Barrett Garese

An offer I couldn’t refuse (AKA my new job.)

Probably the most famous line from The Godfather is “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.” There’s a retroactively sinister tone to it, coming as it does shortly before a fairly memorable demonstration of the degree to which Don Corleone is willing to “negotiate.”

There’s another kind of offer you can’t refuse though, the kind that you weren’t expecting but simply can’t turn down. The kind that catches you by surprise, but makes you feel like you just caught opportunity knocking. The kind I just accepted earlier this week.

Two years ago I left UTA’s online group to work on some personal projects and theories. Some of those projects reached completion, some are still in various states of progress, and some were abandoned (for good reason) shortly after their inception. Running my own company has given me the opportunity to do things, meet people, and experiment in ways I never could have imagined. Coming as it did during a period of massive worldwide recession, it probably wasn’t the smartest move to make, but I was lucky enough to spend two years paying my bills doing only that which I found interesting. I can honestly say that while it was the toughest challenge I’ve ever given myself, I enjoyed (almost) every minute of it.

So given all that, it must be a pretty extraordinary opportunity to make me give up my cushy (and occasionally cars, video games, and nerf gun-obsessed) self-employed lifestyle.

It is.

Starting this upcoming Tuesday, I’ll officially be changing job titles, from “So…what is it you do again?” to Director of Content Partnerships at Blip.tv.

I was already a Blip fanboy and I’m sure that more than a few people will claim this transition was inevitable given the frequency at which I recommend their services, but let me just name off a few of my reasons I said yes within 24 hours:

I’ll be working with, under and for friends, past clients, and people whom I admire.
Both the day-to-day and the long-term goals and projects are right up my alley.
I’ll be joining what has always struck me from the outside as more of a family than a corporation.
I’ll be working for one of the most interesting and successful companies in the single most interesting, challenging, and rewarding segment of entertainment.

There’s simply no bad here.

I wasn’t looking for a new job, having enjoyed running my own company for the past two years, but sometimes you’re presented something that would be utterly stupid to walk away from. Sometimes the company, position, and people are just right and you know it as soon as you start talking.

This is one of those times. I can’t wait to get started.