Giving is Living

I had someone recently reach out to me from the internet and ask for assistance. This was the type of question that I knew would take more than a few minutes of my time to explain how to do it. When I suspect that I will need to have a conversation about compensation I recommend that the potential client reach out to me through something more private like email. When I got this guy’s email I saw his signature indicate that he worked for a very famous and wealthy imaging company from Japan. This in no way affected how much I would charge him for my services but it does tell me that if he successfully implements my solutions to his problems, his company will compensate him for his work. I responded to his email and pointed him to my website where he could purchase an hour of consulting. He never responded to my email.

Probably the hardest thing I do in balancing my free YouTube channel and my actual day job of designing eLearning for my clients is managing the transition of free subscribers asking for help and converting them into paying customers. Don’t get me wrong. I love helping people out. If you post a question that I happen to have the answer to on the tip of my tongue, you will very likely get it for free. I really try to live my professional life using Tony Robbins’ motto “Giving is living.”

Sometimes people get annoyed when I attempt to transition from free advice to paying customer but in the end I have had more positive experiences recognizing where the "ask of me" is going and dealing with the matter of compensation up front. If you're like me, don’t get caught in the trap of giving too much away for free. In the end you have to be compensated for your work, but don’t be afraid to give of yourself as well; sometimes it can be its own reward.