Cloudways: Scott, thank you for joining me here today. Let’s start with a very traditional question: Please share some of your career highlights with our readers. What kind of challenges did you face initially in your career?
Scott: With my career, I really had no commercial intention and started out my career doing five years of volunteer work and spending time in meditation retreats. So when it came to running a business, I had no idea about how to charge the right amount and I was really just focused on doing great work. When I had more financial demands, I gradually worked them out I had to get a more commercial perspective towards my work and was glad that my clients were agreeable.
Cloudways: When did you first discover Magento and how do you compare it with other ecommerce platforms? Imagine Magento didn’t exist, what would be your second choice?
Scott: I first came across Magento early in my web development times, ten years ago. It was my passion for open source technology that led me to it. I was also getting started in SEO and found that Magento matched nicely with my desire to work with open source and also be an SEO-friendly platform.
Cloudways: At Creativ Digital, how do you handle the development process of a Magento project? Could you please share some of the tools, tips, and tricks that you regularly employ?
Scott: For each project, we invest a lot of time at the early stages of system architecture to be sure we are matching our solution to needs of the client. This helps ensure a clean build without too many unexpected features in the later stages. We also try to give the clients regular previews of our work to get early feedback and ensure the project is on track. And with Magento, the final stage of optimising the site for speed is important and especially having a fast host.
Cloudways: How do you personally define the term “Success?” How do you measure up to your own definition?
Scott: For me, it is being happy with what you do and being contented. It has nothing to do with the size of your business or financial wealth.
Cloudways: What does it take to be a successful leader of a development company such as Creativ Digital?
Scott: Patience is a key quality because, despite ambitions, good work takes time and effort.
Cloudways: How do you strengthen unity and trust factor within your team? What vital points do you focus on while planning the workflows of the teams that work under your supervision?
Scott: I focus on my staff’s wellbeing and happiness. If they are happy, teamwork will follow automatically.
Cloudways: Scott, how do you like to keep your workstation.
Scott: Generally pretty messy, glasses of green juice, smoothies, coffee. A stack of paperwork on the to-do pile. The paperwork is mostly personal stuff as I am paperless for the office work.
Cloudways: What are your suggestions for newbies and students who intend to be Magento developers?
Scott: Just get started with the basics and practice a lot. Magento was quite new when I was getting started so I was able to learn on the job. Once you have some basic skills try to get some client projects that will stretch your knowledge.
Cloudways: Here comes my favorite question! As The Managing Director of Creativ Digital, what does your daily routine look like? How do you manage your work-life balance? What are your hobbies and interests?
Scott: I like to start my day with an hour of silent mindfulness meditation. I get my son off to school. Setting priorities is something I do at the start of the day or the night before which keeps me focused. I’ll then check in with my staff and get started for the day. I have been getting into road cycling lately and enjoy that as a way to keep fit and clear my head. Otherwise, time with my family is a priority to keep the balance.
Cloudways: Mentors play a vital role in career development. Who influenced you or inspired you the most in your professional life?
Scott: Actually my wife Megan gets most of the credit as she is very honest and often told me what I needed to hear. She is also very encouraging to help me believe in what I am doing. I was also lucky to have a business coach Harry Goldstein and a mentor Paul Wallbank. Both were really inspirational for my success.
Cloudways: Cloudways provides 1-Click Magento installation with impressive speed & great cloud infrastructures embedded within the platform. Would you prefer shared hosting for Magento stores or a cloud hosting environment like Cloudways offers?
Scott: I am currently using Cloudways for my Magento projects. The main reason is the isolated environment for Magento to run at its best, without competing for resources on shared hosting. It is also scalable as the stores grow and get more traffic. The cache features also help the sites run fast and needs fewer resources.
Fayyaz Khattak
Fayyaz, a passionate Motorbike tourist, works as a Team Lead — Magento Community at Cloudways - A Managed Magento Hosting Platform. His objective is to learn & share about PHP & Magento Development in Community. You can contact him at [email protected]
