Saying No

When I first started out in business, I found it far too easy to say yes. I had an assumption that it was always possible to come to a mutually beneficial agreement with anyone - a mix of naivety and optimism. We all have a natural compulsion to say yes to a reasonable request - something I've written about before in the context of increasing compliance with user invites in social network applications - possibly increased by the English distaste of appearing rude by saying no! However, saying no is one of the most important skills to learn.

Work out where your line is 

As an entrepreneur, I'm always looking out for potential opportunities - and when you're looking, they often come. It can be very tempting to jump on every opportunity that comes along, because of their potential - but the truth is, every idea has potential, every company could rise or fall, and often it's execution that is the most important factor. And here's the nudge - by spreading yourself too thinly, the execution of your individual projects will weaken, and the opportunities will turn to dust. 

This doesn't just apply to business opportunities - it's also directly relevant to professional services such as consultancy, both in terms of clients, and in price. I was chatting to a great friend of mine last week, Thayer Driver,  who has many years experience consulting in the social media industry. When she started, she maintained several different clients at the same time, spending 1-2 days a week with each of them. She found it increasingly difficult to be able to focus on a particular client's issues, and realised that she would be far more effective if she was focusing on just one client at a time. 

For myself, I have been working on a new social media product with a small team over the summer, which has required a lot of work (and still more) before we start generating revenue for it. We are self-funded at the moment, which means I have to maintain a balance between business development for the new product, and creating short-term revenue by consulting on social media strategy and social network application development and marketing for clients. This is a pure time/money analysis. It can be tempting to take on consultancy projects because of the short term cash benefits, especially if you already have a working relationship with the client, but if the project is going to be time consuming and they're not willing to pay your full price, you're going to be better off putting your limited time into other things. You've got to be prepared to walk away.

Once you're clear what your focus is you can plan your availability in time and your requirements for new opportunities - whether that's price, equity stake, connections, whatever. The important thing is that you know it, and are upfront about it when new opportunities come along. There's nothing wrong with saying no. More opportunities will come along. Being able to say no is the difference between controlling where you go, and being controlled by others.