By holding back from chasing after every opportunity, you can give yourself time to succeed at the little important things that drive your business.

When you take the time to search for it, you can find opportunity all around you. However, falling into the trap of taking on too many opportunities at once is too easy. You may do this only to find out that it sucks up your time, and leaves you feeling unfocused and exhausted.

When saying “yes” to too many things, you over commit yourself. Instead of being laser focused, you will realize that your attention is suddenly split into smaller, less important tasks that can keep you busy but not very productive. Multitasking is considered “the art of doing many things poorly.”

If you find that often times you are too busy to think, try taking a step back and looking at the big picture. Saying “no” may feel like going against your growth objectives. It’s not hard to say “no” to things that cost you money than it is to say “no” to things that pay your bills. Saying “no” to a client or a sale is not as easy as saying “no” to a vendor or asset purchase. The right time to say “no” to a client or sale is when they are not sync with your company’s mission or purpose. By saying “no” to this, you can effectively say “yes” to something more significant.

Saying “no” is not a weakness. Saying “no” is a crucial strength in building your business. Being aware of what to say “no” to indicates that you have clearly acknowledged your objectives, mission, and purpose. By holding back from chasing after every opportunity, you can give yourself time to succeed at the little important things that drive your business.

When “No” Means “Yes”

Alexander Graham Bell once said, “When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” To prevent wasting time regretting what you say “no” to, spend more time outlining what your priorities are and clearly recognizing your business goals. The things that don’t fit should be removed so that you continue to remain focused and can attract even more of what fuels your growth.

There was once a client who was incredibly rude and obnoxious to one of our employees. He was surprised when I decided to “fire” him as a client. I said “no” to the opportunity at a time when it represented a good percentage of our revenue. I could not have foreseen two significant benefits that arose from the decision: (1) It encouraged my team to double their efforts to build our business and (2) I avoided the attraction of similarly hostile clients into our company (“birds of a feather flock together”).

By saying “no” to an aggressive client it meant that I was saying “yes” to a more positive and appealing work environment for our team. The intention was to say “yes” to current and future clients our team wanted to work hard for to guarantee their success. A committed “no” meant numerous new opportunities in which we could say “yes” to. And that fact has truly made all the difference.

Ask yourself: what are you willing to say “no” to? You can better define your quickest path to sustainable growth by answering this question. Know what your company is not, as it is sometimes ultimately more important than defining what your company is all about.