Ditching Hourly
For solo professionals who want to make more and work less without hiring.
Episodes
Best-selling author, speaker, and management adviser Joe Pine joined me on Ditching Hourly to discuss his new book, The Transformation Economy, why it applies especially well to consultants, coaches, and advisors, and gives some tips on how to price transformations.
Chapters
- (00:00) - Welcome and Introduction
- (00:26) - Discussing the Experience Economy
- (00:43) - Introducing the Transformation Economy
- (01:26) - Unders...
Jason Staats joined me on Ditching Hourly to talk about his progression from being an employee in an accounting firm to running the top accounting community on the planet.
Links
Chapters
- (00:00) - Introduction and Guest Welcome
- (00:19) - Jason's Background and Career Journey
- (01:42) - Transition to Online Content Creation
- (02:42) - Early Challenges and Successes in Video Content
- ...
Rural planning advisor Ben Kettle joined me on Ditching Hourly to share his transition from hourly billing “nonsense” to risk-based project pricing.
Links
- Ben's website » https://areteruralplanning.co.uk/
Chapters
- (00:00) - Ben Kettle
- (00:20) - Meet the Guest: Ben Kettle
- (00:36) - Ben's Background and Career Journey
- (02:57) - Challenges with Hourly Billing
- (09:01) - Transition to Fixed Fee and Value-Based Pri...
Co-founder of Conversion Factory, Zach Stevens, rejoined me on Ditching Hourly to give us an update on how he's growing his subscription SaaS marketing agency in year 3.
Links We Mentioned
- Conversion Factory Website
- Zach's partner Corey, on X
- The Superstruct Manifesto by David Guttman
- The "If You're Such An Expert" Ditcherville Comic
Chapters
- (00:00) - Introduction and Welcome
- (00:10) - Zach's Business Journey
- (...
Charles Miller of Platoon joined me on Ditching Hourly to discuss “good” taste, how you get it, why you might want it, and what to do when your clients don’t have it.
Links
- Charles’ personal site » https://www.charlesmiller.com/
- Charles’ portfolio site » https://www.platoon.studio/
Chapters
- (00:00) - Introduction and Guest Welcome
- (00:11) - Defining Taste
- (00:19) - Charles Miller's Background
- (00:59) - The Con...
Author of No BS Strategy, Alex M H Smith, rejoined me on Ditching Hourly to help define a very important word that few business people understand correctly.
Chapters
- (00:00) - Introduction and Welcome
- (00:11) - Guest Introduction: Alex Smith
- (01:30) - Understanding Business Strategy
- (02:02) - The Misunderstood Concept of Value
- (04:15) - Creating Value in Business
- (07:55) - Innovating Beyond Traditional Value
- (13:01) ...
Professor-in-residence at StoryBrand and host of the new podcast Badass Softie, Dr. J.J. Peterson, joined me on Ditching Hourly to discuss how to strike a balance between authority and empathy.
And be sure to stick around to the end to hear J.J.'s take on AI's impact on professional services and how to avoid creating ‘louder garbage’ :-)
Chapters
- (00:00) - Introduction and Guest Welcome
- (00:17) - JJ Peterson's Curren...
Solo data advisor Shachar Meir (ex-Meta, ex-PayPal) joined me on Ditching hourly to share the details of his transition from being a manager in massive corporate environments to becoming a successful solo consultant.
Chapters
- (00:00) - Introduction and Guest Welcome
- (01:05) - Shachar's Professional Background
- (03:47) - Transition to Solo Entrepreneurship
- (13:51) - First Steps as a Solopreneur
- (15:59) - Landing the F...
Big Idea archaeologist Pranav Kale joined me on Ditching Hourly for a reverse interview about my journey to the center of the solar system.
Chapters
- (00:00) - Introduction and Guest Welcome
- (00:39) - Pranav's Evolution and Current Focus
- (03:01) - Jonathan's Epiphany on Hourly Billing
- (06:26) - The Trust Fracture in Hourly Billing
- (07:45) - Jonathan's Problem-Solving Journey
- (16:59) - The Move to Rhode Island and Find...
Laravel expert Joel Clermont joined me on Ditching Hourly to share how he and his co-founder run their successful dev subscription business.
Chapters
- (00:00) - Introduction and Guest Introduction
- (00:16) - Joel's Background and Business Model Transition
- (01:54) - Launching the Dev Subscription Model
- (04:47) - Marketing and Initial Success
- (07:44) - Client Profiles and Demand
- (11:19) - Managing Client Expectations an...
Digital marketing strategist Eleanor Mayrhofer joined me on Ditching Hourly to describe exactly how she productized her web design services.
Links:
- Eleanor's website » https://www.eleanormayrhofer.com/ditching
- Eleanor's LinkedIn » https://www.linkedin.com/in/eleanormayrhofer/
Chapters:
- (00:00) - Introduction and Guest Welcome
- (00:14) - Eleanor's Background and Business Model
- (00:52) - Straight to Non-Hourly
- (0...
Founder of The Upside, Erin Halper, joined me on Ditching Hourly to share her pro tips on creating and sustaining a premium online community.
Erin's Links:
- Erin's community » https://betheupside.com/
- Erin's LinkedIn » https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinhalper/
Chapters
- (00:00) - Introduction and Guest Welcome
- (00:19) - Erin Halper's Background and The Upside Community
- (03:19) - Challenges and Evolution of The Ups...
Communications consultant Lynn Safranek joined me on Ditching Hourly to learn how to apply value pricing to an industry where the consultant can't control the outcome.
- (00:00) - Introduction and Guest Welcome
- (00:11) - Understanding Upstream Contributions
- (00:23) - Lynn's Background and Expertise
- (01:05) - The Value Pricing Dilemma
- (01:21) - Client Communication Challenges
- (02:45) - Media Engagement Strategies
- (05:0...
Brand strategist and founder of SwayRise Creative, Diane Whiddon, joined me on Ditching Hourly to talk about how adding a discrete - and legitimately useful - AI-based productized service to her branding business tapped into a longstanding demand in her client base.
Diane's Links
- SwayRise Creative » https://swayrisecreative.com/
- Content Creator Lab » https://aicontentcreatorlab.com
Chapters
- (00:00) - Introduct...
Author, speaker, and human-first AI strategist, Alastair McDermott, joined me on Ditching Hourly to talk about his new book and how experts can use AI to enhance productivity, decision-making, and learning.
- (00:00) - Introduction and Guest Welcome
- (00:46) - Alistair's Background and Journey
- (03:02) - The New Book: Use AI, Stay Human
- (04:15) - AI as a Tool for Experts
- (06:55) - Practical Applications of AI
- (10:00) - Tec...
Author of Leaving The Casino, Jessica Lackey, joined me on Ditching Hourly to discuss the importance of understanding different business models, pricing strategies, and the concept of the 'zone of enoughness' in building a sustainable business.
- (00:00) - Introduction and Guest Welcome
- (00:09) - Jessica Lackey's Background and Career Journey
- (01:05) - Introduction to Jessica's Book
- (03:13) - The Casino Metaphor in Busine...
Author Robin Bonn joined me on Ditching Hourly to discuss the importance of differentiation as described in his book Market of One.
About Robin
Robin Bonn is the CEO of Co:definery, one of the world's leading consultancies specialising in agency positioning. From renowned global networks to the world's top independents, he’s repositioned close to 150 agencies and coached dozens of senior leaders. He’s the author of ...
Ed Kless joined me on Ditching Hourly to talk about what he and his Threshold co-founder Ron Baker think is the next big thing (spoiler alert: transformations).
Talking Points
- The Concept of the Experience Economy
- Progression of Economic Value
- Transformations and Their Impact
- Threshold: Guiding Transformations
- Transitioning from Service to Transformation Economy
- Skipping the Experience Stage
- Charging for Transformation
- Subscrip...
Geraldine Carter joined me on Ditching Hourly to give us a behind-the-scenes recap of what went into her pivot from selling one-time $9,500 mastermind programs to selling a $995/mo ongoing subscription model.
- (00:00) - Introduction and Guest Welcome
- (00:34) - Defining 'Melting the Pyramid'
- (04:38) - Transitioning Business Models
- (08:54) - Challenges and Key Changes
- (14:00) - New Program Structure and Benefits
- (24:41...
Craig Hewitt, founder of Castos, joined me on Ditching Hourly to discuss the current state and potential future of podcasting as a medium for building trust with your audience.
AI Summary
In this episode of Ditching Hourly, Jonathan Stark speaks with Craig Hewitt, founder of Castos, about the evolving landscape of podcasting. They discuss the shifting definitions and formats of podcasts, the importance of different content s...
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