gonna do some thinki
[2023-04-24 11:54:42 AM] : gonna do some thinking out loud here if i may…
in january i started offering consulting services to my audience. the format so far is that we get on a call once a week and i help my client with testing (and often other areas too). i’ve had 3 clients so far who have bought this service.
something new happened this week. it occurred to me to start offering this same exact service at my day job. following a company-wide demo i did, there was a lot of interest. unlike with my consulting clients which have been 1:1, these consulting sessions are 1:17! so it’s more like a group presentation than a one-on-one engagement.
this has gotten me thinking. delivering a lesson to 17 devs each week is obviously more valuable than teaching just one dev. (exceptions exist of course but i think that’s broadly true.) my questions to myself are:
• how can i get 1:n consulting work rather than 1:1 so that i can earn a higher effective hourly rate?
• should i frame the 1:n work differently than i’ve been framing my consulting work up to now, and if so how?
• how should i approach pricing for 1:n lessons?
i’m not clueless as to what the above answers are but i haven’t arrived at firm conclusions yet. any input anyone might have would be appreciated.
Jason Swett
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1 Reply
[2023-04-24 04:15:57 PM] : 1:n sounds more like workshops than consulting, and there are lots and lots of ways to run paid workshops
• sell tickets and run online
• in person at meetups
• in person at conferences
[2023-04-24 04:32:04 PM] : well the thing is it’s ongoing. once a week in perpetuity
[2023-04-24 05:12:45 PM] : WDYT about selling these workshops as packs? E.g. 6 workshops pack, 1 workshop per week.
[2023-04-24 05:21:33 PM] : well, i kind of already do. i sell my consulting engagements as 4 sessions per month
[2023-04-25 09:22:55 AM] : Can’t give you general advice on this but I can give you a data point: company I currently work for has a lot of problems with flaky specs, regularly. I would see a lot of value in having regular access to an expert on it. Personally, if I had decision power on this I would happily pay someone to hold regular “office hours” say biweekly where anyone from the company can come with a testing problem and get expert advice.
[2023-04-25 09:23:50 AM] : Unfortunately I don’t but if you had an offering like that I would pitch it internally.
[2023-04-25 09:25:26 AM] : Radan Skorić maybe i DO have an offering like that :smile:
[2023-04-25 09:28:16 AM] : Then I will pitch it! :grin: Care to toss me a link? I’ll put in to on the agenda for next technical leads meeting. Can’t promise anything but I’ll do my best. I’ve read some of your articles and you would be a good fit I think. It’s a classic Rails Monolith with RSpec.
[2023-04-25 09:29:55 AM] : sure thing! will write up a page for you and send you the link today
[2023-04-25 02:30:30 PM] : One thing I've done with clients is a weekly "Learning Ensemble" (aka Mob Programming or Software Teaming). I get 3-5 people in a Zoom and we work on learning and practicing coding techniques (TDD, refactoring, architecture/design). Mostly on smaller projects (to focus on learning), and then we'll switch to real projects (if possible). I've also had a client buy my "Ensemble" service (3X my hourly rate), but treated it as a group coaching/consulting session where we discussed questions and issues about their project.
[2023-04-25 02:33:45 PM] : The way I see it is there's two types of buyers: an individual who needs help or wants to improve (and is paying for themselves), and people who want help with their team (either the team member or their lead/manager). The first group, I charge a very affordable rate. The latter is where I'm charging my much higher rate.
jasonswett From your "Hire Me" page, it's a bit unclear who you're aiming at (feels like #1). I think you could maybe clarify that page to get more of group #2?
[2023-05-02 10:30:56 AM] : I’ve seen formats of mastermind groups, where a group of people attack the same problem eg., setting up logistics of a business.
Unlike a course it’s both structured and unstructured, there is a lot of cross learning. There will be a expert who is 2 steps ahead of the curve, they’ll drive the conversation