The Next Chapter

From 2008 onwards, I've joined the club in 2008 with one of my best friends when I joined. Stu McLaren and I put our skills together to create Member.

It was never ever in our thoughts that we would be taking on an the most amazing, unique trip. WordPress has been growing rapidly. This was a thrilling period. The details were a bit fuzzy, but there were plenty of evidence that WordPress is able to surpass Joomla and Drupal.

To put it in perspective Katy Perry and Lady Gaga have made waves in the new music scene. We were still in the initial semester of our high school, as we entered the band.

At the time when the Internet marketing market was dominating all over the world, the debate about sites for membership became popular. However, there were no alternatives to build an online website for membership that was built on WordPress. There were numerous development companies that focus on themes. Therefore, the premium plugin market was not really anything of thing.

We considered this to be chance and acted swiftly. Mike Lopez was our Jedi programmer, who was able to create any feature that we asked for him to create. He created the initial version of Member by himself within only 3 months.

Similar to my previous software businesses, we identified the opportunity to develop an efficient solution for the commonly-asked problem. Naturally, members noticed a rapid increase in revenue. The beginning of the year, revenues were solely derived from word of mouth. It grew for one year, yet there was no funds on marketing.

These are possibilities entrepreneurs can only dream of.

In the early days of the existence of our company in the time when the business began to grow, we were approached by an initial inquiry for more information about selling our company. The response was very gratifying. They were however looking for established companies that have an owner who is ready to sell. The founder is young , energetic and full of energy This was therefore a complete misunderstanding.

In the final day one inquiry was made that confirmed the truth. The person was "Built to market" like many other sellers on the market.

Following the initial question after which I had a chat with an acquaintance whom I considered to be an honest and trustworthy advisor. His entrepreneurial experience includes owning several different businesses. One of them is an Venture Capital firm. Additionally, he has was the owner of other companies before. This is no surprise since the person in question is a specialist in his field.

A close friend of mine offered me an insightful piece of advice. He stated that "the way to sell your business is to find out who's buying it and to ensure that every aspect that you present about your business is an ideal match."

The information I was given was logical to me , however I've got a couple of small issues. First, being partners means that you're not creating an entity that only one partner would be interested in. This is building something that partners have chosen to build. The second reason is no buyer.

There was a time when Stu and I formed Mike as a partnership with the minority. I think it was 2010.

It was an abrupt change in late 2014. Stu decided to keep his love for teaching , and instead focus on helping other people build profitable membership websites. Mike and I each remained in the company who developed software.

At first I was the largest shareholder in the Member. It was terrifying as exciting at the same time.

My leadership team was with and traveled to Colorado for a session on planning.

We recognized that we needed adjustments. Our attention had to shift to the accomplishments we've made throughout the years and then focus on what we'll be able to accomplish in the next few years. Personally, I'd prefer to forget regarding creating the type of business I imagined someone would be looking to buy, and instead start considering the kind that I would like to own.

The past couple of months have taught me numerous things. The main thing I've learned is that Isolation kills entrepreneurs. It's not uncommon for business to be lonely at times. It's essential to establish connections and relationships that will assist in creating harmony and balance at work.

It's difficult to anticipate when a friendship will blossom into a genuine connection...

I got to know Micah Mitchell at a conference. He was working with an additional person working with the same software as a member. Some thought of him as a adversary. That's not what I thought about. the matter, but simply believe that the man is amazing and I would love to find out more about him.

The following year, Micah left his former company and started an entirely new company called Memberium. There was widespread belief that the man was a rival at the time. All I could confirm was that I liked this man.

It was further confirmed when I saw him at the security lines at the airport. We were able to have a wonderful conversation, talking about what we'd researched and found that the seats we were offered were right next to one another during the plane. Was this an humorous act? Most likely, someone had a plan to do this. It was definitely not random.

We then began to think about the most memorable April Fool's joke. In it, we'd reveal that Micah just bought Member. It was fun to imagine that it might be called Memberium. It is possible to add 360 in the name to make it more fun. Any person who has read this article will understand.

The relationship began after I accidentally received a seats next to my software rival (thanks Delta!) became a lasting friendship. We could meet regularly for business discussions over the following years. Our meetings unfortunately ended when my family and me moved back to Tennessee. Our friendships were wonderful all through our time in Utah as well. It was difficult to part with our friends for a short duration.

I love designing software. The thrill of having an idea come to reality is thrilling. It's especially exciting when you have an amazing team and the product you've created will be better than what you imagined it might be. One great example is our most recent update to the Courses Add-Ons to Member.

Although it's as exciting as it may sound, in reality, it's actually very challenging. When you've reached the limit of one yard and you're close to scoring there's a chance to end up exhausted from your efforts.

When we had finished with the concept and planning to launch the product I was tired. I realized that the best way to get rid of the fatigue was to seek a genuine market partner. Someone who was aware about the market and would help me get my Member on the right track to get to the next step. I've made a couple of phone calls to my closest business acquaintances. My wife mentioned that Micah is among my possible applicants. I promised my wife that I'd get in touch with Micah within the next 24 hours.

Before I ever contacted Micah Micah randomly texted me the message. It felt like I was sitting with Micah in an aircraft. It's difficult to tell if there's an explanation for every aspect.

Discussions resulted in the decision to sell Member to Micah's firm MemberShipper which is also the entity accountable for Memberium. The result was that what we built with Member was exactly the kind of thing MemberShipper would like to add to their current product lines.

Recently, I've been contacted by several inquiries concerning selling my company. Most of them didn't seem to be true or at least until recently. It was extremely important for me to watch Member grow as a company. Furthermore, I wanted to ensure that our employees are properly taken care of by our amazing team.

Each step was more clear that it was the ideal direction for our members as well as the team, and for our many thousands of fantastic clients that have been with our company for so long.

I'm extremely thankful for all the folks on both side. They've put in a lot of effort to make this change as easy as they could for me. It's amazing to see how employees working with the other.

Most frequently asked query I receive is "What's your next action that you'd like to do? ".

Although I think I'd really like to retire, what does really need to be done is take an interruption. I'm planning on taking an extended period of time for myself.

What's the matter with those of you who belong to?

If you're considering this, rest assured that our team is determined to provide new ideas and Members continue to grow and improve. It's not going to go away.

I'm eager to get started along with Micah as well as the whole team over the course of all of the year. This is the moment I'm in that can be described as my perfect job. I'm currently the "Director for Strategic Partnerships" for both brand names owned by MemberShipper.

You can find me at numerous gatherings during the next months. Personally, my goal is to give the best benefits possible all year long. I am excited to watch Member move into the next phase under Micah's leadership.

It's possible that I will stay around for more time than anybody could have imagined.

I've never felt more confident about the prospects for Members as I am at the moment. It's only the beginning.

Read Micah's complete message regarding purchasing here..

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