Ditching Hourly

Hosted by Jonathan Stark

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407

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Oct 2026

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About the show

For solo professionals who want to make more and work less without hiring.

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60 recent

October 22, 2026Episode 4071 hr 5 min

Productivity Without Time Blocking - Reverse Interview with Clemens Adolphs

AI/ML consultant and self-described productivity nerd Clemens Adolphs joined me on Ditching Hourly for a reverse interview about my flexible alternative to time blocking. We geeked out about the “While-Awake Loop” system that I've been using to run my life for twenty years. 01:15 Clemens Tests the System 03:21 The Core Loop 05:02 Controlling Interruptions 07:10 What Belongs on the List 08:36 The Power of Recurring Reminders 17:02 Capture First, Clarify Later 24:48 Projects, Next Actions, and Digital Context 32:48 Errands and Contexts 35:35 Doing What You Feel Like 47:28 Reviews and System Maintenance 52:00 Why Time Blocking Fails 60:42 Who This System Is For Clemens is a co-founder and senior AI engineer at AICE Labs , where he helps non-technical founders and operators build the right thing, the right way, from strategy to production. He is also a productivity nerd with a long-standing interest in GTD, deep work, and practical systems for independent work. ---- Before you go! The next time someone asks you for your hourly rate, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to valuepricingbootcamp.com to sign up for my free value pricing email course. Hope to see you there!

October 15, 2026Episode 40649 min

Joel Miller - Nine Years After Ditching Hourly

In 2017, Joel Miller came on Ditching Hourly episode 33 to talk about his recent switch to value pricing. Nine years later, Joel and his identical twin brother Alan still run The Sky Floor as a two-person shop. They do all the client work themselves, their average client has been with them for eight years, and they haven't hit a famine cycle in a long time, so they're not hungry for leads. Best of all, Joel has gone from working 80-hour weeks and making “a hilariously tiny fraction” of what he makes now to working normal hours and turning off his notifications at night and on weekends. 00:00 - Meet Joel Miller 00:46 - The Sky Floor Then and Now 02:00 - The Why Conversation in Practice 06:12 - Building Client Lifetime Value 08:50 - The Client Who Came Back 10:48 - Value-Based Monthly Retainers 12:26 - Scaling Without Headcount 16:03 - Indirect Word of Mouth 18:08 - What Keeps Clients for a Decade 25:25 - Spotting Hidden Opportunities 29:01 - Think Like a Business Owner 37:22 - Curiosity and the Entrepreneurial Spirit 41:53 - People Over Profits 44:51 - Never Stop Asking Why 48:36 - Where to Find Joel Joel Miller is the co-owner of The Sky Floor , a digital problem-solving agency he runs with his identical twin brother Alan. They started the company about 18 years ago as a web design shop in the Chicago area and now handle everything from websites and LMS systems to Google Ads and CRM replacements. Joel and Alan do all the client work themselves and have built long-term relationships averaging eight years per client. Joel appeared on Ditching Hourly episode 33 in 2017 to discuss his early experiments with value pricing. Try his free Capacity Tax tool to see whether a client is blocking your next growth move. ---- Before you go! The next time someone asks you for your hourly rate, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to valuepricingbootcamp.com to sign up for my free value pricing email course. Hope to see you there!

October 13, 2026Episode 40541 min

Rob Walling - Stop Building Stuff Nobody Wants

Software entrepreneur, author, and investor Rob Walling joined me on Ditching Hourly to explain why faster software development does not remove the need to validate a software product idea before building it. We talked about the future of SaaS in the age of AI, the 2-20-200 validation framework, customer conversations, finding ideas, turning client work into a product, starting marketing early, choosing an ideal customer profile, competitive research, and the advantages of vertical vs orthogonal vs horizontal product positioning. 00:00 - Meet Rob Walling 01:28 - Idea to Traction 02:45 - Who Builds SaaS Now? 05:18 - SaaS in the Age of AI 09:23 - Validate Before You Build 16:29 - Better Customer Conversations 17:47 - Finding and Choosing Ideas 20:46 - Turning Client Work into SaaS 26:24 - Market from Day One 28:53 - Find and Refine Your ICP 32:09 - Competitive Research and Positioning 35:48 - The DNA of a Great SaaS Business 38:26 - Vertical, Horizontal, and Orthogonal SaaS Rob Walling is a software entrepreneur, author, and investor. He hosts Startups for the Rest of Us , a podcast he said has run for 16 years, and co-founded TinySeed , where he invests in SaaS bootstrappers. He started Drip in 2012 and sold it in 2016. Idea to Traction is his sixth book and revisits the early stages of software entrepreneurship. Learn more and pre-order the book at Idea to Traction . ---- Before you go! The next time someone asks you for your hourly rate, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to valuepricingbootcamp.com to sign up for my free value pricing email course. Hope to see you there!

September 18, 2026Episode 40444 min

Bob Rogers - Designing Experiences That Change Behavior

Experience designer and BRC Imagination Arts founder Bob Rogers joined me on Ditching Hourly to explain how to create experiences that change behavior instead of merely entertaining. His new book, Deep Story , is a practical guide to doing exactly that. We talked about defining the change before choosing tools, looking past requested deliverables, finding the emotional connection between a brand and its audience, starting with the heart, and turning information into action. 00:00 - Meet Bob Rogers and Deep Story 01:57 - Lessons from Disneyland's Magic Shop 03:57 - It's All About Them 07:36 - The Audience Is the Instrument 10:27 - Failing Into the Right Career 12:24 - Define the Change Before the Tools 16:51 - Look Past the Requested Deliverable 20:11 - Hire the Team, Not the Idea 22:41 - Use Phases and Set Enduring Goals 24:53 - Find the Shared Emotional Trigger 27:55 - A Brand Is What the Audience Says It Is 32:09 - SCAD's Kitchen Table Story 35:35 - Start with the Heart, Then Focus 38:32 - Information Is Not Transformation 42:35 - Books and Where to Find Bob Bob Rogers is the founder of BRC Imagination Arts, where he has spent decades creating visitor experiences for corporations and museums. He began his career demonstrating magic at Disneyland and later developed concepts for films at Walt Disney Imagineering. His new book, Deep Story , presents a practical approach to building experiences that make an emotional connection and prompt action. Learn more at BRC Imagination Arts . ---- Before you go! The next time someone asks you for your hourly rate, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to valuepricingbootcamp.com to sign up for my free value pricing email course. Hope to see you there!

September 16, 2026Episode 40349 min

Paul Giese - The Power of Triple Specialization

NetSuite data migration consultant Paul Giese joined me on Ditching Hourly to share how triple specialization helped him build a highly referable, fixed-price consulting business. Paul explains how his accounting background, NetSuite expertise, and data-migration focus combine into a defensible niche, plus how specialization supports referrals, delegation, and value-based fixed fees. 00:00 - Introduction 00:20 - Paul's Background and Business 01:01 - From Accounting to Entrepreneurship 03:21 - Finding the NetSuite Migration Niche 06:02 - The Benefits of Specialization 12:07 - Becoming Easy to Refer 16:00 - The Three-Part Expertise Moat 20:48 - The Opportunity for Specialized Firms 24:10 - Moving from Hourly to Fixed Fees 29:08 - The Freedom of Fixed Pricing 31:08 - Building Trust and Reducing Risk 36:08 - Contractors, Delegation, and Quality 40:13 - Pricing by Value Instead of Volume 42:56 - Testing the Ceiling on Price 47:36 - Lessons and Closing Thoughts Guest Bio Paul Giese is the founder of Optimal Data Consulting, a firm specializing in data migration services for companies implementing NetSuite. With an accounting background from Baylor University and experience in Big Four public accounting, Paul has helped more than 100 clients migrate their data. Connect with Paul on LinkedIn or on his website . ---- Before you go! The next time someone asks you for your hourly rate, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to valuepricingbootcamp.com to sign up for my free value pricing email course. Hope to see you there!

August 28, 2026Episode 40252 min

Nick Richtsmeier - The Damn Rules

Growth consultant and author of The Damn Rules, Nick Richtsmeier joined me on Ditching Hourly to talk about why internet-based inbound marketing systems have stopped working, aren't coming back, and what might work instead. 00:27 Nick's Background and Work 01:10 Why the Internet Is Toast 03:09 What Distribution Means Now 04:36 Inbound as Attention Arbitrage 07:56 The Attention Economy Is a Casino 13:37 Five Major Disruptions 22:36 Trust and Attachment as Scarcity 25:34 Friction as a Load-Bearing System 30:10 Restoring Trust Through Human Contact 35:01 Selling When People Are Scrolling 39:19 Notice Meetings and Relationship Networks 41:47 Why Friction Polishes Ideas 50:37 The Damn Rules and Closing Thoughts Nick's bio: Nick Richtsmeier is the creator of Trust-Made Growth® and the author of The Damn Rules: How Vulnerability, Inefficiency, and Love Liberate Leaders from the Trustbroken Economy, a strategist and cultural navigator helping founder-led, relationship-driven firms build durable businesses in the age of AI extraction and from the wreckage of the trustbroken economy. Nick's links: Personal » https://nickrichtsmeier.com Book » https://nickrichtsmeier.com Newsletter » https://damnrulesbook.com LinkedIn » https://linkedin.com/in/nickrichtsmeier Podcast » “Damns Given with Nick Richtsmeier” available on all major platforms ---- Before you go! The next time someone asks you for your hourly rate, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to valuepricingbootcamp.com to sign up for my free value pricing email course. Hope to see you there!

August 21, 2026Episode 4011 hr 10 min

Jason Cohen - Hidden Multipliers

Double-unicorn founder (WP Engine and A Smart Bear), Jason Cohen, joined me on Ditching Hourly to talk about the ideas behind his new book, Hidden Multipliers. We talked about using AI as a facilitator rather than an answer machine, choosing ideal customers, differentiating a consulting business, how AI is changing SaaS and software work, and why writing can help you think in public. Chapters 00:00 - Introduction 01:56 - AI Skills as Facilitators 04:16 - Choosing Your Best Customers 09:42 - Building Strategy Around Yourself 13:40 - Defining a Market 22:29 - Problems, Alternatives, and Categories 27:00 - Differentiating Consulting Services 33:58 - The Fear of Closing Doors 38:02 - Who Hidden Multipliers Is For 41:14 - AI and the Future of SaaS 49:33 - Why Expertise Still Matters 53:24 - Distribution and Fast Followers 59:13 - Worldview as Differentiation 61:03 - Writing to Think 68:28 - Where to Find Jason Jason’s Links The Book » https://shop.hiddenmultipliers.com/ The Skills » https://skills.asmartbear.com/ Jason’s Blog » https://longform.asmartbear.com/ Jason’s Podcast » https://smartbearlive.transistor.fm/ Jason’s LinkedIn » https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncohen/ ---- Before you go! The next time someone asks you for your hourly rate, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to valuepricingbootcamp.com to sign up for my free value pricing email course. Hope to see you there!

August 11, 2026Episode 40044 min

Bill Sherman - Scaling Thought Leadership

Thought leadership expert Bill Sherman joined me on Ditching Hourly to discuss how experts can scale their ideas to create impactful thought leadership. Bill shares insights from his extensive experience in helping individuals and organizations codify and amplify their ideas. In this episode, we delve into the nuances of thought leadership, from defining it to exploring business models and the importance of a focused target audience. Bill also discusses the impact equation and how to effectively communicate ideas to create lasting influence. 00:00 - Introduction to Bill Sherman 00:19 - Journey into Thought Leadership 01:51 - Defining Thought Leadership 05:41 - Emerging Thought Leaders 08:44 - The Thought Leadership Handbook 13:09 - Business Models of Thought Leadership 16:49 - Target Audience Importance 21:49 - Licensing and Certification 25:09 - Alternatives to Writing a Book 33:39 - Impact Equation 43:47 - Final Thoughts Guest bio Bill Sherman is the COO of Thought Leadership Leverage and lead author of The Thought Leadership Handbook. For more than twenty years he's helped executives, authors, and experts take their ideas to scale — and he co-hosts the Leveraging Thought Leadership podcast, now past 700 episodes. Website » https://aha-moments.com/ Book » https://thoughtleadershiphandbook.com/ LinkedIn » https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-sherman-aha-moments/ Podcast » https://thoughtleadershipleverage.com/thought-leadership-podcasts/ ---- Before you go! The next time someone asks you for your hourly rate, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to valuepricingbootcamp.com to sign up for my free value pricing email course. Hope to see you there!

August 7, 2026Episode 39952 min

Shannon Mattern - Strategic Pricing for Service Providers

Pricing strategist Shannon Mattern joined me on Ditching Hourly to discuss how to present pricing options in a project proposal based on the mindset of the buyer: investment-minded, expense-minded, and hustle-minded. In this episode, we dive into Shannon's Package Matrix method, a framework she developed to offer clients different levels of service and pricing options. We explore how to implement this strategy, manage client expectations, and ensure timely payments. 00:00 Introduction 00:25 Shannon's Background 01:24 Overcoming Pricing Challenges 02:24 Package Matrix Method 06:23 Implementing Package Matrix 10:58 Sales Process and Payment Terms 17:21 Handling Client Delays 20:58 Sales Cycle and Proposal Strategy 28:03 Presenting Proposals 39:51 Follow-up and Decision Deadlines 47:19 Final Thoughts and Resources Shannon Mattern is a pricing strategist and the creator of the Package Matrix™ Method. She's also the host of the Profitable Web Designer and Anchor High podcasts, and founder of Web Designer Academy, where she helps women web designers move from undercharging to premium pricing. You can connect with Shannon at https://shannonmattern.com or on LinkedIn at https://linkedin.com/in/shannonmattern ---- Before you go! The next time someone asks you for your hourly rate, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to valuepricingbootcamp.com to sign up for my free value pricing email course. Hope to see you there!

July 29, 2026Episode 39856 min

Wes Wheless - The Expert's Privilege

”Expertise whisperer” Wes Wheless joined me on Ditching Hourly to talk about turning corporate expertise into a solo consulting business. We talked about his new book, The Expert's Privilege , how corporate professionals can recognize transferable expertise, why visual IP helps consultants explain their work, and what to do before making the leap from employee to independent consultant. Chapters 01:35 - From Corporate to Consulting 03:48 - Pivoting Toward Solo Consultants 06:16 - Daily Email, Authority, and Visual IP 11:46 - The Expert's Privilege 18:36 - Why Corporate Experts Undervalue Their Skills 23:23 - Excavating Your Expertise 27:18 - Finding Your Zone of Genius 32:44 - From Self-Examination to Market Validation 35:30 - What to Do Before You Leave Corporate 40:22 - A Book Is FOR Someone 44:23 - Writing the Book With Support 52:06 - Launch Strategy and Early Results About Wes Wes Wheless is an "expertise whisperer," founder of Develop My IP, and creator of The Lightbulb, a daily email for corporates-turned-consultants. After two consecutive tech layoffs, Wes traded a 20-year corporate career spanning consulting, enterprise, and startups for a solo practice helping experts turn their knowledge into IP, frameworks, and "intellectual headshots." Wes holds business degrees from The Wharton School and Kellogg School of Management and lives in Seattle, Washington. The Expert's Privilege is his first book. Links Resources & Services: weswheless.com The Expert's Privilege : wesbook.com Buy on Amazon: buywesbook.com The Lightbulb email: lightbulbemail.com Fen Druadin, Book Midwife: fendruadin.com ---- Before you go! The next time someone asks you for your hourly rate, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to valuepricingbootcamp.com to sign up for my free value pricing email course. Hope to see you there!

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