Welcome back to another Themeisle interview! Today, we talk with Carrie Dils – an experienced freelancer and WordPress connoisseur. She shares with us her take on success, productivity, and the WordPress ecosystem.
If you missed our last interview with Amitai Gat from Elementor, it’s worth taking a look. Amitai spoke about new Elementor features, the WordPress space, personal vision, and more. If you need inspiration, check out our full collection of interviews with people of various skills and specialties.
Carrie Dils has been using WordPress for more than a decade in her web development business. Apart from being a front-end developer, she believes education is one of the most important things in life.
With that in mind, Carrie is not only helping her clients build websites and grow them, but she is also teaching people new web development skills through the LinkedIn Learning platform (link) and her blog.
After 20 years of experience as a freelancer, Carrie knows what it means to have doubts about following this path. That’s why she’s coaching people into freelancing by helping them step out from the traditional path and make a living on their own. You can collaborate with her to achieve your goals here.
Let’s have a short chat with Carrie!
Carrie Dils Interview – “Do Your Market Research and Make Sure There’s an Audience for the Service You Want to Offer”
When and how did you start working with WordPress? Is there an interesting story here?
Carrie Dils:
I have a long history in web development but didn’t discover WordPress until 2011. I was working for Starbucks at the time while simultaneously taking client work. A work colleague recommended WordPress and I was immediately SOLD on the out-of-the-box CMS capabilities.
What’s your technique for staying productive throughout the day?
Carrie Dils:
I’ve used the Pomodoro technique for many years now. I use it in conjunction with Toggl to track my time. It’s a great way to do focused bursts with a built-in reminder to stand up every 25 minutes. I also like to break up my morning and afternoon work sessions by doing some sort of physical activity midday.
How do you define “being successful”?
Carrie Dils:
I actually wrote about success a number of years ago. This is a personal question as I believe we all define success differently based on our priorities. For me, being successful still centers around freedom of schedule and doing work I enjoy.
What does “a good day at work” mean to you?
Carrie Dils:
Staying focused and consistently chipping away at whatever project(s) I’m working on. Any developer can relate to losing hours, if not days, to goofy technical problems. Those are not good days!
Describe the WordPress community in one word.
Carrie Dils:
Friends.
What’s the no. 1 thing a new business entering the WordPress space should do?
Carrie Dils:
Do your market research and make sure there’s actually an audience for the project/service you want to offer.
What’s your favorite/must-have WordPress plugin and why?
Carrie Dils:
It’s hard to pair it down to one! I’ll say my go-to for development is Query Monitor and my go-to for site management is Plugin Notes.
What do you think is the most efficient way to market a product at this moment?
Carrie Dils:
Ugh, for someone that knows a decent amount about marketing, I’m terrible at actually doing it. That said, there are a ton of sponsorship opportunities (WordPress events, podcasts, communities, etc). If you can find opportunities that match your target market, that’s a great way to both support the community and get the word out about your product.
What is driving you to keep doing what you’re doing? What’s your personal mission?
Carrie Dils:
I’m not sure I’m fancy enough to have a personal mission. 😂
I do really love helping others through education. It’s the right mix of challenge (to educate, you have to always be learning) and personal satisfaction.
That sums up our Carrie Dils interview. If you enjoyed it and want to learn more, please leave your comments in the section below. Also, if you have any ideas for who we should talk to next, feel free to share your suggestions with us!
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