Knowledge doesn’t come cheap and with the amount of knowledge available online through platforms like Youtube, Tiktok and even Twitter, paying for certain kinds of knowledge seems rather irrelevant.
A lot of people in certain industries tend to see themselves as gatekeepers of information but from my interactions with people, I got to understand that these people who guard information don’t necessarily need to guard information that can be publicly sourced but should consider charging for personalised information.
What I mean by this is that to a lot of people what they have to tell you are things that can be sourced online. Information that thanks to resources like ChatGPT and Bard are not so hidden anymore. You just have to know exactly what to search for and know what you need.
Unless of course, you require some actual physical instructions that can’t be replicated through Youtube, there’s generally almost no reason I’ve noticed to spend a lot on a lot of resources that people offer both online and offline.
I recently agreed to tutor someone on Product Design and a friend advised that I take some money for my time but I don’t think it’s necessary. I’ve never paid a single dime for all I’ve learnt. I’ve been taught for free and given so many free resources, so why can’t I return the favour?
Also, I began my learning through Youtube. Fortunately, I’m one of the few people who can learn on my own but not a lot of people are like that. I didn’t require personalised instructions at the beginning but I got it. A lot of people can’t learn without personalised instructions.
I’m glad I get to teach because this is an opportunity that I’ve been looking for for a while now. Having the ability to teach provides an opportunity for me to grow and learn more and it’s something that makes me happy.
I can’t wait to see how much my current student can grow from my little knowledge but I know if I do this right she’d be on the right track for mastery.