In the early days of ColsenKeane, we tried to be and do everything. If it led to a sale, we said yes. The thinking was simple: all income is good income.
What I've learned since then is almost the opposite. So much of running a company well comes down to what you say no to. These days we say no to more things than we say yes to, and that's not a sign we've lost our hunger. It's a sign we finally know who we are.
Twice within thirty minutes today, people reached out asking if we could help them in a specific way. Because we're clear on what we do and don't do, I was able to say no quickly, kindly, and move on with my day. No second guessing. No guilt.
I wish I had learned that lesson sooner. I wish I had known it weeks into starting the company instead of years in. It would have saved me a lot of energy I spent doing things that were never really us.
Now, I'll admit I'm about to contradict myself a little, because some of the best parts of our business were never things I planned for. They just happened.
About thirteen years ago, a client walked into our shop. He was a high schooler who received a wallet from his mom for Christmas. He came in to see where it was made, looked around, and asked if we had an internship program. I said, "Absolutely we do. And you're our first student." That one answer, given without much thought, turned into one of the most meaningful parts of our brand. We've had two or three interns every quarter since then, for over a decade now. I honestly can't picture our shop without them.
Then there's the stuff we learned to walk away from. Repair work, for example. It's expensive, it's slow, and no matter how good the job is, customers rarely walk away thrilled. It just doesn't live up to the hope they walked in with. We used to just tell people flat out that we don't do repairs. Now we tell them why, and we point them to a few folks around Charlotte who handle it well. People leave that conversation happier than they used to, even though the answer is still no.
That's the tension of running a company. You're always shifting, always adjusting, but the direction underneath has to stay clear, even when the day to day gets messy.
If you're early in building something, pay attention to a few things. There will be certain lines you won't cross. There will be certain work that lights you up and tells you exactly who you are as a company. And there will be certain areas that carry the weight of your budget, the parts that actually keep the lights on. Keep all of that close. It's easy to lose yourself in details that don't matter and forget the few things that do.
Teach your team the same thing. Not just what to say no to, but why. When people understand the reasoning behind a decision, they carry it with them, even when you're not in the room.
At the end of the day, this isn't really about just saying “no,” it's about getting so clear on who you are that the “no” becomes easy. That clarity is the real work. Everything else is just the byproduct.
Please let me know if I can be of any help growing out your entrepreneurship endeavors. Feel free to email me at Scott@colsenkeane.pro.
