That was a super inspirational read, Sam! I love reading stuff like this. It's always a great confidence booster. I just launched my YouTube project a few weeks ago and totally understand that feeling of satisfaction when people like what you're putting out.
I just signed up for your site and noticed that there wasn't an explicit 'sign up' button. Maybe that could help?
Keep it up!
1
Hey Jake! Thanks for reaching out. Drop a link to the YouTube project.
What page did you sign up on out of interest? I have one on the homepage banner as well as the footer. There is also a popup on most pages! Might be missing something though 🧐
1
I clicked on the Members Area button on the home page but I was looking for an explicit Sign Up button and was confused when I didn't see it at first. Not sure if other people view it like me but I just wanted to mention just in case.
A very refreshing interview Sam! I like founders that are proud from slowly growing businesses.
One question - have you considered going "featured" route? Like selling "featured" placements in the top categories to companies? I think you could get more revenue without deterring customers.
You would sell only placement, which would be fair enough, and company would be getting the top spot.
If I would be a business owner I would surely pay for such a placement!
1
Thanks Bart! If I'm totally honest I need to tighten up on monetisation on the site. My focus has recently been on content. Great idea. I do receive requests to appear top of the categories and charge for this, but the traffic is increasing as well as the newsletter so I think I can certainly justify more.
Thanks again for the feeback and advice!
2
Hey Sam - this was such a wonderful read. Thank you for sharing your story and creating NoCode. As a non-technical PM (and now founder), I plan to scour through the awesome resources that you've listed. Also signed up for your newsletter - look forward to follow along in your journey!
You mentioned that if you did it over again, you would've tried to enjoy the experience more, and not push so hard that you head down a path where you end up resenting the project.
What types of habits / routines / daily practices have you put in place to help make sure you don't head in that direction? (ie. going for a daily walk, meditation, exercise, getting to bed at a certain time, etc).
I ask because I've found that small daily habits can make a world of difference to stay more happy, healthy, and productive in the journey.
Cheers,
Jonathan
2
Hey Jonathan - thanks for your kind words, massively appreciated. Totally agree with you regarding the daily habits. I'm not sure if they directly help me with enjoying the experience of building products more, but i do follow a few religiously.
going to bed early and waking early (typically the same time everyday if i can)
working out every morning (sometime a run in the evening to clear my mind)
trying to stick to a certain amount of time with my side projects after my workday. Typically no more than 2-3 hours if i can each night.
keeping an evernote with my tasks to complete for my side projects
reading at least an hour a day - book or article
regarding trying to enjoy myself more with side projects. I'm trying to put less of a time box on everything i do, and if it takes longer or i don't have the time that day to complete the task then not worrying about it!
Hope this helps! Drop me a PM if you want to chat more about anything!!
1
That is a kick ass set of daily routines!
I'll certainly take you up on the offer and connect more over email since I can tell we're both habit geeks =)
2
Thanks for sharing Sam! For the record, I don't think your landing page was "butt ugly" :)
Funny you mention that. I haven’t yet, but I just interviewed the founder of Bubble for a post on NoCode which will be out shortly! Really considering building my next project on it actually. You got any experience with it?
2
Minimal. I don't have any programming experience, just working through basics of HTML, CSS, Javascript, Python, so I have a pretty steep learning curve to grasp some of the programming concepts.
Heard great things about it and continue to experiment though!
2
I use Bubble almost exclusively. It's terrible for mobile apps, but for web apps, it's unbeatable as a non-technical founder.
Has a big learning curve if you don't have any technical background at all, but it's pretty fantastic. If it let me futz with the under-the-hood code, or run it on my own infrastructure, I'd be mega amped.
1
Definitely going to give it a shot this year on my next project! I see Zeroqode provide some great template too for Bubble!
1
Templates are tricky on Bubble, I'd heavily recommend learning how to use Bubble BEFORE trying out a template. Customizing a template is not super simple, as it's comparable to walking into a code base someone else built. They may give you a head start, but be ready to learn a hefty amount of Bubble in order to really make it your own.
1
That's awesome! I need to connect with you, I'm trying to build a couple web apps.
1
Hi sam,can i put link of your site on my upcoming newsletter on founderhacker.com ? Thanks. Good luck with your project
1
Hey Sam, great product. Signed up straight away. And I'm also jumping on a call with ucreate today, thanks for drawing my attention to them as well.
Did you think about a section that was business-focused - market validation, business plans, right down to invoicing and taxation. Maybe this is in the pipeline?
1
Hey Michael, Thanks for signing up. Did you manage to get a call arranged?
Invoicing, business plans have been suggested in the past so yes that's on the roadmap for sure!
1
Super cool read Sam, thanks for sharing. I'm currently building out a website teaching people eCommerce and product imex.
This post has been so helpful and inspirational as I'm in the planning stages of creating a toolbox type site for physical product marketing/branding/eCommerce. Keep up the good work! :)
1
Cheers Danny! much appreciated, glad it has been of help for you.
Any suggestions for tools you come accross give me a shout!
That was a super inspirational read, Sam! I love reading stuff like this. It's always a great confidence booster. I just launched my YouTube project a few weeks ago and totally understand that feeling of satisfaction when people like what you're putting out.
I just signed up for your site and noticed that there wasn't an explicit 'sign up' button. Maybe that could help?
Keep it up!
Hey Jake! Thanks for reaching out. Drop a link to the YouTube project.
What page did you sign up on out of interest? I have one on the homepage banner as well as the footer. There is also a popup on most pages! Might be missing something though 🧐
I clicked on the Members Area button on the home page but I was looking for an explicit Sign Up button and was confused when I didn't see it at first. Not sure if other people view it like me but I just wanted to mention just in case.
Here's my channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOjH8D2XAgjzQlneM2W0EQ 😄
A very refreshing interview Sam! I like founders that are proud from slowly growing businesses.
One question - have you considered going "featured" route? Like selling "featured" placements in the top categories to companies? I think you could get more revenue without deterring customers.
You would sell only placement, which would be fair enough, and company would be getting the top spot.
If I would be a business owner I would surely pay for such a placement!
Thanks Bart! If I'm totally honest I need to tighten up on monetisation on the site. My focus has recently been on content. Great idea. I do receive requests to appear top of the categories and charge for this, but the traffic is increasing as well as the newsletter so I think I can certainly justify more.
Thanks again for the feeback and advice!
Hey Sam - this was such a wonderful read. Thank you for sharing your story and creating NoCode. As a non-technical PM (and now founder), I plan to scour through the awesome resources that you've listed. Also signed up for your newsletter - look forward to follow along in your journey!
You mentioned that if you did it over again, you would've tried to enjoy the experience more, and not push so hard that you head down a path where you end up resenting the project.
What types of habits / routines / daily practices have you put in place to help make sure you don't head in that direction? (ie. going for a daily walk, meditation, exercise, getting to bed at a certain time, etc).
I ask because I've found that small daily habits can make a world of difference to stay more happy, healthy, and productive in the journey.
Cheers,
Jonathan
Hey Jonathan - thanks for your kind words, massively appreciated. Totally agree with you regarding the daily habits. I'm not sure if they directly help me with enjoying the experience of building products more, but i do follow a few religiously.
going to bed early and waking early (typically the same time everyday if i can)
working out every morning (sometime a run in the evening to clear my mind)
trying to stick to a certain amount of time with my side projects after my workday. Typically no more than 2-3 hours if i can each night.
keeping an evernote with my tasks to complete for my side projects
reading at least an hour a day - book or article
regarding trying to enjoy myself more with side projects. I'm trying to put less of a time box on everything i do, and if it takes longer or i don't have the time that day to complete the task then not worrying about it!
Hope this helps! Drop me a PM if you want to chat more about anything!!
That is a kick ass set of daily routines!
I'll certainly take you up on the offer and connect more over email since I can tell we're both habit geeks =)
Thanks for sharing Sam! For the record, I don't think your landing page was "butt ugly" :)
Have you ever experimented with Bubble.is?
Thanks Corey! Much appreciated 😅
Funny you mention that. I haven’t yet, but I just interviewed the founder of Bubble for a post on NoCode which will be out shortly! Really considering building my next project on it actually. You got any experience with it?
Minimal. I don't have any programming experience, just working through basics of HTML, CSS, Javascript, Python, so I have a pretty steep learning curve to grasp some of the programming concepts.
Heard great things about it and continue to experiment though!
I use Bubble almost exclusively. It's terrible for mobile apps, but for web apps, it's unbeatable as a non-technical founder.
Has a big learning curve if you don't have any technical background at all, but it's pretty fantastic. If it let me futz with the under-the-hood code, or run it on my own infrastructure, I'd be mega amped.
Definitely going to give it a shot this year on my next project! I see Zeroqode provide some great template too for Bubble!
Templates are tricky on Bubble, I'd heavily recommend learning how to use Bubble BEFORE trying out a template. Customizing a template is not super simple, as it's comparable to walking into a code base someone else built. They may give you a head start, but be ready to learn a hefty amount of Bubble in order to really make it your own.
That's awesome! I need to connect with you, I'm trying to build a couple web apps.
Hi sam,can i put link of your site on my upcoming newsletter on founderhacker.com ? Thanks. Good luck with your project
Hey Sam, great product. Signed up straight away. And I'm also jumping on a call with ucreate today, thanks for drawing my attention to them as well.
Did you think about a section that was business-focused - market validation, business plans, right down to invoicing and taxation. Maybe this is in the pipeline?
Hey Michael, Thanks for signing up. Did you manage to get a call arranged?
Invoicing, business plans have been suggested in the past so yes that's on the roadmap for sure!
Super cool read Sam, thanks for sharing. I'm currently building out a website teaching people eCommerce and product imex.
This post has been so helpful and inspirational as I'm in the planning stages of creating a toolbox type site for physical product marketing/branding/eCommerce. Keep up the good work! :)
Cheers Danny! much appreciated, glad it has been of help for you.
Any suggestions for tools you come accross give me a shout!