Develpreneur: Become A Better Developer And Entrepreneur

Our discussion with Ricky Howard continues with a dive into all of the government work resources for finding and landing a contract. We talk about sites like usaspending.gov. It is where one can see where the money goes. That provides an insight into what departments are a good starting point for your research. There is a lot of research and groundwork to do to win a contract. However, he provides resources to help you on that journey. A Wealth Of Government Work Resources While the government is a huge series of departments and all manner of divisions, it is not impossible to navigate. The government work resources we discuss help one narrow the focus to something that is manageable. Likewise, we get to see what sort of path is required to get us to winning that first contract and setting ourselves up for subsequent ones. About Ricky Richard Howard, Lt Col (Ret), is a leading authority on US federal government contracts. As a career military acquisitions officer, he oversaw $82B+ in DoD contracts and has adv

We start a new discussion and new topic of how to land software development government contracts—in short, working for the government. Ricky Howard takes us through the ins and outs of finding opportunities and winning a contract. While this can be a lucrative and steady line of revenue, it does take an investment of time. Nothing worthwhile is easy, and our discussion shows how this path follows that rule. The World Of Software Development Government Contracts Our discussion stays general purpose, and Ricky goes through the pros and cons of this area of work. He uses examples one would never consider as he talks us through ways we could pursue software development, government contracts, or other areas of IT. Government jobs and contracts go far beyond the military and the I.R.S. About Ricky Richard Howard, Lt Col (Ret), is a leading authority on US federal government contracts. As a career military acquisitions officer, he oversaw $82B+ in DoD contracts and has advised & trained over 400 companies as a c

We change gears and talk about how to dress with success with Robyn Balsley. Yes, even developers benefit from a first impression. Furthermore, that is important for remote and work-from-home employees. Professional dress is not just for those in the office. We can adjust those Zoom calls, but we still need to make a good impression. Even Developers Need To Dress For Success There is often a view of developers as poorly or casually dressed people that live in closets and crank out code. While that may not be far from the truth in your case, there is still a lot to be gained from professional attire. Robyn provides us with excellent ideas to improve how we are perceived and warnings about dressing too casually or unprofessional. About Robyn Want you and your team to feel confident and empowered every day? With Robyn's many years in sales, she understands too well that it takes 7 seconds to make a first impression. How do your clients perceive your team? People do judge a book by its cover! Many companies are

We continue our discussion with Neha Naik and talk about how to create a better resume. We look at how to make yours stand out. There is more to your work history than a list of skills and titles. However, those are also essential steps in getting seen by the right people. We include topics like certifications and degrees for those wondering how to navigate the world of job searching. Create A Better Resume With Your Approach There is value in including the right keywords on your resume. However, you can create a better resume by adding details about how you applied those skills and what you have done. The key to a good resume is showing how you brought value to the positions you held in the past. That sets the stage for convincing the interviewer that you can also do that for them. About Neha Neha Naik is the Founder and CEO of 3 successful businesses, including a successful recruitment agency, a sleep consultant company, and a data analytics company. She's an official member of the Forbes Business Council,

You have several recruiter options when you are looking for a job. While similar, each has strengths and weaknesses. We start our discussion with Neha Naik with an introduction to the recruiting world from the recruiter's perspective. Many of us see recruiters as a means to an end when we want to land that perfect job. However, that is just a piece of what they do and how they get the job done. Neha provides us an insight into the challenges recruiters face and how we can help them help us. You Have Several Recruiter Options The recruiter options available to you may seem hidden behind a curtain. We rarely consider what the focus is for the ones we work with. However, there is a difference between an agency, an in-house, and those focused on placing individuals. Nevertheless, there are also many similar traits across those roles that we talk about. This discussion guides you in your approach to your next job hunt. About Neha Neha Naik is the Founder and CEO of 3 successful businesses, including a successful

We continue our conversation with Liz Scully and explore getting the most out of a mastermind. Spoiler alert, it is engagement. This is one of those areas in life where you get out what you put in and (hopefully) more. While we talk primarily about what makes a good mastermind group, we keep pointing to the goal of making it worth the investment of each member. The result at the end of a group is not to give the members advice. The goal is to have each member walk away more accomplished and self-sufficient. Getting The Most Out Of A Mastermind Comes From Engagement You will hear the word "engagement" a few times in our discussion, and the worst of the "A" words... accountability. Yes, a mastermind takes a while (a year or more) and can be a slog. However, we have daily and weekly tasks and goals for our business. The group aims to help us meet those goals and define the best ones for moving forward. That means we are pushed to both get things done and intelligently choose new things to put on our plate. Thus,

This episode starts a new interview with Liz Scully and focuses on the question, "What is a mastermind?" We go far deeper than that. However, that is not a question that is worth answering quickly or simply. There is a sort of art to good masterminds, and we delve into all the artsy details as we craft our answer to the question. What is a mastermind? The idea of a mastermind can be different for different people. Thus, when you ask, "What is a Mastermind?" you get varied answers. Part of this comes from people being attracted to the word but not grasping that it does have real meaning. There is a buzzword sort of following for mastermind groups that has been embraced by many get-rich-quick pursuers. That muddies the waters. Our conversation with Liz looks to clarify that and let you see the true definition (and value) of a well-run group. This conversation details what makes a good group, how to keep members engaged, and how to get the most value from your time. We explore the costs in time and money and why

We continue our discussion with Naomi Johnson and examine some of the more advanced ways to use your profile to close deals with LinkedIn. She provides a story that is a convincing way to view how we can use our profile to talk to a customer. This focus is not on people in general but on how to reel in that client that is considering a purchase or hire. It is that final step in a funnel that LinkedIn can help you build. Close Deals With LinkedIn By Addressing Lingering Doubts We have all seen funnels and how they typically work. The last step is the decision to buy. We can close deals with LinkedIn by thinking about that decision step. The customer will be talking it out amongst their team and others that may not know you yet. The profile provides you a way to give them a quick summary of your skills and how you are the best choice for them. We talk about how the time invested in building reliable connections via networking can lead to that sale and a return on the investment. About Naomi Naomi Johnson is an

This episode starts a discussion with Naomi Johnson about creating a better LinkedIn profile to advance your career, reach, and brand. She is a specialist in working with LinkedIn and leveraging it for your needs. We cover the features and layout of LinkedIn pages and how to use those to tell your story. Be prepared to update your profile after listening to this episode. Use A Better LinkedIn Profile To Tell Your Story I have to admit. Walking through a profile with Naomi will make you see it in a new light. That is the benefit of consulting someone on a topic they have mastered. The subject of a better LinkedIn profile is just an objective that can make a difference in your life in many ways. She gives us a tour explaining why we want to make those improvements. They include personal brand, our service or products, and many other areas of our professional life. About Naomi Naomi Johnson is an Expert LinkedIn Profile Writer who has spent the last ten years helping people position themselves as the 'go to' ex

The second half of our discussion with Benjamin Friedman digs into how you plan for the future and scale through automating solutions. The key to this step is understanding and documenting your processes in a way that makes them easily repeatable. Then, e, grow and talk to Benjamin Friedman about exactly that. The discussion goes into what we need to know about our business to survive and then to excel. Accounting and finance might seem like dry subjects, but this interview brings out the importance of knowing where we sit with regard to finance in particular. Automating Solutions Is The Key To Growth We cover a lot of ground in this episode. However, the time spent talking about processes and automation are essential to building and growing a company. There are many businesses that do not fully understand what they have and how they get business done. That lack of knowledge will always frustrate any efforts to scale. Know what you are doing well and then you can determine the ways to do it better. About Benj

We start a new interview with the founder of build, scale, grow and talk to Benjamin Friedman about exactly that. The discussion goes into what we need to know about our business to survive and then to excel. Accounting and finance might seem like dry subjects, but this interview brings out the importance of knowing where we sit with regard to finance in particular. A Firm Foundation To Build, Scale, Grow Your Business Everyone wants to grow their business. That is where Benjamin provides the most value. However, one has to know where they are before they can begin a journey of growth. Therefore, we talk about what you need to know, where a fractional employee can come in handy, and how to fit an experienced partner into your budget. About Benjamin Benjamin Friedman has over 20 years of facilitating scale and growth, often leading to exit events. Focused on metrics and results, Benjamin also looks to discover the deeper issues limiting growth. He had five successful M&A transactions in the last ten

We wrap up the interview with Don Colliver talking about key stumbling blocks like presenting data heavy content. There are a number of other misconceptions and improper approaches he addresses in this discussion of becoming a better presenter. The essential point is one we often see. You should remember why you are presenting it. That, of course, points back to his earlier three questions of knowing who you are talking to, what you want to convey, and the call to action. Presenting Data Heavy Content Is About The Journey There are really two reasons for presenting data heavy content. You are either trying to show the journey to achieve your conclusions or point to the conclusion itself. Don brings up a common fallacy where the amount of work involved is attempted to be conveyed. That is not something your audience cares much about. They want to send the end results or learn how you problem-solve through it. Both of those cases mean a summary or similar approach is going to be better than a lot of data. Keep

This interview is a new one with Don Collliver, and we go deep on effective presentations. There are a lot of best practices and rules you have heard that he breaks. His approach is not simply to be different. He has seen the value in using his approach for business presentations that focus on getting the point (or series of points across). The goal is communication, in this case, rather than entertainment. However, his background in entertainment makes him an entertaining speaker as well. Effective Presentations Get The Message Across There are a number of factors that Don considers in putting together a presentation. These help him focus on his message, the audience, and show respect for their time. That helps us avoid things like the cat "hang in there" slide or other superfluous slides and gimmicks you often see. The approach and guidelines he provides are for putting together a professional and focused presentation. About Don Don Colliver is a teacher, speaker, writer, and comedian with over twenty-five

We wrap up the Allison Graham interview with a deeper dive into how she manages stress of all kinds and her consulting about the same. She has taken her unique approach and turned it into something she can share with others and often does. Her approach is pragmatic and easy to follow. We just need to take the time to follow each step. Managing Stress By The Steps There is much in managing stress that is like any other problem we face. For example, we need to understand we have a problem and identify it. Alison provides some excellent examples of things like negative speech and self-talk that can lead us in the wrong direction. Then she provides ways to directly address those mistakes to turn around our situation whether it is personal or a relationship. About Allison Allison Graham is a keynote speaker, author, and consultant who works with highly-accomplished men and women who love their work. However, they want more mental and emotional space away from the constant stress of the daily grind. Her last book,

Our discussion with Allison Graham starts with someone with a long road and a lot of practice overcoming adversity. However, there is far more to the story than simply overcoming. She provides excellent tips for us all. Her journey through tough times and her thought process as she learned how to fight through her pain and challenges provide excellent tips for us. She has taken a unique approach and made it accessible for us all. Consulting Advice And Overcoming Adversity The interesting point through all of this is how Allison took her struggles in overcoming adversity and related them to her consulting business and advice. She has taken what seems like common sense and made it truly common. The ideas she brings up are the kind we think we should have thought of. However, her unique approach creates a story and advice that leaves us wanting more. I look forward to her book when it is released. About Allison Allison Graham is a keynote speaker, author, and consultant who works with highly-accomplished men and

The discussion with Bastien Siebman continues and starts with a plan to write a book in record time. He uses Asana for productivity hacks like that and gives us a lot of great ways to improve. There is a firm foundation of getting things done that he uses as part of his approach. However, the key for Bastien is Asana and how he tailors it for each customer. Write A Book In Thirty Days There are many sites, blogs, and podcasts to help one write a book. However, Bastien's approach combines the typical suggestions of steady progress and small steps using Asana. While his approach may seem obvious once he explains it, it is genius in its simplicity and how he leverages his tool of choice. That combines for an excellent example of things we can do. We just need to spend a little time thinking through how our tools and processes can help us solve bigger problems faster. About Bastien Bastien Siebman uses Asana as his secret tool. He is an Asana Certified pro who helps clients worldwide. Also, he is the Asana Commu

We start a new discussion with Bastien Siebman and how to grow your passion into a business. He started with productivity and grew from there. His journey is one that you may find familiar. He started by doing side hustle work. As he grew his clients and had to hustle more, productivity and related tools became a critical piece of his success. It was not long before he found how he used Asana to be more productive as a business avenue in itself. Grow Your Passion - Find True Joy It is easy to see how Bastien is energized by productivity discussions, getting things done, and of course, Asana. While you might have different goals, the process he provides can be used to grow your passion as well. This story is a classic case of starting a product or service by scratching your own itch. If nothing else, you know you have at least one dedicated customer. About Bastien Bastien Siebman uses Asana as his secret tool. He is an Asana Certified pro who helps clients worldwide. Also, he is the Asana Community #1 contribu

.The interview with Robert Cooke wraps up with a discussion about code performance and tuning. These appear to have gone out of style but have not. There is a value in building tighter code that performs well even while we see more powerful systems. Likewise, we have seen the amount of data processed increase exponentially. That offsets the power of systems as minor improvements are multiplied by the number of iterations. Incremental Code Performance And Tuning There is value in taking an incremental approach to code performance and tuning. We get to work from a known point that is functionally correct and a basis for metrics. These combine to provide us not only a test bed for comparing results. They also provide a scoring mechanism that tells us if and how much improvement has been made.  About Robert With over 100,000 hours of software development, Robert has cemented himself as a thought leader in the computer science space. He is the Founder and CTO of 3Forge, a tech company incorporating preventative to

We start a new conversation, and this time we are back to technology and how to start a developer career. The discussion with Robert Cooke is more than starting a career. However, we provide several key points as you move from movie coder to advanced developer. The problems get more complicated. But, on the other hand, they become more fun and exciting as well. Start A Developer Career We flash back a few decades to travel the path Robert took. His story began when he decided to start a developer career. It quickly grew into several intersections of data, coding, and business to show how to move problem-solving from the specific to the generic and cross industries. His focus often drifts back to the world of money and finance. Nevertheless, he brings up pieces of knowledge that can be used in other areas. About Robert With over 100,000 hours of software development, Robert has cemented himself as a thought leader in the computer science space. He is the Founder and CTO of 3Forge, a tech company incorporating

Our interview with Chris Davidson concludes with a look at the difficult conversations we have with our clients. These include those times when we need to provide a technical reality check to their wants and needs. They know their business and the problems they want to solve. However, we (as technical experts) understand how technology can be leveraged for their solution. In fact, they are counting on us to help them navigate what is real and what is realistic, given the constraints they have. Embracing Difficult Conversations With Clients It is hard to talk to a customer in a manner that can cause you to lose business or cause them to walk away. However, that is often the best approach to take. Honesty and being a sounding board that helps a customer decide on project feasibility before you even start are valuable skills. A customer that you turn away for the right reasons will always lead to better matches and big wins in the future. That is where those of us steeped in IT knowledge can shine. We provide a