I'm Val! Coach for creatives
like you who are ready to be healthier, happier and more empowered women who love the business you run, the people you serve and the life you live!
Say No to Grow your Creative Biz
I can’t tell you how many hours of my life have been spent watching “The Office.” Or how many times an Office quote makes its way into conversations with friends. It’s one of our favorite shows, so much so that we watched two whole seasons on our Honeymoon. Yes, we were in gorgeous Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. It’s fine. 😀 The Office is so ridiculous, but let me tell ya, I have been able to come up with more illustrations related to The Office than I ever thought possible.
Let’s look at Kevin Malone. There’s a scene where he’s standing in front of the vending machine and just staring at it. He can’t decide between pretzels and chips. Cause that’s a very important decision, you know. 😉 Thankfully, Holly, the HR rep comes in to help him decide so he doesn’t stand there for an hour.
Most consider Kevin to be one of the least intelligent employees at Dunder Mifflin, but I think he’s onto something with his vending machine dilemma. This will relate to business, promise! 😉 You see, Kevin LOVES snacking and loves allllll the options. He understands that if he says, “yes” to the chips, he’s also saying, “no” to the pretzels. He doesn’t have limitless money so he can only get one thing. When he finally says yes to one thing, he’s saying no to everything else.
I think you see where we’re going here… 😉
Not only are you an entrepreneur…you’re a creative entrepreneur. This means you undoubtedly have a ton of ideas. But unless you’re a unicorn, you don’t have unlimited resources. We all have limited time and limited money. So we’re all kind of like Kevin deciding which direction our business should go or which new opportunity we should jump on, or which client to take. If you only get one thing from this post, I want you to memorize this and let it be a mantra in your business:
When you say YES to one thing, you’re saying NO to something else.
Often, when we pick the wrong thing to say yes to, we say no to the things that are actually more important or a better fit and that kind of decision making just wears on you.
Start saying yes to the right things and you’ll grow the right business.
I talk about this a lot with my clients. I believe that every business and even every person needs to identify their “why.” You need to have a heartfelt underlying reason for everything you do and sell. But your why is different from your mission. For example if you are a wedding photographer, your mission might be to capture the way the wedding day felt for your brides. But you must go deeper than your mission statement to get to your why. Why you do care about capturing those moments and how they felt?
Maybe your why is that you believe marriage is one of the best gifts in this life and deserves to be celebrated and remembered. Maybe your why is that you believe the secret to a successful marriage is looking back on and reliving the feelings you had on your wedding day. See how those “why’s” give a reason for the mission and a reason for the work?
Whatever it is, your why is what gets you out of bed and into your work each day. It keeps you going on the hard days and inspired when you’re unsure.
But that’s not the only thing your why does. It also acts as a filter. It helps you make decisions that are authentic to your business and brand. If you have an opportunity that looks great but doesn’t align with your why, you know that you need to say no to this opportunity so that you can wait for a better opportunity.
You can’t say yes to everything. I know you read that and it seems so simple, but let me tell you, this is one of the biggest misconceptions I hear from newer entrepreneurs. They often think they have to take every job that comes their way so that they can make money and get their name out there. The problem with this is that the more you say yes to something, the more of that type of work you’re going to get. So, if you’re a designer and you only want to design websites, but you take on wedding invitation work – you’re building up the wrong portfolio and gaining exposure with the wrong market.
One of the best ways to build the kind of business you’re going to love is to pick a direction and get ultra focused on it. This means deeply identifying and understanding your target market and niching down your offerings.
Your time and energy are precious. Spending those on work you don’t love just isn’t worth it in the long run.
Sidenote: There are multi-passionate entrepreneurs out there who balance more than one focus well. But I would say this is not the norm and it takes even more intentionality with your time and marketing to do well. So it’s not impossible, but there’s a good chance you’re just dragging your feet on picking a direction because of fear. 😉 In which case, you should read my thoughts on how the fear of failure is killing your business!!
Saying yes to one thing doesn’t just apply to your target market and offerings.
It also applies to big projects, goals, small tasks and big business overhauls. Say yes to one thing, do that ONE thing at a time, get it done, and then move on to the next. This kind of focus is what GETS THINGS DONE! 😀
Even if you understand that that you can only say yes to one thing, there can still be a pretty big problem. Analysis paralysis. You can be like Kevin just staring at the vending machine, unable to make up his mind. If you’re having a difficult time deciding between a couple great business goals, target markets or offerings, just go with your gut and pick one. Give it a test run and see how it feels. You’re never locked in. This is your business and you get to make the rules! Allow yourself the freedom to change your mind and pivot if necessary. You’re never too far down one road to branch off on a new path.
To wrap this up, I want you to remember: when you say yes to one thing, you’re simultaneously saying no to another. So dig deep and define your why, identify your target market, niche your offerings and get ultra focused with how you spend your time and energy in this wonderful, creative business of yours!
I'm Val! Coach for creatives
like you who are ready to be healthier, happier and more empowered women who love the business you run, the people you serve and the life you live!
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