WP-Tonic | WordPress | SaaS | Bootstrap SaaS | Startups

About Brian Gardner Brian journey as a creative entrepreneur started in 2006 when he was working for an architectural firm as a project manager. He had a good job, but it wasn’t a great job. There was no path within that company which would have made him happy, so he took matters into his own hands and quit. He taught himself how to use WordPress and was the first person who started selling premium themes. He guess you can say that he helped revolutionize the market. In his first month, he made $10,000, which grew to $20,000, $40,000, and $80,000 the following months. The rest, as they say, is history. The Show Main Discussion Topics #1 - Any Insights/advice that Brain would like to share with the audience who are looking to develop a business in the WordPress ego-system 2020? #2 - Does the classic WordPress themes have a future? #3 - Does Brain have any personal insights connected to successfully selling a WordPress business?

ThIs Week's Show Main Sponsor is WPfeedback.co If you use this special coupon code WPTonicROCKS you will get 25% all plans available https://wpfeedback.co/ Our secondary sponsor of the show is LaunchFlows At https://launchflows.com/ #1 - Gutenberg Can Tackle the Problems the Fields API Tried to Solve https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-can-tackle-the-problems-the-fields-api-tried-to-solve #2 - The browser wars are back, but it’s different this time https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/16/21068387/browser-wars-microsoft-edge-google-chrome-apple-safari-chromium-webkit-goat-rodeo #3 - GoDaddy’s ‘Go’ WordPress Theme Offers a Page-Building Experience via the Block Editor https://wptavern.com/godaddys-go-wordpress-theme-offers-a-page-building-experience-via-the-block-editor #4 - Farewell to Kinsta https://brianleejackson.com/farewell-kinsta/ #5 - Teeth aligning company SmileDirectClub is using NDAs to stifle bad reviews online https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/22/21077146/smile-direct-club-nda-bad-reviews-online-teeth-aligner-customer-refunds #6 - Open Source Is Growing, But Not How It Should https://sourceforge.net/blog/open-source-growing-not/  

Main Sponsor is Kinsta Hosting: https://kinsta.com/ Our secondary sponsor of the show is LaunchFlows: https://launchflows.com/

ThIs Week's Show Main Sponsor is WPfeedback.co If you use this special coupon code WPTonicROCKS you will get 25% all plans available https://wpfeedback.co/ Our secondary sponsor of the show is LaunchFlows At https://launchflows.com/ #1 - Can the Block Directory and Business Interests Coexist? https://wptavern.com/can-the-block-directory-and-business-interests-coexist #2 - ‘Techlash’ Hits College Campuses https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/11/style/college-tech-recruiting.html #3 - Introducing a new chapter, with Cory Miller as Post Status partner https://poststatus.com/cory/ #4 - New $237K CMS website scrapped after parents complained it wasn’t user-friendly https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/new-237k-cms-website-scrapped-after-parents-complained-it-wasnt-user-friendly/LDXTZUJLZBFBXB56WJQ5SVLBHI/ #5 - Get Involved With Block-Based WordPress Theme Experiments https://wptavern.com/get-involved-with-block-based-wordpress-theme-experiments #6 - 23andMe has sold the rights to develop a drug based on its users’ DNA https://www.newscientist.com/article/2229828-23andme-has-sold-the-rights-to-develop-a-drug-based-on-its-users-dna/

Brad Williams is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of WebDevStudios (WDS). Brad is responsible for defining the vision and direction of the overall company. He works closely with Marketing and Sales with a strong focus on Business Development. Brad has helped grow WDS from a coffee table startup to one of the oldest and most respected WordPress Agencies working with clients like Microsoft, Viacom, Campbell Soup Company, Starbucks, and the NBA. Since 2017, Brad has been a member of the Forbes Agency Council. Prior to WebDevStudios, Brad was the IT Director at a major eCommerce company based in Indiana, where he managed all online web properties, warehousing systems, and internal servers and networks. Brad is also a US Marine Corps veteran and graduated from Military Occupational Specialty School as a 4067 Computer Programmer. Brad served one tour in Kuwait/Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom where he learned to program with a gas mask on! Brad is a co-author of the Professional WordPress Book Series, which are some of the highest rated advanced WordPress Development books on the market. He is the co-organizer of WordCamp Philly 2010 – 2015 and the Philadelphia WordPress Meetup. Brad was also a co-organizer for the Inaugural WordCamp US in 2015 and again in 2016. He has been developing websites for over 20 years. In the last 10, Brad has specifically focused on open-source technologies like WordPress. Brad lives in Philadelphia with his wife and son. He’s obsessed with cheesesteaks, Raider’s football (it’s complicated), podcasting, Halloween, LED lights, and all things technology. https://webdevstudios.com/team/brad-williams/

ThIs Week's Show Main Sponsor is WPfeedback.co If you use this special coupon code WPTonicROCKS you will get 25% all plans available https://wpfeedback.co/ Our secondary sponsor of the show is LaunchFlows At https://launchflows.com/   #1 - Pods Framework Loses Primary Sponsorship, Seeks Donors To Fund Project https://wptavern.com/pods-framework-loses-primary-sponsorship-seeks-donors-to-fund-project   #2 - The 84 biggest flops, fails, and dead dreams of the decade in tech https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/20/21029499/decade-fails-flops-tech-science-culture-apple-google-data-kickstarter-2010-2019   #3 - Landing Kit for WordPress Maps Any Post or Page to a Custom Domain https://wptavern.com/landing-kit-for-wordpress-maps-any-post-or-page-to-a-custom-domain   #4 - Creating Voice Skills For Google Assistant And Amazon Alexa https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2019/12/voice-skills-google-assistant-amazon-alexa/   #5 - What is missing in WordPress https://uxallthethings.com/what-is-missing-in-wordpress/

We look back over 2019 what have we learned over the year. Adrian has joined me as the show's co-host during 2019 and we also talk about his own experiences trying to build a WordPress plugin business connected to GroundHogg.

We will be discussing how you can successfully bootstrap a WordPress based business in 2020 and what does Rob see as the major opportunities in the WordPress environment for bootstrappers! Rob Walling The former joint founder of Drip email marketing platform and also the joint presenter of the Startup For The Rest of Us Hi, I’m Rob. I make things. I’ve built and sold several startups, most recently Drip. I’ve been helping bootstrappers since 2005. Along the way I’ve… Written three books (including two best-sellers) Been interviewed in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and Inc. Created podcasts that have been downloaded more than 10 million times Angel invested in a dozen companies Published more than 400 essays Received a Wikipedia page Reached hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs through my interviews, talks, podcasts, and writing If you’re interested in SaaS, startups, or bootstrapping, enter your email at right to download my second book for free (Start Marketing the Day You Start Coding). It’s a 170-page ebook collecting my best articles from the past decade or so. https://robwalling.com/about/

ThIs Week's Show Sponsor is WPfeedback.co If you use this special coupon code WPTonicROCKS you will get 25% all plans available https://wpfeedback.co/   #1 - Bluehost Launches Premium WordPress Theme Marketplace to Customers https://wptavern.com/bluehost-launches-premium-wordpress-theme-marketplace-to-customers #2 - Google Fires Another Worker for Exercising her Rights and Protecting Coworkers from Illegal Company Retaliation https://medium.com/@ksspiers/google-fires-another-worker-for-exercising-her-rights-and-protecting-coworkers-from-illegal-b86c41ef91b9 #3 - One-Time vs. Recurring Payments for WordPress Products https://wptavern.com/one-time-vs-recurring-payments-for-wordpress-products #4 - Uber will pay $4.4 million to settle a federal probe into sexual harassment and retaliation https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/19/21029831/uber-settles-federal-probe-sexual-harassment-retaliation #5 - Risk and reward at Black Friday with WordPress products https://getellipsis.com/blog/risk-and-reward-black-friday/ #6 - Official U.S. Government Website Lists Fictional Country of Wakanda as Free Trade Partner https://gizmodo.com/official-u-s-government-website-lists-fictional-countr-1840526805  

Brian holds a B.S. degree in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He is a software architect and data recovery expert. He is well-versed in the firmware architectures of all the major storage vendors. He is a co-founder of Phoenix Nuclear Labs and served on PNL’s board from inception to when it decided to spin-off SHINE Medical Technologies. He also previously served on the board for the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps. Brian co-authored the first edition of the WebLogic Server Bible, published by John Wiley & Sons in 2002. He was named one of Madison’s 40 under 40 by In Business, even though sadly he is 40 now. He and his wife Kara have 3 sons, Charlie, Tanner and Eli. He is an avid but terrible fisherman and has never participated in even a single session of CrossFit. As CEO of Gillware, Inc, Brian oversees and assists all aspects of the business. https://www.gillware.com/data-recovery-company/our-staff/brian-gill/