Bob Dunn, a WordPress expert with 20 years running a marketing agency, says WordPress isn't as easy as people think and warns against stagnation. He tells beginners to focus on fundamentals instead of chasing every new thing, and credits continuous learning and humor as keys to happiness.
Chapters
Welcome to the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by WagsMedia. WagsMedia provides you with everything you need to generate more customers and grow your brand. Head on over to wagsmedia.com, W-A-G-S-M-E-D-I-A dot com, to enter a contest where you can win a free, done-for-you custom website valued at $2,500 for a limited time only. Now let's jump into the episode.
Alright everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Bob Dunn with us. He is a blogger and podcaster who teaches his readers and listeners how to grow their WordPress online stores and monetize their blogs without the BS or hype. And you can learn more about Bob at bobwp.com. So welcome to the show.
Thanks for having me, Tyler Wagner Wagner.
Of course, man. Grateful to have you here. I think it'll be a really valuable episode with your expertise. So we'll dive into the first one. The first question to learn a little bit more about you is what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
You know, it's interesting because I've lived quite a long life, so I have so many stories, and I had to think about that. I thought I'd kind of pull in a business story, a real, real succinct one, where I was speaking at and attending an e-commerce conference, and it was in San Francisco. And I walked in, and before the first morning, you know, walking in, before I could talk to anybody, this young man stepped up to me and he said, "Are you Bob WP?" A lot of people know me by that because of my brand. I said, "Oh, yeah." I wish I could remember what part of India he was from, but he said to me, he said, "I just want to thank you. I'm eternally grateful for you because you have taught me WordPress and because of you, I now am a full-time WordPress developer and making a living in India. Wow. And that was it. And I just, you know, it was like I wanted to just kind of say, okay, I don't even need to go to the conference. You know, I'm just going to get on the plane and go back home right now. This is, you know, I, but I think, but you know, it wasn't so much that it was like, wow, you know, this made me feel really good, but it made me realize what I really learned about that was that You never know who you're touching when you're out there podcasting, blogging, whatever. And you never know the effect you have on people. I mean, people don't always or can't take the time or, you know, I don't expect them to, but the impact you have, you just never know. And that's why I always tell people, don't sit there and go, oh, I'm not getting comments, I'm not getting ratings, I'm not getting whatever. You know, there's a lot of people that you are really touching and making a big difference and you'll never know it. And that's fine with me. But you know, those moments that you do hear it, you just go, wow, you know, this is worth it.
Yes, man. Dude, thanks for sharing that. That is like a very valuable lesson there. And the next one I have for you is what is the most valuable piece of information that we should know that is within your expertise or industry?
Well, being in WordPress, I'm gonna say that we all know in WordPress, just like everybody else knows, WordPress is not easy. I was trying to think of what should I say here? And it's true, a lot of people hype it up, oh, WordPress is easy, get in there, set up a blog, 5 minutes, bam, bam, bam. We all have been there, we've done it, we've all been at that beginning point sometime, and we know it's not the easiest thing. And it depends on your level of comfort with technology. If you are, you may catch on to it easier, and some people have quite a time. There is a learning curve, and the more you get into it, like any technology, the more you have to learn. So, you know, trust, trust us, we may— some people may say that in my industry, but we all know really it's not that easy. Once you get— once you learn it, yeah, maybe it becomes easier, but it does have a learning curve.
Yes. And I, and I have to chime in there and let everybody know that I 100% agree, and I could not figure it out myself. So that's why I use a service that's like a drag-and-drop builder of websites because yeah, WordPress was like, I don't know, man, it was way over my head.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then a lot of people, I mean, I taught beginners for years and years, so I know this and I feel their pain.
So, and that kind of leads perfectly into the next one. So kind of two parts to the next one I'd like to ask. So what's your best piece of like overall business advice? And then kind of like what you just stated, if somebody were to just be starting out in WordPress, like a beginner, what is the first thing that you would like teach them or show them or like tell them?
Yeah, overall business advice. I ran a marketing company for 20 years before we got into WordPress, and I found during that time, since when I first became a freelancer in 1987, be flexible. You've got to be flexible to be in business. You've got to, you know, you can't get stagnant. You've got to be open to new ideas and you've got to always be changing or else it's going gonna kill you. As far as what somebody starting in WordPress, you know, get to the basics. Just find something that's basics and find, you know, don't get, don't go down the Google rabbit hole, you know, find some sites that maybe, you know, I don't want to necessarily recommend sites that maybe I think are better, but you know, there are sites out there that have nice sequential stuff. But just kind of get a grip of the basics and then decide at that point, is this what I want to dive into deeper and stuff? Don't, you know, don't do it because it's the thing to do or everybody's pushing you to do it. Get in there and find out if it's right for you.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
You know, I would probably not listen to myself as a younger self is the thing. And that's a thing I'd look like, yeah, go away, old man. I don't need to hear this. But, you know, I think I look back on it and I think of all the things I've done, good things, screwed up things or whatever, it, I don't know, it probably would have changed and it would have changed who I am today. So as maybe lame or as simple as it sounds, if I saw myself, I would say, hey, I know what's ahead of you. Just enjoy the ride, Bob. You know? Experience it. You gotta experience it. No matter what I say or suggestions I give you, you'll probably blow them off at some point anyway. You've got to experience it yourself, so just go for it.
And, uh, probably leads in perfectly to the next one. In your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
Oh man, um, I think learning, you know. I've kind of touched on that already. I've done it a lot. Keep on learning. Just always— it, it just keeps you going. It keeps your mind open, it keeps you fresh. Uh, I, I, you know, I would like to say laugh a lot too because I think humor is so important, and that kind of, you know, coincides with happiness. But the, the learning aspect is don't ever give up on learning and always be open to new learning.
And, uh, what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
Okay, you won't like this answer because I don't have a best book because I haven't read nonfiction for years. I blow off business books a long time ago, and I'm an avid reader of fiction. And I'd rather— yeah, I'd rather say, you know, even though there isn't a good one book I can— because I consume so much, so many books, it's just like I'm rabid with that. But what I do like about fiction compared to nonfiction is so much of it is based on facts, so much of it is based on real life that I learned so much more from fiction than nonfiction because I'm learning about all aspects of life and all aspects of people versus just one specific thing. So I just feel like I'm learning a lot more about the world around me through fiction than I could through nonfiction.
Hmm. No, and I don't not like that answer. It's interesting because some people have actually said fiction books and I am like you but with nonfiction. Fiction. I'm audiobook, like 2x speed, probably like 2, 3 books a week or something, just like going. I've not gotten into fiction yet, but you and a couple others are starting to inspire me to maybe check it out. The next one I have for you is, "What is your favorite quote and why?" Okay.
Again, when I read this, I thought, "Man." I had to kind of revisit, and I got on Google, and I hate to say I got buried in George Carlin quotes for a long time because I love George Carlin, or loved what he did. But the one that I thought, okay, this is what— it was driving me nuts because I couldn't get it word for word, so I had to look it up. And it's one from Dr. Seuss, and it says, the more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go. And it's obvious why that is my favorite quote, because it's about the reading, it's about the learning, it's kind of been my mantra this entire, you know, 5 minutes. And I think it just pretty much says everything succinctly right there.
Yes, man. Dude, thank you so much for coming on. Um, the last question that I have for you before we let you go, and we kind of mentioned it at the beginning, but maybe there's a social media or if it's the same website, but where is the best place for people to find and/or connect with you online?
Website bobwp.com is great. And like my business card says, and honestly, this is what it says, it says just Google Bob WP. So you'll find me somewhere.
Okay, sounds great, man. Thanks again for coming on.
Thanks for having me, Tyler Wagner Wagner.
The podcast you just heard was published with Anchor. Got something you want to say to the creator of this show? Send them a voice message using the Anchor app, free for iOS and Android.
