My successful female client was shocked because I said it was ok to say no.

I have a client who is a member of a board, working in a day job, a single parent to two kids. and starting a new business.

She’s done a great job in all of the above and now needs to make space for other things she wants to do in her life, like creating her new digital course for professionals in her industry.

On one of our 1:1 calls I mentioned in passing that she could just say no to a new request.

She stopped. She was silent.

“I can say no?”

She honestly hadn’t thought it was an option.

My client is accomplished. Senior in her profession. Regularly called as expert.

But saying no was a shock.

I sent her a load of templates I’d written.

Next time we spoke, she’d stepped down from that board.

The lesson

It’s alright to say no.

Use my sample above if you are stuck.

P.S I sent my client 15 ways to say no in professional and personal situations as detailed as my sample. I’ve used them and they all work well.

A friend asked me to share it with her. Then she said I should offer it to others.

I’ve already got a Google Doc but I’m wondering about making it pretty and offering it as digital product as an experiment. If you’d be interested email me and I’ll offer it for £5 for the first 5 people to get in touch.

Enjoyed reading? Sign up for my newsletter and share with somebody else who’ll find it useful.