Business Policy Changes

This is a very difficult post to write, and at the risk of coming off sounding like a jerk, I simply have to come out and say it.

2019 has been an incredible year for me. My YouTube channel has achieved monetization, I spoke and appeared on a panel at LiveWorx, I continue to write blogs for PTC, and I have additional engagements lined up.

I've become so busy that I can no longer provide assistance for free, whether it's people reaching out to me via email or asking questions in YouTube comments.

I've taken a look at my writing and video obligations to others and myself, and I simply don't have the time to provide free advice or consulting. This is a business in addition to my professional career; it's not a hobby.

Providing free assistance is also damaging to my psyche. While I want to help others, offering essentially consulting at no cost subconsciously means that I don't value my knowledge, experience, and expertise.

Another thing to mention that may also come off as arrogant: I'm no longer responding to people asking for business partnerships if it appears that they want a cut of my revenue and bring nothing to the table.

There's a great scene in "Get Shorty" where Delroy Lindo explains the movie business to John Travolta, and having heard the explanation, he responds, "Then what the <bleep> do I need you for?"

I've found that when you've shown that you can do something - write a book, write a blog, run a decent YouTube channel - others want to do business with you. Some of those opportunities are fruitful; honestly I'm lucky that everything I've done in the two years since I first released "Design Intent in Creo Parametric" has led to more and better opportunities.

Other opportunities are not as fruitful. I just turned one down last month to write a book and create a video series for a company and I would receive a small fraction of the revenue. I write books and create videos already, and reap 100% of the revenue. Again, as Chili Palmer says, "what the <bleep> do I need you for?"

And some of the other "offers," if you can call them that, are for me to share my business revenue with others without providing any kind of discernible or specified value to me.

This is a turning point and I'll be operating my business as a business. I regret if this comes across as off putting to others but it's a necessary evolution for MCAE Consulting and me.