How many times have you heard, “Can I pick your brain for a minute?” or “Do you have time for a quick lunch so I can ask you some questions?” or (I love this one!) “It will be great exposure for you!” or some variation of these questions? I’ve heard it a lot over the last 10 years.
Don’t get me wrong. I love helping people. I give away free advice all the time here on my blog and through articles published across the web.
But it’s important to remember that any time you give comes at a cost. And if you are giving your time away for free, that won’t pay the bills. So you’ll need to figure out a balance. And for every request you get, make sure you figure out in advance what’s in it for you.
Here’s a really good video of Harlan Ellison, a popular but contrary Hollywood writer making this very point.
What do you think?
About Denise O'Berry
I agree with this 100%. Certainly we give away some things for free – but it’s easy to take this too far. There’s a big difference between “hey, can I ask you 5 minutes of questions” and “I’d like you to do 10 hours of work in exchange for a doughnut and a high five.”
Unfortunately, not everyone sees the difference between the two.
I love how you put this Ed. Thanks for taking the time to stop by and share your thoughts.
Two days ago, a friend of mine asked me to see a client of his. Her mail account had been hacked. I spoke on the phone, went to see her at her office. At the end she was surprised that she had to pay! How can people think like that? I even didn’t know her!
It’s really important to clarify up front whether there will be a fee. Then there are no surprises when the job is done. Thanks so much for the reminder and for sharing your experience.
I agree with you. I didn’t notice at first but after a while it was clear that people take advantage however they can. Thanks for sharing this thought, denise.
They’re gonna look at me and I’m gonna be famous! LOL!
This is beyond excellent! Thank you for posting it!
This guy is great. My favorite quote: “Uh, I sell my soul but at the highest rates.”