WordCamp Chicago 2011 I presented on “Developing for Success -or- Any Fool Can Do This”. The talk encompassed how I took a leap of faith and launched StartBox and all of the challenges that come with that. Slides and resources are below.
(click here to watch on WordPress.tv)
You Can Do This!
Starting and running a business is easier than you think, but there are a lot of overwhelming challenges that can really break you down if you don’t have a plan or perseverance. My goal in the presentation was to inspire others to realize they already have the tools and resources they need to get started today and succeed.
An important caveat is that you must define success for yourself. If you chase after someone else’s definition of success (or your perceived version of what they think success means) you will always fall short. Another important reminder is that you cannot define success by specific attainable goals. Those are goals, they are not a living definition of success.
How I Define Success
Personally, I define success as: Spending most of my time doing something I enjoy, while generating more revenue than debt, in positive and meaningful ways.
If I’m missing any one of those three components I’m not succeeding because I’m either spending most time doing something I don’t like, generating more debt than revenue, or doing negative or meaningless work. Bleh!
My Presentation Slides
My presentation slides are available at SlideShare.
Resources
Leverage the resources that are available to you, there are plenty:
- Community
- Just look around, the WordPress community is filled with helpful people
- Search the internet: there are billions of sites and people in the planet, surely one of them has experienced and addressed the problem you’re having
- Codex, Tadlock, Jaquith, Otto, Ozh, Nacin: One of these guys will probably have your answer
- Our community is Open Source, stealing is encouraged
- But ask permission, and give credit!
- Books
- Don’t Make Me Think
- Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
- Rework
- Think and Grow Rich
(more about determination than anything) - Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose
- Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
- Digging in to WordPress
- Professional WordPress Plugin Development
- Free resources are plentiful, and many (not all) paid resources are worth the investment. Do your research, learn all you can for free first, then pay for sources that seem most highly regarded.
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