Time is Money

This story about Ben Franklin applies even today.

One day, Ben Franklin was busy preparing his newspapers for printing when a customer stopped in his store and spent an hour browsing over the various books for sale. Finally, he took one in his hand and asked the shop assistant the cost.

The assistant answered, “One Dollar.”
The customer said, “A dollar. Can’t you sell it for less?”
The assistant replied, “No, the price is a dollar.”
The customer said that he wanted to see Mr. Franklin. When Franklin appeared from the back room, the customer asked how much he wanted for the book.

Franklin said, “One dollar and a quarter.”

The customer was taken aback. “Your assistant only asked me for a dollar.”

Franklin said, “If you had bought it from him, I could sell it to you for a dollar. But you have taken me away from the business I was engaged in.”

The customer pressed on. “Come on, Mr. Franklin, what is the lowest you can take for it?”

Franklin said, “One dollar and a half. And the longer we discuss it, the more of my time you are taking up and the more I’ll have to charge you.”