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Faizan Siddiqi

7 Feb, 30 tweets, 10 min read

Time is the most valuable and finite resource we have. "Free for coffee so I can pick your brains?" I’m giving you permission to create a “pick your brain” session people can pay for. You heard that right.knowledge & experience were not free to obtain,so they aren't free to give.

Requests to “pick your brain” or “just grab coffee” might not always seem like a big deal, but when you take into account the value of your time and the lost productivity and income, it becomes a different story. Its a struggle to respond to these requests, esp if you are some 1

Who operates in the knowledge economy & if your business relies heavily on how you use your time to make money. As you take stock of your time,coffee dates with new people is the least bang for your buck. Esp when the purpose of the meeting is for them to intellectually mine u

If your skills are in demand & every time someone wants to grab a “coffee” or a “chat over a coffee", its time to charge them Looked differently you aren't going to go to their business and take a product and walk out after handing a cup of coffee?Time is the exact same concept.

Once you start to think about how many valuable things you can do in an hour or two, you start to value your time appropriately. Implement a process/intake-form/url designed to solve the most commonly asked question of you, so you can have clear boundaries for these requests.

Having a defined process & response means you don’t have to get caught up in being polite or worrying about what to say every time some 1 wants your time. Just tell them sure they can have your time & advice, they’ll have to schedule a "session" share a link with a paywall. Boom

If you dont value your time no one else will.People have become extremely smart,they will blow smoke up your rear end & "pretend value" your time socially so that they create an "obligation bubble" for you. Don't fall for the trap. Creators of value need to bill $s

Taking “pick your brain” sessions is a common mistake. But the truth is, if someone doesn’t want to pay for an initial meeting they are not going to hire you later. Don’t count these sessions as business development. It may be good to meet fascinating ppl but not getting clients.

Understand this, some one who offers to pay for coffee obviously values your time but perhaps not at 10x the rate of coffee/hr. If someone really wants to learn from you – and they don’t have some comparable knowledge, intrigue, or trade factors to add that makes a meeting

mutually beneficial then they need to add cash. That’s what money is for. To make it a fair use of people’s time. Some how people dont get it, most particularly "desis". I have lots of these meeting requests & due to my greying beard it’s usually some one wanting quick help.

Quick and help don't jell well together because neither my formal education nor experience were QUICK. 2 + decades for $3/4 per hour is a fair trade only for Starbucks but not for me, neither should it be for you:).Yes I mentor & support a select number of women led biz/founders

& other rising stars; hopefully always will. But mentoring & free consulting aren't the same. More often than not the folks asking to pick my brain have money, status & privilege those are the kind I try to avoid so should you.

For those who get offended & many will, the best example is, It's like going to get a blow dry & walking out not paying. Would that be ok? Everyone deserves to be paid if they are providing an actual service. Its ok for people to be offended, its better to stay away from such ppl

When should you advise people for free?? Whilst its good to have a hard line on no free advisory, some times it works esp if you get a request from some 1 whom you will walk away from with an enriching experience or some 1 who will do a warm intro to a real lead or industry.

Other than that stick to your hard line unless there is a benefit for you to lean on as well. Write this down and use it. "“I’d love to help you with that. Right up my alley. My clients pay $X so if that’s what you’re thinking heres a link to my "session booking" page.""

The biggest offenders are those who msg, email, dm seeking a free right of passage. "Hey can you read this", "I msgd you with abc issue, what do you think?", "can you take a look at this, i bet u see this all the time" There is one word for this class of folks "BLOCK".

Statrups/Mentees take note. There is a way to get good advice from good people but know the ground rules. You have a free hall pass vs established professionals who r just seeking to free load. Know the ground rules to asking some one for time. Its their most valuable resource.

Asking for the meeting: the medium you use (email, phone, Twitter, WhatsApp) matters less than the content and context of how you ask. Be clear about the subject matter. If you aren't, it feels like you are clued out, no one wants to work with clueless folks.

The best startup founder I worked with (now 20+M$ARR) used to seek meetings and include a note saying "Faizan I don't have much to offer today, but with your help, one day I might, when the time comes I assure you, you can lean on me for any support that I may be able to provide"

Thats the difference between a thoughtful founder & A Msg I got yest via DM " I have messaged you last week, still waiting for a response, I want you to see if my idea will work in Pakistan" So clearly you can see where the intent and incentives are aligned for both parties.

Stupidity mixed with entitlement is the rocket fuel for obsolesce and obscurity. Step 2. Setting the meeting: this one is really simple. Offer multiple times or ask for a time that suits the brain that’s being picked. Also be prepared to show up any where to meet the "brain"

Step 3, Kicking off the meeting: thank the person for their time. We all enjoy a chat , but get to the point, dont make the brain picker pick the context, define , align and ask. Value their time by being prepared. This holds true even for paid meetings/consultations.

Mentoring is rewarding.Hence its free.Advice is a sharing of experience not a well charted map: most of us are just muddling along & don’t have anything figured out.All I can do is share my own experience & you can use the opportunity to distill things from the mistakes Ive made.

You need to figure out if & how they apply to your circumstances. Asking for connections for mentees is free:)But if you are looking for business connections & not a startup but some one just looking to socially climb or capitalise on other peoples networks be smarter than that.

Connection requests will only happen If I feel both will drive value from engagement. This shows each party that I don’t introduce noisy, random people and that I respect their right to say no to the introduction. In short, be prepared, be organised most of all be "respectful"

Post meeting: be kind show respect by valuing the oppty cost of time invested by the person. If it’s possible up with “I tried that thing we discussed and here’s the outcome.” We all need help,make sure you keep the bridge alive with those who offer to provide it when u needed it

Like the 20M ARR Founder: be generous when u've made it and talk about those who helped you. Very few people make it on their own. To this day I personally value my own mentor as the single biggest life altering event blog.chinookstrategy.com/on-being-so-fo…

In that spirit, if you are a startup, a founder or a good person evaluating next steps. Message me for a meeting (talking points, time and location near me) ... anytime. But have some patience in response times. To all free loaders be thankful for all the courtesy consulting

You have obtained from various people over the years. To all those who provide this free service.Stop & Make it worth your while.Chatting is free.Tapping into your subject matter expertise shouldnt, please demand compensation, dont leave money on the table for others to win alone