Bootstrapped Web

It has been three weeks of constant travel for us. We have been jetting around to tons of industry conferences. It has been a hectic and educational time for both of us. We share some of our takeaways from the conferences and really debate the value of a business conference. What gives a conference its value?

We also  give some personal updates. Brian talks about his fitness routine a bit and Jordan is starting to notice changes in his company’s efficiency. Brian updates the audience on the new podcast service and some of the growing pains coming out of it. All and all there is a lot going on right now in Carthook and Audience Ops!

When you are scaling a service, you’ve got to have processes so bulletproof, that they won’t break down. – Brian

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Here are today’s conversation points:

• Why small conferences are more valuable than larger ones.
• Why go to MicroConf?
• Getting ready for more upcoming conferences.
• How Jordan and Brian get value out of a conference.
• Brian’s daily exercise routine.
• Jordan’s first coaching client.
• Managing by walking around, what is it?
• The Owner’s Word Weighs a Ton, by Jason Fried.
• Communicating effectively with a team.
• Jordan’s lessons from MicroConf.
• Brian’s podcast service update.
• The challenges of hiring the right person.
• How to combat lack of interest in a team.

I ignore trying to pull value from a conference. Insight I get from where everyone is, that’s the value. – Jordan

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Resources Mentioned Today:

The Owner’s Word Weighs a Ton, by Jason Fried.

MicroConf

Big Snow Tiny Conf

CaboPress

Unite 2018

Consensus 2018

Audience Ops

Carthook

As always, thanks for tuning in. Head here to leave a  review on iTunes.

On today’s episode, we discuss the real value of a business coach. Jordan has announced that he would like to try his hand at it and Brian shares his own experience with it. We compare the pros and cons of being a coach for other founders and we explore why it is a good revenue source.

We also continue our Armchair Quarterbacking Sessions with Derrick Reimer’s project Level. Derrick has noticed some productivity issues with the platform, Slack. He is out to recreate an alternative that can be customized for the tech world, where distractions are project killers. We offer our impressions of the idea and analyze how Derrick is approaching his product development.

There are so many really talented, really smart, really motivated people, they just want to work remotely. – Brian

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Here are today’s conversation points:

• Getting ready for MicroConf.
• Brian’s update on the podcasting service.
• The only stumbling block Brian has encountered.
• Jordan’s plans to start coaching.
• Why he is interested in exploring coaching.
• Who would benefit from Jordan’s coaching?
• The value of a good business coach.
• The pros and cons of being a coach.
• Armchair Quarterbacking Session: Level.
• Building an alternative to Slack, and is it possible?
• Are there any benefits to being transparent?
• Jordan’s advice to Derrick.
• Brian’s impressions of Derrick’s idea.

If you are going to provide value, it’s not just talking, it’s work. – Jordan

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Resources Mentioned Today:

Audience Ops

Carthook

Derrick Reimer’s Twitter

Jordangal.com

Jordan’s email

Jordan’s Twitter

Level

Level on Twitter

MicroConf

Productize

Slack

As always, thanks for tuning in. Head here to leave a  review on iTunes.

Things are getting back to normal in our respective business worlds. Brian has launched his podcasting service and Jordan is back to business as usual after a visit from Ben and Rok. Today we kick off our “armchair quarterbacking” sessions, and we are starting with Andrew Culver’s SaaS product, Bullet Train.

We also give general updates on what is going with Carthook and Audience Ops. So tune in to hear about Brian’s new service and Jordan’s newfound ambition after having a rare full team meetup.

We [founders] think in a certain way and maybe we don’t remember what it is like to be an employee. – Jordan

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Here are today’s conversation points:

• How having Rok and Ben around has energized Carthook’s team.
• The presentations and social activities that helped Jordan’s team get better in step with each other.
• Adjusting back to regular business after Rok and Ben left.
• Brian’s new podcasting service.
• The hiring process Brian is using to build his podcast service.
• An update on the Productize Course and Brian’s closed cart approach.
• Jordan’s upcoming conference projects.
• The struggle of working during business travel.
• The benefit of doing one-on-one discussions with your employees.
• The first armchair quarterbacking session: Bullet Train.
• Why agencies would be the best fit for Bullet Train.

Nobody is going to get as fired up and keep pushing than the founder. – Brian

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Resources Mentioned Today:

Audience Ops

Bullet Train

Carthook

MicroConf.

Productize

Shopify Unite

As always, thanks for tuning in. Head here to leave a  review on iTunes.

We welcome Team Carthook to the podcast today! Jordan has brought two of his senior team members to discuss the evolution and future evolution of Carthook’s service.

Ben Fisher is the co-founder of Carthook and head of product.

Rok Knez is Carthook’s lead developer. He usually manages the company office over in Slovenia.

Both Ben and Rok were a part of the company since the very beginning. The guys share how they met and how the business has gone from 3 guys hanging out to the large-scale team that is today’s Carthook. We discuss the technical issues that have reared their ugly head the last few months and Ben explains how they coped with this inevitable part of the business.

Today the hood is being lifted on Carthook and we will learn about how Jordan and his team interact with each other and their clients. Buckle up for a very technical episode!

For bootstrapping new software startups, choose a more mature framework, rather than the trendiest stuff. – Brian

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Here are today’s conversation points:

• Introducing Ben and Rok.
• How Ben and Rok met Jordan and got involved in Carthook.
• How Rok hired the engineering team.
• Who helps with product design?
• The new style guide the team has recently adopted.
• How Carthook’s tech stack has evolved.
• The importance of not cutting corners.
• The benefits of using Angular.
• Carthook’s road-mapping process.
• When do frameworks and processes matter?
• The 3 questions the team ask themselves when making decisions.
• How Hiten Shah has influenced Carthook’s process.
• How Jordan and the original team have coped with working with a larger team.
• What Jordan and his team have learned about their product.
• The importance of choosing the right colleagues.

Spend whatever we need to spend, and eventually they [Ben & Rok] took that advice and now I regret it a bit. – Jordan

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Resources Mentioned Today:

Carthook

As always, thanks for tuning in. Head here to leave a  review on iTunes.

MicroConf is right around the corner and Jordan is gearing up for his talk for the event. He bounces some topic ideas off Brian and reveals how his topic choices are reflecting what is happening in Carthook. The version 2 upgrade is finally working properly and Jordan and his team are seeing some major cultural shifts in the business.

Brian has found himself with some downtime, so now he is thinking about new avenues for Audience Ops. Brian outlines his idea for a new service offered through Audience Ops. An done-for-you podcasting service. He gets Jordan’s feedback and really explores why he thinks podcasts are the next logical step for the business. He also drops a big announcement… Brian wants to learn to code.

We have some interesting conversation about alternative content on this episode and some really useful reflections on the founder’s role within his company.

If somebody asked the most valuable thing you’ve learned the past months it would be related to our process. – Jordan

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Here are today’s conversation points:

• Get ready for MicroConf.
• Brian’s new service launch.
• Considerations for future podcast topics.
• Jordan’s March recap.
• Why Brian wants to launch a new service.
• The all-done-for-you podcast service breakdown.
• Brian’s small beta group for the new service and the results.
• The benefits of podcasting content.
• The second version of Carthook update.
• Jordan’s webinar experiment.
• The benefits of webinars.
• How to create pitch-hitter scenarios.
• How Carthook uses paid ads.
• The ad strategy Jordan used for the webinar.
• Brian’s results from his Productize webinar.
• Why Brian wants to learn to code.
• How to be a full stack product person.
• Jordan’s adjustment to a larger work team and changing the dynamic.

If you are a designer of web applications, you should have a full stack skillset. – Brian

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Resources Mentioned Today:

Audience Ops Podcasting Service

Bullet Train

CodeMentor.io

Carthook

Castos

MicroConf

Ops Calendar

Productize

As always, thanks for tuning in. Head here to leave a  review on iTunes.

It has been a crazy couple of weeks for both of us. We took a break last week, but we are back and we’ve got some great topics!

Jordan spent all of last week fixing a product issue. It was hard, it was frustrating, and it showed him just how great his team could be. He explains what happened to Carthook and how the problem was resolved.

Brian is performing an experiment with his Productize course. He is reaching out to a cold audience. He shares why he felt this was the way to go and lays out how he plans to attract new customers as this experiment progresses.

Join us today as we discuss the reality of customer service. We talk about the importance of meeting customer expectations and doing it with a smile. We also dig into how to go about finding those customer expectations when they aren’t that obvious.

Once some people are successful, it feels like everything they do is successful because of the build up. – Jordan

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Here are today’s conversation points:

• Brian’s webinar experiment.
• Jordan’s frustrating week and how he and his team coped.
• How price point affects a customer’s expectations.
• The Productize webinar ad strategy.
• How to make data work for you in an experiment.
• Brian’s results thus far in his experiment.
• How to cope with doubt in your service.
• When to decide to push or pivot.
• How to help customers find solutions.

It’s not always the grass is greener for those looking to transition from one model to a different model. – Brian

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Resources Mentioned Today:

Audience Ops

Carthook

Ops Calendar

Productize Course

As always, thanks for tuning in. Head here to leave a  review on iTunes.

We are back to discuss the exciting and frustrating things going on with our businesses. Jordan has a lot on his plate including launching 15-20 new features and a few industry conferences; he will be attending the Traffic and Conversion Summit in San Diego, as well as, speaking at MicroConf Growth in Las Vegas.

Brian of course also has a lot coming down the pipeline. He gives the audience an update on his new direction for the Productize course and the webinars he is producing on his site.

The theme for today’s episode is customer outreach. We both compare our styles of marketing and networking and share what has worked well in the past. We also discuss the upcoming challenges we see in our companies and talk about proactive steps we can take to make the process smoother.

I’m starting to see the daily benefits of having an active Slack group of members…It pays off… — Brian Casel

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Here are today’s conversation points:

• Jordan’s preparation for the Traffic and Conversion Summit.
• Traveling for business and keeping up.
• Carthook’s upcoming new features and how to announce it.
• Tips for smart networking at conferences.
• Jordan’s invitation to speak at MicroConf.
• Brian’s laser focus on Productize.
• Recent feedback about Ops Calendar and how that is changing Brian’s plans.
• The process Jordan and his team have developed for updating Carthook’s features.
• The best examples of marketing a large scale update.
• The journey to building an online community around your product.
• How transparent should a business be with these communities?
• Brian’s yearly plan for Productize and Scale (the new name of CasJam.)
• The live webinar Brian is offering on his site.
• How Russell Brunson’s work has helped Brian.
• Jordan’s upcoming webinar.
• The results of Brian’s current marketing system.
• Jordan’s plan to court agencies.
• The pros and cons of working with an agency.
• Jordan’s MicroConf talk subject.
• How Dan Andrews’s work has helped Jordan prepare.
• How to present ROI in content.
• Ops Calendar update.
• Brian’s efforts to reconnect with Ops Calendar.
• Brian’s developer issues and the immediate needs he is seeing within his team.

We need ways to communicate more easily and quickly with our customer base.– Jordan Gal

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Resources Mentioned Today:

A 15 Minute Guide – How to Prepare a Conference Presentation Quickly by Dan Andrews

Carthook

Expert Secrets by Russell Brunson

MicroConf 2018

Ops Calendar

Productize Course

Productize and Scale

Traffic & Conversion Summit 2018

As always, thanks for tuning in. Head here to leave a  review on iTunes.

Our guest today is Sherry Walling. Sherry is a clinical psychologist and the author of the soon to be released book, The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Keeping Your S**t Together. Sherry is also the co-host of the Zen Founder podcast with her husband Rob Walling, the founder of Drip. Her time with the podcast has given her an insight into the fears and concerns every entrepreneur experiences. She gives us her observation of the entrepreneurial journey and her advice to navigate it.

Sherry’s book will be available February 21, 2018.

Join us for this free therapy session for any stressed out bootstrapper!

All of us are afraid that we’re crazy, or we’re fooling ourselves. We live in our own isolated mind. – Sherry

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Here are today’s conversation points:

• Jordan’s recent “world tour.”
• Brian’s time at Big Snow Tiny Conf.
• Welcome, Sherry Walling!
• Sherry’s upcoming book, The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Keeping Your S**t Together.
• Her professional background and marriage with Rob Walling.
• Why Sherry decided to write the book.
• The cycle of the entrepreneurial journey.
• How business owners build resilience.
• The common issues entrepreneurs share.
• The role of “gallows humor” in business.
• How to combat the negativity many entrepreneurs face.
• The importance of meeting other entrepreneurs.
• Sherry’s tips for bootstrappers to stay healthy.

I talk about all these things that are really common themes in struggles that a lot of entrepreneurs face. – Sherry

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Resources Mentioned Today:

Big Snow Tiny Conf.

Drip

The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Keeping Your S**t Together

Zen Founder

Today we discuss a really heated topic that popped up on Twitter over the holiday break. A Twitter flame war was started by a post chastising business owners for not working through the holidays. We have some thoughts on the subject and we discuss the changing world social media has ushered in for bootstrapped companies.

Jordan discusses some growing pains he has been experiencing with the new Carthook team. He shares some lessons he has taken away from the experience and how he is trying to find the company’s footing and optimal path for 2018. He also has some exciting news… Carthook has reached the 100 million dollar threshold!

Brian is facing a major shift of focus in his company. He will now be putting his energy into the Productize Course. The course will be his flagship product. He even has plans to change his branding. He will change CasJam to Productize and Scale. He is really excited about this change and is looking forward to a new start in 2018.

If you are that busy and that crazy, you’re not prioritizing well and not focusing on the right things. – Jordan

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Here are today’s topics:

• The Twitter flame war over the break.
• How Jordan and Brian find balance in their business and personal life.
• Why “work guilt” is unhealthy.
• Jordan’s new marketing coach and what he has taught him.
• The cryptocurrency fad.and what it could mean for bootstrappers.
• What Jordan has learned from using Salesmachine.
• Brian’s plan for test driven development.
• CasJam.com will soon be Productizeandscale.com, and why Brian is making the change.
• Why Brian wants to build a company community in 2018.
• Andy Raskin’s Drift post.
• Josh Pigford’s latest blog post.
• How social media has totally changed marketing and research and development.

The timeline of building anything is longer than it seems, it’s messier and that’s the core of frustration. – Brian

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Resources Mentioned Today:

Audience Ops

Carthook.com

Casjam.com

Growth Hacking is Manipulation by Josh Pigford

Lifterlms

Ops Calendar

Productize Course

Productizeandscale.com

Restrict Content Pro

Salesmachine

The Greatest Sales Pitch I’ve Seen All Year by Andy Raskin

As always, thanks for tuning in. Head here to leave a  review on iTunes.