Bootstrapped Web

Jordan and Brian are back with updates (even if they’re not so great).

Brain updates us on the developments (or lack thereof) with his developer and how communication issues have played a part in the lack of progress. He also talks about how to move forward from these issues and how he has learned from this experience.

Jordan talks about the topic of burnout, how he ignored the signs, how it manifested, and the Square integration. He also talks about the vulnerability and the emotional layer of being a business owner. Jordan covers the stress levels involved in the product.

Here are today’s conversation points:

• Brian’s latest news on his new developer
• How to handle communication issues
• Some signs of burnout and how to handle those emotions
• Brian considers if he is going to hire this type of developer again
• The different stress levels and emotional levels of CEOs and key stakeholders
• The stress and fear of being accurate all the time
• Detailing instructions vs. micromanaging vs. patronizing
• Checkbox lists versus bullet lists
• Jordan’s need for a UI designer

Resources Mentioned:

CaboPress

ProcessKit

Carthook

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

It’s September, which means we’re talking about the changing of the seasons: kids are back in school, we’re gearing up for Black Friday, updating websites, and checking our numbers. Brian talks about his email marketing, hiring developers, and changing website hosts. Jordan talks about what’s new with CartHook and the future of podcasting.

Here are today’s conversation points:

• Email and newsletter issues (Convert Kit, MailChimp, Priority sorting via Gmail)
• Hosting options for a static site or marketing sites
• Web design and developing rabbit holes
• Calculating successes
• Updates with the CartHook app store
• Various hiring options for developers
• Brian’s new developer
• Podcasting subscriptions
• What we’d like to see in podcasts

Resources Mentioned:

Process Kit

Carthook.com 

Convert Kit

MailChimp 

WordPress

Jekyll

Gatsby

Hugo

Netlify

Upwork

We Work Remotely

Blue Coding

Andrew Wilkinson on Twitter

Metalab

Productize Podcast

How I Built This Podcast

The Art of Product Podcast

Build Your SaaS Podcast

Slow and Steady Podcast

Out of Beta Podcast

The SaaS Reality Podcast

Business Time Podcast

Rogue Startups Podcast

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

Jordan is back! We talk about what we’ve been up to: family trips to Cape Cod, productivity and the stress before vacations, Michigan in the summer, and buying houses, Brian’s assistant. After catching up, we jump right into updates, price changes, dual-track development, and outsourcing.

Here are today’s conversation points:

• An update to the sales process (removing the self-serve free trials and requiring demos instead) which forced us to reprioritizing features
• ProcessKit’s new custom fields and how that got everyone’s attention
• The mental/emotional roller coaster of price changes
• Timing and focus on multiple projects
• The Sunrise vision
• When should you grandfather someone in?
• The benefit of the dual-track development & outsourcing
• The sunk cost fallacy
• An update on Brian’s search for a developer

Resources Mentioned:

Process Kit

Sunrise KPI 

Carthook.com 

Product Hunt 

Shape Up 

Goodreads: Shape Up 

Basecamp 

Codementor 

Upwork 

Audience Ops 

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

With Jordan out of the studio, today our guest is Ben Orenstein. He is the host of the Art of Product podcast as well as Co-founder of the online tool, Tuple, which was built for remote pair programming on Macs (screenshare with audio). We talk about what makes an effective and splashy launch, hiring freelancers, and what I’m looking for in a web designer.

Here are today’s conversation points:

• The future of the podcast, and the regularity of posts
• How podcasting helps people stay in touch
• What is Tuple, who is it for, and what’s next for Tuple?
• What does it mean to launch? What is the value of the beta phase?
• Is a manifesto site like a launch? How you can have a “splashy” launch
• We talk about how to use ProductHunt well and if it really works
• We debate on how a website can keep up with the changes with a product launch
• I talk about a web developer and if it’ll help bust through road blocks, my ideal picture, and the worry with outsourcing tasks
• What I’m looking for in a web developer
• Ben talks about the best way to get better at programming
• What is the strategy for Tuple and ProcessKit, post-launch

Resources Mentioned Today:

Ben Orenstein

The Art of Product Podcast

Tuple

Product Hunt

ProcessKit Roadmap

Codementor

Audience Ops

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

Two weeks in a row, and still plenty of topics and updates to discuss! Jordan wants to talk about how startups fail when they take on more opportunities than they can handle. If he decides to pursue any of the big opportunities that popped up recently, what does that mean for Carthook and its employees? 

Brian remains focused on prioritizing ProcessKit tasks. Everything feels urgent, and it’s impossible to have patience. There are so many things that he wants to happen, that need to happen, but they won’t get done anytime soon. Also, he shares his thoughts and ideas about case studies/testimonials package for Audience Ops. 

Here are today’s conversation points:

• Brian’s in-depth video about ProcessKit’s marketing site progress. 
• Jordan worries about overextending his team’s capacity, creating problems and pain.
• Brian sets up Help Scout for ProcessKit’s knowledge base docs and live chat.
• Ridiculous or necessary? Jordan hired ‘people consultant’ to help define job titles and compensation. 
• Brian’s push for case studies content due to decline in new leads for Audience Ops. 
• Carthook’s employment agreements are changing to navigate non-compete issues,  allow side projects, and encourage entrepreneurship.
• ProcessKit’s paying customer account continues to increase slowly, but Brian still needs to build essential features from archiving projects to restricting permissions.
• Why Jordan has doubts about Slack and its central impact on team communication.
• Brian changed ProcessKit’s sign-up process to requiring a call with him to share your questions and objections to get a formal invite.

Resources Mentioned Today:

Carthook

ProcessKit

Copywriting for the marketing site for ProcessKit

Audience Ops

Help Scout

Slack

Derrick Reimer

ConvertKit

HubSpot

Front

Alex Turnbull of Groove on Twitter

Hiten Shah on Twitter

Crazy Egg

Jason Fried on Twitter

Shopify

Ian Landsman on Twitter

Laravel

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

We are back from a lengthy hiatus and we have plenty to discuss for today’s episode! Brian updates our listeners about ProcessKit and what he is learning from the process. Jordan wants to discuss the price increases coming to Carthook. He also dives into how the price change has affected how his team looks at problems. Brian has his problems with ProcessKit that he is exploring and hopes to address in due time.

Here are today’s conversation points:

• Carthook’s price increase and why Jordan thinks it took too long.
• How Carthook is approaching existing customers.
• How the price change is making Carthook a healthy company.
• Lincoln Murphy’s latest article.
• Why Brian is favoring a slow launch approach with ProcessKit.
• The benefits of creating a visual pipeline system.
• The reasons to tell a client no and the possible fallout.
• The problems and changes Jordan and his team have addressed with Carthook.
• Wes Bush’s helpful book.

Resources Mentioned Today:

Audience Ops

Carthook

ProcessKit

Product-Led Growth: How to Build a Product That Sells Itself by Wes Bush

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