OUR GOAL

To connect the SuiteScript community
through stories and ideas.

February 28, 2024

Episode 34: Jonathan Stark Interview

In this episode of SuiteScript Stories, Jonathan Stark joins us to talk about the insanity of hourly billing.

We discuss:

  • Jonathan's and Tim's shared history in the FileMaker Pro space.
  • Jonathan's AHA moment when he realized hourly billing was killing his business.
  • the misaligned financial incentives created by hourly billing.
  • how specializing into a narrower target market amplifies your opportunities.
  • the various forms of specialization: Vertical, Horizontal, Platform
  • the obstacles an agency faces when trying to specialize.

More from Jonathan

Contact Info

If you'd like to get in touch with us about the show, you can email me eric@stoic.software or check out Tim’s website timdietrich.me.


February 28, 2024

Episode 33: The Butterfly Effect

We discuss an article called "The Butterfly Effect" which Eric wrote, describing his observations of the NetSuite development space. Often, our eagerness to say YES to every client, to every project, to every task, flings us into a spiral of dysfunction.

  • Business, teams, and individuals are all interconnected systems. Nothing and no one operates in a vacuum.
  • How can you avoid the fear and anxiety of an empty project pipeline?
  • Can your project pipeline be too full? Yes. Yes it can.
  • Are things any better three years after the article?

Links

Sponsor

This episode is sponsored by Salto. Salto is not a consulting company looking to sell you services. Instead, they are a software company that has built a powerful DevOps platform for NetSuite teams to plan, review, deploy, and monitor changes to their NetSuite accounts. To try the Salto DevOps platform for yourself, check out salto.io to sign up for a free 30-day trial and schedule a free demo.


February 13, 2024

Episode 32: NetSuite Customizations

We discuss the pros and cons of being able to customize NetSuite as broadly and deeply as you want.

  • How do you decide when to customize NetSuite to your business needs versus when to adapt your business process to NetSuite?
  • Whose responsibility is it to make that decision?
  • What are the benefits and drawbacks of either choice?

 

Sponsor

This episode is sponsored by Salto. Salto is not a consulting company looking to sell you services. Instead they’re a software company that has built a powerful DevOps platform for NetSuite users to manage, track, deploy, and monitor changes to NetSuite. If you’d like to learn more about the Salto DevOps platform, check out salto.io where you can sign up for a free demo and a free 30-day trial.


JANUARY 31, 2024

Episode 31: Naming Things is Hard

In this episode of SuiteScript Stories, we highlight the significance of clear, concise, and consistent naming conventions in coding. Poor naming can lead to confusion, increased cognitive load, and avoidance of code. We talk about using domain-specific language in your code, the importance of consistency, the benefits of having a standard set of rules within a team, and the importance of good documentation.

Links

Two Hard Things
Blog Post by Martin Fowler

Naming Things: The Hardest Problem in Software Engineering
Book by Tom Benner

Learn SuiteScript by Example
SuiteScript Cookbooks by Eric T Grubaugh

Sponsor

This episode is sponsored by Salto. Salto is not a consulting company looking to sell you services. Instead they’re a software company that has built a powerful DevOps platform for NetSuite users to manage, track, deploy, and monitor changes to NetSuite. If you’d like to learn more about the Salto DevOps platform, check out salto.io where you can sign up for a free demo and a free 30-day trial.


JANUARY 17, 2024

Episode 30: NetSuite DevOps With Salto's Gil Hoffer

An interview with Gil Hoffer, co-founder and CTO of Salto. We discuss Gil's long tenure as a leader in tech and Salto's mission of making our lives as business engineers easier. We also talk about the reasons that high-quality DevOps and engineering practices are critical within the business applications space, as well as the rewards and challenges of building both a team and a large system on the NetSuite platform.

Sponsor

This episode is sponsored by Salto. Salto is not a consulting company looking to sell you services. Instead they’re a software company that has built a powerful DevOps platform for NetSuite users to manage, track, deploy, and monitor changes to NetSuite. If you’d like to learn more about the Salto DevOps platform, check out salto.io where you can sign up for a free demo and a free 30-day trial.


DECEMBER 19, 2023

Episode 29: 2023 Year In Review

We look back on 2023 and ahead to 2024. Tim discusses his struggle with chronic fatigue syndrome and his transition to project-based billing. Eric shares his experience with burnout and his decision to work independently once again. We both discuss the importance of self-care in our lives and maintaining a work-life balance.

If you'd like to get in touch with us about the show, you can email me eric@stoic.software or check out Tim’s website timdietrich.me.

Links

  • Jonathan Stark teaches independent professionals how to make more money without working more hours.
  • Cooper Press is aggregating content for developers from across the internet.
  • Tim is building aloe.js, a human-friendly way to run JavaScript outside the browser.
  • Xojo is a cross-platform rapid application development framework.

Sponsor

This episode is sponsored by Salto. Salto is not a consulting company looking to sell you services. Instead they’re a software company that has built a powerful DevOps platform for NetSuite users to manage, track, deploy, and monitor changes to NetSuite. If you’d like to learn more about the Salto DevOps platform, check out salto.io where you can sign up for a free demo and a free 30-day trial.


NOVEMBER 29, 2023

Episode 28: Cassius Kellogg Interview

An interview with Cassius Kellogg, Vice President of Services at Bryant Park Consulting. We discuss Cassius’ experience in the NetSuite graduate program, Bryant Park’s incredible growth and business mindset, and our ideas for efficiently onboarding yourself or gracefully handing off your projects to another developer.

This episode was hosted and sponsored by Salto.


OCTOBER 25, 2023

Episode 27: Sonny Spencer Interview

An interview with Sonny Spencer, Director of Finance Operations at Veeva Systems, Salto Leap instructor, and a speaker at SuiteWorld 2023. We discuss the journey that landed Sonny where he is, about the experience of speaking at SuiteWorld, and about performance analysis in NetSuite.

This episode was hosted and sponsored by Salto.


SEPTEMBER 20, 2023

Episode 26: What’s a “Good” NetSuite Developer?

We discuss our opinions on what it takes to be an effective NetSuite developer - the qualities and habits to invest in and the traps to avoid.

This episode was hosted and sponsored by Salto.


AUGUST 16, 2023

Episode 25: Paul Giese Interview

An interview with Paul Giese of OptimalData Consulting wherein we discuss common pitfalls and strategies for large data migrations.

This episode was hosted and sponsored by Salto.


JULY 12, 2023

Episode 24: On Technical Debt

We discuss the mindset and the tools we use when assessing and managing technical debt in our SuiteScript customizations.

This episode was hosted and sponsored by Salto.


JUNE 15, 2023

Episode 23: Sam Hornstein Interview

An interview with Sam Hornstein, President and Owner of eXtendTech, an SDN Partner providing specialized solutions for the Promotional Products vertical.

This episode was hosted and sponsored by Salto.


MAY 4, 2023

Episode 22: Common SuiteQL Issues

In our reboot episode, we discuss what we’ve been doing in the intervening years, and then we dive into common questions and problems Tim sees with SuiteQL.

This episode was hosted and sponsored by Salto.


APRIL 1, 2021

Episode 21: Eagleson's Law

In our final episode, we discuss Eagleson's Law, a software engineering law that states, "Any code of your own that you haven't looked at for six or more months might as well have been written by someone else." How does this apply to SuiteScript development? What can we do prevent feeling this way about the code we write?


MARCH 25, 2021

Episode 20: TJ Cornelius Interview

An interview with TJ Cornelius, the Owner and Founder of SuiteRep. We discuss TJ's path to NetSuite, as well as service variation in a SuiteScript team/firm (i.e. offering clients and prospects services where the deliverable is not code or some other NetSuite customization).


MARCH 18, 2021

Episode 19: Chidi Okwudire Follow-Up Interview

A follow-up interview with Chidi Okwudire, a NetSuite Specialist and Creator of NetSuite Insights. We discuss an interesting NetSuite Certification Survey that he's been conducting, as well as some surprising (and not-so-surprising) results.


MARCH 11, 2021

Episode 18: Pricing

In this episode, we discuss options and things to consider when pricing NetSuite development work. Should you charge an hourly rate, or based on time & Materials? Should you used value-based pricing? (And what is values-based pricing anyway?) What costs do you consider? How do you research the going rate? How often should you raise your rates?

Show Notes:
Convert JSON to CSV
Notion


MARCH 4, 2021

Episode 17: Going Solo

We discuss why we decided to go solo, how to determine if going solo is right for you, the pros, cons, risks, and rewards of going solo, what you need to make the leap, and more.


FEBRUARY 25, 2021

Episode 16: Productivity

We discuss productivity tips, tricks, and techniques, our systems, the challenges that we face, influences, and ways to avoid or eliminate common sources of distraction.


FEBRUARY 18, 2021

Episode 15: NetSuite Opportunities

We discuss the career opportunities that are available to NetSuite developers, where to find them, and what to look for.


FEBRUARY 11, 2021

Episode 14: Matt Dahse Interview

An interview with Matt Dahse, Senior Solution Architect at 360 Cloud Solutions. We discuss:
• Starting with design, instead of starting with code.
• Matt's path to NetSuite.
• There's nothing that NetSuite can't do, but there are things it shouldn't do.
• How and why Matt wrote "NetSuite Development With SuiteScript 2.0."
• The benefits of writing a book.
• The importance of understanding the business case for writing code.


FEBRUARY 4, 2021

Episode 13: Clean Code

We discuss "clean" code, including:
• What is "clean" code? (Spoiler: We don't have an answer.)
• Rewrites and Refactors
• Review: Write Code Like a Recipe
• Review: What is Functional Programming?
• In all things, moderation.
• Is "modular" code better?
• Tabs vs. Spaces


JANUARY 28, 2021

Episode 12: SuiteScript Commiseration

We commiserate about SuiteScript in general, and:
• The oft-frustrating API design versus typical CRUD interface.
• Comparing SuiteScript to a typical "MVC" architecture.
• SuiteQL as a better Data Access Layer.
• Closed nature of a very small community.
• The unenviable position of documenting a massive ERP system.
• Encouraged by the improving tools infrastructure.


JANUARY 21, 2021

Episode 11: SuiteScript Anti-Patterns

We discuss anti-patterns, including what they are, and how they apply to our work with SuiteScript. Specifically, The Boat Anchor, Deep Dark Dead Code, Source Control by Filename, The God Object/Swiss Army Knife, The Golden Hammer, Organization by Script Type, High-wire Releases.


JANUARY 14, 2021

Episode 10: Eric Birdsall Interview

An interview with Eric Birdsall, NetSuite Developer and Administrator at Creative Safety Supply. We discuss Eric's journey to NetSuite, how college is not for everyone, psychological burnout, how Worth = Reward - Cost, and signs, causes, and prevention of burnout.

Show Notes:
Eric's LinkedIn Profile
Creative Safety Supply
Shawn Achor's TED Talk
Dr. Sherry Walling
ExpanDrive
BetterTouchTool
• Create something that's not software.


JANUARY 6, 2021

Episode 9: Specialization as a Defense

We discuss the concept of commoditization and how it applies to services and software development in particular. How, in the eyes of your buyers, your code and processes don't help to differentiate you from your competitors. How being busy doesn't necessarily mean that you're being successful. How specialization can act as a defense to commoditization, and specialization's numerous additional benefits.

Show Notes:
Amy Hoy, creator, Stacking the Bricks
Philip Morgan, creator, The Expertise Incubator
Jonathan Stark, author, Hourly Billing is Nuts
Podcast episode: The Business of Authority, Podcast episode: The Business of Authority
It Doesn't Have to be Crazy at Work
UltraSabers


DECEMBER 30, 2020

Episode 8: Year In Review

We look back at 2020 and forward to 2021. What went right, and what went wrong, in our businesses. NetSuite's 2020 developments. Eric's "pivot" and Tim's quest to specialize. And more.


DECEMBER 23, 2020

Episode 7: Adam Partee Interview

An interview with Adam Partee, Vice President Business of Development at Maverick Fulfillment, a third-party logistics company. We discuss Maverick's NetSuite-first business strategy, how NetSuite is listening to feedback and improving its WMS offering, some of the shortcomings of the NetSuite WMS (cycle counts, inventory management, supplier integration), and how Adam believes that as a developer, you should learn the business behind your code.


DECEMBER 16, 2020

Episode 6: Chloë Windahl Interview

An interview with Chloë Windahl, Business Systems Administrator and highly motivated NetSuite administrator at Ednetics. We discuss Chloë's background, her path to NetSuite, her passion for motocross, and some "saved search sorcery."


DECEMBER 9, 2020

Episode 5: Development Tools

We discuss the development tools and services that we use - for SuiteScript projects and beyond. What we use to write code. The "official" toolset (WebStorm, SDF, and Jest). Source control. Managing tasks and to-dos. Managing documentation. Third-party libraries. Tim's non-SuiteScript tools/platforms.


DECEMBER 2, 2020

Episode 4: Things I Wish I Knew When I Was Starting Out As A Developer

Inspired by Alex Lakatos's "Things I Wish I’d Learned Sooner After Being a Developer for 10 Years," we discuss the importance of soft skills, imposter syndrome and imposters, the importance of continuous learning and exploring, the potential benefits of specializing, strategies for doing deep work, and more.


NOVEMBER 25, 2020

Episode 3: Paths to Becoming A SuiteScript Developer

A follow-up to our interview with Chidi Okwudire. We discuss the many possible paths to becoming a SuiteScript developer, the benefits of specialization, the importance of continuous learning, the massive responsibility of customizing an ERP, and more.


NOVEMBER 11, 2020

Episode 1: Introductions

Our first episode. Who we are, our backgrounds, our goals for the podcast, and more.


ABOUT US

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Eric Grubaugh

HOST

Eric is a SuiteScript Strategist who advises development teams on how to build successful, sustainable SuiteScript practices.

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Tim Dietrich

CO-HOST

Tim develops Web-based solutions for the NetSuite platform.