Finely Tuned Consultant: James Dalman

When he is not working or spending time with family or friends, you might find him chasing tornadoes across Oklahoma.

In His Own Words:

 My grade school teacher told me I’d never do anything in my life because I would draw too much in class. I’ve gone on to create artwork for some of the biggest brands on the planet and done some incredible things with WordPress. My business allows me the flexibility to spend time with my family and to travel. I’d say my teacher was wrong!

Ed: I agree with James!  Sometimes, teachers need to let their students create their own success instead of prescribing some “right” way to create value and live a meaningful life.  WordPress is an awesome platform because of the freedom it provides people to create something that inspires them.

Ahem.  Now onto James’ answers!

When was the first time that you really got excited about WordPress and at what point did you decide to make it your career?

Even though I started my first WordPress.com blog in 2004, it wasn’t until 2007 that I finally discovered how great of a tool WP and themes were. I learned how to install, launch, customize, and host my own websites and from that moment on, I was hooked.

I was also fortunate to meet a great guy and fellow Oklahoman, Cory Miller, who had just launched iThemes. A year later I joined the team and was on my way to designing themes and learning how to take WP to the max. I’m very thankful for that opportunity and it was a catalyst to what I do now.

Where do you go first to get your WP news, insights, and updates?

Most of the news I get comes from the great people and friends I follow on Twitter. To be honest, I don’t keep up with the ‘WP Community’ like I used to  but I do check out WP Candy from time to time.

What WP consultants deserve more love than they get? Who should we be paying attention to?

There are three amazing people that come to mind:

• Bill Erickson, a very talented developer who contributes a lot to other developers.
• Shawn Hesketh who offers the best training through WP101.com.
• Brian Richards who created Startbox, an awesome WP framework

All these guys are down to earth dudes who contribute to the WP ecosystem and I can’t thank them enough for what they’ve done for me personally.

What performance tips would you give to other pros (as related to speed, scalability, security, plugins, backup, etc)?

LOL! I color pictures and blow up code, so asking me that might be detrimental to your website. I can say this … too many plugins kill innocent kittens all over the world.

On my side of WP, people aren’t charging enough for their services or they don’t understand how to build a profitable, sustainable business. There are plenty of opportunities to make a GREAT living with WP if you know how to do it right.

Confess to us your biggest moment of WP fail? 

Launching WP Design Coach. The concept was valuable to people wanting to make a living in web design, but I couldn’t take the strategies I created at WebDesign.com and make it work for a one man shop. I moved from a membership model to personal coaching, but then my WordPress web design services skyrocketed. I ended up shutting it down and retooling it as WP Web Designer, a blog that gets love as I have time.

If you were going to spend this weekend creating a plugin that doesn’t exist, what would it be?

I’d love to see a better portfolio plugin option for artists and photographers. NextGen Gallery is good, but it can be complex and difficult to use. I would also like a robust scheduling calendar and client management plugin.

Do you use Themes & Child Themes, Roll your own, or both? 

I use both for semi-custom projects. My usual “go to” products are StudioPress, WooThemes, or Elegant Themes. I’m working with Jarrod Pyper to design a few child themes for Startbox and hopefully will get to release a couple Genesis child themes this year.

What’s your favorite theme or theme framework? Why?

My favorite theme framework, and the one I believe to be the best, is Genesis. I worked with Nathan Rice and I know he’s insane about developing something with excellence. Genesis is fast, easy to use, and extremely dependable. Plus there are more amazing websites built on that framework compared to any others on the market.

Driskill is a very nice, minimalistic design for a child theme.  Wink, wink.

Favorite plugin?

Back Up Buddy. It’s something that can save your backside when it all goes wrong.

Least favorite plugin?

I’m not really sure. Any of them that require too much thought to use out of the box is something I abhor.

What do you think is the biggest challenge that WP consultants will face in 2012? 

The opportunity for website designers and web developers is amazing! The challenge is that most will have to get better at selling their expertise and value if they want to make a good living – especially with more people entering the field. WP Consultants may also want to consider specialization to build their brand and client list.

If you could change one thing today about WP, what would it be?

This may be a highly unpopular answer, but the behind the doors politics and childish antics that sometimes go on within certain cliques in the community. It’s not rampant, but you can see it if you really look.

Where do you see WordPress going in the next 2-3 years?

WordPress will continue to grow and evolve as a CMS platform, especially since there are so many outstanding people who have invested their lives into it. I do think there will be some competitors such as SquareSpace trying to make a run for marketshare, but unless WP becomes complacent, it will be hard to challenge it. I also believe that over 80% of small business sites will be powered by WordPress within the next two years.

Tell us a story where you saved the WP day for yourself or on a client project.  What made the difference for you?

WordPress has been great for me all around. It has provided me with work that I love to do and pays well. It’s also given me the chance to help others by giving back and training people how to start their own businesses, especially stay-at-home moms and military veterans.

What’s the biggest misconception you encounter about WordPress, and how do you clear it up for your clients?

The biggest problem by far is educating clients that WordPress works great as a CMS and is more than a blogging tool. Many of my clients don’t fully understand WP but they have heard they should be using it. Providing education and resources helps with this need.

If you were interviewing another WordPress developer for a job, what is the first question you would ask and why?

Can you take my PSD and make it look as good as the original? Of course, there are the expectations that the design isn’t a nightmare to work with! This is one reason why I love Bill Erickson! He gets my PSDs and we work together to ensure our clients get the best of both worlds.

What did I miss?  Here’s your chance to fill in the blanks and add something you want people to know about you!

My passion is seeing others build profitable, sustainable businesses that meet their lifestyle goals and values. And it can be done with WordPress! If there is anyone out there who has been struggling to get where they want to be, I want to encourage them to keep pressing forward. Give me a shout and I’ll do my best to help. Finally, if you can mentor someone, please consider it because giving back is a value of WordPress.

Thanks James!

Since we’ve already got a few backlinks for James, you can scroll back up to get to his portfolio and see if you’d like to hire him.  Needless to say, we definitely recommend it.  To see what he’s up to, you can follow him on Twitter at @jamesdalman.