WordPress.org

tech support, strategy and development for full time bloggers and online entrepreneurs.

About 10 years ago, I started blogging. I made an epic 82 cents. Perhaps, I thought, a new blog design would help.

And this is when I totally lucked out! I didn’t’ realize it at the time, but the biggest and best WordPress experts were in the forums answering my questions.

Of course when you figure out how to change the colors in CSS, you can’t stop there! Then I had to change the sidebars (before there were widget areas) which meant learning XHTML. But the real fun came when I figured out the WordPress theme template tags and dabbled in PHP. Then I felt invincible (coders come by this attitude naturally). But when you learn the template tags, it gets addictive, like reading half of that suspense thriller. Not gonna happen.

So, I’m embarrassed to say that somehow it seemed perfectly natural to read the entire WordPress documentation site. During that time, I started answering questions in the forums, and working with themes by some random guy. He’s now a VP of Copyblogger and founder of StudioPress, Brian Gardner.

Through the years, I donated my time to help more bloggers, created a plugin for Pink October and created some themes of our own. Blogging can be a tight knit community and once I helped a few friends, word spread and I started designing and coding for some fun money.

But a few years ago something started to happen or maybe I just noticed. There were – and are – a number of WordPress services that are at best, not helping, and at worst -taking advantage of what I like to call, non-technically-inclined bloggers. At the same time as this is happening, my circumstances changed and I became the sole income provider for my girls and I. And WP Barista wasn’t successful enough to support us full time. So I had some decisions to make.

Out of the blue, I received a phone call from my credit card company offering to double my credit. It seemed to be a sign that I was to put all my eggs in the company basket and run with it. That was a year and a half ago and I haven’t looked back!

At the core of WP Barista is my desire to provide jobs for other WAHMs. I don’t really know why. My dream is to provide a supportive, empowering and lucrative work place. When I think back, there have been many times, when I have kept the assistants around even when I wouldn’t get paid myself… it’s seemed like the right thing to do.

This year, it’s just like I’m watching from outside myself as WordPress Barista grows. I could not be happier that we have a team of four, three of whom work as many hours as they can. And it is sheer serendipity that the services we sell, actually help other women provide for their families! Our blogging friends are at the heart of what we do – not just their WordPress blog, but their message, their goals and their families.

When I look ahead, I see virtual offices all over the world, with teams of 4 – the Project Manager, Assistant/Social Media Mgr, Designer, Developer and Support Guru. Oh! Including me, that’s 5! Details have never been my strong suit – ask my assistant, who has to remind me of my reminders!

When Simon Sinek says that the “why” is more important than the “What” you do, I couldn’t agree more. Through many ups, downs, around’s and through’s, providing jobs for other moms has always, and will always be my goal.