May 9, 2019 — We all look at ultimate survival shows from the comforts of our couch. Relieved we sigh that we probably will never be in such life-threatening situations. That’s what I thought… big mistake….. Until a few years ago, when I (the ultimate survival dumbass at that time) had several close encounters with death during an ill-prepared trip to the backcountry of Alaska. After that I decided to never be such dumbass again. So I started acquiring bushcraft/survival skills and a survivalist mindset. Strangely enough, I soon discovered that the skills and mindset I developed could be directly implemented into my business and marketing. In this talk I will share 10 business insights I learned from survival and bushcraft training. Nothing hardcore or very complicated… You will be surprised how easy those tactics are to implement in your daily business routines. Also I will share my biggest dumbass actions (for you the fun part)…. And how I prevent those from happening in the future…. Survival as a business tactic! Join this talk if you want to draw outside the lines in your WordPress business…

April 17, 2018 — When you started your web design company you fantasized about doing all day the one thing you love most: creating beautiful websites, writing code and making the internet a better place. Fast forward a few years: you love and appreciate most of your customers.

However, every once in a while you get a client that drives you bananas! Shitty clients can drain your creativity, make your life difficult and take a lot of your time. They are every business owner’s nightmare and almost everyone in the web development has an outrageous “client from hell” story to tell.

That’s why we need to develop a “shitty client radar” for pre-screening purposes and learn how to respectfully ‘fire’ a not-so-nice client. Over the years I have worked with many great clients, but some were just beyond reasonable. I have developed a set of tactics which prevented me from ending up in potentially toxic situations.

In this talk I am going to share some of my tactics and get you starting on developing your own “shitty client radar” for your WordPress business.

Presentation Slides »

March 9, 2018 — In this talk I will share the several elements of the secret sauce that makes holistic web design/development so interesting for your business.
It all boils down that you will be able to achieve much better results from a holistic approach to web projects than by just focusing all on one area.
This session will have an interactive element, in which the entire audience will participate! So if you are planning to catch up on some sleep during my talk, you will be in for a surprise!”

Presentation Slides »

October 14, 2017 — Many starting WordPress business owners underestimate how long it takes to build a strong foundation for their business. Often, out of desperation, they will take on any job, at any price, no questions asked. Ending up financially and emotionally drained. This is probably a reason why so many businesses close down in their first two years.
Having experienced this myself the hard way, I discovered the power of the tiny word “No!”, the most powerful key we hold to end this rat race.

Saying “No!” is counterintuitive. And it is certainly is not an easy thing to do. But practicing to say “No!” can keep you from disliking your business and the people you do business with. The moment you stop saying ‘Yes” to every opportunity that arises, your WordPress business can grow bigger than you could have imagined.

The “No!” strategy is all about doing the work you are passionate about and are good at, and with the right clients. It really boils down to doing less of the work you dislike, isn’t profitable or does not fit your beliefs.

Learn to say “No!”
I feel the time is right to share some insights about why and how I learned to say no to certain work and clients. I will share my six-step process that helped me grow my WordPress business over the years …

And remember:
“If it’s not a hell yeah, it’s a no.”

October 3, 2017 — Discover the power of turning down work in your WordPress business.

Many starting WordPress business owners underestimate how long it takes to build a strong foundation for their business. Often, out of desperation, they will take on any job, at any price, no questions asked. Ending up financially and emotionally drained. This is probably a reason why so many businesses close down in their first two years. Having experienced this myself the hard way, I discovered the power of the tiny word “No!”, the most powerful key we hold to end this rat race.

Saying “No!” is counterintuitive. And it is certainly is not an easy thing to do. But practicing to say “No!” can keep you from disliking your business and the people you do business with. The moment you stop saying ‘Yes” to every opportunity that arises, your WordPress business can grow bigger than you could have imagined.

The “No!” strategy is all about doing the work you are passionate about and are good at, and with the right clients. It really boils down to doing less of the work you dislike, isn’t profitable or does not fit your beliefs.

Learn to say “No!”
I feel the time is right to share some insights about why and how I learned to say no to certain work and clients. I will share my six step process that helped me grow my WordPress business over the years…

And remember: “If it’s not a hell yeah, it’s a no.”

【同時通訳あり】
WordPress でビジネスをしていく上で、依頼を断る力の大事さを理解しましょう。

WordPress サイトの開発やデザインを請け負っている企業のオーナーや個人の多くは、しっかりしたビジネスの基礎を築くためにかかる時間を過小評価しがちです。必死になるあまり、価格がどうであれどんな依頼でも疑問を持つことなく受け入れてしまうことも少なくありません。そういった場合、財政的にも、感情的にも、疲れ果ててしまいます。とても多くの企業やフリーランスで独立した人たちが2年以内に辞めてしまうのは、こういった理由からではないでしょうか。マヌエラは、自身も大変な思いをした経験から、「No」と言うことの重要性に気づきました。それは、厳しい競争を勝ち抜くためのキーとなるのです。

「No」と言うことは反直観的で、決して簡単なことではありません。しかし、練習することで、自身のビジネスやクライアントを嫌いになるのを防げます。遭遇するすべての機会を受け入れるのをやめることで、想像以上に事業を大きく成長させることができるでしょう。

「No」を言う方法を学びましょう。
今こそ、私がなぜ、そしてどうやって特定の案件やクライアントを断っているのかを共有する時ではないかと思います。これまでに自分のビジネスを成長させてきた6つのステップをお教えします。

忘れないでください。「『もちろん！』と即答できないなら、『No』が答えである」

Presentation Slides »

May 16, 2017 — When you started your web design company you fantasized about doing all day the one thing you love most: creating beautiful websites, writing code and making the internet a better place. Fast forward a few years: you love and appreciate most of your customers.

However, every once in a while you get a client that drives you bananas! Shitty clients can drain your creativity, make your life difficult and take a lot of your time. They are every business owner’s nightmare and almost everyone in the web development has an outrageous “client from hell” story to tell.

April 4, 2017 — Many companies do not use the full potential of their existing customers. Too often those clients are considered a piece of furniture. The clients are there, but often overlooked and not being paid attention to.

The constant struggle to acquire new customers however is 5 to 10 times more expensive then selling services and goods to existing clients. At my company Weblish we mainly focus on catering our existing WordPress clients in an unusual and refreshing manner. I will share ten of our strategies to create a crowd of happy and loyal customers and as a result: more return (recurring) business.

October 31, 2016 — Veel bedrijven benutten het potentieel van hun bestaande klanten bij lange na niet genoeg. Vaak worden deze trouwe klanten als een soort meubelstukken gezien: ze zijn er, maar er wordt weinig aandacht aanbesteed. Je constant richten op het binnenhalen van nieuwe klanten is een dure grap (het is 5 tot tien keer duurder dan de kosten voor het behouden van bestaande klanten). Bij Weblish richten we ons vooral op het zo optimaal blijven bedienen van onze bestaande klanten. Ik ga via deze talk verschillende strategieën met jullie delen die Weblish gebruikt om die klantrelatie zo sterk mogelijk te maken en zo meer omzet te genereren.