I’ve been getting asked with increasing frequency whether I do 1-on-1 consultations or not, so I figured it was time I made my position on this clear.
The short version is “yes, but not for cheap.”
You can email me at illimitableman [at] gmail [dot] com and make me an offer, if I accept we will finalise the details. If you low ball me, I’ll know it, and I’ll ignore it. Offer an hourly rate you think I’m worth, not a rate you think you can get away with paying. I’ll endeavour to respond to your enquiry within 5 days, but typically reply within 48 hours.
Please ensure your e-mail is no longer than 500 words.
- All consultations will take place over Skype via audio.
- I accept payment in USD, GBP or EUR over Paypal. Alternatively, you may pay in Bitcoin, Ethereum or Solana for an additional layer of anonymity.
- If/when I get too many repeat clients, I will stop accepting new ones until a spot frees up. I limit the number of people I work with concurrently.
All consultations are confidential and dealt with in utmost discretion, I will not even reveal the fact I’ve spoken to you to anyone, let alone reveal the contents of what has been discussed.
The long version:
My portfolio of writing here on the blog is my pro bono work, work that is free and intended for the public good. This blog is my contribution to civilization, be it that it may in its capacity small or large serve to improve the sum state of the human condition. It is likeliest the most noble thing I have done and will ever do as a human being, lest I engage in philanthropy in the future. Everything on this site is free; I don’t stick obnoxious, annoying advertisements on it. It is my view that serious publications should not entertain the tackiness of the advertising industry – so I do not.
I want to help people whilst growing my platform, and the best way for me to do this is at scale – by publishing carefully crafted essays to many thousands of people. As such, when someone asks me to consult with them, they are asking me to specifically allocate them time which could otherwise go towards works for the public good. (i.e. I can spend hours writing something that helps many people, or spend those same hours helping just one.)
Everyone’s situation is serious and important to them, but as an established writer and thinker I receive many requests for help that have either already been answered by the blog, or place high demand on me without a reciprocally high incentive to make meeting said demand worthwhile. Let me be clear, I am relatively financially free, and am therefore under no compulsion to sell my time cheaply to anyone who covets it. If your desire to have me assist you is serious enough, you will be willing to pay serious money. If it isn’t, there will be no transaction – it’s that simple.
I don’t feel guilty about not doing free consultations. This is a poor use of my time. I don’t take people who value my time at zero dollars seriously, because serious people pay well to get things done. I can’t save everybody, so I don’t try to. I don’t feel guilty about this because I’ve given away tons of free content over the years, and continue to do so. In fact, requests of this nature are quite frankly more insulting than anything else.
When someone e-mails me asking me for a one-on-one, the first thing I do is evaluate the seriousness of their request: “is their problem serious, and would working with them be a profitable use of my time?” If I answer no to either question, I do not help the person. The amount someone is willing to pay tends to be a good proxy for the seriousness of their issue, this is why I don’t set a rate but ask to be made an offer. People with petty or minor concerns generally aren’t willing to pay serious money to understand and fix them – these are the types of people I seek to filter out.
Serious people (the only people I will even consider working with) seek my input on a situation specific to them out of a desire to understand, and thusly strategise and plan in regard to it. They want a Machiavellian’s opinion and recommendation. This should be the expectation held, and the format in which any prospective consultation takes.
I prefer working with thinkers to feelers as feelers require extra hand holding and a re-explanation of things into a way that suits their sensibility driven and unpragmatic outlook of the world, however I will work with a feeler that at least makes an effort to engage their reason and who pays handsomely enough out of consideration for the additional patience they require.
Let this be food for thought before requesting a private session.
Email me privately here: illimitableman [at] gmail [dot] com.
– Illimitable Man