Well, I’ve never subscribed to that kind of thinking and whilst it isn’t wrong, it definitely doesn’t fit into my mindset of growing a business organically for as long as possible. I believe I’ve implemented this approach successfully in both ramping up my freelance design / development work and then creating Radiiate, whilst WooThemes was a side-project for about a year before I decided to commit all of my time to the venture.

So what’s the right way of building a business or project?

I think it’s all about pulling the trigger at the right moment, which will probably differ from person to person, and business to business. The right moment will depend on a variety of factors ranging from your personal level of comfort with the decision to the viability / sustainability of the decision from a profit-angle.

The main thing to consider though, is the amount (and type) of work that needs to go into the business / project before you’re able to pull the trigger.

During the initial stages of a project’s lifespan, it’s very easy to develop big parts of the idea using a DIY approach (I developed the first Premium News Theme completely on my own and it eventually served as the basis for WooThemes’ launch). During this stage, you can take care of all the aspects of establishing the project, even though you may not be as great with some of the skills required (like admin or bookkeeping).

This approach allows you to invest time & money as you need it, which in turns means that you are streamlining your growth. This is also a much more sustainable approach, as you’re investing in further growth (because there is already traction for your project at that stage), instead of investing in overly ambitious, potential growth. I’m hereby not saying don’t invest in potential, future growth, but I am warning you against overly ambitious investing.

Where did this post come from?

I’d like to illustrate what I’ve said above with a concrete example of how I implement this approach in my own projects… Some of the initial feedback on my latest side-project - RockstarTV - has been relating to the average audio quality and camera angles.

Both of these things relate to the technical equipment I have at my disposal at present and whilst I can afford to have gotten a swanky, new HD camcorder and external microphone(s), this would’ve been a “speculative” investment at best. Why? Well, I need to establish RockstarTV first (or at least try to), before I’d be able to determine whether a further investment would indeed be a viable option.

So, it’s about building the project organically first and then pulling the trigger at the right moment.

This is how From the Couch did it…

RockstarTV was most definitely inspired by the rip-roaring success of another (local) video blog project - From the Couch. I popped one of the Perel brothers - David - a little earlier to ask about their growth strategy and he said this:

When we started From the Couch we understood that there would be huge limitations with quality. We started filming with a cellphone… so you can imagine how bad the quality of the picture and sound was. However despite those snags we knew that we couldn’t invest in the idea until we saw a return.

The first return would be viewership, the second return would be business generated from potential clients who saw From the Couch and therefore contacted Obox.

Until the latter part was achieved we would only use the tools at our disposal. We knew that we had to see potential before any investment took place because that would just be a bad investment.

One of the biggest complaints we got was our sound quality but for people to complain about something like that is to not understand the effort, time and cost it takes before you can afford luxuries such as an external microphone.

As things got bigger and more successful so we have reinvested into our show, namely we have two video cameras, we have ordered a mic and also upgraded our couch and changed our location.

I believe that if you have an idea then you must execute as soon as possible but you must also be patient with how you invest your time and money into that idea. In the same way we only used our cellphone until real results began to show. So we executed our idea but limited the potential damage it may have caused to our back pocket and time.

So if I say it and David says a similar thing, does it make what we say true and / or right? Not really… But at least it should make you think about keeping things as organic as possible. Growth can easily become a greed thing, where you start wildly chasing (and investing) in potential.

But do remember that potential needs to be converted into something real; something of value sometime in the future…

No, the From the Couch guys didn’t pay me to write the post. And no, I’m not getting any kick-backs either… I’m simply inspired by their patience and persistence, which has resulted in them creating a really successful platform for themselves, from which they can build their next web ventures.

Post from: Adii Rockstar

I’m sure that the general consensus would be that being unique, special and different are all desirable characteristics, yet we make it so darn difficult for other individuals to differ from the norm. I’ve found time and time again, that it’s much easier not to ruffle the generally-accepted feathers by trying to be unique, because people don’t like their views & process to be challenged.

This is even more true within business environments, where employers prefer robots and business partners prefer peasants. It’s about control and it’s about being afraid of stepping out of the comfort zones that’s been established through years of routine.

The unique individual at a premium

Whilst I can understand why “rogue” individuals are generally only considered with a cautious approach, I’d like to believe that neither Richard Branson, Steve Jobs or Donald Trump would’ve ever succeeded had it not been for their unique, individual approach to life & business. There’s something in the way they’ve conducted themselves, that makes me believe that the world already has an abundance of robots and that we thus require individuals, rogues and mavericks.

A recently written chapter of my upcoming “Rockstar Business” book, elaborates a little on how I’ve integrated this into me life:

I’ve always been a bit rogue in the way I do business, because I just can’t bring myself to do things that are expected or demanded of me (in a business sense).

In this regard, I’ve always made the decision to make my own mistakes, instead of allowing someone else to discourage me from making a decision, because that decision didn’t work out for them previously.

Consequences

Now I’ve made many mistakes and on occasion I’ve had to “pay a premium” for being the individual I am, but these mistakes are far outweighed by the successes / benefits because of that individualism.

The only other real consideration is that this individualism often alienates those around you, due to the context and expectations of our societies. Considering that individualism is often mistaken for being a rebel, there are unfortunately a lot of negative reactions towards unique individuals.

This should however not deter you from creating your own identity, making your own decisions and living your own life. Every decision or action has consequences; so trying to avoid those is futile. What’s even worse though is to adapt your individualism because of critical feedback, because you’re proving them to be “right” then.

There’s most definitely a balance in adapting an approach to life when you reach that point where you have no friends, but stepping on someone’s toes every now and again isn’t enough reason to give up your unique nature as an individual.

Post from: Adii Rockstar

I’m sure that if you were to look across the board and inspect the wide variety of “premium” themes currently available, you’ll notice that most of them are premium only in name; and not because they are actually a superior alternative to free themes. If you consider the quality of free themes such as Thematic, most “premium” theme developers should be embarrassed to call their products premium.

I can only assume that way back then (late 2007!?), when Brian started selling his WordPress themes, he called it premium because it was an improvement in the type and quality of themes available at that time. And I’d also like to believe that when I launched Premium News Themes (R.I.P) in November 2007, it was a premium alternative in context. I could also the exact same thing for a handful of other premium theme developers, who actually deliver a top-notch product.

Name change; paradigm shift

So here’s the thing… Whilst there’s been murmurings of changing the name “premium themes” to something else (eg. “commercial themes” or “paid-for themes”), the uptake has been slow, largely because of the users that are used to associating the word “premium” with a theme that they’re purchasing.

But fact of the matter is, that there needs to be a massive paradigm shift in terms of what you’re paying for and thereafter what’s considered to be premium. Some premium themes are indeed premium, because of their functionality, features and support resources. But as I mentioned above, a theme like Thematic should then be considered as premium, even though it is freely available for download.

My rant

You may ask what qualifies me to write an article with “definitive” principles (even though they’re only suggestions) about “premium themes” and I’d have to answer that I believe I’ve paid my dues. Just like most of the other premium theme guys that I respect most (Brian Gardner, Cory Miller, Nathan Rice & Chris Pearson), we all released a helluva lot of free themes (and some of us still do) before we even considered selling that work for financial reward. You can even take someone like Small Potato from WPDesigner (R.I.P), who contributed a helluva lot to the WP theming community, before I even started to think about his $5 Themes Club.

In this regard, I find that too many of the current “premium” theme producers aren’t really WP community members, but instead opportunists who have seen a gap with some potentially massive reward.

So whilst I’ve been criticized profusely in the past (for my “capitalist” involvement with the non-GPL’ed WooThemes), I’m actually one of those designers / developers with WordPress’ best interests at heart. Sure - I’ve made business decisions relating to WordPress and I’ve build a successful online startup with WordPress, but way before this ever became a business, I was a WP community member.

I fully believe that the more the merrier and with more themes available than ever before, I do believe that the WP user is the one that is benefitting most. Yes, it’s not an ideal GPL world and unfortunately the user needs to pay for some of the best WP themes, but at least there’s that alternative and the choice is thus the user’s.

But in contradiction to that, I believe that the community should take a stance against developers automatically using the word “premium” in relation to themes that are just not that great. Sure, experienced WordPress users can spot the difference between a real premium theme and an average alternative, but uneducated users are only able to judge these themes superficially.

What frustrates me most is that some of these “premium” developers are harming the reputation of paid-for WordPress themes and it’s they that add fuel to the flames in discussions of the validity of paid-for themes. If paid-for themes were truly better than their free alternatives (in every sense), then the discussion would be much easier: “You are paying for this theme, because it is better!”.

What needs to happen?

I’m not entirely sure to be honest… This is more of a rant than a solution and my hope is that it will at least evoke a little discussion on the topic.

This is also not a discussion about the licensing of paid-for themes, because we’ve been there and I’ve got several of those T-Shirts. And in anyway - licensing doesn’t change the fact that some premium themes are just, plain shitty.

This post wasn’t targeted at any of the premium theme developers specifically (as there are quite a few others that I didn’t mention above, who I respect as well), but was instead just a rant in general.

Post from: Adii Rockstar

I like to consider myself an entrepreneur, even though it is a rather generic term (“Adii Rockstar” sounds much cooler than “Adii Entrepreneur”, right?). But considering that I’m still a far way off of really establishing an definition (at least one option for it) for the concept “Rockstar”; entrepreneur has much wider appeal.

One thing that I’m not entirely aligned with though, is the way that entrepreneurs are generally regarded and what kind of characteristics are associated with the label. So whilst I’ve been busy writing Rockstar Business, I’ve really considered the ways in which a Rockstar is similar to an entrepreneur and decided that being a Rockstar is simply a new (alternative) way of being an entrepreneur.

A recent post by 37Signals however prompted me to write a blog post on the topic…

The post starts by saying that “the term entrepreneur feels outdated” and then substantiates that statement by referencing some successful and unconventional (in a traditional / expected sense) entrepreneurial stories. It goes on to ask:

It’s time to get over the idea that risk and reward are so intertwined in business. And maybe we need to come up with a better term than entrepreneur to describe this new group of people out there building businesses. Any suggestions?

Here’s my take:

Scrap the traditionalist approach

At times, being an entrepreneur feels like just having another label hung around your neck as you navigate your way forward in the corporate jungle. Traditionally we’ve been told that entrepreneurs are people that identifies gaps within markets or industries and that they then have the risk appetite to fill those gaps (and subsequently profit from their efforts). Entrepreneurs are also generally seen as highly educated people who started and run their own businesses, which ultimately turn into massive corporate empires.

Looking at all of those “characteristics”, it just doesn’t feel as relevant and applicable as it did in the past.

In my mind we’re living in a very different world to yesteryear and the business landscape has changed considerably (whilst the momentum of these changes aren’t even slowing down). So if the playing field has been changed, then surely the player needs to adapt as well (even if only in definition).
I’d like to see that we go a little further than focussing on a person’s business / career achievements - when defining who or what an entrepreneur is - and would definitely include a lifestyle / personal section on the “definition checklist”.

The Entrepreneurial Rockstar

By definition (within the context of this book) an entrepreneur and Rockstar shares many of the same characteristics, but for the concept of an “Entrepreneurial Rockstar” a mash-up of the two individual concepts is required.

I see this kind of entrepreneur working less, whilst being more successful at the same time. Happiness is also defined in a very different way, since it doesn’t depend so vehemently on being financially rich, but instead focusses on a top-quality personal lifestyle. I also believe that Rockstar Entrepreneurs invest more of their time and energy in pursuing this personal happiness in spite running from one deadline to the next bottomline.

For these Rockstars there will also be less of a DIY approach in favour of a more collaborative approach of surrounding yourself with great people. The focus would then be on adding value and fostering relationships, instead of turning every interaction into one fueled by money.

Ultimately, Rockstar Entrepreneurs will recognize the gaps in their own lives and will have the innovation and passion to revolutionize their lives and create a better, happier Rockstar.

Post from: Adii Rockstar

I currently work with 5 different people on a daily basis and it’s important to say that I would not be as happy as I am without them. I met each one of these five people in a very different way and at different stages on my journey, but each have proved to be absolutely invaluable on a variety of levels.

“My” Great People

I started working with Magnus way back in November 2007 and Mark joined the two of us in January 2008. Considering that we’ve never even had the opportunity to sit around the same table, in the same room before (we will next week), it is incredible to see what we’ve been able to create, whilst being at 3 opposite ends of the type-of-personality spectrum. I’ve built a business with these two guys and if pushed you’ll probably see me positively emotional, as I attribute so much of my own success to what the three of us have been able to create with WooThemes.

Then it’s onto FRESH01 (March 2008) and Foxinni (October 2008) who both first joined me on the Radiiate side of my journey and then switched over to WooThemes full-time 2 months ago. I work with these two guys on a daily basis, in the same office and I’d be lying if I said that we don’t have a helluva lot of fun every day. With these two guys, things are slightly different, as they’re considered to be “employees” of mine (Magnus & Mark are partners) and you’d be hard pushed to find two people who work harder and are more loyal than these two.

And the final member of my team is made up by Dom, who recently joined me as my assistant on the admin front. She’s only been at my side for the last 6-odd weeks, but she has really enabled me to focus on the stuff that I do best. More importantly though, she has settled into our office environment and keeps Foxinni in check a little…

How this influences me…

After all of that personal stuff, my point is this… Each one of these individuals adds something else to my daily life, which in its own, unique way contributes to what I’m doing on the business front.

I may be a Rockstar, but my skills are still limited and it’d be impossible for me to do everything, every day.

Surrounding yourself with great people that compliment your skills, means that you’ll be able to call on all the skills needed to run a successful business. More importantly, these are the people that will hold you accountable when you’re feeling down, whilst also inspiring / motivating you onto the next level.

Working towards a dream is a great thing to do, but when you can’t share all of the emotions, thoughts, ideas etc. (relating to that dream pursued) with other people, it just seems empty. I can honestly say today, that if I was the sole owner of WooThemes and was still taking care of everything myself, I’d not only be overworked, but I’d also be extremely unhappy.

I’ve found value in these work relationships, which have in reality turned into friendships. This is the kind of glue that’s used to build a empire.

The exact phrase “Surround yourself with great people” is borrowed from a speech that (then-major of New York) Rudy Giuliani delivered a few years ago. I’ve been inspired by that phrase ever since and this post is definitely inspired by that.

Post from: Adii Rockstar

The thing is, that until now I’ve been rather successful and had a pretty “smooth” road in establishing my two businesses. I wouldn’t label say that I’ve been lucky in any way, but I have been very blessed. But being successful isn’t really the question here…

My question is: Is it easier to promote this “rockstar” way of doing business when one is successful? Or can one only validate these theories once you can show that they work in both good and bad times?

In my mind, I would’ve loved to be able to write the book and say that A, B & C has worked for me when the cards were down for me. Unfortunately though I haven’t really encountered a situation which I’d truly label as being an extremely tough one. But whilst I can’t “validate” any of the advice that I will publish in the book, I don’t believe that this means there’s no value in it for others.

I’m writing this book to define the concept of being a Rockstar. In many regards this can be related to any profession, but the book will focus on being a Rockstar in a business sense. I’m trying to include lessons that I’ve learned on this journey and the thought processes that I’ve undertaken to truly renovate my whole life (both in a personal & work capacity).

Rockstar Business is not intended to be a book about academic research, statistics and case studies. Instead I’m writing it to mirror the person I am. It’ll be short, informative and to the point. It also won’t take ages before it’s published… Also - I just want the book to reflect the way I see business. I don’t need anyone to prove me right or wrong, because it’s not about finding the right way.

Being a Rockstar is about finding your own identity within a given space and then executing decisions & implementing processes to help you achieve your goals within that space. I’m not trying to create a new stereotype or label either - it’s just not about that… Rockstar could’ve been replaced with any other word that means the same thing to you; I’m merely using Rockstar because of the connotations / values that it inherits for me personally.

So what do you think?

Will you be buying the book? If yes, why will you be buying it? If not, why not?

Post from: Adii Rockstar

Fact is, everyone has their own opinions on this and you are unfortunately unlikely to find 100 random people online who all share the exact same view on spec work. So why is everyone making a big fuss about this?

So for the sake of controversy (and gaining some comments on the blog; even though you will probably flame me), I’ll post my opinion and then I’ll have had my little rant, which will make me feel a little better about my life…

Here’s why I DON’T have a problem with speculative design work:

1. Crowdsourcing & social media go hand-in-hand. The design industry isn’t a special, secluded little place, which is too good to have crowdsourcing as a part of what we do online.
2. Everyone is free to make their own choices. Is everyone seriously bitching about others that are doing spec work? How is that influencing me? And don’t give me the standard bullshit about spec work devaluing the design industry, because no one goes to Happy Cog expecting them to speculatively design a new website in the hope of a $300 “prize”.
3. Agencies and supposed premium designers overcharge anyway. Nothing wrong in “overcharging” when you’ve got a willing client, but I really think that some designers are making a fuss about this, because a client can now get a 90% similar quality end-result for 10% of the cost (via crowdsourcing). Just because a designer has a popular / credible reputation, it doesn’t mean that the guy doing spec work can’t deliver a similar quality (or even better) end-result. Isn’t this up to the client to decide?
4. Aren’t we just pretending to be elitist snob? Isn’t this a case of designers feeling threatened? Crowdsourcing changes the rules and it democratizes decisions. This is the exact same thing that has happened in EVERY OTHER industry that has tapped into the internet and / or social media. You don’t see the brick-and-mortar retailers shouting “FOUL PLAY” because everyone is shopping online, do you?
5. It’s just a different product at a different price. Should we stop selling templates at WooThemes because we’re devaluing the processes involved with creating a custom website? Obviously not… It’s a different product and if someone decides to buy one of our designs instead of hiring someone else, who is anyone to shout “FOUL PLAY”? By criticizing spec work, you’re essentially criticizing the client and also the party that is putting up the money for that work.
6. It’s (largely) about the amateur. Spec work is a great way for young / inexperienced designers to work on “real” projects and at least get a taste of the client-designer relationship (if only minimal). In addition, if that designer’s work is actually taken up, he actually gets paid for it AND he gets the marketing value.

I am however not saying:

1. Crowdsourcing & spec work is far from being a perfect model.
2. I wouldn’t pitch on spec work projects, because I don’t believe that those kinda projects fit where I am (in terms of my own skills and those of my business).
3. I’m not even saying that I endorse spec work. All I’m saying is that I’m not the one running around bitching about something that doesn’t influence me.

So seriously… Can’t we all just be a little bit more open-minded about this? It’s easy to jump on the bandwagon, but it’s not so easy to stick your neck out there, be objective and just look at spec work through the eyes of other industries. The design industry (and design profession) isn’t so different to other industries that we deserve special rules.

And oh please… I wrote this whole post with a smile on my face, because I knew that I was going to provoke a response from you! If you want to flame, then flame away. But at least consider whether your comment is actually objective or whether you’re just reiterating what everyone else is saying. That kinda behaviour is attributed to sheep who blindly follow…

Post from: Adii Rockstar

But in all honesty, E-Commerce is only a very small aspect of what makes up our interwebs today. And even more contradictory to its Dot Com supporters; E-Commerce definitely accounts for only a minute fraction of the revenue generated online**. The alarming fact is that this is all about a decade down the line, which means that E-Commerce has pretty much stagnated and might be dying a slow death…

So why in an age where most other business models has flourished online, E-Commerce ventures are lacking far behind? I’m not talking about the odd success (Amazon anyone?), because ultimately they’re outweighed by their counterparts from other internet spheres (Facebook, anything 37Signals touches and even the commercial WordPress themes market).

Here’s why I think E-Commerce - unlike the rest of the web - is not generally flourishing and only seems to be profitable / sustainable for a select few…(Before I get into this, I just want to put up a little disclaimer on what I believe E-Commerce is, otherwise you might get confused and might decide to flame me for me ignorance… E-Commerce is a business that sells a physical product through online channels. So digital products are excluded, as are service-orientated businesses.)

1. It’s still a “real” business

Unfortunately unlike most other businesses, E-Commerce ventures generally needs the same things that any other bricks-and-mortar business would need, as they’re selling physical products. In this regard, their online presence is merely a marketing / distribution / sales channel and it’s not really the business. So with these needs, you have the financial overheads and thus it’s a lot harder to establish such a business (in stark contrast to our business at WooThemes, where we don’t have those overheads and we didn’t have any kind of initial capital outlay).

2. It’s darn expensive to develop

Even though we’ve got a bunch of tools at our disposal these days (Magento?), it still costs a small fortune to get a proper E-Commerce site up-and-running. Again, other online business models (eg. content creation in the pursuit of advertising revenue) is a much lower (financial) barrier to entry, which simply means that its a much more “conservative” option for an online entrepreneur.

3. The tools aren’t democratized

This is something that you probably would not have encountered (or known about), unless you’ve been involved with an E-Commerce venture… But to get the right (offline) tools in place to allow you to sell your goods, is ridiculously hard and expensive. Something like getting a proper merchant account (from a financial institution) and a flexible credit card processor doesn’t come cheap or without a helluva lot of red-tape. Sure, you can use PayPal and 2Checkout in the beginning, but a true (and promising) E-Commerce business will soon require more flexibility.

4. Supply and demand stays true; online & off!

Lastly, I believe that this is the main reason most E-Commerce ventures fails; and that’s because its founders are ignorant in terms of the challenges involved. Online isn’t a whole different world to the one you live in every day and if you’re goods can’t sell from a storefront in a popular shopping mall, then you’ve only got a small change that it’ll do better online. Online ultimately (for me anyway) is only an alternative marketing and distribution channel. It can most definitely be your main sales channel, but in order to be successful it still needs to “adhere” to the principles set forth by the offline world.

Conclusion

Ultimately it’s debatable whether online shopping will ever become an integral part of our lifes. I’m not talking about buying the odd gadget, book, DVD or hard-to-find item online; instead I’m talking about buying the every day stuff (i.e. groceries) online. For me, that’s a question of human nature and our need to see / feel / experience some goods before we can purchase it.

I do however believe that E-Commerce could’ve been a much “wider” success had it not been for the 4 things I’ve mentioned above. I believe there’s potential, but progress has been very slow and I think to some extent halted in favour of its more profitable compatriots (advertising, social media & web apps).

So the verdict is out on whether E-Commerce needs a place within our every day life. What do you think?

**This isn’t based on any facts. It’s pure speculation, but if someone wants to research this properly, I’m sure their stats will back me up.

Post from: Adii Rockstar

So I reached a stage last year, where I e-mailed all of my clients and simply postponed ALL of my work for a week. During that week, I chilled out, read a few books that I had been wanting to read and there and then I decided to implement some processes which would allow me to transform my life in the medium term.

I think my reasons for wanting to change my life around is quite obvious and the benefits even more reason for pursuing this “revolution”. Thing is, irrespective of my business / career success, I was not happy as a person (i.e. when you put your head down on the pillow and the world around you shuts down; you need to be content with yourself). So here’s how I have turned things around:

1. Re-evaluate Everything. I think this was probably the most important step in changing things around. It is “easy” when business is going well, you’re doing what you love and you’re easily paying the bills whilst doing that. It is so much harder to admit that beyond those things, what you are doing on a daily basis isn’t making you a happy person. I had to sit down and define what I wanted out of every sphere of my life; and more importantly I needed to figure out how this was interlinked and influencing each other.
2. Work Less! The 4 day work week that I’ve implemented is probably the best thing I have ever done. Whilst productivity hasn’t dropped (it might have increased), I feel more refreshed and motivated after a long weekend. I think the most important thing is that I still work on Fridays (and / or weekends), but nothing I do then has a deadline, is critical or is seen as an obligation; so I have total freedom then.
3. Get help! The second best decision I made was to get help. For so long I struggled to handle of the things I’m good at (design, coding, blogging, marketing etc.) in favour of handling day-to-day admin tasks. Now I have an incredible assistant who is actually good at doing these admin stuff and she has contributed a helluva lot to my happiness and productivity. I think most importantly, the decision to hire help wasn’t a financial one, but was instead made to benefit my personal happiness (and not in favour of my superficial, financial bottom line).
4. Pursue other things. As part of my work day, I’ve incorporated the writing of a book, which has been an ambition of me for a while now. This is important, because it serves as a nice diversion to what I’m doing work-wise, whilst it also keeps my mind (and ideas) refreshed.
5. Reward yourself. In times like these, we are supposed to be frugal in a financial sense and not “waste” money on luxuries. I say “Bullshit!”… If you work hard, you deserve to be rewarded for your hard work and successes. These rewards can include anything and it would differ from person to person. Most important thing though is that you live your life now, and part of that “living” is spending the money you earn now (you may never get to retire and spend the money then).

For me, this is a very personal topic, but also one that I’ve gotten more and more passionate about in recent months. I’m convinced that people are “brainwashed” to work too hard and to chase the “dream of financial freedom” all of their lives; only to come out at the other end with nothing to show for it. My dad is an incredible person, but a prime example of this and this is something that I hope to avoid by making the right tweaks to my life now; not when I strict a mid-life crisis at 40 / 45 / 50.

Life means absolutely nothing when you’re not living it. Having a career and pursuing business ambitions is only one aspect of what I consider to be “life”. Fortunately there are so many other people / other things that can give colour to our lives, but we need to put the right processes into play to allow us to pursue those things.

This isn’t easy and there’s no right or wrong. But it’s worth considering…

Post from: Adii Rockstar

So in the past 2 days, I’ve had to prepare for my lecture at the University of Cape Town’s business school, which means I’ve actually had to delve a little bit deeper into what it is that is contributing to our success (i.e. those things that seem to come naturally to us at the moment). Some of the data that I was able to extract and then represent visually on some graphs, has really made for some interesting reading (compiling on my part) and I thought that I’d share the presentation here…

Background on the presentation

The course (Nomadic Marketing) which I’m lecturing on will be attended by high-level executives who have little to no knowledge of online technologies or technologies. They do however know that their companies are lagging behing and that’s why they’re attending the course.

The purpose of my presentation is to illustrate the principles behind social media that influences a successful ecommerce venture. So I’ve basically used WooThemes as a case-study and  tried to relate all of our social media activities to the princinples of engagement marketing through social media.

Those of you that follow WooThemes, will probably find a deeper understanding of the slides, whilst the others will find them slightly vague at times. I am however hoping that my whole lecture will be recorded on audio and / or video tomorrow, which I’ll definitely share afterwards.

Here’s the slides… Let me know what you think (watch it full screen btw)…

Post from: Adii Rockstar