetthis]Marketing needs to make that promise and then the product needs to deliver on that promise. - Jordan [/tweetthis] Here are today's conversation points: Brian's Facebook ads and the results. Jordan's new confidence in Carthook. Tweaking the Calendar app for beta testers. Brian's new service Audience Ops Express. The reasons people leave Audience Ops. How Audience Ops Express would change those reasons. Carthook's new release. How to move into a self serve business model. Audience Op's Calendar gets a new name. Gearing up for Microconf. Las Vegas. [tweetthis]We'll do all the extra leg work to get it proofread, polished… whatever needs to happen. - Brian[/tweetthis] Resources Mentioned Today: Carthook Audience Ops Ops Calendar MicroConf. Las Vegas As always, thanks for tuning in. Head here to leave a  review in iTunes.

Welcome back to Bootstrapped Web. On today's episode we cover a lot of subjects that are both business and personal nature. We update you on Brian's Calendar product and Jordan tells us about a talk he gave to his accelerator group. We also discuss Brian's experience with Facebook ads and how Facebook is helping him get the word out about Audience Ops. He shares some tools he has found useful  while creating these ads. If you are looking for some easy to use tools for your ads you might find this episode interesting. [tweetthis]For now the goal is to drive more leads through a funnel for the content service and keep that engine turning.- Brian[/tweetthis] Here are our conversation points: Jordan's talk with Portland's Starve Ups. How Brian uses Facebook ads to promote Audience Ops. What is a Facebook lead ad? Creating ad campaigns with Facebook. Jordan's problems with Facebook Pixel. Our discussion about public school and it's lack of individuality. Brian's update on the calendar project. Why working with people in person is useful. [tweetthis]We have become the default recovery app for subscription businesses. We own that market. - Jordan [/tweetthis] Resources Mentioned Today: Starve Ups Animoto Beacon.by Audience Ops Carthook Facebook As always, thanks for tuning in. Head here to leave a  review in iTunes.

Part two of our talk with Brian Casel about Audience Ops, the new Audience Ops Calendar, and more. Audience Ops Audience Ops Calendar Brian Casel on Twitter Thanks to Linode for sponsoring this episode. Sign up today and get $20 off. The post #83: Brian Casel (Part 2) – Founder of Audience Ops appeared first on Bootstrapped.fm.

Part two of our talk with Brian Casel about Audience Ops, the new Audience Ops Calendar, and more. Links: Audience Ops Audience Ops Calendar Brian Casel on Twitter

Part one of our talk with Brian Casel about Audience Ops, the new Audience Ops Calendar, and more. Audience Ops Audience Ops Calendar Brian Casel on Twitter Thanks to Linode for sponsoring this episode. Sign up today and get $20 off.   The post #82: Brian Casel (Part 1) – Founder of Audience Ops appeared first on Bootstrapped.fm.

Part one of our talk with Brian Casel about Audience Ops, the new Audience Ops Calendar, and more. Links: Audience Ops Audience Ops Calendar Brian Casel on Twitter

Well, 2016 is coming to an end. Today we'll compare our goal lists from last year and reflect back on what went wrong  and what went right.   Carthook and Audience Ops have both grown and changed so let's sit down and take a look at our 2016 results. We will also discuss our goals for 2017 and how we plan to make them happen. This will be our last episode for 2016, and we'll pick up next year. [tweetthis]I think another way to think bigger is to think long term and not short term. - Brian[/tweetthis] Here's today's conversation points: Why Jordan wasn't able to bring Carthook into profitability. Brian's goal for Audience Ops and finding organic leads. How to think bigger. The problems Jordan had pivoting away from cart abandonment. Audience Ops is diversifying its product line. Beta users will be getting the Audience Ops Calendar. Wanting 2017 to be a breakout year. Why Brian went back to sales. When to raise prices? Working with kids in the house. Working with teams during the holidays. Jordan's 2017 goals. Brian's 2017 goals. When to give yourself a raise. Have a Happy Holidays everybody and we'll see you next year! [tweetthis]My goal is to have a more balanced 2017. - Jordan[/tweetthis] Resources Mentioned Today: Carthook Audience Ops Audience Ops Calendar ProfitWell As always, thanks for tuning in. Head here to leave a  review in iTunes.

Today's Bootstrapped Web is going  to be an up-date episode. We both have a lot to talk  about with what we're working at the moment. Audience Ops and Carthook have new products and we discuss what is working for our sales respectively. We talk about transparency and some resources that will help you improve your sales game.  So tune in for the latest developments in Carthook and Audience Ops and what you can expect in the coming months. [tweetthis]Force the demo and you will get fewer sign-ups, but you will get into a lot of conversations. - Jordan[/tweetthis] Here are today's conversation points: Why we don't see the point to total transparency. When to ask for the credit card during a sign-up. Brian's plans to redesign the Audience Ops website. Getting ideas from Ruben Gamez from Bidsketch. Jordan's lessons from demos. Tweaking Audience Ops for a Resource Hub pivot. Brian's plan for launching Calendar for beta testers. [tweetthis]I feel like I can't launch anything else, until I have the new site up and running. -  Brian[/tweetthis] Resources Mentioned Today: Audience Ops Carthook Securing the Five Figure Sale, by: Ian Landsman Product Demos that Sell: How to Deliver Winning SAAS Demos, by: Steli Efti Audience Ops Calendar As always, thanks for tuning in. Head here to leave a  review in iTunes.

On today's episode, we welcome Craig Hewitt and Justin Jackson to the podcast. Jordan is having some time away. On today's episode Craig, Justin, and Brian all discuss how to build and keep a company on track. We discuss what drives us and what we're working on at the moment. If you want to know how to plan a product or just try to set a trajectory for your business, this is the episode for you! Craig is the CEO of Podcast Motor, a podcast editing and production service. Justin is the host of his own podcast Mega Maker 3000 and a teacher of marketing for developers. We all have great insights to growing a company and how we've been able to stay on track. [tweetthis]I just really want to have a comfortable lifestyle, but also build valuable assets. - Brian[/tweetthis] Here are today's conversation points: Justin relaunch of Marketing for Developers. Brian's update on Audience Ops. Craig's update on Podcast Motor. The lessons we've learned from starting and maintaining our businesses. Our long term goals. The disadvantages of working solo. Why businesses choose to keep their companies small. Justin belief in doing something uncomfortable for growth. How you can over-plan. Why you need to look at the bigger picture. The importance of visibility and building relationships. How to use evergreen content. How we use automation in our businesses. What keeps our ambition going? [tweetthis]You can never retreat too much in working because you have to maintain a certain amount of visibility. - Justin[/tweetthis] Resources Mentioned Today: Market for Developers Podcast Motor Audience Ops Carthook Rogue Startups Podcast Justin's website As always, thanks for tuning in. Head here to leave a review in iTunes.

In this episode of Hubstaff’s Agency Advantage Podcast, I’m talking with Brian Casel (Twitter) of Audience Ops. Audience Ops helps businesses grow their audience, email list, and customer-base with done-for-you content marketing. From creating lead magnets to email marketing automation, to writing the blogs themselves, they do it all. Brian was on the 3rd episode... The post Agency Advantage 49: Brian Casel on How to Profitably Launch a Product as an Agency appeared first on Hubstaff Blog.

Today's episode is basically a therapy session for us both. We lay out our current issues and talk each other though the options. Jordan is dealing with customers and their personal expectations for the products. Brian is looking for balance in his development stage on the calendar product. We try our best to see our situations from all angles and possibilities. [tweetthis]The first step is deciding which things are the right things to pursue. - Jordan[/tweetthis] So join us for our conversation today, you might learn some things about the futures of Carthook and Audience Ops. Here are today's topics: Carthook's customer response to the checkout product. Dealing with customer requests. When it is time to expand a company. Approaching service based business models. Approaching product based business models. The alternative answer to consulting services. How to standardize operations. The 2 approaches to launches. Finding the balance of life and product development. An Audience Ops podcast. Audience Ops webinars. [tweetthis]What's the higher level goal for the company? And that's not just revenue and profit. - Brian[/tweetthis] Resources Mentioned Today: CartHook Audience Ops Calendar Sponsor Indeed Prime – Get a $5,000 bonus when you get hired through Indeed Prime using Bootstrapped Web's link. As always, thanks for tuning in. Head here to leave a  review in iTunes.

Today is a basic update episode, but we have a special guest as well. Justin McGill is the co-founder of LeadFuze and co-host of the podcast Zero to Scale. He joins us on the update train today and gives us an idea of what the future holds for LeadFuze. Jordan tells us how his team meetup is going and Brian fills us in on what is going on with Audience Ops. [tweetthis]Finding talent is so hard & to limit to just my zipcode is... I don't see how that would have worked. - Brian Casel[/tweetthis] We cover a lot of topics today. Our main discussion boils down to the pros and cons of remote teams. A lot of founders find remote works well for them, but today we discuss the virtues of a brick and mortar office space. Here are today's topics: Jordan's meetup progress. The pressures of being the boss and having a life. Jordan's product development troubles. Jordan's new website and onboarding process for the check-out product. Brian's 50k milestone. Brian's search for a good writer. Brian's return to sale calls. Justin's LeadFuze issues. The stress of going from remote team to office space. The importance of office culture to a business. How to decompress while working at home. Slack vs. e-Mail What's going on with Audience Ops' software. [tweetthis]There is a point in time where you just say 'Screw it, I'm going to start marketing.' - Jordan Gal[/tweetthis] Resources Mentioned Today: Zero to Scale LeadFuze CartHook Audience Ops Calendar Sponsor Indeed Prime - Get a $5,000 bonus when you get hired through Indeed Prime using Bootstrapped Web's link.   As always, thanks for tuning in. Head here to leave a  review in iTunes.

Today on Bootstrapped Web we talk about a new product from Audience Ops. Brian has developed a software product called Audience Ops Calendar. He has offered it to 12 clients and based his approach on a pre-sale model. During today's episode Brian tell us how he has developed the product. He answers why he chose  to develop a calendar, how to use his software, and how he plans to market it. If you've ever been curious about a SAAS development this episode will tell you the right way to go about it. [tweetthis]Getting people into your software product to pay a monthly fee is not the only way to sell your software product. - Jordan[/tweetthis] Here are today's conversation points: Why Brian decided to launch this idea. The problems the project has had. The 3 ideal customers for Brian's product. The features of the product. Brian's process to develop the product. Why having a beta group is a good idea. Brian's team building process. [tweetthis]Reach certain milestones that you are able to invite 5 paying customers. Then another 5, then another 5. - Brian[/tweetthis] Resources Mentioned Today: Audience Ops Carthook Audience Ops Calendar WP Simple Pay Pro As always, thanks for tuning in. Head here to leave a  review in iTunes.

We welcome Rob Walling and Ben Fisher to the podcast today. We are going to discuss the topic of co-founders. Rob is the original founder of Drip, but has found a co-founder named Derek. Ben is Jordan's co-founder in Carthook. Brian however is the solo founder prospective in today's conversation. Brian has had co-founders, but Audience Ops is all him. On today's episode Jordan and Ben talk about how they began their partnership and Rob discusses his partnership with Derek. In recent news Rob's company Drip has been acquired by Leadpages. He tells us about that change and how it has affected his partnership. [tweetthis]In the early stage it's easy to overlook how difficult will it be to make it [SAAS] a viable business. - Brian[/tweetthis] The topics we covered are: How Leadpages' acquisition has changed Drip. Why you are always reinvesting into your business. Jordan's original intentions for Carthook. Why Jordan needed to work with Ben. The issues for a solo founder. How Ben found Jordan. How Rob found his business partner. The 2 factors of finding the right business partner. How to divide up decision making. The pros and cons of partnerships. How to respect your partner. Agreeing to a shared goal with your business partner. [tweetthis]Is there a such thing as a final decision or is everything a collaboration? - Jordan[/tweetthis] Resources Mentioned Today: Audience Ops Carthook Drip Leadpages Lean Startup Machine ZenFounder As always, thanks for tuning in. Head here to leave a  review in iTunes.

In this episode of Inbound Agency Journey, we welcome Brian Casel from Audience Ops. Brian and Gray discuss how you can productize your services as an inbound agency. Enjoy! 

As Ben transitions from Upcase to Formkeep, so too will the podcast transition to an open discussion around growing thoughtbot's internal projects and maintaining them as businesses, highlighting our hopes, experiments, tactics, failures, and success along the way! Today Ben and new co-host Chris discuss finding that magic feature or metric around which to structure pricing, selecting the right framework for your app, and customer acquisition tactics. Formkeep Upcase Price Intelligently Audience Ops Bootstrapped Web Podcast Middleman Traction Wistia Turnstile Rob Walling on Giant Robots Visual Website Optimizer Mastering Git course on Upcase Chris on Twitter