Stop Overworking Yourself Because You Say ‘Yes’ Too Often—Here’s How to Harness the Power of a Simple ’No’

By learning to say no, you protect your time and energy and encourage your employees to pitch in with tasks.

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By Jurgi Camblong

As an entrepreneur, you are predisposed to say “yes,” which can open you up to new possibilities and opportunities to help grow your business. That magic word can bring in new contacts, thoughts, opportunities, and finances to support you. It makes you a risk-taker—and after all, taking calculated risks is what made you an entrepreneur in the first place.

But let’s be realistic. Saying “yes” often means saying “no” to something else. Agreeing to launch a new product offering might mean you won’t have the capacity to address customer satisfaction across the company. Greenlighting too many projects may spread your attention too thin, eventually leading to exhaustion as you try to juggle everything simultaneously.