Ditching Hourly

AI/ML consultant and self-described productivity nerd Clemens Adolphs joined me on Ditching Hourly for a reverse interview about my flexible alternative to time blocking. We geeked out about the “While-Awake Loop” system that I've been using to run my life for twenty years.01:15 Clemens Tests the System03:21 The Core Loop05:02 Controlling Interruptions07:10 What Belongs on the List08:36 The Power of Recurring Reminders17:02 Capture First, Clarify Later24:48 Projects, Next Actions, and Digital Context32:48 Errands and Contexts35:35 Doing What You Feel Like47:28 Reviews and System Maintenance52:00 Why Time Blocking Fails60:42 Who This System Is ForClemens is a co-founder and senior AI engineer at AICE Labs, where he helps non-technical founders and operators build the right thing, the right way, from strategy to production. He is also a productivity nerd with a long-standing interest in GTD, deep work, and practical systems for independent work. ----I'm running a one-day in-person workshop in December in Providence, Rhode Island, called "Kickstart Your Pipeline." If you're not getting as many leads as you want and you're looking for a systematic, dignified alternative to cold outreach, paid ads, and clowning around on social media, this workshop is for you.We'll start with a fancy dinner (on me) on the evening of December 9, and then the one-day workshop is on December 10 from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. For all the details and to reserve your seat, just click the link below: Reserve Your Seat In Providence Now »Hope to see you in Providence on Dec 9 and 10!

In 2017, Joel Miller came on Ditching Hourly episode 33 to talk about his recent switch to value pricing. Nine years later, Joel and his identical twin brother Alan still run The Sky Floor as a two-person shop. They do all the client work themselves, their average client has been with them for eight years, and they haven't hit a famine cycle in a long time, so they're not hungry for leads. Best of all, Joel has gone from working 80-hour weeks and making “a hilariously tiny fraction” of what he makes now to working normal hours and turning off his notifications at night and on weekends.00:00 - Meet Joel Miller00:46 - The Sky Floor Then and Now02:00 - The Why Conversation in Practice06:12 - Building Client Lifetime Value08:50 - The Client Who Came Back10:48 - Value-Based Monthly Retainers12:26 - Scaling Without Headcount16:03 - Indirect Word of Mouth18:08 - What Keeps Clients for a Decade25:25 - Spotting Hidden Opportunities29:01 - Think Like a Business Owner37:22 - Curiosity and the Entrepreneurial Spirit41:53 - People Over Profits44:51 - Never Stop Asking Why48:36 - Where to Find JoelJoel Miller is the co-owner of The Sky Floor, a digital problem-solving agency he runs with his identical twin brother Alan. They started the company about 18 years ago as a web design shop in the Chicago area and now handle everything from websites and LMS systems to Google Ads and CRM replacements. Joel and Alan do all the client work themselves and have built long-term relationships averaging eight years per client. Joel appeared on Ditching Hourly episode 33 in 2017 to discuss his early experiments with value pricing. Try his free Capacity Tax tool to see whether a client is blocking your next growth move. ----I'm running a one-day in-person workshop in December in Providence, Rhode Island, called "Kickstart Your Pipeline." If you're not getting as many leads as you want and you're looking for a systematic, dignified alternative to cold outreach, paid ads, and clowning around on social media, this workshop is for you.We'll start with a fancy dinner (on me) on the evening of December 9, and then the one-day workshop is on December 10 from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. For all the details and to reserve your seat, just click the link below: Reserve Your Seat In Providence Now »Hope to see you in Providence on Dec 9 and 10!

Software entrepreneur, author, and investor Rob Walling joined me on Ditching Hourly to explain why faster software development does not remove the need to validate a software product idea before building it.We talked about the future of SaaS in the age of AI, the 2-20-200 validation framework, customer conversations, finding ideas, turning client work into a product, starting marketing early, choosing an ideal customer profile, competitive research, and the advantages of vertical vs orthogonal vs horizontal product positioning.00:00 - Meet Rob Walling01:28 - Idea to Traction02:45 - Who Builds SaaS Now?05:18 - SaaS in the Age of AI09:23 - Validate Before You Build16:29 - Better Customer Conversations17:47 - Finding and Choosing Ideas20:46 - Turning Client Work into SaaS26:24 - Market from Day One28:53 - Find and Refine Your ICP32:09 - Competitive Research and Positioning35:48 - The DNA of a Great SaaS Business38:26 - Vertical, Horizontal, and Orthogonal SaaSRob Walling is a software entrepreneur, author, and investor. He hosts Startups for the Rest of Us, a podcast he said has run for 16 years, and co-founded TinySeed, where he invests in SaaS bootstrappers. He started Drip in 2012 and sold it in 2016. Idea to Traction is his sixth book and revisits the early stages of software entrepreneurship. Learn more and pre-order the book at Idea to Traction. ----I'm running a one-day in-person workshop in December in Providence, Rhode Island, called "Kickstart Your Pipeline." If you're not getting as many leads as you want and you're looking for a systematic, dignified alternative to cold outreach, paid ads, and clowning around on social media, this workshop is for you.We'll start with a fancy dinner (on me) on the evening of December 9, and then the one-day workshop is on December 10 from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. For all the details and to reserve your seat, just click the link below: Reserve Your Seat In Providence Now »Hope to see you in Providence on Dec 9 and 10!

Experience designer and BRC Imagination Arts founder Bob Rogers joined me on Ditching Hourly to explain how to create experiences that change behavior instead of merely entertaining. His new book, Deep Story, is a practical guide to doing exactly that.We talked about defining the change before choosing tools, looking past requested deliverables, finding the emotional connection between a brand and its audience, starting with the heart, and turning information into action.00:00 - Meet Bob Rogers and Deep Story01:57 - Lessons from Disneyland's Magic Shop03:57 - It's All About Them07:36 - The Audience Is the Instrument10:27 - Failing Into the Right Career12:24 - Define the Change Before the Tools16:51 - Look Past the Requested Deliverable20:11 - Hire the Team, Not the Idea22:41 - Use Phases and Set Enduring Goals24:53 - Find the Shared Emotional Trigger27:55 - A Brand Is What the Audience Says It Is32:09 - SCAD's Kitchen Table Story35:35 - Start with the Heart, Then Focus38:32 - Information Is Not Transformation42:35 - Books and Where to Find BobBob Rogers is the founder of BRC Imagination Arts, where he has spent decades creating visitor experiences for corporations and museums. He began his career demonstrating magic at Disneyland and later developed concepts for films at Walt Disney Imagineering. His new book, Deep Story, presents a practical approach to building experiences that make an emotional connection and prompt action. Learn more at BRC Imagination Arts. ----I'm running a one-day in-person workshop in December in Providence, Rhode Island, called "Kickstart Your Pipeline." If you're not getting as many leads as you want and you're looking for a systematic, dignified alternative to cold outreach, paid ads, and clowning around on social media, this workshop is for you.We'll start with a fancy dinner (on me) on the evening of December 9, and then the one-day workshop is on December 10 from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. For all the details and to reserve your seat, just click the link below: Reserve Your Seat In Providence Now »Hope to see you in Providence on Dec 9 and 10!

NetSuite data migration consultant Paul Giese joined me on Ditching Hourly to share how triple specialization helped him build a highly referable, fixed-price consulting business.Paul explains how his accounting background, NetSuite expertise, and data-migration focus combine into a defensible niche, plus how specialization supports referrals, delegation, and value-based fixed fees.00:00 - Introduction00:20 - Paul's Background and Business01:01 - From Accounting to Entrepreneurship03:21 - Finding the NetSuite Migration Niche06:02 - The Benefits of Specialization12:07 - Becoming Easy to Refer16:00 - The Three-Part Expertise Moat20:48 - The Opportunity for Specialized Firms24:10 - Moving from Hourly to Fixed Fees29:08 - The Freedom of Fixed Pricing31:08 - Building Trust and Reducing Risk36:08 - Contractors, Delegation, and Quality40:13 - Pricing by Value Instead of Volume42:56 - Testing the Ceiling on Price47:36 - Lessons and Closing ThoughtsGuest BioPaul Giese is the founder of Optimal Data Consulting, a firm specializing in data migration services for companies implementing NetSuite. With an accounting background from Baylor University and experience in Big Four public accounting, Paul has helped more than 100 clients migrate their data. Connect with Paul on LinkedIn or on his website. ----I'm running a one-day in-person workshop in December in Providence, Rhode Island, called "Kickstart Your Pipeline." If you're not getting as many leads as you want and you're looking for a systematic, dignified alternative to cold outreach, paid ads, and clowning around on social media, this workshop is for you.We'll start with a fancy dinner (on me) on the evening of December 9, and then the one-day workshop is on December 10 from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. For all the details and to reserve your seat, just click the link below: Reserve Your Seat In Providence Now »Hope to see you in Providence on Dec 9 and 10!