MicroConf On Air

In this episode of On-Air, Jesse Mecham, the founder of You Need A Budget, joins @RobWalling to chat about why core values and culture truly matter. Jesse also gives an update on how YNAB has grown since he gave his talk at MicroConf in 2014.   If you haven't seen the talk, you should check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jw8N7YrBM4o

Any SaaS founder can tell you that implementing feature requests can be a major drain on their resources. But they are a great way to nurture your relationship with your users. Jessica will walk you through the build of a feature request (our MicroConf Connect wiki!), how it can be quickly build and deployed, and how you can use the tools to build MVP’s for your most requested features.   - https://microconf.squarespace.com/s/MicroConf-Remote-30-building-internal-tools-with-no-code-1.pdf   Links from this podcast: Jessica Malnik Get the slide deck Tickets for our next MicroConf Local:London on May 18 are on sale

A Rob Q+A Solo Adventure! Rob Walling answered listener questions live from MicroConf Connect (https://microconfconnect.com). Topics Covered: What are three key tips for pre-launch, pre-revenue to make sure that you absolutely must do? What has the body of a Unicorn and the head of a Pegasus? How was launching Tiny Seed Tales different than Startups for the Rest of Us podcast? What's changed in terms of "podcast launch strategy" since then? How to deal with anxiety when launching starting something new? Picking Customer Pain for my companies segment, as opposed to Competitor Pain and general observations about SaaS for non-technical customers. If Rob was starting over today and trying to find a ".Net invoicing" to acquire and iterate on, where would he look? Where should the balance fall between domain knowledge, industry connections and general sales skills when hiring your first sales person? What is the best thing to do if revenue has plateaued? What advice do you have for staying positive in spite of frequent fires caused by platform risk? How to find a good SaaS idea?   Links and books from this episode: The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick List of SaaS Marketplaces If you are interested in speaking at any MicroConf event, head to microconf.com/call-for-speakers and fill out the form. Tickets for our next MicroConf Local:London on May 18 are on sale here: https://microconf.com/local-london   

This episode is from MicroConf 3.0: No-Code. Jane Portman (@uibreakfast) shares how every customer success story begins with a streamlined, concise, and conscientious onboarding and nurturing experience. In this talk, Jane will review a variety of no-code automation recipes you can implement as your users move from leads to trials to customers and beyond.   Links from the podcast: UserList Get the Slide Deck Watch this talk on YouTube Get your Tickets for MicroConf Remote Come to MicroConf Local: London UserList  

In this episode, Rob Walling (@robwalling) chats with Tony Chan (@toeknee123) from CloudForecast.io about key takeaways from the recent MicroConf Growth in Minneapolis.  _______________________ Links from this pod: Tickets for MicroConf Remote 4.0:$$$, on May 3-5th are on sale at microconf.com/remote Also, tickets for our next MicroConf Local:London on May 18 are on sale here: https://microconf.com/local-london    

Cold outreach can be a painful, unyielding process that may leave you pulling out your hair. The real magic happens when you find a process that lets you ramp up the volume of your cold outreach campaign, and identify qualified leads to the to the top of that funnel. Andy will cover some of the key automation points in your cold outreach campaign and how no code can take some of the stress out of your sales cycle. _______________________ Links from this pod: Postaga: https://www.postaga.com/ Watch the original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc-nTOiFBaM See the slide deck: https://microconf.squarespace.com/s/How-to-Build-a-Cold-Outreach-Automation-System-Using-No-Code.pdf

Staying sane as an entrepreneur is not always easy. In this episode, Rob talks with Sherry Walling to chat about the habits of successful entrepreneurs.   This episode is sponsored by our Alternative Financing Partner, Pipe. Do you need growth capital to scale, ramp up your marketing, and acquire new customers? Pipe turns your recurring revenue into up-front growth capital within as little as 24 hours of being connected. Pipe is a two-sided trading platform for recurring revenue that connects you directly to the capital markets. Simply sign up for free, securely connect your billing, banking, and accounting software with a couple of clicks, and Pipe will provide you with a trading limit in as little as 24hrs. Select the amount of capital you need, click trade, and get cash in your bank instantly. No 30 page business plans or founder due diligence - just growth capital based on the health of your business - perfect for time-strapped bootstrappers. You can use your Piped revenue to grow your sales team, boost ad spend, and scale however you see fit. Pipe is growth on your terms. And right now, MicroConf listeners get trading fees waived for 12 months which could save you tens of thousands of dollars depending on the size of your business and the volume you trade. Sign up at http://www.pipe.com/MicroConf to start trading today.   Topics covered: [3:45] Habit #1: Have a sense of intentionality in how you work [6:45] Habit #2: Focus- avoid Shiny Object Syndrome [7:45] Challenge with focus is the shadow side of a great entrepreneurial strength [10:15] Habit #3: Invest in relationships [13:45] Habit #4: Have something else to care about [15:45] Getting better sleep & ‘turning off’ after a day of work [16:45] Habit #5: Be willing to take risks and make mistakes [19:45] De-risking the small things [23:00] Habit #6: Move quickly   Books Mentioned in the Show: Touching Two Worlds (https://www.touchingtwoworlds.com/) by Sherry Walling Entrepreneur’s Guide to Keeping Your Sh*t Together (https://www.amazon.com/Entrepreneurs-Guide-Keeping-Your-Together/dp/0999651803) by Sherry Walling & Rob Walling Why We Sleep (https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Sleep-Matthew-Walker-audiobook/dp/B0752XRB5F) by Matthew Walker Science of Sleep (https://www.amazon.com/Science-Sleep-What-Works-Matters/dp/022638716X) by Wallace B. Mendelson

SEO is a numbers game. High value keywords can be identified and pages can be optimized to grow in the ranks, but once you have a gold standard asset set for a keyword, you may be able to take that work you put into that optimization and multiply the effects by using programmatic SEO.   Nico will cover how he has built an SEO machine using no-code, how to hone in on a replicable keyword, and what mechanics you need to rank for as many variations under that keyword to own its multiplying effect. Get the Slides   Join the State of Independent SaaS Live Stream where we present the results of the 2022 report. We'll be broadcast live from MicroConf Growth in Minneapolis on Monday, April 4th at 10:15 AM! Register at stateofindiesaas.com and use the promo code: SOIS2022 to register for free!  

If you are looking to start selling to customers and earning money on the internet - building a SaaS is rarely going to be the best way to get started. The Stair step Approach to Bootstrapping (microconf.com/stairstep) is a method that Rob Walling charted out in 2015 and it has helped thousands of entrepreneurs slowly build their chops online, find a way to buy back their time from an employer, and build a business that creates financial independence.   In today’s episode of MicroConf On Air, we’re going to take a look a prime example of the Stairstep Approach in Action by talking to Corey Haines (@CoreyHainesco https://twitter.com/coreyhainesco), who is currently leading Swipefiles (https://www.swipefiles.com/), a community focused on growth marketing strategies.   We’ll chat about Corey’s journey up the stair step method, from his two courses, content marketing as a funnel, community building to find his audience, and finally, his focus on SaaS marketing and increasing his prices to get to a position that has him Default Alive and building on the success of SwipeFiles.   Learn more about the stairstep approach straight from the source. https://microconf.com/latest/the-stairstep-approach-to-bootstrapping   In this episode, you'll hear the following: Corey's First Step: (9:20) What SaaS ideas Cory would avoid (13:00) How Corey acquired his marketing skills (16:45) Advice for marketing to customers who aren't that active online (21:50) Corey's Next Steps (29:05) Advice for absolute SaaS beginners (40:00) Leapfrogging early stair steps (41:30) Advice to consultancy owner on starting the stairsteps (44:40) Advice on translating websites (49:00)   Book mentioned in the show: The Ultimate Sales Machine (https://www.amazon.com/The-Ultimate-Sales-Machine-audiobook/dp/B000VRA0ZW/) by Chet Holmes

No-code is the word of the year, but the tools, processes, and ideas behind the movement have been around for years. As SaaS founders, we’ve been using no-code without calling it no-code for years. In this talk, we’ll cover some of the history of automations and linking tools, how it has evolved into the no code movement it is today, and where we see it going in the years to come. This recording is from MicroConf Remote 3.0. To see other past events and to get a copy of the slides, visit: https://microconf.com/remote Want to come to our next MicroConf Growth in Minneapolis? Tickets will sell out soon: https://microconf.com/growth Don't want to miss the next MicroConf Remote? Sign up for our mailing list: https://microconf.com/events