Presentation for CoderCruise 2018

1. Taking Code on
the Road
Cindy Cullen
https://cullenwebservices.com/codercruise

2. 1980
Cindy Cullen
@cgcullen

3. Corporate
Cindy Cullen
@cgcullen

4. Kids
Cindy Cullen
@cgcullen

5. Teacher
● High School
● Home School
● Community College
● Online
● Elementary School
Cindy Cullen
@cgcullen

6. 1995-2003
Cindy Cullen
@cgcullen
● Homeschooling three children
● Started building websites in FrontPage
● HTML, PHP/MySQL
● Websites for Friends & Family
● Yahoo groups work from home opportunities & home schoolers
● Started getting serious about building a freelance business in 2003
● WordPress

7. Now
● Self-Employed - Freelancer
● Business Owner - Cullen Web Services
● Interns & Sub Contractors
● Teacher/Mentor
● Speaker
● Traveler
Cindy Cullen
@cgcullen

8. Our Home
Cindy Cullen
@cgcullen

9. Our Office
Cindy Cullen
@cgcullen

10. Our Home Base
● Required for a bank account and
licenses
● Cheapest states for Taxes -
South Dakota, Florida, Texas
● Our Physical Address
● Mail Forwarding
Service
● Voting
● Mobile Deposit
Cindy Cullen
@cgcullen

11. What We Do From the Road
● Hosting & Domains
● Custom Development
● WordPress Websites
● WordPress Security
● Training/Mentoring new
developers/freelancers
● Debugging
● Support
● Speaking to promote our
Intern/Freelancer Program
and WordPress
Cindy Cullen
@cgcullen

12. Our Distributed Team
● All work from home
● All were my students
● All freelancers
Cindy Cullen
@cgcullen

13. How We Communicate
● Email
● Slack
● Zoom
● Text
● Phone
● In Person
● Ticketing System / Help Desk
Cindy Cullen
@cgcullen

14. How We Stay Connected to the Internet
● Verizon - unlimited, 100gb to be safe
● AT&T Phone Plan - 30gb
● AT&T Home Base for Rural - 500gb
Always subject to management
● T-Mobile Unlimited & International,
50gb before managed
● Truck Stops
● Take the day off and go
exploring
● Mobile RV Group for
updates
Cindy Cullen
@cgcullen

15. How We Find Contractors and Interns
● Social Media
● Networking
● Universities
● Speaking
● Training Courses
● Interns become Contractors
● Tech Groups (women)
● Freeeup.com
● Upwork.com
Cindy Cullen
@cgcullen

16. How We Find Clients
● Networking Events
● Retreats
● Conferences
● Campgrounds
● Word of Mouth / Referrals
● Social Media
● Speaking
● Craigslist
● Everywhere we go!
Cindy Cullen
@cgcullen

17. How We Get Paid
● PayPal
● Stripe
● WePay (Accounting Software)
● Daily Settlements
● Checks
Cindy Cullen
@cgcullen

18. Time Management
● Time Zones
● Travel Days - Working in the Truck
● Exploring Days
● Routines
● Systems & Processes
● Tools
● Self Motivation
● Self Discipline
● Eliminate, Automate,
Delegate, Procrastinate,
Concentrate
Cindy Cullen
@cgcullen

19. Money Management
● Profit First
● Bank Accounts
○ Simple :(
○ Capital One
● Accountant
● Accounting Software
● Health Insurance - Self Insured
● Much of our lifestyle is tax deductible
Cindy Cullen
@cgcullen

20. Tools We Use
● Accounting Software
● Invoicing
● Recurring Invoicing
● Expenses
● Reporting
● Customer Relationships
● Customer Relation Manager
● Meeting Scheduling
Cindy Cullen
@cgcullen

21. Tools We Use
● Project Management Software
○ Task Management
○ Time for Billing
○ Time for Contractor Payment
● InfiniteWP
○ Reporting
○ Estimates
Cindy Cullen
@cgcullen

22. How Much Does it Cost?
We spend the same amount we did when we rented a house.
● Campground fees & RV payment replace house rent
● Truck Fuel & Propane replace Utility Bills
Cindy Cullen
@cgcullen

23. Pro’s or Con’s to Freelancing
● I am the boss
● Time Freedom
● Financial Freedom
● Working alone
● Mobility - Work from wherever you
want
● You set your own prices
● Choose who you work with
● Taxes
● Benefits
● Work in your PJ’s
● Low Overhead
Cindy Cullen
@cgcullen

24. What We’ve Learned About Travel
● Plan to travel only 3 - 4 hours per day
● Plan to stay one week minimum
● Get there before dark
● Reserve campgrounds months in advance
● Make sure there is electric and water
Cindy Cullen
@cgcullen

25. What We’ve Learned About Travel
● Check the cell coverage ahead of time if possible
● Check for campground wifi
● Make note of nearest truck stops, grocery stores and laundromats
● Check reviews
● Avoid KOA
Cindy Cullen
@cgcullen

26. What We’ve Learned About Freelancing
● Don’t take every client who comes along. Some clients are better off
at my competitor.
● Invest in yourself, you are worth it
● Take care of yourself. You can’t work if you are sick - physically or
emotionally.
Cindy Cullen
@cgcullen

27. What We’ve Learned About Freelancing
● Charge what you are worth. They are investing in themselves, not
you. It is a transformation - check the value to them, not your time.
● Have clients pay half up front
● Don’t let invoices get too big without payment if you are working
hourly. Set your limits.
Cindy Cullen
@cgcullen

28. What We’ve Learned About Freelancing
● Don’t try to be everything to everybody - know what you do well.
● Don’t release code until you’ve been paid.
● Look for clients who are willing to pay what you are worth and
appreciate what you do.
● Find Mentors and Coaches
Cindy Cullen
@cgcullen

29. What We’ve Learned About Life
● Save money for taxes.
● If you don’t enjoy doing it, you are stealing someone else’s job.
● Life is short. Do what you love! What are you trading your life for?
● Look at your creditors as investors.
● Get rid of limiting beliefs and fears.
Cindy Cullen
@cgcullen

30. What We’ve Learned About Life
● Entrepreneurship is the Master's degree for Personal Development.
● Sell people what they want, give them what they need.
● If someone can talk you out of it, you are not ready.
● Find a good team and DELEGATE!
Cindy Cullen
@cgcullen

31. Legal
● Contracts
● Lawyers
● Sole Proprietor, LLC,
Corporation?
● Give more value
● How much are you willing to lose?
● What do you need to protect?
Cindy Cullen
@cgcullen

32. Thank you!
Slides: https://cullenwebservices.com/codercruise/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cgcullen
Twitter: @cgcullen
Cindy Cullen
@cgcullen