Shows
Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ PodcastJoe Benson of EversiteIn episode 573 of Business Brain, hosts Dave Hamilton and Shannon Jean interview Joe Benson, founder of Eversite, a digital marketing agency. Joe discusses his journey from creating websites as a child to launching the innovative “website as a service” model, making web services affordable for small businesses. He shares insights on leveraging social media for lead generation and emphasizes the importance of communication in demonstrating the value of digital marketing.
Joe also addresses the challenges of entrepreneurship, including work-life balance and the need for supportive networks. He concludes with advice for aspiring entrepreneurs on networking and embracing chal...2024-08-1428 min
Mastermind.fmEpisode 171 – P2P Lending on Lonvest with Roman KaterynchykIn this episode, Jean and Joe interview the founder and CEO of Lonvest, Roman Katerynchyk.
We dig into how P2P lending for consumer loans works, and what kind of models power the decisions to give loans or not to new customers. We discuss the ethical side of P2P lending, and the big issue with millions of unbanked people in developing countries.
For example:
44% of Vietnam’s population was unbanked in 2022, but a higher percentage remains under-banked.
Only 6% of the population in Vietnam have credit cards.
We also talk about how Lonvest wo...2023-09-1554 minMastermind.fmEpisode 169 – NFT Taxation with Shehan from CointrackerIn this episode Jean and Joe speak with Shehan Chandrasekera from Cointracker about the intricacies of NFT taxation.
Links
Cointracker
2022-10-2547 minMastermind.fmEpisode 168 – Collecting, Creating and Curating Generative ArtIn this episode, Jean hangs out with Tinbane and Astamcloud/P to discuss the experience of collecting, creating and curating in the generative art space.
Links
Jean’s post about embarking on his artistic journey
Jean’s generative art resources
DCinvestor on-chain gen art collector thesis
The rise of long-form generative art
Mandelbrot set
Picasso’s The Bull
* Featured image art by Tinbane
2022-09-201h 22Mastermind.fmEpisode 162 – Collecting Generative Art NFTs with Hanif PerryIn this episode, Jean talks to Hanif Perry about his experience as a collector of generative art NFTs and member of various communities that formed around this movement. This is a great primer for those who are interested in NFTs and want to know what to look for and where when buying their first pieces.
Links
Hanif’s Twitter
Jean’s article on generative art NFTs
Picasso Punks
GrailersDAO
Fidenza by Tyler Hobbs
Chromie Squiggles
Dmitri Cherniak
Century by Casey Reas
Gazers by Matt Kane
Stefano Contiero
Rhythm by Jeff Davis
Infinite Objects frames
Mov3
Quantum Key
...2022-03-291h 00
Shut Up I Love ItEP 107 - BLOW DRY (2001 FILM) with Jean CarroccioImproviser/performer Jean Carroccio loves the 2001 classic BLOW DRY pretend-starring Heidi Klum but actually starring Alan Rickman, Natasha Richardson, Rachel Griffiths, and your typical Brit, Josh Hartnett (hey, he was doing his best with that accent). Episode Links: Jean's IG: https://www.instagram.com/jean_carroccio/ Joe's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/joecabello Mr. Owl's Website: https://www.owlroostproductions.com Email us at shutuppod@gmail.comTwitter/Instagram: @shutupiloveit1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shutupiloveit1/2021-07-1954 minMastermind.fmEpisode 142 – Pan-European Real Estate Investing with EstateGuruIn this interview, Jean and Joe speak to Mihkel Stamm – COO of EstateGuru, a real estate crowdfunding platform established in 2014, with more than €300m loans given so far. This makes it one of the oldest and most successful platforms in Europe.
In this wide-ranging interview, we go into details about how the platform operates as well as general real estate investing trends that Mihkel has been observing over the past years.
Links
EstateGuru
2021-02-171h 04Mastermind.fmEpisode 140 – Real Estate Crowdfunding RaizersIn today’s episode, we interview Maxime Pallain, the co-founder and CEO of Raizers. Raizers is a real estate crowdfunding platform that currently offers several investment opportunities in France.
Raizers’ competitors when it started were private banks, family offices etc. Raizers’ innovation was in digitizing the way to give loans to entrepreneurs.
This platform offers loans to real estate developers, with a maximum 24 months and average of 21 months.
There is currently a 0% default rate on Raizers, and there aren’t any long-pending projects either.
They have financed over 500m in projects. In 2020...2021-02-021h 06Mastermind.fmEpisode 138 – LendSecured with Ņikita GončarsIn today’s episode, we speak with Nikita Goncars, the CEO and co-founder of LendSecured. This is one of the newest lending platforms in Europe, however, it’s worth noting that it’s an offshoot of an existing lending business that has been operating successfully for several years.
The team has considerable experience in Latvia and they want to expand to the rest of Europe, with Germany and Spain being one of the first big markets they are targeting. We spent some time discussing their upcoming focus on agricultural loans, which both Jean and Joe found fascinating.
...2021-01-1958 minMastermind.fmEpisode 136 – Parenting, Property and Investments with Rob DixIn this episode, Jean sits down with Rob Dix, who is well known for his several projects in the UK real estate space. Together with his wife Mish, he also ran the popular digital nomad blog Making It Anywhere. His journey shares quite a few similarities with Jean’s, so it was interesting to discuss several of the topics that interest both of them, including parenting, property and other investments, as well as other life choices.
*We apologize for the sound quality in Jean’s part of the recording, unfortunately we had a technical problem and had to u...2020-11-241h 09Mastermind.fmEpisode 135 – How to HODL Crypto and Earn Interest with YouHodlerIn today’s episode, we have Anthony Cerullo from YouHodler joining us to explain how this platform enables crypto hodlers to earn interest on their holdings via the YouHodler savings account, or even obtain crypto-backed loans and even gain big from crypto movements using the Turbocharge and Multi Hodl products.
You can check out Jean’s review of YouHodler if you’d like more details on the platform, the article is a perfect accompaniment to this podcast episode.
If you like the content we’re putting out, please consider leaving a 5-star review on iTunes, it helps...2020-11-101h 13Mastermind.fmEpisode 134 – How Mintos P2P Lending Works with CEO Martins SulteToday’s episode features Martins Sulte, the CEO and co-founder of the biggest European P2P lending platform Mintos, as our guest.
Lending and alternative lending is not a new industry at all, but many European investors only became aware to this asset class in recent years, also because before there was no real way they could get involved since it required insider knowledge, contacts or big sums of capital.
Mintos itself start out with the founders and 4 developers, and it has not grown to over 160 people.
It was a pleasure to speak wi...2020-11-031h 05Mastermind.fmEpisode 133 – Crypto-backed P2P lending with MyConstantIn this episode, Joseph and Jean interview Chris Roper from MyConstant, a platform that offers crypto-backed lending and borrowing facilities.
As an investor, one may use several products available on the MyConstant site to obtain interest on their fiat currencies or stable currencies. On the other hand, you can also act as a borrower, by depositing crypto as collateral and obtaining a loan from MyConstant.
The platform focuses a lot on educating investors about crypto-based lending and borrowing, and as such is an ideal platform for those new to this type of investing.
...2020-10-271h 15Mastermind.fmEpisode 132 – Traveling the World and Building Newsletter Businesses with Chris from KintuLabsIn today’s episode, Jean sits down with Chris Osborne from KintuLabs. Chris is one of the first digital nomads and has been living this lifestyle for 15 years already. He is also a serial entrepreneur with multiple online businesses built and sold. His latest project involves building 15 newsletters in different niches and then selling them.
We talk about work and travel, homeschooling, building newsletter businesses, and Chris’ favorite locations around the world for spending a few months a year in.
This episode is a must-listen for anyone who is location-independent or has aspirations to become a di...2020-10-201h 05Mastermind.fmEpisode 131 – Sharia-Compliant Lending with QardusIn this episode, we interview Hassan Daher from Qardus.
Qardus is a sharia-compliant lender to small and medium-sized enterprises to help with their cashflow needs.
They provide short-term halal business loans, or halal business investments.
As an investor, you provide the capital to lend to the business, and get paid as the business pays that money back.
The kinds of businesses Qardus go for are well-established, strong-revenue companies, typically in stable markets such as the medical or pharmaceutical industry. There is an emphasis on the people behind the businesses as well...2020-10-141h 17Mastermind.fmEpisode 130 – High Yield Lending with Frank Steffen from LendaryIn this episode, Joe and Jean meet Frank Steffen, the CEO and co-founder of Lendary.net.
We discuss the Lendary platform, which consists of a system to optimize the yield on lending to traders on the Bitfinex platform. We go into the nitty-gritty of how this type of high yield lending works, including the risks involved. I liken their system to that of a crypto trading bot, but applied to lending instead. You can choose from various strategies that have different risk/reward numbers.
Results over the past year have been pretty spectacular, and this...2020-08-251h 12Mastermind.fmEpisode 128 – Latvian Property Investments with BulkestateIn today’s interview, we take a look at another real estate investment platform from the Baltics: Bulkestate. Joe and Jean chat with founder Igor Puntuss about the reasons for starting this platform and how investments work.
We delve into the case for investing in Latvia as well as Bulkestate’s unique group buying feature, where investors can buy apartments instead of just invest in crowdfunding campaigns.
Links
Jean’s Bulkestate review
Bulkestate website
2020-08-041h 34Mastermind.fmEpisode 126 – Investing in Gold with Voima GoldIn today’s interview, we talk to Jan Nieuwenhuijs from Voima. Jan has been a very vocal researcher in the gold space for many years.
We take different angles on the gold topic and discuss the main reasons for holding hold and the different ways you can do it.
One of my biggest takeaways from this episode is that gold is not an investment per-se, but a protection against the loss in value of conventional assets like fiat currencies. To put a simple example, if you have saved €25,000 now and that’s what a new car co...2020-07-0858 min
Couples Synergy: Real Couples, Real Stories...Real RelationshipsChoosing Not To Settle Down Works For Us - Joe & RosalindaJOE & ROSALINDA'S STORY: Couples therapy and relationships experts, Dr. Ray and Jean, interview Joe & Rosalinda about how moving around in life without settling down suits their lifestyle and relationship. Please subscribe to our podcast and leave us a comment and review. If you have questions, topic suggestions or would like to be considered as guests, email us at contact@couplessynergy.com. For more information about Couples Synergy, look us up online at Couplessynergy.com2020-07-0244 minMastermind.fmEpisode 125 – Investing in Litigation with AxiaFunderIn today’s episode, Jean and Joe meet Cormac Leech from AxiaFunder to discuss how investors can make money from litigation cases.
This is a really new asset class with the biggest advantage being that it has very little correlation with other asset classes.
We discuss the legality and ethical background behind litigation funding (it is still illegal in some European nations) and the future for this asset class, as well as how investing works in practice. This includes what returns we can expect, duration of litigation cases as well as the biggest risks investors fa...2020-06-301h 03Mastermind.fmEpisode 124 – Investing in Vacation Rental Properties with BrickstarterIn this episode, Jean and Joe speak to Jose Maria Pascual from Brickstarter, a vacation rental property platform based in Estonia. By registering as an investor on this platform, you are able to invest in vacation rental properties (currently only in Spain) and benefit when they are rented out.
This was an interesting and eye-opening chat with Jose, who was very open and honest about how the platform operates, the challenges faced by this asset class during these months, and their plans for the near future.
I base a lot of trust on the team...2020-06-231h 06Mastermind.fmEpisode 121 – Interview with Kris Gunnars from StockAnalysis.comKris Gunnars is the founder and ex-CEO of the world’s most trafficked nutrition site Authority Nutrition. He went on to sell that website to Healthline.com, which then became the world’s biggest nutrition site.
Kris now dedicates his time to investing the handsome returns from the acquisition and runs Stockanalysis.com where he shares the results of his research and learning.
In this conversation, we talk about the personality traits and skillset needed to build a successful authority site. We also go through some of the challenges faced by website owners and how to k...2020-05-0552 minMastermind.fmEpisode 119 – Interview with Yoran BrondsemaOn this week’s show, Jean is joined by Gabriella Galea, his sister, and Yoran Brondsema, a European index investor and entrepreneur.
Gabriella is new to the investing world and is trying to figure it all out, while Yoran has been researching the best way to invest and allocate assets in a sensible portfolio for several years. He developed a tool for Europeans to backtest different portfolios and thus help decided which portfolio they want to adopt.
In this episode, we focus on index investing, with a specific focus on European investors. We discuss how to...2020-02-0450 minMastermind.fmEpisode 118 – Interviewing Tanel Orro from Reinvest24In this week’s episode we interview the CEO of Reinvest24, Mr Tanel Orro. This platform is one of my favorites as they are growing organically and doing things the right way. I like their updates on the properties they are working on as they record videos of the progress, and it seems that they are very responsible towards their investors, which is always good to see.
We discuss many aspects of investing in real estate, including the hottest trends in real estate investment in Europe, why invest in buy-to-rent properties vs developmetn loans, and where most of...2019-11-1953 minMastermind.fmEpisode 117 – Interview with Gustas Germanavičius from Evo EstateThis week we have Gustas from Evo Estate with us. This platform is different from the majority of online real estate investment platforms in that it is a curated aggregator of deals from various platforms.
It is a platform that is dedicated to serving the investors’ needs, as Gustas emphasizes. In this episode, Jean is joined by his dad Joseph, an experienced finance expert and together they discuss Evo Estate and online real estate deals in general with Gustas.
We thoroughly enjoyed our discussion with the young but very knowledgeable Gustas and we think you’ll e...2019-10-2551 minMastermind.fmEpisode 116 – Peer to Peer Loan Investments with Sterling from P2P MillionaireIn today’s episode, Jean is joined by Sterling from P2P-Millionaire.com. Sterling is one of the biggest investors in peer-to-peer lending and has an active portfolio of over a million euros invested across several P2P platforms.
We discuss how he built the initial capital that he now invests, thoughts about living in China, and how he goes about choosing P2P platforms. We touch upon setting up an auto invest strategy on these P2P lending platforms, and what would happen in an economic downturn.
Other topics we go into are the ca...2019-08-061h 00Mastermind.fmEpisode 115 – The FIRE Movement in Europe with Jørgen WolfIn today’s episode, Jean is joined by Jørgen Wolf who is documenting his journey towards financial freedom on his blog. He promises to bare all: his income, his expenses and his investments.
In our chat, we talk about the FIRE movement and differences between the European movement and the US movement, how he evaluates P2P platforms, living in Denmark, how to raise a financially intelligent kid, real estate investments and much more.
Definitely an episode that will be useful for all those who want to make their money work for them and prov...2019-07-241h 11Mastermind.fmEpisode 114 – Investing in Startups through the Republic.co PlatformIn this episode, Jean interviews Matthew Melbourne from Republic.co, a platform where investors from all around the world can invest in US startups.
Deal flow has been hard to come by for small investors in the US or investors outside the US with no contacts or physical presence in hotbeds for startups like San Francisco. Republic’s mission is to change all that and make investing easy and open to everyone, whichever net worth they have. This means that you don’t need to be an accredited investor to invest in startups on this platform.
Ma...2019-07-0928 minMastermind.fmEpisode 112 – Interview with Adrian Tobey from GroundhoggThe episode is sponsored by Plesk and Freemius.
Today Jean is joined by Adrian Tobey in a chat recorded at the Collision conference in Toronto.
We touch upon various topics like building a WordPress plugin business from scratch and what that entails, pitching to investors at big conferences, why WordPress people should attend conferences outside of the WP space, working with family members, and more.
Links
Groundhogg
Collision
2019-06-1233 minMastermind.fmEpisode 111 – Social Network Automation and Management with Tina TodorovicThe episode is sponsored by Plesk and Freemius.
This week Jean is visiting his friends Dejan and Tina in Toronto, Canada. They are all attending the Collision conference that is happening in the city, so they take the opportunity to record an episode and talk about social network automation and management. Tina and Dejan are the cofounders of Social Web Suite, a WP-specific tool for social network management.
We also delve into lessons learned within the WordPress, community, SAAS vs traditional plugins, working with your life partner, and the value of smiling and hugging people 🙂
2019-05-2854 minMastermind.fmEpisode 108 – Catching Up with James LawsThe episode is sponsored by Plesk and Freemius.
In this episode, James Laws is back and he has some catch-up time with Jean as they discuss what they’ve both been up to in recent months both on the personal side as well as the business side of things.
2019-04-1654 minMastermind.fmEpisode 106 – Interview with Mr Retirement Asif RahmanThe episode is sponsored by Plesk and Freemius.
In this episode, Jean joins Asif on the show to have an informal chat between friends.
We touch on some important topics such as:
the current state of WordPress and thoughts about its future,
what it means to retire in your mid-thirties,
the impact of travel and living abroad on our lives,
how our parents’ lifestyles shaped our choices and motivations
life in Bangladesh
Asif is one of my favorite people in the WordPress community; I really respect what he’s managed to achieve so far and...2019-03-121h 12Mastermind.fmEpisode 104 – Our Essential WordPress Plugins ListThe episode is sponsored by Plesk and Freemius.
This week I welcomed back Jean Galea to the podcast as we found some time to discuss the plugins we’re using at the moment, and why we chose them.
Although Jean and I work together, we rarely find the time to have discussions such as these since we tend to focus on different projects, so this was an opportunity to see what each of us was doing. At the same time, we’re hoping to give you a better idea of how we run our websites and per...2018-11-1351 minMastermind.fmEpisode 102 – Conversion Optimization with Michiel Heijmans, Yoast COOThis episode is sponsored by Plesk and EDD Bookings.
In this episode, Jean and Mark were joined by Michiel Heijmans, the COO of Yoast and an all-around great guy, to discuss conversion optimization and a lot more.
Michiel is much more than just a COO of one of the most well-known WordPress plugins around. He has been a part of the Yoast team from its infancy. In the years that have passed, he has contributed in many ways to its massive growth, especially through a focus on conversion optimization.
In our discussion with...2018-10-1055 minMastermind.fmEpisode 99 – A Conversation with Kevin MuldoonIn this episode Jean makes a return to Mastermind.fm to chat with one of his longtime friends in the WordPress space; Kevin Muldoon. Kevin built one of the earliest big blogs about WordPress (WPmods.com) which he later sold off on Flippa for $80k, at that time the largest sale of a blog in the WordPress niche. He then continued blogging on his site KevinMuldoon.com, before venturing into YouTube video production. His latest project is cryptocurrency mining.
We talk about many different facets of the WordPress space and what it means to be successful in b...2018-09-101h 09Mastermind.fmEpisode 91 – Exploring Different WordPress Businesses with Joe Casabona – Part 2In episode 89, Joe Casabona and I started a discussion on some of the alternative WordPress business out there, other than the usual plugin or theme development.
In part 2 we continue that discussion, delving into the world of teaching WordPress and teaching others how to run a WordPress business. Our discussion ranges from our irritation with those who think building WordPress sites for clients is easy, to the importance of finding the right name for a business, and why we need to educate the WordPress community about all this and more.
Joe is graciously offering all...2018-03-1339 minMastermind.fmEpisode 90 – James & Jean Discuss the Future of Mastermind.fmIn today’s episode, Jean and James discuss their retirement from Mastermind.fm and usher in a new era during which the show will be hosted by Mark Zahra.
We discuss what’s been going on in our lives and businesses over the past year and how we arrived to the decision to stop hosting the show. It’s definitely been a great run however it is now time for someone else to take over, and we are convinced that Mark will be doing a great job. You’ve already heard Mark on some of the last few epis...2018-03-0256 minMastermind.fmEpisode 89 – Exploring Different WordPress Businesses with Joe Casabona – Part 1In this episode, Mark Zahra from WP Mayor, WP RSS Aggregator and EDD Bookings continues his foray into podcasting through a long discussion with Joe Casabona.
Joe Casabona has been around WordPress for many years, starting off like many of us building small WordPress sites, to now coaching and teaching others about WordPress and how to run a business around it.
Mark got in touch with Joe recently in the Post Status slack community and through their conversations, he learnt about how Joe transitioned from working for Crowd Favorite while working side-jobs as a freelancer to...2018-02-2750 minMastermind.fmEpisode 82 – Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies with Mitchell CallahanIn today’s episode, we welcome back Mitchell McCallahan to the show. Jean previously discussed Bitcoin with Mitchell on episode 28 back in September last year, so do check that episode out especially if you’re new to Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. In today’s episode, we discuss the evolution of Bitcoin over the past year, as well as some common questions and doubts that people have when they start looking at cryptocurrencies as an asset class.
We talk about the two different types of blockchain forks – hard forks and soft forks. We touch on the forks we’ve had in Bit...2017-11-0935 minMastermind.fmEpisode 81 – The Fastest Growing Sport in the World, with Daniel Dios from Padel TrainerIn today’s episode Jean is joined by Daniel Dios, an entrepreneur in the sports field, specifically the fastest growing sport in the world: padel.
Jean has been taking padel seriously during the past year, and this is the perfect opportunity to learn more about this sport if you haven’t yet heard about it.
Beginning with a short introduction on when padel was founded, Daniel proceeds to outline the growth and spread of the sport from its beginnings in Mexico up to its incredible popularity nowadays in Spain and other countries in Europe.
Je...2017-10-251h 17Mastermind.fmEpisode 79 – Ben Pines On Developing the Elementor Page Builder PluginIn this episode, Mark takes over hosting duties from James and Jean to interview Ben Pines, the co-founder of the Elementor page builder plugin for WordPress; a plugin that is growing in popularity every week.
Elementor has grown substantially in just over a year and currently has over 200,000 active installs and an 5-star average rating according to the WordPress.org stats. Given its sudden rise in popularity and the large community that is forming around it, Mark took the time to speak with Ben about its conception, how it works and why, as well as the plans...2017-10-1033 minMastermind.fmEpisode 78 – James and Donnacha Blow Up the MarketplaceWell, this episode was a real monster, containing plenty of chewy insights and nutritious facts on the realities of running a WordPress marketplace with add-ons by third-party developers.
James returns and explains the sad reason for his mysterious two month hiatus, putting Donnacha’s gripes about relationship squabbles and man-flu into rather stark relief.
James has a plan to get back into shape, because no-one who knows Jean is allowed to be out of shape. Donnacha agrees that having a friend like Jean, who possesses a perfect life, can be tough. James and Donnacha agree th...2017-10-031h 16Mastermind.fmEpisode 77 – Mark Somehow Talks Donnacha Through a Live On-Air BreakdownMark Zahra of RebelCode and Donnacha MacGloinn of RedPen take a break from battling the forces of darkness and discuss the best steps to take if you want to make a living as a coder in the WordPress world.
The hidden benefits of managing a plugin project, including the level of seniority at which it is acceptable to shout and call the developers “code monkeys”.
The advantages and disadvantages of selling plugins through a marketplace.
Tectonic shifts in the world of WordPress marketplaces.
How a platform owner can play nice when deci...2017-09-2147 minMastermind.fmEpisode 76 – Akshat Choundry on Running a WordPress Business in the Silicon Valley of IndiaJean Galea and Donnacha MacGloinn, standing in for James Laws this week, go deep into the fascinating story of Akshat Choudhary, founder and CEO of blogvault.net, a WordPress backup service and the most successful WordPress-related business in Bangalore, the Silicon Valley of India.
Among the topics covered in this free-wheeling, wide-ranging discussion:
How Akshat started off in WordPress, what he did before and his future plans.
How, as a lone founder with no previous experience of WordPress, he grew BlogVault to a company of 13.
How he managed to juggle a demanding day job with working...2017-09-0757 minMastermind.fmEpisode 72 – First Steps Towards a Fit & Healthy Lifestyle
In today’s episode we are joined by Andrew Farrugia from Mirror Friendly. Andrew is a former sprinter, and he is now a fitness athlete and personal trainer. He has helped countless people get back into shape, and has also helped other athletes who want to compete in their sport.
Apart from being a fitness fanatic, Andrew has a demanding job as the CFO of a busy marina in Malta. We discuss work-life balance as we can all learn from Andrew on this topic. After a hard day’s work as CFO, Andrew always manages to fi...2017-08-0143 minMastermind.fmEpisode 68 – Interviews from WordCamp Europe 2017Jean recently attended WordCamp Europe and with the help of Donnacha McGloinn interviewed a few other attendees. For a full review of WordCamp Europe 2017 from Jean’s viewpoint, you can check out his blog post on WP Mayor. In the meantime enjoy our interviews.
Mentioned on the show:
WordCamp Europe 2017
Carl Alexander’s blog
Tesla themes
Admin Columns plugin
Webdevstudios
Yithemes
2017-07-041h 08Mastermind.fmEpisode 64 – Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) with Ransu SalovaaraThis week we have an unorthodox, and lengthy, content filled episode lined up for you, as the show was recorded hot in the middle of an actual ICO. In addition to Ransu (CEO of TokenMarket), WordPress veteran, Donnacha MacGloinn sits in as cohost with Jean.
Topics Include:
A brief on TokenMarket and Ransu’s history with ICO.
Regulated and non-regulated markets.
Defining BitcoinETI
Explaining ICO and Appcoin
What is Mysterium?
Understanding how ICO works from an investor’s point-of-view.
What are you actually buying and how can you profit from it?
Comparing the value and potential of Bit...2017-06-071h 27Mastermind.fmEpisode 63 – Property Crowd Funding, with Andrew GardinerThis week Jean is joined by the CEO and founder of one of Europe’s first property crowdfunding platforms: Property Moose. The company was founded in an attempt to democratize property investment, believed to be previously reserved only for those with access to large amounts of capital. Prior to Property Moose, Andrew worked as a solicitor at a top-tier U.S. Corporate Finance firm, as well as a leading Private Equity firm.
Topics Include:
Describing Property Moose and services.
What is Property Crowd Funding?
The types of investments offered.
The difference between first and second charge.
Typ...2017-06-0139 minMastermind.fmEpisode 62 – Managing Large Teams Remotely, with Amir HelzerThis week, Jean and James are joined by Amir Helzer, founder of WPML, which is perhaps the best WordPress Multilingual plugin. Having met abroad in Israel, Jean decided the ongoing conversations with Amir were to good not to have him on to discuss the challenges and opportunities in managing large teams remotely, this and much more in episode 62 of Mastermind.FM.
Topics Include:
Amir’s start and 10+ years experience in WordPress.
The personal journey toward making WordPress Multilingual.
A brief on Toolset.
Remote Team Management of 90+ People
Team Size/s
Managing as a digital nomad.
Amir’s road...2017-05-2457 minMastermind.fmEpisode 61 – Automatic Renewals & How to Write More ContentThis week Jean and James have a classic mastermind discussion about renewal rates and how one goes about writing more. From why everyone needs to implement automatic renewals, to the obstacles a writer faces, and mind over matter techniques to encourage you to write more. Expect a content rich episode, loaded with great takeaways!
Topics Include:
James’s newest article.
Automatically Renewing Subscriptions
From business conference epiphany to reality.
On renewal rates.
The results; reaping the benefits.
The magic of forecasting and predictability.
Article idea generation.
Where to start?
Maintaining momentum and enthusiasm.
Striking while the ir...2017-05-1854 minMastermind.fmEpisode 60 – Growth Hacking: Create, Connect, Deploy, SucceedTransparency and paying forward good advice; this episode takes on a new format, based on experience and hard learned lessons from both of our hosts, as they aim to help those new to the digital playing field. This week, Jean and James have Iszuddin Ismail, of RunCloud.io, on to talk about growth hacking for startups, and take on any questions from their guest along the way.
Topics Include:
Easily implemented blogging tips.
Separating product or service updates from curated content.
Experiment with different types of content and capitalize on your strengths.
Set an example for...2017-05-0950 minMastermind.fmEpisode 59 – Sage Advice on Peer to Peer Lending with Laurence SamuelsThis week we focus on money; what we do with the money we earn, reinvesting, peer to peer lending, etc. As Jean is proudly joined by Laurence Samuels, creator of Financial Thing: a blog site full of unbiased P2P lending reviews, DIY investing guides, and home to the new Investing Essentials Podcast.
Topics Include:
Introductions; how and why Laurence started Financial Thing.
How cancer, in part, drove Laurence into the world of investing.
The book that made investing just click.
What is P2P Lending?
The things that have lead to the success of, and n...2017-05-0257 minMastermind.fmEpisode 57 – Takeaways from PressnomicsWelcoming back James, the hosts get back to square one and catch up on both work and personal life, while sharing recent Pressnomics and business takeaways.
Topics Include:
James shares his 5 Year Pressnomics veteran experience.
Takeaways from this year’s conference.
The magic of the hallway track & after-party discussions.
Switching things up: personal goal updates!
Jean keys us in on his progress toward being a professional Padel player.
James’s fitness check in.
A brief on diet and hobbies.
Cautionary tales:
When to-do lists do more harm than good.
Limiting digital shopping can open up a surpr...2017-04-1944 minMastermind.fmEpisode 55 – Interview with Bryce Adams of MetorikThis week Jean is joined by Bryce Adams, founder of Metorik. They talk personal travels, a little WordPress history, and why SAS is the future.
Topics Include:
Bryce’s Journey
From Woothemes to Woocommerce.
Automattic’s Woo acquisition.
Digital Nomadism and Bryce’s favorite places.
Much travel, little work.
WordPress in Japan.
Why the SAS model?
The limitations of the plugin/product business model.
“Will doing this help my customers succeed?”
How Metorik came about.
Weighing whether to stay with Woo or chase an alternative.
Advice for those seeking validation to pursue their own side projects.
Building y...2017-04-051h 18Mastermind.fmEpisode 54 – Hiring, Stability vs the Startup ExperienceThis episode we are down one Jean, but James brings a Kevin Stover and Zach Skaggs into the mix, to talk hiring and why anyone would consider leaving a stable job for that of bootstrap offerings.
Topics Include:
WP Ninjas history in hiring.
The perspective of one who would trade mega-company stability for startup culture.
Lifestyle over pay rate.
Letting growth influence your hiring.
Hiring for attitude and aptitude.
Do they get it, do they want it, do they have the capacity to do it?
Good onboarding is important.
Don’t over engineer.
2017-03-2942 minMastermind.fmEpisode 52 – Growth, Processes, and ChallengesThis week, a Mastermind update, as Jean and James catch up on their personal businesses and side projects.
In this laid back core episode, many laughs await. Our hosts lead in by jesting about Jean’s pajamas, as James elaborates on potentially getting into the physical product space, with playing cards no less.
Topics Include:
Jean talks about his recent conference experiences.
AI, chat bots, customer and company ramifications.
Virtual Assistants
Self-driving Cars
Cryptocurrencies
Crowd Funding
James and Jean close out the topic with future conference plans.
On Growth
Break points, James’s switch from...2017-03-1449 minMastermind.fmEpisode 50 – All Things Codeable with Per & TomažWe have a first this week on Mastermind.fm, with a full four cornered discussion.
James and Jean are joined by Per Esbensen and Tomaž Zaman, cofounders of Codeable.
Topics Include:
How Per and Tomaž met.
Conceptualizing Codeable.
How Codeable developed.
Addressing startup challenges.
Per on Elance and why he felt Tomaž was underselling himself.
Why paying your employees what they are worth is win-win.
Explaining the process of signing up and/or working from Codeable.
The ins and outs of the entire Codeable ecosystem.
How and why outsourcing is bleeding.
Codeable’s solution and s...2017-02-2853 minMastermind.fmEpisode 49 – Outsourcing, Ecommerce, & Blogging with Brian JacksonThis episode Jean interviews Brian Jackson, director of inbound marketing at Kinsta
His methods of digital income are vast, a blogger of food & finance, Brian has worked with WordPress plugins, as a super seller on Flippa, and even as an eBay power seller.
Topics Include:
Brian’s Journey
How eBay introduced Brian to internet commerce.
CDs and DVDs were his gateway.
From there he jumped into web-hosting & building computers.
“When you do things online, you quickly find out where your time is best spent.” – Brian
How learning to outsource proved troublesome.
After selling the web-hosti...2017-02-1553 minMastermind.fmEpisode 47 – SEO & You with Danny DonchevIn this digital age, whether you thrive in the product or service space, recognition is half the battle. To that end, you want and need search engine optimization to be on your side.
Jean and James are joined by Danny Donchev for professional advice, myths, tips, tricks, and proven strategies that are bound to help you fight and befriend the necessary evil that is SEO.
So be sure and join Mastermind.fm for this great episode, and absolutely have your notepads at the ready!
Topics Include:
A briefing on Danny’s experience an...2017-01-241h 03Mastermind.fmEpisode 46 – A Lesson in Bootstrapping with Jason CohenYou’re in for a treat this week!
Bring a notepad and get ready to jot down some great advice, as James and Jean are joined by Jason Cohen of WP Engine.
Get ready for a guest host who will leave you greedy for more and more of his awesome “knowledge bombs”.
Topics Include:
Jason’s 20 years of startups.
The Story of WP Engine
Why Entrepreneurship
“Start with what you want and optimize for that.”
“The best form of advice is to help someone think for themselves…” – Jason
The commonality between having children and running...2017-01-101h 16Mastermind.fmEpisode 45 – 2016: A Year End ReviewPutting a bow on this past year, Jean and James come together to discuss the good, bad, great, and ugly of 2016, from both a business and podcast perspective.
Topics Include:
What Mastermind.FM has done for James and Jean on a personal level.
James’s “obsessive” revamp of his recording office, now turned full studio.
Jean “Hurricane Fighter” Galea on his U.S. trip.
The joy of podcasting.
The dynamic of personalization.
Staying on schedule consistently.
The struggle for engagement.
Surprising analytics.
Upcoming plans for the podcast.
Plug for James’s “Adventures in Businessing” podcast.
Lessons learned from 201...2017-01-0338 minMastermind.fmEpisode 44 – Services, Agencies, & Exits with Karim MarucchiKarim Marucchi (of Crowd Favorite) joins Jean to guest host, as they touch on a myriad of topics, from exits, to mergers, acquisitions, and much more.
Karim exudes charisma; being a service focused individual, he provides a unique perspective away from the usual product focused interviews Mastermind.FM has had in the past.
Topics Include:
How Karim’s upbringing, heritage, and travels played a role in shaping his business philosophies.
His history with architecture and studies in Rome.
How a curious phone call, while working for an ISP, lead Karim into helping build a web...2016-12-3052 minMastermind.fmEpisode 43 – Styles of EntrepreneurshipJean and James dialogue about styles of entrepreneurship as they skim their year end review.
Topics Include:
Analysis of Malta’s digital community.
Jean’s goals for the New Year and his love of the sport, Padel.
Lifestyle Business vs “Business-Business”
Defining Priorities & Pursuits
Building a Team
Becoming a hands-off owner for the benefit of the team.
Growing the individual.
The continued exploration into the key differences of a local & remote team.
Conclusion: Established Team Culture.
“Be willing to take the bullet and always pass the praise.” – James
How WordPress has “opened the door” to entrepreneurial diversity.
Acknowledging t...2016-12-2037 minMastermind.fmEpisode 42 – Is that THE Chris Wallace!?With Jean absent this Episode, James has Chris Wallace on to guest host.
(Nope, not THAT Chris Wallace.)
This is the Chris of Lift UX, Faithmade, ChurchThemes, Remote Jobs, etc…who is just as good, if not better than THAT Chris Wallace.
(No offense to the Fox News anchor.)
Topics Include:
James inquires about Andy Wilkerson’s recent acquisition of UpThemes and Chris’s branding.
Chris talks faith, in correlation to his businesses.
Chris talks about working with AMC and developing their second screen experiences.
Pioneering a new way to watch and i...2016-12-1355 minMastermind.fmEpisode 40 – The Press Conference Boogaloo!Our hosts are back after a busy time indeed.
Jean attended Web Summit in Portugal, James went to Cabo for CaboPress!
So, for your listening pleasure, the two of them sit down and jive about what they learned, big takeaways, and critiques of the conferences themselves.
Topics Include:
Thorough CaboPress Overview
The unique approach to the session-less vacation conference.
Very Exclusive, with around 50 attendees.
Takeaways are applicable to any business.
Discussions on:
Branding
Hiring
Founder issues
Running/Building a SAAS (Software as a Service)
Acquisitions
Pricing
Brief Web Summit Overview
Multi-conference approach
1 ti...2016-11-2939 minMastermind.fmEpisode 39 – Back to Basics: The Vision, the Mission, the ValuesYou read that right, back to basics it is!
James and Jean are back at it dialogue style, as you, the listener, are treated to pro-tips that are simple, often overlooked, and immensely beneficial.
In this episode, Mastermind.FM asks and elaborates on, “What’s your vision?”
“What’s the purpose of your company, and you as a business owner?”
Topics Include:
The difference between a vision and a mission.
Defining both.
What you should be doing to promote each.
Finding values in the mission, or mission statement.
Uniting your team by demonstrat...2016-11-2247 minMastermind.fmEpisode 38 – Persistence & Success with Security Consultant Robert AbelaThis episode James and Jean are joined by Robert Abela, an EU based freelance IT consultant and WordPress Security Professional with WP White Security.
Robert is a major player in advocacy for WordPress security, and owns the No. 1 WordPress Monitoring & Audit Trail Plugin. Additionally, aside from his own security blog, Robert is also a guest blogger on many web-security blogs and websites.
Topics Include:
Robert’s journey with WordPress.
It all started as a hobby.
Robert developed on the side, but never considered himself a developer.
At the same time he had a WordPress security cons...2016-11-1544 minMastermind.fmEpisode 37 – Stocks, Reinvesting & Diversifying with Marco SchwartzJames couldn’t make it for this episode due to illness, but fear not, Jean is joined by online entrepreneur, engineer, and author, Marco Schwartz.
With Marco at hand, they discuss stock, dividends, and profits from a business, as they answer tough questions, like, “Should you reinvest, buy other WordPress businesses, or diversify?”
Topics Include:
Marco’s story, his travels, his studies, how he found success.
How Marco maintains revenue with his books & video courses, which all started with self-publishing.
Environment matters; using your destination to aid your business and productivity.
Lifestyle Design, and how it fosters...2016-11-081h 12Mastermind.fmEpisode 36 – Interview with Curtis McHale“Is your business taking all your evenings and weekends? Even with all that work are you just making ends meet because your clients are always trying to drive down your pricing?”…
“Stop running a hobby START running a business.”, Curtis McHale.
That’s right everyone, in this episode of Mastermind.fm, James and Jean interview professional consultant, Curtis McHale.
Curtis is a man of many mottos, but one that undoubtedly personifies is, “Help people run the business they want, so they can live the life they want to live.”
Specializing in ecommerce and membership s...2016-11-0145 minMastermind.fmEpisode 35 – A Look Inside the WP Ninjas with the Whole Team
On this week’s show, Jean is willfully “trapped” in Cleveland, Tennessee, after the hurricane evacuation in Florida rendered LoopConf cancelled.
Since Jean’s conference was cut short, the WP Ninjas crew shows Jean and his wife their Southern hospitality, and their lovably cheesy sense of humor.
So be sure and join the whole team in this very special episode, as they “let their hair down”, have some fun, and even bare their souls.
Topics Include:
WP Ninjas team introduction.
James has Jean describe his perception of what the WP Ninjas “day-to-day” is li...2016-10-2446 minMastermind.fmEpisode 34 – A Complete Plugin Rewrite Case Study with Ninja FormsExpressly laid out in absolute detail, this Episode is presented in QA format, as Jean inquires how James and his team took their existing product of Ninja Forms and released a complete rewrite successfully.
As such, James gets quite candid about launching WP Ninjas’ tremendously challenging work on Ninja Forms, with the release of their very own Ninja Forms 3.0.
Covered are things like: the successes, stepping stones, marketing, feedback, the competition, and fear itself.
Topics include:
The epiphany that innovation is key.
How rebranding & reimagining form building has led to WP Ninjas’ sizeable ac...2016-10-1746 minMastermind.fmEpisode 32 – Digital Nomadism with David HehenbergerWelcome to Episode 32 of Mastermind.fm! Today masterminds Jean Galea and James Laws will be talking digital nomadism with David Hehenberger. David is the mind behind Fatcat Apps, a WordPress company helping bloggers, marketers, and business owners gain traffic and conversions with Fatcat plugins.
David and Jean both consider themselves to be digital nomads, while James prefers to keep his feet in one place for the most part. Listen up and we’ll dive into what digital nomadism means , how David and Jean got started with the nomad lifestyle, resources for others that want to travel themselves, an...2016-10-031h 01Mastermind.fmEpisode 31 – Changing the Way We Think About OnboardingWelcome to Episode 31 of Mastermind.fm! This week our resident masterminds Jean Galea and James Laws will tackle onboarding. We usually think about onboarding as bringing a new team member into the fold or something similar. Jean and James expand on the term and take a dive into onboarding as the gateway to getting folks engaged for the first time with your product, service, content, or whatever it is you’re up to. It’s a really interesting take, so don’t miss out! As always, shownotes are below but don’t miss the full conversation!
Updates
Jam...2016-09-2340 minMastermind.fmEpisode 30 – Welcoming back James, Talking Business, & WordPress NewsWelcome to Episode 30 of Mastermind.fm! Jean is with us as always, and we welcome James back this week after a 2 episode break. Today Jean and James will tackle some updates on what is happening in the WordPress community, a bit of business related talk, and what James has been up to for the last couple weeks. Join us now for this week’s Mastermind.fm!
Talking Business
If you’ve been with us for the last couple weeks, you’ve noticed that James hasn’t been. He’s been off monitoring the launch of the newest...2016-09-1632 minMastermind.fmEpisode 27 – Interview with Zack KatzWelcome to Episode 27 of Mastermind.fm! Today masterminds Jean Galea and James Laws interview Zack Katz, author of the WordPress plugin GravityView! Hang out with us for a bit and have a listen!
This was a super fun and interesting interview and Zack has lots of great advice. He’s experimented with several marketing and advertising strategies and we can all learn from his experiences to take some smart shortcuts in choosing the best promotional methods for our plugins.
Zack also talks about his favourite WordPress conferences. We both met Zack at Pressnomics earlier this ye...2016-08-2555 minMastermind.fmEpisode 26 – WordPress HostingWelcome to Episode 26 of Mastermind.fm! This week our masterminds Jean Galea and James Laws tackle hosting! Hosting can be a nightmare of trial and error to find what works for you in the often weird world of WordPress hosting. Jean and James have been through the wringer on this one, and have come out on the other side ok. Come listen in to the decades of hosting experiences that they’ve racked up between the two of them and make your own hosting decisions better! As always, show notes are below.
Types of Hosting
Basic ho...2016-08-1636 minMastermind.fmEpisode 25 – PodcastingWelcome to Episode 25 of Mastermind.fm! Join our hosts Jean Galea and James Laws today as they jam about podcasting- a topic they’re pretty familiar with! Check out their unique take! Whether you’re thinking about getting into it yourself or already have and are just looking for some unique ideas, you’ll find them right here. Pull up a chair (or put on your running shoes, whatever works for you!) and give Episode 25 a listen!
Podcasting Style/Theme Ideas
Solo, two-person, three-person shows?
Interviews
Question-Answer
Leadership oriented
Business oriented
WordPress oriented
Gaming
History
Investment
Mas...2016-08-0939 minMastermind.fmEpisode 24 – Development and Productivity SoftwareWelcome to Episode 24 of mastermind.fm! This week our resident masterminds Jean Galea and James Laws look at the software that they use at work every day for productivity and development. They also mention Slack once or twice. There’s a lot of neat tools here, so be sure to check it out! Show notes are below as always, but catch the full audio podcast right here so that you don’t miss a thing!
Software for Development
Slack: Jean and James both use Slack in their development workflow. It’s also a mainstay of general commun...2016-08-0206 minMastermind.fmEpisode 23 – Interview with Pippin WilliamsonWelcome to Episode 23 of Mastermind.fm! We’re doing something a little different today as Jean and James interview Pippin Williamson, author of Easy Digital Downloads, Affiliate WP, and Restrict Content Pro. He’s a man that’s made the WordPress space a little more awesome for all of us, and a sharp mind to listen to for advice. You can find the questions we’re hitting him with from both ourselves and Mastermind listeners below, but tune it to the full episode to hear what he has to say!
Mastermind Questions for Pippin
1) How did you...2016-07-2656 minMastermind.fmEpisode 22 – Starting Your Plugin Business From ScratchWelcome to Episode 22 of Mastermind.fm! Today our masterminds Jean and James will be talking about starting your plugin business from scratch. In the last 2 episodes we talked about getting your new product off the ground and gaining traction. We’re going to back up a little here and look at the pre-launch phase. What’s involved? What do you need to plan and prepare for?
How do you break into the WordPress space and carve out a niche of your own? Listen in! As always, show notes are below but catch it all in the audio!
2016-07-1936 minMastermind.fmEpisode 21 – Product Launches and Gaining Traction Part 2Welcome to Episode 21 of Mastermind.fm! Today our masterminds Jean and James will continue last week’s discussion of product launches and gaining traction for your new product. Last week they covered getting a website together, building a mailing list and social media presence, and a handful of other great advice for making your product launch successful. What else will they talk about today? Come find out! As always, show notes are below but listen in for the whole conversation so you don’t miss a thing!
Engaging Your Users
What are people saying about your...2016-07-1233 minMastermind.fmEpisode 20 – Product Launches and Gaining Traction – Part 1Welcome to Episode 20 of Mastermind.fm! In this episode, our resident masterminds Jean and James talk about product launches and what it takes to get traction for your new product. It’s a great listen for anyone thinking about launching a new product now or in the future, and it just might inspire the rest of us to get out there and build something! Hang out with us for a while and give it a listen!
This will be a multi-part discussion, so be sure to tune in next week for a follow-up episode. As always, show no...2016-07-0531 minMastermind.fmEpisode 19 – Publishing Plugins on WordPress.orgWelcome to Episode 19 of Mastermind.fm! This week our resident masterminds Jean and James will be talking about WordPress.org. Specifically, the challenges and benefits of listing your plugin on WordPress.org, and some alternatives to it. Sit back and listen with us for a while while they parse the pros and cons! Show notes are below, but tune in for the full conversation!
Mastermind.fm is proudly sponsored by
&
Publishing Plugins on WordPress.org
Benefits
1) Feedback
You can get great feedback on your work from users...2016-06-2433 minMastermind.fmEpisode 18 – Office Hardware & Tech Part IIWelcome to episode 18 of Mastermind.fm! This week our resident masterminds Jean and James will continue last week’s discussion of office hardware & tech. Last week we talked about standing desks, ergonomic office chairs, and the monitors of choice around the WP Mayor and WP Ninja offices. This week we’ll explore more of what we use around the office.
As always, the shownotes are below for your convenience, but tune in so that you don’t miss a thing!
Keyboards
Jean swears by his wireless Apple keyboard. It’s slim, lightweight, and you don’...2016-06-1739 minMastermind.fmEpisode 17 – Office Hardware & TechWelcome to Episode 17 of Mastermind.fm! Join masterminds Jean and James today as they discuss hardware- the technology we use to do what we do each day. Computer hardware is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think hardware, but today’s banter isn’t limited to that. Join us as we delve into standing desks, ergonomic chairs, office tech, and more!
Stay on the lookout through this episode for a free Mastermind.fm giveaway you won’t want to miss!
Standing Desks
Next Desk
Up Desk
Evo Desk
IKEA
James...2016-06-1039 minMastermind.fmEpisode 16 – Offering Great SupportWelcome to Episode 16 of Mastermind.fm! This week our masterminds Jean and James delve into the topic of hiring and support. Look for this week’s conversation to revolve mostly around support, and then turn to hiring next week. You’ll find a brief overview below as always, but be sure to tune in for the full scoop! You won’t want to miss it!
How Can We Offer Great Support for a WordPress Plugin or Business?
James kicks things off by laying out his philosophy on support: instead of looking at support as the inevit...2016-06-0234 minMastermind.fmEpisode 15: What Makes a Successful WordPress Plugin?Welcome to Episode 15 of Mastermind.fm! Today our resident masterminds Jean and James tackle the topic of having a successful WordPress plugin: from zero to success. Join them today and take a tour through the major attributes that a plugin business needs to become successful, from a pair of entrepreneurs who know the drill firsthand. We’ll outline them below, but tune in for the full story!
Nobody wants to use your plugin. They use it to solve a problem!
Attributes of a successful plugin business:
Solve a problem
Ooze quality in the way yo...2016-05-2730 minMastermind.fmEpisode 14: Completely Rewriting Your WordPress PluginWelcome to Episode 14 of the WordPress business podcast Mastermind.fm! Today Jean and James will be discussing total plugin rewrites. It’s an area they both have a degree of experience in, as both are either involved in or researching this strategy for their own plugins. Here’s a quick teaser of what they dig into on the topic. Tune in for more!
Total Plugin Rewrites!
Jean is currently discussing with his team whether they will be rewriting their plugin, WP RSS Aggregator. James and his team have been in the process of a complete rewr...2016-05-2043 minMastermind.fmEpisode 13: Listener Q & A (Health, Market Fit, Pricing & Billing, Business Models, Financial Management)Welcome to Episode 13 of Mastermind.fm! In this week’s podcast our resident masterminds Jean and James take questions from you about everything from heath and fitness to financial management. Listen in as they field a number of great audience questions and discuss them at length. Tune in now and you can check out the questions below!
Jean & James Mastermind Q&A Questions
~Health & Fitness: What do you do to stay fit at a job where you sit all day? What do you eat?
~Business: How you can choose the right market for yo...2016-05-1241 minMastermind.fmEpisode 11: Business Models for WordPress Products – Part 4Today we unpack a business model that perhaps has the most potential for your business, the SaaS business model. The SaaS, or Software as a Service, is full of all kinds of advantages and perhaps a few challenges, but you can’t deny it’s earning potential if done right. Join us as we discuss all of this in our final installment of Business Models for WordPress products.
SaaS Business Model
In the SaaS business model, the processing side of rendering the service is handled by you on your own server(s), and the customer or c...2016-04-2834 minMastermind.fmEpisode 10: Business Models for WordPress Products – Part 3Welcome to Episode 10 of Mastermind.fm! This week our intrepid masterminds Jean and James continue the series on business models for WordPress that began in Episode 8. This is part 3 of 4, so look for them to wrap this one up next week.
Episode 8 began this series with talk of free and premium business models. Episode 9 continued the conversation looking at the freemium model and productized services. This week we focus on a larger variety of models including monetizing through support alone, the Addon Model, the Addon Marketplace, addon development for core products other than your own, and the...2016-04-2131 minMastermind.fmEpisode 9: Business Models for WordPress Products – Part 2Welcome to Episode 9 of Mastermind.fm! Last week Jean and James began a multi-part series discussing different WordPress business models. Episode 8 tackled free and premium business models, and this week we continue with a discussion of licensing strategies, the freemium model, productized service model, and membership model.
Recurrent vs. Lifetime License Models
The topic of conversation turns first to recurrent versus lifetime license models. Recurrent licenses typically require annual renewal to continue receiving basics like product support and updates, whereas lifetime licenses are exactly what the name implies. Jean and James point out that WordPress p...2016-04-1433 minMastermind.fmEpisode 8: Business Models for WordPress Products – Part 1Welcome to Episode 8 of Mastermind.fm! This week James and Jean begin tackling different business models in WordPress. Right out of the gates, our resident masterminds are quick to point out an important distinction in the way we think about WordPress product models in general: the difference between a development model and a business model. Let’s unpack that a little bit before we jump into the heart of the conversation.
The development model refers to the concept of a core product with core functionality in which addons are developed to extend the functionality of the base pr...2016-04-0630 minMastermind.fmEpisode 7: An Update on What We’re Currently Working OnIn this episode we share a few updates on what we’re working on and what’s going on in our businesses. We mention the following:
Jean attending A Day of REST in London
James talks about the upcoming Ninja Forms v3
Jean talks about his booking plugin add-on for Easy Digital Downloads
The WP RSS Aggregator website is currently being redone using Array Themes.
WP Mayor is now powered by WooCommerce.
Featured On The Show:
WP Ninjas
WP Mayor
WP RSS Aggregator
Day of Rest Conference
Rest API
Calypso
iThemes sync
Infinity WP
Ninja Forms 3
Ninj...2016-03-2931 minMastermind.fmBonus Episode: Takeaways from Pressnomics 2016Earlier this month both James and Jean attended Pressnomics 2016 in Tempe, Arizona. We had a blast and took the opportunity to conduct a series of short interviews with attendees, asking them about their biggest takeaways from the event.
Here’s who we interviewed:
Andy Wilkerson
Ben Arellano
Brad Touesnard
Brian Hogg
Dave Rodenbaugh
Jackie D’Elia
John Turner
Kyle Brown
Liam Talbot
Matt Cromwell
Robbie McCullough
Syed Balkhi
Vova Feldman
2016-03-1724 minMastermind.fmEpisode 6: A Deeper Dive Into Our BusinessesJoin us as we talk about where we’re at right now with our businesses. James talks about the new release of Ninja Forms (version 3) which includes a whole new interface. Jean talks about his new plugin EDD Bookings as well as some developments on WP Mayor. Later in the episode we talk about how we started with our businesses and what challenges we encountered in the early days.
This is a good episode if you want to understand what we do in our businesses and how we got here.
Featured on the show
Ninj...2016-02-2134 minMastermind.fmEpisode 5: The Importance of Health & FitnessWe start off this episode talking about our routines and workflows and end up mostly talking about the importance in leading a balanced life. A healthy lifestyle and regular exercise has helped both of us stay more focused and more generally happy and satisfied.
Jean talks about keeping up with routines while traveling while James talks about his struggles with changing routines and his plans to get back into running and regular training.
Finally we offer some tips about establishing healthy routines and breaking bad habits.
Featured On The Show:
Trello
Rewire
W...2016-02-0327 minMastermind.fmEpisode 3: The Tools We Use to Run our BusinessNowadays a business cannot function properly without a good suite of support software. In this episode James and Jean share their software setup and the organizational tools that they use on a daily basis with the rest of their team.
We talk about internal communication tools like Slack, code and issue management software like Bitbucket and JIRA, customer facing applications like HelpScout and more.
Featured On The Show:
Slack
Slack Slash Commands for EDD (Source: WP Ninjas)
Hipchat
WP Ninjas
Easy Digital Downloads
P2
Flowdock
Twitter
Screenhero
Trello
Bitbucket
JIRA
Atlassian
bbPress
Help Scout
...2016-01-2037 minMastermind.fmEpisode 2: The Importance of CommunityThe WordPress community has earned itself a very good reputation. There is a strong sense of ethical business, as well as a distinct openness and willingness to share. James and Jean talk about the importance of working within such a community when building a business.
We then talk about the different types of peer interaction, going through the list of conferences, meetups, online communities (Facebook and Slack) and how you can seek and join such groups.
We mention a few of our favorite conferences and also talk about our experience with masterminds, and share some...2016-01-1330 min