To view this as a video, head to our YouTube channel. If you're a free agent, you may find yourself in a situation where an agency doing the same kind of work as you offers to pay you to subcontract for them. Should you accept a lower rate for this arrangement? Join us to learn more. Link Picks Backing up Google Drive data is essential for protecting against data loss caused by accidental deletion, ransomware, and other threats that Google's built-in tools may not fully safeguard against. Generative AI testing tools are explored in this resource, which covers how artificial intelligence is transforming software quality assurance and test automation. Agentic test automation is explored on this Tricentis resource, which explains how artificial intelligence can enhance and streamline the process of testing application performance at scale. AI in software testing is explored in this resource, which covers how AI techniques are being applied to improve and automate the software testing process.

To view this as a video, head to our YouTube channel. A question came up in our community recently about whether or not to do strategy work for non-executive engagement sponsors. I talk a lot about engaging with economic buyers, particularly if you want to do strategic work. But what about strategic work with people who aren't executives in the org? Join us to learn more. Link Picks Understanding the patient intake process from start to finish, this complete guide walks through the key steps healthcare providers use to collect and manage patient information before and during a visit. Whether hiring a ghostwriter crosses an ethical line is explored in depth in this guide on ghostwriting ethics, covering what you need to know before deciding if it's the right choice for your content. Data obfuscation tools are explored in this overview, which covers the techniques and software options available for masking sensitive data to protect privacy and maintain compliance. D3.js and React together is explored in this guide, covering how to integrate the popular data visualization library with React to build dynamic, interactive charts. SpinOne's backup and recovery solution for Google Workspace helps organizations automatically protect and restore their cloud data in the event of accidental deletion, ransomware, or other data loss scenarios. Agentic testing is explored on this Tricentis page, which covers how AI agents can autonomously plan, execute, and adapt software testing workflows. Unusual Ventures explores what makes a good product manager, breaking down the key traits, skills, and mindsets that distinguish exceptional PMs from the rest. Enterprise automation and RPA are compared in this piece, which bre

To view this as a video, head to our YouTube channel. Another podcast taking on ideas for services niche. In this installment, I look at the idea of creating automation systems to spare enterprise developers and/or quality assurance folks from toil. Join us to learn more. Link Picks Jim Collins' classic business framework for what separates truly great companies from merely good ones is explored in this breakdown of *Good to Great* by Unusual Ventures. Enterprise automation and RPA are two distinct approaches to streamlining business processes, and this piece breaks down their key differences to help organizations choose the right strategy. Test environment automation for DevOps explores how automating the provisioning and management of test environments can streamline DevOps pipelines and improve release reliability. If you're new to the concept, what is agentic testing provides a practical introduction to autonomous software testing.

To view this as a video, head to our YouTube channel. "Info products" are things like podcast courses or eBooks that anyone with an internet connection can create and sell pretty easily. Can you make a living selling these types of products to software engineers? Join us to learn more. Link Picks Managing low census periods in home health can be challenging for agencies, and this resource explores strategies to help maintain staff productivity and agency stability when patient volume drops. Building a strong personal brand as a C-suite executive can help establish your authority, expand your influence, and open doors to new professional opportunities. Getting started with Go and InfluxDB walks through how to connect to and interact with InfluxDB using the Go programming language. If you've accidentally deleted important contacts from your Google account, this guide on Google Contacts recovery walks you through the steps to restore them.

This one hits close to home for me.  A reader/viewer wondered if helping companies make strategic decisions about codebases is a good niche, and I can answer this because it was once kind of my niche.    View this podcast as a video on YouTube. Picks: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unusual VC shared advice on how do you work with design partners?, with a StackRox co-founder's take on setting expectations and getting honest feedback during early product development. Workato introduced Workato Enterprise MCP, letting existing API integrations be reused as agent-callable tools for LLMs like Claude. Tricentis shows how ai test automation tools help enterprise teams automate testing, improve quality, and reduce release risk with AI-powered quality engineering. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- These podcasts are courtesy of Hit Subscribe, a content agency whose authors are all techies: https://www.hitsubscribe.com/ 

As a freelancer and service provider, you'll likely offer value during your sales and onboarding process.  But when should you stop?  When should you charge for things to show your clients that your work is valuable? View this podcast as a video on YouTube. Picks: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Careflow published a piece on patient referral leakage, covering what causes skilled nursing facilities to lose potential residents and how to reduce it. CSuite Content put out a guide on how to measure thought leadership, covering quantitative and qualitative metrics like engagement, trust, and business outcomes. Enov8 broke down devsecops vs cybersecurity, explaining how the two overlap and where DevSecOps fits specifically within the software development lifecycle. InfluxData updated their glossary entry on What is a Data Historian, looking at where traditional historians still hold up and where modern time series databases now do the job better. Spin.AI has a Google Workspace™ Backup Solution For Businesses, covering automated backups and recovery for Gmail, Drive, Calendar, and more. These podcasts are courtesy of Hit Subscribe, a content agency whose authors are all techies: https://www.hitsubscribe.com/  

Long ago, when I was blogging more regularly about identifying niches, a reader asked me how I found mine. While I don't do a ton of exposition content, I thought this topic might be interesting for viewers. View this podcast as a video on YouTube. Links of the week: Spin.AI published a breakdown of the best SSPM solutions for Google Workspace, worth a look alongside their Google Workspace backup and recovery offering. Unusual VC has a useful piece on accelerating your content flywheel. Workato covered the top Marketo integrations worth knowing about. Wrangle shared a collection of help desk ticket response templates for support teams. Tricentis put out a practical guide on how to speed up Oracle deployments.

If you're offering services as a freelancer, does it make sense to unbundle strategy from labor? This episode digs into that question. This podcast is courtesy of Hit Subscribe. Prefer to watch the video version of this podcast? View this podcast as a video, here! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Links of the week: Careflow published a guide to patient referral leakage and how to reduce it. CSuite Content took a look at the leadership brand behind Partake Brewing's Ted Fleming. Enov8 broke down the differences between data mesh vs data lake architectures. InfluxData published a practical guide to using D3.js with React.

If you have a single big client, engaging your services for an unspecified amount of time, it can be easy to fall into an employee-employer style relationship. How can you avoid that? View this podcast as a video on YouTube. Picks: -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CSuite Content published a guide to brand strategy consulting firms and how to choose the right partner. Enov8 shared a post explaining Duck Creek data masking and why it matters for insurance platforms. InfluxData added a glossary entry breaking down database indexing and how it improves query performance. Unusual VC published a piece on AI in software development and what it means for startups. Careflow recently covered the patient intake process and how healthcare teams can improve efficiency. Tricentis, who makes testing tools, published a guide to quality management. Workato published an ultimate guide to optimizing NPS and improving customer feedback workflows. Autify shared a primer on AI test case generation and how AI can speed up software testing. Spin.AI published a guide to Google Workspace backup and recovery.

For a while, I was getting a lot of questions about whether something would be a good niche for indies. In this video, I answer the question of whether improving code performance is a good niche. Join us to learn more. View this podcast as a video on YouTube. Links of the week: CSuite Content published an introduction to personal PR and managing your personal brand. Enov8 has a new guide to GCP data masking. InfluxData added a glossary entry explaining overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). Unusual VC published a piece on AI in software development and what it means for startups. Careflow recently covered patient intake management software on their blog. Tricentis, who makes testing tools, put out an introduction to AI test automation. Workato shared a guide to logistics automation. Autify published a primer on AI quality assurance. Spin.AI broke down the differences between CASB vs SSPM

You may hear the terms "niche" and "positioning" tossed around a lot, often interchangeably. What do these really mean, and what's the difference? Join us to learn more. View this podcast as a video on YouTube. Links of the week: CSuite Content just shared a guide to enterprise reputation management. Enov8 has a new checklist for DLP. InfluxData recently updated a node red dashboard tutorial for 2026. Unusual VC has an interesting explainer of how startups can pivot. Careflow started publishing to their blow recently, including a post about longitudinal health records (and why they don't work). Tricentis, provider of software testing tools, updated their offering around data integrity testing.

Maybe you're currently employed or between jobs. But it occurs to you that you want to go off on your own and start consulting (as opposed to freelancing with labor services). How do you do that? Join us to learn more. View this podcast as a video on YouTube. Links of the week: CSuite Content has a practical guide to executive bios for business leaders. Enov8 shared a clear explainer on Oracle ERP data masking. InfluxData put together a getting-started guide to in-memory databases. Unusual VC explored how AI is changing software development. Careflow is a referral management platform for healthcare organizations. Tricentis explains AI Quality Assurance for modern testing teams.

Plenty of employees entertain the idea of going freelance. But one of the biggest barriers to entry is the perceived risk of doing so. Is there a way to jump to freelancing with minimal risk? Join us to learn more. View this podcast as a video on YouTube. Links of the week: CSuite Content published a practical guide to Gen-Z slang for business leaders. Enov8 shared a clear explainer on SAP data masking. InfluxData put together a getting-started guide to MQTT. Unusual Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm focused on technical founders. Careflow is a referral management platform for healthcare organizations. Tricentis offers Oracle App Testing for teams running Oracle E-Business Suite.

In this installment, a question submitter wonders whether it would be better to earn promotions into leadership before leaving the salaried world, or whether to leave as an individual contributor. Which is the right path? Join us to learn more. View this podcast as a video on YouTube. Links of the week: CSuite Content published a practical guide on how often executives should post on social media, including benchmarks and strategy tips for staying visible without becoming noise. Enov8 shared a clear explainer on test data in auditing, breaking down what it is, why it matters, and how teams should think about it from a compliance and risk perspective. InfluxData put together a solid glossary entry on data lakes, covering what they are, how they work, and when they make sense compared to other data architectures.

Occasionally, you might find yourself with a whale client, or at least a profitable one, that treats you poorly and shows no trust in you. How should you handle this? Join us to learn more. View this podcast as a video on YouTube. Links of the week: Enov8 published a helpful guide to data masking tools (and they also define data masking, if you're interested). Our friends over at CSuite Content published an interesting guide to becoming a thought leader. And finally, Tricentis put out a round-up of AI testing tools.

Occasionally, you might find yourself with a whale client, or at least a profitable one, that treats you poorly and shows no trust in you. How should you handle this? Join us to learn more. View this podcast as a video on YouTube. Links of the week: Enov8 has a helpful guide to test data management. The DataOpsZone community site has a handy explainer about the concept of referential integrity. This guide to ephemeral environments from Test Environment Management.  

Sometimes a client is looking for labor and expects you to bundle in the strategic piece. For instance, they expect architecture to come along with a software development project. How to handle this? Join us to learn more. View this podcast as a video on YouTube. Links of the week: Enov8 recently published a take on application portfolio management best practices, for you enterprise fans. Spin has a round-up of the top SSPM vendors, if you're in the market. I just recently learned that Industry 4 is a thing, and what it is, thanks to Influx's glossary. If you're looking for help with Ansible tags, Netbox Labs has an introductory guide to the subject.  

Depending on fate to bring you business can lead to gaps between projects. How do you setup some kind of sales funnel and get leads into it to avoid these gaps? Join us to learn more. View this podcast as a video on YouTube. Links of the week: Enov8's guide to data masking.  This comparison of Logstash and Fluentd from Sawmills. Tricentis's (Testim's) AI-powered Salesforce Testing (also in German, French, and Japanese). A definition of SSPM from Spin.AI.  

You're collaborating with your client on a time-sensitive deadline and you get sick.  How should you handle that?  Whose problem is it, ultimately? Join us to learn more. View this podcast as a video on YouTube. Links of the week: Enov8's list of enterprise architecture tools to be aware of in 2025.  This introduction to the subject of log parsing from Sawmills. Tricentis's legacy tool replacement solutions (also in German and French). A guide from Testim on unit testing in React Native.  

You've got a full-time job but want to go indie, and you line up your first contract. How do you think about how much runway you need to create between current savings and that first contract, for when it expires? Join us to learn more. View this podcast as a video on YouTube. Links of the week: A post from Sawmills, which introduces log parsing, explains its importance for transforming unstructured logs into actionable data and outlines best practices for efficient and scalable implementation. Learn how Tricentis Data Integrity helps ensure end-to-end data accuracy and reliability across complex enterprise systems through automated testing and validation. (The Data Integrity page is also available to read in German, French, and Japanese).