Why Quality Over Quantity Wins Every Time

Many small business owners struggle with this idea, and rightfully so. Especially if you are a services type business and believe more clients mean more business.

In 2023, you need set your business intentions for the year and have a go at practicing the art and skill of saying “no” to things. This is not about being negative, snobby or selfish. It’s about being intentional with a slightly altered mindset and how you view yourself and business now, compared to where you want it to be by the end of the year.

Regardless of whether you’re a multi-millionaire entrepreneur or a small-town hair salon, every one of us will or have had experience with how to turn down an opportunity or customer. This year’s theme for small business owners and entrepreneurs is about balance. We are so consumed by our passion projects, which inevitably involves being on our devices a lot. Researching, producing content, scoping out what our competitors are doing, responding to emails, chasing work, accounting, etc that we are neglecting other areas of our lives like ourselves, our relationships and even our other hobbies.

If you follow a few self-made small business advisors like Steph Taylor and Erin May Henry, you’ll see that this years Social Media theme is “no theme”.

Just be you, be authentically and unopologetically you.

This is what people want to see. Screw the schedules, post when you want to post, hide the view count and trash the trends. Post real and raw, post what you’re comfortable posting, post something valuable, that you believe in and to your kind of people. Don’t worry about reaching the broarder audience, but focus on the smaller audience, the inner circle that is genuinely interested and supporting you, because they are what makes you successful.

Part of saying no also involves saying no to yourself (this is probably the hardest part). Practicing restraint. Set your work days and hours and stick to them religiously. Don’t answer that work email, it can wait for tomorrow. That’s why its an email. It won’t dissapear overnight or have a time limit on it, it will be there tomorrow.

You might also have quite a few projects on the go or an influx of bookings.

Work within your limits.

Burn out and hustle’n’grind was sooo 2019. No. No more. We are only human. Not robots. And we are consuming too much information on a daily basis, beyond what our brains can actually comprehend. So it might mean saying no to a booking or a client, it might mean booking yourself a day off to catch up on business admin and pushing projects back a day. As long as you’re communicating to your customers that you are only available on X days and Y times, then you have nothing to worry about, they will still be there tomorrow.

You have the right to choose.

Nobody should feel forced to work beyond their means, especially if the pressure is coming from a client or you’re feeling guilted into going the extra mile just to make someone else happy. Qualifying each customer or client means you can get an idea of what you expect from one another as the service provider and as the customer. You’re transparent with your working arrangements and you have the right to turn down the opportunity if you don’t think it will be a good fit.

Stop undervaluing yourself just to land the job.

Only seek opporunities that you know is a good fit for both parties. Review your service rates and ensure you are still profitable. It might mean a minor adjustment to your prices, but again, with clear and concise communication to your clients, the quality ones will stick around and support you, no matter what. Its the service they value, I can assure you.

So, how will you be tackling 2023? What small or big changes do you want to make to help find more balance? Track these ideas throughout the year and see what impact they’ve had on your business and on you at the end of the year and let me know your thoughts.