I used to think working fewer hours as a business owner meant I’d have to become ruthlessly efficient with my time.
But it turned out it was more about getting ruthlessly honest about my decisions.
Like the time someone wanted to hire me for a project that would have doubled my monthly income. Old me would have said yes immediately and figured out how to make it work. New me asked: “Will this require me to work nights and weekends?” The answer was yes, so I said no.
That felt terrifying. What if I never got another opportunity like that?
Or when I decided to stop offering one-off coaching calls. People kept asking for “just an hour of my time” and I kept saying yes because it felt mean to refuse. But those scattered calls were fragmenting my days and my energy.
Now I only work in bigger blocks with committed clients. Some people were upset. I had to get okay with that.
Or when a potential client wanted to work with me but only if I’d lower my rates “just this once.”
Old me would have rationalized it, because better some money than no money, right? New me realized that discounting my work was teaching people not to value it. I kept my rates and found clients who saw the value.
It stung when they went elsewhere, but it opened space for better-aligned clients.
The biggest shift for me was realizing that being available doesn’t make me more valuable. I used to think that responding to emails within the hour and being willing to hop on calls anytime made me a better business owner.
Actually, it just made me exhausted (and super grumpy).
Now I batch my client calls into three days a week. The other days are for thinking, creating, or just living.
When people can’t book with me on demand, they value our time together more. And I show up way better because I’m not running on fumes.
The emotional work is ongoing. Every time I say no to something, there’s a voice that says “You’re being picky” or “You’re not ambitious enough.”
I have to remind myself that working smarter isn’t the same as working less hard.
If you want to talk about what these kinds of decisions could look like in your business, let’s hop on a call (some of them might surprise you!).
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