the hidden cost of okay opportunities

What processes do you have in place for making good decisions consistently?

Back in the spring, my wife and I agreed that we, both the two of us as individuals and our family as a whole, were overextended.

It’s been a chronic problem for us, and we’ve got ample evidence that the decision-making mechanism on the?front end?of our decisions is broken.

Being quick and generous with yeses isn’t such a bad thing in some seasons of life.

However, we're currently in a full and busy season:

• We own an old house that needs a lot of TLC.
• We have three young children.
• I own a couple of businesses.
• Megan has one of our own.

Roles and responsibilities add up, and we’ve needed to become stingier with our yeses.

If we keep handing them out, that unwanted feeling of DENSITY in our calendar will only increase. It became clear to us that?the way?we make decisions needs to be recalibrated.

The bouncer at the door of the club is waving too many people in. The bouncer needs to be retrained to insist that more beautiful people go stand in line.

These words from author Robert Brault describe the plight of so many freelancers and creatives:

“We are kept from our goals not by obstacles but by a clear path to a lesser goal.”

It’s easy to say no to a bad opportunity.

For example: An aggressive prospect who wants you to cut your price in half AND deliver the project in 3 days AND include unlimited revisions.

Meh. Show yourself to the door, pal.

It’s also easy to say yes to a great opportunity.

For example: A cool SaaS startup focused on freelancers agreed to pay me handsomely to audit their content strategy. I like the people. I like the product. The COO was cool with paying 100% up front.

The warm hugs I’ll throw in for free!

Which opportunities are the ones that clot up your calendar and kill you?

The okay ones.

Some of the boxes get checked, but not all.

The nonprofit’s mission is one you applaud, but the founder is a bit scatter-brained. Weeks go by without a reply to an email. The budget’s alright, but the project has dragged on?forever.

The hidden cost of okay opportunities is the time and emotional energy spent on carefully examining them to see if they may be better than you initially thought.

Maybe the next project will be bigger…

Lifetime value, you know…

Maybe…

Okay and maybe go hand in hand. How do you escape their flaccid embrace?

You formalize your minimum and maximum criteria for an enthusiastic yes in advance and don’t give yourself the chance to fudge them.

Greg McKeown’s book?Essentialism?supplied me with this idea for a decision-making rubric, or “opportunity bouncer.”

My 3 minimum and 3 maximum criteria are different for my two brands, Balernum (consulting) and Freelance Cake (content, courses, and coaching).

• To get a yes, an opportunity must meet all 3 minimum criteria and at least 2 out of 3 of the maximum criteria.
• If it doesn’t meet 5 or 6 out of 6, it’s an automatic no.

Here’s the very first version I drew…

Now I don’t have to spend long deliberating. I’ve already established how I know whether or not an opportunity is great for me.

And I truly can afford to miss out on that one outlier okay opportunity that would have become great over time.

The yield curve of saying no to okay opportunities still wins over time.

In her book,?Thinking in Bets, World Series of Poker champion Annie Duke explains how the best poker players follow a process. A particular hand or winning streak isn’t as important as the long-term results.

I’ve already made enough bad bets on okay opportunities. My Opportunity Bouncer helps me stick to my plan.

If you’ve been saying yes to okay opportunities, create an opportunity bouncer.

Let it reinforce disciplined simplicity. Make things easier on yourself.

I’ll close with this?quote from William James:

“The more of the details of our daily life we can hand over to the effortless custody of automatism, the more our higher powers of mind will be set free for their own proper work. There is no more miserable human being than one in whom nothing is habitual but indecision, and for whom the lighting of every cigar, the drinking of every cup, the time of rising and going to bed every day, and the beginning of every bit of work are subjects of express volitional deliberation. Full half the time of such a man goes to the deciding or regretting of matters which ought to be so ingrained in him as practically not to exist for his consciousness at all. If there be such daily duties not yet ingrained in any one of my hearers, let him begin this very hour to set the matter right.”

Go ahead and steal my 12 email templates.

Following up with past clients is the single easiest way to drum up new freelance projects. It’s easier to sell something to someone who has already cut you an invoice, someone who is already in the habit of paying you.

The challenge for some of us is finding a good excuse to get in touch. We don't really need one, but still, I use a handy swipe file with the 12 really effective email templates.

That way, I don't overthink it.

If you want the 12 templates for keeping in touch with past clients and waking up silent prospects, go here to put in your name and email address.

I’ll send you the download link.

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About Austin L. Church

Hi, I'm Austin, a writer, brand consultant, and freelance coach.

I started freelancing after finishing my M.A. in Literature and getting laid off from a marketing agency. Freelancing led to mobile apps (Bright Newt), a tech startup (Closeup.fm), a children's book (Grabbling), and a branding studio (Balernum).?

I love teaching freelancers and consultants how to stack up specific advantages for more income, free time, and fun. My wife and I live with our wrecking balls and two cats in Knoxville, Tennessee, near the Great Smoky Mountains.

You can learn more at?FreelanceCake.com. You can also connect with me on?Twitter.