What’s going on, everyone. I’d like to start this entry by passing along an interesting article that was posted on BusinessWeek.com a couple of weeks ago. The article is called
‘How to Write an MBA Admissions Essay’ and the author breaks down the steps to compose a good B-school essay. When I first read the article, I found it to be pretty basic and didn’t think it would be useful to post up here. Then, I read it a second time a couple of weeks later and thought back to myself six years ago when I was approaching the MBA application process. Back then, I didn’t know ANYTHING and an article like this would have been a godsend. So, if you’re about to start the MBA application process, you might want to take a few minutes to read the article. At a time like this, one can use all of the information he/she can get when preparing to take the MBA plunge.

The email below is from a reader who has a very interesting idea for me to introduce to this blog. I won’t summarize it here…I’ll just let you guys read it and then see my response below. I really like when my readers help me think through how to improve the site

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CL wrote:

“Hello Marquis,

hope your all good. I’ve been a follower of your blog for a while now. Thanks for the fantastic job.

I am a french MSc in information systems grad currently in a MBus in Finance in Sydney. After a stint as a programmer in Zurich at a FoHF I am hoping to integrate a “Top 10″ MBA in Fall ’10 to transition to a social/hybrid role.

I was reading “Whatever It Takes” that relates Geoffrey’s Canada fantastic job with the Harlem Childrens Zone, and just had an idea.

Obviously u have lots of people asking u questions (lots of demand) – have u ever thought of putting a “donationware” system in place? Say people could make a $20 donation to a charity of their choice to ask a question, $100 for an admission review…

Just a thought, most probably u have had such an idea already!

Cheers and keep up the fantastic work.

CL”
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My response:

CL,

Thanks for checking out my blog and taking the time to reach out to me. Also, thanks for passing along your idea of setting up a “donationware” system for my blog. I know that you said it was “just a thought”, but I found it to be a fantastic one so I wanted to give you a thorough response. I’m sorry that it has taken me a while to send you a response, but better late than never, right?

Over the years, I’ve had many friends tell me that that I need to find a way to monetize my blog, so the idea of charging a fee to answer user questions is something that I’ve thought about before. But, so far, I haven’t been able to bring myself to make it happen. In particular, while your idea is a good one, there are some issues that might make it tough for me to implement:

- If funds are going to be generated by me responding to people’s emails, I’d want to at least get a little piece of a sliver or a slice of a cut of those funds. Yeah, I know that might sound selfish, but, at least, it’s honest But then, I’d feel like I’d have to get a response to people within a couple of days of their emails coming into my Inbox. As you now know, it can sometimes take me months to get back to people, so that could be a major issue once people are paying me for my insights. Since I do it for free now, I feel like I could take as much time as I want/need to get back to folks because I’m basically gifting my wisdom to them…that would change if I were to make them pay to ask me a question.

- I originally started this blog to help people and I think that’s what helps me connect with my audience well. I wonder if requiring people to donate/pay $20 per request for advice might make it more difficult to see me as the “Marquis” that they all know and love, as opposed to a random guy trying to make some extra money. I probably shouldn’t care so much about how I’m seen through that blog, but, after so many years, the site has strangely become a part of my personal brand.

- There’s no way I’d ever have enough time to do full admissions reviews for people and still be able to work my day-job. When I’ve done it for my friends before, it’s taken many hours and the sheer volume of requests I might get from readers could overwhelm me. It’s a shame there aren’t 40 hours in a single day because I’m pretty daggone good at reviewing applications and could probably make some major loot from doing them as a side hustle

- Most importantly, I fear that requiring people to make a $20 donation to a charity might shut out certain segments of my reader-base. I receive emails from all over the world, including certain countries where US$20 is a LOT of money. These folks often have MBA aspirations and have to save up for a while to even afford to apply to their target B-schools. Lots of questions come from these folks and I wonder whether these folks could afford to make that $20 donation to get my advice. Also, from my perspective, I’d probably feel a lot of pressure to give the “right answer” to someone who had to struggle financially to make a charitable donation. Whew, this is probably the toughest part of this idea for me…

One of these days, I might switch things up, but, for right now, I’m going to stick with the status quo to help as many people. Thanks again for your suggestion though and please know that I’m SERIOUSLY considering something like you mentioned. If I do end up implementing it, I’ll be sure to give you a shout out for it

Good luck on your upcoming MBA application process. I don’t know how many of my old entries you’ve read, but I’m pretty sure there might be a few nuggets of wisdom in my archives that could help you as you’re shaping your applications. Take care and have a nice day.

Marquis