I had an old friend tell me this yesterday, in response to my admission that I'm carpooling to a conference on Vancouver Island this coming week (rather than taking the float plane). "You're too busy to take the ferry right now." And he's kind of right. 

To be honest, the plane had been duly considered, but when the offer to carpool (with three amazing colleagues) came up, I gratefully accepted - and it will be door-to-door service and a lower carbon footprint, to boot. However, my friend did make a good point - I do not have much time this week (or this month for that matter), after the luxurious three-week vacation I told you all about last month. 

The formidable Alexandra Samuel took on this notion of "respecting the billable hour" in her blog last week (sparking much debate). She challenges those who ask for an hour of our time to pick our brains don't always appreciate that we're losing precious billable hours in the process. And if we don't value our time, our friends and associates won't either. 

Time is money

For those of us who sell our ideas and creativity for a living, as consultants, time is literally money. Every hour that we're waiting in a ferry line-up, chewing the fat with a friend or family member, or allowing an associate to "pick our brains," is an hour that we're not making money. And let's be clear, this isn't about greed - it's about paying my office rent, my subcontractors, my utilities...and let's not forget, my own salary. 

Some commenters on Alex's blog post were uncomfortable with putting a price on their time. Frankly, I think that's a bit of a 'starving artist' mentality - the notion that we do not belong to the market. And I agree to an extent. I don't belong to the market - and I'm more than happy to donate my time to a worthy cause, project or peer - but my services do belong to the market, and I depend on them - and the reputation they help me build - for my living. Simple as that. 

As I mentioned on Alex's blog, consultants who give away their time are like country doctors during the Depression who took payment in chickens and corn - while it may have been the right and honourable thing to do at the time, in the end the bank still got the house. 

So next time you ask a consultant to give you some of their time, just be aware of what you're asking - and if you can't pay them, at least ask for and thank them for the donation.