Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

This episode is a look back at some of the best advice for being successful, and we focus on taking your first step. The best plans are still just plans until you execute them. Therefore, every project and goal must move from the planning to the implementation phase. Yes, thinking about your steps can be a step in itself. However, one must ensure that an action is progressing towards the goal, not simply marching in place. Determine Your First Step When you are unsure of how to proceed and struggle with writer's block, work on an outline. Examine the problem and the solution or the starting point and the goal. The next step is to break down the "from A to B" into milestones or progress that will need to be made. This may include organizing thoughts, designing a solution, building a foundation, bringing in helpers, or other tasks you know need to be done. These low-hanging fruit tasks can give you things to do when you are struggling for specifics to make progress. The Title Page There is a joke about writers where they start their book with a title page and author line. While that may seem a trivial step, it is a first step. The smallest step can be critical to get us going. However, we do need to follow with a second step. An outline is an example. The author could write down some character names or key points they want to make. A product can start with a rough sketch or home page, or stream-of-consciousness items that are features or requirements can be a great momentum builder. Do not underestimate what this step can do for your motivation and ability to dive into that project or goal. Useful Interviews We have had more than a few guests talk about how to get started. Here are some episodes worth reviewing to motivate you. Starting A Project-Based Business Interview With Jay Aigner Launch Your Side Hustle Amy Harrop Interview Technology and Disruptions Interview With Chris Davidson Starting A Consulting Business From Scratch Adrienne Johnston

We start a new interview and sit down with Brian Childress to answer the question, what is a fractional CTO? Well, we cover far more than that. However, we start at the beginning and look at what he does as a fractional CTO, why it matters, and the benefit of bringing one aboard Sounds Great! What Is A Fractional CTO? In short, a fractional CTO (or any fractional position) is not much different from being part-time. The benefits of bringing on a C-suite role part-time are covered in our discussion. However, cost, political capital, and practicality can all factor in. There are many things a fractional can do that are difficult and costly for one in the position full-time. You can even leverage a fractional to vet and hire for the permanent job. About Brian Brian is a husband, father, technologist, and avid adventurer. As a technical advisor with a strong background in software engineering, cloud computing, and cybersecurity, he is experienced in helping CTOs and CEOs make the right technical decisions for their organizations. He understands the challenges that leaders face when it comes to technology. That's why he takes a pragmatic approach, focusing on delivering tangible results that impact business performance. By leveraging his deep understanding of the technology landscape and his experience working with startups and established organizations, he can provide valuable insights and guidance that help drive strategic decision-making. Check out His Website https://brianchildress.co/ This is his website. From here, listeners can read more about the topics he focuses on, subscribe to his newsletter, connect with him on social media, or email him.

We start a new season and format with a look back at the interviews where we discussed your "why" and its importance. That has been a theme in several podcasts and blog articles over the years. However, it is one that we need to keep in mind at the beginning, middle, and end of our pursuits. We need to answer this question about our products, careers, brands, and relationships. Your Why Is Essential To Almost Every Decision It can seem so simple. However, we often skip ahead or forget this crucial step. A journey is not the travel from point A to point B. It also involves why you want to go to that destination in the first place. When the route becomes difficult or a detour is required, we must keep our goal (the  "why") in mind. Otherwise, we can end up drastically off course or even fail to reach our destination. The question is not just a general thing we need to answer. We need to examine it and understand it at a deep level. That intimate knowledge will serve us when we must alter course or tackle an unforeseen event. Think of it like a sport where there is a goal line. Even in the midst of chaotic plays, you either keep the goal in focus or can set yourself back. Useful Interviews Here are a few episodes to review for excellent discussions of using your "why" to find happiness and success. Sometimes, your definition of success will come entirely from your "why." Turn Around Tragedy To Find Your Why: Greg Offer Interview Determine Your Why For A Life of Contentment Build The Life You Want And Never Work Again Growing Your Brand and Business – Suggestions For Any Entrepreneur

The second part of our discussion with Phil Alves takes us into designing an environment where we embrace feedback and use it for growth. Communication is often key to successful teamwork, and feedback is the most important thing we can communicate. That is how we learn that our approach is wrong or can be improved. We can sit back and watch others. However, the active participation of feedback takes out the guesswork. Improvement Follows When We Embrace Feedback Our discussion takes us through improving as a developer and as a team. We can improve in both areas when we embrace feedback and build a culture that desires that level of communication. A close look at high-performing cultures and organizations almost always shows that the members are comfortable with communicating and receiving feedback. It is almost like learning on the job. Our co-workers instruct us, and we provide the same for them. This interaction not only helps us learn faster but it also builds trust within the team. The members become more comfortable discussing their challenges, and growth becomes a part of the team rather than a competition. While this can occur only among team members, it is best when the organization takes this approach from the top to the bottom. Clear communication and feedback help make everyone better. About Phil Phil is a product and engineering leader. He has led the build of 100+ software products, working closely with hundreds of SaaS Founders. The list includes SaaS products for his use, bootstrapping founders, VC-funded fast-growing startups, and big enterprises like ADP, Box, and the US Ski Team. Check out His Products DevSquad DevSquad is a bootstrapped, profitable, ~90-person boutique consulting firm specializing in strategizing, designing, and developing SaaS products. DevStats DevStats helps SaaS Founders and Engineering leaders measure what matters to increase velocity and improve development teams' ability to get things done.

We start a conversation in this episode with Phil Alves and cover a lot of ground, including why code reviews make better developers. Phil has a unique development approach as a self-made developer who grew a software development company. His experience and personal growth, as well as translating that to a company, provide us with many improvement gems. This is one of those episodes where it is helpful to take notes. Code Reviews Make Better Developers We can always start with a statement like code reviews make better developers and find ways to defend it. However, this discussion digs into why these actions improve us as developers and as a team. Phil breaks down some of the key benefits of working in a team and how that can help our career whether we stay with the organization. About Phil Phil is a product and engineering leader. He has led the build of 100+ software products, working closely with hundreds of SaaS Founders. The list includes SaaS products for his use, bootstrapping founders, VC-funded fast-growing startups, and big enterprises like ADP, Box, and the US Ski Team. Check out His Products DevSquad DevSquad is a bootstrapped, profitable, ~90-person boutique consulting firm specializing in strategizing, designing, and developing SaaS products. DevStats DevStats helps SaaS Founders and Engineering leaders measure what matters to increase velocity and improve development teams' ability to get things done.

We continue our discussion with Anne Laffin and cover big-picture topics like online communities and marketing. The suggestions and impact often blur into building a brand. However, that is an essential step in getting your message to the correct people. She shares her experience with us so we can reach our ideal customers and those who most need our product or service. The Value Of Online Communities And Marketing Consistency and message are critical pieces of the brand establishment puzzle. These factors of our approach can go a long way in establishing us in the way we desire. In a similar fashion, the establishment of online communities and marketing go hand-in-hand. We can build a form of captive audience but one that has self-selected their way in. About Anne She is a marketing problem solver, strategist, and content creator who helps entrepreneurs and founders grow and amplify the inspiring work they bring to the world. Her 'in the trenches' mentality comes from a 20-year marketing career working with various companies. They were large and small (including start-ups) in the market research, tech, financial services, and animal health industries. In 2020, she started "Fin Marketing" (the name plays off her last name and love for water). It is a marketing consultancy for early-stage start-ups. However, long before any of those things happened, she received a B.A. in Communication from Villanova University and an M.S. in Interactive Media from Quinnipiac University. Get In Touch Check out her website: https://www.finmarketingm.com/ You can book a consultation and gain more insight from her experience and skills.

This episode is an interview that is also an introduction to market research. Anne Laffin takes us through several recommendations and common misconceptions. We start our discussion with some background and then quickly get into the meat of the conversation. She has an extensive experience with start-ups that is a perfect match for your next venture. An Introduction To Market Research For Non-Marketeers Our discussion is not only an introduction to market research but one that anyone can follow. She breaks down standard marketing approaches into steps that are easily understood. Thus, you can take her advice and map it to your current strategy to examine your next steps. That can help you find the best approach to getting your product or service in front of the customers best suited for the offering. About Anne She is a marketing problem solver, strategist, and content creator who helps entrepreneurs and founders grow and amplify the inspiring work they bring to the world. Her 'in the trenches' mentality comes from a 20-year marketing career working with various companies. They were large and small (including start-ups) in the market research, tech, financial services, and animal health industries. In 2020, she started "Fin Marketing" (the name plays off her last name and love for water). It is a marketing consultancy for early-stage start-ups. However, long before any of those things happened, she received a B.A. in Communication from Villanova University and an M.S. in Interactive Media from Quinnipiac University. Get In Touch Check out her website: https://www.finmarketingm.com/ You can book a consultation and gain more insight from her experience and skills.

In this episode, the conversation with Evgenihy Kharam continues into more detail, and he offers several security tips. You can often take these actions today, personally, or in your organization. They are easy-to-understand recommendations that will probably sound familiar. That is the frustrating part of cybersecurity. The most effective ways to approach security are well-known and quick to enact. Security Tips That Are Easy To Enact We have a larger footprint than we generally think in the modern world of technology. Even people with little to do with technical solutions can have dozens of passwords and secure websites they interact with. That can add up to a time-consuming amount of work for these security tips. However, we can start with a step in the right direction today and soon will find ourselves following all of the best practices and feeling far more secure online. About Evgeniy Evgeniy is a cybersecurity professional who has had the opportunity to spend more than 40,000 hours providing pre and post-sales support as an architect and principal consultant in various technologies. Evgeniy has worked with medium to large enterprise-level customers ranging in size from 500 to 100,000 employees. He is very passionate about cybersecurity technology, vendor relationships, and architecture. Thus, he believes in connected infrastructure, a significant need for vendor consolidation, and the ability for security control to integrate and share information. He brings much knowledge about VAR, MSSP, and technical pre-sales. As a result, Evgeniy has become proficient in speaking on most cybersecurity technical domains. The domains include Endpoint, Security, Network Security, SIEM/SOC/SOAR, SASE/SEE, VMS, and Cloud Security, to name a few. Get In Touch Check out his podcast: https://www.security-architecture.org/ He talks about cybersecurity, architecture, and cyber inspiration.

We start a new conversation with Evgenihy Kharam and look at how to secure your organization. He has spent decades refining his approach to security and counseled countless others in that area. We start with his journey to his current position and then discuss how he has seen security awareness and the related areas change over the years. Use Common Sense To Secure Your Organization There are many ways for hackers to go after your organization. However, it does not require technical genius to secure your organization. Most steps you can take that will have a substantial impact are well-known and common-sensical. For example, we all know we should avoid simple and repetitive passwords. Yes, it may take some effort to track random passwords for all of your accounts. However, there are easily accessible tools to make that a non-issue. About Evgeniy Evgeniy is a cybersecurity professional who has had the opportunity to spend more than 40,000 hours providing pre and post-sales support as an architect and principal consultant in various technologies. Evgeniy has worked with medium to large enterprise-level customers ranging in size from 500 to 100,000 employees. He is very passionate about cybersecurity technology, vendor relationships, and architecture. Thus, he believes in connected infrastructure, a significant need for vendor consolidation, and the ability for security control to integrate and share information. He brings much knowledge about VAR, MSSP, and technical pre-sales. As a result, Evgeniy has become proficient in speaking on most cybersecurity technical domains. The domains include Endpoint, Security, Network Security, SIEM/SOC/SOAR, SASE/SEE, VMS, and Cloud Security, to name a few. Get In Touch Check out his podcast: https://www.security-architecture.org/ He talks about cybersecurity, architecture, and cyber inspiration.

We continue our discussion with Shaunna Lee and self-care by diving into her morning routine and how it helps her start the day right. Her morning tasks are not surprising when you look at high-performing individuals. However, we explore them and how to embrace them as our own. In particular, we talk about journaling and how to start that daily writing habit. These activities have many benefits, and we touch on them as well. Start The Day With A Strong Morning Routine Each day, we get to start the day. That means we can work on our morning routine daily and adjust as needed. Everyone is different in their rhythms and how they are most productive. Therefore, it is helpful to start with a plan and then assess how it impacts your day so you can change as it suits you. For example, you might not be an early riser or find writing too stressful. You might also find some tasks are better off at the end of the day. A common variable is when a person puts together a daily task list. Some like to do it first thing in the morning, while others prefer it as a task at the end of the day. Each approach has pros and cons, but find the one that works best for you. About Shaunna She is here to leave the world prettier than she found it - one heart at a time. Thus, she founded this business to help clients navigate life after loss. She achieves this by helping people find their passion and purpose. Then, she shows them how to monetize it. She uses various modalities to create a customized wellness plan. They set intentions and manifest success & empowerment. She offers one-on-one coaching, writes books, and hosts two very different podcasts. She does all this to help her clients Align with who they truly are. Get In Touch Check out her workshop: https://www.shaunnalee.com/align Align - 45 minute workshop. The method to find your very own mind/body/spirit balance. This is the key to getting into the creative flow, tapping into your inner wisdom, and creating the best version of yourself at the start of each day.