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Start Your WordPress Business This Weekend
The document outlines the experiences and recommendations of a designer and developer in starting a WordPress business, emphasizing the importance of communication and market rates. It discusses various business ideas within the WordPress ecosystem, such as website installation, maintenance, consulting, and theme development, along with necessary skills and marketing strategies. It concludes with insights from other entrepreneurs on the rewards of helping clients and fulfilling their needs.
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Start Your WordPress Business This Weekend
- 2. Who Am I ● Designer/ Developer / Consultant at SixFour Web Design & Marketing ● SixFour Web helps businesses and non-profit organizations tell their stories online to help them reach their customers and supporters in a meaningful and compelling way
- 3. My first business-My First Website
- 4. Lessons Learned ● Owningyour own business is great. ● Success is based on how effectively you communicate how your business solves the customers' problems...and actually solve them ● It's hard to start a business during the worst recession since the Great Depression
- 6. SixFour Web isBorn
- 7. Why Start aWordPress Business? ● It's Cheap. Low Barrier to Entry ● Large Market Share. As of July 2016, WordPress powers 26.7% of all websites and 59.3% of CMS's* ● Like other businesses, as your experience grows, your ability to scale and grow your business grows *source - W3Techs
- 8. Smashing Magazine says ●WordPress is free and GPL ● A great community is behind WordPress ● A lot of talented people actively develop and support it ● When you do start turning a profit, that profit belongs to you https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2012/06/ dos-donts-wordpress-startups/
- 9. Starting Your Business ●General business principles are important and you will need to stick to them in order to be successful – Understand who you are selling your services to; everyone IS NOT your customer – Solve customer problems – Deliver on your promise
- 10. Ray's Most ImportantPrinciple ● Do not charge less than Market Rate, even when you are just starting out!
- 11. Do not chargeless than Market Rate, even when you are just starting out!
- 12. But I Don'tKnow enough!!! ● WordPress is not just one thing. There are many, many, many opportunities for specialization, and many areas for you to build your unique WordPress business ● Need proof?
- 16. You Can Doit! ● I have confidence in YOU! ● Make the commitment to learning your craft and performing it well ● You just need to remember one thing...
- 17. Do not chargeless than Market Rate, even when you are just starting out!
- 18. Finding Customers ● Tofind customers, you need to ACTIVELY let people know you are in business ● This is called MARKETING ● It's not a business unless you are prepared to market and promote your services. Otherwise it's a hobby ● You already knew this
- 19. How to marketyour Business ● Build a good Zix, Squareface, Feebly or Go Mommy website No!
- 20. How to marketYour Business ● Build a good WordPress website ● Tell your friends and family ● Promote your services on social media ● Find business networking groups and visit their meetings ● Develop and practice your 30 Second commercial / your “elevator speech”
- 21. OK. What Businessshould I start ● Since this is YOUR business, you should do something you like and you really want to do ● Why would you want to just create another job? ● Choose a business that fits your skills and personality
- 22. Business Idea #1 WordPressWebsite Installation and Setup ● Description: Provide customer with WordPress website, assist in theme selection, work with new or existing hosting account, add content, assist in theme selection ● Difficulty: Low
- 23. WordPress Website Installation andSetup SKILLS NEEDED ● Technical ability ● Design skills ● Image editing RESOURCES ● Wordpress codex ● WP recommended hosting companies ● WPbeginner ● Various theme shops
- 24. Business Idea #2 WebsiteMaintenance ● Description: Maintain website from technical perspective, provide updates to WordPress core, themes and plugins. ● Difficulty: Low to Moderate
- 25. Website Maintenance SKILLS ● Prettygood understanding of WP ecosystem ● Troubleshooting ability ● Understanding of PHP and JS very helpful RESOURCES ● WordPress codex ● WPtavern.com ● google.com ● wordpress.stackexchange. com
- 26. Business Idea #3 ●WordPress Consulting ● Description: Advise customers on how best to leverage WordPress to solve their business problems ● Difficulty: Moderate to High
- 27. Wordpress Consulting SKILLS ● An expertlevel understanding of WP and its capabilities ● Problem solver ● Business acumen ● Know the difference between a hammer, a screwdriver and a scalpel RESOURCES ● torquemag.io ● Wptavern.com ● A List Apart ● Smashing Magazine
- 28. Business Idea #4 Pluginor Theme Development ● Description: Design and develop custom theme or plugin solutions for individual customers or for sale to the mass market ● Difficulty: High
- 29. Plugin or themedevelopMenT SKILLS ● Understanding of WordPress ● Alphabet Soup: PHP, HTML/CSS, JS, and jQuery ● Design and UX skills for theme development RESOURCES ● WordPress codex ● codepen.io ● github.com ● uxmag.com ● developer.wordpress. com
- 30. Ready To GetStarted? ● Here's the first step ● Talk to the entrepreneurs and microentrepreneurs who are here at WordCamp. Learn how they started and why they started. Ask about their mistakes. Ask how they got bigger. Ask how they got better. Build networks. Make connections. Forge partnerships.
- 31. Final Words The mostrewarding thing about starting iThemes has been and will always be the people. Specifically, the team I work with, and the people we serve. Profit is essential, but we find and fulfill our purpose when we're focused on people. We call it Making People's Lives Awesome. Cory Miller, Founder iThemes
- 32. Final Words Unity DigitalAgency started in August 2016--last month! We provide data-driven solutions for nonprofits. The most rewarding this is only being accountable to my clients, not a boss...not having to divide that. It’s 100% about them. Alisa Herr, Founder and CEO Unity Digital Agency
- 33. Final Words What wasmost rewarding came to me after I started teaching WordPress. It was all about that look in the client/student’s eyes when they had that “aha” moment and something they were struggling with finally clicked for them. It’s the helping people that makes it most satisfying for me. Bob Dunn AKA BobWP, WordPress Coach, Blogger and Podcaster
- 34. Final Words Both WordPressand Cart66 attract a ton of entrepreneurs and people trying to make money doing what they love. So the most rewarding thing about starting Cart66 is seeing people realize their dream of doing what they love using a tool that we created. Lee Blue, Developer and Founder Cart66
- 35. ThankS! Ray Mitchell SixFour WebDesign & Marketing sixfourweb.com @sixfourweb Get the slides and a bonus at: http://sixfourweb.com/2016-wordcamp-raleigh-slides/