Last updated - September 29, 2020
Today at ‘Expert Speaks‘, we have Bryan Muthig, the Founder of A2Hosting Leader In Optimized Hosting For Any Need!
We are indeed thankful to Bryan that even in the midst of a busy schedule he found time to answer our questions with such patience and perfection. Probably this gesture of him is a sign of how dedicated and involved he is with the WooCommerce community.
In this interview, Bryan has talked about a different aspect of his work, challenges and motivations.
You would definitely enjoy and be benefited from reading these fascinating, informative and witty replies from this WooCommerce Wiz!
Hello Bryan, From working as an Engineer to the owner of a2hosting. How has this Journey for you?
The journey has been long and I sometimes feel that I’ve made every mistake in the book but we keep on learning and trying to get better.
What inspired you to leave your job and launch a2hosting?
We actually started A2 Hosting as a hobby business on the side so I was fortunate enough to be able to quit my full-time job once we were making enough money to do so. We were completely bootstrapped.
As a founder of a2hosting, you must have a lot of responsibilities and pressure? Which aspect of your work do you like the most?
Yes, there has been a lot of pressure and responsibility over the years. It really helps to have a great team that is there to cover your back. As a leader the best thing you can do for yourself and for your company is to build a great team and culture. Now that we have a great team in place, that takes a lot of the pressure off of me specifically. I know I have people I can trust.
So, what’s your normal day look like?
A normal morning for me is checking my calendar, email, reports and to start prioritizing. We then have a team huddle to discuss any fires that may have come up and discuss each person’s priorities for the day. Then it’s on to meetings or project “deep work” depending on the day.
What are the pros and cons of working for yourself?
I think the best pro is the challenge of continuing to grow and work on the business. I think the biggest con can be that you ultimately own all the outcomes and that can bring a lot of pressure.
As you know the whole world is trapped in the house due to Covid-19. What are the top challenges to deal with?
On one hand, as a fully remote distributed company, nothing has changed significantly for us from a work standpoint. We have been doing this for many years and have already figured out how to work well remotely although we are always looking to find ways to improve. I think the hardest thing to deal with has been the anxiety and uncertainty of how this will affect us personally and the business yet still having to provide excellent service for your customers. Our team has been amazing and I’m very proud of how we have handled this so far.
What are the Future projects of a2hosting you are currently working on?
We are currently focusing on refreshing and updating our products in 2020 and then looking at new product development in 2021.
How do you see this COVID-19 Pandemic on the online Business especially WordPress market?
I think COVID-19 has mostly accelerated the trends of things going online and the reduction in brick and mortar operations. WordPress is uniquely positioned to be able to host the needs of the continued growth of the digital world.
How do you unwind yourself after a long day? Apart from work what are your hobbies?
I have a young daughter and another daughter on the way so that keeps me quite busy! I enjoy playing hockey, tennis, and skiing.
What is the motivation behind your success and what advice you want to give people who want to follow your path?
I consider myself an accidental entrepreneur in many ways but I am so glad that I landed on this path. You don’t know what you don’t know. So go figure out what you don’t know and learn it. You’ll be surprised how others in the industry, competitors even, will help you learn your business and industry if you just ask. Coming from a technical background, I had to learn a lot about business and marketing from other people and books. I only wish I would have put more effort into that sooner, but then again, I didn’t know that I needed to!
