Ivica Delic is the co-founder of FreelancersTools.com,a portal for helping startups, freelancers and businesses to choose the right software for their business. Also, he is the administrator/moderator administrator/moderator of more than 25 Facebook groups mainly dedicated to WordPress topics. Ivica Delic has been working as a WordPress professional since 2011.
Ivica Delic has a Master’s degree in Economics and has managed teams in the banking industry for more than 20 years. He then co-founded Studio-Zona, a digital marketing company focused on building websites and solving WordPress and digital marketing problems.
His name was listed in a Toque magazine article as one of the top 100 WordPress influencers. ThemeFuse also mentioned his name in the “WordPress Influencers You Should Follow” list in an article.
We will interview Ivica Delic to learn more about his journey.
Devrims: There are so many content management systems available. Why have you chosen WordPress in your career?
Ivica Delic: We tried Joomla before starting WordPress, but nothing even comes close to WordPress. The fact that even non-programmers can create beautiful websites full of additional features all by themselves is unmistakable.
I also like the WordPress plugin concept, which allows you to extend so much out-of-the-box to create a complete CMS website.
I also admire the WordPress community that helps WordPress users so selflessly. This open-source spirit is fantastic and inspiring for all of us who work with WordPress!
Devrims: When somebody starts their career in any field, there is always a timeline back in mind. So, how did you plan all that?
Ivica Delic: Some people say to go ahead/start without thinking/planning much, even if they are working in a different field.
I prefer and advise you to improve your skills and knowledge over time (alongside your full-time job), build your online reputation and create a network of contacts… Before you decide to “jump” into your new career. It’s not an “easy path,” but it’s much safer / less risky than “jumping in at the deep end.”
We will know when it is “time to move on,” depending on our accumulated knowledge, experience, and skills. Everything else will fall into place.
Devrims: Would you like to suggest anything or give some tips to the people who are new to WordPress or thinking of starting their career in this field?
Ivica Delic: 1. Pick a WordPress area that you want to work in, that you have a passion for, and that you enjoy – otherwise, you might give up pretty quickly.
2. Build a good and reliable WordPress team because you can not do everything on your own – at least not everything with the highest quality.
3. You need to start a WordPress business at some point, no matter how much you think the timing is not perfect enough.
Devrims: Do you recommend focusing on skills other than WordPress? If yes, what are they?
Ivica Delic: I would strongly advise you to acquire some management and project management skills, as well as various IT skills that have nothing to do with WordPress because they help a lot in managing people and projects, which we all need (at least to manage ourselves efficiently, if no one else 😉).
Devrims: What difficulties or challenges did you face in running your Digital marketing company Studio Zona, and how did you manage those situations?
Ivica Delic: I would say that the biggest challenge was making a “peace” between work and personal life.
However, I solved this challenge by planning and organizing business activities in great detail and assigning many more tasks to my team, of course with appropriate training from my side.
Devrims: Everyone has some inspiration in the field. Can you tell us whom you follow?
Ivica Delic: The most admired is Brian Dean, aka Backlinko. A great guy, a great professional with simple but effective instructions. I admire his work. Another is Pat Flynn, also a great guy.
Devrims: You are an administrator in many Facebook groups and manage other communities. So, how do you manage to do all that stuff, or what challenges do you face?
Ivica Delic: I would not be able to do all this without great co-admins and moderators in all these groups because otherwise, it would be impossible to manage them all. Also, many of us are in different time zones, which is a great help in monitoring and moderating groups if something happens.
Devrims: I read one of your interviews where you suggested Yoast SEO and SEOPress for SEO plugins. What are your thoughts about the RankMathSEO plugin?
Ivica Delic: I mentioned these 2 SEO plugins because, in the past, I only used them, but recently I also tried RankMathSEO because a client insisted on it. I must admit that it is straightforward to use, and I liked it – a very straightforward SEO plugin.
Related : 4 Best Cache Plugins For WordPress Website
Devrims: Other than work, what do you do in your personal life? What are your hobbies and interests?
Ivica Delic: It is tough to make “peace” between work and private life, as I wrote before. However, I like to spend time with my family and friends in my free time.
I like to “reward” myself with a drink/dinner with our friends watch movies with my wife and son. I also like to go “hunting” for myself and my team and buy some helpful software tools when they are offered in LifeTime Deals (LTD = one-time software payment for life).
Lately, however, I have been enjoying long-running. I started running to lose some weight (I have lost almost 30 kg so far), but then I enjoyed it so much that I recently ran my first half marathon (under 2 hours). Now I am preparing for the next two, and after that, I’ll run the full marathon.
I also like HIIT training, swimming, hiking in nature/mountaineering, traveling around my country/Croatia, reading, etc.
“You will never be delighted with your work until you are satisfied with your life.
Devrims: What do you think if you’re not a WordPress Influencer? What would you be?
Ivica Delic: I enjoy it as a teacher/trainer/educator because I love teaching, helping, and educating people.
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