Friday 3 February 2017

Say No!


One of my strongest weaknesses in the past was my inability to say no.
Even some of my friends used to request stuff from me because they knew that I couldn’t say no. When I started my freelance career years ago, clients repeatedly beat my rates down. I couldn’t say no to a bad deal. My grandmother? She will never say yes to a bad deal.
When my grandmother decided to live on her own, everyone told her to stay. She said no.
Saying yes often is not generosity. It is a weakness. “If you can’t say no,” my grandmother once told me, “then you’re doing a great disservice to yourself.”
Lesson #1: If you can’t say no to a bad deal, then you’re doing a great disservice to your business.
An entrepreneur is like a single mom.
Just like a single mom, we deliver a great business idea, give it a cute name, and work tirelessly to help it grow. We do this all alone, with joy and pride, because we love our business and have an intense passion for it. This passion to grow our business drives us to keep learning.
Sometimes we learn from our mom, sometimes from our colleagues, sometimes from business experts on the internet. We just can’t stop learning about how to nurse and nurture our business. So, when your corporate account reads $0.00 or you get knocked down by a competitor, don’t toss your business away. Instead, bear in mind that:
You’re a single mom. Your business is your baby. And your job is to make it thrive.