Members Only

Members Only (if only people would pay for that…)

by: The ADHD Accountant – Krid

Mark Twain said “Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” We all know that this is hyperbolic, there are always some parts of a job that are tedious or less pleasant, but there is certainly enough truth in it.

I have many fingers, in many pies. Many of them share a passion; teaching, and Excel. Throughout my life I have enjoyed almost every opportunity that I have had to teach. To mentor. To tutor. And, as an accountant, I have always had an affinity for Excel. Over 10 years ago I started doing Lunch ‘n Learn session to educate people at work about this, that, the other thing, and Excel. More Excel than anything.

Recently, and thanks to the improved technologies provided by apps like Teams and Zoom, not to mention the global pandemic, I put another shingle out. Excel Tutor. Very niche, and expensive overall compared to taking a course through a continuing education school my services are not especially sought after; at least not for legitimate reasons!

That’s right – I have actually had many people contact me to just “do it” for them; I don’t understand why they think that they can fake a programming language. I certainly won’t help them to do so.

It’s not a programming language, you say? Well, you’re wrong. You would have learned that in any of my tutoring or education sessions.

I love the idea of being able to do more with this; though I can see many, many, many resources available for free (official and less official). Microsoft official certifications can be completed for under $1,000. Introductory courses are available for under $200, often.

But what I would like to offer, or to continue to offer, is to be that resource that you need when Google just isn’t good enough to get a solution. A quick issue at work? We can do a quick lesson in just 60 minutes – members get priority.

I would love to tie this in with the accounting services that I can provide, too. Tutoring is a side gig that is fun, and I do it at a discounted rate for my time. But if I could generate a large membership of clients that need some ad hoc work, and some staff training, that would be a tremendous achievement for me.

Yes – getting paid to do what I love. Building a community of peers and clients to express some of my passions would be hardly “work” at all. The wonderful thing about modern technology is that I can see this being achievable. I can reach any English speaking community remotely and provide tutoring, I can work across Canada (and some US) for accounting.

It would be really cool if I could also write articles, blogs, or stories on a regular basis that people enjoyed. But, much like cooking I find that to be more work-like than not. Cooking for example; I love to cook, and entertain. But, every time someone says that they don’t want this, or they want it special like this makes my blood boil. I’m never going to be the famous chef that has a line out the door with people willing to pay for what you’re willing to make that day.

I enjoy the opportunity to play on Vocal Media (though I could do it on numerous other sites) but I have neither the temperament, nor the talent, to captivate the audience as some others do. A little too Monty Python for most, I suspect.

Writing letters is also a lot of work. To be effective it needs to be authentic. I am no scribe to write out the words of others. I can’t even give out most Hallmark cards these days due to their over the top gushing. You are not the best boss in the world. I am not the greatest son. I’d rather something sincere than saccharine.

Those things are too much like work. But maybe, just maybe, as the economy picks up, I can pick up a new community and, in my own way, work (pun intended) towards building something that is truly for Members Only*.

*Legal: Membership is free. Hourly rates apply.

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