Who Am I

● Designer / Developer / Consultant at SixFour Web Design & Marketing

● SixFour Web helps businesses and non-profit organizations tell their stories online to help them reach their customers and supporters in a meaningful and compelling way

My first business -My First Website

Lessons Learned

● Owning your own business is great.● Success is based on how effectively you

communicate how your business solves the customers' problems...and actually solve them

● It's hard to start a business during the worst recession since the Great Depression

SixFour Web is Born

Why Start a WordPress Business?

● It's Cheap. Low Barrier to Entry● Large Market Share. As of July 2016,

WordPress powers 26.7% of all websites and 59.3% of CMS's*

● Like other businesses, as your experience grows, your ability to scale and grow your business grows

*source - W3Techs

Smashing Magazine says

● WordPress is free and GPL● A great community is behind WordPress● A lot of talented people actively develop

and support it● When you do start turning a profit, that

profit belongs to you

https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2012/06/dos-donts-wordpress-startups/

Starting Your Business

● General business principles are important and you will need to stick to them in order to be successful– Understand who you are selling your services

to; everyone IS NOT your customer

– Solve customer problems

– Deliver on your promise

Ray's Most Important Principle

● Do not charge less than Market Rate, even when you are just starting out!

Do not charge less than Market Rate, even when you are just starting out!

But I Don't Know enough!!!

● WordPress is not just one thing. There are many, many, many opportunities for specialization, and many areas for you to build your unique WordPress business

● Need proof?

You Can Do it!

● I have confidence in YOU!● Make the commitment to learning your

craft and performing it well ● You just need to remember one thing...

Do not charge less than Market Rate, even when you are just starting out!

Finding Customers

● To find customers, you need to ACTIVELY let people know you are in business

● This is called MARKETING● It's not a business unless you are

prepared to market and promote your services. Otherwise it's a hobby

● You already knew this

How to market your Business

● Build a good Zix, Squareface, Feebly or Go Mommy website

No!

How to market Your Business

● Build a good WordPress website● Tell your friends and family● Promote your services on social media● Find business networking groups and visit

their meetings● Develop and practice your 30 Second

commercial / your “elevatorspeech”

OK. What Business should I start

● Since this is YOUR business, you should do something you like and you really want to do

● Why would you want to just create another job?

● Choose a business that fits your skills and personality

Business Idea #1

WordPress Website Installation and Setup ● Description:

Provide customer with WordPress website, assist in theme selection, work with new or existing hosting account, add content, assist in theme selection

● Difficulty: Low

WordPress Website Installationand Setup

SKILLS NEEDED● Technical ability● Design skills● Image editing

RESOURCES● Wordpress codex● WP recommended

hosting companies● WPbeginner● Various theme

shops

Business Idea #2

Website Maintenance ● Description:

Maintain website from technical perspective, provide updates to WordPress core, themes and plugins.

● Difficulty: Low to Moderate

Website Maintenance

SKILLS● Pretty good

understanding of WP ecosystem

● Troubleshooting ability

● Understanding of PHP and JS very helpful

RESOURCES● WordPress codex● WPtavern.com● google.com● wordpress.stackexchange.

com

Business Idea #3

● WordPress Consulting● Description:

Advise customers on how best to leverage WordPress to solve their business problems

● Difficulty: Moderate to High

Wordpress Consulting

SKILLS● An expert level

understanding of WP and its capabilities

● Problem solver● Business acumen● Know the difference

between a hammer, a screwdriver and a scalpel

RESOURCES● torquemag.io● Wptavern.com● A List Apart● Smashing Magazine

Business Idea #4

Plugin or Theme Development● Description:

Design and develop custom theme or plugin solutions for individual customers or for sale to the mass market

● Difficulty: High

Plugin or theme developMenT

SKILLS● Understanding of

WordPress● Alphabet Soup:

PHP, HTML/CSS, JS, and jQuery

● Design and UX skills for theme development

RESOURCES● WordPress codex● codepen.io● github.com● uxmag.com● developer.wordpress.

com

Ready To Get Started?

● Here's the first step● Talk to the entrepreneurs and

microentrepreneurs who are here at WordCamp. Learn how they started and why they started. Ask about their mistakes. Ask how they got bigger. Ask how they got better. Build networks. Make connections. Forge partnerships.

Final Words

The most rewarding thing about starting iThemes has been and will always be the people. Specifically, the team I work with, and the people we serve. Profit is essential, but we find and fulfill our purpose when we're focused on people. We call it Making People's Lives Awesome.

Cory Miller, Founder iThemes

Final Words

Unity Digital Agency started in August 2016--last month! We provide data-driven solutions for nonprofits. The most rewarding this is only being accountable to my clients, not a boss...not having to divide that. It’s 100% about them.

Alisa Herr, Founder and CEO Unity Digital Agency

Final Words

What was most rewarding came to me after I started teaching WordPress. It was all about that look in the client/student’s eyes when they had that “aha” moment and something they were struggling with finally clicked for them. It’s the helping people that makes it most satisfying for me.

Bob Dunn AKA BobWP, WordPress Coach, Blogger and Podcaster

Final Words

Both WordPress and Cart66 attract a ton of entrepreneurs and people trying to make money doing what they love. So the most rewarding thing about starting Cart66 is seeing people realize their dream of doing what they love using a tool that we created.

Lee Blue, Developer and Founder Cart66

ThankS!

Ray MitchellSixFour Web Design & Marketingsixfourweb.com@sixfourweb