All Episodes

Lots of people like to make resolutions around the new year. Fresh calendar, fresh start. I've gotten away from doing that and instead talking about a yearly theme - an idea I got from the Cortex podcast. In this episode, we'll talk about my yearly theme, how it affects the show, and how you can pick one.Show NotesThe Theme SystemCortex PodcastMy 2019 Yearly ThemePat Flynn’s AMP’d Up PodcastingMacSparky’s OmniFocus Field GuidePodcast Liftoff

I’m ending this season of How I Built It by geeking out about audio stuff with my guest, Ryan White. He’s the US Product Specialist for Rode Microphones - a company that makes great gear, and who has an increasingly bigger presence in the podcasting space. We talk gear, room acoustics, and more. AND you can hear their newest product, the Rodecaster Pro, in action (if there’s anything to hear, that is). All of that and more, after a word from our sponsors. Show NotesRyan WhiteRodeRodecaster ProRode PodmicOther Rode Mics: NTK, NT1-A, NT-USBGetting Good Room AcousticsAurulex Sound Panels | DeskMax$20 vs. $12,000 micTesting out the Rode Podmic Sponsored by: Cloudways | Ahoy! | Pantheon

I was excited to reconnect with my friend Colin Devroe on this episode. We met through the WordPress community in Scranton and I just the co-working space he and his business part Kyle created. In this conversation, we get back to basics, and talk blogging. With the ever changing landscape of the web and social media, how important is it to have your own blog? Let’s find out! Show NotesColin DevroeJujamaBarleyWriting is How I ThinkBad Reasons to Not BlogColin's personal blogging tipsZeldmanSeth GodinMicro.blogRepurposing Your Content with Jaclyn SchiffIndieWebChris Lema and Managed WooCommerce HostingThe Future of BloggingMastodonThe Talk Show | Daring FireballBullet JournalSend your feedback for 2020!Sponsored by: Cloudways | Ahoy! | Pantheon

The 2019 holiday season is here! Many of you are business owners, remote workers, and freelancers - so I thought I'd put together a bonus episode based on my 2 popular gift guides. Here are some great gifts for podcasters, and people who work from home! Show NotesEnter the 1 Million Downloads Celebration Giveaway!Great Gifts for People who work from Home (updated 2019)Gift Guide for Podcasters (updated 2019)ATR2100Logitech C920Logitech BRIORode PodMicRode ProcasterFocusrite Scarlett Solo InterfaceAirPods ProAudio-Technica ATH-M50sThe FOCUSED CalendarAeropressHamilton Beach Thermal Coffee MakerBaratza Encore Conical Burr Coffee GrinderRook CoffeeCarlin Brothers CoffeeUNTUCKitStitch FixMack WeldonmeUndiesParks ProjectTOPO MatImprint CumulusPRONFC TagsWeMo Smart PlugsSonos OneWestern Digital My BookBackblazeNomatic BackpackeBags Professional Slim Laptop BackpackTech GridYETI TumblersAnker PowerCore SlimAnker PowerCore+ 26800 PD 45WWall Charging 5-Port HubAnker 30W PIQ 3

This interview is a little different than most. See, Svetlana Kouznetsova is an accessibility consultant who’s also deaf. Our interview was conducted completely using Google Docs. The voice you’ll hear on this episode is Erin,  my wife, who graciously agreed to do Svetlana’s side of the conversation. Svetlana’s story is an interesting one. We talk about how she immigrated to the US from Russia, and what it was like growing up deaf there vs. in the US. We also discuss the importance of accessibility at events; why it’s a must and not just a “nice to have.” Show NotesSvetlana KouznetsovaSvetlana on TwitterCode of Professional Ethics for Captioners and Interpreters - Audio AccessibilityI want to hear from you! Leave your feedback here.Sponsored by: Cloudways | Ahoy! | Pantheon

Nathan Beckord is the CEO of Founder Suite, a group of tools to help those seeking venture capital, as well as tools for venture capitalists. We talked all about how he built this after spending a decade helping startups raise their own VC. We also cover how to seek VC funding, and if business plans are even useful anymore. It’s a fun conversation in an area I’m only loosely familiar with - so I learned a lot. I think you will too! Show NotesNathan BeckordFoundersuiteCodequestHow I Raised ItLet me know what you want to hear in 2020!Sponsored by: Cloudways | Ahoy! | Pantheon

Jaclyn Schiff made her way onto the show because she’s authentic. She reached out recommending another guest, in a real way. Then, throughout the course of the conversation, we decided she’d also be a good guest for the show! She's a master of making the most of your content. We talk all about repurposing - something I could do a little better - as well as that cold outreach she’s good at. We also talk about productizing services, which is something I’m doing at the moment. So lots of great stuff here! Show NotesJaclyn SchiffPodReacherPodcast MovementAlex McClafferty & Productize.coThe GMail GeniusThe HustleTemi.comProductized StartupsTurning the Tables: Joe Casabona & How I Built ItOvercastPodcasting is the new BloggingSponsored by: Gusto | Ahoy! | Pantheon

Tevya Washburn reached out to me over the summer and asked if I might be interested in having him on the show - it turns out his timing was great. See Tevya created a WordPress plugin to help gather and display social proof, and I had just finished read a book that talks about the importance of social proof. So we chat about how he came up with the idea, why he built it, and of-course, how. This is a pretty traditional episode of the show, and I hope you enjoy it! Show NotesTevya WashburnStarfish ReviewsTrust PilotSPI 378: Amazon Book Marketing—Everything You Need to Know with Dave Chesson from KindlepreneurGet your free podcast workbookSponsored by: Gusto | Ahoy! | Pantheon

Greg Koberger is easily one of the most interesting guys I talked to this year. Not only do we talk about team building with escape rooms - a super cool concept, by the way - but we touch on mental health, the startup culture, venture capital, and lots more. Greg is a pretty open book here and it makes for an amazing interview. It's chocked full of great advice, so enjoy! Show NotesGreg KobergerReadMeSwagger (Open API Spec)Escape Room FinderRon Swanson loves puzzlesAllie Nimmons and Freelancing / Mental HealthStartup Escape (Greg's Escape Room)Want to start your own podcast? Get our free Podcast Workbook!Sponsored by: Gusto | Ahoy! | Pantheon

Micah Rowland isn’t your everyday builder. He doesn’t build homes, cabinets, or even software. As COO of Fountain, Micah builds people, teams, and processes. He offers a wealth of advice on building and scaling teams, and the importance of documentation. But what we talk about isn't just applicable to building teams - it's applicable to anyone building a business that will eventually scale. Show NotesMicah RowlandFountainEpisode 54: The GiveWP TeamSponsored by: Gusto | Ahoy! | Pantheon

Brian is a computer scientist, entrepreneur, and angel investor. Due to his firm belief that data recovery shouldn't be a prohibitively expensive service, Brian founded Gillware, where he and his team specialize in cyber risk assessments, data recovery, and incident response. Today we spoke about his journey in business growth, as well as how to protect yourself from hackers, providing actionable tips that you can put into practice today! Show NotesBrian GillGillware2FA | 2FA plugins for WordPressEquifax PaymentFacebook FTC SettlementSponsored by: Gusto | Ahoy! | Pantheon

I had the pleasure of speaking to Tim Campos, former CIO of Facebook and founder of Woven - a calendar that actually accounts for your life and your free time. We talk about his experience at Facebook and how it lead him to the idea of creating Woven, stats on how people spending their time and schedule meetings, and more. If you want some incredible insight into how people manage their time, this episode is for you. But first, a word from our sponsors. Show NotesTim Camposemail: tim@woven.comWovenLean StartupSponsored by: Gusto | Ahoy! | Pantheon

Recently Pat Flynn talked about the “new, hot marketing tool” that isn’t new but is often forgotten: email. Well today’s guest, Ajay Goel, has built a business around the fact that there are lots of people who haven’t forgotten it, and for the scores of people who are remembering its importance. Ajay buil GMass, a gmail extension that allows you to send marketing campaigns right in the interface we all know and love. We get to talk marketing, development, and much more, so stay tuned! Show NotesAjay GoelGMassGmailEpisode 3: Brian Krogsgard and Post StatusJangoMailInbox SDKGatsby.jsG-LockSponsored by: Gusto | Ahoy! | Pantheon

That was Josh Garofalo and let me tell you: I loved this conversation. He’s a marketer and research and we dig deep into the latter. He tells us how important it is to do your research when you’re writing copy for you website. You want to solve your customers problems, and there are a few ways Josh talks about to help us communicate that. Show NotesJosh GorofaloSway CopyBranding and Positioning for Store BuildersChecklist ManifestoHotjarDealing with Problem ClientsTom's PlannerHubspotRev.comBalsamiqGet a FREE podcast workbook to launch your own show. Sponsored by: Gusto | Ahoy! | Pantheon

Adrian Tobey is a young, energetic entrepreneur who’s build a pretty cool WordPress plugin in Groundhogg - something to help with yout marketing automation. On top of creating the plugin we talk quite a bit about college and higher education. He talks fast and offers some great advice so be sure to pay close attention (or slow the episode down!) Adrian TobeyGroundhoggInfusionsoftFormlift WordPress pluginWooCommerce SubscriptionsEasy Digital DownloadsElementorSponsored by: Cloudways | Ahoy! | Pantheon

Tracy Rotton is a longtime friend of mine from the WordPress space - we met because we happened to be writing similar books around the same time! Well, Tracy has gone on to do some very cool things - one of which is leaning a WordPress development team for the Federal Government - specifically to completely redesign state.gov - the State Department's website. We talk about lots of stuff, from the actual development, to working for such a huge organization, and how to handle working with different corporate cultures. Show NotesTracy Rotton | Twittertaupecatstudios.comState.govRuined by Design by Mike MonteiroACF ProUnderscoresState Department Website archivesSponsored by: Cloudways | Ahoy! | Pantheon

Podcast Movement is a giant podcast conference and expo where 3,000 attendees come from all over the world to talk podcasting. It’s 4 days of events, talks, and networking opportunities. If you’re never, been, I recommend it. I had a few goals going into the conference, and as a result I had some pretty fantastic, and related takeaways. Let's get into my 5 biggest takeaways from Podcast Movement. Show NotesPodcast Liftoff WorkbookPodcast MovementPatreonPatt Flynn (SPI)SuperfansBonjoroOne more thing! Did you like this style of episode? Yes | NoSponsored by: Ahoy! | Pantheon

Gordon Stannis, like last week’s guest, Colin, helped create a smart lighting system. But where Colin wanted to improve our homes, Gordon wanted to improve our experience in parking garaging. This is a super interesting conversation where we cover both hardware and software, mesh networks, and much more. Show NotesGordon StannisTwisthink LutronI want to tell you about a new resource I have for podcasters called Podcast Liftoff. I’m coming fresh off of Podcast Movement 2019 and lots of folks were interested in how I started my show - and I know many of you are too. So I want to tell you about a free workbook I created to help you take those first steps into launching your show. You’ll answer questions about your topic and format, get show script and notes templates, checklists, and more. Just head over to howibuilt.it/liftoff to get your free download.Sponsored by: Ahoy! | Pantheon

Colin Billings has built something that I’m incredibly interested in generally: hardware that contributes to home automation. He built Orro, the first truly responsive lighting system, out of his own frustration with lighting’s adverse impact on his wellness and sleep. Now the Orro Switch adds the computational power of an iPhone XR inside the walls of a home. It detects your presence in a room and adjusts the lighting automatically to bring out the most natural light, reducing artificial light exposure that disrupts your body and sleep. Within a week, Orro learns your preferences and handles 95% of all the lighting adjustments, so you don't have to think about your lights anymore. Show NotesColin BillingsOrroFluxContentfulRate the ShowSponsored by: Ahoy! | Creator Courses | Pantheon

Jessica Hall is the VP of product strategy and design at 3Pillar Global, and today we are going to talk about something that made a bunch of news a couple of months ago - the Accenture/Hertz case, where Hertz paid a bunch of money (like $32M) and got nothing. With some time since the story broke, we sit back and look at how this happened, and Jessica tells you how it can be avoided. Jessica Hall3Pillar GlobalAccenture/Hertz CaseHow to Avoid a $32 Million FlopAgile Manifesto101 VideosLanding Page School Podcast: Always Be TestingHotjarGoogle OptimizeMarvelSponsored by: Ahoy! | Creator Courses | Pantheon