Update: Had to discontinue IRL mentoring because it just takes too much time away from producing content that helps more people. It’s always hard to balance this. There are some things that cannot be covered easily online, but the reach for people online is always significantly better. So all the new content, including installing Linux onto hardware and how to program in Go is always going to be better online.
When I stopped private mentoring over Discord two years ago it was at a time when I needed to get the corporate thing going again, well it’s going now and I have a bit of room on the schedule to consider adding back a few private mentored community members. I’m starting with three for 2023 and will increase if needed, but probably never more than five per week tops. The rate is $75/hour (which is the same as hiring a personal fitness trainer) but the potential earning potential increase from it is far greater than any fitness gains from a personal fitness trainer. I understand not everyone will be able to pay this, so I will keep the weekly 2-hour Boost/Homelab sessions “for free” (whatever support they can provide). But I need the time on those days to do mentoring so there will never be a 4-hour Boost session ever again.
When I reduced the number of total streaming hours my subs dropped by 30. But then I did the math. 30 subs nets me about $120/month. But three, dedicated SKILSTAK members nets me $900/month and the benefit to the community is exponential because as they are mentored they can help others. I’d have to maintain about 300 subscriptions per month to net that same amount and have no specific, personal, professional relationship to show for it. I’d also have to stream way more than three additional hours per week to maintain that sort of interest with no guarantee that they would stick around. The great thing about hand-picking private mentor relationships is that they bear long-lasting fruit for both of us and demonstrated a commitment by both parties. Twitch never provides that. Dancing bears can never be true mentors.