Mastermind.fm

In this episode, we get to know David Henzel from Managing Happiness. David Henzel is well known in the WordPress community for being one of the co-founders of MaxCDN. He has been published in Inc., Venture Beat, Huffington Post, Fast Company and countless other large publications. He’s currently working on both a course and a book, called Managing Happiness. What you might not know is that he recently made some important changes in his life. He moved out of the USA and has settled in Bodrum, Turkey. While he continues to advise and mentor start ups, he has sold his share of MaxCDN and now works on a course for managing happiness in your married life. This was the result of a realization that the same principles we learn when managing a business can be applied to our relationships. In this episode, David talks about his early days in the business world up till the days of MaxCDN and what made him decide to sell it. We then talk about his decision to live his life with more meaning, and his quest to make a

In this week's episode, James is accompanied by the Robby McCullough, one of the primary gentleman behind the awesome Beaver Builder. So, join Mastermind.FM as James and Robby discuss business, marketing, and product strategies. Experience abounds! Topics Included: Details about & the history of Beaver Builder. Why use Beaver Builder? The makeup of the team as they celebrate 3 successful years together. Organizational structures and management styles. Defining what warrants a full-time employee versus a contractor. Knowing when to share a good idea, and when to act on them. Details on the new Beaver Themer. The power of the add-on model. How to increase value to your current customers. Marketing Strategies: Marketing back to the base. Getting the world to come to your site. "You can't be all things to all people." On working with a marketing agency. The practically impractical - physical goodies to accompany a digital launch. Tension in the product space. Determining

In this episode, I'm joined by blockchain expert/consultant Alex Preukschat to discuss what the near future holds in store for us. Blockchains promise to revolutionize our lives in a big way, simplifying many of our daily administrative chores and making things like wire transfers super cheap and fast. There are countless applications for blockchains, and they will probably change the internet as we know it. If you've never heard of blockchains, you'll probably have heard of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, which are all based on blockchain technology. Blockchains are the backbone of any crypto token. If you have any interest in this space, this is definitely one episode you don't want to miss. Even if you have never heard of these topics and don't really have an interest, I still recommend you give this a listen, as whether you like it or not this will be a big topic in the near future, so it's best to know more about it. Topics Included: Current and future applications of the blockchain Initial Coin

Jean recently attended WordCamp Europe and with the help of Donnacha McGloinn interviewed a few other attendees. For a full review of WordCamp Europe 2017 from Jean's viewpoint, you can check out his blog post on WP Mayor. In the meantime enjoy our interviews. Mentioned on the show: WordCamp Europe 2017 Carl Alexander's blog Tesla themes Admin Columns plugin Webdevstudios Yithemes

This was one of my favorite episodes because it was like having a fun and sometimes awkward conversation with a trusted friend. Dr. Sherry Walling just happens to excel at that very things. We talk about the transitions in her own life and some of the several projects that she’s involved in, including one I’m pretty excited about, ZenTribes. Grab the nearest couch and relax. This is a journey worth taking. Topics Included: Getting to know Sherry and her entrepreneurial shift The high stress of entrepreneurship Caring for the whole person (mind and body) ZenTribes - removing isolation in the entrepreneurial community So much great stuff here. Sherry touches on the importance of play, touch, and so much great insight Sherry's coming book A ZenTribes couples retreat Staying healthy in a busy life Exploring the therapist relationship Who needs this? How to get started? Mentioned on the show: https://zenfounder.com https://zenfounder.com/zentribes/ https://zenfounder.com/post

In this episode we dialogue with Rich Tabor of ThemeBeans. Rich’s audio was a little rough so we do apologize. On the call it didn’t sound that bad, but in production we discovered some issues. We’ve cleaned it up the best we could and hope you you don’t find it too distracting as the conversation was a lot of fun. Topics Included: A brief backstory of Rich Tabor Marketing / Leadership as an academic path The theme market Themes AND/OR Plugins The evolution of the theme business space Theme Clubs Recurring Renewals (notice or no notice) that is the question Ava - A new WooCommerce integrated theme by ThemeBeans Mission statements for products Mentioned on the show: https://themebeans.com https://richtabor.com https://themeforest.net/user/themebeans/portfolio

In this episode we welcome Primoz Ciglar from Proteus Themes. We were first introduced to Primoz when he embarked on an interesting experiment to make connection with other Entreprenuers at a not too distant Pressnomics WordPress business conference. Topics Included: Transitioning from developer to marketer Suplementing marketplace sales (Theme Forrest) with your own shop Managing multiple support and distribution channels Marketing Expirements Facebook Live The struggle of ROI A/B Testing Customer Feedback Personal Brand, transparency, mental health Connecting to the larger community Invest with the right people You are not alone and your situation is not unique Taking care of yourself Primoz Cigler Proteus Themes Facebook Live Experiment Primoz T-Shirt and PressNomics review

This week we have an unorthodox, and lengthy, content filled episode lined up for you, as the show was recorded hot in the middle of an actual ICO. In addition to Ransu (CEO of TokenMarket), WordPress veteran, Donnacha MacGloinn sits in as cohost with Jean. Topics Include: A brief on TokenMarket and Ransu's history with ICO. Regulated and non-regulated markets. Defining BitcoinETI Explaining ICO and Appcoin What is Mysterium? Understanding how ICO works from an investor's point-of-view. What are you actually buying and how can you profit from it? Comparing the value and potential of Bitcoin. Soft-cap & Hard-cap The five categories of application for Appcoin. In-game Currencies Loyalty Tokens Closed Loop Payment Systems Software Licenses Donations Bitcoin's performance compared to other cryptocurrency. The six digital assets valued over one billion. Tips for investors. Ins and outs of carrying out an investment through TokenMarket. Rewarding early investors

This week Jean is joined by the CEO and founder of one of Europe's first property crowdfunding platforms: Property Moose. The company was founded in an attempt to democratize property investment, believed to be previously reserved only for those with access to large amounts of capital. Prior to Property Moose, Andrew worked as a solicitor at a top-tier U.S. Corporate Finance firm, as well as a leading Private Equity firm. Topics Include: Describing Property Moose and services. What is Property Crowd Funding? The types of investments offered. The difference between first and second charge. Typical investments and strategies. Cautions for those unfamiliar with property crowd funding. Recommended timeframes. On international clientele. The misconception of low versus high capital investments. The advantage for those outside of the U.K. Advantages of diversified location investments. Plans to expand outside of the U.K. How to approach currency as an outside investor. Why American i

This week, Jean and James are joined by Amir Helzer, founder of WPML, which is perhaps the best WordPress Multilingual plugin. Having met abroad in Israel, Jean decided the ongoing conversations with Amir were to good not to have him on to discuss the challenges and opportunities in managing large teams remotely, this and much more in episode 62 of Mastermind.FM. Topics Include: Amir's start and 10+ years experience in WordPress. The personal journey toward making WordPress Multilingual. A brief on Toolset. Remote Team Management of 90+ People Team Size/s Managing as a digital nomad. Amir's road to digital nomadism. Letting go of tasks, delegating to employees. Hiring the right people is more important than having the best procedures. Set up a culture that allows your employees to succeed. Come up with or adopt a simple project/person management system. Fiddling with this system should not be a challenge of the business. Measuring results only. You hire good people. Nobo

This week Jean and James have a classic mastermind discussion about renewal rates and how one goes about writing more. From why everyone needs to implement automatic renewals, to the obstacles a writer faces, and mind over matter techniques to encourage you to write more. Expect a content rich episode, loaded with great takeaways! Topics Include: James's newest article. Automatically Renewing Subscriptions From business conference epiphany to reality. On renewal rates. The results; reaping the benefits. The magic of forecasting and predictability. Article idea generation. Where to start? Maintaining momentum and enthusiasm. Striking while the iron is hot on motivation. Understanding your motivations. Fighting imposter syndrome. Defining why you are writing. Measuring your audience. Honing in on inspiration. Mentioned on the Show: Seth Godin Automatically Renewing Subscriptions "I did it without getting on a list and so can you."

Transparency and paying forward good advice; this episode takes on a new format, based on experience and hard learned lessons from both of our hosts, as they aim to help those new to the digital playing field. This week, Jean and James have Iszuddin Ismail, of RunCloud.io, on to talk about growth hacking for startups, and take on any questions from their guest along the way. Topics Include: Easily implemented blogging tips. Separating product or service updates from curated content. Experiment with different types of content and capitalize on your strengths. Set an example for your customers, lay an easy path for them to follow. Expanding your digital footprint. "Create, connect, deploy." Defining your product or service. The importance of proper email marketing. Use your captured email addresses. Do you need funding? Depending on your end goal, stay bootstrapped if you can. Setting goals as a team determines the length and type of road ahead. Implementing affiliate revenue

This week we focus on money; what we do with the money we earn, reinvesting, peer to peer lending, etc. As Jean is proudly joined by Laurence Samuels, creator of Financial Thing: a blog site full of unbiased P2P lending reviews, DIY investing guides, and home to the new Investing Essentials Podcast. Topics Include: Introductions; how and why Laurence started Financial Thing. How cancer, in part, drove Laurence into the world of investing. The book that made investing just click. What is P2P Lending? The things that have lead to the success of, and need for, P2P. What interest look like on P2P platforms. Weighing risk of P2P. Acknowledging the subjectivity of risk. Laurence's experience based tips. Recommended platforms. Why Europe has a leg up in the P2P space. The difficulty with American money lending. Who is exactly lending to whom? Criticisms of P2P. Investing resources. Dividend investing. Calculating investment returns. Mentioned on the Show: Financial Thing I

Topics Include: Agency Work Enterprise & Obstacles Multisite & SAAS SAAS Apps Converting Plugins to SAAS Apps. Contributing to core. WordPress precautions. Predictions Mentioned on the Show: How to Attract High Paying Clients for your WordPress Business Digital Growth 15 Obstacles That Enterprises Report in WordPress and Development Partners My Store Locator Plus DevRix - Software as a Service https://wordpress.tv/2016/11/11/mario-peshev-building-saas-with-wordpress/

Welcoming back James, the hosts get back to square one and catch up on both work and personal life, while sharing recent Pressnomics and business takeaways. Topics Include: James shares his 5 Year Pressnomics veteran experience. Takeaways from this year's conference. The magic of the hallway track & after-party discussions. Switching things up: personal goal updates! Jean keys us in on his progress toward being a professional Padel player. James's fitness check in. A brief on diet and hobbies. Cautionary tales: When to-do lists do more harm than good. Limiting digital shopping can open up a surprising amount of free time. Sleep vs actual rest. Metrics for maximizing your time in dream land. The benefits of routine and meditation. Take advantage of your biological clock's prime [functional] time. Mentioned on the Show: Sleep by Nick Littlehales Eat That Frog! by Brian Tracy

In this episode we cover building a side-business online, making the full-time leap to the Shopify App ecosystem, and how it's changed over the past 6 years. Topics Include: Starting in IT and account management. Learning to code and design. Choosing a language and path. Finding an outsourcing partner. Growing to a full-time business. The cost of living in Copenhagen. Multifaceted analysis of revenue numbers. One time fees versus renewals. The joys of a lifestyle business. The ins and outs of the Shopify ecosystem. The Shopify community. The state of the tech scene in Copenhagen. Reducing support. How to outsource to India successfully. Audience questions for Bjorn. Mentioned on the Show: Bjorn's hompage: www.forsbergplustwo.com Bjorn's Twitter: https://twitter.com/FORSBERGtwo His partner in India: https://idyllic.co/ Shopify Partner Program: https://www.shopify.com/partners Open Source Metrics app on Github: https://github.com/forsbergplustwo/partner-metrics-for-

This week Jean is joined by Bryce Adams, founder of Metorik. They talk personal travels, a little WordPress history, and why SAS is the future. Topics Include: Bryce's Journey From Woothemes to Woocommerce. Automattic's Woo acquisition. Digital Nomadism and Bryce's favorite places. Much travel, little work. WordPress in Japan. Why the SAS model? The limitations of the plugin/product business model. "Will doing this help my customers succeed?" How Metorik came about. Weighing whether to stay with Woo or chase an alternative. Advice for those seeking validation to pursue their own side projects. Building your product or service to sustainability. Launching a bigger company off of a platform. Let your customer lifetime value be your guide. Adopting live chat support. "The future of WordPress is not in a ZIP file." The technology behind building a SAS. Mentioned on the Show: Metorik Bryce's Twitter Calculating...Average Revenue per User What is Success fo

This episode we are down one Jean, but James brings a Kevin Stover and Zach Skaggs into the mix, to talk hiring and why anyone would consider leaving a stable job for that of bootstrap offerings. Topics Include: WP Ninjas history in hiring. The perspective of one who would trade mega-company stability for startup culture. Lifestyle over pay rate. Letting growth influence your hiring. Hiring for attitude and aptitude. Do they get it, do they want it, do they have the capacity to do it? Good onboarding is important. Don't over engineer.

This episode Mastermind.FM has a complete international developer panel, ranging from Canada, Spain, United States and Malta. There are some many good talking point 'deep dives', that show notes just won't do it justice. So, sit down as with this weeks crew as Mastermind.FM embodies its namesake. Topics Include: All things WordPress. Through the eyes of developers. Views on development and WordPress. Frustrations and Challenges Defining Standards Rewriting in core. Looking forward.

This week, a Mastermind update, as Jean and James catch up on their personal businesses and side projects. In this laid back core episode, many laughs await. Our hosts lead in by jesting about Jean's pajamas, as James elaborates on potentially getting into the physical product space, with playing cards no less. Topics Include: Jean talks about his recent conference experiences. AI, chat bots, customer and company ramifications. Virtual Assistants Self-driving Cars Cryptocurrencies Crowd Funding James and Jean close out the topic with future conference plans. On Growth Break points, James's switch from team growth to revenue being the determining factor. Implementing Processes The consideration toward outsourcing support. The Pros and cons of growth. Past, present, and future challenges. Be aware of your product, processes, and revenue. As you continue to grow, you have to be able to ensure things are being done appropriately, efficiency, and with care. Featured on the