WP-Tonic | WordPress | SaaS | Bootstrap SaaS | Startups 175 James Laws of Ninja Forms on Growing a WP Product Company
We talk with James Laws, founder of WP Ninjas, and co-creator of Ninja Forms. In this episode James share his insights on building a WordPress product company, managing internal growth, and advice for podcasters in the WordPress space.
WP Ninjas
Mastermind.FM
Adventures in Businessing
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Our episode this week is sponsored by LiquidWeb. Liquid Web is offering a 33% discount for your first 6 months of managed WordPress hosting.
Head over to https://LiquidWeb.com/wordpress and use the code WPTONIC33 at checkout for your discount.
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Table of Contents for Episode 175
0:00 Podcast intros.
2:53 James' origin story, and getting into web development.
3:59 Where the idea for WP Ninjas originally came from.
6:35 Did the market saturation of contact form plugins dissuade James from creating another plugin?
10:50 Why sharing information helps everyone's business grow. Advice for joining a mastermind, and what James looks for in a mastermind.
13:03 How a business changes as it grows. How choosing a business model can have a significant impact on your business.
19:53 How internal process must change and adapt as your web development company grows.
25:30 How important is service and support to growth for a WordPress product?
30:39 Thoughts on marketing in the WordPress ecosystem in 2017.
39:32 Some tips for people looking to market a plugin to the WordPress ecosystem.
44:26 The importance of UX design in a WordPress plugin.
54:00 Thoughts on e-commerce with Ninja Forms.
59:00 What advice does James have for people looking to start their own podcast?
1:04:21 Podcast outros
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Links mentioned during the show:
WP Candy:NinjaForms plugin chops its way into WordPress Dashboards (2011)
http://wpcandy.com/reports/ninjaforms-launches-competes-with-gravityforms/
Andon (manufacturing)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andon_(manufacturing)
The Value of Sponsoring a WordCamp from a Business’ Perspective
https://wptavern.com/the-value-of-sponsoring-a-wordcamp-from-a-business-perspective
Focus Lab
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Find bonus content for this episode on the WP-Tonic website:
https://www.wp-tonic.com/podcast-episodes/
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Subscribe to WP-Tonic on iTunes
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wp-tonic-wordpress-podcast/id893083124?mt=2
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WP-Tonic is both a WordPress maintenance and support service, and the publisher of a twice-weekly WordPress podcast.