Why your great TYPO3 knowledge won't make you rich

Do you know the feeling? You work late into the night, solving the trickiest TYPO3 problems for your clients, and at the end of the month you wonder where all the money has gone? Welcome to the club.

The technical trap

We TYPO3 developers often fall into the same trap: we think that better technical skills automatically lead to a better business. We spend hours familiarizing ourselves with the latest features, exchange ideas about code optimizations in forums and cheer when we've found a particularly elegant solution. It's wonderful! We are artists! Programming gods!

And then the customer comes along and says: "Great, but can't you do it for 30% less? My cousin knows someone who can do it cheaper." Ouch. Suddenly we are no longer gods, but interchangeable cogs in the great machinery of capitalism. Welcome to reality.

I've long wondered why so many talented TYPO3 developers struggle with their business. Why do we often work more and earn less than colleagues who may not be as technically proficient?

The problem is not in the code

After many conversations with freelancers, freelancers and agency managers in the TYPO3 world, it became clear to me: The problem is not in the code. It's in our business strategy - or lack thereof.

While we rack our brains over Composer integration, Symfony components and site configurations, we neglect the questions that really make the difference between success and failure:

• How do I position myself in the market?
• How do I win customers who really value my work?
• How do I calculate projects in such a way that there is a healthy profit at the end?
• How do I manage not to reinvent the same wheel for every customer?

Technical tunnel vision

I've noticed that we TYPO3 enthusiasts often have technical tunnel vision. We passionately discuss the best way to develop an extension, but we hardly ever talk about the best way to write an offer.

We spend nights tinkering with continuous integration and automated tests, as if that would make us better people. But systematic customer acquisition and efficient sales processes? Oh, that's "just marketing" - yikes!

We spend days making a website fast as a millisecond (after all, that 0.2 second loading time is vital for world peace), but not an hour optimizing our pricing structure. And then we wonder why our bank account is as empty as our coffee cup at the end of the month.

The truth about successful TYPO3 businesses

I've made an interesting observation over the years: the most successful TYPO3 freelancers and agencies aren't necessarily the ones with the deepest technical know-how. They are the ones who have understood that technical expertise is only part of the equation.

They have developed clear processes to handle projects efficiently. They have found a positioning that sets them apart from the crowd. They know how to communicate the value of their work - and price it accordingly. They have systems in place to continuously acquire new and suitable customers.

The dilemma of the lone fighter

As a freelancer or small agency, you are often on your own. You have to find out for yourself what works and what doesn't. You don't have a marketing department, a sales team or a business coach looking over your shoulder.

And if you're honest, most business advisors out there don't understand how the TYPO3 market works. They don't understand the specific challenges we face.

My aha moment

For me, the turning point came when I started talking regularly with other TYPO3 professionals - not about technical topics, but about business strategies. Suddenly I recognized patterns. I saw which approaches worked and which didn't. I learned from the successes and mistakes of others instead of having to try everything myself.

Looking beyond TYPO3 was also particularly valuable. Talking to people outside our bubble - web developers of other systems, marketing experts or business coaches - opened up new perspectives for me. Sometimes it takes this outside perspective to recognize where we are stuck in our TYPO3-specific thought patterns.

I realized that we not only need to become better developers, but also better entrepreneurs. We need to learn how to package and market our knowledge in a way that brings us and our customers the greatest possible benefit.

And that's exactly what the Business Roundtable is all about: Digital with TYPO3. Not about hooks, extensions or TypoScript snippets, but about what really drives your business forward.

Time to leave the tunnel vision and see the bigger picture. Your TYPO3 knowledge is valuable - but only with the right strategy will it make you successful.

What now?

You are now faced with a decision: Continue to run on the hamster wheel and hope that something will magically change at some point? Or take action and take your business to a new level?

In our Business Roundtable Community, TYPO3 professionals share their success strategies every month, discuss pricing models, develop marketing approaches and build a strong network. Instead of making the same mistakes over and over again, you can learn from the experiences of others.

The next roundtable will take place on 25.04.2025 at 4 pm. You can either buy an individual ticket or - even better - become part of the community and secure permanent access to all resources, recordings and the job board.

What do you get? Not empty promises, but tangible business strategies that work for TYPO3 professionals. And best of all, a portion of every payment goes directly to sponsoring TYPO3 development.

Invest in your business and in the technology that supports your business!