Say YES to everything until your business is full, then…

Say NO to almost everything to create the business you really want.

In the early stages of business it’s important to say yes to most everything that comes your way for a few reasons:

• Money – the faster you can start making money the better
• Clarity – you won’t know what you do (and don’t!) like until you work with various clients… who are your best clients? what are your best services/products to offer? what are you best at? what isn’t a strength?
• Growth – getting good at sales & marketing is essential in this early stage! Learning how to get to yes is key (I daresay it’s the most important ‘skill’ to learn).

Then, once you get full and have some solid experience under your belt it’s time to start saying no.

No to clients who aren’t a great fit. No to work that isn’t aligned with your strengths. No to opportunities that don’t align with your vision.

One of the bigger mistakes I see business owners make is they start saying NO too early… they aren’t willing to ‘try on’ different experiences and different clients. They are afraid to fail. They think they should have it all figured out and know exactly what they want – and don’t want – from day one. And then get stuck not doing anything because they don’t have that clarity yet (which only comes through experience…)

OR they continue to say yes to everything when it’s time to start saying no. They fall into the trap of thinking they have to ‘grow, grow, GROW!’. They are afraid to say no because it feels limiting. They are used to saying yes to everything and keep doing so out of habit… and then end up with a business they don’t even want. <— ugh, I’ve been there.

I’m curious… are you in more of a say YES stage or a say NO stage of your business?