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The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox


The Busy Creator Podcast is a discussion program where creative professionals from across the spectrum share tools, techniques, and habits they use in their practice. Listeners are introduced to strategies and pro tips to be their most creative, productive selves.

Full website available at http://busycreator.com and http://busycreator.com/podcast/ for the show specifically.

May 19, 2014

The Busy Creator 11, w/guests Michael Sacca and Alex Rolek, co-founders of Brandisty.com

The Busy Creator episode 11, w/guests Michael Sacca and Alex Rolek, co-founders of Brandisty.com

Michael Sacca (@MichaelSacca) and Alex Rolek (@AlexRolek) are the co-founders of Brandisty.com, a website that allows companies to put their brand on the web. The duo started out as a small agency doing web design and software development before shifting towards a B2B product. Along with Prescott, they discuss the origins of Brandisty, how they went about getting early feedback, and the day to day scrappiness of running a small web software company.

Show Notes & Links

  • Brandisty is a small software company, about 5 staffers plus contractors
  • TinyFactory, the agency from which Brandisty was born
  • Brandisty’s inception was born from frustration — “can I get a transparent PNG?”
  • Valio Con, a design conference where Brandisty was introduced as a beta product
  • The Busy Creator on Brandisty
  • Delete Blood Cancer on Brandisty
  • TinyFactory started as an agency
  • Michael studied the music business
  • Alex studied finance and real estate development
  • Entrepreneurs struggle to install productivity habits
  • Distractions at work are annoying
  • The difference between marketing and sales
  • The conference was to validate the idea
  • “customer service is our marketing”
  • Say Rhythm rather than Routine.
  • Alex endorses a lifestyle of moderation

Tools

Techniques

  • Use a blackboard in your office. Keep it old school
  • Keep a Kanban board with projects; rearrange as necessary
  • Use small post-its on the cards
  • Don’t use a mobile phone app to do your laundry (it’s not needed!)
  • Use the Rubber Duck test
  • Template your email responses and communication tools
  • Set “Do Not Disturb” mode for the working day, counter-interuitively
  • Generate potential leads, do some research, ask them to become beta testers
  • Generate leads from content and social media
  • Aim for better quality traffic, not necessarily more
  • Give up coffee or alcohol; observe results.
  • Don’t forget to read books, in addition to blog posts, to learn other people’s perspectives

Habits

  • Get everyone together for planning and vision; let people work independently from there
  • Monday morning meeting: plan the week, review stats, update on all departments
  • Friday meeting focused on marketing and to review stats
  • Handle communication and responses in the morning; focus on productivity the rest of the day
  • Alex favors the “anti-routine”, and fear of monotony. Varies his wake-up and work-out times.
  • Michael favors a strict routine (due to fatherhood). Gym in the morning, breakfast, show, and off to work.
  • Wake up before the sun rises.
  • Try networking events in the morning, rather than those in the evenings