The Cost of “Can I Pick Your Brain?” – A Lesson in Scaling Your Business and Protecting Your Time

If you’ve been in business long enough, you’ve heard this phrase more times than you can count:

"Hey, can I hop on a quick call and pick your brain?"

On the surface, it sounds harmless—flattering, even. After all, someone values your insights enough to ask for your time. But if you’ve ever said yes to these requests, you’ve likely noticed a pattern:

• The call stretches beyond the “quick 15 minutes” they promised.
• You generously offer advice—sometimes game-changing insights that took you years to learn.
• A month later, you see them asking the exact same question to someone else.

And what’s worse? They haven’t implemented anything you suggested.

This is a time trap that many successful professionals—especially financial advisors, entrepreneurs, and CEPA professionals—fall into.

But on the other side, if you’re someone seeking guidance, you need to rethink how you approach learning. If you keep looking for a “quick call” to get insight, but you’re not taking action on what you’ve already learned, you might be stuck in information-gathering mode instead of execution mode.

This article is for both parties. If you’re asking for guidance, this will help you get better results from the experts you admire. If you’re the one being asked, this will help you protect your time while still delivering value.

Let’s break it down.

The Reality of Free Advice: Most People Do Nothing With It

Early in my career, when someone asked to pick my brain, I almost always said yes.

I’d give them 30 to 45 minutes of my time, sharing everything I had learned about scaling a business. I’d give them actionable steps they could take immediately. I left those calls feeling like I had made a difference.

But then I started to notice something.

A month later, I’d see the same person at a conference—or online—asking the same question to someone else.

They hadn’t implemented anything I shared.

Why? Because when something is free, people don’t value it the same way. There’s no commitment—no skin in the game.

Now, contrast that with another experience.

One day, a financial advisor reached out and said, "Hey, I’d love to pay you for an hour of your time."

I charged them $500 for the hour, and here’s what happened:

• They took copious notes throughout the call.
• They asked detailed, specific questions about execution.
• They followed up 45 days later, explaining how that $500 investment had produced a 10x return for them.

One group wanted information but didn’t act. The other was invested and implemented.

If you’re a?financial advisor looking to scale your practice, a CEPA professional, a consultant, or a business owner, this is a fundamental shift in how you should think about learning and time management.

For the Person Requesting Advice: A Smarter Way to Learn from Experts

If you’re looking for guidance from someone who has already built what you’re trying to build, here’s how to get better results while respecting their time.

1. Have They Already Answered This?

Most successful people have already answered your question—and they’ve done it at scale.

Before reaching out, check:

• Do they have a blog on this topic?
• Have they talked about it on their podcast?
• Have they shared their thoughts on YouTube or LinkedIn?
• Have they written a book or created a course that addresses this exact challenge?

For example, in my case, I wrote Your Baby’s Ugly, a book that walks through exactly how I scaled my businesses and exited for eight figures. If someone read that book and then reached out saying, "I loved Chapter 3 on scaling your firm—can you coach me on implementing that?"—that’s a conversation I’m far more likely to engage with.

Because now, they’ve done their homework. They’ve engaged with the material, and they’re asking a specific, informed question instead of just looking for a shortcut.

2. Be Willing to Invest in Learning

Let’s be honest.

If you’re an aspiring business owner, you expect your clients or customers to pay for your advice or service, right?

So why would you expect free business advice from someone who has built what you want to build?

Instead of saying: "Can I pick your brain?"

Try this: "I know your time is valuable. Do you offer consulting or a mastermind group? I’d love to learn from you."

This signals:

• You respect their time.
• You understand that expertise isn’t free.
• You are serious about taking action.

If you’re looking to scale your firm, investing in coaching, mastermind groups, and mentorship isn’t an expense—it’s the fastest way to accelerate growth.

I’ve personally seen financial advisors 10x their revenue simply by getting into the right coaching program or community of like-minded professionals.

For the Person Receiving These Requests: How to Handle It Without Losing Productivity

If you’re scaling your business, you cannot say yes to every “pick your brain” request. Here’s how to protect your time while still providing value.

1. Set Clear Boundaries

You do not have to say yes to every request.

If someone reaches out, try responding with:

"I appreciate you reaching out! I cover a lot of this in my blog/podcast. Here’s a link to a resource that may answer your question. If you’d like deeper insight, I offer paid consultations—let me know if you’d like the details."

This keeps the conversation professional without giving away free consulting.

2. Redirect to Free Content

If you’ve already answered their question somewhere, send them there.

For example:

• If they ask about scaling an advisory practice, send them your blog post on it.
• If they ask about niching down in business to grow faster, refer them to your podcast episode.

By doing this, you help them without repeating yourself.

3. Offer Paid or Scalable Options

If you want to continue helping people at scale without sacrificing your productivity, consider these strategies:

• Offer billable consultation times – If someone wants deeper insights, have a structured consulting option where they can book time with you.
• Create a low-cost digital offer – Develop a mini-course, guide, or paid community where advisors can get their questions answered at scale.
• Host live Q&A sessions – One thing I love to do is answer questions live on Instagram. This allows multiple people to benefit at once and creates one-to-many impact instead of one-to-one burnout.

For example, my team offers a free strategy call for business owners and financial advisors looking to rapidly scale their business to an 8-figure value. But even that call has?structure and intent—it’s about defining their pain points and goals and seeing if my solutions fit.

The more structured your approach, the more effective your time becomes.

Final Thoughts: Scaling Requires a Shift in Mindset

If you’re an advisor or business owner trying to scale, this is about more than just time management.

It’s about making the mental shift from information gathering to execution.

Let’s Make This a Conversation

How do you handle this in your business?

• Have you ever been asked for free advice? How did you respond?
• Have you ever asked for guidance from a mentor? What approach worked best?

Drop your thoughts in the comments. Let’s talk.