Why saying yes can be detrimental in business
Written by Amanda Rose, ESBWA Founder & CEO
“Stop saying yes”. This is often an unpopular statement when people first hear me say it, but it needs to be said. I have seen too many business women struggle and too many businesses suffer because the owner is incapable of saying no.
Many business owners follow the ideology of “say yes to everything and work it out as you go”. It makes sense on the surface: if you are trying to grow your business you don’t have time to be picky, right?
Wrong.
Saying yes to too many things or to the wrong things can have the opposite effect. Instead of moving forward, you will set yourself and your business back significantly in several ways:
You could become completely overwhelmed by all the things you have said yes to, impacting your stress levels and your ability to actually deliver quality services/products because you are so spread thin.
This in turn could end up eroding people’s trust when you fail to deliver on the dozens of things you agreed to. Your “yes” doesn’t mean anything if you don’t know how to say no.
If you say yes to things that aren’t in line with your business goals, you could end up leading your business in a direction you never even wanted. Why waste time and resources on an opportunity that isn’t helping you build the business you actually want to build?
Another thing to keep in mind is that saying yes to everything makes you more vulnerable to exploitation. When you are conditioned to say yes even when the opportunity is not that great, you are more likely to find yourself in situations where you, your business or your brand are being used. I almost fell prey to this myself. Someone saw the potential in me and my business (which was just beginning to take off) and came to me with a job offer that seemed fantastic on the surface. They knew exactly what to say to make the offer seem desirable.
However, agreeing to work for someone else would have taken me away from what I truly loved: my business. I declined the offer…and they immediately washed their hands of me. It was clear in hindsight that I’d dodged a bullet. What would have happened if I wasn’t so comfortable saying no?
Yes and no are words that should be utilised strategically in business. So how do you know when to say yes to something, and when to decline?
If you feel pressured to make a decision, whether by time constraints or someone’s attitude, the answer should be no (at least for now). Give yourself time to think the opportunity over with a clear head, away from anyone breathing down your neck. If the offer is still there when you’ve had time to think, great. If not, move on with your life knowing you weren’t pressured into anything.
Ask the right questions. If you don’t feel comfortable asking follow-up questions or the other party is being vague/unhelpful, it usually means they are trying to hide something. This is an easy no.
Ask yourself if the opportunity is actually in line with your business goals. When you say yes to random opportunities “just because”, you are using up time, energy and resources that could be dedicated to things that will move you closer to your goals. Sometimes an opportunity is so good that you decide to change your business goals in response, pivoting in a new direction. This is fine…as long as you have thought about it strategically and are not just jumping at the newest shiny thing because it sounds good in the moment.
Ask yourself if you have the capacity to take this on without becoming completely overwhelmed. Yes, sometimes it’s worth pushing through and entering “crunch mode” if the opportunity is valuable enough. But there is a certain point where you have to step back and understand your limits. Once again, your own health and your business’ reputation could suffer if you overextend yourself.
Ask a trusted advisor. Sometimes we need a second pair of eyes on the situation to assess pros and cons (but make sure the person you are asking is experienced and trustworthy. Everyone loves to give their opinion, but not everyone is worth listening to.)
And finally: if in doubt, throw it out. Your instincts are a powerful tool in business. Sometimes you’ll get a bad feeling about a situation that seems perfect on the surface, or that everyone else is telling you to say yes to. Always listen to that gut instinct, because ultimately you are the one who will be stuck with the consequences of your decision - for better or worse.