Decision Log
General Decision-Making Approach
- Pragmatic over theoretical “what will actually work in the messiness of real life”
- Considers who has to use it, where it breaks, how support-heavy it becomes
- Pattern-driven: if something keeps coming up, it should become a system
- Leans toward recurring value and reusable assets over scattered one-off opportunities
- Validates core ideas quickly (narrow MVP) before investing in surrounding complexity
Key Decision: Shifting to Hardened Hosting Model
Moved from reactive one-off WordPress security fixes to an opinionated recurring hardened hosting model. Didn’t want to keep getting paid to revisit the same preventable messes. Would rather own more of the outcome — less about chasing recurring revenue, more about wanting a cleaner system that actually helps people long term.
Key Decision: Cloudflare as Default Infrastructure
Made Cloudflare a core default part of the stack, not optional. It solved too many recurring problems to leave optional. One strong layer that reduces risk across the board beats scattered plugin fixes.
Key Decision: Building Tools Over Repeating Manual Research
When he notices a pattern he has to repeat, he’d rather productize it and make it consistent. If something keeps coming up, it should become a system.
Key Decision: Removing Unnecessary WordPress Plugins
Consistently favors fewer moving parts. If the same function can be handled better elsewhere (MU plugins, config, Cloudflare), remove the plugin.
Recurring Decision Patterns
- Systemize over repeat if doing something more than a few times, it becomes a tool or workflow
- Own the outcome prefers controlling more of the stack to prevent problems rather than react
- Security over convenience chooses the safer route
- Pragmatic architecture picks the maintainable option over the elegant one
- Lean start, then expand validates with smallest viable version before building out
- Recurring > one-off focuses on work that compounds
How He Handles Uncertainty
- Starts narrow, validates quickly, then expands
- Doesn’t wait for perfect information decides and iterates
- Leans on 20 years of pattern recognition to assess risk
- Makes most decisions solo sole owner, no board, no partners
- Wife is involved in major family/financial decisions