What I Learned from Asking, “How did you build that?”

I’ve asked nearly 100 people one pointed question: “How did you build that?” I’ve gotten a lot of great answers and they’ve helped me grow as an entrepreneur. In this talk, I’ll share what I’ve learned with you.

Transcript

1. What I Learned from Asking, “How did you build that?” Joe Casabona casabona.org/wcmpls18 @jcasabona
3. @jcasabona Sometimes, all you have to do is ask.
4. @jcasabona Why Did I Start How I Built It? • In short, I was just asking. • Having Conversations asking folks this same question in preparation to launch my online course website • Saw great value • Wanted to make them public
5. @jcasabona How I Built It • Interview product owners and developers • From Idea to Execution • ~100 Guests • 337,000 Downloads • https://howibuilt.it
6. @jcasabona Tools of the Trade
7. @jcasabona Tools for Automation • I’m a one-man band, so automation tools are important to me. • Chris Lema talked about using Zapier to “connect the dots.” He automated his sales funnel, and even mailers. • Rebecca Gill told me about Follow-Up Emails for WooCommerce, which keeps buyers engaged • Shawn Hesketh talked about engagements in LiferLMS • Beka Rice taught us about Jilt & automation to help with cart abandonment
8. @jcasabona Lesson: Automations can lead to deeper personal interactions
9. @jcasabona Tools for Development • My guests use Atom, VS Code, Local, Valet, and a whole host of dev tools. • Pippin Williamson talks about the benefits of having a light development environment (which I love) • Both Joost De Valk and Daniel Bachhuber talked about using automated testing tools. Behat is a popular tool • Bryce Adams talked about how great learning Vue.js for Metorik was.
10. @jcasabona Lesson: Use what you’re comfortable with!
11. @jcasabona Recurring Tools • ConvertKit or some other newsletter program. Email is still the best form of marketing! • WooCommerce or EDD. Many guests used one of the other. WC if they wanted to do more than just digital products • Zapier for automation • Genesis for Theme Building • Help Scout for Support
12. @jcasabona Great Advice
13. @jcasabona Build an Audience Troy Dean, Justin Ferriman, Thomas Umstattd Jr.
14. It’s easier to sell to current customers than new ones.
15. Piggyback off of other audiences (or partner with other folks, to put it nicely)
16. @jcasabona Scratch Your Own Itch…
17. @jcasabona …but be mindful of your time.
18. @jcasabona Listen to Your Customers Scott Bollinger, Give, Nancy / Beaver Builder
19. Be the Gatekeeper
20. @jcasabona Communicate