Member Spotlight: Zach Stepek

For the last decade, Zach’s been helping store owners run some of the largest WooCommerce stores in the world, and he’s currently helping customers run complex, scalable commerce websites at Convesio. His expertise has led to him working with and teaching at household name brands like Discover Financial, Dow Jones, Hearst, Behr Process, IBM, and Viacom. He’s been a featured speaker at Adobe MAX, FITC Toronto, WooConf, numerous WordCamps, RIApalooza, BFlex/BFusion, Flashbelt, and countless local meetups. When he isn’t helping sites scale to new heights, he writes music with his band, She’s Therapy, gigs as a concert photographer, and enjoys spending time with loved ones playing tabletop games.

What do you enjoy most about working in WordPress?

My favorite part of working in WordPress is the community. I’ve met so many people that I consider close friends because of the work I’ve done in WordPress. I’ve watched my friends’ children become adults. Many of you watched my son grow up. It’s a deeply embedded part of my life in a more profound way than any other community I’ve ever been a part of has been.

WordPress completely changed my life. I was struggling to find what was next for me after the Flash industry disappeared seemingly overnight, so I started learning PHP and gave WordPress another look. Then, I found out there was this fledgling plugin from my favorite theme company that made WordPress an eCommerce platform, and I dove in head first. I built my first store on WooCommerce 1.1, I believe, with the Whitelight theme from WooThemes to sell physical and digital albums for the record label I was helping to run at the time. The rest is history!

What do you love most about your Post Status membership?

Post Status provides a virtual meeting place for the WordPress community. A place where we can all gather, meet new people, discuss things that matter to us and help others when they need help. It’s an excellent source for WordPress news and information about events; honestly, it’s a fun place to hang out. It keeps me in touch with the people I know in the community and opens doors to those I don’t yet know. When I had my agency, the jobs board was invaluable, too!

What business/web/WordPress advice do you have for others in our industry?

Learn something new every day, even if it’s something small. Never stop growing. There is an endless supply of knowledge in the world, and it is just waiting to be consumed.

Hustle culture is something that has a limited shelf life. Sure, you can accomplish something big if you kill yourself getting there, but what’s the point of getting there if you’re too tired to enjoy it once you’re there? Processes and procedures may be tedious, but they move the needle consistently.

Reframe the way you relate to the world. You will be correct if you approach something by saying you can’t do it. Instead, focus on what you can accomplish and set your mind to figuring out how to do the rest.