Tweets

14/ P.S. Ferdinand is looking for his first full-time tech job.

I vouch for him:
• Fast learner
• Works independently
• Experienced with Laravel, Node, Django, React, Java

Check out his resume: https://ferdinand737.github.io/profile-page/

(Good bosses only!)

Here’s my basketball card.

So fun. #laracon

Proud to have @TransistorFM's marketing site listed on this page!

Very bullish on @laravelphp. ❤️ https://twitter.com/stauffermatt/status/1815423990405673214

@AmandaMGoetz What was the protocol?

I notice I wake up in the middle of the night sweating whenever I drink even a bit of alcohol, or eat after 8pm.

Hanging out in Edmonton!

I can’t wait for the next episode of @MostlyTechPod to come out. 🍿

I’ve worn through my @Apple keyboard’s “A” key, to the point where it no longer works. 😳

Excited to see this new podcast, with @thesamparr, hosted on @TransistorFM!

Super compelling question:

"What is the threshold for when more money stops contributing to more general happiness?" https://twitter.com/podcastharry/status/1747303274586210628

“When indie founders are struggling it’s almost always because the financial engine of their business isn’t working.”

Here’s a great chat I had with @jmckinven on the @indiebitespod podcast:

https://pod.link/1530577069/episode/cf5e15d6f92fa270cec836df5c2c5604

So fun to meet @TransistorFM customers from all around the world.

Today I met up with @alenfaljic in Berlin!

🇨🇦🤝🇩🇪

🇺🇸🇨🇦 Americans and Canadians:

🇪🇺 If you had to choose one European city to move to, which would you choose and why?

Think of your life in threads:

Every action, project, person, event, skill, experience, and experiment are threads woven into your life.

Your opportunities are a result of these threads.

1. Click YouTube link (opens in in-app browser)
2. Open the same link (again) in Safari
3. Click “Open in app”
4. YouTube app finally opens 😤

Is there a better interface for Midjourney yet? (that doesn’t rely on that Discord bot)

I just sent my bootstrapping newsletter to all my subscribers:

“ChatGPT isn't the startup platform you've been waiting for”

https://justinjackson.ca/chatgpt-business

Amazing book. If you're a founder, product manager, or product builder, you should read it. 👍 https://twitter.com/mjwhansen/status/1638123693741076480

Good morning! @jonbuda and I recorded again. In this @buildyoursaas episode:

- Mercury and Wise: what are they, really?
- Section 174
- The collapse of a Merchant of Record solution
- A new risk with MoR that we hadn't considered
- New @TransistorFM features

I also laugh a lot.

Here are the results so far for the SEO improvements we've made to @TransistorFM's "How to start a podcast" page.

Still need to:

- Add a few more content sections to existing "skyscraper" content
- Get more backlinks

@patio11 Time to bring back yahoo pipes!

@dremilyanhalt The most powerful impact for me was having a professional tell me:

"You're not the only one to experience this. Lots of people experience this. You can get through it."

Some people still have a scarcity mindset, even after they're earning a good income.

$20 will fall out of their pocket, and it will ruin their day.

It's better to not hold on too tightly, to be OK with letting it go.

Otherwise, worrying about money will rule your life.

I've been skimming this book for awhile, but I'm just now sitting down to read it properly.

And, wow, this intro is really resonating with me.

Jorge Almazán (@KeioStudiolab) encapsulates where urban design has missed the mark in the past, and the opportunity we have now.

You should experiment in your 20s!

However, remember that certain actions have effects that can last a lifetime:

1. Debt
2. Addiction
3. Physical injuries
4. Marriage
5. Kids

Be mindful of what you say “yes” to.

@PierreDeWulf Idea:

1. Search "web scraping" on YouTube.
2. Look at suggested queries
3. Record and publish a video for each query
4. Transcribe each video and turn it into a blog post

(Definitely start a YouTube channel if you don't already have one!)

Customer service is one of the most important pillars for an indie SaaS.

It's a clear way for you to differentiate yourself from the big incumbents who are trying to automate support with chat bots.

Good customer support should be part of your brand.

If "hard work = success" then people doing manual labor would be the most successful people in the world.

Trust me, no entrepreneur is working harder than the person doing road construction (night shift), in freezing cold temperatures.

7 years later… and this is still true! https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/549752758912708608

If you're following @MikeMichalowicz's Profit First methodology for your business, this new feature from @BankMercury should be helpful: set up automatic (rule-based) transfers between your accounts.

Have you listened to the @IndieHackers episode yet?

Any takeaways?

Happy to hear it's resonating with so many folks. 🙏 https://t.co/X7uObCpfIA

How much money do you think is being lost for every hour that FB, Instagram, and WhatsApp are down?

Not just from FB itself (lost ad revenue) but everyone that depends on their ecosystem?

(Restaurants, SaaS that integrate with FB, etc)

@mjwhansen @buildyoursaas I'd love to see a bunch of my audience read @mjwhansen's book.

It's written for people like us (indie hackers, companies of one, small calm startups).

(If you get it, let me know! 👋)

📗 https://deployempathy.com/

Capital is not neutral!

Money has influence; it introduces a power dynamic that many VCs exploit.

Michael is using a faulty analogy.

VCs don't just use "words" to influence you; they have real leverage over founders as soon as they invest.

So, are these calls worth it?

For most B2B SaaS, these numbers aren't big enough.

Those 26 sales calls took me 26 hours, and increased ARR by ~$10,000.

We're doing well over $1 million in ARR, so it's not moving the needle for us a ton.

What would you do?

My coworking community is a group of peers, all working for different companies, in different disciplines. The diversity is wonderful.

Plus: there is no power differential, no workplace drama, no politics, nobody looking over your shoulder.

It’s a freeing way to work. 🙏

@marcoarment I've been tracking all of the issues related to this rollout here.

A few issues have been fixed, but many of them (including what you're experiencing) are ongoing:

https://transistor.fm/apple-podcasts-problem/

Good read:

‘Belonging Is Stronger Than Facts’ https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/07/world/asia/misinformation-disinformation-fake-news.html

If you downloaded the Barney mod for Wolfenstein 3D from alt.binaries then we can be friends.

Hosting my first Twitter Spaces! 🎉

https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1lPKqXyrXaexb

People get momentarily excited about live video, inviting guests on Instagram lives, stories, etc... until it becomes commonplace and banal.

How is Clubhouse going to be different?

“Instead of trying to force other people to change, help them find their own motivation to change:

1. Ask open-ended questions and listen carefully
2. Help them see their own thoughts clearly
3. If they express a desire to change, guide them toward a plan.”

– @AdamMGrant

Let’s talk about “social audio apps” (like Clubhouse):

I’m still not convinced that social audio will replace (or significantly reduce) podcast listening.

It’s less “audio entertainment” and more “networking/social event.”

I think it competes more with meetups than podcasts.

“It’s easy to start an Insta account, but once everyone does it, the chances of becoming a top .01% traffic generating influencer are close to zero.”

Really great piece by Seth:

https://seths.blog/2021/01/a-simple-quadrant-for-choices/

One of my favorite parts of working with @jonbuda is that we give each other the space to “downshift to a slower pace” whenever we need it. 🙏 https://twitter.com/NateZeisler/status/1321837948996759553

"Podcast serendipity:"

I interviewed @SachaGreif, which lead to @nathanbarry, and then @pjrvs. The 3 of us did an episode together.

@chasewreeves listened and reached out.

1 year later, @chasewreeves introduced me to @jonbuda.

4 years later, Jon and I started @TransistorFM.

For the "stay in your lane" folks:

Politicians directly impact a bootstrapper/solo-founder's ability to compete, hire talent, and get health insurance.

A speedy COVID recovery is dependent on the President's ability to lead and govt stability. Right now, you have neither.

A concerning societal contrast:

- 70% of households earning $100,000+ we’re able to telecommute
- But in households with annual incomes under $75,000 only 27% were able to telecommute.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-10/americans-stayed-inside-even-as-cities-and-states-reopened

Our positioning should reflect:

- the job that's being done
- a recognizable product category

(Instead of guessing which groups/personas we think our app might be for)

Reading this now. Highly recommended. 👍 https://twitter.com/arvidkahl/status/1277573850297966592

Yes! This is a good way to put it. 👍

https://twitter.com/leandropinter/status/1274533185196441602?s=21 https://twitter.com/leandropinter/status/1274533185196441602

Complete disbelief. This CNN reporter, and his crew, WERE ARRESTED during a live broadcast in Minn.

The free press, and their right to speak truth to power, is what keeps institutions accountable.

"Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press." - Thomas Jefferson, 1786 https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1266315061221613569

@RachRodgersEsq This video hit me hard.

I'm Canadian and, in the past, I naively thought that racial issues were "not my problem." This was incredibly ignorant (I'm embarrassed that I thought that way).

I've donated, and I've tweeted, but you helped me realize I need to put my life on the line

This is wild.

Death of Manhattan?

“We need to demand more of our culture, of our society. And we need to demand more from one another. We’re all necessary, and we can all contribute, to building.” – @pmarca

https://a16z.com/2020/04/18/its-time-to-build/

New blog post:

“When we are divided, Main Street businesses, solopreneurs, and bootstrappers will continue to scramble for crumbs while big corporations gobble up the pie.”

https://justinjackson.ca/main-street-fights-back

There's lots @square could be doing to help retailers right now:

🤯 Mobile checkout requires SEVENTEEN different fields
❌ "Save information for faster checkout" is broken
🍎 No support for ApplePay
📱 There should be a "Starbucks-style" mobile app that allows you to pay + tip https://twitter.com/lizthegrey/status/1238639972590202881

I spent the last 3 weeks writing this piece but missed my Saturday morning deadline for sending it to my newsletter list.

Should I send it now? Or wait until next Saturday morning? 🤔

Just got my Laravel Online ticket just to see what this is about. Can't wait! 🙌 https://twitter.com/taylorotwell/status/1222551807907586048

Tuesday morning feels.

If you're still confused by how podcasting works, this blog post is a good place to start:
https://transistor.fm/podcast-hosting

Folks who say “individual action is wasted” should re-watch @sivers’ video on how movements are created:

If you program in @golang and want to build your own SaaS, I highly recommend @dominicstpierre's book.

It's 60% off right now:
https://store.dominicstpierre.com/build-saas-apps-in-go?coupon=BLACKFRIDAY2019

@tobi Duke Nukem took 3.5 years to download and then my dad picked up the phone

This is the dark side of tech utopianism that we don’t talk about enough.

The infrastructure that runs our digital world requires massive amount of energy; and there aren’t many (great) low-carbon options available.

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/pa74b8/1000-employees-are-demanding-changes-in-googles-climate-record

Funded startups are different! They're trying to create new paradigms.

They're raising lots of money because they're trying to do something profoundly difficult: change the way people think, feel, and act.

Bootstrapped startups don't have enough money or time to do that work.

Seth Godin succinctly describes podcast economics.

Yes!

It’s not about what you *feel* your character represents.

It’s not what you *think* your values are.

It’s what you consistently do (or don’t do!) that represents who you really are. https://twitter.com/JamesClear/status/1166434184656801794

@patrickc This article on “The Great Divergence” dives into this as well: https://www.citylab.com/life/2017/02/welcome-to-the-great-divergence/513548/

What was the last podcast you unsubscribed from?

What caused you to stop listening?

Good post. I've already started implementing this!

"Talk your prospects *out* of your product."

Example:

"I'm not sure if our product is the best choice for you. What prompted you to look at our product after seeing those other products?"

http://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6542048126071562240/

You can build an incredible product for a bad market (small, no money, not motivated) and you’re guaranteed to fail.

But in a large market that’s hungry for solutions (and has money to spend), even mediocre products win.

Yup, super hard to figure this out.

Plenty of examples of people who persisted, and won.

Also... plenty of examples of people who persisted, and lost.

How do you know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, and know when to run? https://twitter.com/tylertringas/status/1114912114739691521

When thousands of people resonate with a tweet like this it shows that there's pent-up demand for something better.

Cue James Dyson.

https://twitter.com/everywhereist/status/1119307113082155008

❤️ Love seeing awesome conversations with bootstrappers being hosted on http://Transistor.fm.

This one from @upsidefm with @tylertringas & @Kevin_McArdle is good:
https://upside.fm/earnest-capital/

Forgot about the  event today!

Started watching now.

"Apple News+" just got announced.

🤔 Does anyone care about news that much?

🤷‍♂️ Do people really want to read digital magazines?

“Be like a snake—only bite if someone steps on you.”

https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a26628467/taylor-swift-30th-birthday-lessons/

This weekend's blog post: https://justinjackson.ca/rodney-mullen

"Many founders want to be #1. What they don't realize is how hard it is at the top. You are the incumbent that everyone wants to beat. And instead of innovating, you spend your time playing defense."

🤔 Which podcast app is best for topical searches?

A thread...

(Background, I'm searching for episodes that @JamesClear has appeared in)

@themsaid @taylorotwell @freekmurze @driesvints @sebdedeyne @calebporzio @iamlucasmichot @gonedark @steveschoger @christophrumpel @paulredmond @fideloper @michaeldyrynda @JacobBennett 👋 haven't officially published it, but here's the current version:

https://justinjackson.ca/2018-review

Thinking about transferring all my WordPress sites (+1 @statamic site) to Digital Ocean using something like @laravelforge.

For folks who have done this: what's your DO server setup? Can you give me an idea of monthly cost?

(Also: how do you manage backups?)

About to watch Venom with my 13 year-old.

I hope it's not too scary. 😱

(For my sake, not his. He's not scared of anything. I'm scared of The Smurfs.)

Really excited about this new integrations page we've been working on at @TransistorFM:

- Connect to Spotify
- Build your mailing list
- Auto-tweet when you publish
- Publish automatically to YouTube

Coming soon! Sign up here:
https://transistor.fm/?via=twitter

🎙️ We have a @TransistorFM analytics feature that allows podcasters to see their avg downloads per episode in the first 7, 30, 60, and 90 days.

📊 Next step: helping you increase the number of downloads you get each time you publish.

👉 Free trial: https://transistor.fm/?via=justin

⚡️ Courses for beginners often don't do that well.

It's because there's lots of free content for people starting out. Also, beginners aren't as willing to pay for training.

But folks who are intermediate, and want to become pros, are much more motivated to pay to learn.

"I like my sugar with coffee and cream."

☝️ I think about this line all the time.

I'm working on this right now. Hoping to launch it soon!

https://productvalidationchecklist.com/

2017 was a different year, and this is a different "year in review" post:

https://justinjackson.ca/2017-review/

I'm really liking @AmyMorinLCSW's book, especially this quote:

"Avoid comparing yourself to other people. Instead, compare yourself to who you used to be and measure how you're growing as an individual."

People are tired of content; they're hungry for connection.

Real, human, connection.

This year I've reviewed hundreds of landing pages. This one from @eggheadio is really well done:

https://egghead.io/gifts

It's all about the words. The headlines grab you. Start by digging into the pain, and then show visitors how you make their lives better.

(kudos @jhooks!)

Also love @tferriss’s approach to facing a challenge. He asks himself:

1. “What might this look like if it were easy?”
2. “What might this look like if it were fun?”

We had 3.

https://twitter.com/Boris/status/932721907388084224

🤖 I’m scared.

https://twitter.com/mrmedina/status/931291808394440706

Don’t equate hype in the tech culture with market demand.

How programmers can find good startup ideas. 💪

Who else has this problem?

https://desktopblog.carrd.co/

7/ Don't stick with a bad idea just because you've invested time in it. Shut it down, and move on.

Lazy Sunday?

I just published a bunch of new videos on marketing for SaaS and software products:

https://www.youtube.com/justinjackson?sub_confirmation=1

There's a big market for a web designer whose whole positioning is:

"I make online courses better."

Focus on giving students progress.

The greatest luxury is having lots of margin in your life.

@kylefox I'm game. 😉

// @dhh @eoghan