6. Patrick Pohler, Mobile Web App Developer, Coworking Member
Episode 6 - Patrick Pohler
Guest: Patrick Pohler, Owner/President of Anecka
Listen to this episode to learn about the how Patrick created his web and mobile application development company. Patrick started with a degree in computer science and went through various other industries before deciding to freelance in application development full time. In this episode, Patrick describes how he overcame hurdles like learning how to choose the right clients (and fire the bad ones!), to set appropriate expectations, how to develop business relationships, and why becoming a true ‘professional’ is a necessity for any start up business.
Insights from Patrick:
Make sure to learn to manage clients properly and how to set appropriate expectations.
Use your support community when you need them.
Learn and change to suit the needs of your growing company.
Let go of a client if it’s not working for you.
Listen to podcasts and read blogs of other people who are also starting out.
Patrick’s suggestion for any freelancer, find a good hashtag around your product in a community that is not full of negative people, follow them online, communicate with them, and then attend a conference with those same people.
Speak about something, submit a talk!
Don’t compare yourself to other people. Just live your life, if you feel happy most of the time, then you’re doing better than 95%.
How is working out of a coworking space benefiting your business?
“It really helped...I owe my friends a lot for actually working out of that space, and just having someone I could go in to talk to, that helped get me through this really difficult time….I think if I had been working out of home that whole time, I think I would have actually gone back to a full time job…. The Salt Mines is the perfect coworking space for me…. You can have that experience of having coworkers and friends, you know people you talk the breeze about, people you bounce ideas off of, but then you don’t have to rely on them for your project, you’re not frustrated by them… We have a few coworking spaces in Columbus, but they feel more like, well I can’t say all of them, but they ones that I’ve toured at least, felt very much like, “Rent an office!” And I was like, that’s not what coworking is, you’re not renting an office, I didn’t want to just rent an office… Coworking is different, coworking is about belonging there, informing those relationships. It wasn’t what I expected out of a coworking space, it’s just kind of what happened, and I realized I enjoy coming here every day.”
Resources Mentioned in the Podcast:
Expression Engine - CNES, a tool for professional developers.
PDF Press - Add-on to convert any ExpressionEngine® template to PDF in seconds.
Bootstrapped.fm - Podcast of Entrepenuers.
The Salt Mines - Coworking space in Columbus, Ohio, find Patrick at Salt Mine #1: 2997 Indianola Avenue · Columbus, OH 43202, there’s also Salt Mine #2: 3820 N High Street Columbus, OH 43214.
Columbus Start Up Weekend- Networking event for business entrepreneurs.
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