Podcasts about yes then

Imagine a world where you and the people around you are no longer ruled by fear, limiting beliefs or behaviors. What would the world be like if everyone took 100% responsibility for their actions, prevailed over difficulty, did not allow the abuse or criticism of others to slow or stop them, and lived their Amazing Life. Today we are going to look at how to make that a reality. We would have to be free of our ego and release all of our insecurities. We would be supportive and accepting of one another. We would work together to reach our full potential and create lives that are full of joy, purpose and abundance. Can we create that kind of world you might ask. The answer is “Yes” Then the next question that pops in your head should be how? This can be created by you and each and every person. Cause the greatest contribution you can make is to become the change you wish to see. Then by teaching and example you can then inspire others to also achieve their highest potential. So first to change the world and have better results in your life, you must focus on yourself. The only changes that can be made are within you! In fact there are three things you can control in life. The story you tell yourself, the images you envision, and the actions you take. The story that you tell yourself makes such a difference. It can be the difference between victim and victory. The story is the most simple change to make. Tell a clear story with you the victor, understood and in control. Commit yourself not to the outcome but to the process. The joy of learning comes from the process of going through the experience not in the end result. One of the things I like to do is to rock climb. As you ascend the mountain there is a process. But the joy comes from the climb. It comes from the experience of moving up that mountain. It comes from improving myself and the meaning that I experience. It comes from each movement. Once I get to the top that joy is then culminated. So Number 3 is to view things as an experience and opportunity. Let's go back to my rock climbing story. There are times as I was ascending the face I would be moving from one handhold to the next. You can't look ahead more than one or two steps ahead so there was times that I would get to a place and I could no longer find the holds I needed so I would have to go back down the face a short way, and then pick another handhold and go up a different way to get past the place I got stuck. The place there was insufficient handholds could be looked at as a challenge or problem. As soon as you do that you are right back into your story. That is the thing you are telling yourself. You are creating a judgement on the experience. Instead view this as just an experience or opportunity to learn and improve. Lastly, Number 4 is to be a leader! Being a leader means taking responsibilities for things that others do not want to take responsibility for. Being a leader means changing from things that aren't working. Being a leader means sharing your wisdom. Telling others how they can create the lives of their dreams. Being a leader is what will help this world. You can be a leader by facilitating the growth of others around you. Please subscribe to this podcast and leave a rating and review, to help others find this podcast. Also join the Facebook group. Here is the spot to click and set up a time so we can discuss how you can use these tools and others to get your amazing life! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/youramazinglife/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/youramazinglife/support

It's easy. Are you complete with your work? Yes? Then you have been inconsistent. Does that statement hold true throughout? I really hope not. In design, however, it holds up well and is a good lesson to keep in mind. Also becomes it implies that you are never done in design if you have been consistent, which is a sad truth (there is always more you can do). Hosted incompletely because of consistency by M. Boer and S. Schekman on 22 Sept 2020 Keys: when is a project done, integration of systems, iteration of systems, alternate perspectives of design

Are you going deer hunting? Yes? Then this is essential listening! We are hanging out in the wall tent talking mule deer hunting around the fire. I’m joined by my hunting mentor Geoffrey Horsfield, and my pals Jenny P and Scott Donker after a successful hunt in the grassland country in British Columbia. We are quizzing Geoff on his mule deer hunting techniques. We talk about spot and stock, still hunting timber and other tips for successful mule deer hunting. This is one of the more fun episodes that we’ve recorded.  I’ve been holding onto it and since last year to share with you during hunting season. Hopefully, you’ll learn something and have a bit of fun too.    Geoff has over 50 years of experience hunting, adventuring in B.C., has a wealth of knowledge and is a great storyteller.    Dylan Eyers,Owner/Operator www.eatwild.ca      Instagram  I  Podcast  I  YouTube

Have you every locked yourself in somewhere you shouldn't be? Yes? Then you'll get a kick out of this episode, because Paul and Clint! answer a call from someone who really got themselves in a sticky situation. Or should we say...stinky? Tune into this week's episode of Fail Disclosure!

Do you like/shoot/own guns? Yes? Then you will LOVE this episode. I speak with Daniel, a charismatic and very knowledgeable Firearms advocate who's mission is to normalize the firearms culture in America and bring more people into the shooting world through education and humor. We talk about everything from getting your first firearm to safety, training, gear and more! Even if you don't like guns Daniel is a blast to listen to, so what are you waiting for? LETS GOOOOO!!!!Instagram : @the_daniel_accordYouTube : thedanielaccord

Let me be brutally honest with you. You’re not getting enough carbohydrates. And when I think about carbs, I think about grains and beans. You might say that they are in your diet and I would still say that you’re not getting enough. Did I hear your fork drop? Yes? Then listen. I want to break it down for you. Your body will thank you after you balance out your diet by adding more grains on your plate. Buckwheat, black rice or millet? Just choose to your liking. Why is that such a small piece of food is so forking essential? Listen to my new episode of Recipes for Your Best Life podcast NOW!

Do you love books and ever wonder about them? Do you find yourself thinking things like, what do all bestsellers have in common? Or, what’s up with rare books? Why do people collect them—and could I ever be one of those people? Or, what would it be like to spend my days driving around my hometown with my dog in a bookmobile? Yes? Then have we got a podcast for you! Listen to co-hosts Eve Yohalem and Julie Sternberg talk about why they started Book Dreams and their plans for the first season. We hope you'll send us your book dreams, too—the questions about books that you want us to explore. Find us on Twitter (@bookdreamspod) and Instagram (@bookdreamspodcast), or email us at contact@bookdreamspodcast.com.

Have you ever wondered what Sound Healing is? What it does? How it works? Yes? Then this could be the episode for you! Ashleigh Belll chats to us about how overcoming leukemia as a child, and anxiety as an adult, encouraged her to start her own business practicing as a Sound Healing Therapist and Reiki Master, all alongside her social working career. We talk about what sound healing is, how it's practiced and how it helps us emotionally, mentally and physically.You can find more out about Ashleigh through her website here https://www.balancedbyashleighbell.com.au/

Like cricket? Yes? Then you'll love testing your wits against a torrent of test-match-related googlies with today's boundary-belting skill by those thumpingly good chaps at Voxogenic Technologies.

If you were to die tomorrow, would you have any regrets? Yes? Then it’s time to take matters into your own hands and change your life! What can you do to live your best life NOW? Whilst it’s important to live in the present moment, (the benefits of it are unquestionable!) today’s episode is of a more reflective nature. We’re looking at two sides of the same coin, and asking you to engage DEEPLY with the conversations of both your future and your death.

Have you been wondering how much time you should be spending every day learning your target language if you want to see fast results? Yes? Then, our latest podcast episode is for you! Join Jan as he talks about how long you need to study if you want to see fast progress.

You know that very first episode of Portlandia where they're insisting on going to meet the chicken and see where it lives before they order the chicken dish at a restaurant? Well, wine has caught up to food and we know that one of the biggest movements in the industry right now is this concept of "vine to glass" or natural wine. Want to go and taste where you can see vines on the hill in front of you, and the hands pouring your tasting are also the hands picking the grapes? Yes? Then stopping at Vines on the Marycrest is a must-do when you visit Paso wine country. All hand crafted wines with minimal intervention and a great story to boot, we know you'll find a wine to love when you visit. Check out the episode to hear more about Vines on the Marycrest, the wines they have, and their overall story! Happy Tasting! -Chenise & Jamie

Are you always coming up with ideas and not sure which one to actually implement? Do you tend to dabble in a million things only to end up feeling more directionless than before? Have you been dreaming of something more but not entirely sure what that *something more* actually is? Tryyyying to figure out what you want to do next with your life or in your business? Yes? Then this is for you, girl! In today’s episode, Jordan breaks down her own non-linear, multi-passionate journey AND brings on two women to share their stories — how each one found direction on their God-given dream  and what they’re doing to make it happen.    PS. THE OWN IT ACADEMY COACHING PROGRAM IS OPEN THIS WEEK ONLY! This is for the fearlessly multi-passionate, ambitious, purpose-driven and creative woman searching for clarity and direction (like you!). You’ll walk away knowing EXACTLY what you’re made to do—with a step by step strategy you can implement immediately.    Sign up here: theownitacademy.com/kickstart

Do you want to become the best version of yourself? Yes? Then you have to know what steps to follow to start working on becoming that better version of yourself. Putting your plan into action is the most important because most people talk about it, but don’t act on it! So today’s podcast is all about how to work out your plan to become the best version of yourself and to put it directly into action. Are you ready for it?Click on play and let’s go!

Do you get discouraged in your Christian life? Are there times when you despair of your progress in the Lord? Do you often find yourself under condemnation and feeling that there's still so far to go in your sanctification that the burden of it all is just too great? Do you ever wonder if the Lord is looking down on you wanting to just let you have it because you're still so sinful and wretched? Yes? Then this talk, simply brimming over with humour and positive encouragement, is for you!

For this weeks episode, Danielle tackles the podcast by herself because Kristen is on Spring Break. She talks about working for free, unpaid internships, and what do about them. Are you a broke college student just trying to navigate the murky waters of paid and unpaid internships? No? Well then, are you someone who has worked for free at least once in your life? Yes? Then this is the episode for you!

This episode shares one of Neil’s infield training experiences, with a new BDM in the Aesthetic industry. The story takes you through a day of cold calls on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. Towards the end of the day, BDM Jenny, shares with Neil her disappointment when a hot new business enquiry had suddenly gone quiet. Has that happened to you…? Yes? Then revisit the steps to take, as their conversation unfolds. Share the emotional highs and lows that landing a new account can deliver, when it goes from about to close, to deathly quiet. Hear what Jenny did and how a secret email called the ‘Dragon’s Den,’ saved the deal. In this episode you’ll learn: What to do when a prospective new account goes quiet How to behave when you feel you’ve moved into the chasing game How Jenny saved the order, and secured both the commission and recognition she deserved Request a copy of the ‘Dragon’s Den’ email

Presenting to you, the Aspiring Entrepreneur. Ay wait lang - bakit aspiring? Walang masama mag aspire na maging successful na entrepreneur, lahat tayo ay nina nais na maging magaling sa ating mga career and endeavours. Pero mali na puro pag aaspire at pangarap nalang. This Motivational Monday, we are here to pump you up. You have the capability to rise above your current situation. You have the potential to make your wildest dreams come true - but you first need to remove your aspiring syndrome. Listen to today’s episode if you’re excited to make your biggest endeavours to work out. Yes? Then let’s help each other this Monday. ---

Rethinking Math Homework Presented by: Frank Wapole and Evan Borkowski Do you have 100% of your students completing your homework? Are students in your classes routinely using your homework assignments as learning tools? Yes? Then this session is not for you!!! This session is designed to challenge your views on HW, and help you utilize […]

Struggle to focus on your biggest priorities? Yes? Then this one's for you. My 90 day planning system: Set some time aside on the Friday before the new quarter starts. If you just try to fit your planning around everyday tasks, it will fall to the bottom of your list. Review all of the different things in your business – your last 90 day plan, your current product portfolio/1:1 clients, new ideas you’ve had, your working habits, your finances (incoming and outgoing), what has and hasn’t worked (and WHY). Figure out what your income target is and then get specific about HOW you can bring that money in. What will you need to sell? How many spots do you need to fill? What events do you need to take into account? Are you launching? Attending weekly calls? Taking part in a free challenge? Going on holiday? Joining weekly co-working sessions? List out all of these things and add them to your calendar of choice. Limit yourself to three goals – I tend to have one life goal and two business-related goals. Redesign your habits – everything from morning rituals, daily break times and self-care routines. I then add these to Asana so I’m prompted to do it at the appropriate time. -------------------- Join me on Instagram here:  https://www.instagram.com/dairecharlotte/ Sign up for my weekly (ish) jolts of genius here: http://dairepaddy.com/ -------------------- For the full show notes, including all the links mentioned in this episode, go here >> http://dairepaddy.com/episode54 -------------------- If you enjoyed this episode I'd love it if you could: a) Share your favourite moment, takeaway, or place to listen in your Instagram Stories, tagging me (@dairecharlotte) b) Hop over to iTunes and leave me an honest review.

Is it possible to be competitive and kind, at the same time? Tell me what you think?ARKism=a  kind approach to life. I am Dr. Arlette. I train your everyday thoughts to UNcover your Greatness, every day.Join this growing international community of ARKists who practice kindness, experience INside happies and activate their innate wisdom more every day.ASK: What is my opportunity for greater care and connection for self and others, right now?What is the basis of your ethics? Is ethics important? Why bother with ethics?Listen to this podcast and UNcover your Greatness for the benefit of your self and the selves of others!Are you ready for sustainable success?Are you ready for unconditioned INside happies?Are you ready to live your INNERmost wisdom?Yes? Then this show... every week is for YOU! 

Want to know everything that will help you win at business?Yes? Then just listen to this episode. You're welcome. The key takeaways: When you really want to knuckle down and start to focus, particularly if you’re looking to scale, you need to take a look at your product roadmap. Figure out what’s working, what isn’t and what you really want to give your attention to. Get super clear on your personal vision and your business goals, then whenever you get flooded with All The Ideas, you have a benchmark. Are they in alignment with what you want from life? Will they help you move closer towards your goals? If they don’t, but them on hold. You can always change your mind later. Values. It’s not enough to say you have them and then write about them all the time. You have to live those values and show them even when nobody’s watching. Think about how each of those core beliefs is manifested in real life terms and then bring them to life. They will become synonymous with your name, and that what will make “your people” really align with you. (Note: it’s not always easy. You might get questioned a lot, but it’s still an important part of showing up in your business.) Online marketing can be really overwhelming and confusing, especially if you’re not 100% clear on what’s right for you. It’s easy to follow someone else’s shiny strategy down the rabbit hole but that won’t always bring you the results you need. Gemma’s Smart Marketing System is an easy-to-customise framework that you can tweak, rinse and repeat every 90 days. It’s built around getting clarity on your people, processes and products and then developing marketing options that support, promote and sell you in all the right ways. If there is ONE thing you need to do to see big results in your business – make it building unwavering belief in yourself. Once you believe, everyone else will too. And why they believe, they’ll buy. -------------------- Join me on Instagram here:  https://www.instagram.com/dairecharlotte/ Sign up for my weekly (ish) jolts of genius here: http://dairepaddy.com/ -------------------- For the full show notes, including all the links mentioned in this episode, go here >> http://dairepaddy.com/episode44 -------------------- If you enjoyed this episode I'd love it if you could: a) Share your favourite moment, takeaway, or place to listen in your Instagram Stories, tagging me (@dairecharlotte) b) Hop over to iTunes and leave me an honest review.

Ever have weird feelings about a dinner party? Not sure if you’re acting appropriate or not? Yes? Then this episode is for you! Etiquette with Emily comes out as Melissa questions her knowledge on proper dinner manners. More business ideas are discovered (big surprise) including a free marketing tip for all to share. We dive head first into attempting a plastic free lifestyle, and cover news on dangerous llamas, ear tickling hockey players, and graduate cakes with bad words on them. Sponsored this week by Olden Times Pool Floaties.

If your cold blooded obsession is off the scale, then Tongue in Cheeks is the podcast for you! Welcome to this episode of Tongue in Cheeks. From the gecko, this podcast is named because many reptiles have a bifurcated or forked tongue so please imagine the tip of each side of the tongue firmly planted in the respective reptile cheeks. This podcast is meant to be cheeky, educational, and who knows, maybe even some of the guests will speak in tongues. My name is Ray Tripp and I’ve been crazy about the cold-blooded since childhood. Join with me as we discuss and learn about them. Do you have a crush on crustaceans? Do you find yourself doing long tail and short tail keyword searches for all things cold blooded? Do you watch games of cricket even though it has nothing to do with crickets? Yes? Then let’s get started.

Special Episode Coming Up! I always like to do something different for the last episode of the year, and this year I'm going to do an AMA (ask me anything). Here's the thing: for the last podcast of 2017, I'll answer any questions you have, that ARE NOT related to shooting. Go to http://triangletactical.net/AMA Enter your question in that form. Please don't ask your questions in the comments of this post, or on Facebook or anywhere else, as I will not be able to answer them (I can't track down a bunch of different questions in a bunch of different places...) That's it. Should be a lot of fun! Things that Matter I talk a lot on the podcast about things that don't matter. It doesn't matter if you have the coolest newest thing, or if you have a fancy shooting blouse, or even if you wear brightly colored shoes or have a sponsor, but, of course there are a lot of things in competitive shooting that do matter, let's talk about that. Accurate gun I don’t think you need to be able to shoot single hole groups at 50y with your pistol (but it helps), but I do think having a gun that is accurate, maybe even slightly above average accuracy is a good thing. I think one of the reasons the Tango Stock2 has become such a thing in Production division is that on top of being heavy, and reliable, it’s also got a thick bull barrel that’s very accurate. Most guns on the market are quite accurate. When I used to do gun reviews as a part time job, I really only found a couple guns that were inherently inaccurate from the factory. The one in particular that comes to mind was the Ruger SR9E, which was the value version of the SR9. Everything else that I reviewed was very accurate. Traction You don’t need the bright colored fancy shooting shoes, but you do need shoes with good traction. I used to kind of think that you didn’t really need anything special on the shoe front for practical shooting, but the better shooter I’ve become, the more I find the traction thing necessary. If you’re someone who is pushing to get better at shooting, and you’re pushing yourself, get some shoes that have some gnarly knobs on them for practical shooting. Accurate, consistent, reliable ammo For a lot of us who reload, we tend to obsess over the price per round when loading our ammo. Getting things as cheap as possible is definitely a thing, and there are certainly ways that you can save money and not impact accuracy and reliability, but don’t take it too far. You want laser accurate ammo. If you’re switching to a bullet that’s cheaper than what you’ve been loading, don’t sacrifice accuracy. If you’re not reloading yet, and you have not shot your first match, ignore everything I’m saying about ammo right now. You want to shoot whatever ammo you have that is 100% reliable in your gun. If you’re clearing malfunctions all through your first match, you’re gonna have a bad time. Also, if you’re a more experienced shooter who’s not reloading your ammo… yet, you need to worry less about the cheapest thing, and more about the most accurate, most reliable stuff. If that happens to be the cheapest stuff, awesome, but if not, you should get better ammo. Sights that don't suck I see a fair number of guys who are experienced shooters who still show up to matches with the stock sights on their gun. They might have two or three guns that are all set up for competition, but their gun still has the stock garbage sights on it. I’ll tell you, I’ve got the Dawson Precision adjustable sights on my G34 for competition, and I think at this point, they’re a requirement for me. If a new gun were to come out that didn’t have Dawson adjustable sights available (cough M&P cough) I wouldn’t buy one. Q&A: John: What similarities and differences have you noticed between tactical and competition training? If I generalize both communities down do what my observations are both online and in real life, here’s what I see: The tactical community tends to focus more on doing things right, while the competitive community tends to focus more on doing things fast. For instance, if you go over to Instagram right now and look at the hashtag #tacticaltraining you’ll see a lot of stuff that’s staged just for Instagram, but if you sort through it and find the guy that probably aren’t competition shooters, who are actually training to get better, you’ll dudes who could be a lot faster in the way they manipulate their guns, draw, move, etc, because they’re trying to do things a certain way, because someone told them to do it that specific way. Now, there may be a good reason for doing things that way, so don’t take this as me saying that in a tactical or defensive scenario everything is about the speed, because it’s probably not. BUUUUT, this sort of focus on “doing things right” in the tactical community has allowed for some folks who are total goobers to rise to in that community because they don’t ever have to back up what they’re telling people to do, they can just explain it away as #becausetacticool. In competition shooting, it’s different. Our shooting is dictated by the timer. Was your run on a stage/drill/whatever faster and more accurate? Yes? Then it’s better. No? Then it’s dumb. The trouble with the tactical community, when comparing it with the competition community is that there aren’t any rules in the tactical world. People can define things however they want things to be, because realistically almost nobody is going to end up in a gunfight, and those that do, almost none of them get it on film, and there’s no way to replay it to try different things, etc, etc.

I’LL TAKE IT WHERE I CAN GET IT I See A Victory In This House Series Ezekiel 37 - 11.19.17 Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones 1The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones. 2And He caused me to pass among them round about, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and lo, they were very dry. 3And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, Thou knowest.” 4Again He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.’ 5“Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones, ‘Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life. 6‘And I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin, and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the LORD.’” 7So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8And I looked, and behold, sinews were on them, and flesh grew, and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them. 9Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they come to life.”’” 10So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they came to life, and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. The Vision Explained 11Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope has perished. We are completely cut off.’ 12“Therefore prophesy, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13“Then you will know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people. 14“And I will put My Spirit within you, and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken and done it,” declares the LORD.’” (NASB 1977) I'll Take It Where I Can Get It. You either walk inside your own story and own it or you stand outside your story and hustle for your worthiness. - Brene Brown Those that find love and belonging are those that believe they are worthy of it. - Brene Brown I'll Take It When I Can Get It. (Worry Diagram Pictures) Do you have a problem in life? No? Then why worry? Do you have a problem in life? Yes? Can you do something about it? Yes? Then why worry? Do you have a problem in life? Yes? Can you do something about it? No? Then why worry? Learn Keith Slay Confidence. When do you get it? Get It From The Future. “ARE YOU GOING TO PASS MY DAUGHTER? There is no joy without gratitude. - Brene Brown It is not joy that makes us grateful. It is gratitude that makes us joyful. - Brene Brown Joy Is Strength. Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." - Nehemiah 8:10 My Lack Is Not God's Limitation. “Dad…. I can see farther than I can look!!!” A Green Eggs And Ham Attitude.

Are you frazzled, wired, and running on empty half the time? Yes? Then you just may be a maniac, like host Rhonda Spaziani. Learn how to do a quick and easy Meditation for Maniacs. In just a few short minutes you will feel a whole lot better and the benefits will last all day. This meditation is geared for the Less than Zen, but if you're already an accomplished meditator, you can add this to your current practice to have on hand anywhere, anytime. This drive-thru meditation will bring a little stillness to those that can't be.

The culture in which Beth Claxton MD found herself in during medical training was one like this: ‘If it hurts take it out. Are the ovaries, fallopian tubes and uterus done making babies? Yes? Then the body no longer needs them, so it will be fine without them”. The focus was on fixing through surgical removal. While she never fully adopted that view point she found herself embedded in that culture. Through her own exposure to the Eastern medical model as well as a series of health challenges of her own, Dr. Beth has found alternate ways to deal with pain in the pelvic area and more often than not finds non-surgical ways to remove pain and with it the cause of discomfort. What you get from tuning in?  Alternate ways to deal with pelvic pain and looming hysterectomies The importance of being a curious detective when investigating symptoms That going the radical surgery route is not always necessary   Visit my Website  Join me on Facebook  Watch the free video series 5 secrets to a Better Menopause Upgrade your body experience. Apply for Body Joy  

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! You ready for a new you? New money? How about new ways we can help you get your money right? How about sound wisdom from a multimillionaire? Yes? Then this brand new season 3 is for you! Don’t waste anymore time reading this and listen to the show… then maybe listen again… ... Listen NowIt’s 2017… Let’s Start This Thing Off Right!

On this week’s episode, we’re joined by Bill Erickson. Bill is a WordPress Developer, an entrepreneur, a husband, a father, a skier, an avid reader, a gardener, and a winemaker living in Georgetown, TX. He s been developing with WordPress and contributing to the community since 2006. Bill has written 20 WordPress plugins, which have been downloaded 668,661 times and has spoken at 13 conferences regarding WordPress. Last, but certainly not least, Bill is a core contributor to our very own Genesis Framework project. In this 40-minute episode Brian Gardner, Lauren Mancke, and Bill Erickson discuss: Bill’s decision to become a freelancer Transitioning from Thesis to the Genesis Framework Building your brand and your business with shareable content Using your website to prequalify potential clients Scaling your business through efficiency The importance of contracts Building a work/life balance that works for you Listen to StudioPress FM below ... Download MP3Subscribe by RSSSubscribe in iTunes The Show Notes This episode is brought to you by Digital Commerce Summit Follow Bill on Twitter Visit BillErickson.net Bill’s WordPress Plugins Bill’s Code Snippets Matt Report: Systemizing Your Way to More Revenue Freelance WordPress Developer Bill Erickson The Transcript Jerod Morris: Hey, Jerod Morris here. If you know anything about Rainmaker Digital and Copyblogger, you may know that we produce incredible live events. Well, some would say that we produce incredible live events as an excuse to throw great parties, but that’s another story. We’ve got another one coming up this October in Denver. It’s called Digital Commerce Summit and it is entirely focused on giving you the smartest ways to create and sell digital products and services. You can find out more at Rainmaker.FM/Summit. That’s Rainmaker.FM/Summit. We’ll be talking about Digital Commerce Summit in more detail as it gets closer. For now, I’d like to let a few attendees from our past events speak for us: Attendee 1: For me, it’s just hearing from the experts. This is my first industry event, so it’s awesome to learn new stuff and also get confirmation that we’re not doing it completely wrong where I work. Attendee 2: The best part of the conference, for me, is being able to mingle with people and realize that you have connections with everyone here. It feels like LinkedIn Live. I also love the parties after each day, being able to talk to the speakers, talk to other people who are here for the first time, people who have been here before. Attendee 3: I think the best part of the conference, for me, is understanding how I can service my customers a little more easily. Seeing all the different facets and components of various enterprises then helps them pick the best tools. Jerod Morris: Hey, we agree. One of the biggest reasons we host the conference every year is so that we can learn how to service our customers people like you more easily. Here are just a few more words from folks who have come to our past live events. Attendee 4: It’s really fun. I think it’s a great mix of beginner information and advanced information. I’m really learning a lot and having a lot of fun. Attendee 5: The conference is great, especially because it’s a single-track conference where you don’t get distracted by, “Which session should I go to?” and, “Am I missing something?” Attendee 6: The training and everything the speakers have been awesome but I think the coolest aspect for me has been connecting with both people who are putting it on and the other attendees. Jerod Morris: That’s it for now. There’s a lot more to come on Digital Commerce Summit. I really hope to see you there in October. Again, to get all the details and the very best deal on tickets, head over to Rainmaker.FM/Summit. That’s Rainmaker.FM/Summit. Voiceover: StudioPress FM is designed to help creative entrepreneurs build the foundation of a powerful digital business. Tune in weekly as StudioPress founder Brian Gardner, and VP of StudioPress Lauren Mancke share their expertise on web design, strategy, and building an online platform. Lauren Mancke: On this week’s episode, Brian and I are joined by Bill Erickson to discuss how freelancers can scale their businesses. Brian Gardner: Hey everyone, welcome back to StudioPress FM. I am your host Brian Gardner, and I am joined as usual with my cohost, vice president of StudioPress Lauren Mancke. Today we are, as always, very excited about the show, because we get to continue our series with members of the Genesis community, and that’s always been fun so far. Today we are joined by Bill Erickson. Bill is a WordPress developer, an entrepreneur, a husband, a father, a skier, an avid reader, a gardener, and a winemaker, living in Georgetown, Texas, which I think is just north of Austin. He’s been developing with WordPress and contributing to the community since 2006. Bill has written 20 plugins, which has been downloaded almost 700,000 times, and has spoken at 13 conferences regarding WordPress. Last but certainly not least, Bill is a core contributor to our very own Genesis Framework project. Bill, it is a huge pleasure to have you on StudioPress FM. Welcome to the show. Bill Erickson: It’s great to be here, thanks for having me. Beginnings in the Development World Brian Gardner: When I decided to have this series Lauren and I spoke about who we wanted to have on the show, and without a doubt you were on the top of that list, and so I’m thankful you took that invitation to heart and you’re here. I want to start here with a very obvious question, one that helps set the foundation of what the rest of the stuff that we’ll be talking about will be. Tell us how you got into development, and have you always been a nerd? Bill Erickson: Well yes, I’ve always been a nerd, but my past in development’s been a bit of a roundabout approach. In high school I got a summer job working at a print shop where we made brochures, business cards, basically all the print materials for a business. Then some of the businesses will come in wanting websites too, and they didn’t do that. I figured, It can’t be that much more difficult than designing a brochure, so I decided to do it on the side and partner with a friend who knew how to code HTML and CSS. Then a little later on I decided I wanted to figure out the HTML and CSS part myself and realized I’m a much better coder than I am a designer, so I made the switch. Brian Gardner: A lot of people can do one really well. Lauren happens to be one of those people. I knew she was a great designer when she first came around, and as I realized that she was also capable of coding, that’s when the light bulb went off. I was like, “I can let her take over a lot of the stuff I’ve been doing, because she can do it all! Like the Renaissance woman, you know? Lauren Mancke: Sometimes you just want to design, your brain is on fire, and you’re creative. Sometimes development is a good switch, for me, anyway. I like to just, A to B, do exactly what I need to do. Bill, why did you start building your business around WordPress? What is it about CMS that you find so appealing? Bill Erickson: I had been building sites, like I said, with just static HTML and CSS, and then I got into the business of having to do text changes for clients. It was very boring for me, and I’m sure my clients didn’t appreciate paying me to make small text changes. This is about 2006, and I started looking around for what CMS tool I can use. WordPress, at that time, and it still is, one of the easiest tools to use for end user, for the client, but it’s also really easy for a beginner developer to learn. That’s one thing a lot of the professional developers discount, is they say WordPress is messy in its procedural code, but I think it’s one of the keys to its success. It has a low barrier to entry, so if you want to just get started you can find a filter to change Read More text, and then once you accomplish that it’s very easy to work your way up to something more complex, rather than having to grasp a deep knowledge of something. I got into it both because it was something that I could grasp when I was first learning, but also because it was really easy for my customers to use, and it has only become more so. Brian Gardner: The good thing about WordPress, and even Genesis now as a whole, is that there’s so many people who have understood how to do it hands-on by themselves, and then have written about it, that there’s so much documentation. You can go to Google and figure out anything, pretty much, how to do this in WordPress, or how to do that in Genesis. People like yourself who’ve written tutorials, and Jerod and I and other people who’ve done code snippets, it’s very easy for someone who’s new to go in and, kind of behind the scenes because no one knows they’re doing it, they Google, they learn … There’s not just a book you have to read, or a class or a course you have to take, you can Google your way into the community from the development side. That’s one thing I like about it. Bill Erickson: Yeah, and a lot of us got started that way. I know I got started by Googling and searching for code snippets, and that’s how I learned. As I progressed I was developing these code snippets, so I put them out to help others, but also to help myself so I’d be able to find those later. It’s sort of a community where we’re all sort of learning together, and just the knowledge gets documented, so everyone can jump in at any point. Transitioning from Thesis to the Genesis Framework Brian Gardner: We spoke last week with Carrie Dils about just the open source community, and just how that sort of pay it forward mentality really helps grow the product, grow the software and the communities around it. Typically what we do is ask our guests how they got started in Genesis specifically, but your story’s a good one, and something I want to tell, because I was directly involved with that. Before Genesis, or before you knew better for that matter, Bill was working on Thesis, and he was a Thesis developer and had done a lot of client work around Thesis. About six years ago … I can’t believe it’s been that long, Chris Pearson, the developer of Thesis, had a falling out with my current business partner, Brian Clarke. The too-long-don’t-read version of that whole story is that their partnership fell apart. Brian reached out to me and a couple others, and we formed the company that we have now, which is Rainmaker Digital. Bill, you saw the writing on the wall as this was all going down back then, and reached out to me. I think it was on Twitter DM, and asked about Genesis. I knew you as a Thesis developer, so as the opportunist in me, I jumped on that right away. I think we got on a Skype call within five minutes of when you sent that. Is that, how I remember, how you got into the Genesis community? Am I missing anything here? Bill Erickson: No, that pretty much covers it. I just want to say thanks again for all the help you provided in that transition. I’d been building with Thesis for years at that point I think, like two or three years, and every single one of my leads was coming from them. We had this symbiotic relationship where I’d build a really cool site, you get featured on their website, which would then generate more leads coming to me, which worked well, but as Thesis was going one direction and the rest of WordPress was going a different, it was sort of getting stuck in an area where I wasn’t having the freedom to move where I wanted. That’s what I was talking to you about, is I wanted to make the transition to something that was more WordPress based, where it followed more of the WordPress standards. My problem was, all of my work was coming from Thesis, and you really helped me through that transition by sending me a lot of great leads. I think it was about a six-month period from when I was 100% Thesis-based work to 100% Genesis-based work. I never could have bridged that gap if it wasn’t for you sending me all those great leads. Brian Gardner: That’s good to hear. Bill s Decision to Become a Freelancer Lauren Mancke: Okay, so let’s talk freelancing. I think you and I, our paths crossed when you did make the switch to Genesis, so go back a little bit before that and tell us about at what point you decided to branch out on your own and start freelancing. Bill Erickson: It was all about timing for me. I was actually in college getting a finance degree, and building WordPress websites on the side. I was a student worker making about $10 an hour on university websites, but it was something I enjoyed doing. Then the 2008 financial crisis happened, and all the finance internships disappeared, and I figured it’d be a good time to focus on my other passion, WordPress. Right as I graduated college, my goal was just, I was going to experiment for a year and see if I could cover my living costs for a year. Luckily I was a poor college student so those costs were fairly low, and I was able to just make it. Then it worked out, and I just kept going, and got a little better and a little better, and now we’re about 10 years into me being a freelancer, so that worked out pretty well. Or, seven years I think now, full time. Brian Gardner: A few years ago you did an interview with our friends over at iThemes about freelancing. I love how they open up the post. They say, “Bill Erickson is a freelance WordPress developer who gives back.” We just talked about that, and we’ll talk to it a little bit later also in the show. First off, it’s true, as I’ve witnessed first hand just how much you help, both in the Genesis and the WordPress community. You have code snippets on your site, and you publish tutorials and stuff like that, but you also, I see you in Slack, and on our Genesis GitHub repository, and just within the general community, just helping where you can. I know you’re busy, and I know you realize that it’s important, even still, to give back, and I appreciate that. You’re also a busy guy, which of course means you’ve got a pretty long lead time in case somebody wants to hire you as a freelancer, and you’re pretty selective now at this point, which is a good place to be, right? Bill Erickson: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Building Your Brand and Your Business with Shareable Content Brian Gardner: It seems like a lot of freelancers these days are kind of in that starving artist mode, where everyone’s starting up and there’s saturated markets and so forth. I guess they’re trying to fight for their food. What’s your secret at this point, to being so busy as a freelancer? Bill Erickson: At this point a lot of it came down to luck and timing. I got started in WordPress, like I said, about 10 years ago, and in that time the freelance WordPress development space was nowhere near as competitive as it is now. There just weren’t that many of them, so I was able to make a name for myself a lot easier. Now that I’ve been doing it for so long, I have a long client list and a lot of those clients really enjoyed working with me, so they keep coming back. About 50% of my work right now is either past clients or people who have directly recommended from past clients. A lot of it is establishing your business, establishing your name, and building that reputation. And I built my reputation by giving back, by writing blog posts and code snippets, and contributing to Genesis and writing plugins. I don’t want to stop what was working, so I do make a point of, even when I’m busy, doing what I can to give back. I find that finding where your … Look at what you produce, and see what you can easily turn into a shareable thing. For me a lot of it revolves around plugins and code snippets, so as I’m building out a project, they need some specific feature, I’ll put in a little bit more time really cleaning up and extending this feature a bit more than a client actually needs so that I can turn it into a plugin that I can then share. I’m going to put in 20 hours building this feature, maybe I could put in 30 and make it something that I can release, and will help others, and will also promote myself, because then people will find it and want to hire me. Right now a lot of my work is based on my past reputation and my past experience with clients, because a lot of past clients are coming back, but I got to that point by giving back, and that’s why I still do it. Brian Gardner: That’s pretty funny. The last couple weeks I have published two different blog posts on my blog, tutorials on how to do something in Genesis, and I was literally in the process of developing a theme and adding that feature. As soon as I would add that and had the code ready, instead of just finishing the theme and so on and going back to it, I stopped right then and there, that evening, one night, and just wrote the tutorial. Because I had just implemented it, it was fresh on my mind, it was something that I knew somebody was going to want. I hear what you’re saying there, which is, it’s kind of cool to document the stuff that you’re doing for something else, and then use that to benefit, a) the community, but also yourself, in that now you have shareable content, yet another thing that could get your name out there. For anyone out there freelancing, that’s kind of unsolicited advice there, how to help build your brand and how to move forward your business by doing things in that kind of way. Bill Erickson: It’s not purely a marketing tool or a self-promotion tool. It’s actually really useful in your business, because I spend a lot of time thinking about a problem and what’s the best way to solve it, so I create that solution. Six months down the line I might need that again. Instead of spending the hours trying to figure out what it is and finding the right hooks and filters, if I’m in that mindset right after I solve the problem, if I document it, I can look back at that so that I know that’s how I do it. I don’t have to keep it in my mind, I just have to remember, yeah, I wrote about it on my blog, so I can scroll through and find it. That’s how it all started for me. It was just documenting what I was doing so that I could find that information later on. The side effect was, other people started using that information and it helped my SEO. Brian Gardner: So you’re your own reader, blogger. Bill Erickson: Yes. Brian Gardner: You bookmark your own pages, how narcissistic. No I’m kidding, I do the same thing with my code snippets too. I put them on my site just so I have a place for me to go back to and say, “Hey, check out this greatly designed site. Oh look, it’s mine.” Stuff like that. Definitely wise there. Using Your Website to Prequalify Potential Clients Lauren Mancke: I want to follow up on Brian’s question from before. We have a page dedicated on StudioPress where we recommend Genesis developers and designers to the community. You’re on that page and you have been for a while. What impact, if any, has that source been for you in terms of acquiring leads and getting new business? Bill Erickson: I still get a ton of great leads from StudioPress. Even though there’s a ton of people on there, it used to be only two or three other developers on the recommended list. Even now that you have such a larger community, and a lot of other great resources, I still get a lot of excellent clients from there. The StudioPress recommended developers page, it’s like a fire hose of leads, and it’s up to you to qualify them. Because the StudioPress community and your customers, they have such a wide range of needs. Some just need tiny minor tweaks like changing some colors, or adding a small feature. Some hear about the benefits of the SEO of Genesis and don’t want to do anything themselves, and they want a custom theme and everything built for them. There’s a wide range of what someone might want, so you need to make sure you’re not just getting a ton of emails and having to filter that. You want to use your website to describe what it is you do, what your expertise is, so that the incoming leads can self-select, and select a person who is best fitted for that job. What I’ve found is, there is a need to qualify your leads, and that’s something you can do with your website. Just review your emails, and if you see that you’re doing a lot of responses saying, “I’m not a good fit for this,” whether it’s for the type of work, or your timeline, or your budget, just make a note to include that information on your site. Because if you’re getting emails about that, that means you haven’t educated the prospect. Lauren Mancke: We had a form on our Northbound site that led people, basically them thinking about their project. A lot of people contact you that haven’t really thought through what they need, so our contact form had different areas that they needed to figure out before they even contacted us, or have answers to. That way we could review those before we got back in touch with the person. Bill Erickson: Yeah, definitely, like a client onboarding process. Because the average person who needs a website, they’ve never done this before, or if they did it was five or six years ago. You do it all the time. They don’t know what the process is. They don’t even know what questions they should be asking or what information to provide, so whatever you can do to help their job of finding someone to help them will definitely help. Brian Gardner: We’ve been asked probably a number of times if there’s a way that we can assist in that process by somehow categorizing people on the developers list, especially since the list has gotten longer and the skills that are on that page vary from technical programming to straight up graphic design. Yes, to some degree that’s our responsibility, to see if we can try to tag that a little bit better. But I like what you said, though, with prequalifying the leads. A lot of people just have a contact form on their website, which is basically, in my opinion, an advertisement to just copy and paste a request for a job, or a submittal or something like that. Then it’s not a great fit. With all the forms out there these days, gravity forms and ninja forms, you have the ability to build a complex form that prequalifies these inquiries, and saves A, you a lot of time, and B, them time too. Bill Erickson: Yeah, it would be nice if StudioPress had some sort of layers of filters to help qualify them, but at the end of the day, every service provider on that page has different requirements, different services they offer, different budgets and timelines. There’s not a one size fits all categorical system that could apply. The easiest thing to do is just give all their information, and then allow those providers to do their own qualifications on their website. Brian Gardner: Aside from the fact that it would take us a little bit of time to do that, that’s kind of what I come down to. Because I realize there’s also a vibe thing, that when you land on someone’s site you get a vibe whether or not, “Hey, this is a person I could do work with. They’re my style or they’re not. I don’t want to qualify anybody out of that by some sort of check system that, Oh, well, I’m looking for a project under $5,000, so immediately Bill Erickson doesn’t show up. Whereas maybe it would have been a good fit, and maybe you’re slow a little bit, and you would pick up a job that might be less than $5,000. I don’t want to take that away from you either. Lauren Mancke: I also, when I was redesigning that page, I wanted to include on the actual page the screen captures of some of the recent projects that they’ve done. Because I think visually that tells someone the types of projects that that developer has experience with, that they can visually scan that and see what might be a good fit in that way as well. Bill Erickson: That’s a great idea. That’s what a lot of people, when they’re shopping, looking for a developer to build their website, they’re just going straight to portfolios. To be able to have that in one spot so they don’t have to open all the sites would be a useful tool. Brian Gardner: I didn’t like that decision at the very beginning, Lauren, because when I first saw the page it was really, really long. Then as I thought through it I’m like, “Okay, this is not above the fold mentality from 10 years ago. This is more about doing what you said, providing little snapshots. Even if it’s just the most recent four or whatever. At least you can just scroll up and down the page and get that vibe sort of thing that I was talking about. Now speaking of people on the page and whatnot, Bill, I know that part of your strategy at this point, because you are so busy, are somewhat selective on the stuff that you take on, you have kind of a … sort of like a little referral system. Not necessarily in exchange for money, but just people who you pass referrals on to that are, a) that you know and respect and feel comfortable passing those along to. Jared Atchison is a good friend of yours and ours. He’s the first person that comes to mind there as an example of a developer you might send client inquiry to. Scaling Your Business Through Efficiency This leads to a bigger question in situations within the freelance world. How do you scale your business? I know you take your projects and pass them on to other people, but how do you scale your business specifically to make more money? Because there’s only so many hours in a day. What have you done over the last couple years, or what have you learned as a more efficient way to do business, so that you can become more profitable? Bill Erickson: There’s a lot of ways you can scale your business. One that I’m particularly fond of is through efficiency. You can build websites a lot faster using Genesis because it does a lot of it for you, and then you can focus only on the custom features. Then the code you build can be reused on future projects, so when I build a great events calendar I can then, six months later, reapply that to a new project and then change the styling. There’s some code efficiencies you can do, and Genesis really helps with that. Another one is moving yourself up the value chain. When I got started I was basically doing just markup. I was doing PSD to Genesis websites. Most of them were $500 to $1,000, and I’d turn them around in a week. As I got more experienced I did work on more complex websites, and built more custom features, and charge more. Now I’m no longer doing just the development aspect. When someone comes to me we offer sort of a full package, so we have a $12,000 project minimum. It’s a team of three: a content strategist, a designer, and a developer, and we typically spend at least 12 weeks on a project. We’re really just working with the client to understand their needs, and design and implement it all in one house. Rather than, a lot of times when I was working with, saying I was just doing development, clients would go off to 99designs and get a design that doesn’t really serve their needs very well. I’d build it for them, but it’s not the best use of my time and the resources they have, so I’ve actually gone out and partnered with designers that I know do a great job of turning that around. Combining our services together we provide a much more valuable service. Brian Gardner: Is that why you took down the PSD to Genesis page? Bill Erickson: Yes and no. PSD to Genesis, it was a fun business to problem. Like I said, it’s the value. As I start charging more for my time, there’s less value that can be got out of that. There was a lot of people who do PSD to Genesis, and if I’m charging three or four times not many people are going to want to come to me, because at the end of the day I’m just converting a design into a website. I’m not providing as much value there. I saw that we could do better in a different direction. I found a designer that I really like working with, and a content strategist that I really like working with. I still do some sites where a design is provided for me, but I’m a bit more selective on that, because I really do enjoy being able to start from the beginning and identify what problems need solving. The change from that start to finish is so much larger than, they hand me a design and then the only measure of quality at that time is, Did you do what we told you to do? Does the design match? Is the site loading fast? It’s a lot more fun to do that problem solving stuff. Lauren Mancke: It’s probably a lot more fun to work with a good design too, than something that might not look very good. Bill Erickson: That’s the other thing, yeah, when you don’t know the design. Especially when you’re trying to provide a quote and the design hasn’t been done yet, and you don’t know who the designer is. You really leave yourself open to some uncomfortable weeks where you’re just plowing through a design that’s horrible. That’s another reason why I stick with one designer for the most part. Brian Gardner: I wasn’t setting you up for anything there, I just noticed. As I was preparing for the show I was actually going to link to that page, and then I kept Googling and I’m like, “Where is it?” I went to your site, I tried searching, and then I figured that at some point you kind of outgrew that. It is sort of like an entry into a community type of play, and I think there’s a need for it to some degree. What that basically does at this point, it frees that up for a few other people in the community to offer that service, which I know they’ve done. Yeah, I wasn’t mad or anything like that. Bill Erickson: No, and I took it down, I think, with the most recent redesign, where I was focusing more on this integration with my current designer. I took it down mostly because I’m no longer focusing on it, but also because I was getting very few projects that actually utilize that. Because like you said, there’s a lot of great people in the community who are providing it, I was charging a bit more for that than anyone else was, and so yeah, I was getting maybe one every two or three months. It didn’t seem like a good reason to focus my sight on that. Tools that Allow You to be More Efficient with Your Time Lauren Mancke: Bill, let’s talk about workflow. This is obviously something that really goes along with scaling your business, you kind of touched on, and it’s something in particular that you have spent a lot of time perfecting, and you’ve taken time to share your processes with others. I know we’ve had a few conversations about it. Can you give our listeners some insight to some of the tools that you use, and some that you’ve built yourself, which allow you to be more efficient with your time? Bill Erickson: Yeah, so like I was talking about growing your business with efficiency. There’s code efficiency, technical efficiency, but then there’s also business efficiency. A lot of your time is spent actually just running your business. Whether that’s responding to emails, or trying to manage projects, if you can find ways to optimize that process you’ll just open more time up for profitable activities. My website is really focused on qualifying leads so I don’t have to spend a lot of time responding to emails that aren’t a good fit. I’m always iterating it, adding or changing features. One that I added in the past year or two that’s been really helpful is the, When I can start, because I’ve found that most of the emails where I just immediately say “Sorry, I’m not a good fit” are the ones where they say, “We need a site live in the next three weeks,” and I wouldn’t be able to start for two months. Things like that, where you can give them the information they need to know you’re not a good fit. Then once I do get a quality lead, a lead that would fit well with me, they fill out the form, it comes to me, and I provide a nice detailed response. The email also shows up in a custom CRM that me and Jared Atchison developed, and we use it for all sorts of things. We use it for tracking lead data, so, Where are we getting sources of leads? Where are we getting sources of projects? You might find that 90% of your leads are coming from Google, but those aren’t really good leads, and that 80% of your work is coming from past clients. Having that knowledge can help you decide where to direct your marketing efforts. We also use the CRM to manage the projects, our active projects, and to track data on completed projects, like overall profitability. Put in the amount we build, what we estimate it would take us to build it out, how much time we actually spent on initial development and changes. Come up with the effective hourly rate, just so we could track how well our estimates are doing. Then on the design side, my team, we use Sketch exclusively, which works out really well. My content strategist uses it for the sitemaps and wireframes, then when we get to the design stage, the designer uses those same files and converts the wireframes into finalized designs, and then I take the finalized designs and turn them into a website. We save quite a bit of time by using the same tool throughout the entire process. We used to use Sketch for wire frames and then rebuild everything in Photoshop, but switching to Sketch has really helped out. Then finally, from a code perspective, I have a base child theme that I’ve developed. It’s very similar to the starter theme from StudioPress, but it just has some of my own style and code tweaks that I like in there. Then I have my code snippets where I keep useful bits and some plugins that I’ve developed. I try my best to, when I build something, build it once really well, and then put it somewhere where I know so that I can access it later. Brian Gardner: That speaks back to the efficiency thing, to have your own starter theme. Because when I start with stuff I pull something down, do all the Brian-isms in it, which takes anywhere between 10 and 20 minutes to knock things out and do things and rearrange things a different way. At some point, I don’t even have my own starter theme, believe it or not, at this point, because we iterate so much through StudioPress, and things get tested and added and whatever, and I’m like, okay, usually I just grab the latest theme that we’ve done, because I know that it’s probably the most currently coded well and tested, and go from there. Lauren Mancke: You start it with the one that I made. I made a starter theme for us to use. Brian Gardner: Like I said, I don’t have my own starter theme. But yes, I did I’m working on two themes right now. One is a free theme that I’ll probably be releasing within the next week or so called 27 Pro, and that was based off of the Genesis sample’s child theme. Then the other one, which will be on StudioPress for sale, and I haven’t named it yet because I’m pondering that, but that one was based off of the base theme that you have developed internally for us in house. The Importance of Contracts Brian Gardner: Bill, you talked a little bit about the data there in your last segment, and you also did another interview with Matt Medeiros over at Matt Report. This was a little bit more on the technical side of business and being a freelancer, talking about systems and data and contracts and stuff like that. Let’s talk about contracts, because you mentioned in the interview that you live and die by them. I thought I would ask you to speak to that, because I think a lot of people get themselves into trouble and become inefficient because contracts aren’t clear and things like that. Is there anything that you want to elaborate on what you mean by that, and why that’s so important? Bill Erickson: Yeah, a good contract is incredibly important. The goal is it lays out what each party is expected to do. You should have a lawyer look it over because it is a legal document, but I also highly recommend you make it not overly complex, because your client needs to be able to read and understand it. It really should be a distillation of all your communication expectations. When there are questions throughout the project you’ll both refer to that document. Refer back to all the phone calls, and your notes, and the emails, take all that information that’s been provided, and come up with a single document that describes exactly what you’re going to do, when you’re going to do it, how much you’re going to charge, and then have the client agree to it. That’s basically what the contract is. The key sections that I include are the scope of work, which is where I say what it is I’m going to do, payment schedule, timeline, licensing of code. I like to be able to reuse my code, and so I make sure I note it that I’m never going to sell their site in whole to someone else, but unique pieces of functionality that I might develop I might reuse. The governing law, which is a legal thing, so that you could say, If we do get in a legal fight, this is where we’re going to do it. And then, any other aspects that you think are important to clarify. I include notes about migrations and phone calls and acceptable file types for designs, because those have all been areas of issues and past projects and I don’t want to repeat them. That’s why I use a contract. I use it as a way to guide the client through what we’re going to do, what he’s responsible for, what I’m responsible for, what we’re building together, so that throughout this three-month process or however long it is, we can all go back to that document and know what we’re talking about. Brian Gardner: Do you have any examples of, authenticity moment here, of an instance or a circumstance, one of the reasons why it became so important to you? Bill Erickson: Yeah, that’s the key of what the scope of work is. A lot of times I’ll get a design, I’ll provide a quote on it. Let’s say someone emails you a PSD file and you’re like, “Yeah, I think it’ll take me X many hours to build it, I’ll charge you $3,000 for this.” Then you’re like, Great, and so you start building it, and then when you send the site for review, the client comes back and was like, “Well, this isn’t working at all as I expected, because I thought this was going to do this, and that’s going to do that.” You might have seen the picture, but you didn’t really fully understand the functionality, or both of your understandings were different. The scope of work really just describes every key piece of functionality in the site, so then when a client comes back and says, “This is missing,” or, “This isn’t working right,” we look at that document and say, “Yeah, it doesn’t match what we describe here? Yes? Then it’s done right. If not, then let’s fix it.” That’s the most common area, is just not describing the functionality as well. The design is usually not a question. We’re both looking at the same designs, and if they don’t look the same then there’s something wrong. But functionality-wise, that’s a key area of issues. Then also just little things, like the acceptable file type. I don’t like working with Illustrator. I just don’t enjoy it at all. So when I get Someone who ll send me JPEG files of a design and I’m like, “Oh, it looks great,” and then I quote on it, and then they send me the final assets as Illustrator files, and I’m like, “Oh, this is going to take me so much longer.” Stuff like that. Specifying what you need. I’ve gotten design files in PowerPoint before, which is not an acceptable format for me. So yeah, it s stuff like that. It’s just, every time you finish a product, do a quick post-mortem of it, see how things went well, what didn’t go well, what could you have done to prevent it, and a lot of that is stuff that should’ve been communicated earlier on, like what is the migration process? How are you going to deal with, it takes four months to build the site, and our content is now out of date because the live site’s been updated, what’s going to happen? You should clarify these things ahead of time. Lauren Mancke: I think from my personal experience, any time a project doesn’t go smoothly it comes down to communication, like you said. It’s usually related to expectations, either from you as the developer expecting the client to do certain things, or the client expecting you to do certain things. Having that on the forefront of the project of communication, and defining the project’s scope before you begin, is really, really key. Bill Erickson: Yeah, I completely agree. Basically, I like contracts because it’s a communication tool. It forces you to verbalize all the things you’re assuming and the client’s assuming. Bill s Favorite Types of Projects Lauren Mancke: I also know from personal experience that you probably have too much work coming in, and so with that I know you have the luxury of being selective in choosing clients that you think would be enjoyable, or you can wait on larger projects like you’ve discussed that might have a bigger budget. What are some of your favorite clients, and what are some of the favorite types of projects you like to work on? Bill Erickson: My favorite projects are the ones where the clients trust our expertise. We have this whole process that works really well, and you’re hiring a great developer, a great designer. Trust them to do their work. Don’t redesign it. My designer will give you a great initial mockup, and then you go through and change up the design in a ton of different ways, which affects the usability, especially on mobile. The ones where they really just sit back and say, “I’m hiring the experts, I trust what you’re doing here, I’ll give you all the information, but let’s see where you can take it.” Those always come out the best. Some examples of that, The Kerouac Project. It’s a nonprofit for writers. It’s basically a place where writers can go for a few months and hone their craft. They gave us, basically, freedom to do what we thought would be best, and we came up with a beautiful design on that one that really emphasizes what they do. It’s like a design based around typography. Another one is Down Home Ranch. It’s a working ranch for Down syndrome people in the Austin area. That’s another one where we had a lot of fun with, and we were really able to capture the essence of the ranch, and provide them a beautiful design that’s really easy to use. Building a Work/Life Balance that Works for You Brian Gardner: You and I met six years ago, as we talked about, and a lot has happened since you and I met. You married Tara, a lovely person who I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. You guys have since then had a baby. What impact have both of these milestones had, for better or worse, on your freelance business? Because when you started out it was just you. Like you said, even a long time ago, it was just you in college, and you had little responsibilities and didn’t require a lot of money and stuff like that. As your career has progressed, and I’m not going to say complicated because that’s completely wrong word, you’ve enlarged the scope of your responsibilities by getting married and having kids. How does that affect things now? Because I’m sure it’s different, your workflow and your responsibilities and the way you do things now, is different than it was maybe five years ago. Bill Erickson: Tara and I actually met just months after I started freelancing, so she’s been with me from the very start all the way to where we are here. Yeah, we started with poor college kids who were just having fun and making by, and now we work our own, and we have a family, and we have a house and a baby, and we have a lot of fun. Earlier we were talking about how … different ways to scale your businesses, and I said a focus on efficiency. That’s one way to grow your business, but you can also use it to maintain a certain level of income and work less. That’s one of the things that I’ve found. As my family’s grown I value my time a lot more, and so I focus on work life balance. I’ve found over the past few years, the amount of time I spend working goes down bit by bit, so I’m working a lot less now than I was a few years ago, because I’m able to spend more time with my family. I have to value my time in that way so I raise my rates, because my time is if I’m going to spend this time away from my family I’d better be getting compensated for it. On the negative side, I actually had to move my home office. I was downstairs, and now we have a baby running around, and she’d run, bang on the door yelling “Da-da,” wanting to play, so now I’m upstairs in a small guest room so that they have free range downstairs. Brian Gardner: Hey Lauren, do you know anything about that? Kids running around? With two buns in the oven and one running around already, your life’s about to get … You may need a separate building. Lauren Mancke: I have a plan for that. At our old house we built this really cool workshop in the back yard. It’s got skylights, it’s got everything. I want to bring it over to his house, because we’re renting that house out. I want to bring it over to this house and use it as my office, so I will be in a separate building. But it’s still here, so I can come back if needed. But yes, it is very difficult to focus with little people that don’t understand that the door means that you’re working. Brian Gardner: A great example of that kind of a space is Jason Schuller, a good friend of ours from back in the day. He ran Press75 and sold that, and he’s still doing some stuff online, but he built and refurbished his office on top of his garage. He does have his sort of own space. Back to the work life balance thing, if there’s anybody who I’m friends with online that I’ve seen so intentional about, not necessarily working more, but charging more to have more time for family, it’s Jason, because he’s put so much emphasis on his daughter. Every time I see an Instagram shot, it’s him, they’re there on a trail, or on a beach. Bill, you also spoke to that work life balancing, because I think it’s intuitive to want to just work more to make more money, instead of working more to then actually get to, “All I need is X amount,” and then start working back, and it s freeing up more time to have balance. Because as we know, we can work 24 hours a day if we want online, and sometimes we do, but also, to be respectful enough of your own family and the commitments you have to say, “I don’t need to make more money, I just need to make this money.” Then to become more efficient and charge more and whatnot, so that you can then spend more time with your family, is so refreshing to hear. Bill Erickson: That’s basically my approach. I don t work I enjoy what I do, but the reason I work is so that I can provide for my family and spend time with my family. The more I can make, the less I have to work, and then I can enjoy the fruits of my labor more. Advice for Aspiring Freelancers Lauren Mancke: Okay, so last but not least, what advice can you give a person who’s got some training and experience in development, and they’re trying to branch out as a freelancer? Any pro tips that you think they should hear before we go? Bill Erickson: Network with other freelancers, especially those that compliment your services. As a developer you’re always looking for good designers and copywriters, and on the reverse it’s the same, so just get out there and know people who you might partner with on projects, and who might recommend you. If you’re a developer, contribute to open source projects. When I’m looking for Genesis developers to recommend, I look to those who contribute to Genesis who have written patches or extensions to my personal Genesis plugins, or who’re writing their own Genesis plugins. I like to see their code, but I also like to see how they interact with other developers and users reporting issues. That gives you a little insight on their communication abilities in addition to their coding abilities. Brian Gardner: That’s good stuff, good stuff Bill. Normally we do a little call to action here at the end, and because there’s no PSD to Genesis for me to pitch for you, I’m just going to tell anybody who’s listening, if you’re looking to redesign your website, or start a website, or do something of the sort, we have all of Bill’s links, all the things that you would need to access and contact Bill, down in the show notes. BillErickson.net is his domain name. Bill comes highly recommended by us, all of us here at StudioPress. It’s been a pleasure working with him over the years. If you need anything, Bill is there and he’s the right guy, and if he’s not, he’ll set you up with the right person as well. I just want to thank you, Bill, for being on the show, taking the time out. I know, as we talked about, you’re busy, but I also know that this is your way of giving back, as well as marketing yourself a little bit, and that’s why we’re having you on the show. Hopefully, we can send you some business through this episode. For those listening, if you liked what you heard on today’s show, you can find more episodes of StudioPress FM over at, you guessed it, StudioPress.FM. You can also help us hit the main stage by subscribing to the show on iTunes. It’s a great way to never ever miss an episode. Thank you so much for listening, and we’ll see you next week.

It's just me on this episode you guys! The reason for this is I really want to put a laser focus on one of the biggest areas many of you are struggling with, and that's visibility. Do you feel like no one's really listening? Do you feel like you're just spinning your wheels and not getting anywhere? Yes? Then this episode is definitely for you. I provide some quick action steps to help you get out there. Honestly, I know it can be so overwhelming at first, but there's nothing to be afraid of. Let's get started!!   Key Insights & Aha Moments: *On this episode, you'll get yours truly! No guest, just me and you. *I know some of you are struggling a lot in your business, so this podcast is dedicated to helping you get started! *Every morning I spend an hour on myself and this morning I was listening to Tim Ferriss's podcast. *Tim had Tony Robbins on his show and said something that really, really stuck with me. *Knowledge without action is useless! With that in mind, let's dive in... *Okay, let's talk visibility. Do you have a fear of putting yourself out there? *Celebrate the haters! *Despite all your social media posts, do you feel like no one's really listening? *You have to think about your marketing as getting your audience on your email list and then converting them. Using social media to get more visibility is great, but remember that's not what you should be focusing on 100%. *Online visibility is about networking and marketing yourself. *I know this can get quite overwhelming! *Network your behind off!! *When I first tried to get my business online, I made mistakes too. *Always go back to your strengths and use those. Replicating someone else's social media tactics doesn't always work. *What are some of the first action steps you need to take? *Get yourself a plan and set some goals! *Do your market research. *Develop a product your ideal customer needs, not wants. *Once you know who you serve, it gets easier to get the right message out there. *By the way, the doors are open in the Maven Inner Circle in case you want to get an extra boost of inspiration and support from like-minded entrepreneurs.   Mentioned in This Episode: www.michellemcglade.com/ Maven Inner Circle Making The Maven on Facebook www.fourhourworkweek.com/podcast/ Tony Robbins – I Am Not Your Guru

This episode is an urban legend. That's about it. Have you heard the urban legend about the hitch-hiker that turned out to be death, trying to warn the girl that she died? Yes? Then you have seen this episode already. If not, spoiler alert back there. Phoenix likes the way this episode was done though so it made up for lack of story. He isn't impossible to please (Filipino lady-boys will attest to that). www.LIWstudios.com

17 questions? Why have 17 questions in a testimonial? And what if the client won’t answer the questions? The reason for the 17 question testimonial is simple. It’s not a testimonial any more, it’s a experience on paper. When other clients read it, they can sense the ups and downs. They can see the final result. It makes your testimonial stand out. In order to get this 17 question testimonial going, you have to have a strategy in place. This podcast shows you exactly what you need to do so that you can get the answers your business deserves. --------------- In this episode Sean talks about Part 1: Why you need to send instructions before asking the questions Part 2: Creating compartmentalisation: Bento Box Style Part 3: Why it’s a mistake not to send examples Right click here and ‘save as’ to download this episode to your computer. ------------------ A few billion years ago something quite amazing—and destructive—occurred on Earth. Oxygen was produced for the first time. If you were to go back into Earth’s history, you’d choke and die quickly And that’s because the Earth’s atmosphere mostly consisted of Nitrogen, water vapor, carbon dioxide—plenty of carbon dioxide from all those erupting volcanoes—and methane. And then between 2.3-2.4 billion years ago, life began to undergo an amazing transformation on the ocean floor. A bunch of photosynthetic microbes called cyanobacteria started harnessing the Sun’s energy and converted the carbon dioxide and water into food. And what was the waste product of these cyanobacteria? Yes, it was oxygen. Life-harnessing bacteria began to spread to any surface in the sea and  creating huge amounts of oxygen. But this oxygen didn’t go very far. The oceans were packed with dissolved iron, and you know what happens when iron mixes with oxygen? Sure you do. You get rust. The oceans literally rusted and for hundreds of millions the iron in the ocean sucked up the available oxygen. For about 700 million years of rusting, the oceans ran out of iron. There was just one minor issue: the cyanobacteria were still producing immense amounts of oxygen. Where would all this oxygen go? Into the atmosphere, that’s where it all went The oxygen had to escape and it made its way into the Earth’s atmosphere. In the billion years that were to follow the Earth began to change from a place where you could hardly breathe, to one that had a bounty of oxygen. Something similar applies you’re dealing with testimonials for your business At first the testimonials you get are weak, almost impossible to use. Then as time passes, and if you use the six-questions from The Brain Audit, you’ll get testimonials that are more oxygenated. But for you to create a great oxidation event, you need the power of the 17-Question testimonial. And the reason why you need this 17-Question testimonial is because it catapults your testimonials into an experience. Instead of just reading yet another testimonial, the prospect feels the ups, down, twists, turns and final result. Let’s go into the land of the 17-Question testimonial and explore three elements: 1) Why you need to send instructions before asking the questions 2)  Creating compartmentalisation: Bento box style 3) Why it’s a mistake not to send examples First, what are the seventeen questions? We’d want to get that out of the way, so here goes: 1) What was your primary reason for taking this course? 2) Describe how you used to approach writing before this course began 3) Describe how things changed about mid-way into the course 4) Describe how you feel now, towards the end of this course 5) Can you tell us about your experience with the group and the difference it made? 6) Can you tell us why the forum helped? And where it helped? 7) Can you describe to a newcomer how this course is taught? ( teaching methodology) 8- Describe Sean as a teacher 9) Did you have any personal experience (e.g. The moment I understood the one-word, it was a special moment because in the past….etc). 10) What would you say are the big benefits of this course? 11) How did the extra classes? Audio on Mistakes etc. help? 12) Why would you recommend it? 13) The course is called the toughest in the world. Can you describe how tough it was, and what sacrifices you had to make to keep going? 14) What was your toughest moment? How did you overcome it? 14) Have you done other courses with Psychotactics? OR have you signed up or considered signing up for another course? Why? 15) What advice would you give to future participants? 16) How did the course personally help you? 17) Anything else you’d like to add? Part 1: Why you need to send instructions before asking the questions Yesterday my wife Renuka was filling in a form for an online visa. She’d fill in a page of details only to be confronted with yet another. Then she’d fill a second page and the third would show up. Mother’s name, father’s name, previous visa number—details after details popped up to the point of frustration. When you’re asking clients for testimonials it hard enough when you ask a few questions, but a seventeen question form can be quite tiresome. Which is why you need to prepare the client in advance. This preparation calls for instructions. When we ask clients for testimonials, we forget one important fact We forget that for many, if not most of clients, giving testimonials is not a common activity. Even if they’ve agreed to give you a testimonial, the sight of seventeen questions may appear a little over the top. Yet, without that voluminous amount of detail you’re unlikely to draw out the entire experience. To make sure the testimonial plan goes well you have to prepare the client. It’s important to send them information in advance Whether the testimonial is done via the phone, in person or via the Internet, you need to make sure the client knows they’re going to go through a 17-question testimonial. And if you suspect the client is going to be reluctant to write, you should immediately reach for the phone or in person. There’s a big advantage to getting a testimonial over the phone When we write, we tend to edit. And if a client is sitting down to write answers to a bunch of questions, you’re asking him to invest a lot of not just writing time, but editing time as well. On the phone or in person, you have no such problem. The client is merely answering a bunch of questions and is likely to be happy to speak for between 10-12 minutes. In comparison, a written testimonial may take well over 45 minutes to an hour. Which is why you need to let the client know you’d like to speak to them, and that you’ll be recording the session. This is the first level of preparation involved. The second level seems minor but it’s just as important When clients agree to giving a testimonial, I also send them this information: This isn’t just a client testimonial. It’s more of a case study describing your ups and downs and final result. The experience is what counts and so I would really like you to answer these questions in as much detail as possible. Short, one-line answers become pretty useless as they lack detail. They also can’t really be used, so I’d prefer you put in as much detail as possible in your answers. This detail helps me understand your journey better and is also a really ego booster. So I would appreciate the maximum amount of detail in the answers. There’s really no reason to have a twiggy, anaemic testimonial You want one that’s well rounded, full of juicy experiences and stories. And when you put the client in a situation where they can quickly give you the information (via phone or in person) you’ve made the first and most important move. When you clearly bring up the issue of detail, you’re priming them to be effusive—and yes, it does make for some pretty cool testimonials. If the testimonial isn’t via the phone or in person, things get a little dicier Well, not quite. It really depends on what you’ve delivered in terms of product or services. If a client buys a product like “Chaos Planning” which is a short, yet intense book, there’s really no point in sending the client a seventeen question questionnaire. However, if there’s a lot of involvement and a slightly long drawn process, you’re more than likely to get a far better response. Let’s say you’re a web designer. You’ve just spent two months of back and forth movement building a client’s website. Now there’s been a bit of a relationship and it’s far more likely that an e-mail based set of questions will work. We tend to use the 17-Questions only for courses We conduct courses such as the cartooning course, the Article Writing Course, copywriting, First Fifty Words etc. These aren’t courses where you sign up and then the teacher disappears. They’re pretty hands on courses and with just a few clients a ton of back and forth is involved. To give you an example, in the 2016 Article Writing Course we have our normal limit of 25 participants. And we’re now in Week 8 of the course and so far 9,374 posts have been generated. Yes, it’s impressive at over 1000 posts per week, but what’s important to note here is the involvement. If the client is fully involved, then it’s more than likely that either a phone call or an online questionnaire will get an equally powerful response. Of course if you have 25 clients, it’s better to have them answer via an online medium because the exercise gets very complicated. You have to figure out available timings and time zones and anyway the exercise may take several days. But if you have just a few clients, it’s a better idea to use the phone or record via Skype. We started this journey to get our 17-Question testimonial but realised there’s a lot more to consider. We realised that planning the strategy and choosing whether to use the phone or an online questionnaire is important. And that while the online questionnaire is definitely less time consuming, it depends a lot on the involvement of the clients. The more involved, the more likely you are to get great testimonials for such a lengthy questionnaire. This takes us to our second part: The logic of the questions. Do we really need 17 questions? Would 13 be just fine? Or could we go up to 19? The answer lies in the logic. What are you trying to achieve? That’s what we’ll have a look at next. Part 2: Creating compartmentalisation If you were to head back in time to Japan—no, not 2.4 billion years but closer—around the 12th century, you’d have run into quite a different sort of evolution: the start of the Bento box. During the Kamakura period, dried meals or hoshi-ii was introduced and bento was nothing more than a small bag to store dried rice. But if we speed up through the Azuchi Momoya Period, in the 17th century, we find bento boxes everywhere. Wooden, lacquered boxes that consisted of rice, chestnut, seafood, mushroom, pickles and yes, bamboo shoot. And that’s what a bento box does best With all those tastes and textures and different types of food, it’s critical to compartmentalise the food. Similarly, if you want to get results with your 17-Questions, you have to compartmentalise the questions so that each set tackles different issues. Bento at one of my favourite Japanese restaurant in Auckland Let’s take a look at the compartments for one of our courses, for starters. They’re split into: – The experience: Before, during, on completion of course – The elements of the course: the group, the forum, the notes, the audio. – The teaching system: How it’s taught, the responsiveness of the teacher etc. – Comparison: How they’re compare with other courses – Advice/Recommendations: Would they recommend the course to others? Why? – Any other comments And while we ask 17-Questions, what’s really vital is the creation of the bento box. You need to create the compartments for your own product or service first, before considering what to put in the individual boxes. Let’s go back to the web designer: What would the compartments look like? – The experience: Before, during, on completion of website – The elements of the website: the layout, functionality, ease of use etc. – Dealing with the developers: The responsiveness, ease of instructions etc. – Comparison: How they’re compare with other website developers or even other similar service providers – Advice/Recommendations: Would they recommend the service to others? Why? – Any other comments While most of the compartments of the bento box has already been created for you, you may still need to work on a compartment of your own. Or, you may need to add, subtract or change some of the questions. This compartmentalisation allows us to get the information we need and it allows the client to see at a glance what they’re expected to answer. We started out this journey by sending the instructions in advance. We then moved into compartmentalisation. And if you stopped right at this point, you are likely to get an outstanding testimonial. But why stop here? Why take the chance that something might still go wrong? The way to ensure a mind-blowing testimonial is to something so simple, it’s easy to miss. It’s called: sending an example. Part 3: Why it’s a mistake not to send examples Let’s say I step into a bar. I have no intention of drinking that cold glass of beer. But there in front of me is someone drinking a cold glass of beer. Guess what happens next? The reason why I’m sipping a beer is because of a mirror effect. This mirror effect also plays out to your advantage when you’re getting a client to give you a 17-Question testimonial. To understand why the mirror effect is so important, we simply have to take away the example. Now the client has no benchmark and their testimonial can be similar to what you’re expecting or wildly off course. A simple way to solve this problem is to send an example As you’d expect the example will be long and detailed. And the moment you send it to the client, they realise what’s expected of them. Despite this example, some clients will still give you terse testimonials. There’s really not much of a point in running such testimonials. However, most clients have a look at the example and proceed to give one just as good. But what if you don’t have an example in place? Well, it’s a good question but the answer is more than obvious. Be persistent and go in search of a client who’s willing to give you a longer testimonial. Just throwing your hands up in the air isn’t going to get you the testimonial you seek. If you need to do an assignment free of cost just for the sake of the testimonial, then make sure you get it done. Without that example testimonial in place, you can still get good 17-Question testimonials, but an example almost always guarantees great results. And once we’ve covered that last bit, it’s time for the summary. Ok let’s summarise The first point was one of instructions When you give clients instructions well in advance. Letting them know that they need to give lots of detail is very important. Without the detail you may have a testimonial but not a complete experience. The whole purpose of the 17-Question testimonial is for it to be like an oxygenation event. It needs to bring life to a testimonial in a dramatic manner. The issue of phone vs. online questionnaire is also something that needs to be tackled. Using the phone is far superior if you have fewer clients. If you have a large number, then you have to make sure it’s all online or it  may take too much time and never get done. The second point was one of compartmentalisation You need to split the main facets into something resembling a bento box. For us, we break up things into the experience, the teaching system, comparison, advice etc. And your compartments may be slightly different but still remarkably similar. All you need to do is sit down and create the compartments before putting in the questions in each bit. You can have fewer than 17 questions and possibly more. But you should get tons of material with 17. We’ve filled up entire booklets (just the Article Writing Course prospectus has over 80 pages of testimonials). The final point is one of beer—sorry, examples Send an example to a client. When she can see the example it’s a form of instruction. She knows what’s expected of her and will deliver accordingly. Without an example a client may meet your expectations, but equally they may go wildly off in some weird direction or not meet your quota. The example needs a mirror effect and it’s your job to provide the mirror. Start with the bento box. Create the compartments Fill it with questions. An example of the questions and answers Example: Alison’s answer 1)What was your primary reason for taking this course? I wanted to write in a much more engaging way. And to write faster. And I wanted to know when I had succeeded and failed in my attempt – to have some way of assessing for myself the quality of my output. 2) Describe how you used to approach writing before this course began I had the Psychotactics Outline stuck to my wall behind my computer screen. And I had tried like heck to implement it but I was trying to do it all at once. So it was hard and I knew I was failing or making such slow progress. And I did not really know how to get better on my own. I tried to outline and write in the same session. And I did not plan ahead, I just tried to write. And it took a long time, but I just thought, “hey, that’s life.” 3) Describe how things changed about mid-way into the course Mid way through the course we were doing disconnectors and the first 50 words. And man, that was hard. Trying to figure the right way to disconnect, trying to reconnect smoothly, trying to ‘bottle’ the drama and tip it onto the page at just the right point. It was hard, hard work. 4) Describe how you feel now, towards the end of this course Now I’m feeling confident. I can get a sense of my ‘One Word’ quite easily and once I have it, it’s pretty simple to come up with a disconnect. And I have a more trained eye, so I can quickly goback and ‘audit’ my work to make sure I have put in all the elements I need. It’s much, much easier. 5) Can you tell us about your experience with the group and the difference it made? I was the only girl in my small group, so sometimes I would ‘sneak out’ and read what was going on in the other groups, with people I knew from the Cartoon Course. But my small group was fine, and we kept nudging each other along and the accountability to do the work was excellent. We didn’t lose anyone!. Now that the forum has opened up to Group 2 I really appreciate being in a smaller group most of the time – sheesh, having all of us buzzing around would have been overwhelming. 6) Can you tell us why the forum helped? And where it helped? I love working in the forum because it’s so flexible. And you get almost instant feedback because of the different time zones. Instant feedback is so motivating. And you could get so many different comments on your work. And go back and correct it to make it better. And read other peoples work to learn from their mistakes 7) Can you describe to a newcomer how this course is taught? ( teaching methodology) It’s like working with a gemstone – you are polishing a single facet of the gem before you worry about any other facet. And you just trusting the process that when you finish, the gem will look magnificent. That’s where you have to trust Sean (and I did, because I had seen great results cartooning!) Describe Sean as a teacher (yes, even the irritating part). I did not find Sean irritating at all. I found him to be unfailingly (and surprisingly) patient and prepared to revisit things and help even further (like the extra calls, the Mistakes audios etc) and explain again and differently. He was very insightful and excellent at deconstructing errors and showing how to vapourise them. I also noticed on other threads that he is very robust and unprovokable. A very mature teacher who does not take complaints personally. And overall, he was just everywhere. Don’t ask me when he sleeps or how he keeps up with everything. I’m just grateful he does. And inspired to push my own envelope more to achieve what I want to. 9) What was your toughest moment? How did you overcome it? I did not have a particularly low point. I knew it was going to be hard, I had been warned, I expected it to be hard and it was! But I made a pact with myself that I would show up every day and post an article. So in my mind I was never going to miss a day, even if I wrote a crappy piece that I was not happy with and just could not stay up any later. 10) Did you have any personal experience (e.g. The moment I understood the one-word, it was a special moment because in the past….etc). ‘One word’ was certainly my biggest breakthrough because a break through there flows into everything else. I have been reading Sean’s stuff for a couple of years now and struggling to pin down this One Word thing. But it suddenly clicked and I don’t know why. It’s not that I hadn’t seen its prominence on the first chapter of notes and audio – I just could not wrestle it into submission. And with writing mostly travel stuff, different angles etc felt elusive. So the breakthrough came when I was outlining about different towns . And each place had a very particular character. So I realized that what I wanted the reader to take away was what the feeling or vibe of that place was. And that was my one word. So one place was ‘party place’ and another was ‘tranquil’ and so on. I have now managed to capture that for other types of topics the baby stuff and the finance stuff. It’s a really powerful feeling. 10) What would you say are the big benefits of this course? Being able to assess my own stuff better, to know where I am most likely to fall short and hone in on that. Outlining so fast! And seeing the outlines more clearly and easier. I think the most unexpected learning was the work process/ work flow. Of choosing a series, and outlining it, and then writing. That is of immense help to me, I struggle with strategic planning. 11) How did the extra classes? Audio on Mistakes etc. help? The Audios on mistakes were invaluable. And having the calls recorded. The extra calls, these last 2 Thursdays, were very valuable too. Surprisingly so, who would believe so much benefit could come from recapping stuff this late?! 12) Why would you recommend it? It works. If you are prepared to follow the process through, Sean gets you to the other side. 13) Can you describe why you (personally) find it unique? I love the ‘Psycho’ approach Sean uses to punch you through the Bully Brain zone. I love working with people from all over the world. And I love working hard with others who are determined to work hard and succeed too. 14) Have you done other courses with Psychotactics? OR have you signed up or considered signing up for another course? Why? Cartooning – for fun and to get my creative brain working and to challenge myself to do something I had never thought I could do. I would consider doing the Info products and the Copywriting and Pre-selling course once my bank balance has recovered from AWC. 15) What advice would you give to future participants? Decide beforehand that you will not quit. Clear your decks if you can, and expect it to be hard 16) How did the course personally help you? It gave me a good realization of how often we make excuses. So I started asking myself in other areas of my life “Do I want to do this? Yes? Then how will I make it happen?” instead of putting things off and being passive. Getting an insight on Sean’s personal program has encouraged me to push my own personal envelope to achieve what I want to. 17) Anything else you’d like to add? Thanks. A huge whole lot. It’s been great and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Useful Resources 1) Do you know why some businesses get wonderful clients, while others seem to get clients that are a pain in the neck? Find out more here. 2)  Find out: Why Clients Don’t Buy (Understanding The Elements of Risk) 3) About 5000bc: How to get reliable answers to your complex marketing problems  

Do you believe that if you eat correctly and pray regularly you can recover from illness? YES? Then you've landed at the perfect podcast because my guest today, Erin Porter did just that to recover from decades of bad health! To say that I enjoyed meeting Erin is an understatement, because some of you have pointed me to her incredible website, www.eatpraygetwell.com, in which she talks about finding Know The Cause on TV and the discovery was life changing. In fact, so many wonderful people dedicate segments of their social media platforms or websites to the fungus link and give me credit for their health restoration and that makes me feel so good! Thank you Erin and thank you all! Please listen carefully. No little girl should be relegated to a lifetime of serious health problems, including an estimated 100+ rounds of antibiotics (docs, if 3 rounds don't do the trick, stop thinking "bacteria!") and 4 sinus surgeries, yet thousands are living this way because our ENT doctors never read the 1999 landmark study from The Mayo Clinic that implicated fungus in over 90% of all chronic sinus infections....NOT BACTERIA!!!!!!!!!!!!! Erin found her way out and shares this interesting story with us......

Do you consider your pet your family? Yes? Then you should check out this helpful blog which discusses natural pet remedies. Click here for more info. #naturalpetremedies --- Intro/Outro Music Credit: Music for Manatees Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Have you done something heroic? Have you put yourself in harms way to help a stranger? Yes? Then you're a dumbass! Stop being such a show-off.