It's not all about the money... but you can't work for free!
That said, I love the song I've included as a podcast in this post, (Peter sent it to me a couple years ago) as it is something that many entrepreneurs can identify with - especially if you are in a service or "idea" industry "where what you know" is a valuable commodity but people want to pay you only for what you "do" - they want the thinking about / brainstorming / idea-generation to be free as they can't touch or quantify it.
I read a good post about problem-solving recently, and one of the commenters asked the question:
Let me know your thoughts; do you have a story you'd like to share? How do you handle people trying to get info from you that should be charged for? How do you let clients know that "thinking" is what some people need to get paid for? People sit and think in an 9 to 5 office job and get a paycheck; how do you help them understand that even though you think on the beach, or in bed, or driving to a meeting, that your time is worthy of monitary reimbursement as well?
Here's to using your brain - and paying the bills!
V-
Download | Duration: 00:02:00
Click to play, lyrics belowI'M BILLING TIME
(sung to the tune of "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper)
by The Bar & Grill Singers
Sometimes you call me up,
and beg me for free advice.
You're stealing from me,
and wondering why I'm not nice.
My mind and my time
are my merchandise;
Don't make me say this twice.
(chorus)
If you come to my office or call my phone,
I'm billing time.
If you stop me at parties to whine and moan,
I'm billing time.
You say you want the best,
but then you don't pay the fee.
Notions cost money,
but you think they should be free.
You cry, "Oh why
is my bill so high?"
Well, let me clarify:
(chorus)
If you come to my office or call my phone,
I'm billing time.
If you stop me at parties to whine and moan,
I'm billing time.
If I think of you when I am all alone,
I'm billing time.
If you're late for appointments,
I will be waiting.
...and billing time.
Still billing time.
I'm billing time.
Paul, this issue has been bothering me for a long time. Any good designer would argue that defining the problem is just as important, if not more important, than generating a solution.
Bill Buxton talks about the difference between getting the design right and getting the right design. The former is when a designer is forced to use intuition and experience to iterate on a single solution so that it is well-received. It will look pretty and it will work, but it won't be useful to the intended audience. The latter happens when designers are given the opportunity to analyze the situation and identify pain points instead of simply being told what to do. Research, synthesis and prototyping together ensure that the solution is the right one.
But how do we characterize these skill sets that often go unused? How do we name the activity so that we can better sell it to our clients? Is it Strategy? Discovery? Plain old Research, which sounds dry and redundant to many companies? There's thinking and then there's doing. What can we call Thinking so that it doesn't sound like a waste of time to the people paying the bills?