John Morris May 3, 2017
Do you need a high IQ to be a developer?
This guy seems to thinks your genetics are all that matter…
John Morris May 2, 2017
Why I don’t use PHP frameworks
“They all suck!” That’s straight from the horse’s mouth. Rasmus Lerdorf, the creator of PHP. He went on to say: “While they all suck. Everyone needs a framework. What everyone doesn’t need is a general purpose framework. Nobody has a general problem. Everyone has a very specific problem they’re trying to solve. And a general purpose framework, while it can solve it, it usually solves it in a way that you get so many other things that you don’t need… that ends up being done on every request.” He goes onto recommend using “targeted frameworks” for targeted problems: “Usually, I
John Morris February 2, 2017
Like taking code from a baby
Remember that post a few days back… Where I said this: “Especially considering I basically had to harass them to get paid each month for the work that I’d done (probably Bernie supporters… ya know).” Heh. Those of you who been round these parts a bit know how that went. This is ONE of the responses I got: “I am a supporter of Bernie Sanders. One od the few USA politicians I have respect for. Since John Morris really likes to throw around really stupid and insulting associations regarding Mr. Sanders, I do not want to have anything to do with
John Morris January 27, 2017
Sherlock Holmes’ coding secret
I’ve been on this obsessive Sherlock Holmes kick lately. (I know, I know… NERD ALERT!) One of the funny things about the show is how they try to “visualize” the way he thinks. He’ll have all these obscure details in his head that he’ll parse through and eventually put together to have his big “aha” moment. And his big “secret”… Is the ability to simultaneously hold the big picture in his mind… While he dives into weird details to find new clues. (The episode on “The Woman” is particularly… ahem… “entertaining”.) It’s very much like being a web developer. Building
John Morris January 24, 2017
The Jon Snow of web development
I had this client once. Pretty well-known online. And, I helped them build, what turned out to be, a very successful membership site… from scratch. I actually built an entire custom WordPress theme just for their site. And, I stuck around for several years helping with any issues, adding new features… I even helped out in their support. But, I always felt like the Jon Snow of the group. They had little get-togethers and I was never invited. They’d take their team on vacation… but not me. Always shout out their “team” on social media… but not me. (I mean
John Morris January 22, 2017
Yoda smacks down timid developer
When I first started teaching my little brother to code… He was a timid little fraidy cat. (And, not the cute “supermodel in a cat costume” kind, either. Honestly, his “shy little kitty cat” routine was more of the “Michael Moore in a tube top” kind. Gross and a bit disturbing. Just sayin’.) Always worried he was getting this or that wrong. Having me check everything he did. And, every time I’d push him to write something HIS way… he’d say, “I’ll try”. Which made me madder than a Hillary Clinton supporter on election day. Finally, one day, I went
John Morris January 14, 2017
Old lady accuses me of being a sorcerer
The other day, I told you my mummy’s story. Got lots of reaction to that. Including my mom. Here’s what she said: “So did you put a recording device in my head and record all my thoughts and feelings because I couldn’t have explained it any better. In fact I think you did it better than I could have. And yes I love what I do now. I save lives wether it be a homeless dog or a horse that no one else can handle. Training horses and dogs are my life now and I love it.” No mother… I’m not
John Morris January 13, 2017
How this woman finally escaped 9 to 5 hell
I know this is gonna be a bit different. But, I want to talk honestly with you about this. Even if, it’s a bit weird. I know this woman. She spent her whole life doing the “practical” thing. Got a good job. Worked hard. Always tried to do the right thing. Provided for her family. She was a good woman. And, she was miserable. She never felt fully appreciated at work. She often found herself working for some unsavory dude… but couldn’t quit because she had kids to feed. And, the thing that really got her… she always just felt
John Morris January 11, 2017
Eat the frog if you wanna be a web developer
Mark Twain once said: “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.” (For you frog-leg-eating weirdos… probably not a big deal.) What he meant was… Your frog is your biggest, most important task for the day. Probably the thing you’re dreading but know you should do… and will likely procrastinate on if you think about it too much. (Which, for me, is cleaning the cat litter box in my house. Blek.) So, each
John Morris January 4, 2017
How to Find Your Niche In Web Development
Got this comment on Ytube the other day: I have trouble with getting a job. I know many web technologies, but i’m not expert in any of them. I can’t get enough experience in one technology, just by learning by myself. Bonus points if you can guess what the mistake is. Here’s a hint… Also got this comment: 1 Year ago, I was a php noob and I had no clients. Today, I have 15+ clients and I am working on 4 new client sites right now. I am booked until 2017, and I have been having to actually turn
John Morris October 7, 2016
Is PHP Dead?
Critics have been saying PHP was dead for years now. But, here it is… still tickin’ away… picking up market share and powering the web. Matter of fact, one of the harshest criticisms I’ve seen on PHP… comes from a WordPress blog. Ya know, built on PHP. But, with the rise of frameworks like NodeJS and the resurgence of Python… Has PHP seen its last days? Should you invest time learning it? Or, will it be obsolete in 5 years? I tackle that in today’s podcast. Give it a listen [smart_track_player url=”https://soundcloud.com/johnmorrisonline/jms129-is-php-dead” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” ] Plus, I snuck
John Morris September 6, 2016
Job-Getting Secrets From the Former CEO of Burberry
Angela Ahrendts is the former CEO of Burberry… a 3.2B/year company with over 10,000 employees. She’s credited with resurrecting the brand and raising the value of the company from 2B to 7B during her tenure. She was even reported to be the highest paid CEO in the UK as of 2012. She’s since left and went to Apple. She was hired as the Senior Vice President of Retail and Online Stores and is the highest paid executive (according to SEC filings)… making even more than CEO, Tim Cook. While still at Burberry, she did an interview with Sal Khan of
John Morris August 15, 2016
How Jerry Seinfeld Made His Millions
In 1998, Jerry Seinfeld made $267 million from the final season of his show, Seinfeld. On the way out, NBC begged him to do a 10th season… at 22 episodes at $5 million per episode. He declined. Yet, to this day… he makes $32 million per year in syndication deals. One night, backstage at an event, comedian Brad Isaac asked Jerry if he had any tips for a young comic. This is what he said: [smart_track_player url=”http://soundcloud.com/johnmorrisonline/jms127-how-jerry-seinfeld-made-his-millions” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” ] If you get value, be sure to like it and also share it with the developers you know
John Morris August 12, 2016
7 Magic Words That Overcome Hiring Objections So You Can Land That IT Job
Mike P’s story is quite unique. Just three years ago, he was a broke college student, working at a factory, frustrated about the direction his life had taken. And desperate for a way out. Now, just three years later… he’s Senior Consultant and one of Fortune’s 500 fastest growing companies, his clients are a who’s who of the top companies in the world and he earns a cool 6-figures doing it. Someone who’s made that kind of transformation has to have a few tricks up his sleeve. Fortunately, he was recently in town and I locked him in my studio
John Morris August 11, 2016
How to Answer IT Job Interview Questions
She stopped me mid-sentence and said: “Ok look. I’m really not supposed to do this, but I don’t want you to leave the building. Wait right here for a second and I’m going to see if I can get this expedited. Wait one minute.” I sat there for a few minutes wondering, “what the hell?” She finally came back and said: “Ok, come with me.” We walked back to the HR department and she sat me down next to a desk and said: “This is [Sally]. She’s going to process everything for you. We’re going to hire you right now.
John Morris August 8, 2016
The Embarrassing Secret Big Tech Companies Don’t Want You To Know
[smart_track_player url=”http://soundcloud.com/johnmorrisonline/jms125-the-secret-most-developers-will-never-know-about-getting-an-it-job” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” ] [saf] I remember walking into the meeting sure the jig was up. I’d just got hired back to a company that several months earlier I’d walked out on mid-shift. And, not only did they hire me back… but I’d be getting a “promotion” to a management position. I’d wondered why they never asked about it during the interviews. Turns out a “glitch” in their system had failed to identify me as a former employee. But, it was fixed and now, just a couple days into my new job, I’d been found out. So, I
John Morris August 5, 2016
The Secret Most Developers Will NEVER Learn About Getting Hired At a Tech Company
I’m surprised more developers don’t do this. But before I get into that… I thought she was going to jump out of her chair. It was the first time I’d tried it and, to me, it felt kind of like awkward pandering. I knew my delivery was a bit off and it came out a bit funny… but apparently it didn’t matter. Her eyes lit up. She tried to hide it… but several years of sales had taught me how to read people… and she was excited. I was at a first interview for a job I really wanted. And,
John Morris August 4, 2016
How to Escape Your Day Job and Become a Full-Time Web Developer In Just a Few Months
[smart_track_player url=”http://soundcloud.com/johnmorrisonline/jms124-how-to-escape-your-day-job-and-become-a-full-time-web-developer-in-just-a-few-months” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” ] [saf] Several years ago, my little brother came to me desperate. I remember it distinctly. He had to drive to my house in a beat up 1970’s truck. On the way, it broke down twice so he had to stop, fix it on his own, then continue onto my house. I even had to send him some money halfway through so he could make it down. Needless to say, he was broke, frustrated and terrified for his future. He was also 3 years into his Computer Science degree. And, he’d convinced himself he
John Morris August 1, 2016
The REAL Reason You’re a Web Developer
[smart_track_player url=”http://soundcloud.com/johnmorrisonline/jms123-the-real-reason-youre-a-web-developer” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” ] [saf] My son, Davin, is a bit of a rebel. He’s the kind of kid will give you that “suuuure” look if you say something he thinks is bunk. I’ve always had to have good reasons for the things I do with. He’s a skeptical, independent-thinking dude. And, I love him for it. So about the third time he’d gotten in trouble at school… For not following “directions” (orders)… I knew I had to do something different. He’s just not a “stand in line” type of guy. And, the last think I wanted to
John Morris July 29, 2016
Why WordPress Doesn’t Suck
Subscribe So You Never Miss An Episode [saf] Let me state it plainly… Using a tool like WordPress is by far the fastest way to jumpstart your web development career, carve out more time and leverage that time to learn new skills so you can get paid even more. Here’s a perfect example: “Hey, John. I want to thank you again for your advice on keeping an open mind about CMS’s. I completed an amazing site in 2 days that would have taken me months to build out from scratch. You have no idea how much your videos have helped me get out
John Morris July 20, 2016
How to Beat the Upwork Algorithms
I got this question on YouTube the other day: “How do I create a client base outside of freelance networks?“ Actually, I get this question a lot. And, usually, it comes from someone who’s about to send letters full of anthrax to the owners of Upwork (or Freelancer, Guru, etc) because they’ve tried everything and can’t get clients. Let me tell you a story… I often talk about what happened to me after I changed my approach on Elance and how I started sucking in clients like kids to a candy store. But, I talk less about what happened before.
John Morris July 19, 2016
What Will They Say About You?
[smart_track_player url=”http://soundcloud.com/johnmorrisonline/jms117-what-will-they-say-about-you” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” ] Subscribe to the Podcast [saf] Legacy. When I was in Iraq, I worked in a hospital. Whenever we had a “mass casualty” event, I would run up there and help out in whatever way I could. As you can probably imagine, I unfortunately saw a lot of people pass away. More than I’d ever care to really think about. That always stuck with me. How fragile and brief this life really is. How quickly it can all be taken away from us. And, I’ve always tried to live my life as if today
John Morris July 15, 2016
Read This Email Before Hillary Deletes It
[smart_track_player url=”http://soundcloud.com/johnmorrisonline/jms116-read-this-email-before-hillary-deletes-it” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” ] Subscribe to the Podcast [saf] I sent this out in an email the other day and I wanted to share it with you. But, BEWARE… read it before Hillary deletes it! 🙂 So, alot of hub-bub here in the good ‘ol U.S. of A about Hillary Clinton. Seems there’s two sets of rules… ones for the Clinton’s and ones for everybody else. That’s the word on the street anyway. Funny because this is true about a lot of things. For example… In the US, the top 1% of Americans earn 19% of all income.
John Morris July 13, 2016
The Truth About Freelance Web Design
[smart_track_player url=”http://soundcloud.com/johnmorrisonline/jms115-the-truth-about-freelance-web-design” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” ] Subscribe to the Podcast [saf] Sam, a supporting listener on Patreon, sent me this video the other day and wanted to know what I thought: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-mP-yYlzps Check out the video for the full story, but let me summarize what I think Mike Locke is ultimately saying: Freelance income is not sustainable and scalable because you’re ultimately just trading time for money like a regular job You shouldn’t focus on it as your end-all be-all for your career Use it as supplement to a job and focus long term on building a product for
John Morris July 12, 2016
Are You Too Stupid to Learn How to Code?
[smart_track_player url=”http://soundcloud.com/johnmorrisonline/jms114-are-you-too-stupid-to-learn-how-to-code” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” ] Subscribe to the Podcast [saf] You feel the tinge of anger just reading that title? It’s kind of funny, isn’t it? How aggressively we react to anything that even seems to question our intelligence. Something to pay attention to. Anyway… I remember the first time I questioned whether I was seriously not smart enough to be a coder. It was a very sobering moment for me. My whole life I’d always been told how smart I was. I’d always learned things really fast. I’d never had much trouble with school. In fact, school
John Morris July 7, 2016
Stop Watching Porn
[smart_track_player url=”http://soundcloud.com/johnmorrisonline/jms113-stop-watching-porn” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” ] Subscribe to the Podcast [saf] I think you’re smart enough to look past the title and know what I mean by all this. Here recently I got this email from Brian: “First of all I appreciate all the content you provide. I am 37 years old and dabbled with web development for about six months. I learned html, css, and basic php on my own. I actually made a practice business website for my brother-in-law’s auto body shop. It looked pretty good, was responsive, and the SEO got it to the first page of
John Morris July 6, 2016
Where to Start When Learning Web Development
[smart_track_player url=”http://soundcloud.com/johnmorrisonline/jms111-where-to-start-when-learning-web-development” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” ] Subscribe to the Podcast [saf] Got this question the Tube the other day: “can you guide me on what to do first? I’m a complete beginner at web development“ Do you hear the frustration like I do? Or maybe I’m just projecting given my own past with learning web development but I always sense this hint of frustration when I get questions like these. “Somebody just please tell me what to learn!?“ That’s how I read it. Anyway, let me tell what NOT to do. Don’t do what I did. And, what frankly
John Morris June 28, 2016
How He Got a PHP Job in 3 Months
[smart_track_player url=”http://soundcloud.com/johnmorrisonline/jms110-how-he-got-a-php-job-in-3-months” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” ] Subscribe to the Podcast [saf] I got this email over the weekend: “I have NO EXPERIENCE in PHP. I applied to a Job that said this: ‘Experience in PHP, MySQL, Ruby, or Haskell, and web languages such as CSS and HTML, are a plus.’ I only have basic experience in HTML5, CSS3, & Bootstrap3. No JS or PHP. I met with the owner today. Showed him my website (ChrisSeanLife.com). He liked my personality. Knows I’m not the best PHP developer but would like me to focus and grow in it. I literally only made my website
John Morris June 27, 2016
Beware This Coding Career Killer
[smart_track_player url=”http://soundcloud.com/johnmorrisonline/jms109-beware-this-coding-career-killer” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” ] Subscribe to the Podcast [saf] It’s interesting. I bet if you told most new developers that it was going to take them a year to learn a language like PHP, they’d throw themselves on the floor into fits of rage and desperation… frantically repeating, “Not me. Not me. Not me.” It just seems like too long for most. Then, there’s this email I received from Seven the other day: “Hey John I just wanted to say thank you for all the emails you sent out and all the hard work that you continue
John Morris June 23, 2016
What I Learned About Trust From a Door to Door Salesman
So, just the other day I had this Vault guy come to my door. Vault, if you don’t know, is a home security service. They install door and window sensors, cameras, wifi locks… that kind of stuff. And, this guy was offering a free system if I put their Vault sign in my yard. Afterword, I looked it up and I guess their systems run nearly two grand. So, this was a very appealing offer. And, having been in the Army for 11 years and traveled around the world a bit… security is something I take serious. Anybody who knows me…
John Morris June 21, 2016
Should You Learn PHP or Python? What About Django?
[smart_track_player url=”https://soundcloud.com/johnmorrisonline/jms106-should-you-learn-php-or-python-or-django” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” ] Subscribe to the Podcast [saf] Those of you who’ve been around a bit know I used to be an Al Bundy. Yes… I will come clean. I used to sell shoes. And, by the way, I was pretty damn good. I remember I once sold $8100 worth of shoes in one week… which was crazy for the chain I worked at. Double what was considered a good week. Anyway, of course, in the store we had all kinds of shoes. And, most of use who worked there were in love with the brand:
John Morris June 20, 2016
The Fastest Way to Learn PHP
[smart_track_player url=”https://soundcloud.com/johnmorrisonline/jms105-the-fastest-way-to-learn-php” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” ] Subscribe to the Podcast [saf] Today, I wanna go back to the question I asked that started this whole discussion about how to go about learning PHP. That question was: “What if I told you I could help you master PHP… to the point you could start earning your full-time income as a developer… in the next few months, what would you say?” The responses I get so often to this question go like this: “Where do I sign up?” “I would LOVE that.” “That’s why I’m here.” “Let’s do it!” “I would be
John Morris June 16, 2016
The EXACT PHP Skills You Need to Learn to Get Paid to Code
[smart_track_player url=”https://soundcloud.com/johnmorrisonline/jms104-the-exact-php-skills-you-need-to-learn-to-get-paid-to-code” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” ] Subscribe to the Podcast [saf] I chuckled a bit when I read it. You might have seen me ask this question. And I do it because I really want to know where you’re at because that’s the only way I feel I can really help you. So, I’d asked… “What if I told you I could teach you how to master PHP to the point you can start getting work building PHP applications… in just the next few months?” Now… getting off-subject a bit… that’s an interesting thing to ponder… What if? You
John Morris June 15, 2016
A Fry Cook’s Secret to Changing Your Life With PHP
[smart_track_player url=”https://soundcloud.com/johnmorrisonline/jms103-a-fry-cooks-secret-to-changing-your-life-with-php” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” ] Subscribe to the Podcast [saf] Not that long I was a fry cook at a local pizza joint. I clocked into work each day, in my ill-fitting uniform, wearing my funny hat and I’d spend the next 4-5 hours wallowing in grease, yes ma’am-ing and no ma’am-ing my way through the day. I was miserable. But, the thing that really ate at me was deep down I believed I was capable of so much more. I KNEW I was. And, I just couldn’t figure out how I’d let my life get to the
John Morris June 14, 2016
How to Make Web Design Clients Hate You
[smart_track_player url=”https://soundcloud.com/johnmorrisonline/jms102-how-to-make-web-design-clients-hate-you” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” ] Subscribe to the Podcast [saf] (Said in my nerd voice…) Well hello there fella! In this email I’m sending to you here today I will be thoroughly analyzing the concatenation of the data type integer and the coefficient of the third iteration of the for loop… Lol! Ok, I can’t do that. So, the other day I had this guy on YouTube comment: “Are you trying to be some kind of Guru, stop using so many flowery words and stick to talking like a dev.” Oh dear! Now, how do devs talk exactly again?
John Morris June 13, 2016
What’s Your Worth As a Web Developer?
[smart_track_player url=”https://soundcloud.com/johnmorrisonline/jms101-whats-your-worth-as-a-web-developer” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” ] Subscribe to the Podcast [saf] I met my wife in Iraq. Now, if you know anything about the military you know that there’s usually about 50-100 guys for every 1 female. And when you’re in another country, locked on a base… well you can imagine… She was clearly the prize. So are you. I’ve ran across this several times throughout my career. There’s a tendency among business people (your clients) to under-value developers. To look at you as a dime a dozen… and not always treat you with respect. You can hear it
John Morris June 9, 2016
The REAL Secret to Success In Web Development
[smart_track_player url=”https://soundcloud.com/johnmorrisonline/jms099-the-real-secret-to-success-in-web-development” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” ] Subscribe to the Podcast [saf] If you’ve been around these parts any amount of time, you know I get my fair share of hate mail… and I like to point out certain ones when I think there’s a deeper lesson to be learned. Well… here we go again! 🙂 I got this email the other day: “Now I know why people hate you so much!“ Lol! Okay? When I pressed on why, this is what I got: “You’re selfish and you think you are the best. Grow up dude. Be nice with people
John Morris June 7, 2016
The Case Against WordPress
[smart_track_player url=”https://soundcloud.com/johnmorrisonline/jms098-the-case-against-wordpress-and-bootstrap” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” ] Subscribe to the Podcast [saf] Let’s get more into this great debate, shall we? Thing is… This is important. There are too many new developers who fall hook, line and sinker for the “roll your own” mantra of the know-it-alls. You know, those devs who tend to greatly over-estimate their skills whilst sitting behind their keyboards… yapping about how everybody else is an idiot (duh) and should RTFM! And, it can stop you from realizing your dream of coding for a living… Heh. Not on my watch! All right, so here’s what I
John Morris June 6, 2016
WRONG About Pure Coders and The Future of Web Development?
[smart_track_player url=”https://soundcloud.com/johnmorrisonline/jms097-wrong-about-pure-coders-and-the-future-of-web-development” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” ] Subscribe to the Podcast [saf] Well, well well… A few of you think ol’ JMO was wrong in a recent episode of the John Morris Show. (How dare you!) Here’s the link to that episode for a refresher: https://johnmorrisonline.com/96 But, the gist of it was that you CAN start taking clients even if you only know HTML & CSS… and I was also kind enough to explain how to do it. Now, I also off-hand mentioned that most clients don’t care much about languages or if you use dev tools. And, they don’t! Maybe 1 in 1000
John Morris June 5, 2016
Can I Get Freelance Clients Even If I Only Know HTML and CSS?
[smart_track_player url=”https://soundcloud.com/johnmorrisonline/jms096-can-i-get-freelance-clients-even-if-i-only-know-html-and-css” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” ] Subscribe to the Podcast [saf] I always have to hold myself back because I know I’ll lose them. But, it’s just in my DNA. 🙂 This actually happened just the other day. I was at one of the local business meetup groups I belong to and was approached (again) about working on a website for one of the members. And my gut “nerd” instinct is to go full geek on them. But, you never go full geek. I got about two sentences into my verbal nerd-bomb and saw their eyes starting to glaze
John Morris June 2, 2016
Camera Phones and Surviving the Next 10 Years In Tech
[smart_track_player url=”https://soundcloud.com/johnmorrisonline/jms095-camera-phones-and-surviving-the-next-10-years-in-tech” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” ] Subscribe to the Podcast [saf] Can you even remember what life was like just 10 years ago? 2006. I barely can. The first iPhone wouldn’t be launched for another year. We were all walking around oohing and aahing at the RAZR because it had a camera on it… or wearing our thumbs raw scrolling on our BlackBerry’s. No Node. No Bootstrap. It’d be another four years before Ethan Marcotte penned his web-altering “Responsive Web Design” on A List Apart. PHP 4 was still the norm. Just 10 years ago! I believe that those
John Morris June 1, 2016
The Most Powerful 2-Letter Word In Web Development
[smart_track_player url=”https://soundcloud.com/johnmorrisonline/jms093-the-most-powerful-2-letter-word-in-web-development” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” ] Subscribe to the Podcast [saf] If I had a nickel for every time some random person sent me this: “Hey John. Send me your Skype ID and let’s chat.” Or… “Hey John. Here’s my code. Can you fix it?” Or… “Hey John. Send me some clients.” I’d be sitting on a beach somewhere, slurping a tall rum and coke, listening to some old-school hip-hop. My answer to all of these: NO. A few years ago, I was on the verge of giving up freelancing and web development all together. Funny thing was… it
John Morris May 24, 2016
On Upwork’s Pricing Change
[smart_track_player url=”https://soundcloud.com/johnmorrisonline/jms092-on-upworks-pricing-change” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” ] Subscribe to the Podcast [saf] Nobody owes you anything. Period. If you haven’t heard, Upwork just changed the fees it charges to freelancers. It moved from a flat fee of 10% to a “sliding fee structure” like this: First $500 of lifetime client earnings – 20% $500+ up to $10,000 – 10% $10,000+ – 5% And boy oh boy did the kids get angry! Check out some of these comments: “go hang yourself. I hope all your people leave and you are dead.” “U evil. Stahp.” “This is the worst policy any market place
John Morris May 23, 2016
Weekly Web Developer Q&A (5/20/2016)
[smart_track_player url=”https://soundcloud.com/johnmorrisonline/jms091-weekly-web-developer-qa-5202016″ social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” ] Subscribe to the Podcast [saf] It’s once again time for our weekly Q&A. If you sent me a question via email, Twitter, YouTube, Patreon, etc… check below. You may find your answer. Before, I get into the questions a BIG thank you to everyone supporting the show on Patreon. You are awesome and allow me to keep serving our community. I really appreciate it and I can tell you by the messages I receive on a daily basis that you’re helping change people’s lives. So, thank you! If you’re not a supporting listener
John Morris May 22, 2016
The 12-Step Freelance Profile Template: How to Write a Services Sales Page That Gets You Hired
I remember what it’s like. When I first started freelancing, I had no clue what to write on my profiles and services page. What was I supposed to say? What questions did clients need answered? Was there some big secret? In an earlier LinkedIn post, 5 Pages Every Web Designer Should Have on Their Website, I mentioned the 10 questions you need to answer on your profiles and services pages (and I’m still shocked to this day how well this works). Let me now go deeper into the full 12-Step Freelance Profile Template I use, cover the ten questions your clients need
John Morris May 19, 2016
How to Overcome Your Fear of Haters
[smart_track_player url=”https://soundcloud.com/johnmorrisonline/jms088-how-to-overcome-your-fear-of-haters” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” ] Subscribe to the Podcast [saf] “Annoying.” “Glib nonsense.” “F!@# off!” “You’re lame and not funny.” “You suck!” These are all real messages I’ve received from people. And these are the “safe-for-email” ones. They get plenty worse, believe me. What was my evil crime worthy of such contempt? Giving my opinion. Talking about the things I think are important for you as a developer. In a completely voluntary scenario. Now, don’t cry for me! Lol. Contrary to what my haters like to tell me, I couldn’t care less what they think. I don’t bring them up
John Morris May 17, 2016
The 6-Letter Word That Will Get You Paid to Write Code
[smart_track_player url=”https://soundcloud.com/johnmorrisonline/jms087-the-6-letter-word-that-will-get-you-paid-to-write-code” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” ] Subscribe to the Podcast [saf] People do not want your talent. They just don’t. Clients, bosses, customers… whomever you plan to get to pay you for your code… it’s not your talent they want. It’s another 6-letter word that people have paid endless amounts for since before the first computer sparked a single bit across the interwebs. When I built the Business Owner’s Council website for Inc. magazine, their guy who was managing the entire project had blasted through a litany of “talented” developers. A few of whom I knew. And, they were
John Morris May 16, 2016
Cheap SOBs. Twitter Troll Gets Owned On Why Freelance Clients Lowball
[smart_track_player url=”https://soundcloud.com/johnmorrisonline/jms086-cheap-sobs-twitter-troll-gets-owned-on-why-freelance-clients-lowball” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” ] Subscribe to the Podcast [saf] Ah the interwebs… They have a way of bringing the know-it-alls out of their mom’s basements and into the light for everyone to see (or point and laugh at). This guy, though… as far as trolls go, he takes the cake. Here’s a snapshot: Normally, I’d let this twitty-bird fly off without a word from the J-meister… but I see a lot of freelancers who deep down believe this same non-sense. Be honest, a lot of you reading this right now believe this: “Cheap SOBs”. That’s the crux
John Morris May 12, 2016
Listen To This When You Feel Like Giving Up On Web Development
[smart_track_player url=”https://soundcloud.com/johnmorrisonline/jms084-listen-to-this-when-you-feel-like-giving-up-on-web-development” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” ] Subscribe to the Podcast [saf] Charlotte Heffelmire is 19 years old, 5 foot 6 inches tall and weighs 120 pounds. But on November 28th, 2015 she lifted her dad’s 4500+ pound GMC Sierra off of his chest and (while still holding the truck) drug him (6’3″ 280 lbs) out from underneath it. It was Thanksgiving weekend… And the family had just finished dinner. Charlotte’s mom, Darmie, her three-month-old niece and two family friends had gone to the basement to relax. Her dad was holed up in the garage tinkering with his Sierra. At
John Morris May 10, 2016
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By the way, just hit 95K for the year. I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve taught me. You’ve changed my life. Thank you!
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I started this 3 days ago, following John’s suggestions, and I gained the Upwork Rising Talent badge in less than 2 days. I have a call with my first potential client tomorrow. Thanks, John!
Jithin Veedu
John is the man! I followed his steps and I am flooded with interviews in a week. I got into two Talent clouds. The very next day, I got an invitation from the talent specialists from Upwork and a lot more. I wanna shout out, he is the best in this. Thanks John for helping me out!
Divyendra Singh Jadoun
After viewing John’s course, I made an Upwork account and it got approved the same day. Amazingly, I got my first job the very same day, I couldn’t believe it, I thought maybe I got it by coincidence. Anyways I completed the job and received my first earnings. Then, after two days, I got another job and within a week I got 3 jobs and completed them successfully. All the things he says seem to be minute but have a very great impact on your freelancing career.
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I’ve been in an existential crisis for the last week about what the heck I’m doing as a business owner. Even though I’ve been a business for about a year, I’m constantly trying to think of how to prune and refine services. This was very personable and enjoyable to watch. Usually, business courses like this are dry and hard to get through…. repeating the same things over and over again. This was a breath of fresh air. THANK YOU.
Waqas Abdul Majeed
I’ve definitely learnt so much in 2.5 hours than I’d learn watching different videos online on Youtube and reading tons of articles on the web. John has a natural way of teaching, where he is passionately diving in the topics and he makes it very easy to grasp — someone who wants you to really start running your business well by learning about the right tools and implement them in your online business. I will definitely share with many of the people I know who have been struggling for so long, I did find my answers and I’m sure will do too.
Scott Plude
I have been following John Morris for several years now. His instruction ranges from beginner to advanced, to CEO-level guidance. I have referred friends and clients to John, and have encouraged my own daughter to pay attention to what he says. All of his teachings create wealth for me (and happiness for my clients!) I can’t speak highly enough about John, his name is well known in my home.
Sukh Plaha
John is a fantastic and patient tutor, who is not just able to share knowledge and communicate it very effectively – but able to support one in applying it. However, I believe that John has a very rare ability to go further than just imparting knowledge and showing one how to apply it. He is able to innately provoke one’s curiosity when explaining and demonstrating concepts, to the extent that one can explore and unravel their own learning journey. Thanks very much John!
Misrab Mohamed
John has been the most important person in my freelance career ever since I started. Without him, I would have taken 10 or 20 years more to reach the position I am at now (Level 2 seller on Fiverr and Top Rated on Upwork).
Who else wants to build a thriving freelance business?
I’ve helped 39,413 other freelancers start and grow thriving freelance businesses. Are you next? Subscribe to my Freelance Secrets newsletter and I’ll show you how.