I have officially had this quote (no doubt from some random evening romp on Pinterest) on my desktop since March 8 at 11:05 PM. I planned on writing something profound but alas, I can’t take the pressure so I’m simply posting it now.
The fact is, we all expand our businesses and say “yes” to new projects for many reasons- an adventurous spirit, the opportunity bring in more income or frankly, boredom with the current state of things. Sometimes it’s a great opportunity that you don’t want anyone else to snag.
But here’s a fact- as you excel in new ventures, you run the risk of losing steam in others. Worse yet, it becomes far more likely that the quality of your service or products will suffer. When I come across a particularly fetching offer (such as realizing my dream of teaching at the university level), I always ask myself the same questions:
1) Will this affect the level of service I currently promise my clients?
2) Am I staffed appropriately to take on this new endeavor?
3) Will my personal life (in my case, what’s left of it! :)) withstand any new projects?
Most days, I quickly decide that I just have to say no. After all, I’ve committed myself to be the best at what I already do and most endeavors, no matter how new and shiny, won’t lend itself to that goal.
And if you’re able to come to the conclusion that this is, in fact, a welcomed adventure, then ask yourself one final question- what do I need to let go of in order to make this happen? When I accepted the position of adjunct professor at a local university, I had to step back from other responsibilities. I’ve been doing this long enough to know my limits so I had to scale back on my writing obligations, increase the hours of my staff and rev up my crock pot. After all, you can’t be at the top of your game AND make homemade meals sans crock pot every night. Believe me, I tried.
So do what you already do well and make this the wedding season that you learn to say yes when it’s sincerely in your best interest. And don’t forget to dust off the crock pot. 🙂
Meghan Ely is the owner of wedding marketing and wedding pr firm OFD Consulting. She is the exclusive wedding pr columnist to wedding marketing journal WedLock magazine and is a highly sought after speaker in the wedding industry. She loves ruffle table runners and Royal Wedding Tchotchkes. To learn how OFD Consulting can assist you with your wedding marketing and wedding pr, please contact us today.
