Last night I attended my most recent Biznik Networking Event. If you have not yet heard about Biznik and you are a SOHO Business owner, you must check it out. Their tag line is “Business networking that doesn’t suck,” which makes you think “that’s got to be cool,” right. I appreciate the site because it emphasizes online communication through offering a forum and personalized profiles, while also encouraging people to still meet face to face. My husband started Northwest Longboarding, an online social forum for longboarders, under the same principle, and it has worked out pretty well for him too. Meeting people in person always beats out sitting at a desk typing back and forth.
The event last night was about Saying No, hosted by Ila Barlean. I immediately signed up for this, because saying no, whether it be in my personal life or in work is always hard for me to do. After experiencing the consequences of not saying no quite a few times lately, I am set on being able to say yes to me and no to you… if it is necessary.
The three things I really took away from last night’s event were:
- Saying no- I’m going to say no right now, but I’ll think about it and get back to you [at a specific date/time]. This is really the easiest way to me of saying no, and one that I will commit to practice. The group members also suggested using this whenever you are nervous about saying yes to someone. Confidence is found more so in a no that becomes a yes, than a yes that becomes a no.
- Think about it this way- I have x amount of charity work, otherwise this is my price… This was in answer to my frustration in always saying yes when someone asks me to do something without paying me. This is also a good point, because most small businesses have a strict budget in time or money set aside for donation. I have 2 accounts right now that I work on for absolutely no money, they are non profits and better the community. Do I want to offer the same thing to someone that is in business for themselves, just like myself?
- Finally- to not say no, when you mean it harbors resentment and nothing good comes from that. SO true for me! If I know I should say no and don’t then the situation goes the way I knew it would I always end up resenting the person or situation I said yes to.
Our homework now is to log our experience saying no when we really mean no. This should be interesting.
