External Requests for Your Time

@stammy inspired today’s post with his tweet:

http://twitter.com/#!/Stammy/status/69912461033213952

Once you’ve been fairly active in the tech startup scene for a few years the number of external requests for your time will grow, especially as you help more and more people. Of course, time is your most precious resource. I emailed a high quality introduction to a friend about an entrepreneur that was moving to his city and my friend promptly emailed back that he’s not taking any intros until he launches his startup (which was in stealth mode, which is another story). There’s nothing wrong with that approach as it shows priorities.

Here’s how I handle external requests for my time:

• As a general rule, I only do one morning and one evening event per week (I get lots of requests to attend local events).
• Panels or speaking engagements are usually accepted as long as I don’t have to travel and they are about entrepreneurship or technology.
• Entrepreneurs asking for help I’m happy to spend 10 minutes on the phone as long as they have a warm introduction. 10 minutes truly is enough time to see if I can help or offer advice, and I’m happy to talk longer if I can add value (50% of the time it is all of 10 minutes and done because their time is as valuable as mine and I have nothing to offer).
• Entrepreneurs that have been qualified by a much smaller group of people I’ll meet in person at my office or over breakfast/lunch upon initial intro.

This system is by no means comprehensive but works well for me to keep a balance between my own entrepreneurial pursuits and giving back to other entrepreneurs and the community.

What else? How do you handle external requests for your time?