there is power in saying no. This is something I struggled with for a long time. Growing up in an immigrant family, I was taught that you say yes, take on everything and the hard work will one day pay off. After struggling with this I learned that this was not the route to success - at least not for me and the kind of business I was creating. I wanted to say yes to clients and opportunities that valued my work, knew it's worth and were willing to invest in me.
See the craziest thing would happen when I did say yes to everything. I would take on clients that weren't really looking for my brand experience - they simply wanted a logo or a website but that's not what I offer. I give my client education, insight, and empower them with branding. They didn't see value in this. I would get anxiety working on their projects or even meeting with them. They would leave me feeling drained and depleted. That's not how I wanted to feel. That's not why I started this branding boutique.
So then one day - I decided to listen to my heart and began to say no to those who didn't value my work and weren't looking for my style of service. Then, the most amazing thing happened. I started getting the clients of my dreams. Like you, reading this right now. My ideal clients were there I was just busy being a yes-woman. When I started to say no I noticed my work accelerated, my clients became people I wanted to work with and my business started to grow! I felt a boost of energy with every project and my soul was happy too. So take it from me, say yes to opportunities, say yes to people that value you and your work and start saying no to those who don't. This doesn't go for just business but dating, friends - just about anything. Start valuing yourself and watch life turn out the way you want it to.