Doing what? That question kept me up at night. I had no idea, and with a general business degree, it felt like I could do everything and nothing at the same time.

At some point, I stumbled upon the Centre for Social Innovation and decided that I absolutely had to work there. I wrote up a cover letter, tweaked my resume, and sent it off.

I received a response within 14 minutes.

And while things didn’t end up working out with the Centre for Social Innovation (though I did end up spending some time volunteering for them), this email shows the power of taking the time to really showcase how badly you want something, and why you would be a good fit.

If I received a thoughtful email like the one I sent Tonya below, I would take the time to speak to the applicant over the phone or on Zoom. Every single time. I would at least give them the chance.

And that’s exactly what we teach people at Juno. Opportunities are there for you, but you have to do the work and put yourself out there. And you have to follow up.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Tonya Surman, Executive Director
Colleen Diamond, Executive Assistant and Project Coordinator
Emelia Horn, Volunteer Coordinator
Centre for Social Innovation
215 Spadina Avenue, Suite 120
Toronto, Ontario
M5T 2C7

To Tonya Surman, Colleen Diamond and Emelia Horn,

I am not writing to you today because I want to volunteer with the Centre for Social Innovation (though it’s good to know that you need bodies). Instead, I’d like to convince you to hire me as an intern. I would especially like to work for you full-time, for a year, starting in June (if that works for you). But don’t worry; it won’t cost you a dime. I hope you’ll allow me to explain.

I’ve been waiting to write this letter to you since October 7, 2009. I remember the date because I wrote it in my journal — it was the day that I finished reading The Small-Mart Revolution by Michael H. Shuman, which led me to “Green Enterprise Toronto,” which led me to your website. For months, I had been searching for an organization to which I could lend my skills, knowledge and experience. I was also looking for one that resonated with my personal beliefs and passions. After exploring the Centre for Social Innovation’s website (and conducting a fairly detailed Google search), I
had the feeling that I had finally found it.

The reason that I waited until now to write this letter is because, though I am a very proud Canadian, I currently live in China. During my final semester at the University of Western Ontario, I decided to participate in an academic exchange program in Hong Kong. I also planned to spend the summer in Europe, and then come home to begin my career with a Fortune 500 company. I had a job offer, signing bonus and an entire life planned out and waiting for me in Toronto.

After a month away from home (Caledon, Ontario), it hit me. I realized that I wasn’t actually passionate about encouraging people to consume as many Oreos and Bagel-fuls as they could. In fact, the thought of spending even one
day working for a company whose mission didn’t thrill me suddenly felt like a tragedy. I declined the job offer and, since I had no idea what I actually wanted to do, I embarked on a journey of self-discovery. Like I had planned, I spent the summer touring Europe, and then, on somewhat of a whim, I moved to a city on the Chinese mainland called Xiamen and began taking courses at Xiamen University. When I wasn’t in class, I spent a lot of time reading, thinking and reflecting. I discovered your organization months ago now, but I am more certain than ever that the Centre for Social Innovation is the perfect fit for me, and vice versa. The things that are really important to your organization are really important to me, too. One of them is community. My time away from home (it’s been over a year now) has taught me that few things are more important than building and belonging to communities that we love. It wasn’t until I moved away that I realized how important various communities had been to me throughout my life and how much I enjoy being a person who builds and leads them. When I look back, some of my proudest accomplishments lie in the communities I have built, from creating a large-scale youth leadership conference from scratch when I was in the eleventh grade to working tirelessly throughout university to build a sorority that defied all of the common negative stereotypes and truly contributed to the
lives of its members and the community at large. I want to do more of that. (Especially with the aid of the latest “Web 2.0” applications…)

I consider creativity and innovation to be at my core. I love discovering creative and disruptive solutions to problems, and I have no problem “going against the grain.” I like to ask questions and spread ideas. As an employee, I thrive in situations in which I have been granted some level of creative freedom and I look forward to having the opportunity to do this type of work more often. I stay sharp while in China by listening to podcasts and reading the blogs of my favourite thought leaders daily. (Seth Godin never fails to get me thinking about things from a new point of view.)

The third principle that I now care to live my life by is “business for good.” We have so few years on this planet that it is utterly senseless to do anything that doesn’t benefit the lives of all stakeholders. I want to spend my life creating lasting positive change for the community I live in, for my country and for the world. I appreciate that this is in line with the mission of the Centre for Social Innovation, and I want to be a part of it.

During one of my Google searches, I came across the Centre for Social Innovation’s January 2007 job posting for the role of “Community Host and Animator.” When I read the “Responsibilities” and “Qualifications” of the role, I felt as though you were describing me. If that job description is a true reflection of the kinds of people you are looking to recruit (and the types of people you have working for you now), then I am even more confident in my decision to ask you to consider hiring me for an internship. (I’ve attached the job posting for quick reference.)

So what am I suggesting? In a perfect world, I would like to be employed as an intern at the Centre for Social Innovation full-time for one year. I’d like to begin in June (if that works). The rest is really up to you. As an intern, all of my day-to-day activities could be guided 100% by the needs of the organization, its employees, clients and the community. I think that we could make an impact together.

I also mentioned above that hiring me won’t cost you a dime. In an attempt to eliminate any reason that you might have for not employing me (I really want to work for you!), I did some research and found external funding for an internship program like the one I am suggesting through the “Youth Eco-Internship Program.” It’s run by the YMCA/YWCA of Canada and it aims to place “people aged 15 to 30 from diverse backgrounds into paid internship opportunities within the non-profit and community services sector in Canada, with a focus on…community.” As it turns out, I qualify, and so does the Centre for Social Innovation as a “Host Organization.” I fully accept that a position with the Centre for Social
Innovation could be conditional on receiving funding.

I have attached my resume for your consideration. I’d like to hear what you think of my proposal, at your earliest convenience. Perhaps we could schedule a phone call in the near future?

My email is hpayne.hba2009@ivey.ca. If I don’t hear from you within a week or so, I’ll give you a call to follow up.

Thanks for reading,

Heather Payne

In the past six years, I’ve taken HackerYou from just an idea to the company it is today: over 1000 students a year, 17 amazing employees, a gorgeous 12,000 square foot office, and big dreams of what we can become. No investors, no debt, and no agenda to work towards other than my own, which is to create an organization that students are passionate about, a company people love working for and a job for myself that I love pretty much every day.

Since I don’t have a co-founder, I’ve always had to wear two hats: the Visionary, as they call it, dreaming up ideas for new products and sources of revenue growth and making sure everyone believes in what we’re doing as much as I do; and the Operator, the person managing the team and watching the numbers and setting up systems and managing processes and onboarding new employees and talking to the accountant and the bookkeeper and the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development and trying to anticipate our next growing pains and everything else on the long list of things that Operations folks do every day. I’ve had great people help me with these tasks over the years but with HackerYou’s growth we’re now at the point that I need more than just help with Operations tasks. I need a leader in an Operations role at HackerYou. I need an Operations Manager.

If there’s a chance that person is you, or that you might know the person I’m looking for…please read on!

I have a hypothesis about who you are. Not to say that all applicants need to fit this mould — I love a winding path, so if you can tell me why I should consider you for this role in a convincing way, I am all ears. But what I think I am looking for is someone with a business degree and loves business. You probably have between two and eight years of experience, possibly in management consulting, accounting, or in a management trainee program. You probably left or want to leave those fields because you don’t like the hours/travel, or you want to have more impact, either on a business or on customers. Spoiler alert: I can solve all of those issues for you.

You self-identify as smart and capable. You’ve held leadership positions in the past, even if they were just extra-curricular. Ideally you’ve managed people, but it’s not a deal-breaker for me if you haven’t, as long as you’re really excited to learn. You’re organized and detail oriented — if you’re not, that one’s a deal breaker. You have excellent communication skills and are comfortable running meetings, talking to clients and speaking at the front of the room. You like people — being around them, learning about them, finding out what drives them and what makes them tick. You love the word “process” and you are not scared of the idea of being the one responsible for keeping people accountable. You are comfortable with Excel and spreadsheets and analysis. I can bring a problem to you, and you can figure out how to solve it in a way that is effective and efficient.

You also identify with HackerYou’s core values, as every employee at HackerYou must: 1) We are welcoming, 2) We are collaborative & community-oriented, 3) We deliver a “Wow” experience, 4) We do what it takes, 5) We do what’s right, and 6) We have fun!

Now allow me to tell you more about the opportunity for you at HackerYou.

Goals of the Operations Manager role at HackerYou:

• Free up the CEO to focus on vision, strategy & growth by taking over responsibility for company operations.
• Ensure the day-to-day operations of HackerYou are smooth, organized and true to our values.
• Ensure HackerYou is growing responsibly (aka profitably) by creating and managing a budget.
• Help make HackerYou the best school and workplace in the whole world :)

Core Responsibilities:

1. Lead the execution of strategies developed by the leadership team (determine accountabilities, create to-dos, follow up, document processes, etc.)
2. Develop, design, operate, and improve the systems and processes that create and deliver HackerYou’s courses, programs and other products.
3. Drive performance measures for the organization through dashboards and scorecards.
4. Manage & support HackerYou’s Office Manager.
5. Grow profit as a percentage of revenue (ensure we’re growing responsibly).

Top Metrics:

1. When all employees take the Traction Organizational Checkup assessment, everyone scores the company higher than 80%.
2. Profit (as a percentage of revenue) is growing
3. Employee retention

Features of This Role:

• Project-based — though there will be some tasks that you tackle daily, such as continually ensuring Traction is being implemented, much of this role will be project-based. With the CEO & Leadership Team, you’ll decide on something that should happen at HackerYou, such as an improved process, a new strategic initiative, etc. and you’ll put together a plan to make it happen, and execute the plan (involving whoever you need!)
• Tons of variety — this role touches every single function at HackerYou, which means there will be tons of variety in this role. From strategy to finance and accounting to HR to special projects to event planning to marketing to product management and everything in between, this role will expose you to all aspects of running a business and help you learn what you like and don’t like. It can be a stepping stone to a COO or CEO role down the line.
• A very exciting time to join the team — the nice thing about a 17-person company is that you don’t get to 17 people with a product that sucks. We have a great product, an awesome team, passionate students and alumni, a cool office, but there’s still so much room to do more. It took us six years to get where we are today, but now we have tons of momentum. You can have a real impact on this business, perhaps now more than ever.

Sample Tasks:

• Getting HackerYou operations humming through the continued implementation of Traction: The Entrepreneur Operating System (it’s a book that all HackerYou employees read when they join).
• Planning agendas for the weekly Leadership meeting.
• Keeping the HackerYou “Issues List” organized so that issues are prioritized, allowing everyone to see issues in progress and which issues have been solved.
• Keeping team members accountable when they’re assigned a “to do” and following up promptly so that people learn to complete their to-dos quickly!
• Planning and facilitating our Quarterly Team Meetings and Quarterly Leadership Meetings, along with CEO.
• Reviewing team member Rocks (quarterly goals” to ensure they contribute to business goals and that they are “SMART” goals.
• Improving our Scorecard and updating it weekly.
• Ensuring staff are resourced appropriately for events such as Salad Club, Show and Tell, Demo Nights, etc.
• Answering inquiries from potential students, students, alumni and the public via LiveChat (along with several other people).
• Creating & managing annual budget.
• Onboarding new HackerYou employees.
• Offboarding employees & exit interviews.
• Working with our Office Manager to maintain our Employee Handbook.
• Setting up and managing a Performance Review system and process using a tool called Lattice.
• Planning team-building events & creating professional development opportunities for employees.
• Planning HackerYou’s annual team retreat.
• Managing and supporting HackerYou’s Office Manager.
• Managing external accountant, bookkeeper and HR person.
• Ensuring every manager books a monthly one-on-one with their direct report(s).
• Documenting processes and creating “how to” manuals.

If this role sounds interesting to you and you think you might be the Operations Manager I’m looking for, I would love to hear from you. My email is heather@hackeryou.com.

Today, someone wrote in to us at HackerYou and asked the following (names and details have been changed):

Hi there,

My name is Lauren. I am 24 and currently a marketing coordinator with 3 years of experience. I work full-time and as of now, am unsure if I am willing to do something as drastic as quit my job to explore the subject of web development. The most experience I have is an Intro to HTML course I took during my time at college a few years ago, and honestly, it’s a little rusty. I love marketing but feel that with a limited network and resume I need something else to bring about change in my career. Here’s the question: What solutions does HackerYou offer to people in my situation? I have finally felt the desperation of being unsatisfied with my current career path and wish to make a positive change without completely eroding any sources of income that I have.

Looking forward to your response!

Regards,
Lauren

And here’s what I wrote in response:

Hey Lauren,

Thanks for your email, and for your interest in HackerYou. Folks like yourself are exactly who I had in mind when I created HackerYou five years ago.

First, let me say that it’s always better to talk in person, but before we schedule that, I can give you a high-level overview of a potential plan.

What I would propose is the following: start by enrolling in our part-time Web Development courses. There’s a session starting August 13th, and then two more on September 11th and 16th. Those courses will expose you to web development in a way that will help you to figure out if this is the path you’d like to take. Plus, the courses will show you what HackerYou is all about, and also build a foundational set of skills that will serve you if you do decide you’re ready for the full career change.

After three months of part-time courses with us, you might be ready to quit your job (lots of people do). If you apply for the bootcamp and get accepted, you’ll receive a $2000 discount for taking the part-time Web Dev courses first. The total cost of your transition will be $2800 plus tax for part-time Web Dev + $7000 (no tax) for the bootcamp = $10,164. It would take you 3 months + 9 weeks, plus job search time.

(We place almost all of our bootcamp graduates within three months of graduating and salaries are almost typically between $45K-$55K.)

If after doing the part-time Web Development courses you’re not ready to take the leap, I would recommend enrolling in our part-time JavaScript courses. You get $500 off the Fundamentals course, so it would be $2300 plus tax, and taking them makes you eligible for an extra $1000 off the bootcamp. Knowing JavaScript before applying for the bootcamp would make you a very strong candidate from a technical perspective, and would make your time in the bootcamp very productive, since you’d have such a strong foundation. It should also make you more confident in your decision to leave your job.

The cost for this path is:

Part-Time Web Dev: $2800 plus tax

Part-Time JavaScript: $2300 plus tax

Bootcamp: $6000 (no tax) [$9000 — $2000 off because you took Web Dev — $1000 off because you took JavaScript]

Total cost: $11,763
Total time: 3 months + 3 months + 9 weeks + job search time

I know that’s tons of info and you probably have some questions — like I said, we always prefer chatting in person. Would you like to set up a time to come by and speak with our Admissions Manager?

Heather

To HackerYou’s Future Marketer,

Hi, my name is Heather. I’m the CEO of HackerYou, my favourite company and community in the entire world. I’m writing to you today because I’m looking for someone to take over leadership of the marketing function at HackerYou. I believe it is one of the most exciting and interesting marketing opportunities in Toronto, or even in Canada, and I don’t think a job description can do it justice. So, instead, I’m writing this letter in hopes of sharing just why this role at HackerYou is so interesting, with the goal of attracting the perfect person to join our small but mighty team and help us take HackerYou to new heights.

First, let’s talk about you. You’ve been in a marketing role for at least a few years, or as many as 10. Your title might be Manager, Director or even CMO, but you don’t care much for titles — you care about opportunities, challenges and results. You have experience marketing products — whether those are physical goods, a Saas product or even educational products. You can write, or you know how to hire a copywriter who will get the job done better than you can. You can clearly articulate the value you brought to your previous companies through both qualitative and quantitative means. As for why you’re moving on, you’re simply ready for your next challenge.

When you think about your next opportunity, you know some of the things you’re looking for. You love being part of a small team, because of the variety it brings to your job. You’re a strong strategizer, but you also have a “no job too big or too small” mentality and love getting your hands dirty and executing. You know how to walk into a marketing role and hit the ground running. You can tackle daily and weekly tasks, while also prioritizing major projects that will really move the needle for the business. You can run marketing meetings, create annual and quarterly plans and report on them afterwards. You love collaborating with others, especially your counterparts in sales, and you know that debate and discussion lead to better ideas. You have no ego, just a desire to do the best work possible with the resources available. You fight for what’s right, and you’re not afraid to respectfully disagree with your boss and teammates in hopes of finding the very best solution. You want to work for the kind of company that is open to and excited about new ideas, and willing to put time and resources into experiments and new initiatives.

You want to work for a company creating a product you believe in. And you want to work for a CEO you respect, and a team that is talented, dedicated and passionate. You want to really like your co-workers, and to learn from them every day.

You want to have every single marketing strategy and tactic available to you. And you want data, because you know you do your best work when you have data to use in your decision-making process. You want to be able to interact with your products’ customers directly. You want to be able to create personas, figure out Customer Lifetime Value, and create paths for your customers to continually get what they need from products you’re responsible for. You want to be able to influence the product and help make it better over time. And you want to be able to tie your efforts to revenues, so that you know without a doubt that your work is leading to the desired results.

When you do this amazing work, you want to be recognized for it. You want to work for a place that provides salaries commensurate with experience, and where there are raises and bonuses based on results. Being part of a company that values its most important resource — its people — is extremely important to you.

That’s the opportunity I’d like to offer you at HackerYou. We are celebrating our fifth birthday this week, and if what I’ve written sounds compelling to you, I need you to join me at HackerYou to help us get ready for the next five years of our story. We have done so much more than I’d ever dreamed was possible over the past five years, and we’re just getting started. We are disrupting education, we are changing people’s lives, and having fun while we do it — and I want you to join me on this journey.

If this sounds like a role and challenge that you’re up for, I would love for you to get in touch with me so we can chat. I really look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Heather Payne
CEO, HackerYou
heather@hackeryou.com

Well, if that is the criteria, then HackerYou hopes to not be considered a “coding bootcamp” much longer, because yesterday we submitted our application to register HackerYou as a Private Career College in the province of Ontario.

Background:

For years, I’ve grappled with the decision around whether or not I should go through the process of applying to register HackerYou as a Private Career College in Ontario. When one of our competitors, Bitmaker Labs, was investigated by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities in 2013, I wrote a blog post on the topic. At the time, all of HackerYou’s programs were exempt from registration due to their length, cost, or both. But just as I predicted in my blog post, over time HackerYou students and alumni started requesting that we introduce programs that were longer than 40 hours. They wanted us to introduce a vocational program. So in 2014, we did. We called it our Front-End Web Development Immersive, and we’ve graduated 286 people over 11 cohorts, with a placement rate of nearly 100%. You can see where our graduates have landed jobs here.

I knew that we would eventually have to “grow up” and register HackerYou as a Private Career College. Running vocational programs in Ontario without being registered is simply not allowed, and being a responsible business owner means playing by the rules.

On September 13, 2016, I submitted HackerYou’s application to become a registered Private Career College in Ontario, and I am really excited about what this means for us.

Impact on Current Operations:

The impact on current operations is minimal. Our part-time courses are non-vocational and will continue as usual (maybe you should apply to join us?). Our Fall 2016 bootcamp has been sold out for weeks, and will begin as planned on September 19th. We can’t wait to welcome our 32 students to Cohort 12!

Impact on Future Operations:

One of the Ministry of Advanced Education & Skills Development’s rules is that you cannot advertise a vocational program until it has been approved. So, for now, you’ll notice that the webpage about our bootcamp program looks a little different.

We also can’t schedule our first bootcamp in 2017 until we receive approval from the Ministry. Sometimes, the process can take months — that’s just the way it is. But this timing couldn’t be better for us, as we always take a two-month break from bootcamps between mid-November and mid-January, anyway. Traditionally, we’ve used that time to make improvements to our curriculum. This year, we’re using that time to ensure that, as soon as we receive word from the Ministry, we’re ready to go.

If or when our bootcamp program is approved, it is going to be better than ever. First, we’ve made some massive improvements to the content which we’re really excited to share. We’ll also be able to offer a certificate. It won’t change the reason students attend HackerYou (in this industry, you don’t need a certificate — you need skills), but it’s still cool.

There is also some impact on how HackerYou operates behind the scenes. For example, we’ll now need to have audited financial statements completed every year, rather than just regular financial statements. Our students’ results will also be audited. Each year, the government wants to know how many students complete Private Career College vocational programs, and whether they got jobs. (Based on how we’ve done over the past three years, I’m thrilled to have an official medium for bragging!).

The requirements for Private Career Colleges should make potential students more eager to apply to HackerYou, if approved, than to non-registered institutions. There are a number of requirements that are all in place to ensure that consumers are protected, and that Private Career Colleges are financially stable. It’s probably one of the best things about the idea of becoming registered — it brings a level of legitimacy to what we’re doing at HackerYou that we just couldn’t provide before.

A final perk worth mentioning is around financial aid. Once HackerYou is approved and can provide three years of audited financial statements, we’ll be able to apply to accept OSAP for our vocational programs. Paying for our programs has always been a concern for students, and we’re excited about the potential to introduce this option in a few years.

Innovating from the inside:

Until now, I’ve been trying to fix education as an outsider. HackerYou existed on the fringes, outside of the system. We have had a massive, life-changing impact on hundreds of alumni, but relatively no impact on the education industry overall. We’re a blip.

Since we started the process of applying to register as a Private Career College, I’ve been encouraged by how many opportunities there seem to be for us to work with the government to innovate from the inside. Over the past couple weeks, I’ve had many productive conversations with various folks from the Ministry of Advanced Education & Skills Development. I even received a letter from the Honourable Deb Matthews, in which she states that she “recognize[s] the important work [HackerYou is] doing, equipping people with skills that are in high demand, and helping us to prepare people for the technology- and knowledge-based economy of the future.” She goes on to state that she would like to meet with me; that meeting has already been set for next week.

But despite our application to register and all of the rules and responsibilities that go along with becoming a Private Career College in Ontario, we remain committed to staying true to what has made HackerYou so successful the first place — staying small, remaining agile, and focusing on student results. We believe that, if our application is accepted, we can be an example for other Private Career Colleges in Ontario. We want to continue to be known as the best place in the province to learn to code, and I have no doubt that we will be able to continue to lead our industry into the future as we have for the past four years.

Questions?

I’m happy to answer questions about anything and everything related to HackerYou and the process of applying to become a Private Career College, and what this means. Feel free to email me at heather [at] hackeryou.com.

HackerYou becomes first coding bootcamp in Ontario to submit application to register as a Private Career College was originally published in Heather Payne on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

These days, everyone has an idea for an app, or a start-up they think should exist. Lots of people want to write books, learn to play guitar or grow their Instagram following. Everyone has ideas all the time for things they want to build or do or somehow make happen.

The thing is, we have enough ideas. We have more than enough dreamers. What we need are people who can execute.

To be honest, original ideas aren’t my strength. I’ve built my career in taking other people’s ideas and executing them flawlessly. And, like anything, the more often you do it, the easier it gets.

Here are some hacks which have helped me stop dreaming and start doing:

1) Hustle, first

I meet with a lot of people who have an idea for an app or a start-up, but are having trouble starting because they’re not technical. They wonder if I can connect them with a developer, or a designer, or even a CTO.

They often hate my advice:

If you’re not technical, don’t start with tech. Start by hustling.

Let me give you an example. A few weeks ago, I was approached by a woman who had an app idea. She wanted to create a sort of social network targeting a niche demographic.

Now, I don’t know if it’s a good idea or not, because I’m not part of the particular demographic she was planning on going after. But what I do know is that it would be unwise (and expensive) to build an app as a first step.

I recommended a hustle-first, low-tech approach. I suggested that she build a landing page about her social network and then as people sign up, invite them to a private Slack group where they could interact by having discussions, sharing photos and videos, etc. This wasn’t all of the functionality that the had envisioned for her social network, but it was some of it. More importantly, it would give her the chance to:

1. See if she could get people to her landing page, and that it converted to sign ups, and
2. Determine if people would even download the Slack app for their phone or desktop and give it a try.

If she found that lots of people joined her Slack community, she might be onto something. If they weren’t joining, she could contact them to find out why.

It’s an easy way to test what appetite there might be for her idea.

Securing angel investment to build out an idea or an app also becomes a stronger possibility when you can prove that there’s interest, and show that you’re able to drive users to your product, even if it’s not yet the full version you imagined.

AirBnb is a famous example of a hustle-first, low-tech approach.

Before building a sophisticated website, they created a landing page with a few photos of a room for rent. They co-ordinated over email and probably received payment via Paypal, or even in cash. It wasn’t until months later that they hired a developer to build out a fully functional version of an app.

The best thing about a hustle-first, low-tech approach is that by the time you’re ready to build your first product, you’ll have customers you can learn from and possibly even some cash (from customers or investors) to spend. But best of all, you don’t have to wait for anything or anyone before you can get started.

2) Manufacture deadlines

I procrastinate. To be honest, it’s sort of amazing I get anything done at all. It’s even worse with startup ideas, or side projects or learning new skills, because there’s no boss to give you a deadline. But I’ve figured out a hack that ensures I get things done. I manufacture deadlines for myself all along the way.

Let me give you an example. When I decided to start Ladies Learning Code, I knew it was going to be difficult, but I wanted to make sure I did everything I could to get it off the ground successfully. At a brainstorming session about the idea of Ladies Learning Code on July 6th, 2011, I told the 80 people in the room that our first workshop would be hosted exactly one month from that date, on August 6th. I didn’t have a venue, an instructor, any content, or even a projector screen. But I knew that if I made a public commitment and gave myself a hard deadline, I’d get it done. And I did.

I often share this tip with HackerYou graduates. We host a weekly event at HackerYou called Show and Tell. Every Friday, we stop working at 5 pm, grab a beer or glass of wine, and then enjoy presentations from three bootcamp students on some sort of material that goes beyond the scope of the bootcamp. We usually have one of our Alumni present as well. It’s fun for students to see something they might be able to do six months or a year down the road.

Often, we have Alumni commit to doing a presentation months down the road. They’ll coordinate with us to let us know what they’ll present, and then they have a couple months to actually get it done. It’s an awesome way to ensure the side project they’ve been thinking becomes reality.

Consider manufacturing deadlines in your own life:

• If you want to become better at drawing, commit to a 100 Day Challenge.
• If you want to run a marathon next year, sign up for a 5K run.
• If you want to become a better public speaker, connect with a Meet-up group and offer to do a presentation within a month.

The confidence you’ll build through doing will help you continue to execute flawlessly.

3) The 10,000 Hours Rule

Starting projects sucks: it’s a lot of effort up front and it often takes a long time before anyone notices. There are no overnight successes.

It’s been said that it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert. But even if you don’t have the goal of becoming a world-class writer/business person/singer/etc., it will still take time to become proficient. Maybe it’s 100 hours, or 500. Maybe it’s 1000 hours. The key is to not give up before you hit that point.

Taking courses or buying lessons can help you get through the dip. That’s why they get people results.

For example, I started learning guitar at the beginning of July. I’ve practiced most days of the week for about three months now…and finally, just a couple weeks ago, practicing guitar became fun. Signing up for guitar lessons helped me to keep at it, even on the days I really didn’t want to. And that’s how I got here, three months later.

As you’re starting, think about what you’re going to do once the initial excitement wears off and all you have left is the work. A course, series of lessons or a tutor can be a good way to help you get through those tough days. Meeting up with a partner who has the same goal as you can be another great way to get through the dip.

If you’d like to check out a book that changed my entire outlook on talent and hard work, grab a copy of The Talent Code. We actually send this book to all HackerYou students before they start our bootcamp, because I find it is exactly what they need to get them in the mindset for learning.

There’s no such thing as a perfect idea, so it’s time to stop waiting for one to come along. Pick the one you’re most excited about today, and just start. Put in six months or a year of consistent effort, and then see where you are. No idea is good until it’s in play. I suspect you’ll be surprised by what can happen when you start doing.

How to Start Things was originally published in Heather Payne on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

So it came as a bit of a surprise when I showed up for a drop-in beginner-level hip hop dance class today and made a fool of myself. There were a few problems. First, I just couldn’t make the moves look cool. Even simple stuff, like step-touches, just didn’t look right, at least, not as good as they looked when the instructor demoed them. And there was no avoiding this realization — you’re dancing in front of yourself in the mirror. The second problem was the choreography. Keeping a sequence of 12–15 physical movements in memory isn’t something I’ve done in a while, and I totally sucked at it. I had to constantly watch the instructor, so I was always just a little behind everyone else. Which didn’t help the “looking cool” thing either.

By the end of the class, I really wanted it to be over. And I pouted for a bit afterward. I was bummed. And interestingly, that was exactly the feeling I was looking for.

At HackerYou, we now train about 350 students per year — about 100 full-time students, and then another 250 or so part-time students. What we’re teaching those students isn’t always easy. Getting started can be intimidating. There’s a bunch of stuff you have to learn before you can take on projects that are really cool or interesting, and there are so many little things that can trip you up throughout the learning journey — even just syntax.

As HackerYou’s CEO, it’s important to me that I remember what it’s like to be a beginner, because I want to make sure I can empathize with our students. And one of the best ways to do that, I’ve found, is to do something so completely out of my comfort zone that at the end of the first day, I almost want to quit.

Two years ago, I learned how to snowboard. All I can say is, ouch. Earlier this year, I learned to drive stick. I hired an instructor — someone whose job is to teach people who know how to drive automatic vehicles to drive standard ones — and still found it to be one of the toughest learning curves I’ve ever endured.

So was I kind of bummed today when I discovered that I’m not going to be busting out some sweet new moves and choreography this weekend? Sure. But I’m actually happier to have discovered something new that I’m going to have to work really hard at. Some days, I’ll want to give up. And every time I go through an experience where I have that feeling I become just a little bit better at counselling and guiding our students at HackerYou.

The other cool thing about being bad at something is that the only direction you can go is up. And that’s a fun journey, too.

For Educators: The Importance of Being Bad at Things was originally published in Heather Payne on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I’d start by taking a couple of Ladies Learning Code workshops, just to make sure that I enjoy coding enough to become decent at it. I’d probably start with HTML & CSS and then JavaScript. Total cost: $50 per workshop plus tax.

Then I’d enroll in HackerYou’s part-time web development courses. The next part-time HTML & CSS course begins on January 20th, and the part-time Intro to Responsive Design (a worthwhile add-on) begins on March 3rd. Led by Wes Bos, HackerYou’s part-time web development courses always sell out. You’ll learn HTML5, CSS3 and Responsive Design from the ground up, and by the end of the courses you will have built three full websites from scratch. Total cost: $2477.88 plus tax.

Then I’d apply for HackerYou’s full-time web development immersive. The first cohort in January is sold out, but the second cohort begins on April 14th so the timing is perfect. Because going from the part-time courses into the full-time course makes tons of sense, HackerYou actually offers graduates of our part-time web development courses a $2000 discount on the full-time course. Total cost: $3982.30 plus tax.

Total time: Approximately five months
Total hours: Approximately 450
Total cost: $6560.18 plus tax ($7413 including tax, or about $1400 a month)

Sure, it’s a time commitment and it’s definitely a financial commitment. But after five months with HackerYou, you’ll be ready for a job as a professional developer. And if that’s something you’re going to love, it’s worth it.

To learn more about Ladies Learning Code, click here. To learn more about HackerYou, click here.

How I would learn to code if I was starting today was originally published in Heather Payne on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Although in some ways Bitmaker Labs and HackerYou are competitors, we’ve always had a positive relationship with them. Maybe it’s because we’re the only two organizations of our kind in Canada. Maybe it’s because Matt, Tory, Andy and Will are all Ivey grads, and so am I. Or maybe it’s because we always just sort of knew that our biggest threat wasn’t each other — it was the industry that we’d chosen, and the status quo. And, as it turns out, that threat is very real.

First, I want to say that we are sad and disappointed that Bitmaker was given no option but to discontinue operations (and we’re glad it’s only temporary). We believe that Bitmaker Labs has made HackerYou a better company, by keeping us on our toes and showing us what is possible. Bitmaker Labs has done great work since they launched last fall — they are legitimately helping people and making our city and our tech and startup communities a better place. We want both HackerYou and Bitmaker Labs to continue to exist in Toronto and beyond, and we want to do whatever we can to make this happen, including working together. Ontario needs these types of programs.

Next, because there have been a lot of questions about this, I’d like to explain why HackerYou does not anticipate an investigation by the MTCU. Private Career Colleges are regulated by the MTCU in accordance with the Private Career Colleges Act. From a factsheet provided by the Ministry:

“Exemption under the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005 means that an institution is not required to be registered with the Superintendent of Private Career Colleges and/or a program offered by an institution does not require approval before being offered to the public.”

There are a number of exemptions under the act, but there are two in particular that are the easiest to work with. Programs which are less than 40 hours long are exempt, as are programs that cost less than $1000. Although we have not always been perfect, we have generally abided by the regulations and now have ensured that all of our programs fall within one of these two exemptions. Additionally, I have documentation from the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities stating that we’re in the clear, based on these exemptions. It is certainly a workaround — we’ve modified our offerings solely because of the regulations. If we could offer a longer program and charge more than $1000 for it, we would. This is one of the reasons we, like Bitmaker Labs, are considering becoming a registered Private Career College, though we haven’t made that decision quite yet.

As many of you know, my team and I also run a non-profit called Ladies Learning Code (which also runs Girls Learning Code and Kids Learning Code). Again, Ladies Learning Code is not at risk because none of our programs are more than 40 hours or more than $1000. What about Girls Learning Code summer day camps? Don’t worry — programs exclusively for youth are also exempt under the Act. There are other exemptions, too. For example, organizations without a physical presence in Ontario are also not required to be registered (for those wondering about programs like those offered by Treehouse or US-based MOOCs), nor are corporate training programs (where it is a third party that pays for training, not the students themselves).

I’ve learned quite a bit about the Private Career Colleges Act over the past little while, and I’d be happy to share what I’ve learned with anyone interested. My email is heather [at] heatherpayne.ca.

Finally, I’d like to share some of my personal thoughts on education, regulations and innovation as it relates to the work that I do. First, I understand why the Ministry and the Act exist. Bitmaker Labs and HackerYou are great organizations, with solid teams who are doing good work. We may not be able to say the same thing about the next bootcamp program that pops up. And I’m sure there are lots of beauty schools and locksmith schools and truck driving schools that are run by sketchbags. These fly-by-night “career colleges” take money from students and don’t deliver the goods — that is what the MTCU is trying to protect people from. Fair enough.

That being said, while I believe in regulation for the protection of students, I find the Private Career Colleges Act anti-startup. To offer a program like the one Bitmaker Labs offers requires registration with the MTCU. It takes six to eight months, usually, and a bond (a letter of credit from a bank) is required. For a school bringing in about $1 million in revenues, the bond amount is $150,000. Suddenly, a startup is looking at a six- to eight-month process before they can even advertise (because advertising before you’re registered is not allowed), plus they have to find cash for the bond. Did I mention that they haven’t even had the chance to validate their idea? This is one of the main reasons I urge Bitmaker Labs to go through the registration process — they have traction, so in some ways, the hard work is already done.

This brings me to another issue, also related to Bitmaker’s next move — also a potential next move for us. If you become a registered Career College, will you ever truly disrupt education? At that point, you’re part of the system. You’re having students complete exams and keeping transcripts on file (but off-site, in an approved facility) for 25 years. You’re applying to have your advertisements and programs and instructors approved. You’re not updating your content as often, because each time do you it’s a huge pain in the ass. But you don’t say anything, because after all, you have to renew your registration with the MTCU annually and there’s just too much at stake. You’ll probably become a dues-paying member of the Ontario Association of Career Colleges or the National Association of Career Colleges, or both. Maybe you’ll join their board. You’ll scrutinize startups in the space who haven’t registered — can you report them for one reason or another? Anything to protect yourself and the status quo, right?

So, yes, while I am unreasonably supportive of Bitmaker Labs and want to see them back in action, I also understand where the Ministry is coming from. At the same time, Bitmaker Labs and HackerYou are doing great work, and that should count for something. Young people are getting jobs — could anything be more important than that right now? I have issues with the way the Bitmaker Labs investigation was handled (couldn’t the Ministry have allowed them to wrap up the current cohort?!) and I have issues with the system in general. I wish there was some middle ground. I am torn when it comes to the decision whether or not to register HackerYou as a Private Career College. On the one hand, it seems to be the only way to create a truly impactful business, since right now we’re limited when it comes to the length and cost of our programs. But on the other hand, I really don’t want to deal with any bullshit. And neither do our students. So another option is to just do what we’re doing (offer only programs that are exempt due to length and cost), at least until the MTCU and the Ontario Government realize that the Act and their enforcement of it are going to result in a new form of “brain drain”. If we can’t provide options here, it won’t just be our engineers and software developers who head south — Ontarians who want to learn to code may have no choice but to do the same. And maybe they won’t come back.

On Education and Regulations and Innovation was originally published in Heather Payne on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Part 2 of our plan involves a cool tool developed by IdeaNotion that makes it easy for anyone — even beginners — to turn their Wordpress site into a Windows 8 app. It’s called IdeaPress, and you can access it on any laptop, running any operating system that has an up-t0-date browser. We’re taking things one step further by offering to publish apps using Ladies Learning Code’s Windows store developer account (which costs $99 annually) using a Windows 8 device that we’ve borrowed from Microsoft. We’re aiming to help 50 beginners publish apps in the Windows 8 app store by April 5th. If you’d like one of them to be yours (and we hope you do!), please follow the simple steps below.

1. Make sure your website is compatible with IdeaPress.

IdeaPress works with Wordpress — both self-hosted Wordpress.org as well as Wordpress.com sites will work! If you have a self-hosted Wordpress site (aka. Wordpress.org), there’s just one tiny extra step that you need to do…

2. If you have a self-hosted Wordpress site (aka. Wordpress.org), you need to install the JSON API plugin.

Log in to the admin dashboard of your website and click on “Plugins” on the left menu bar. Click “Add new” at the top of the page. In the search bar, type “JSON API” and click “Search Plugins”. The JSON API plugin we’re looking for should be the first result (it’s the one by Dan Phiffer). Under the title, click “Install Now”. Activate it. If you don’t see an option to activate it, go to “Plugins” and then “Installed Plugins” and activate the JSON API plugin from there. Finally, go to “Settings” on the left menu bar. Click on “JSON API” and activate “Core”, “Response” and “Post” by clicking “Activate” under each word.

(If you have a Wordpress.com site, you don’t have to do this step! Also, if you’d like to have me do the rest of these steps for you, I’m happy to! Just send me an email and let me know the URL of your Wordpress site, and I’ll go right ahead and create an app for you!)

3. Go to IdeaPress.me. Click “Get Started” on the homepage, and enter the address of your Wordpress site as well as your email address. If you have a self-hosted Wordpress site (Wordpress.org) and you have the JSON API plugin installed, it will move you on to the next step.If you are converting a Wordpress.com site, it will ask for one more piece of information — your Client ID and your Application Secret. To get those, follow these instructions (instructions coming soon!)

4. General Info

Give your app a name and a description. It’s worth spending some extra time on your description, because an unclear description that doesn’t clearly explain the value of the app will be rejected by the Windows 8 App store. Here are a few examples of descriptions that were accepted by the app store:

For Wesbos.com:

“Welcome, friends. You have reached the personal blog & portfolio of Wes Bos. I’m a designer, developer and entrepreneur from Toronto, Canada. Please take a look at my work gallery, read my blog or get in touch!”

For Hackeryou.com:

“HackerYou, based in Toronto, Canada, offers the city’s best part-time courses for people who want to learn to code. The recipe? Hands-on, project-based learning from industry-leading professionals. Small classes and a 10:1 ratio (or better!) of students to instructors. And a learning environment that’s social and collaborative. Make this year the year you finally learn to code — HackerYou can help get you there.

App features:

• Check out upcoming courses
• View upcoming workshops
• Inquire about corporate training
• Learn about the team behind HackerYou
• Meet HackerYou’s advisors”

Make a note of your app description in a Word document or draft email — you’ll need it again later!

5. Content Configuration

Now is your chance to customize how your app looks. First, start by choosing which pages should be included in the app. For best results, choose pages with lots of content, as well as a unique image. I recommend avoiding including your “Home” page, if you have one, unless your homepage has content that is significantly different from what’s on your about page.You’ll also select which categories to include, and whether or not you’d like to include recent posts. I usually include all categories and recent posts.

6. Theme Configuration

Now is your chance to change the layout and colours of your app, and add images. This is where you can make your app look really polished. You’ll need a few different images — click here to download a file that includes blank files for each of the images you’ll need. You can use a program like Pixlr to add your logo, etc. to them.

• Background image: 1366px by 768px (I usually just upload an image that’s completely white.)
• Title image: 300px by 80px (This should be your logo — it goes on the top left-hand corner of your app)
• Default article image: 252px by 168px (this image will appear anytime one of your posts or pages doesn’t have a photo)
• Logo: 150px by 150px (kind of like an app icon)
• Wide logo: 310px by 150px
• Splash screen: 620px by 300 px
• Screenshot: Later, you’ll also need a screenshot of your app which should be 1366px by 768px. You can create one by simply pasting your Splash Screen image onto an image that is 1366px by 768px. This mimics what the splash screen of your app looks like when someone first opens it.

7. Accept the terms of use and generate app package

Be sure to select “Generate App Package” from the options on the left side of the screen. In order to have Ladies Learning Code publish your app, you’ll need to enter the following information:

Privacy policy: If you have one of your own, you can modify it to be suitable for your app. Otherwise, just use the general one that we created for all apps published by Ladies Learning Code. Here’s the link: http://ladieslearningcode.com/privacy-policy

Identity Name: This has to be in the format of “MyCompany.OurAwesomeApp”. So, if Ladies Learning Code is going to publish your app, and you named it “Coolest App” (back in Step 4), your Identity Name would be “LadiesLearningCode.Coolest App”.

Publisher Name: If we’re going to submit your app for you, the Publisher Name should say “Ladies Learning Code”.

Publisher ID: Enter the following: CN=0332249A-B178–470E-8455–17DC36E0D37E

Terms of use and privacy policy: Tick the box if you accept!

Click “submit” to generate your app. It will be emailed to you.

8. Get Your App Published

Shortly, you’ll receive an email from IdeaPress that includes a download link. Forward that email to me at heather [at] ladieslearningcode.com and include the following:

a) Your app description (just paste it into the body of the email). If you forgot to make a note of your app description in Step 4, you can log in to IdeaPress, open your app from the dashboard and use the arrows to navigate to the app name and description page.

b) Your 1366 by 768 px screenshot (attach it to the email).

Once I receive your email, I’ll submit your app to the store and let you know when it’s live! Thanks for helping us reach our goal of 50 apps in the Windows 8 app store!

If you have any questions about the steps involved in turning your Wordpress site into a Windows 8 app, feel free to get in touch with me at heather [at] ladieslearningcode.com. And if you have a Wordpress-based website, please help us to reach out goal of helping 50 beginners publish apps in the Windows 8 app store by April 5th!

How to turn your Wordpress site into a Windows 8 app — for free! was originally published in Heather Payne on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.