I’ve thought about this post for quite a while.
I want to share my experiences with WOW, building websites, creating private paywalls for freedom communities, struggling with poor management of finances due to ideology and trying not to KILL other people for their blatant stupidity.
I want this to be the title of my first Substack. But what about it being the title of my first business?
Perhaps first aid kits and first aid courses can’t ever be a viable business in conservative, dumbed-down Australia.
Health is such a hot button topic, and Australian is such a stupid and authoritarian place right now.
Perhaps I’m better running an advisory business for small freedom orientated groups struggling to thrive and survive 🤔
I’ve certainly got enough experience.
—
The main thing I have learnt from my work with WOW is –
Learn to charge for your content
(Picture of a begger on the street holding up a sign to indifferent passersby’s saying ‘good cause’, and collecting a few pennie’s in his cap).
You have to charge for your content from day one. As long as you keep prices low people will pay. The free handout model doesn’t work, it just leaves creatives begging for charity, and teaches the public that you can have something for nothing.
Manage censorship with a paywall. An AI bot doesn’t have a credit card. Government censorship is run through automation. Which means you can easily fool it. Government censorship (and big pharma profiteering) won’t stop no matter how many marches we all go on. The only safe way to discuss issues like vaccine injuries is behind a paywall. We are going to live with communist overlords for a number of years, like they did in Eastern Europe after the war. We just have to find practical solutions.
You need to focus on building a sustainable business. People who don’t charge for content can’t make a profit and end up being independent financially, as well as intellectually. If you are successful you can eventually hire other people. Don’t you want to contribute to the economy and give someone a job? Offering a viable solution to others means being economically viable.
Learn to hire the best person for your web presence
(Image of a confused woman trying to sell bags of rubbish and wondering why no body wants to buy them).
You have to get the best web developer possible to create and run your site. Technology is very complicated. Things can easily go wrong. The links between different applications break all the time and have to be patched. In technology as much as in life you only get what you pay for. Don’t give tech jobs to a ‘mate’ who happens to support your ideology or be an old friend you went to school with. Bad idea! Give your website to the best company you can find. It’s your shop front. Make sure it’s fast loading, easy to navigate, attractive and informative.
Make social media marketing professional. The financial basis of social media is its marketing opportunities. This is why Facebook and Google are billion dollar business. The ‘free’ subscription is just to get in huge numbers of customers to sell them stuff, via advertising. Nothing is ‘free’. That’s why when you talk about something or search online you see it advertised in your Facebook, Google or uTube feed. Social media is the world’s premier advertising medium. Make good use of it. Target people via email, post code, sexual preference, hashtags, what ever you want. Reach out and find your audience.
Once you’ve found a good engineer, developer etc, treat them with respect. These are technical skills that took years to learn.
Learn to put your customers first
(Image of man talking to a mirror, waving his arms in an animated manner)
Stop saying “I believe in… I’m outraged about… I’m going to…” Start saying “you could live a better life and I can help you”. The freedom movement is not a mirror and you are not standing in your bathroom talking to yourself about the state of the world.
Morally justifiable outrage does not justify treating your customers like shit. When they say they can’t find content on your website FIX IT! When they say an incorrect payment has gone through their bank account FIX IT! When they say they can’t view your site on a mobile device FIX IT! When they say your site is slow to load, has broken links or no one responded to your online query FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT! Would you put up with an ice cream shop owner that threw a vanilla cone at you? Then don’t give people a terrible experience online and expect them to be happy with you.
(Picture of shopkeeper throwing an ice cream at a customer, next to a man looking at his phone. Sign says slow loading site, poor UX, broken links).
Build a community
Bring your customers together. Use a forum, discord, X account, livestream, community app or similar. People love to gossip, chat, bullshit, lie and share ideas. Bring your community together and they will help each other. Don’t just talk into the microphone. Engage your audience. The freedom movement is a two way exchange of ideas.
Learn to take control of your team
(Picture of a frighten man standing on a chair with a whip, trying to tame a cage full of lions).
Don’t allow other people in your group to influence your choice of software to use or development team to build your product. It’s your role as a CTO to make all decisions including what software to use and who will assemble it. Most people just don’t understand technology. They don’t understand most of the terms you use, or what are the underlying principles you are discussing. You can’t just ‘go along’ with them to fit in and not cause waves. That is unprofessional. If you are a CTO you have to take responsibility for the role and do it properly and not be swayed by less qualified people.
Learn about software covering all aspects of financial responsibility. Would your organization pass a tax audit? If not, that’s on your head. What bookkeeping software are use using? If you’re not using any, that’s on your head also. CTO’s must learn about MYOB or similar as much as Stripe or similar. Financial responsibility isn’t just about collecting money. It’s equally about making sure that money is accounted for. As CTO you are responsible for ensuring your organization manages their finances in a professional manner.
How well do you communicate? Are your processes effective and accurate or chaotic and error prone? Do you communicate well or miss many messages? Do different software systems communicate or not? Do different members of your team have regular updates, over lunch or over a Slack chat? Do members of your group know what your plans for next year are?
How good is your security? Do you have anti virus software, backups, security checks and guard your users data? Unplug your back up hard drives. Do you have a hacking policy? What would you do if a platform went broke or shut down your channel? Would you survive a law suit if customers lost their data? Security is a CTO role.
How well does your organisation operate? If someone came from Mars and assessed your organization, how would they rate it? Are you chaotic or organised? Do you keep minutes? Do you have a corporate structure? Insurance? A CEO? Who is in charge?
This is not a CTO role. But if your organisation is in chaos then your technology will be too.
Get with the 21st century or get out of the technology space
(Picture of one happy man on a rocket and a group of people left behind, looking confused).
Learn about new technologies, today. AI and making your own chat agent to teach first aid, 3D printing and making your own stethoscope, low cost chips like Rasberry pi that cost $10. It’s your job to make sure your organization will be sustainable in the future. If you don’t know how to be informative while keeping prices low, your group won’t survive more than five years. If they fail because they didn’t prepare for an AI, 3D printed, low cost chip future, it’s on your head.
Take mobile seriously. Your website is configured for a desktop. Are you f…..g serious? It shouldn’t have to say this but I do. Most visits to the internet come via mobile devices. You should know this. Your applications MUST be mobile responsive, mobile interactive and preferably run on an Apple and/or Google app. Being mobile is basic customer service. Not being mobile friendly comes across as being rude. Would you buy a pair of shoes from a rude saleswoman? Then why would you expect someone to buy an item from your online store?
Take videos seriously. Yes the majority of internet content is now video based. Grab that smart phone press record and start shooting. People don’t care how dinky it is. They want to know what you look like, where you live, how you talk and whether or not you look sincere.
Knowing how to use AI is a must. Yes, you need to be able to quote metrics on your competition v your service, why your company saves money, time and lives. How many problems are there, that you are trying to solve in the world? Are their numbers increasing or decreasing, and by what percent? People ask these types of questions in a store. They will ask your chatbot. Be prepared with an answer.
— I have want to write a Substack on this topic for a while.
I also want to consider this as a consultant business.
I need money. Nursing is dead. I have to try something new.
And helping other freedom groups be far more efficient using technology would be a great thing. Especially in Australia where people are not used to being professional and running a business.
