Case Study: Amber Dyer

How did you find out about WP Rockstar?

Well, I was actually doing Latoya’s Anatomy of Automation course, and I think GeekWeek was advertised in one of her email messages. So I joined GeekWeek and I found out about it that way. So I did get GeekWeek and I loved every minute of it. So I just took the plunge. It was so good. It was so much fun. I had a blast all week.

What was your life like before you completed/joined WP Rockstar?

So my life before WP Rockstar, I had just been made redundant because of the lovely Covid. And then about a week after it got made redundant, I found out I was pregnant. So I needed a job, asap. And so I was trying lots of different things because I thought with the baby coming, I didn't want to be commuting all over the place like I had done in my previous job. I wanted something that I could sort of be with him as I was working, which was a bit of a shift because I never thought I'd be that mom. But here we are. But yeah, so I was trying out different things. I was leaving the automation course, and then when I signed up to GeekPack®, I thought - This is what I want to do. And then it works so well with automation because they sort of go hand in hand so nicely. So yeah, it was a bit hit and miss because it was, you know, it was I came from a really stable sort of office job to all of a sudden being plunged into all sorts. So it was a bit of a life saver. So that was good. The baby is one and a half now, so I've been doing this for a while, but it's really good. It's exactly what I wanted. So that's all good. And if I need to sort of drop everything because he's having a bit of a meltdown, I know he needs to get outside for a bit. Then I can because I can just make my own hours. So it's invaluable really.

What actions did you take as a result of taking the course and being part of the community?

What actions I took as being part of the community. I guess it was. I guess it sort of made me more accountable to actually do the course and get set up. And it was nice seeing everybody else having the exact same imposter syndrome, I guess like it sort of it gets you a bit more confident when you realize you're not the only person who's freaking out about all these changes in your life, you know? And then if you ever have any sort of bits that you just don't understand or you need help with, or even now, with client work just dropping a message into the group, there's always going to be someone that responds within like 5 minutes so you can carry on so quickly. It's not like other groups were to wait around for like days and maybe get a response. It's the whole community so active and helpful and it's yeah, it's been an absolute godsend, really. Yeah, you know, to give you something to think about and you thought, oh, I didn't think of it that way, but actually that's my problem. So it's just so useful and so many different folks.

Did you have any experience as a freelancer or building websites prior to joining WP Rockstar?

Not at all. I had absolutely zero experience with it. My grandpa was an ethical coder, so I had seen coding, but he was on like a different level. And then my brother, he's very much into coding as well. So it's sort of been on my peripheral, but it wasn't ever something I thought I could do. But then again, doing the code, the five day coding challenge, I was like, Oh, this is so much easier than I thought it would be because yeah, it's just, it was just one of those things where it seems a bit unreachable or you think you need to be like slightly borderline genius to be able to do it. But actually when it's broken down so easily, it's like, Oh, you know, my kid could do this. You know, if I showed. But no, working as a freelancer. Never. I think I had done odd things for people just to help them out, but nothing running my own business or anything major and. Yeah, no, not at all. Website building it again. It just seemed a bit like coding as in it just seems like it's one of these difficult things that geniuses do and and do and they're really good at it, but it's not bad at all. And there's some things that, there's some things that people ask me to do where I'm like, Ooh, that's a bit of a tricky one. And actually it's quite fun trying to figure out the puzzle pieces to get it all to work, especially doing the automation side of things as well. It's such a puzzle from there, you know, from the client system, the CRM system to connecting their website to making sure all their shops and everything is working, connected. It's such a big puzzle, but it is, it's, it's really rewarding when you figure it out. And I was finding a lot of people who wanted automations done. I had to be able to understand how their website worked as well. And on the flip side of that, when I build a website for somebody, they're like, Oh, could you just connect it to here so that they can get all the emails and things? So it works so well together. So I didn't have to, you know, do one side and then hand it off to somebody. I can just do the whole thing. But yeah, I find it works better because in the end as well, the client has continuity and seeing a face on the other end doing their stuff for them. So yeah.

Have you ever had any contact with coding before the course or did you feel intimidated by it?

No. Like I said, contact with coaching before the course other than seeing my grandpa do it and my brother. Because yeah, my grandpa did ethical code. Ethical hacking, um, other than that sort of thing that just looked intimidating because it was just a wall of letters and numbers that didn't seem to mean anything. And then when my younger brother started doing it, I thought, Oh, you know, well, if my brother can do it, surely it's not that hard. He is much younger than me. If he's there coding and making little video games from coding, it's like surely it can't be that difficult if you know he's doing it. And then yeah, with the, you know, the coding challenge, all of a sudden it seemed like it wasn't that scary. And all the letters and numbers and the different colors made sense all of a sudden. And it just sort of clicks, you know. Yeah. Before it, before this. Other than being really intimidated by what everybody else was doing, it seemed unmanageable until I actually sat down and thought, I'm going to try it, see what's the worst that can happen.

Can you talk a little bit about how you made your first thousand dollars?

So my first thousand dollars. So finding the client was actually one of those don't burn bridges when you left sort of things because it was actually my previous employer who had had to make me redundant for coach because of COVID, and they were trying to just keep the business afloat. They're the ones that hired me as my first client that I got the first thousand from. So it was really a, I guess you could say a bit of good karma to be able to be like, Ah, the tables turned sort of thing. But yeah, it was really good. So they just wanted sort of a revamp of their website and then they wanted help with doing their online courses as well for the training team. So it was building all of that out for them as well, which if you can build a website, you can build an online course. It's so easy compared to websites. So it's one of those I thought, Yeah, I'll do that. That's fun. Jump, jump right in. And then I can tell you what, after being made redundant by them and then being able to send a big invoice to them felt so good. It really and then they've stayed on as a client. So like this summer we've been working with them and I actually got to send my first ever invoice of five figures and it felt amazing. So it's, it's really good. But yeah, so that's how I found my first client. And since then they've sort of passed me on to sort of like their sister companies and everything. So it's, it's, it's going well. It's going really well. You first find the first few and then it just sort of snowballs from there and you end up getting referrals from so many different people. So it's really good.

How much time on average did you put into the course?

Um, I think I did it in the sort of the three months sort of roadmap. So I was doing about an hour a day but saying that that I know sometimes that can seem like a lot, but it was more I sort of went through the videos because they were really short, sweet and quick and then because I was also trying to use it to help build my own sort of website and do stuff along the side and then just reviewing and going back over it just to make sure I haven't missed anything that sort of what took the hour, but it didn't feel like pressure was on or anything with it, which was nice. And I also knew if I did have a big stumbling block, I could just ask the community and someone would fly into the rescue. Yeah, it's it's it wasn't. It wasn't anything that you felt pressured to get done. But at the same time, you enjoyed doing it. So it didn't really feel like the time commitment was difficult or like it didn't feel sort of pressured to make the time because you had fun doing it and it didn't. It wasn't that intense. But you still learned so much in about an eight minute video, so its value for time was insane.

Did you think that the roadmap was helpful?

Yeah. So the roadmap they have is part of GeekPack®, it really sort of helps you stay on target because I know having a little one and trying to do it around everything else that you have to do, knowing that having something on your list, this is what I need to get done by today. So useful. Like I'm a big believer in listening to having something sort of and I had it in my clicker as well. So I got a notification if I needed to do something that day. And just having that they're saying just get this little bit done today and knowing that it wasn't like a huge hour where you just sit and staring at the video, it seemed really achievable. And it's also having that sort of map. So you know exactly what needs to be done so you can get something by then. Time frame is invaluable because there's so many courses that I've tried that I just don't end up doing or even starting because it just seems like I just don't have the time or, you know, you collect them all then. Yeah. And then you just never get them finished. But having something with a road map saying, oh, I want to get it done, by this time I can start this day and just do little and often, you know, and that that really helps you just, you know, get that go. Yeah, because I'm that sort of person that will do something that's not on their list. So I'll write it on my list just to be able to cross it off, you know. So, especially because they have the clicker sort of roadmap, I could take it off of my roadmap and pick up a sort of celebration every time you get stuff done, doesn't it? So it's like words to me. So that's really good.

Did you feel supported when going through the WP Rockstar curriculum and being part of the community?

So the support structure and GeekPack® is phenomenal. Whether it's in the free group or the actual paid group when you're in the membership. Honestly, I've never seen a community like it on Facebook. It has. There's always somebody there. And because everyone's from all over the world, it doesn't matter what time zone you're in, you'll still get an answer or some form of help. Within 5 minutes. And it's incredible. And if you ever have like stumbling blocks with any of the coursework or even how to log in to things or log on to things, even that there's always somebody there to say, oh, you know, just drop me a message and I can help you out, or who knows the answer or so you never feel like you're on your own, which I think also helps you complete the course because people seem like they're invested in achieving and whereas a lot of courses, again, you sign up for them, you get the course stuff and you just never hear from the person again other than their email marketing. You know that having somebody there with, you know, it's the accountability. Again, I think because you have so many people alongside you doing the same thing, you feel like, Oh, I want to stay with this group and people will help me. So I'm not going to be isolated if I can't figure something out. So yeah, it's just amazing. And as well, now that I have client work, there's been a few things with clients that I just could not figure out or I was thinking about completely the wrong way and being able to ask a group like, Guys, this is the problem I'm having. And about ten people were like, Oh, have you tried this way? Or I once had this problem and this is how I fixed it, or, you know, they're just so willing to help. And it's nice because you would think that it's sort of a saturated market, but it really isn't. There are so many people. So then the people who are doing it can sort of afford to help others, which is nice, you know? Yeah. The website's infinite, isn't it? So. Well, the web world is rather infinite, so having so many people doesn't matter. So they're more likely to help you because they don't feel like they're going to lose a job by you being able to do it as well. So it's nice.

What are your future plans?

Oh, so future plans for my business. That's always a bit of a tricky one because it's one of those things, where would I love to retire? Of course I would. And have like passive income and then, you know, sort of be a lady of leisure a little bit and just go travelling and stuff, right? But actually because I enjoy doing what I'm doing now so much, I feel like I could have missed it forever. And I know that's one of these things that you don't hear often, but I've thought about sort of doing an agency eventually or that. But at the moment I'm so happy with what I'm doing. I don't know. I just sort of continue doing this until I want a bit of a change of pace, I guess. So there's no real big plans, but then there's no real pressure for that to have to be. Because, you know, I can easily make ends meet and support the kids and all that sort of stuff. So I don't feel any pressure to have to make a big, big final plan. Would I like to expand and have people on? Maybe eventually. But at the minute, yeah, I'm very content doing what I'm doing and I'm loving it. So I guess, I guess future plans will happen at some point, but at the minute it's just nice that everything's sort of working and you know, it's just kind of peaceful and plateaued and I can go off traveling and, you know, when the kids are out of school or my toddler who's not in school yet, so he's portable. So we can just go on like we can take trips in the middle of the week to visit friends for their birthdays and things. And it's just nice to be able to do that. So future plans wise, if I could do this for the next few years, I'd be happy, you know, because I know we're thinking of moving to Gibraltar as well at some point. And because it's a portable job, I can just take everything. It really doesn't make a difference. So it's, it's ideal, really. I don't have to have the stress of, well, what am I going to do? We do move countries. You don't have any of that. It's just oh my times not to note to the clients oh my time zones changing ever so slightly, you know, and that's it. So it's better than that, right?

What stood out to you about WP Rockstar?

What stood out to me about GeekPack® and WP Rockstar? I think what really sold it to me was GeekWeek for anybody who hasn't done it yet. Oh my goodness. It will blow your mind. There is so much value packed into a short week. It's insane. And it does. And for everybody who's like, Oh, well, if they're, you know, they're giving that much value, is the course actually worth it? Yes, because it is constantly updated. Is this whole community that comes with it that supports you, which in GeekWeek, you could really see the enthusiasm and not just the enthusiasm of people on the course. The people running the course like it's just infectious and makes you want to. So for anybody sitting on the fence, I'd say it will change your life. I know that sort of tale is spun about every course on the Internet, but it really does. It's yeah. I think Julia's passion, especially how she gets really emotional when people start saying nice things to her. It's just like it means so much to her, not just for her business to do well, but for everybody working with her and doing her course. It means the world to her and seeing that sort of emotion and passion just sort of sells it to you that little bit more that if she's that if she's that passionate about rooting for you when you're not on her course, what's she going to be like when you are you know, and it is it's it's not just Julia it's the whole team are so helpful. And you really felt like you were going to be sort of mollycoddled through it, which is nice. And it's one of those things, if you don't want to be, that's fine. You can do it on your own. But if you want that extra support structure, you know, there's going to be like ten people jumping in to help you if you need it at any point. And yeah, it was just so exciting. And also seeing how easy something that seems so difficult can be, I think it's sort of like, you know, opens your world, opens your eyes that, you know, the world is your oyster. So yeah, if anything stood out, I think it would be Julia's passion especially and how engaging and how kind her community was. Because when you're in the community, there's no judgement. There's no, Oh, well, why don't you know that already? Or you know, there's none of that. It's just purely support, even on the dumbest questions. Yeah. Like something you think is I'm going to actually kick myself and someone tells you the answer, but there's no judgement from anybody else. They're just like, Aha, you know, all you have to do is pass. And if you need extra help, let us know. So it's being completely not judged as is. Yeah, I think those are the things that stood out the most amazing. And yeah, that is I mean I think that was one thing that really stood out for me is like Julia's question is just do you ever think that it's really, really amazing to see that she cares so much? Yeah. She truly wants everybody to achieve, which is you can feel it, you know, during GeekWeek and everything.

What would you say to someone who’s on the fence about joining WP Rockstar?

Would I recommend WP Rockstar? Absolutely. It seems like a bit of a chunk of investment initially at first. But when you actually get into the course, like the five day coding challenge is just the tip of the iceberg. It shows you everything, especially with the phases. It shows you everything from how to set up your business to the actual work. And so you feel like you're supported every step of the way. Because I know with a lot of people the bits that are tricky are figuring out your pricing and how to set it up and what to do when you do get a client, what do you do next? Like how do you intake them so that they feel supported as a client and they have all the communication and all that is explained in WP Rockstar. So honestly, it's sort of like a business in a box and it's incredible. And then it comes with the whole support system as well, which you couldn't pay for a better one. So even on yeah, even in the free group, it's amazing how many people are there and willing to help you. So it's really good. But being in actual GeekPack®, you do get a lot more value from the community because they have, you know, discussion topics and they have I think it's Shannon who just seems to know everything about everything when it comes to website building. Like she is just a fountain of knowledge and just having her to bounce questions off of is incredible, not to mention all the other thousands of people in there. So it's yeah, definitely highly recommended.