After 12 years being free from corporate, I could never go back.

The other day, I was on a walk, thinking about my professional life and the path that led me to where I am now. I thought about what was next for me (though I'm in no hurry). Start a new project? Join an existing one?

Then it hit me: I'm 100% unemployable.

Specifically, I could never work for a company again. Meetings, presentations, weird lingo, forced office hours and all the pageantry. I couldn't stand them in my pre-entrepreneurial life, I would never have the patience for it now.

Which Makes Me Wonder...

If I were to start another business and hire some folks, how could I create an ambiance that reflects these values of mine, and doesn't include all the garbage that I listed off?

I think I did a good job with this when LearnDash was a small team (up to about 12 people). But when we start pushing 40, we had to do all the “formal stuff”. Performance reviews, managers, bi-annual presentations, staff meetings, etc.

Maybe it's required at scale, but I missed the early days of the flat, nimble structure.

If I start another business, I'd want it to grow, but not grow that big.

#personal

Zoom keeps getting worse, so I'm taking back control.

I don't know about you, but lately I've been noticing that the entire Zoom experience keeps getting worse. It used to just be a simple way to connect for meetings or discussions, but now it feels more and more like unnecessary bloatware.

The “enshittification” of Zoom is undoubtedly the result of the boardroom. Like, why do we suddenly need to download even more applications to our devises when connecting through a normal browser has been perfectly fine for years?

I know the answer: Money. Oh, and data collection (which is also, money).

Anyway, I'm not impressed with Zoom anymore. It's more invasive than ever before, and I fully expect that it will continue moving in that crappy direction.

Searching for an Alternative

Unfortunately, there aren't many great alternatives to Zoom.

• Google Meet is a no-go. Who wants Google getting a record of all their conversations? We give them enough already.
• Microsoft Teams is like Google Meet and Zoom had a monster child.
• Zoho Meeting thrusts you into the abysmal Zoho ecosystem.

There are more, but these are the main players.

Not satisfied with these choices, I decided that I should look for an open source, self-hosted option.

I was close to choosing Jitsi, but after reading some reviews on Reddit, I decided against it.

They have a hosted option if you just want to set up a quick meeting, but I stayed away from it because now you have to authenticate with Google or Microsoft (and well, that's just sending data back to the motherships I'm trying to avoid).

Still, I think Jitsi is an okay option for folks who want to self-host (as opposed to using their free, hosted service). There are even hosts out there that make it somewhat easy to get started, like Hostinger. Don't be fooled by the pricing though, you're going to need to spend way more than $4/mo for solid performance from a self-hosted Zoom alternative, that's for damn sure.

Jitsi is, and has been, the segment leader for self-hosted video conferencing. In fact, it is the platform that is forked the most (Brave Talk, for example, is a fork of Jitsi).

As an aside, I did try Brave Talk, but I kept encountering issues that I had to change to Zoom mid-meeting. I don't think it's ready for prime-time just yet.

Landing on MiroTalk

While researching Jitsi on Reddit, I kept coming across people mentioning an open-source software called MiroTalk. You can check out a demo here.

There are several options available through MiroTalk. I won't get into them here, but you can see the comparison in this table.

It looked promising, so I decided to give it a try. There was one problem though: I don't know shit about setting up a server.

Not to be deterred, I ended up finding Cloudron while searching for an easier route. Cloudron manages server installations for you via “apps”, and they have MiroTalk as an app.

Essentially, you just need to follow their onboarding sequence, and it takes care of the rest. They add extra security measures and keep everything up-to-date as well.

Cloudron is free for up to two apps, so you can use it without paying a cent if all you're using it for is MiroTalk. As an added bonus, when you use Cloudron, you don't need to buy a license to MiroTalk either. It's all free.

Still, some technical knowledge is required.

I'll be upfront that you need to know how to do things like configuring a domain, using your domain API, and whitelisting a domain IP. I use Namecheap, and they have documentation for all of this stuff in case you're stuck.

I actually already have a DigitalOcean account, so I just created another droplet for my MiroTalk install (Cloudron was auto-installed when using their one-click feature). I then followed the onboarding for Cloudron and in about an hour or so, I had my own Zoom alternative.

It took me a little longer because I did run into some roadblocks due to my lack of familiarity with setting up servers. A capable developer could tackle this in like 20 minutes.

Some Tips

Here are some tips for getting started with MiroTalk. They are just based on my own assumptions.

Tip 1: Which Package to Choose

Use MiroTalk SFU, and not P2P. I first installed P2P, but it's not ideal for meetings with more than four people. Plus, the SFU UI is more polished.

Tip 2: Use Your Name

Set up your installation so that it's on a domain that includes your real name. For example, mine is https://meet.justinferriman.net. People easily trust Zoom and Google Meet links, but since MiroTalk is virtually unheard of, you need to establish trust in another way. Using your name as the domain makes it clear that you're in control of the platform, and it adds a bit of credibility.

Tip 3: Hosting Plan

If you're not hosting meetings all the time, then choose a low-priced plan on DigitalOcean (like the $6/mo option) for your droplet. Right before your meeting, use the one-click option to upgrade to a server with sufficient capacity to run video conferences reliably. The $18/mo or $24/mo options should work. After the meeting, downgrade again. Your total cost is less than one dollar for an hour meeting.

Tip 4: Scheduling Future Meetings

There is a web application offered by MiroTalk that you can install so you can schedule meetings and have emails sent accordingly. I don't use it. Instead, I create a meeting ID, copy it, and paste it into a meeting invite. If you click it as the admin, you'll fire-up a meeting with that URL. If your guest(s) click the link before you do, they get taken to a landing page indicating that they can join when you start the session.

Tip 5: Enjoy The Freedom

Just have fun! I find that running my own self-hosted Zoom alternative is quite enjoyable. Also, I like that I own all the data. No worries about pricing changes, data being sold, or privacy policy changes. I'm in complete control.

Summarizing

Okay, so let's recap:

• Big tech = bad and annoying for video conferencing.
• Open source tools mean you can host your own platform instead.
• Getting started is easy with Jitsi or MiroTalk, though slightly above average technical skills might be needed... but only just slightly.

I personally think that everyone should start using their own hosted instances tied to their name, instead of putting up with the hellscape that has become video conferencing today.

Take your power back, it's easier than ever before!

#personal

A simple habit that has a profound impact.

One of the things that I’ve been able to do since taking my entrepreneurial sabbatical is to sit in silence and reflect on the bigger themes in life. In all honestly, it has been a lot harder to do in practice as my mind is so used to moving, thinking, and being creative.

But in my process of being more mindful, I’ve tried to adopt certain small habits that I can carry throughout my day. I wanted to share one that I’ve found to be incredibly helpful for my mental health as well as my general outlook on life.

I won't bore you with longwinded explanations. It’s just three simple reflections I go through in my mind at the end of the day before I close my eyes.

Express Gratitude

First, I give thanks and gratitude for the positives in my day, big or small. It can be as simple as having a good workout, not currently having any major health issues, or a positive interaction with someone at the store. The point is just to be in the mindset of gratitude. I find that when I'm grateful, more things come into my life to be grateful for.

Release Negativity

From there, I give myself permission to release anything that I’ve been holding onto from the day that was negative.

Inevitably, I'm going to have some negative thoughts swirling in my head at some point during a day. Sometimes I don’t even realize that I’m replaying these thoughts, but they come out in various ways.

For instance, maybe I’m a little less patient, or I feel less optimistic, or maybe I am just unmotivated. My goal here is to release myself from that burden, to stop hanging onto that repetitive cycle.

Expect Positivity

Finally, the last reflection is to state my eagerness and excitement for the positive things coming to me the next day. I can be specific if something is on my mind, or I can be general. This has a way of creating feelings of gratitude at the same time, a powerful place to be mentally.

And that's it. Three simple thoughts that I go through every day, and I am seeing a positive impact so far.

This entire process resonates with me because I am a believer in manifesting what I want in my life. To do that, I need to get my mind right, and these three reflections help me do exactly that.

#mindfulness

Your sandbox demo site is not helping.

I'm aging myself here, but I remember a time in WordPress when product demos weren’t even a thing. All you had to do was show some screenshots of your settings, a screenshot or two of the frontend, and that was enough for the buyer.

Ah, the good old days.

Alas, things have changed, and in today’s WordPress business landscape, product companies need to “wow” a prospective customer. One way people are choosing to do this is by providing a demo site.

Some WordPress products even let you spin up a demo site to play around with the product. In exchange for your email address, you get a “sandbox” of sorts to see the software in action.

I'm fine with this, but only if the demo site looks good. However, almost every single one of them is a shitty experience.

I touched on this briefly in my letter to WordPress founders, but I wanted to add just a little more context.

WordPress’ Backend is a Terrible Sales Tool

Imagine you're a prospective customer of a WordPress product, but you're not overly familiar with WordPress.

You sign up for a demo, and you're suddenly dropped into the admin dashboard, filled with countless menu items, random widgets, and a slew of admin notices.

Not a great experience, right?

As a result, prospective customers may assume your product is just as confusing, and now you're facing an uphill battle.

If you then navigate to the frontend demo of the site, and it's not impressive (perhaps it's just a bare-bones skeleton theme), then the thread has been lost. There is now a massive disconnect between their experience on that demo site, and the flashy sales pages.

Which brings me to an important point: very few people get excited about the “how”, they care about the “what”. As in, what it looks like, what it could be for them. You need to show them how awesome it can be!

Focus on The Wow Factor!

Let that sink in.

If you have a product demo, does it get people excited?

Are you selling, or showing?

Because the flat-out-truth is that showing is not good enough anymore. Your conversion rates will tank. Honestly, you’d be better off with screenshots than letting someone into the mess that is the WordPress dashboard.

Always remember that your goal is to make your product shine in every aspect, to make every customer interaction as impressive as possible. You need to get prospective customers feeling positive emotions.

Does your demo do that?

#WordPress

Comment

Using AI creates trust issues with potential clients.

I wasn't even sure if I was going to write this one, given that there are so many articles out there already talking about AI and its impact on marketing.

However, I wanted to touch on it specifically in the context of entrepreneurship. It's tempting to use AI, and many new businesses are using it currently to add rocket fuel to their blogging efforts. Seriously, the results that I've seen people get have been impressive.

But as a long-term investment, it's a massive gamble.

The Truth about AI Writing

The reality with AI writing articles today isn’t that the information is necessarily wrong or bad. In fact, many times it’s actually pretty good.

As AI advances, the topic depth is becoming more impressive and helpful. The style isn't half bad, either. Definitely better than what it was a year or so ago. I suspect that it'll only continue to improve, really blurring the line between human made and AI generated content.

So let's put the quality aspects to the side for a moment.

Instead, where I see a problem is in the lack of authenticity as it relates to the author, and the brands that use it.

This is especially true as people start creating fake authors to attribute expertise from AI to these individuals without being clear that the content is AI-generated.

In my mind, this begins to cross over into some ethical gray areas, depending on the nature of the website.

For instance, if somebody is posturing as an expert in a certain industry, they can easily create content that demonstrates a level of expertise that they may not have in order to secure clients.

At present, there is no way to verify this, and I believe that it will create issues with trust from readers. Not just broken trust, but inability for people to fully trust brands and bloggers in the future.

The Risk of Losing Trust

Many entrepreneurs are benefiting from AI blogging. They use it on their business blogs and, in the short to medium-term timeframe, their AI content is crushing it.

I’ve seen it personally on a lot of SaaS offerings.

These companies are churning out an article a day, complete with visuals and formatting, that are on a level we haven’t seen in the past.

The risk, however, is the perception. It looks lazy, and it comes across deceitful (even if intentions are good).

Losing The Relationship

Anybody who’s been in business for any amount of time knows that successful businesses are relationship-driven.

When customers feel like they have a relationship with a brand or a company, they:

• Tell others
• Leave positive reviews
• Continue to spend money with that company

The further a business separates itself from this human connection, the further they are from establishing trust, and therefore making the sale.

Think about a time that you’ve landed on a website and wanted to have a chat with somebody, only to be forced to talk to AI.

This has happened to me many times, and I’ll admit that I’m often able to find the answer using the AI (which is great), but it also doesn’t make me feel any more positive about the company.

There’s no interaction, no feel-good human-to-human aspect, and that is what drives emotions and leads people to purchase or trust a brand. I've personally purchased products after positive interactions in a website chat.

Any business relying on AI for blogging and content creation, those are the businesses that are getting further away from a new customer. That's not the direction you want to be going in.

How You Can Use AI in Content Creation

Using AI for blogging cannot be a long-term play for any serious entrepreneur. There's just too much risk involved.

That said, AI can still be used to help with your content.

Create Outlines

I think having AI create a rough outline is perfectly fine.

You get the different headers and fill in the blanks from there with your own words. At the end, you can ask it to check for grammar mistakes and perhaps suggest improvements in the structure of a sentence, but without changing your own words.

Interview You

This one I've used before and found it to be quite helpful. Tell the AI what you want to write about and have it come up with questions for you to answer. Then, when you're on a walk or something, use the speech-to-text feature on your phone to answer each of the questions.

Before you know it, you have your first draft. Then prompt the AI to compile your responses and to clean up grammar mistakes. Don't have it change or edit your wording. Do that yourself later when you're reviewing it.

Search Intent Research

If you’re trying to write with the intent of being discovered in Google or elsewhere, then you can have it analyze your copy for relevant keywords and suggest where you can link to other articles that you created.

I understand there are tools that do exactly that, but if you’re using ChatGPT or something else, you can have it do this as well without needing to buy into a whole new ecosystem that is essentially just a ChatGPT wrapper.

Refining Popular Content

If you have a popular article on your site, you can ask ChatGPT for relevant related topic ideas and then have it create an outline. Then you go through and write the post according to the outline, making changes where it seems to make sense and adding your own personality.

Yes, this takes more time, but this investment is actually one for the long term. Because that is the biggest point about AI content in today’s content marketing game.

Nobody knows if AI content will ever be punished or devalued, but human content certainly will go up in value and perceived trustworthiness as time goes on.

Invest now in that future trust.

AI as Your Editor

One of the things I'm most guilty of is not proofreading well enough. I write my article, read through it a few times, then publish. Two minutes after publishing and I notice grammar issues that need to be fixed.

This happens way less now because I use AI to act as my editor. It points out my grammar mistakes and offers suggestions. This is so simple, but probably one of my favorite ways to use AI for blogging.

Possible Issue in The Future

Let’s imagine a scenario that likely won’t happen, but I could see very well happening as a possibility five years from now.

The internet is flooded with high-quality AI articles, but because it’s AI, they often say similar things to one another.

People get angry. The internet feels like one big AI chatbot.

To counteract this and to bring some humanity back to the experience, Google decides to add a notifier that something is human-made, or differentiates between AI content and human content in a more obvious way.

Some people won’t care and will still go to the AI content, but there’ll be a lot of people, possibly even more in a five-year timeframe, that will decide they’re tired of AI and trust actual experts in the space, people they can have relationships with.

Keeping your content authentic and human-made means you don’t have to worry about the changes that come in the future as they relate to AI, because AI ultimately relies upon you for its knowledge.

And you'll benefit from any of these potential future shifts.

Final Thoughts

AI has been an incredible asset to humanity across a variety of different industries, including content marketing and blogging.

But I caution anybody using it now for strictly AI content. It's just not the smart long play in any business landscape.

There’s too much risk because you don’t control the future of how AI content will be treated, and the overall consensus seems to be that too much AI content is a bad thing.

#entrepreneurship

Comment

What worked, and what didn't, and what I learned while growing LearnDash.

I recently gave a quite revealing “behind the scenes” interview into the LearnDash story to WPBeginner where I chat about what I did to drive the growth of LearnDash from a side-hustle to a multi-million dollar company.

For example, did you know that I made the official decision to finally quit my consulting job after making $690 in a single day? That was life changing for me back in 2013.

I also discuss other things, like how I built the brand before launch, the decisions I made that increased revenue 22% at a pivotal point in the company's history, and also how my approach to the industry is still why LearnDash is the best WordPress LMS.

Here's the video:

If the above doesn't work, here's the direct link.

And you can also read the blog post on WPBeginner.

But It's Not All “Wins”

I also take time to explain the (big) mistakes that I made – things that you should absolutely avoid no matter what business you're in. How I didn't hire quick enough, how the launch was stunted because of a silly timing decision, and the biggest mistake I made in the first year of the business.

I really enjoyed chatting with Ryan Priddey, and thank him again for being such a welcoming host. 🙏

After the interview, I reflected a bit.

You know, I realized something. It has been about four years since LD was acquired. During that time, I think I've been the only person participating in things like this for the brand.

I'll do that all day long. It's fun for me, and I'm proud of the work I did during my time. I still see LearnDash as the only serious option for online courses in WordPress, and people need to know that.

But the takeaway here is that you can't lead from behind the scenes. You need to bring the passion forward, the message to the audience, with an almost annoying consistency.

Simply put: always believe in your superior offering, and NEVER STOP telling people why it's the best.

Be visible. Be bold.

Anything less gets lost in the noise.

#WordPress

Comment

You always have a choice for peace.

Perception is reality, and our perception is often dominated by our emotions. If we are centered and aware of our emotions in any given moment, then in turn we are in control of our perception, and as such, our reality.

If you're someone that is often stressed (as I used to be), then please know that it doesn't have to be that way. In fact, I would say you need to stop choosing stress. Because that's the truth: you have a choice. You can create another reality.

This isn't to say there won't be bad things that happen in a day. Of course that will happen. Initial responses to stimuli aren't going to go away, but you don't have to stay in that place. Feel the emotion, and then move past it. Ask yourself if you want to stay in the place where you are. By choosing something different, you are choosing to control over being a victim.

Ask yourself if staying in the place where you are emotionally is a good reflection of you as a person. How does it make you view life, and how does it make you treat others?

Ultimately, we get to choose how we react to every event that happens to us. Choose the peaceful response, and your life will reflect peace as well. You'll control your reality.

#mindfulness

Comment

Aggressively doing nothing.

My entire life, I've been doing something.

• Brainstorming new business ideas
• Creating offerings
• Developing marketing strategies
• Researching markets
• Implementing
• Networking

This way of living has been my default for so long that it's just my normal operating mode.

But as I prepared to walk away from coaching, I realized that I was again starting to think about the next thing. This time, though, I stopped myself. It occurred to me that my pattern of entrepreneurial thinking needed a break. I need an entrepreneurial sabbatical.

Why a Sabbatical?

In the university setting, a sabbatical is a period of leave granted to a professor for study or travel. In my mind, it's one of the biggest benefits offered to those working in higher education.

A sabbatical offers you a chance to slow down, reflect, assess, and refocus priorities — and this is exactly what I need.

I've been “go-go-go” for as long as I can remember. Even before LearnDash, I was trying various ideas in both the service and product space. It has been a continuous cycle. I'm tired, and I'm in a fortunate position where I can do something about that.

What Comes After?

I don't have any goals for my sabbatical. I don't even know how long it's going to be. All I know is that I'm going to get comfortable doing nothing.

My hope is that this will clear my mind, refresh my creative energy, and give me a needed clarity for the next decade of my life.

I feel like I have one final push in me for building something, I just don't know what at this point. That's the point of this sabbatical.

#entrepreneurship

Comment

For the first time ever, I'm doing nothing.

Since the start of this year, I've been struggling with motivation for my coaching service. This is natural, so I didn't dwell on it. In fact, it has happened to me in the past. Typically, I take a vacation or change up my routine in some way and that makes it better.

This time it feels different.

In 2023 and 2024, I hustled to get clients. I had countless free calls, met tons of great people, and landed 20 clients in a short amount of time.

This year, I haven't tried to get a single new client. Whenever someone finished their time with me, I didn't bother to replace them. In fact, I actually welcome it because it means fewer meetings. It was at this point that I began to question my desire to continue coaching.

The People Are Great

The thing is, I like the folks I work with. The ones that are still around have very successful businesses, are motivated, and are open to feedback. We have fantastic one-on-one sessions as well as group sessions.

Aside from the people I coach, I’m realizing that there are other aspects to coaching that I really don't like.

The obvious one for me is control over my time. When I had 20+ clients, a big part of my time was spent shuffling meetings around to accommodate everyone's busy schedules. It was exhausting in that I couldn't plan my own activities during the week. If there was a cancellation, then there was the stress of trying to find a new day and time.

I'm less busy than I was, but that element still exists. For example, any time I want to go on a vacation or trip, I'm front-loading sessions just so I can have some days off. Or, I end up taking calls while I’m away.

All of this is mentally taxing. I start to feel trapped, and whenever I feel that way, I start looking for ways to disengage. Having complete control over my time and what I do with it is what motivated me to start LearnDash in the first place. It's my North Star, so to speak.

But this is also about more than owning my time.

The pressure of not having complete control over my schedule is indeed frustrating, but I would be doing myself a disservice if I didn't dissect this feeling a bit further. I've spent six weeks or so reflecting on why I feel the way I feel, and I've come to an answer.

Coaching gives me the ability to be creative, but I don't get to live the creativity. In my sessions, I offer up marketing ideas, brand building initiatives, and the like. I love doing that kind of thing, but part of that love comes from the execution of the ideas. Competing. Winning. I don't get any of that with coaching. It feels like training for a match only to sit on the bench.

Stepping Away from Everything

Since the sale of LearnDash, I've been constantly doing something. It was mostly out of habit, but on some level, due to outside expectations. Whenever you meet someone, they always ask what you do for a living. I felt uncomfortable not having an answer to that question.

The reality is that this has been a self-imposed issue. I need time to do nothing, for the first time in my life. I need mental silence and simplicity, so that's what I am finally doing.

I don't have any expectations or goals. I don't know how long. I'm living in the moment, and that's it. I'm focusing on the small things in life. The little pleasures. I'll see where it takes me eventually, but for now, I'm enjoying the ride.

#entrepreneurship

It simply lacks interaction, unless you only want to talk about politics.

The day that Elon threw out two Nazi salutes was the day I closed my Twitter account and went all-in on Bluesky. Honestly, to hell with that guy.

At first, things at Bluesky seemed encouraging. I noticed a lot of my contacts on Twitter were joining as well. There was a buzz of activity and a skyrocket of growth. It also didn't feel as toxic as Twitter, which was a welcome change.

But as time went on, that excitement dissipated. Turns out, those in my network who were joining also kept their Twitter accounts, and they went back to using it on the regular.

Not me, though. From the day I joined, I made a point to post something every single day (just as I did on Twitter). The difference was stark.

No One is There

Okay, that's an exaggeration. Specifically, no one is there to talk about anything other than politics. The posts with the most comments, likes, and reshares are all political. Full stop. That's what it is, a political echo chamber.

Look, I'm not opposed to political echo chambers. For me, that's what my Mastodon account is used for. I wanted to use Bluesky for something else. I wanted to talk about entrepreneurship, software, WordPress, and occasional life stuff. Similar to what I do here on this site.

So, that's what I did. And the engagement was very underwhelming. No one freaking interacts on the platform! It's like talking in an empty hallway. The occasional passerby will “look in my direction”, but that's about it. This isn't after a few weeks, but months and months of continuous posting.

Twitter is Better

The sad thing is, Twitter would have been way more enjoyable, and a better home, for these posts. There is an audience beyond politics. Actually, I had done a good job filtering out all political rage-bait posts from my feed before I left. I enjoyed the experience on the platform.

To me, this is the biggest downfall of Bluesky. If you're interested in interacting with like-minded political advocates, then it's a fantastic place to be (and so is Mastodon). Just know that there is a very limited scope of other popular topics beyond that.

Twitter is, and probably always will be, the best option for this kind of social media medium. But to be fair, I haven't tried Threads (I currently can't stomach using another one of Zuck's platforms).

LinkedIn for the Win

In my attempt to find a home for conversations around the topics I enjoy, I turned to LinkedIn. In one week, I had more social interactions, from ONE post, than nearly my entire time on Bluesky.

Think about that. Just one post.

For me, it's time I move on. The topics I like and the audience I want to reach are not on Bluesky. They are still on Twitter, but also on LinkedIn.

Going forward, I'll post now and again on Bluesky, but probably with the same frequency as my Mastodon account. If Elon ever sells Twitter (not going to happen), then I'd jump back there.

#personal