Bootstrapped Web

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

We’ve got a party episode today. We welcome Rob Williams of Workshop and Folyo. Allan Branch joins us later on in the episode when we discuss his time with Less Accounting. [tweetthis]There are pros and cons to both the service and the software side of things. - Brian[/tweetthis] Today’s topic was primarily pricing. How to price effectively, why to price at a certain level, and what pricing can do for your business. This episode was a great discussion on how value to the customer is reflected in the pricing of a service or product. We had some great insights today and maybe we’ll help you decide how to price your own service or product. Here are today’s topics: Rob’s service Workshop. What is it? Why Rob has recently changed the pricing of the service. The art of pricing. How pricing attracts the “right” clientele. What is Folyo? To do or not to do a Free Trial. What is Audience Ops Calendar? How to offer value to a customer. Catching up with Allan Branch. Why you are always beholden to somebody. Why Allan and his team sold Less Accounting. [tweetthis]If you want to tie pricing to value isn't that [revenue] the ultimate value? But no one does it! - Jordan[/tweetthis] Resources Mentioned Today: Foylo Workshop Less Everything Carthook Audience Ops Calendar As always, thanks for tuning in. Head here to leave a  review in iTunes.

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

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

We’re are having a “party” episode with some special guests today. We’ve got Dave Rodenbaugh, Craig Hewitt, and later on Brad Touesnard joining us. We are all involved with Big Snow Tiny Conf. Brian is head of the Vermont event, Dave is head of the West event (Colorado.) Craig is taking care of our European event in France. Today we talk about the conference and why we love it. [tweetthis]It's [Big Snow Tiny Conf] half retreat, half mastermind. -  Dave Rodenbaugh[/tweetthis] We also discuss living abroad and working remote and with remote teams. The startup world is going global and we want Big Snow Tiny Conf to reflect that. Here are today’s topics: What is Big Snow Tiny Conf Big Snow Tiny Conf East Big Snow Tiny Conf West Big Snow Tiny Conf Europe Why the events are awesome! Jordan’s meetup with his team Why traveling is a perk to the Bootstrapped lifestyle If you have an interest in Big Snow Tiny Conf tickets go on sale Oct. 10th. Remember these events are meant to be small so space is limited. Big Snow Tiny Confs East and West (Vermont and Colorado)  are scheduled for Feb. 6-9.  Big Snow Tiny Conf Europe (France) is scheduled for Jan. 16-19. [tweetthis]I think travel specifically is one of the big drivers of why I do this for a living. - Brian Casel[/tweetthis] Resources Mentioned Today: Big Snow Tiny Conf Bootstrapped Web Sponsor Indeed Prime - Get a $5,000 bonus when you get hired through Indeed Prime using Bootstrapped Web's link.   As always, thanks for tuning in. Head here to leave a  review in iTunes.

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

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

Well the launch for our new products are getting nearer. Today we give a general update on things and we talk about where we are on the new products. Brian is in the beginning of this process and Jordan is coming to the end of the process. Planning a new product is stressful. We discuss that stress and how we have personally dealt with it. There are tons of decisions that have to be made and there is the danger of getting caught up in the “what-ifs.” During today’s episode we talk about these roadblocks and how we plan to get pass them. [tweetthis]There is the factor that I am self-funding this and the need to budget. I need to do things in a smart way. - Brian[/tweetthis] The points we covered today: Jordan’s upcoming vacation plans. Brian’s mini- vacation. When it is time to let go of the service side of your business to a team. How a mind shift can help a project’s issues. How an outsider’s perspective can help project disputes. The importance of getting feedback from potential customers. Brian’s new product process. The benefits of having an “inner circle” of customers. The stress of project decision making. When to ask for a credit card. How to on-board new customers the right way. Why you should “launch ugly” instead of “ready.” [tweetthis]I didn't know how to push a tech team, nor have the experience & the knowledge. I'm not a product manager. - Jordan[/tweetthis] Resources Mentioned Today: Audience Ops Carthook Productize As always, thanks for tuning in. Head here to leave a  review in iTunes.