Lisa Sabin-Wilson –

Lisa will be presenting Check & Double Check: Internal QA is Vital on Sunday in the Business/Project Management track

Lisa Sabin-Wilson is the co-owner of WebDevStudios, a design and development company specializing in customized WordPress themes and plugins, and the author of WordPress For Dummies.

As the “For Dummies” brand franchise author on all things WordPress she’s also written several other WordPress-related books. She’s worked with WordPress since 2003, and is also a regular public speaker on topics such as WordPress, blogging, design, and social media.

Interview:

Continue reading Interview with Lisa Sabin-Wilson →

Troy Dean –

Troy will be presenting 101 Ways to Elevate Yourself and Demand Higher Fees on Saturday in the Business/Project Management track

Troy Dean is a WordPress speaker, consultant and coach and is co-founder of Video User Manuals and WP Elevation. Buy him a beer and pick his brain about building a business on WordPress.

Interview:

Why do you use WordPress?
I use WordPress because it is supported by the most amazing community – and it’s damn sexy.

What would you say to convince someone to attend a WordCamp?
It’s like walking into a room full of warm bubbles, candy and big hugs. There’s nothing better than being surrounded by like minded people who all want to help each other.

What is your favorite WordPress project you have worked on recently?
We built the website for Studio Alto, using Advanced Custom Fields to allow the client to build up their own page templates using various content modules. And she won an award…

http://www.studioalto.com/
http://www.awwwards.com/web-design-awards/studio-alto

Do you have any advice for someone looking to start or grow a WordPress based business?
Work out who you serve the best and then serve them better than anyone else. Build an audience and become so helpful that they throw money at you for your help.

What is your favorite WordPress-related resource?
The WP Elevation Podcast 🙂
http://www.wpelevation.com/category/podcast/

or…

WP Think Tank 🙂
http://wpthinktank.com/

Tell us something awesome about yourself that is not WordPress related
I am a professional voice over artist and sang the Cadbury jingle “Wouldn’t it be nice if the world was Cadbury”

Becky Davis –

Becky will be presenting Project Management or How to Herd Cats on Sunday in the Business/Project Management track

Becky is a solopreneur web designer/developer who specializes in custom themes. She fell in love with WordPress in 2009 and has never looked back. She is a big advocate for training and empowering site owners and to that end speaks regularly on WordPress and web design at SCORE Chicago and runs the Northside Chicago WordPress meetup.

Her kids are both out of the house at this point, but she still takes care of the kitties and her landlord’s garden. She is grateful that winter is over and she can once again ride her bike to the grocery store and to meet friends at the bar.

Interview:

Why do you use WordPress?
At this point I know it so well, that’s there’s very little that I can’t do with it. I also like giving my clients as much control as possible.

What would you say to convince someone to attend a WordCamp?
Best, most affordable, most approachable tech conference around. You always learn something, meet interesting people and leave with your brain buzzing.

What is your favorite WordPress project you have worked on recently?
lafeber.com
This is actually a collection of several sites under one corporate umbrella. We got the consumer (pet birds) side with a shopping cart and custom post types done last year. The larger membership restricted informational Vet site is getting re-done this year.

Do you have any advice for someone looking to start or grow a WordPress based business?
Never discount a job and not charge what you’re worth, never stop learning and remember to give back. Doing presentations at meetups and Camps is a great way to learn more yourself and what makes the whole WP community so cool.

What is your favorite WordPress-related resource?
Google & twitter – seriously, so many good sources, never know where I’m going to find the answer I’m looking for.

Tell us something awesome about yourself that is not WordPress related
I make some of the best cookies on the planet and over the holidays I’ve been known to go through over 5 pounds of butter. My secret? My great grandmother’s copy of Betty Crocker to start.

Steve and Chris will be presenting Are you ready to learn a bit about Pricing? on Saturday in the Business/Project Management track

Chris Lema –

For twenty years Chris has been managing high performers and overseeing new product development.

He’s a daily blogger, an ebook author, a public speaker and works as the VP of Engineering for Emphasys Software. In his spare time he helps companies leverage WordPress, and WordPress companies find leverage.

Steve Zehngut –

Steve founded Zeek Interactive in 1995 and he has been the creative technologist behind the Huntington Beach based company since its inception. Under his direction, Zeek has grown from an apartment bedroom to one of Southern California’s leading development and consulting shops.

Steve is the organizer of the OC WordPress Meetup and has helped build the community to over 850 members. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and has taught interactive courses at UC Irvine, USC, the American Film Institute, and Cal State Long Beach. Steve has a BA in Film from Cal State Northridge.

Interview:

Why do you use WordPress?
Chris: It continues to be the easiest CMS to deliver editable websites for customers.

Steve: Ease of use for my clients. Rapid development for me.

What would you say to convince someone to attend a WordCamp?
Chris: They’re a great place to get introduced to an incredible community of helpful people.

Steve: WordCamps are the fastest way to get up to speed on WordPress. They are typically a 2-3 day intensive workshop covering several WP related topics. I also attend WordCamps for the networking opportunities. You get to rub elbows with the best in the WP community.

Do you have any advice for someone looking to start or grow a WordPress based business?
Chris: Watch as much of the Matt Report as you can!

Steve: A quick business tip: Specialize. Do not try to be an expert in everything. Understand your strengths and focus on them. Partner with others who compliment those strengths.

Also, participate in your local WordPress meetup. If one doesn’t exist in your area, start a WordPress meetup. This is a great way to share with your peers and also to trade knowledge.

What is your favorite WordPress-related resource?
Chris: The WPWatercooler – it’s a 30 minute weekly show that is full of fun and educational material.

Steve: I use the Codex everyday.

Tell us something awesome about yourself that is not WordPress related
Chris: I’ve participated in the design, development, marketing, pricing and launch process for over 90 software as a service (SaaS) products.

Steve: I love to play poker, although I don’t have any time to play currently. If anyone needs a lesson, I am happy to help you part with your hard-earned cash.

Patrick Rauland –

Patrick will be presenting Freemium For the Rest of Us on Sunday in the Business/Project Management track

Patrick spends most of the work day slicing and dicing code to help WooThemes customers. He develops extensions for Ninja Forms and loves to blog. He also organizes the Appleton WordPress Meetup.

Being outside, running, and practicing yoga are some of his favorite activities. His ultimate goal is to figure out a way to code websites while in a headstand.

Interview:

Why do you use WordPress?
I love using WordPress because it’s totally open source, easy to use, and easy to customize. A little programming knowledge goes a long way.

What would you say to convince someone to attend a WordCamp?
The best reason to attend another WordCamp is to meet other WordPressers. There’s people in your exact same situation and they’re looking for answers too. Or maybe they already found answers and they’re willing to help you out. 🙂

What is your favorite WordPress project you have worked on recently?
I’m really excited to be launching my first WooCommerce extension. It’s been a while in the making and it feels good to get it out the door.

Do you have any advice for someone looking to start or grow a WordPress based business?
Sell your by products! If you create a tutorial for clients also release it as a blog post. Demonstrate what you know to future customers.

What is your favorite WordPress-related resource?
I think WPSessions is great. I also love PostStatus by Brian Krogsgard it’s a very timely WordPress news source.

Tell us something awesome about yourself that is not WordPress related
I definitely love yoga. I feel like I’m most focused by getting up early getting in a yoga session and then continuing with the rest of my day. I also love rainy days.

Dan Beil –

Dan will be presenting How NOT to develop (With WordPress) on Saturday in the Business/Project Management track

Dan has been a theme developer for the past 5 years, specializing in custom WordPress builds to address specific requirements. Recently Dan has joined the Alley Interactive team and works remotely from Minneapolis, MN.

In his “free” time he fosters Siberian Huskies and sometimes contributes to opensource WordPress projects on GitHub.

Interview:

Why do you use WordPress?
Because open source is awesome and the community is great. It also provides a ridiculous solid base for building more complex solutions which are still easy to use.

What would you say to convince someone to attend a WordCamp?
If you work with WordPress, attending a WordCamp is the best money you’ll ever spend!

Tell us something awesome about yourself that is not WordPress related
Fostering Siberian Huskies is hard work

What is your favorite WordPress project you have worked on recently?
New VIP builds – super interesting and complicated 🙂

Do you have any advice for someone looking to start or grow a WordPress based business?
1: Network, 2: Attend WordCamps, 3: Repeat Steps 1 & 2

What is your favorite WordPress-related resource?
@jjj, @daljo628, @pippinsplugins, @alisothegeek

Aaron and Brian will be presenting Do Big Things With A Small Team on Saturday in the Business/Project Management track along with Pete Mall and Sara Cannon.

Aaron Campbell –

Aaron is CTO and a Partner at Range. Aaron has more than ten years of web development experience and has been a regular contributor to WordPress for the last five years.

He has experience writing quality code that is both fast and scalable, and has a knack for translating ideas and goals into functional sites. He’s been called both a coffee snob and a beer snob, but considers both to be compliments.

Brian Krogsgard –

Brian is a Junior Partner at Range, a boutique web development and design agency. Range is also a WordPress.com VIP development partner.

Brian also runs Post Status, a blog dedicated to news and resources for WordPress professionals and enthusiasts.

Interview:

Why do you use WordPress?
Aaron: It’s flexible and extensible.

Brian: WordPress is powerful, flexible, and easy to use. I don’t know what else I would use.

What would you say to convince someone to attend a WordCamp?
Brian:  WordCamps are cheap and give direct access to some of the leaders in the WordPress community. It’s a great time to learn, but even better, a great time to get to know like-minded folks.

What is your favorite WordPress project you have worked on recently?
Aaron: The new Flickr blog has been fun. It hasn’t launched yet, but should have by the time the event happens.

Brian:  Ping me in a about a week 😉

Do you have any advice for someone looking to start or grow a WordPress based business?
Aaron: Work with the community not against it. It sounds so simple, and yet it makes a HUGE difference.

Brian: Follow those who are doing what you want to be doing, see how their doing it, and try to emulate it. Over time, you’ll develop your own styles and opinions.

Also, progress > process. Good processes are great. But don’t get overwhelmed by the new and shiny. This is the web and it evolves fast. Stay aware but don’t get distracted by tools. Re-think your process and tools when it’s smart, not when you first see them

What is your favorite WordPress-related resource?
Aaron: Honestly, it’s the code. That’s where I go to figure out most things.

Brian: Post Status, of course 🙂 I hope it’s yours too.

Tell us something awesome about yourself that is not WordPress related
Brian: My wife and I have a Great Dane named Lucy May. She’s blue, big, and spoiled rotten. I’d say you should follow me on Instagram, but if you do, it’ll just be a bunch of pictures of her or the craft beers I’m enjoying at any particular time (typically quite hoppy varieties).