Learning How to Say "No" In Your Online Business
What I'm No Longer Doing
Announcements:
Brand Monetization Session (Group ) Coaching-I haven’t done this in awhile. I will be hosting a group coaching session focused on monetizing your unique brands. This Sunday, October 8, 2023 at 5:00 pm MTN/7:00 pm EST. Be prepared to leave with an action plan for your brand. Cost: $77 (I will cap the attendance) This is a great deal because 1-on-1 Coaching is $300. Please note: I am closing doors to coaching on October 15, 2023 until January 2024.
Upcoming Case Study-Next week I’m sharing a case study that I recorded with Erica Schneider of Power Your Platform and Hooked on Writing Hooks. We had a great conversation (even though we were both ill)
Paid Subscriber Office Hours-Next Monday, October 9, 2023 at 6:00 pm MTN/8:00 pm EST (put this in your calendar)
FinCon in New Orleans-Are you attending? If you are make sure to say “Hi!” to me while we’re there. This is my last conference for the next year and I’m running a panel on “Freelance income diversification” on Friday of the event
Wow, it’s October
I can’t believe that it’s already October. This is the time of year when front facing activities start to wind down in my business. Front facing activities would include: speaking gigs, traveling to conferences, pitching for new collaborations and even livestreams on social. This year, in particular, has been incredibly stressful and rewarding in ways that I never would have anticipated.
In many ways, this year has been very humbling.
(Being humbled isn’t a bad thing)
Like many content creators building a business online I’ve spent a lot of time experimenting with what products, goods and services would be a good fit for me. I’m happy to say that I’ve finally figured it out and in figuring out what works best for me I’ve learned some important lessons around setting boundaries that respect my brand mission and who I’m trying to serve. Here’s how you can figure out and set boundaries that will save you time, energy and lost hours of focus.
3 Easy Tips Tips on How to Say “No”
Some of these tips to say “no” aren’t literally saying the actual word “no” But, maybe it’s setting a boundary around what you will and won’t accept. As I think about my goals and areas of focus for 2024-this boundaries are incredibly important.
Tip #1-Whenever possible schedule important meetings when you show up at your best. For me that is anytime after 10:00 am Mountain Time. I meet a lot with folks who are on Eastern Standard Time and they want to connect at 10:00 am EST…which is 8:00 am MTN. This sucks for me. I’m not even mentally awake at that time. So, I made a point of always suggesting times after 10:00 am MTN/12:00 pm EST. No one has ever complained.
Tip #2-Be careful about making certain decisions in the moment-What I mean is if you’re being asked:
To do a collaboration
Say “yes” to a certain payment
Speak at event
You get the picture. It is absolutely ok to say “I am so excited about this opportunity. Do you mind if I respond by (such and such date) to confirm either way?” By pausing and reflecting on whether or not I should say “yes” to what feels like an opportunity-I give myself plenty of time to reflect on is it the right opportunity at the right time for me?
Tip #3-Asking yourself if your goal is aligned with your “yes” ? I’ve actually spent a ridiculous amount of time really thinking about this. If there is a misalignment in the action as it relates to your goals it’s an easy “NO!” Each quarter I work on up to 3 major goals or less. If I am saying “yes” to anything, I ask myself if it will help me achieve my goal.
What I’m Saying “No” to in 2024
Some of the following “No’s” may surprise you, but I thought they were important to share just in case other creatives were thinking about saying “no” to the same things. I’m working on a podcast episode about this. But, I thought I would quickly share what I’m not doing in 2024.
No conferences in 2024-At the end of 2022, I noticed that I just wasn’t as excited about conferences as I used to be. Knowing that I wouldn’t be attending conferences in 2024 has been something that I’ve been look forwards to and I’m so excited to fill conference attendance time with other activities.
Black History Month Collaborations-Last November and December I shared that I was open to working on Black History Month Collaborations. But, myself and other Black creatives heard crickets. And when people did reach out-it was at the last minute. No more. I am available for collaborations from March-October. I will rock out those partnerships with thoughtful content delivered on time. But, I have no interest in rushing around to do something for a brand partner who is decided that a Black History Month collaboration should happen two weeks before February begins.
Only working with brands that reach out to me-I’ve cold-pitched brands and I’ve had brands reach out to me and there is a clear winner. Brands that have reached out to me have always been the better partnerships. I think that there’s more of a sense of respect for me as a creator because they’ve identified my brand and audience as a space that is a good fit for their brand as well.
Boundary Setting Is So Important
The real conversation that we’re having is about the importance of being in alignment with your goals, dreams and focus. The next year, for me, will be focused on building and growing “Creators Getting Paid” and some other projects that I’ve been working on behind the scenes. I am so close to achieving certain goals that I don’t want to accidentally loose focus or have a squirrel moment because I said “yes” to the wrong thing.
What are you thinking about setting boundaries around moving forwards