Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur
779 episodes - English - Latest episode: 28 days ago - ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsThis podcast is for aspiring entrepreneurs and technologists as well as those that want to become a designer and implementors of great software solutions. That includes solving problems through technology. We look at the whole skill set that makes a great developer. This includes tech skills, business and entrepreneurial skills, and life-hacking, so you have the time to get the job done while still enjoying life.
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Episodes
A General Anti-Pattern Definition - New Season Kick-off
May 06, 2019 10:00 - 17 minutes - 24 MBIt is time to kick off a new season. Thus, we will set the tone by providing a general anti-pattern definition. Spoiler alert, this season will focus on anti-patterns much like we did software patterns of design a few seasons back. We will drift away from software design and implementation at times due to the more general applicability of anti-patterns. Finding An Anti-Pattern Definition There are a number of functional definitions out there. However, we will go to the source of trut...
Success vs. Successful
May 03, 2019 10:00 - 29 minutes - 41 MBSome recent pondering has me considering the whole idea of being successful. I think we can find success and happiness without worrying about being successful. To the contrary, a focus on success alone is more likely to lead us to short-term goals and fulfillment over the long run. Success Is Tactical The beautiful thing about determining success is that it is well-defined. We either achieve a goal (and thus success), or we do not. This is often a black or white situation. I either ...
Creating a Podcast - Not Just a Lot of Talking
May 01, 2019 10:00 - 26 minutes - 36 MBThere are a vast number of tutorials for creating a podcast. These cover the technical issues and often include some suggestions to help you be successful. In this episode, I explore your attitude, desires, and whether a podcast makes sense for you. It often needs to be a labor of love. Thus, we start by examing that. Creating A Podcast Topic It is probably stating the obvious when I say a podcast starts with a topic. However, that does not always seem to be the case. A general con...
Writing A Book - What You Should Know Before You Begin
April 29, 2019 10:00 - 27 minutes - 37.2 MBOne of the popular suggestions for passive income is writing a book. There are some pros to doing so. However, it is not a project to be undertaken lightly. Whether you are aiming for a fiction or non-fiction work, there is a lot of effort beyond putting words on paper. Here are some things that will help you decide whether this is something you genuinely want to do. Writing a Book Includes a Lot of Writing It will come as no surprise to you that a book requires a lot of writing. In...
Habits, Roadmaps, and the Value of Career Momentum
April 26, 2019 10:00 - 24 minutes - 33.4 MBWhen we think of our professional lives, the result is a marathon, not a sprint. Thus, there is a need to develop a form of career momentum that can get us through those long years. There are a variety of ways to accomplish this goal. That means we can look at several approaches to keeping our career on a forward path even in light of all that life throws at us. Career Momentum Is Key I have found that momentum is the most significant contributor to keeping my career on track. This h...
Adding Soft Skills To Advance Your Career
April 24, 2019 10:00 - 22 minutes - 31.5 MBIt is probably not going to shock you to find that soft skills are an essential piece of success in your career. Technical skills are your primary asset. However, soft skills will help you apply those technical ones is the most effective way. It also seems that the technical side becomes less a factor in advancing as you move into the advanced stages of a career. Oh No, Sales Skills The natural introversion of many technical professionals goes against the classic idea of sales. We te...
Advancing Your Career Through New Challenges
April 22, 2019 10:00 - 22 minutes - 31 MBAs you move through the years, you might find that advancing your career becomes a more significant challenge. There was so much to learn when you started. However, you now have a lot of knowledge under your belt. Never fear, there is still a world full of opportunities for you to advance to that next level. Expand Your Reach No one learns without stepping out of what they know. If you find yourself overly comfortable in your current position, it is time to move. That does not mean ...
Giving Back As A Mentor, Coach, and Lead
April 19, 2019 10:00 - 23 minutes - 32 MBWe have looked this week at how to get the most out of mentors and teammates. However, we also should think about giving back. There will be opportunities to teach, lead, and even mentor others. I have found these situations are as much a blessing to us as they are the recipients. Therefore, we should embrace these sort of opportunities where we can. Learn By Teaching The first point to consider is how teaching someone is a way to learn. In the simplest form, we ask someone to say b...
Learning From Peers, Teammates, and Co-Workers
April 17, 2019 10:00 - 21 minutes - 29 MBThere are a wealth of teachers in our professional community. I have found the most common contributor to my success is learning from peers. The people around us that we include in our daily interactions are also factors in how we learn or solve problems. Let's look at how to make the most of this prevalent resource. Everyone Brings Value The most significant factor in know-it-all being a bad attitude is the impact it has on our ability to learn. Yes, you may be considered gruff or e...
Finding Mentors To Advance Your Knowledge and Career
April 15, 2019 10:00 - 23 minutes - 31.8 MBThere are many tools that will help us keep up with technology and even advance our career. These have differing values. However, finding mentors is often at the top of the list of high-value options. While there can be a lot of time and money spent on finding a mentor, that is not the only way. There are plenty of potential mentors already in your life. Co-Workers and Professional Associates The best place to look for a mentor is among the people you already have a regular relations...
Developer Tool Categories You Should Know
April 12, 2019 10:00 - 22 minutes - 30.5 MBWhile we have discussed a broad range of tools over the years. There are a lot of good ones out there that are free and even better ones that are commercial. Well, in most cases. It can be incredibly time-consuming and challenging t keep up with all the options out there. However, we can make it easier on our learning schedule by reducing our focus to developer tool categories. What Are Some Developer Tool Categories? When you think about your ability to make use of tools, it becomes...
Increasing Productivity and Quality With Proper Tools
April 10, 2019 10:00 - 20 minutes - 28.9 MBOne of the side effects of becoming a better developer is increasing productivity and quality. You literally get more value from time spent on a task. These improvements can come through skills or through using tools. That is the focus of this episode. Part of becoming a better developer is adding to the list of tools available for a task. One Trick Ponies Unfortunately, there are developers that master a tool or two and never advance from them. While they are very productive with w...
Enhancing Your Resume With Development Tools
April 08, 2019 10:00 - 21 minutes - 29.6 MBA big part of advancing your career includes enhancing your resume. There will be new skills you pick up along the way, and it helps to let others know about them. This consists of the tools you use in your daily work. Even those that you use occasionally can be the first step into a new job. Enhancing Your Resume, Not Spamming Key Words First and foremost, this topic is not about spamming your resume with tool names. Instead, this should be an exercise of putting things on your resu...
Researching New Tools and Technologies
April 05, 2019 10:00 - 20 minutes - 27.8 MBLearning for our personal purposes is not the limit of what IT workers are asked to do. There are also situations where we need to learn the latest tools or technology advances. Unfortunately, these are not often tasks assigned to junior staff. However, researching new tools is an excellent way to add to our resume and general skill set. Therefore, we should take on these assignments when they become available. Researching New Tools For A Project An assignment to research technology ...
Career Advancement Through Training and Conferences
April 03, 2019 10:00 - 23 minutes - 31.7 MBThere are many ways to add to our skills and advance our career. While on-the-job learning is essential, formal learning situations can move the ball forward at a faster pace. Training and conferences fit this bill perfectly. However, the cost of one of these options can be more than our employer (or we) are willing to take on. Plan For Training and Conferences Budgeting is critical. This is true no matter if you are paying the bill or you are asking your boss for the company to cove...
Learning New Tech Skills On The Job
April 01, 2019 10:00 - 23 minutes - 31.7 MBAn IT career demands that we include learning new tech skills as part of our regular routine. This requirement often leads to a lot of time spent on career development. However, there are ways to make progress on this goal in our daily work. Thus, allowing us to kill two birds with one stone as the saying goes. Learning New Tech Skills - Startups The best situation for drinking from the firehose is a startup. You will have more to do than you can handle and that equates to learning. ...
Playing Your Professional Role as An Employee or Consultant - Career Intangibles
March 29, 2019 10:00 - 22 minutes - 30.4 MBWe all have seen situations in our career where we are asked to play a role. The role is sometimes a broader one than we are used to. However, we can also be asked to play a role that is only a piece of what we can provide. In either case, we need to fulfill the desired role and add value without overstepping our boundaries. Employees are often given more freedom in this area which can make a large challenge as a consultant. Playing Your Professional Role Is About Expectations Every ...
Best Practices For Travel and Related Expenses
March 27, 2019 10:00 - 22 minutes - 31.2 MBA side hustle does not preclude travel. Thus, sooner or later you will face the question of how to handle travel and related expenses. You might not have to wait. Your employer may send you away for your day job and you will be faced with the same challenges. Where large companies often have highly detailed processes, procedures, and limits for travel, smaller ones often do not. Therefore, we are left to use our common sense and set expectations. Common Travel and Related Expenses W...
Consulting Intangibles - Building Relationships
March 25, 2019 10:00 - 20 minutes - 28.6 MBAn excellent measure of long-term success is how much your customers like you. Thus, building relationships are a critical part of your job. You may have the skills to be able to stay busy without the "personal touch." However, life will be simpler when you create some advocates along the way. Building Relationships Organically Your primary focus should be solving problems. When you do this, it is hard for people to not be positively biased towards you. We have a hard time disliking...
Explicit and Implicit Project Deliverables
March 22, 2019 10:00 - 22 minutes - 30.7 MBWe have touched on the idea that there are explicit and implicit project deliverables in most cases. These may be due to our customer simplifying a solution or general prerequisites and best practices. Some common implicit project deliverables include documentation, test scripts, demonstrations and the like. We need to take all of these into account for our estimates and risk calculation. A Complete List I have found that one of the most significant contributors to bad estimation in s...
Deliverable Packaging and Creating a Customer Experience.
March 20, 2019 10:00 - 20 minutes - 28.4 MBWhen we complete a project for a customer or employer, we give them a product. Thus, there is a form of deliverable packaging that we need to consider for that hand-off. This concept may be confusing, but it is not complicated. You do not need to shrinkwrap a box with a USB drive in it or anything like that. Instead, we are focused on documentation, scripts, and how you hand over the final product. The Simple Stuff When your deliverables are source code or a single document, then lit...
Project Deliverables, Quality, Guidelines and Best Practices
March 18, 2019 10:00 - 23 minutes - 31.7 MBSooner or later, every developer is asked for project deliverables. This may be source code, binary files, or full-blown documents. No matter which of these is required, the best approach is to make sure these are complete. Thus, let's look at some guidelines, suggestions, and best practices to help you nail this part of your job. Follow The Instructions First and foremost, follow directions. We should have learned this in grade school. Just as in those educational exercises, projec...
Communicating Progress and Status - Consulting Tips
March 15, 2019 10:00 - 20 minutes - 28.1 MBNo matter how good you are at your job, sooner or later communicating status will be required. A helpful hint is to avoid waiting until this becomes a requirement. Instead, get in the habit of regularly reporting your progress and status to your boss. Since this is a regular task, you should find the proper balance between keeping it short and providing enough detail. A Weekly Status Template First and foremost, try to keep your status report to a single page. The commonly accepted p...
Your Code Repository and Ownership of Source - Consulting Tips
March 13, 2019 10:00 - 24 minutes - 33.5 MBA software consultant brings intellectual tools with them as well as applications. This capital comes in the form of experience and also the more concrete source code. That includes anything you take advantage of in your personal code repository. Although we typically are not fans of legal issues, we do need to spend the time reviewing contracts and ownership rights before we jump into that project or use our library. Using Your Code Repository There are two issues to understand when ...
Developer Tools and Licenses as a Consultant (or Employee)
March 11, 2019 10:00 - 21 minutes - 29.5 MBOne of the common aspects of consulting that is missed is clarity about developer tools and licenses. In particular, this obstacle is natural to overlook when you are used to being an employee. The challenge is not just being able to access the tools; you also have to navigate what can be used for your customers. Even more, there are applications you can use for your projects, but they are not licensed for your customers. Get Legal Developer Tools and Licenses Step one is to make sure...
Consulting Project Enhancements and Follow-Ups
March 08, 2019 11:00 - 20 minutes - 28.4 MBThe completion of a project is not necessarily the end of a customer relationship. To the contrary, consulting project enhancements are a common way to keep that relationship alive. When that fails, a follow-up project also has a higher likelihood of being won than a new one. Take advantage of these options to keep your business thriving. Consulting Project Enhancements The first path to review is pitching enhancements. These are almost a slam dunk if you take good notes during the p...
Writing Proposals and Winning Projects
March 06, 2019 11:00 - 22 minutes - 31.1 MBOnce you find a prospect your next step is turning them into a customer. In the IT world (as well as most other lines of business) this is done through a proposal. Therefore, writing proposals is a significant facet of growing a business. There is no black magic involved in this process; we just need some common sense. A Process for Writing Proposals Our focus on every project should be solving a problem or a group of them. Thus, the first step in our process for writing proposals is...
Finding Consulting Projects Without Cold Calls
March 04, 2019 11:00 - 23 minutes - 32.2 MBThe challenge of finding consulting projects is not one you should overlook. However, the first is the hardest. Once you have a couple of projects under your belt, you will find it easier to win additional work. We will cover the ways to grow existing business in another episode. For now, let's look at some ways to find prospects that are the easiest to convert into customers. Finding Consulting Projects on the Internet This problem is so common that a large number of sites have been ...
Fixed or Hourly Project Pricing
March 01, 2019 11:00 - 22 minutes - 30.7 MBOne of the critical choices in accepting a project is whether you will bill based on a fixed or hourly basis. The bottom line is that one approach places more risk on you as a provider. The other puts it on the customer. At least, that is the typical thought. However, you can adjust a fixed bid or how the hourly rate is paid to shift risk around. Fixed or Hourly as a Project Approach I think that this is a decision that should be considered far more from the basis of how the project...
Consulting Invoices and Getting Paid
February 27, 2019 11:00 - 24 minutes - 33.1 MBWhether you are running a side hustle or a full-blown business, at some point you will need to create consulting invoices. Well, unless you do not care about being paid for your work. This is a process that is often overlooked. However, the way you invoice can help you get paid on time, impress a client, and even market your services to expand the business. Consulting Invoices Are Not Redundant I have come across some consultants that feel like an invoice is redundant. Whether they ...
Setting the Price for Software Consulting
February 25, 2019 11:00 - 25 minutes - 35.2 MBThe most common discussion I have had around consulting is setting the price on my services. Yes, customers care about my rates. However, the conversations tend to be focused on what the pricing should be for the person with whom I am speaking. There is no silver bullet for this challenge. On the other hand, it is not as difficult as many of us think. Setting The Price Based on the Market The easiest way to figure out a good rate for your services is to look at the market. If you a...
Honest Communication Is Critical For Consultants
February 22, 2019 11:00 - 21 minutes - 30.2 MBThere is a book on having difficult conversations. The challenge is that we do not like having them. They tend to be difficult. Unfortunately, this can complicate honest communication. It is a challenge when we are trying to be positive and be seen as one that brings good news. It is even worse when we worry whether someone will shoot the messenger. Real News Over Good News The most common reason for hiring a consultant is to get another honest view of a situation. There is always ...
When To Vent (never) as part of Consulting Communication
February 20, 2019 11:00 - 22 minutes - 31.1 MBAs we continue to discuss consulting communication, we turn towards venting. This topic includes negative communication as well. To be clear, negative is not the same as disagreeing. You can stay positive while communicating a disagreement. We are held to a higher standard when in a consulting role and we should always remember that fact. Consulting Communication Stays Positive It may seem difficult or even impossible, but any professional communication you make as a consultant shoul...
CYA Documentation : Getting Started With Consulting
February 18, 2019 11:00 - 21 minutes - 29.7 MBThere are all sorts of documents that are needed for a consultant. However, the ones that provide a form of CYA documentation may be the most vital. This sort of communication is not only valuable in proving you did what you said, but it can also be a critical key to retracing your steps. Why Bother With CYA Documentation? A consultant is a temporary worker by definition. With that in mind, why should we even bother with protecting ourselves via CYA documentation? There is always the...
Plan For Disruptions - Getting Started With Consulting
February 15, 2019 11:00 - 25 minutes - 34.9 MBOne of the hardest parts of building a consulting career is the disruptions that always occur. This is a path that often follows the feast or famine roller coaster. Therefore we bounce between too much work to keep up and not enough to pay the bills. There are ways to soften the blow of these disruptions as well as those that are larger such as health or family issues. These more substantial disruptions can knock you off of your career path for months or years, and improper planning can ...
That Final Push - Getting Started On Consulting
February 13, 2019 11:00 - 23 minutes - 31.9 MBAs we look at how and when to start a consulting business (or project), it helps to consider timing. Sometimes you can select when to start, and other times the decision is made for you. In this episode, we look at that final push to get started on your consulting career. Circumstances Often Give That Final Push There is plenty of stories about people that were fired or laid off and forced into consulting. The safety of a day job disappeared and left only one viable option. It may se...
Getting Started - Preparing for Consulting
February 11, 2019 11:00 - 22 minutes - 31.4 MBThis season is focusing on lessons learned from a consulting career. A lot of the content can be found in the Develpreneur book. However, we will go a little deeper into getting that side hustle going. This episode kicks off the season by looking at some things to do in preparing for consulting or at least taking control of your career. Preparing for Consulting or Your Career It turns out that a lot of the work you need to do for a side hustle is just as crucial for your career. The ...
Season 7 and Beyond: Advancing Your Career
February 08, 2019 11:00 - 15 minutes - 21.7 MBThis is a perfect time for us to look ahead at season seven and beyond. We will continue providing content for advancing your career starting with a deep dive into the book. Each chapter will get a few episodes and will be expanded upon with those. This season will be a cross between an audio version of the book (abridged of course) and an addendum to it. More To Come For Advancing Your Career As we look ahead to the blog posts, podcast episodes, and presentations for this year we wil...
The Mentor and Mastermind Group - Bringing Accountability to Your Goals
February 06, 2019 11:00 - 13 minutes - 18.1 MBWe have run a weekly gathering for the last few years that is called our mentor and mastermind group. This is a resource we rarely push. However, it is an invaluable tool for anyone that wants a little help or a nudge to keep them moving forward in their career. If nothing else, this is a great way to hear about the experiences of others in the industry. Changes to the Mentor Program The big non-change going into 2019 is that we will keep the program free. Donations are always welcom...
The Source Code Of Happiness - A Develpreneur Book
February 04, 2019 11:00 - 19 minutes - 26.2 MBThis episode covers the new book "The Source Code Of Happiness" that is our first Develpreneur published work. It contains a lot of ideas that we have discussed in blog posts over the years. On the other hand, it ties things together and has a few new stories and suggestions as well. The Source Code of Happiness Of course, the book implies that reading it will help you find happiness. I will add a spoiler because you already know this. The way to true contentment and happiness is to ...
Software Design - The Observer Pattern and Series Wrap-Up
February 01, 2019 11:00 - 20 minutes - 27.8 MBWe wrap up the season with the observer pattern and a review of what we have learned. This pattern is one that you probably have already encountered. Instead of an observer, you probably have heard it called a listener. The Observer Pattern Defined As always, we will start with the "Gang of Four" intent to set the stage for our discussion. "Define a one-to-many dependency between objects so that when one object changes state, all its dependents are notified and updated automatically."...
Software Design - The Visitor Pattern
January 30, 2019 11:00 - 12 minutes - 17.8 MBThe visitor pattern is the last of the behavioral ones for us to review. This is going to feel similar to some others that allow us to abstract functionality such as a command. This one provides us with a way to group functionality and avoids duplication or even sprawl of our code. The Visitor Pattern Defined As always, we will start with the "Gang of Four" intent to set the stage for our discussion. "Represent an operation to be perfomed on the elements of an object structure. Visito...
Software Design - The Template Method Pattern
January 28, 2019 11:00 - 15 minutes - 21.9 MBIn the last episode, we looked at abstracting algorithms. Now we examine the template method pattern and how it allows us to abstract steps of an algorithm. Thus, providing a template for implementation while leaving the freedom for subclasses to handle the details. The Template Method Pattern Defined As always, we will start with the "Gang of Four" intent to set the stage for our discussion. "Define the skeleton of an algorithm in an operation, deferring some steps to subclasses. Tem...
Software Design - The Strategy Pattern
January 25, 2019 11:00 - 15 minutes - 20.8 MBOur review of the behavioral design patterns moves on to look at the Strategy pattern. This is one that you might not recognize from the name. However, it is relatively common in use (or at least it should be). The Strategy Pattern Defined As always, we will start with the "Gang of Four" intent to set the stage for our discussion. "Define a family of algorithms, encapsulate each one, and make them interchangeable. Strategy lets the algorithm vary independently from clients that use it...
Software Design - The Memento Pattern
January 23, 2019 11:00 - 15 minutes - 21.6 MBWe tackle the memento pattern in this episode. If you ever wanted to store the state of an object, then this is the one for you. You can think of this pattern as a way to take note of your instance and store it for later. The Memento Pattern Defined As always, we will start with the "Gang of Four" intent to set the stage for our discussion. "Without violating encapsulating, capture and externalize an object's internal state so that the object can be restored to this state later." The...
Software Design - The State Pattern
January 21, 2019 11:00 - 16 minutes - 22.1 MBIn this episode, we look at the state pattern. It is a design that uses object-oriented tactics to provide a class with very different functionality based on its current state. I think you will find this to be one that is not often going to be evident in your first pass of a design. The State Pattern Defined As always, we will start with the "Gang of Four" intent to set the stage for our discussion. "Allow an object to alter its behavior when its internal state changes. The object wil...
Conference Solutions - Free and Low Cost Tools
January 18, 2019 11:00 - 24 minutes - 33.5 MBThe number of conference solutions available out there can be overwhelming. A large number of them are free or close enough that it can make deciding on a solution a difficult task. Thus, we want to look at the well-known and well-supported solutions that fit our price range as well as the features we should look for in an application. Even if you only need to use conference solutions a time or two a quarter, this list will help you find a platform that matches your needs. Amazon Chime ...
Software Design - The Mediator Pattern
January 16, 2019 11:00 - 14 minutes - 20.5 MBWe spend this episode looking at the mediator pattern. This is a pattern that provides a great deal of flexibility. However, it is not used as often as it should be. The implementation does not always lend itself to a mediator. Instead, the design needs to be thought through enough to create one. The Mediator Pattern Defined As always, we will start with the "Gang of Four" intent to set the stage for our discussion. "Define an object that encapsulates how a set of objects interact. ...
AWS Services - New Since We Started and Looking Ahead
January 14, 2019 11:00 - 19 minutes - 26.7 MBWe started this series on AWS services in the late 3rd quarter of 2018. As we start in 2019, there are over a dozen new AWS services that have come online during that time. Although we have covered a few of these in an overview with one of the groups due to the timing of their release, most of these are yet to be looked at. AWS Services March On The good and bad news about these offerings from Amazon is that they do not show any sign of slowing down their advance. There are new servic...
Web Browsers - Free and Low Cost Tools
January 11, 2019 11:00 - 24 minutes - 33.8 MBThe Internet has become so pervasive that web browsers are everywhere. It is hard to find anyone that does not at least know how to launch one on their phone or desktop. Of course, there is more to be desired from your browser than merely surfing the web. All of these examples are free, and each has its strengths and weaknesses. If nothing else, here is an excellent way to expand your list of browsers that you use. Chrome This browser is from Google and available almost everywhere. ...