Bryce presented Lessons Learned Building a WordPress SaaS on Tuesday, March 14, 2017 at 5pm EST. You can also purchase the recording to watch at any time for just $19.
During this session, Bryce explained the lessons he’s learned and mistakes he’s made while building a custom reporting service for WooCommerce. In particular, we spent a lot of time talking about the logistics, costs, and challenges presented by creating a SaaS.
Without any further ado, here are Bryce’s answers to my interview questions.
Where can we find you on the internet?
I’m mostly on Twitter @bryceadams but also have a personal blog at https://bryce.se. I don’t have much time to write posts these days but when I do, they tend to end up on Metorik’s Behind the Scenes blog. Why? Well, they’re all mostly related to Metorik, so why not?!
When and how did you get started with WordPress?
Many years ago I made my first blog, which of course ran WordPress. Slowly over the years I needed to customise more parts of the blog and other blogs I built for friends, so I began picking up the necessary developer skills and eventually ended up with my first real job in the WordPress space at WooThemes, working in WooCommerce support.
What resources do you turn to when you want to learn something new?
I’m working with Laravel & Vue a lot these days, so mostly Laracasts. But honestly I just haven’t really had the time to invest in learning recently. It’s something I’d love to dedicate more time to though.
What is your favorite WordPress feature/aspect?
The action/filter system really is quite good and unique to WordPress. It makes extending WordPress really that simple, which is great since it allows people to start writing code in moments.
What is one surprising thing you’ve learned while building a software service?
It’s as hard as everyone says 🙂 Juggling 100 different things at once, wearing the hat of a developer, designer, marketer, CEO, etc. all at once is truly difficult. But also, more significantly, it’s truly fulfilling. Building something from scratch into something that puts food on the table, without relying on any one individual or company is an amazing feeling. On top of that, working with some of my amazing customers to hear about how Metorik helps them grow their own businesses is very inspiring and motivating.
Is there a lesson you’ve learned since starting Metorik that would have saved you a lot of time or headache if you had already known it before starting the project?
I can’t think of any specific lesson, but I try not to hold too many regrets, so not really. Probably just that building an entire app is hard, and maybe I would have spent more time learning about all the technologies I use beforehand, but I didn’t really have much time as I wanted to get started the second I could.
What advice do you have for others looking to become WordPress experts?
Build stuff. Anything. Learn, of course, but turn that knowledge into something tangible.
What is one interesting non-WordPress-related fact about yourself?
I used to own a few motorbikes/dirt-bikes and loved it!
Thanks Bryce!
If you want to learn more about selling a software as a service and you’re looking for a six month head start, make sure you register for Lessons Learned Building a WordPress SaaS.