December 1, 2020 — This is a story about life. And how life can lead to crippling anxiety and depression at work and work can compound that with interest. This is about how everything came crashing down and how my WordPress agency is being rebuilt for a better future.

January 22, 2019 — Non-stop, practical, digital marketing tactics & strategies to help you and your clients achieve new levels of greatness. Some will be WordPress specific, others are simply high-value proposition approaches to big return gambles.

Presentation Slides »

July 30, 2018 — There is an art to firing and being fired. In this talk we’ll explore some examples of bad firings, good ones and how to set the stage to make comebacks and create wins from endings.

This topic is geared towards agency owners, service-based vendors, and entrepreneurs. None of this has anything to do with legal advice, just people advice.

Presentation Slides »

August 17, 2017 — Your clients aren’t clients. They aren’t partners. They aren’t customers. They’re your GUESTS. And you’ve invited them into your magical world of WordPress where impossible things happen and there’s an entirely new language to learn. Let’s talk about practical real-world examples of how making them feel welcome and giving them a better experience can have an unbelievably positive impact on your business and our community.

Presentation Slides »

August 5, 2017 — As WordPress enters its teenage years, our community is no longer just thinking about startup mode. Entrepreneurs are trying to figure out longevity, and how to build a long lasting business. Karim brings the perspective of 23 years of building and leading digital teams from 30 to 300. Immersed in the WordPress ecosystem the last 5 years, Karim has seen some trends that worked against the traditional silicon valley idea’s of success. Are we a special snowflake, does Open Source make a difference in Start-up longevity?

In leading this discussion, Karim will build on the topics of the morning talks by Scott Mann and Sherry Walling. We have invited Rebecca Gill and Jon Brown, who both have many years in business before joining our community, to create a panel that collectively brings hundreds of years of business experience to the WordPress ecosystem and our community.

August 5, 2017 — This panel helps to convey what it takes to build an agency from scratch or a few freelancers. How does one get an agency started? What are the things you need before or as you start? What are the biggest keys to success and the toughest lessons to remember?

August 5, 2017 — While this “sales and marketing” panel is intended for small business and agencies, lessons learned can also apply to the freelancer or the developer looking to make a business from plugins. What are the right AND wrong ways? What lessons can our panelists share from personal experience? Simply “raise your rates” isn’t enough detail here so panelists should be prepared so share a few of their tips.

April 21, 2016 — Scott Mann some of the nuts and bolts growth lessons and showing off some of the hard-earned bruises he’s earned in the last 7 years bootstrapping a freelance service agency into a 10-person team. Come find out when and how to hire, when and how to raise rates, what awesome business tools to use, and how not to totally screw everything up horribly.

Presentation Slides »

March 30, 2016 — Scott comes from a long line of business owners that drove their businesses into the ground by being too nice. He spent 5 years not charging enough and 10 years doing favors that were never returned. He’s here to share some of his hard-knock tips and tactics on staying nice but earning what you deserve and leveling up your business.

Presentation Slides »

January 20, 2016 — Scott comes from a long line of business owners that drove their businesses into the ground by being too nice. He spent 5 years not charging enough and 10 years doing favors that were never returned. He’s here to share some of his hard-knocks tips and tactics on staying nice but earning what you deserve and leveling up your business.