The Developer as the Product: Cory House on Building a Personal Brand in Tech 🚀

In this engaging episode of Product Driven, host Matt Watson reconnects with long-time colleague Cory House, a renowned React consultant, Pluralsight author, and software development thought leader. They explore the fascinating journey of building a personal brand in technology. Cory shares his evolution from full-time developer to independent consultant and how he leveraged content creation, conference speaking, and specialized expertise to create a sustainable business.

Cory reveals how narrowing his focus to become a React specialist dramatically increased client inquiries, and shares practical advice on risk management for those considering the independent path. He emphasizes the importance of building your reputation and client base before making the leap to independence, noting that true independence requires intentional preparation rather than impulsive decisions.

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Connect with Cory House:

Twitter/X: @housecor

Website: https://reactjsconsulting.com

Courses: https://pluralsight.com/authors/cory-house

Key Discussion Points:

The incremental path to independence: building a side business while maintaining full-time employment

Specialized marketing strategies that generated client opportunities without traditional advertising

Balancing work, personal time, and productivity as an independent consultant

The power of consistent content creation and reputation-building in technical fields

Strategic specialization and how to navigate technology trends without getting trapped

Episode Chapters:

00:01 - Introduction and Background

01:16 - The Beginning of Cory's Consulting Journey

03:12 - Balancing Personal Time and Productivity

04:51 - Building a Reputation Through Speaking and Content

07:23 - The Path from Social Anxiety to Public Speaking

09:33 - The Long Game of Building a Personal Brand

11:27 - From Side Business to Full Independence

14:22 - The Transition to Full-Time Independence

16:45 - Finding Clients and Managing Risk

18:47 - Content Marketing as a Business Strategy

21:00 - Finding Focus and Audience on Social Media

23:41 - Technology Specialization and Future Trends

27:54 - The Flexibility of Software Development Skills

29:17 - Single Page Applications and Technology Trends

31:42 - Where to Find Cory Online

Discover the strategies that transformed Cory from a developer with anxiety about public speaking to a globally recognized technology consultant who's worked with 75 companies over the past decade. A must-listen for...