getting cold feet ab
[2021-11-19 07:29:17 AM] : getting cold feet about the in-person docker workshop that i’ve scheduled for the spring. i remembered (after financially committing to holding the workshop) that my email list, my reputation, my flagship product, my body of blog posts and my future plans are all around rails testing, not docker. i realized that if i want to sell tickets to this docker workshop, i’m probably going to have to release docker ebombs and get email subscribers who are interested in docker. that seems like kind of a left turn and a waste of all the advantages i’ve built up over the last ~4 years focusing on rails testing. also seems like a distraction from my original plans of creating a rails testing course based on my successful rails testing book.
this morning i emailed the hotel where i reserved space to see if i can cancel without an unacceptable penalty. (i rashly signed a contract with them which puts me on the hook for about $4K.) if i can’t cancel, i believe i’m going to change my workshop from a docker workshop to a rails testing workshop. i’m still nervous about that because there’s still the risk that i sell no tickets and lose money, BUT if i change it to a rails testing workshop then i don’t have to also drastically change all my other plans just for the sake of a workshop which may or may not sell any tickets.
not necessarily looking for feedback or anything, just sharing because sometimes typing stuff out helps me clarify my thoughts.
1 Reply
[2021-11-19 08:38:27 AM] : Also thinking out loud here: is there a way to bring the Docker stuff closer to your existing advantages? Are there many Rails testing pains for which the fix is Docker? (I don't know if it's relevant to your audience specifically, but I wouldn't be shocked to see "Docker for Rails devs" as book chapter or a module in a course)
[2021-11-19 08:39:25 AM] : kind of, but i think it would be a bit of a stretch
[2021-11-19 08:40:29 AM] : there certainly is a real bridge from rails testing to docker (if you’re interested in rails testing then you’re a rails developer, and if you’re a rails developer then you can benefit from docker and therefore might be interested in docker) but it’s a bit of a long chain
[2021-11-19 09:22:12 AM] : Maybe you can do some a/b testing and check what kind of demand you'd have for either and then decide
[2021-11-19 09:24:27 AM] : idk, i already know what i know about my email list, my product, my blog posts, etc. all being rails-testing focused. those are facts that no new information would change
[2021-11-19 09:25:20 AM] : Right, but you are running under the assumption that this docker stuff won't be attractive to your audience... that could be put to test
[2021-11-19 09:25:33 AM] : What's the workshop date?
[2021-11-19 09:27:56 AM] : march 24-25
[2021-11-19 09:28:25 AM] : Ok. In this case I believe you have enough time to run a couple of tests on the docker stuff and see what happens
[2021-11-19 09:28:40 AM] : Unless you absolutelly don't want to go with docker
[2021-11-19 09:29:43 AM] : > you are running under the assumption that this docker stuff won’t be attractive to your audience
i launched a rails testing book to my audience and it made about $7,000 in the first week. i launched a docker book to my audience and it made about $500
[2021-11-19 09:30:07 AM] : Oh, that's an interesting data point :slightly_smiling_face:
[2021-11-19 09:30:16 AM] : :smile:
[2021-11-19 09:30:29 AM] : yeah, to me that seemed like a pretty clear indication of relative interest level
[2021-11-19 09:30:30 AM] : In that case yeah... I agree, you better stick to rails testing
[2021-11-19 09:30:55 AM] : i think so!
[2021-11-19 09:31:14 AM] : i’m not ruling out docker forever, i just don’t want to commit myself to switching to it right now
[2021-11-19 09:32:00 AM] : interesting that as a big fan of your podcast docker stuff was much more helpful for me than other things. In fact like a 4-5 days ago I was searching for "docker postgresql jason" as I knew you had this article on how to setup rails with postgres running inside of container :slightly_smiling_face:
[2021-11-19 09:33:28 AM] : thanks! that means a lot
[2021-11-19 09:34:20 AM] : and I love your general code architecture articles / service object wars :slightly_smiling_face: and stuff like this than testing :slightly_smiling_face: so for me you're like podcast/docker/good ruby practices guy that's selling some testing courses :slightly_smiling_face:
[2021-11-19 09:35:19 AM] : I have 4 years ruby exp, just to give you more context
[2021-11-19 09:35:30 AM] : haha, thanks
[2021-11-19 09:35:53 AM] : yeah, i think part of why these sorts of things are tough is that there are infinite things that i COULD help my audience with
[2021-11-19 09:36:10 AM] : and all these things have different degrees of overlap with my existing audience
[2021-11-19 09:37:24 AM] : i think if i gain enough credibility with a large enough audience, i could successfully sell just about anything. for example, if kent beck decided to put on a docker workshop, or a rails testing workshop, i bet either one of those classes would fill right up
[2021-11-19 09:38:05 AM] : and indeed, that’s my goal eventually. i want to basically be the joe rogan of programming podcasts
[2021-11-19 09:39:20 AM] : but i think it will be a pretty long time before i achieve kent-beck-level notoriety, and so i have to be more judicious about what i allow myself to become known for and how well my offerings align with what i’m known for
[2021-11-19 12:06:00 PM] : just heard back from the hotel. if i cancel now i’m still on the hook for the $4K. so…a rails testing workshop it is!
[2021-11-19 01:07:35 PM] : for future events, I've rented from coworking spaces and it cost less than that
[2021-11-19 05:10:17 PM] : maybe that would have been good…i went with a hotel partly because it would give people an easy place to stay
[2021-11-19 05:10:58 PM] : maybe by making the event convenient and eliminating some logistics for the attendees, i’ll get enough additional attendees to make up for the money i would have saved by using a cheaper venue. who knows though.
[2021-11-21 10:21:27 AM] : Hotels are the hardest to work with, and the most expensive.
Unless it's part of a larger event like a conference I've found it much easier to find a place that's close to a bunch of prospective workshop attendees so they don't need accommodations in addition to a ticket. Even if I need to travel for that the costs of me traveling spread across the attendees is easily folded into the event cost divided by minimum attendees.
OR the entire experience is intentionally somewhere cool or interesting, where everyone wants to travel to. But that's a whole other thing.
[2021-11-21 10:49:37 AM] : ah, that would have been a smart thing for me to have done. good idea for next time at least!