The Business of Drupal
Drupal is a CMS. Drupal is a framework. Drupal is a piece of software which allows us to create amazing online experiences. Drupal is its awesome community. For some of us Drupal is a way of life. But what else is Drupal?
Drupal is our business.
Whether you are a freelancer, a small design agency or a much larger company, Drupal plays a vital role in growing and supporting your business. But let's face it, a lot of us started out as developers and designers, with plenty of technical skills but little in the way of business experience. Along the way, some amazing Drupal-based businesses and products have emerged. In the community we are there to learn, share and create new things together. This is true for technology but also true for business.
This year we want members of the community to come share how they are growing and scaling their own businesses.
Increased competition
Drupal agencies are facing increasingly tougher competition from those offering alternative solutions and services but also due to a growing number of providers in the marketplace. We need to look at not only how we generate new leads for our businesses, but how do we convince potential clients that Drupal is the best, that we are the best?
How do we grow and scale?
Growing and scaling your business can be a tricky and daunting task. Too often companies have found themselves in the situation of taking on too large a project with no way to meet the demands put upon them and end up neglecting other clients and opportunities, and nearly putting themselves out of business in the process. We need to consider strategies for how to grow our businesses, and how to do so sustainably.
Staying ahead
Markets change faster and faster, so does our market. We need to adapt our products and offering to stay competitive and minimize our business risks. Perhaps it means diversifying your service offerings, perhaps it means extending into new markets or verticals. However, we also need to consider how to keep clients happy and how to continue to meet their changing needs through innovation and/or diversification. We'd like to hear your thoughts and experiences here.
Drupal 8
The release of Drupal 8 brings many new challenges for our businesses, not least of which are the impacts on development processes, and how to convince clients to switch to Drupal 8 when Drupal 7 is well established with a large ecosystem of tried and tested contributed extensions. What is your strategy for leveraging Drupal 8 for the benefit of your business? We have a big chance to win market share in the CMS business right now with Drupal 8, let’s explore how to use this opportunity.
Share your experiences
At DrupalCon Dublin this year, we want people to openly and honestly share their experiences, best practices, and lessons learnt. We want facts and figures - prove to us that your way is best.
Need ideas? Here are some questions to get your inspiration flowing:
- What are the challenges you've faced when selling Drupal to clients, and how have you overcome them?
- How do you market and position your business to attract new customers?
- Selling to existing customers is much easier than finding new ones, what are your strategies for keeping your clients happy?
- How do you grow and scale your business while retaining stability, profitability and company culture? How were your management structures and processes impacted?
- Did you diversify your service offering? What were the benefits and pitfalls?
- Have you tried entering new markets or verticals? What were the challenges faced and how did you handle them?
Whatever your experience is, whether it be running a small 2 person operation or scaling to 30 and beyond, we want to hear from you. Your experience and insight is invaluable and we know others will think so too.
Come to Dublin and share your experiences with us, and submit a session to the Business Track today!
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Stella Power
Business and Strategy Track Chair
DrupalCon Dublin