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Release Notes#449: I Feel Like Taking a NapIt’s the end of 2021, so today we look forward to 2022 and what we hope to achieve. Joe talks about the upcoming inflection point he faces with his current long-term contract, and Charles discusses his marketing and technical goals for the upcoming year.
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Every month there are more great articles and content about the business of Mac and iOS development than we have time to discuss on the show. If you’d like to receive our monthly newsletter with the best of these links, be sure to sign up for our mailing list at h...2021-12-2730 minRelease Notes#448: More to the Right than UpToday we continue with our look at how we did living up to the goals that we set for ourselves in 2021. Last week we focused on Joe. This week it’s Charles’ chance to be in the hot seat as we evaluate his progress in 2021.
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Every month there are more great articles and content about the business of Mac and iOS development than we have time to discuss on the show. If you’d like to receive our monthly newsletter with the best of these links, be sure to sign up for our mailin...2021-12-2035 minRelease Notes#447: More Like an EnvelopeAs is our tradition, today we start taking a look at how we did living up to the goals that we set for ourselves in 2021. In this episode we review Joe’s goals and get caught up on how he did this year.
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Every month there are more great articles and content about the business of Mac and iOS development than we have time to discuss on the show. If you’d like to receive our monthly newsletter with the best of these links, be sure to sign up for our mailing list at h...2021-12-1334 minRelease Notes#445: Not JavaScriptToday Charles takes his turn on the couch and talks to Joe about some problems he’s been dealing with. We talk about a feature update that has taken much longer than expected, how to push a contractor to make more progress, and a newly discovered issue with Charles’ e-signature tool that could be catastrophic if it is not quickly fixed.
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Every month there are more great articles and content about the business of Mac and iOS development than we have time to discuss on the show. If you’d like to receive our mo...2021-11-2931 minRelease Notes#441: Jonathan Rhyne (part 2)We are joined again today by Jonathan Rhyne, CEO and Co-Founder of PSPDFKit. We invited Jonathan on the show again because PSPDFKit just raised its first round of funding. Today Jonathan continues addressing the question Charles and Joe were both asking: “Why take funding now, after so many years of bootstrapping?”
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Every month there are more great articles and content about the business of Mac and iOS development than we have time to discuss on the show. If you’d like to receive our monthly newsletter with the best of these links, be sure t...2021-10-2538 minRelease Notes#440: Jonathan Rhyne (part 1)We are joined today by Jonathan Rhyne, CEO and Co-Founder of PSPDFKit. We invited Jonathan on the show again because PSPDFKit just raised its first round of funding. Jonathan gives us an overview of the company, and then he starts to answer the question Charles and Joe were both asking: “Why take funding now, after […]2021-10-1830 minRelease Notes#439: Locked in the PokeyIn this episode Charles shares the story of how he can’t get Apple to quit sending him money. Charles hasn’t had an app available in the iOS App Store for years, and yet he hasn’t found the magic incantation that is required to cancel all auto-renewing subscriptions. Until today that is. (Maybe.) Mailing List Every […]2021-10-1130 minRelease Notes#438: A Series of Red FlagsToday we catch up on the goings on in our businesses. Joe talks about dumping the Apple Card and selecting a new credit card, we discuss the differences between personal and business credit cards, and then Charles shares the story of a customer that he fired after only one day. Mailing List Every month there […]2021-10-0427 minRelease Notes#436: Photos of BugsToday we’re talking about the recent Apple event, and the hardware that was introduced. We discuss the trouble that Joe ran into ordering his new iPhone, all the new hardware that was announced, and which iPhone Charles is going to order this year. Mailing List Every month there are more great articles and content about […]2021-09-2032 minRelease Notes#435: Swimming with TurtlesToday we talk about a grab bag of issues that have been on our mind. Joe talks about a tax problem that he’s run into, Charles shares a nice resource for writing checks, and then we talk about the importance of getting away and disconnecting on vacation. Mailing List Every month there are more great […]2021-09-1329 minRelease Notes#434: More Than a Vibe in the AirJoe attended a conference! Live and in-person! So today Charles talks to Joe about his time attending 360iDev in Denver. We find out what it was like attending an in-person conference in the midst of a pandemic, hear about some of the talks that were presented (including his own keynote), and get his thoughts on […]2021-09-0633 minRelease Notes#427: Champagne Taste, Coca Cola BudgetToday we catch up with Charles and the email advertising campaign that he recently ran for RelaNet. Charles shares some numbers on the performance of the campaign, and he expresses frustration about his inability to run promotions more frequently. We talk about growth bottlenecks, automation, finding contractors you can trust, and more. Mailing List Every […]2021-07-1928 minRelease Notes#416: I Hate Anything ForeverIn this episode we continue talking about Charles’ plan for marketing RelaNet in 2021. Today we discuss Charles’ plan to start an affiliate program and focus on state-level organizations. We talk about affiliate rates, the affiliate software that Charles is using to manage the program, and all the supporting documentation and web pages that had […]2021-05-0333 minRelease Notes#415: They Had No GuidelinesImproving his marketing is one of Charles’ main goals for 2021, and with the end of tax season quickly approaching, he finally has a little more focus about what he’s going to change. Today we talk about Charles’ marketing plans for 2021, and how he’s going to contact the members of a number of professional […]2021-04-2626 minRelease Notes#410: Throwing Roast Pheasant at MeIn today’s episode, we talk about creating product roadmaps, each from our own perspective. Charles discusses prioritizing what comes next in the context of a one-man operation, and Joe tackles the issue from the perspective of someone working with a team. Mailing List Every month there are more great articles and content about the business […]2021-03-2231 minRelease Notes#409: I’m Not Sure I Want to Dump Money Into ThatToday we talk about the imminent demise of the iOS Identifier for Advertisers (or “IDFA”), and how we expect to be affected by this change scheduled to be introduced in iOS 14.5. Joe shares how the project he’s contracting to is adapting to the change, and Charles talks about how this change is affecting his […]2021-03-1531 minRelease Notes#408: Can’t Argue with 3000%Today Charles and Joe catch up on what’s been going on. We talk about a variety of topics, including office and desk setups, paying back technical debt, the pain of third-party dependencies, and some progress Charles is making on his 2021 goals. Mailing List Every month there are more great articles and content about the […]2021-03-0831 minRelease Notes#407: The Famous Shade of GreyToday we continue our conversation about a refresh of the RelaNet website that Charles recently completed. In this episode we talk about favicons, updating website content, comparing RelaNet to competitors, and why Charles finally broke down and added a blog. Mailing List Every month there are more great articles and content about the business of […]2021-03-0132 minRelease Notes#404: You Misspelled “Conversation”Today we talk to Joe about a new role that he’s taken in the contracting team he’s been working with: sole iOS developer. We talk to Joe about how this came about, how his responsibilities are changing, and how this new role has required a new way of thinking about the work he’s doing. Mailing […]2021-02-0832 minRelease Notes#403: The Law Firm of Perry, Perry, and GoogleCharles put in an offer on the e-signature product that we discussed last week, so in this episode we talk about how things turned out. We talk about negotiations, sales terms, and what to do when no lawyer wants to take the job. Mailing List Every month there are more great articles and content about […]2021-02-0134 minRelease Notes#402: I Bought Him a New CarCharles has reached an inflection point where he either needs to purchase several licenses to the e-signature solution he’s using, or he needs to purchase the entire product outright. Today Joe helps Charles think through the pros and cons of this potential business opportunity. (This episode was recorded on December 30, 2020.) Mailing List Every […]2021-01-2535 minRelease Notes#392: Not Enough Outdoor Patio HeatersToday we talk about hodgepodge of topics. Charles closes a sale after months of follow-up, Joe orders a new ARM powered MacBook Pro, and we both consider our workplace setups as we contemplate re-entering pandemic lockdown. Mailing List Every month there are more great articles and content about the business of Mac and iOS development […]2020-11-1629 minRelease Notes#389: I Don’t Want to Say SolvedToday Charles and Joe share their recent woes, both revolving around slowness. Joe’s new RECaf beta had some problems being killed on launch by the watchdog, and Charles’ web server was brought to its knees by a bunch of 31773 haxors. Mailing List Every month there are more great articles and content about the business […]2020-10-2634 minRelease Notes#388: Maybe the Bathroom?Today we discuss the recent Apple event. We talk about the new HomePod mini, as well as all the new iPhones, including the iPhone 12 mini. The mini is the form factor that Charles and Joe have been waiting on for years. We talk about why Joe is getting an iPhone 12 mini, and why […]2020-10-1933 minRelease Notes#387: Maybe I Can A/B Test the PeriodToday we talk about a hodge-podge of topics. We talk about the wisdom of tweeting about customers (even in a non-identifying way), Charles’ first attempt at advertising in a newsletter, and Joe’s experience syncing data between iPhone and Apple Watch with iCloud and Core Data. Mailing List Every month there are more great articles and […]2020-10-1231 minRelease Notes#386: Three Random Names and Your CousinToday we catch up with Charles about what’s going on with RelaNet, and his quest to incorporate knowledge-based authentication into RelaNet’s e-signature solution. We talk about third-party API providers, the requirement that Charles acquire a commercially zoned street address for his business, and a few strategies for monetizing this new feature once it’s ready. Mailing […]2020-10-0534 minRelease Notes#380: The Most Garish VersionToday we tackle a hodgepodge of topics: Joe got a new fancy monitor, Charles complains about customers that want ugly websites, Charles considers future advertising opportunities, and we talk about how the pandemic has affected business. Mailing List Every month there are more great articles and content about the business of Mac and iOS development […]2020-08-2434 minRelease Notes#377: Sounds Like a John Hughes MovieToday Joe catches us up on his RECaf update and the woes of using multiple measurement units, and Charles gives an update on his experience working with a reluctant contractor. Mailing List Every month there are more great articles and content about the business of Mac and iOS development than we have time to discuss […]2020-08-0332 minRelease Notes#376: I’ll Go Halfsies With YouToday we talk about a problem that Charles is having with a potential contractor. Charles shares the backstory of the problem and what he thinks might be wrong, and then Joe offers some advice from his experience on the other side of the table as a contractor. Mailing List Every month there are more great […]2020-07-2732 minRelease Notes#375: Better to be Lucky Than GoodToday we catch up with Charles and talk about the results of his recent advertising campaign. We talk about how it was organized, the results, and how the results of this advertising campaign compare to his campaign from this Spring. We also discuss the fine line you have to walk when advertising in the midst […]2020-07-2033 minRelease Notes#370: I Had To Work For ItToday we talk about how Charles resolved the pricing dilemma we discussed a couple weeks ago. We talk about the features he added to existing plans, the new Team plan he created, and how he is presenting all of this new information on his website. Release Notes Happy Hour – June 24 To help people […]2020-06-1536 minRelease Notes#369: Chaotic NeutralToday we talk about our new laptops! Joe got a new 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Charles got a new Dell XPS 13 running Linux. We talk about the new hardware, how the two laptops compare, and Charles’ experience with Linux so far. Mailing List Every month there are more great articles and content about the […]2020-06-0838 minRelease Notes#366: Your Customers Can AddToday we talk to Charles about the new features that RelaNet will soon be offering, and how he plans to incorporate them into his pricing. We talk about his plans to offer a more expensive team plan, what that plan might look like, and his deliberations on how to charge and how much to charge […]2020-05-1833 minRelease Notes#364: A Full-Fledged ForkToday Charles talks more about the e-signature solution that he settled on, and how he is using the product’s vendor as a pseudo-low-cost contractor to get the custom changes he needs in the short-term and the training he needs to maintain the product himself over the long-term. Mailing List Every month there are more great […]2020-05-0430 minRelease Notes#363: A Couple of Boo BoosToday Charles shares the story of how he crashed a server and survived a self-inflicted DDOS, all in one week. We talk about the backstory, the recovery, and lessons learned. Mailing List Every month there are more great articles and content about the business of Mac and iOS development than we have time to discuss […]2020-04-2729 minRelease Notes#362: Regular SierraToday Charles reveals that he’s considering getting a new laptop… and it might not be Mac. We talk about why he considering running Linux on a Dell, and why he is desperately hoping Joe can talk him out of it. Mailing List Every month there are more great articles and content about the business of […]2020-04-2033 minRelease Notes#359: There Might Be Multiple People on This TeamToday Charles talks about his failed attempt at advertising, his theories on why his advertisement didn’t perform, thoughts on why the response from his email list was better, and the progress he’s made on evaluating a new e-signature solution for his clients. Mailing List Every month there are more great articles and content about the […]2020-03-3035 minRelease Notes#358: Hyper Not-Wanting-to-be-SmarmyToday Charles talks about how the recent postponement of the U.S. income tax filing date is affecting his business. We talk about seizing an unexpected advertising opportunity, a sudden new deadline that hits tomorrow 😱, and walking the fine line between being helpful in the face of a natural disaster and the appearance of profiteering. […]2020-03-2335 minRelease Notes#356: Two Terabytes?!Today Charles tells the tale of how he accidentally put his new client portal into production. We also talk about the potential risks involved with launching a product in this way, the advantages of being small and nimble, and how Charles might be able to turn the flexibility he displayed into a marketing opportunity. Mailing […]2020-03-0929 minRelease Notes#355: No, But I Could Build It For YaToday we continue our conversation about Charles’ new client portal and talk more about the e-signature solution that he’s searching for. We talk about the benefits of “buying” versus “renting” software, why changing his client portal solution will affect his marketing and messaging, and why Charles might end up paying someone to build an e-signature […]2020-03-0230 minRelease Notes#354: See How Much Squawking I GetToday we talk about about Charles’ recent realization that he probably shouldn’t be writing code anymore. We talk about how he came to that realization, how it makes him feel, and what it means for his business. Mailing List Every month there are more great articles and content about the business of Mac and iOS […]2020-02-2427 minRelease Notes#353: Shake a Lotta Hands, Kiss a Lotta BabiesToday Charles talks to Joe some more about his upcoming move to Colorado. In particular, we discuss how he plans to connect with the local development community, how he might attract some local clients while still retaining his existing clients, and how he plans to maintain his hourly rate despite his new lower cost of […]2020-02-1731 minRelease Notes352: The Problem is There’s Nothing WrongToday we talk about servers and how we use them in our products. Charles shares his progress setting up new servers based on CentOS 8, and then Joe shares how he uses servers with his apps, and how he has mostly avoided the hassles of server administration. Mailing List Every month there are more great […]2020-02-1034 minRelease Notes#348: Kinda Like Diffusing a BombLast week we talked to Joe about his goals for 2020. This week we turn to Charles and learn what he has planned for the new year, as well as the technical and financial goals he would like to achieve before the end of the year. Mailing List Every month there are more great articles […]2020-01-1329 minRelease Notes#346: Do I Get a Little Pin?We want to learn more about you! Take our survey at https://releasenotes.tv/survey. As is our custom, we’re spending the last two episodes of the year reviewing our goals for 2019 and evaluating how well we met them. Last week we talked to Joe, so today we focus on Charles and the goals that he set […]2019-12-3032 minRelease Notes#344: A Nice, Firm GripWe want to learn more about you! Take our survey at https://releasenotes.tv/survey. Today we talk about a few different topics related to sales. Charles shares a story that illustrates the importance of following up, we talk about how to answer customer questions when the customer doesn’t really know what they are asking for, and then […]2019-12-1635 minRelease Notes#342: Apologies Are CheapToday we continue catching up on what’s going on in our businesses. This time we focus on Charles and RelaNet. Charles talks about a problem he’s having with onboarding new customers and gets Joe’s ideas on how to fix it, then Charles gives an update on his search for a new client portal and how […]2019-12-0228 minRelease Notes#341: I Don’t Care if You Choose to Accept ItToday we begin catching up with Joe and Charles about their individual businesses. We start off with Joe and talk to him about a long term contract that he’s been working on, progress that he’s made on his own mobile apps, and some marketing opportunities that exist for his products. Then we get an update […]2019-11-2527 minRelease Notes#340: Tell Them It’s a Magic KeyboardToday we talk about the newly released 16-inch MacBook Pro and our thoughts on this update. We talk keyboards, Touch Bars, design compromises, and discuss whether Charles or Joe is going to buy one of these new laptops. Mailing List Every month there are more great articles and content about the business of Mac and […]2019-11-1830 minRelease Notes#339: I Don’t Want to Support ThisToday we conduct a “therapy session” for Charles as he tries to decide whether to continue development of the home-grown client portal he uses for his RelaNet clients, or whether it would be better to use a third-party solution and use the time that is freed up for marketing. We talk about the current situation, […]2019-11-1131 minRelease Notes#337: A Little Worse OffToday we continue our discussion of macOS Catalina and whether and how Charles should update from Sierra. (Yes, Sierra.) We discuss the sort of zombie state that Adobe Creative Suite 6 has been left in since it is a mix of 32-bit and 64-bit executables, and then Joe helps Charles consider some of the Photoshop […]2019-10-2828 minRelease Notes#336: I’ve Got a Lot of NosToday we talk about technology upgrades – specifically, we’re talking about iOS 13 and macOS Catalina. Charles had avoided both upgrades for a quite a while, and today he’s sharing the story of how he was auto-updated to iOS 13 at an inopportune moment, and seeking advice about if and when to update his computers […]2019-10-2134 minRelease Notes#334: Until the Heat Death of the UniverseToday Charles gives some detail on his recent email marketing efforts. We talk about the power of finding a marketing channel that works, juggling the rush of responses that resulted from the email advertisements, and the automation that he has used to make it all manageable. He also shares numbers on emails sent, cost, response, […]2019-10-0733 minRelease Notes#328: Sorry, There Will Be No Features This YearToday Charles talks to Joe about his roadmap for the rest of the year. We talk about Joe’s apps, the challenges of operating on an uncertain Apple-defined schedule, the features he wants to complete, and what he’s deferring for now. Release Notes 2019 We’re happy to announce that Release Notes 2019, the fourth edition of […]2019-08-2641 minRelease Notes#327: I Like the Symmetry of Three BoxesToday we start the first of two of our periodic “therapy sessions.” In this episode, we talk about some of Charles’ looming deadlines, and how he’s planning for them. We talk about Charles’ plan for the next few months, RelaNet’s feature roadmap, and which features are going to have to be deferred for a little […]2019-08-1929 minRelease Notes#318: It’s a Victimless CrimeIn this episode we continue talking about Charles’ efforts to advertise RelaNet to his target audience. Today, we discuss the details of the advertising email campaigns: timing of the campaigns, follow-up email sequences, automation, and conducting sales calls on the telephone. Release Notes 2019 We’re happy to announce that Release Notes 2019, the fourth edition […]2019-06-1732 minRelease Notes#317: You Wouldn’t Believe the SpreadsheetToday we talk about Charles’ recent effort to advertise RelaNet to his target audience of small accounting firms. We dive into how he’s using paid email campaigns to reach this audience, how much all this advertising cost, and the value of having potential customers see your advertisement multiple times. Release Notes 2019 We’re happy to […]2019-06-1031 minRelease Notes#310: Multiply by PiIn today’s episode we talk about a new proposal that Joe sent out. We talk about the origin of the proposal, and then we dig into some of the decisions that Joe had to make regarding time and cost. Along the way, we explore why charging more attracts better customers, how certain milestones affect customer […]2019-04-2234 minRelease Notes#303: You’re Probably Going to Screw it UpToday we talk about automation. Charles shares a recent automation-related win. We discuss what types of tasks we automate, and just as importantly what types of tasks we don’t automate. Release Notes 2019 We’re happy to announce that Release Notes 2019, the fourth edition of our conference, will be happening October 3-5, 2019 in Playa […]2019-03-0431 minRelease Notes#302: The Deadbeat ReturnsCharles shares a story about a deadbeat client that came back asking for his website to be reactivated. This prompts a discussion about when you should take back clients that never paid, under what circumstances you should take them back, and an aside about Charles’ experience using Stripe as a payment processor. Release Notes 2019 […]2019-02-2531 minRelease Notes#301: Haggling Over CeleryIn today’s episode we talk about negotiation. Charles shares a recent experience he had in negotiating an advertising deal, we talk about different situations where we have negotiated better prices or deals, different situations that we wouldn’t try to negotiate, and how we handle price negotiations when we are selling rather than buying. Release Notes […]2019-02-1836 minRelease Notes#299: Can I Sign Up For That Job?Today we tackle a hodgepodge of topics including a small pre-event gathering we’re hosting at FemtoConf, Charles’ attempt to control costs by changing email marketing automation platforms, Joe getting his tax information ready for his accountant, and a key dependency of Charles’ business discontinuing a service he relies upon. Release Notes 2019 We’re happy to […]2019-02-0432 minRelease Notes#288: Do They Know You Exist?Today Charles talks to Joe about subcontracting. We talk about the role that subcontracting (as opposed to direct contracting) plays in Joe’s business, how he handles communication with the end client, and the fine line that sometimes must be walked in balancing his relationships with the end client with the contractor that hired him. Mailing […]2018-11-1935 minRelease Notes#287: I Want My Two Dollars!Today Charles mines Joe’s experience on how to handle deadbeat clients – those customers that seem happy with the product, but just won’t pay. We talk about how to avoid these sorts of clients to begin with, and steps to take once you have a client in your debt. Joe briefly indulges Charles’ revenge fantasies, […]2018-11-1232 minRelease Notes#286: Castles on SandToday we talk about Charles’ decision to remove his last app from the App Store. We talk about the background of the decision, the change that made him finally remove the app, and what’s next now that he’s out of the App Store. Mailing List Every month there are more great articles and content about […]2018-11-0534 minRelease Notes#285: Tiny GardenerToday we talk about ways to build up enough of a financial “runway” to allow your new business to take off. We talk about ways that both Charles and Joe have used to support our new businesses; Charles’ current strategy of cannibalizing one business to build another; and newer options like Tiny Seed, a newly […]2018-10-2933 minRelease Notes#283: Ariel Michaeli (part 1)Charles is out sick today, so Joe is joined by Ariel Michaeli of Appfigures. Joe and Ariel talk about how Appfigures got started in the mobile developer financial data space, how Appfigures addresses its customers’ privacy concerns, and Appfigures’ new product “Explorer” which lets Appfigures customers make informed decisions when exploring new markets and new […]2018-10-1535 minRelease Notes#282: Works is a Pretty Good ThresholdToday we continue our discussion with Joe about the rough road his new app RECaf traveled into this world, Joe’s efforts to fix the problems that occurred, and some of the things he’d do differently next time. Mailing List Every month there are more great articles and content about the business of Mac and iOS […]2018-10-0832 minRelease Notes#281: Biblical TweetsWe’ve all been there. The difficult launch. Today we talk to Joe about the rough road his new app RECaf traveled into this world, Joe’s efforts to fix the problems that occurred, and some of the things he’d do differently next time. Mailing List Every month there are more great articles and content about the […]2018-10-0131 minRelease Notes#277: You’re Gonna Get a DiscussionToday we talk about two conferences that we recently attended. We spend most of the episode talking about 360iDev which Joe spoke at in Denver, and discuss his talk as well as some of the presentations that he sat in on. We also talk briefly about a conference for accountants that Charles recently spoke at, […]2018-09-0329 minRelease Notes#276: Hi, Tax ProfessionalToday we’re talking about an email promotion that Charles recently ran in support of his RelaNet business. The promotion was an email sent by a professional organization to its membership on behalf of RelaNet. We talk about the approval process, the responses it garnered, and Charles’ follow-up process. Mailing List Every month there are more […]2018-08-2728 minRelease Notes#270: Some French Guy Named BezierToday we return to a topic that we’ve discussed before: Pricing. We talk about about pricing for the value you provide, the pro vs. prosumer vs. consumer markets, and why both Charles and Joe feel so strongly that Affinity Designer for iPad is way, way underpriced. Mailing List Every month there are more great articles […]2018-07-1644 minRelease Notes#265: The Cupertino MafiaThis week Charles talks to Joe about his time in San Jose at WWDC, and we chat about some of the changes that were announced. We talk about the event itself, some of the technology announcements that were made, and why we think some of the most important changes made last week were once that […]2018-06-1145 minRelease Notes#261: Hope Not to Break ThingsToday we talk about Charles’ adventures in implementing automated testing in his WordPress-based client portal. We talk about why Charles has resisted unit testing, his epiphany about feature testing/integration testing, how he implemented automated testing with Perl, and more. Mailing List Every month there are more great articles and content about the business of Mac […]2018-05-1433 minRelease Notes#260: Luckily, I Have Very Sharp ElbowsToday Charles talks about his recent experience at MicroConf in Las Vegas, and then we dive deeper into networking events and discuss our “elevator pitches” – how we explain to others what it is we do in just a sentence or two. Mailing List Every month there are more great articles and content about the […]2018-05-0735 minRelease Notes#259: PeersToday Charles and Joe reflect on their recent trip to Peers Conference. We talk about the great community and give a quick rundown of a few of our favorite talks. Mailing List Every month there are more great articles and content about the business of Mac and iOS development than we have time to discuss […]2018-04-3031 minRelease Notes#258: I Felt Like I Was on a Hamster WheelToday we have a quick update on Apple’s preparations for GDPR which are soon going into effect, as well as a discussion about Charles’ first hire on UpWork. Mailing List Every month there are more great articles and content about the business of Mac and iOS development than we have time to discuss on the […]2018-04-2334 minRelease Notes#257: The World Backup Day PledgeBacking up your computers isn’t sexy, but it’s important for the long-term health of your business. So today we (once again) discuss our backup strategies, and in particular how they have changed since we last spoke about the topic. We talk about improvements that Joe has made to his backup system, and changes that Charles […]2018-04-1635 minRelease Notes#256: The Pied Piper of ConferencesToday we talk about Charles’ recent trip to Darmstadt, Germany to attend FemtoConf, a conference for indie/bootstrapped/self-funded entrepreneurs. We talk about what it’s like to attend a conference with only 30 attendees, navigating a new conference community, the talks Charles attended, and all the great people he met. Mailing List Every month there are more […]2018-04-0934 minRelease Notes#255: Not a Fly-By-NightAfter a few months of talking and learning about business websites, we wrap up this series with a real-life example. Joe takes a look at Charles’ new RelaNet website and does a live tear-down of what he likes and what he would change. Mailing List Every month there are more great articles and content about […]2018-04-0239 minRelease Notes#241: Brute Force Customers (part 2)In this episode we continue our conversation about Charles’ efforts to attract new RelaNet customers using cold email outreach. Today we talk statistics: response rates, positive response rates, rates of closing the sale, and more. Mailing List Every month there are more great articles and content about the business of Mac and iOS development than […]2017-12-2528 minRelease Notes#240: Brute Force CustomersToday we talk about Charles’ efforts to attract new RelaNet customers using cold email outreach. We talk about his source of email addresses, his vetting process, the email scripts he uses, how he tracks which emails are opened, and how he’s using data to optimize his email effort. Mailing List Every month there are more […]2017-12-1838 minRelease Notes#238: If You’re Free, Go to the PartyThrough his freelance design business, Joe has had clients for many years. Charles, on the other hand, is new to managing client relationships. So today we talk about how to handle those client relationships as we head into the holidays. Do you send a card? Do you send a gift? Do you attend the holiday […]2017-12-0430 minRelease Notes#225: I Want to be Driving a LamborghiniToday we (finally) discuss CrashPlan’s exit from the consumer market. We talk about what CrashPlan did right with this transition, why Charles doesn’t consider BackBlaze a suitable alternative to CrashPlan, and CrashPlan’s baffling decision that kept Charles from instantly upgrading to CrashPlan’s Small Business service. Release Notes 2017 Release Notes 2017 is SOLD OUT! Release […]2017-09-0435 minRelease Notes#224: More Like a FishermanToday we’re talking about conferences (again). Joe recently spoke at 360|iDev, and Charles had his first experience sponsoring a conference at a recent Indiana CPA Society conference. We discuss future trends in conference-going, what it was like being at a non-technical conference, and why sponsors have to have great swag. Release Notes 2017 Release Notes […]2017-08-2831 minRelease Notes#222: It’s Kinda Like…SquishyIn this episode, Joe gives a preview of the talk he’s giving today at 360|iDev about the idea that it’s not just salespeople that are in sales—everyone is. No matter your position or role in an organization, you have to sell a customer, a boss, a co-worker, or a partner. Joe breaks it down and […]2017-08-1431 minRelease Notes#221: Shaving That Yak Pretty GoodToday we talk about Charles’ efforts to acquire new customers for RelaNet, his business for tax preparers. In particular, we talk about Charles’ efforts with cold emails. Topics include targeting potentials customers, the line between cold email and spam, what makes for an effective cold email, and what to ask for in your email. Release […]2017-08-0738 minRelease Notes#217: What’s the Opposite of Risk?Today we talk about pricing tiers, and specifically about some of the decisions that Charles made when creating pricing tiers for RelaNet. And Charles tells the story of how he shamelessly threw Apple under the bus. Release Notes 2017 Release Notes 2017 is SOLD OUT! Release Notes 2017 will be happening October 16-18, 2017, in […]2017-07-1043 minRelease Notes#216: So I’ve Got These Clients…Charles has a new client and realized that he has a lot to learn, so today he asks Joe about how he manages communication with his clients. Release Notes 2017 Release Notes 2017 is SOLD OUT! Release Notes 2017 will be happening October 16-18, 2017, in Chicago, Illinois. You can get all the details on […]2017-07-0334 minRelease Notes#214: Charles’ Therapy SessionToday we continue our series of mid-year business check-ups and talk to Charles about how his different products are doing this year. We get a quick update on Benjamin and it’s revenue, we discuss MetaTax and get Charles’ post-mortem on why he thinks it hasn’t succeeded as he thought it would, and finally we talk […]2017-06-1939 minRelease Notes#212: Joe’s Therapy SessionToday we talk about the current state of affairs of Joe’s different business ventures. Joe tells us about Bombing Brain’s plans to convert his bread-and-butter app to a subscription model, future plans for their up and coming app Setlists, and some planned features that are designed to encourage word of mouth sharing. Joe also shares […]2017-06-0528 minRelease Notes#206: Bait, I GuessToday we chat about some product launches we’ve recently prepared. Joe talks about why he didn’t spend much time on launching the update to his app Fin, Charles talks about some of the email sequences he’s planning for RelaNet, and we both chat about the preparations we’re making for the May 1st launch of Release […]2017-04-2440 minRelease Notes#202: We All Need a Dream CrusherToday we talk about updates: When should you release a minor update and when should you save up those small changes for a bigger release? This conversation morphs into a strategy session for Joe’s app Fin. We talk about Fin’s target market and how that target market could be reached. In the end, Charles offers […]2017-03-2736 minRelease Notes#196: The Answer is SlowlyToday Joe talks to Charles about his new business, RelaNet. We discuss Charles’ new business, the value of specializing in one market vertical, and why Charles seems to be migrating his business efforts away from standalone iOS apps and towards web services. Release Notes 2017 We’re happy to announce that Release Notes 2017, the third […]2017-02-1334 minRelease Notes#185: I Have a Romance with Making MoneyToday we discuss Setapp, MacPaw’s new Netflix-like service for high quality Mac apps. Last week (episode #184) MacPaw’s CEO Oleksandr Kosovan talked to us about the service. Immediately after that interview, Charles and Joe discussed what we heard, and shared our immediate, and pretty different, takes on whether or not this is a service that […]2016-11-2830 minRelease Notes#183: Lobster – Market PriceToday Charles interrogates Joe about his recent experience porting his iOS app X2Y to macOS. We talk about Joe’s reason for taking X2Y to the Mac, similarities and differences between UIKit and AppKit, Mac App Store versus self-distribution, pricing, and more. Mailing List Every month there are more great articles and content about the business […]2016-11-1438 minRelease Notes#164: Ruin it with MathAt WWDC this year, Apple announced iMessage apps in two varieties: stickers and interactive messages. Today we talk about the business prospects of iMessage apps, why Joe is building a sticker pack, and why Charles isn’t as excited about them. Release Notes 2016 If you’re serious about your business, Release Notes 2016 is the one […]2016-07-0437 minRelease Notes#163: That Ship Has SailedIn this episode we talk about WWDC 2016 and Joe’s experience there. We talk about how Joe spent his time in San Francisco without a WWDC ticket, the technical announcements that we are most excited about, and dig a little deeper into the App Store changes that were pre-announced before WWDC. Release Notes 2016 If […]2016-06-2738 minRelease Notes#160: I Don’t Want to Learn More Than OnceToday Joe declares his love for coffee and Comply foam tips, Charles talks a little about his recent trip to UIKonf, and we both talk about what we hope to see at WWDC in just a few days. Release Notes 2016 If you’re serious about your business, Release Notes 2016 is the one conference you […]2016-06-0637 minRelease Notes#158: Coffee:Charles::Paper:JoeToday we’re taking a break from iOS business news to talk about some of the gadgets and tools we use to make our day a little more enjoyable. Topics range across coffee, stationery, headphones, and more. Release Notes 2016 If you’re serious about your business, Release Notes 2016 is the one conference you want to […]2016-05-2341 min