About

2013-john-saddington

Early 2013.

Hi, I’m John and I am an entrepreneur and hacker.

What that looks like varies from time to time but it consists mainly of the following 10 activities (a good look at what a year-in-the-life-of might is here, for 2012):

1. Blogging like it’s going out of style (since 2001). For a time I was a professional blogger, meaning that I earned a full time income writing blog posts on the internet. Although I still blog daily I don’t do it to keep the lights on.

Although I occasionally write for other blogs and publications I spend most of my time as the new Editor in Chief @ WP Daily.

2. I am the Co-Founder of 8BIT, the team behind Standard Theme, a WordPress Theme specifically designed for passionate online publishers. I’m using that theme right here on this blog. Specifically I am their business developer and vision caster.

I love this team and what we get to do daily – this company has my heart and soul.

3. I am a strategic advisor and board member for a number of other startups and established businesses, a few that I’ve raised angel and venture capital, a few that I’ve bootstrapped, and even a few that I’ve exited. I am blessed to have had (and continue to have) these experiences, especially after having seen the “other side” as an executive in a Fortune 50; I’m not sure I’ll ever go back but you never know. I continue to have an active role in a few of them, like Action & Influence.

4. I mentor and advise leaders, their teams, and other organizations. I’m obviously passionate about startups and love to participate in incubators and accelerators and their cohorts if I can.

5. I am a professional coach and actively consult with executives from the very small to the very large. Humbled that anyone would care about my opinion on so many matters!

6. I am learning to be a better communicator and have been asked by a few to keynote at their conferences and large gatherings. It’s worth noting that I sometimes stutter, I may fall off the stage (literally), and share quirky stories that can be “hit or miss” – but I’m passionate about technology, purpose, and human potential. I’d love to speak at your next event if you’d have me.

7. I experiment wildly with different software, technology, languages, and experiences. Scattered across the internet you’ll find random web apps, iOS and native software implementations, and blogs that exist because I have an itch to scratch. I typically share these experiments on this blog. I have a few WordPress-centric experiments listed here, including Themes and Plugins.

My current experiment is with Pressgram, an iOS + WordPress + Filtered Photos project.

8. I am a geek and avid video game lover since the 8-bit revolution. I have spent more hours in these curious applications than I’d like to admit. I consider this an integral part of how I define entrepreneurship in too many ways to note here. I currently spend time as a level 90 Undead Rogue on US Kil’jaeden (see him in action here and here). If that is completely ‘greek’ to you then I apologize (not really). For the Horde! I’m taking another break from video games. Sad.

9. Entrepreneurship is best defined as (via Howard Stevenson):

The pursuit of opportunity without regard to resources currently controlled.

which means that #9 on this list is saved for the unknown opportunities that I have yet to discover and have yet to actively pursue.

10. I am a father of two beautiful girls and the husband to an unbelievably gracious and merciful wife. She has walked with me through every single entrepreneurial endeavor and has seen the best and the absolute worst – she has sacrificed much so that I can do what I do. My family is the most challenging organization that I run!

Lastly, for those that may care, graduated from Georgia Tech with a BS in Science, Technology and Culture (focus on post-modern philosophy and end-user psychology – weird, I know…) and have two graduate degrees, a Masters in Christian Education and a Masters in Biblical Studies from Dallas Seminary.

If you’re ever interested in contacting me then please feel free to do so via the sidebar (tweet at me, seriously) or use the contact form below.

The Point of This Blog…

This blog exists because I conjured it up on September 20th, 2010. I was originally intended to share my experiences as a professional blogger with those that did not earn a significant income through online publishing.

It has since dramatically changed it’s focus to simply be a platform for me to discuss my passion around startups, entrepreneurship, blogging, and human capital. You’ll get a smattering of all the 10 things above from time to time including cute pictures of my kids. Sorry, I can’t help it.

I no longer promise that everything will be blogging-centric or that you’ll necessarily be wildly entertained on every single blog post but for those that have stuck around through the years – thank you so much.

You can stay updated in a number of different ways to stay updated as well.

What is Up with the Name ‘TentBlogger’?

I blogged for the very first time in the fall of 2001. Since then I’ve blogged tens of thousands of times for a variety of different reasons and organizations, some very large and some much smaller. Ultimately, I was interested in expressing myself creatively and having as much fun as possible while doing it.

Little did I know that years later I would have the opportunity to become a full time blogger.

But, it was never my original intent or explicit goal to become a professional blogger.  Instead, I saw blogging as an opportunity to supplement my income from my full time job so that I could do the things that I really wanted to do: Invest in my family and volunteer in my local community.

I saw blogging as a type of “tentmaking” opportunity (read more about this here). Since then I’ve learned quite a bit about blogging, the strategies required to become successful, and the art, science, and practice of digital tentmaking.

And so I became a TentBlogger.

The neat thing is that you are probably one as well! You can see if you are one by checking this list out right here. My guess is that you’re either one today or you want to be one someday (perhaps very soon).

Series Posts that Seriously Kick Butt:

Here are a few posts that I’ve poured my heart and soul into – they are what makes this blog unique and special (and hopefully super helpful). Read and work through them at your own leisure, and then tell someone else about them, if you don’t mind.

Image via iStockPhoto.

I also Guest Posted for a few other blogs:

Boring Stuff:

Yes, there’s even some “boring” stuff that I (have) to share with you:

Do you have these policies? You probably should. Yawn.