How to Grow a Successful WordPress Business

I spent this weekend in Kent, Ohio at WordCamp Kent, where I was given the opportunity to speak on business growth. This was the perfect venue to me to tell our story since it really began at WordCamp Las Vegas 2013.

Our business started in March of 2006, bur our real story started in December of 2013. Until that time, we’d been a word-of-mouth, referral only business. We worked part time. We never knew where our next job was coming from and some months we didn’t even get paid.

But in 2013 we went to WordCamp Las Vegas and came back with a wealth of knowledge we didn’t have before, about everything from blogging to proposals, to business management, SEO, working with clients, workflow, productivity and more. I took so much away from that conference and I started putting it into practice immediately. And we saw results almost immediately and have seen steady business growth ever since.

I credit the things I learned at WordCamp Las Vegas 2013 with the growth of Sumy Designs to date, and I finally felt ready to give back. I wanted to share our story of business growth with the hope that someone else might take away a few things that help them grow their business too.

Yes, I am wearing a Starbucks apron. The keynote speaker, my friend Carrie Dils, spoke about how working at Starbucks and wearing that green apron gave her permission to come out of her box, be friendly, and talk to more people with confidence, so I asked if I could borrow the green apron for my talk. 🙂 Who am I to question the power of the green apron?

Turns out that teacher voice never leaves you even if you leave teaching, so I felt more comfortable in the front of the room than I expected to feel.

This is why I love the WordPress community. So many people are willing to get up, talk about their experiences, and give back without getting anything in return. I’m so happy that I stumbled into WordPress when I did, not knowing about all the great people who love WordPress too.