After 31 years as a software engineer leading custom enterprise solutions end to end, I was laid off after 25 years with the same company. I'd been quietly training toward AI consulting since the prior fall, but had no real plan yet. Early on, I chased leads the way I'd seen everyone else do it - transactional, pitch-first - and it cost me more than it earned: leads that didn't convert, and a long-time friendship strained by pushing too hard to close one of them. That's not who I am, so I changed how I work. Now I lead with the client's actual problem, help before I ask for anything, and build for years, not one-off engagements. I'm Rodney Snitker, founder of Advance AI Consulting - assessment-first AI consulting for small and mid-sized businesses - and Advance CMO - Fractional CMO and CRM setup and automations. Both are built on lasting relationships.