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How To Survive As A New WordPress Service Provider

CJ Andrew
July 22, 2017

How To Survive As A New WordPress Service Provider

My talk at WordCamp Edinburgh 2017 [Day 1] [Track 1]

WordPress has allowed many of us an opportunity to turn our interests and hobbies into a service. The relatively low barrier to entry offers great benefit for service providers, but it also comes with challenges that may not be obvious in the beginning.

For example: how does a new WordPress service provider survive and thrive in the face of increasing competition?

This talk offers a perspective and an approach uniquely tailored to independent practitioners. It is based on lessons learned in the field over the past 3 years, and will focus on the soft-skills, strategies, and mind-set, which a new WordPress service provider might wish to adopt in order to ensure longevity, stability, and satisfaction in their role.

Topical areas specific to WordPress service delivery, such as technical competency, pricing, project co-ordination, and more will be covered; all from the viewpoint of an independent WordPress practitioner.

CJ Andrew

July 22, 2017
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Transcript

  1. How to Survive as a New WordPress Service Provider 7

    Lessons from the field CJ Andrew: @cjwebstudio
  2. How to Survive as a New WordPress Service Provider •7

    key lessons I learnt •A survival toolkit • A survival roadmap The Journey
  3. “If we have no identity apart from our jobs, we

    are truly vulnerable” - Dan Miller
  4. The Ideal Job • Low risk • Acceptable reward •

    Sufficiently difficult • Clear path to competency • Offers personal & professional development • Multiple opportunities for “flow” scenarios How to assess job suitability
  5. Pipeline Prospecting • Shake hands • Classifieds Automation • RFP

    Exercises • Technology prospecting • Outsourced lead-gen** Where to source pipeline leads
  6. “Do you have the patience to wait until your mud

    settles and the water is clear?” -Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching
  7. Roadmap 1. Start with a vision 2. Competency assessment (A.B.C.)

    3. Take ownership of your pipeline 4. Develop a sales approach 5. Simplify service delivery 6. Create project journal for a new WordPress service provider
  8. “Of all the virtues we can learn no trait is

    more useful, more essential for survival, …than the ability to transform adversity into an enjoyable challenge.” -Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology of Happiness
  9. How to Survive as a new WordPress service provider •

    Always be competent • Give yourself margin • Build a healthy pipeline • Focus on self-actualization • Separate yourself from your work • Identify your nature • Prioritize the “ideal job” 7 lessons from the field CJ Andrew: @cjwebstudio
  10. Survival Resources • Stop Thinking Like a Freelancer - Liam

    Veitch • Honest Selling – Gill E. Wagner • Get Clients Now - C.J. Hayden • Delivering Happiness - Tony Hsieh • How to Write Short - Roy Peter Clark • The Year Without Pants - Scott Berkun • Flow: The Psychology of Happiness - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi • Twitter collections - @cjwebstudio CJ Andrew: @cjwebstudio