Mastermind.fm

Today we unpack a business model that perhaps has the most potential for your business, the SaaS business model. The SaaS, or Software as a Service, is full of all kinds of advantages and perhaps a few challenges, but you can't deny it's earning potential if done right. Join us as we discuss all of this in our final installment of Business Models for WordPress products. SaaS Business Model In the SaaS business model, the processing side of rendering the service is handled by you on your own server(s), and the customer or client accesses your service there. Sometimes the customer or client connects directly to the service, sometimes they install a product or plugin that connects, sometimes they build everything on your site then implement it on their website via a javascript snippet or similar for the service to work. Examples: Optimizely Akismet Optin Monster WordFence Manage WP iTheme Sync Advantages: The key advantage to a SaaS model is that it is not confined to a single space in the market s

Welcome to Episode 10 of Mastermind.fm! This week our intrepid masterminds Jean and James continue the series on business models for WordPress that began in Episode 8. This is part 3 of 4, so look for them to wrap this one up next week. Episode 8 began this series with talk of free and premium business models. Episode 9 continued the conversation looking at the freemium model and productized services. This week we focus on a larger variety of models including monetizing through support alone, the Addon Model, the Addon Marketplace, addon development for core products other than your own, and the pure Marketplace model.  A brief rundown: Business Models for WordPress Products Part 3 Paid support for a free core product and plugins Examples: Paid Memberships Pro Issue of note for this model: support usually is required mostly in beginning stages, but as customers become familiar with the product they tend to stop paying Also user perspective is frequently that the product is buggy and they are resistan

Welcome to Episode 9 of Mastermind.fm! Last week Jean and James began a multi-part series discussing different WordPress business models. Episode 8 tackled  free and premium business models, and this week we continue with a discussion of licensing strategies, the freemium model, productized service model, and membership model. Recurrent vs. Lifetime License Models The topic of conversation turns first to recurrent versus lifetime license models. Recurrent licenses typically require annual renewal to continue receiving basics like product support and updates, whereas lifetime licenses are exactly what the name implies. Jean and James point out that WordPress plugins typically favor recurrent licensing while most themes choose lifetime licenses. James parses the reasoning behind that split in fairly simple terms. If you have recurrent expenses that customers benefit from, a recurrent payment structure ensures that you always have the income to provide those benefits. It also establishes a sustainable business

Welcome to Episode 8 of Mastermind.fm! This week James and Jean begin tackling different business models in WordPress. Right out of the gates, our resident masterminds are quick to point out an important distinction in the way we think about WordPress product models in general: the difference between a development model and a business model. Let’s unpack that a little bit before we jump into the heart of the conversation. The development model refers to the concept of a core product with core functionality in which addons are developed to extend the functionality of the base product in a modular fashion. This model offers a core product that is lean and extensible, allows users to choose the functionality they need, and is easier to troubleshoot and support by isolating specific aspects of the product. A perfect example of this concept in action is the modular AffiliateWP by Pippin Williamson. On the flipside are plugins like Jetpack: a behemoth plugin that attempts to do all the things. Conceptual distinct

In this episode we share a few updates on what we're working on and what's going on in our businesses. We mention the following: Jean attending A Day of REST in London James talks about the upcoming Ninja Forms v3 Jean talks about his booking plugin add-on for Easy Digital Downloads The WP RSS Aggregator website is currently being redone using Array Themes. WP Mayor is now powered by WooCommerce. Featured On The Show: WP Ninjas WP Mayor WP RSS Aggregator Day of Rest Conference Rest API Calypso iThemes sync Infinity WP Ninja Forms 3 Ninja Forms 3 Demo FocusLab Matt Mullenweg: State of the Word 2015 EDD Bookings MailPoet Array Themes StudioPress Themeforest Parallelus WP Newsdesk JeanGalea.com JamesLaws.com PressNomics

Earlier this month both James and Jean attended Pressnomics 2016 in Tempe, Arizona. We had a blast and took the opportunity to conduct a series of short interviews with attendees, asking them about their biggest takeaways from the event. Here's who we interviewed: Andy Wilkerson Ben Arellano Brad Touesnard Brian Hogg Dave Rodenbaugh Jackie D'Elia John Turner Kyle Brown Liam Talbot Matt Cromwell Robbie McCullough Syed Balkhi Vova Feldman

In this special episode we discuss our tips and tricks on how to get the most benefit out of your next conference. We're getting ready for Pressnomics and in preparation we're dusting off our tried and true techniques for making stronger and more effective connections, where  and how to spend your time, and even something to do even before you start your travels. Featured On The Show: WP Mayor WP Ninjas Ninja Forms 3 PressNomics SmartPassiveIncome Easy Digital Downloads Astoundify JeanGalea.com JamesLaws.com Revolut

Join us as we talk about where we're at right now with our businesses. James talks about the new release of Ninja Forms (version 3) which includes a whole new interface. Jean talks about his new plugin EDD Bookings as well as some developments on WP Mayor. Later in the episode we talk about how we started with our businesses and what challenges we encountered in the early days. This is a good episode if you want to understand what we do in our businesses and how we got here. Featured on the show NinjaForms WP Ninjas WordPress.org PayPal Easy Digital Downloads WP RSS Aggregator WP Mayor NinjaDemo WooCommerce Jigoshop JamesLaws.com JeanGalea.com

We start off this episode talking about our routines and workflows and end up mostly talking about the importance in leading a balanced life. A healthy lifestyle and regular exercise has helped both of us stay more focused and more generally happy and satisfied. Jean talks about keeping up with routines while traveling while James talks about his struggles with changing routines and his plans to get back into running and regular training. Finally we offer some tips about establishing healthy routines and breaking bad habits. Featured On The Show: Trello Rewire WP Ninjas Gallup strength finder test Strava app SportsPress plugin Nerdfitness.com JeanGalea.com

Making the transition from employee to business owner is neither easy nor fast in most cases. There are many things to learn but it's a very rewarding journey. In this episode we share some insights on how we made the transition from employees to freelancers to eventually team leaders. We share our struggles and also talk about the fact that being a business owner is not for everyone. We touch on how to learn the skills needed to start and run a business and where to get assistance from. Finally we end with some thoughts on managing yourself, which can be one of the hardest things to do for those used to received instructions from above and being constantly monitored. Featured On The Show: WP RSS Aggregator WP Ninjas Jameslaws.com WP Mayor JamesLaws: Why I'm glad I'm not a solo founder  

Nowadays a business cannot function properly without a good suite of support software. In this episode James and Jean share their software setup and the organizational tools that they use on a daily basis with the rest of their team. We talk about internal communication tools like Slack, code and issue management software like Bitbucket and JIRA, customer facing applications like HelpScout and more. Featured On The Show: Slack Slack Slash Commands for EDD (Source: WP Ninjas) Hipchat WP Ninjas Easy Digital Downloads P2 Flowdock Twitter Screenhero Trello Bitbucket JIRA Atlassian bbPress Help Scout Desk.com Zendesk GrooveHQ Intercom Ninja Forms Conditional logic (Ninja Forms add-on)

The WordPress community has earned itself a very good reputation. There is a strong sense of ethical business, as well as a distinct openness and willingness to share. James and Jean talk about the importance of working within such a community when building a business. We then talk about the different types of peer interaction, going through the list of conferences, meetups, online communities (Facebook and Slack) and how you can seek and join such groups. We mention a few of our favorite conferences and also talk about our experience with masterminds, and share some tips on how to join or create a mastermind a group. Finally we also spare a thought for those living in areas with little or no conference/meetup activity, and the alternatives that exist. Featured On The Show: James Laws: Why I'm glad I'm not a solo founder MicroConf Smashing Conference Twitter Word Camp Word Camp Europe WordSesh Facebook: Advanced WP Group Facebook: Advanced WooCommerce Group Facebook: Selling WP Products Group C

Time for some introductions; James and Jean introduce themselves, their businesses and talk about why they decided to start a new podcast. We talk about the differences between our businesses (remote vs office-based) and also talk about what masterminds really are and why they are important to anyone in business (and not only). Finally we talk about why we felt that there is a need for a new podcast in the WordPress space and who our target audience will be, setting the stage for the next episodes. Featured On The Show: WP Mayor WP RSS Aggregator WP Ninjas Jameslaws.com Ninja Forms Slack Twitter: @jeangalea Twitter: @jameslaws Twitter: @wpmayor