Well, it’s been a minute, Jira Guys and Gals. As I stated on Twitter and LinkedIn last week, I made some big decisions but had to wait a moment to do things right before making this announcement public.

Let’s begin with the basics. My posting here has been…sporadic. Simply put, I’m being pulled in too many directions. If I give the blog all the effort it deserves, my day job performance suffers; if I give the effort my day job demands, the blog suffers. I’m only one human.

Then we get to the fact that if I take sponsorships here, it does open me up to some concerns. Look, at my day job, we use a lot of Apps, and while everyone knows I’m on the up and up, it looks bad if I’m, in turn, being paid by the people making those Apps, even if it’s in exchange for a legitimate service. This factor alone came to a head when I was offered a speaking role later this year (more details coming). When my day job ruled that accepting this conference would be a conflict, I asked if the answer would be the same if it were Team ’24, and I was accepted to speak by Atlassian – to which they said it likely would be.

This answer was the point it became clear to me: I could not, in good conscience, continue to be “The Jira Guy” and work as a customer. Something had to give, so I am quitting…

… my day job. Don’t get me wrong, working here has been my dream job. In high school, my friends and I daydreamed about working at a major gaming company. But part of me never really believed it would come to pass.

But I only got that opportunity because I am “The Jira Guy.” And at the end of the day, I get so much more fulfillment from reading about how I positively impact many people worldwide learning to be Atlassian Admins. Just last week, I got a message from someone in my neighborhood saying they read my blog and were surprised we lived in the same place. “The Jira Guy” has gotten much bigger than I imagined when I published my first article. And because of its impact, I prioritized this blog so much more. So if something has to give – I can always find another job.

So what comes next?

Right now…I don’t know. I don’t think I can earn enough off the blog alone to make a living, so I must work somewhere. But that somewhere will need to understand that I will not stop working with Vendors in the Atlassian Marketplace, nor will I stop working on the blog. Will the new day job be part-time, full-time, or somewhere in between? I don’t know.

Likewise, I don’t know if my next role will be as a Jira Admin, Consultant, or (strange to think of) a spokesperson. By putting this post out, I imagine I will hear from more than a few people in the Ecosystem. The future is uncertain, but I have a few weeks to figure things out.

If you are an ecosystem partner looking for someone like me, let me know! You can contact me at [email protected]. I know many customers are looking for help with Cloud and Data Center migrations. I’ve already contacted a few friends to see what their companies have, so this is a limited-time offer.

I’m also open and very interested in doing more than consulting. I have a solid track record of content generation and a recognized brand within the Atlassian Ecosystem, so there may be something in leveraging that. I’ve made it no secret I’d love to make content full-time.

Can you help?

When I spoke with Atlassian about their Creator program a few weeks ago, I told them I’d love to work the blog full-time. That is still 100% the truth. 

But I also want it to be more than an advertising board for the highest bidder. That means putting a hard limit on what percentage of my content can be sponsored.

Then there’s the fact I’d rather be sponsored by you, the people who read and benefit from what I write. I’ve had a Patreon for years but have yet to put much into it. But here are the facts. Last year, I had around 66K visitors to the blog. If 10% of those gave $10, that’s a decent chunk of my needs met. As such, I’m posting an exclusive Patreon-supporter-only article on Patreon tomorrow and will continue to post exclusive content there monthly. What other awards would you like? I’d like to see how I can make your donations worth your investment. 

Likewise, if you can help Alex and me get our new podcast up to 1,000 Subscribers on YouTube, we can start monetizing it, which will also help out. Alex also shares this dream to create Atlassian content full-time, so you’d also be helping him towards the goal. 

But the most important thing you can do is continue reading, commenting, and supporting the blog. This whole thing only exists because you find value in it. Trust me; I’ll need your positive feedback over the next few weeks more than ever.  

Final thoughts

Well, between getting this blog back in shape, some surprises coming to The Jira Life soon, wrapping up my day job, and figuring out the next step in this grand adventure, I have a packed couple of weeks.  

I’m serious, though – I’d love to hear what you think would make a Patreon donation worthwhile in your eyes. I’m also mulling over a few other ideas. I’ve had people request me to write a book, offer The Jira Guy T-shirts, and a few other things that I’d love to have time to do. 

But no joke – creating good quality merch is a massive headache. I want to avoid being involved with keeping inventory and dealing with shipping, but finding a vendor that will create merch on demand for people AND have that merch look good? That’s been a challenge, but I’d love a “I didn’t choose the Jira Life” T-shirt myself. Also, a “Have you updated your Jira issues today?” The T-shirt seems very on-brand.

As always, you can find all my links on Linktree. Be sure to subscribe to all the socials and to like, comment, and share my new posts. The various algorithms do pay attention to what you do, and doing so does help this channel out. It’s always a kick to see the blog’s content shared by Google to my personal account – that’s when I know something is a hit.

Don’t forget that Alex and I will be live tomorrow at 2 PM Pacific (5 PM Eastern) for The Jira Life. I won’t spoil too much, but this week, we got an answer to a question we had last week. Or you can click below to watch last week’s episode!

But until next time, my name is Rodney, asking, “Have you updated your Jira Issues today?”