When I started Egg, I’d take any kind of work, as long as it related to marketing. Annual report creation? Um, sure, we can figure that out do that. Write resumes? Yea. It’s money, right?
But the longer I was in business, the more I realized I/we weren’t good at some things, and other things I plain hated. Like pitching the media. No reporter loves a PR consultant. And so I decided to stop doing those things. It’s scary saying no, especially when it means less money in your bank account. But the funny thing is, the more dead weight you remove, the more buoyant your boat (we’re using a boat analogy here; keep up!).
What about you? Do you take on any and every project that comes your way? Do you fear saying no, as it might put you in the poor house?
Take a deep breath with me and practice saying it:
Nooooooooooo.
By saying no to the time-consuming, energy-draining stuff you’re plain not good at, you make room for really fun projects that you thrive at. And the more you narrow your focus, the better you become at those few things you do. You become known for certain services or products, and your customers will send others to you.
On the flip side, if you do a poor job at something you shouldn’t be doing anyway, you risk having an unhappy customer who tells others to steer clear of you, no matter what they need.
Another example: a startup I happen to be married to (literally; it’s my husband’s) is seeking funding for their core service. But this really well known brand keeps throwing smaller amounts of money to have them do other things. This is taking their focus away from that core service that we all know will be the big payoff. So my hub has started saying no. The big money hasn’t magically come in yet, but with more focus, he’s got more time to find it.
Here are the baby steps you can take to do less you don’t want and more you do:
- Look at all the clients you have and separate them into projects you like working on and those you don’t.
- See if you can find a pattern with those you don’t (is it a type of service you don’t enjoy providing, or the client himself?)
- List the services you really enjoy providing, and those you don’t.
- For any new business that falls under your “dislike” list, politely tell them no. Refer them to another provider if possible.
- You may want to eventually phase out offering these services to existing clients. Give them fair warning.
Photo: Flickr user photogail. Creative Commons 2.0.