On Taking a Project for That Extra Bit of Cash

If you’re a small business owner you have probably encountered this dilemma plenty of times before. A project comes up that you truthfully don’t feel like taking, but can’t reject because it would bring in a decent amount of cash. End result? The project lingers on and turns ugly.

This has happened far too many times than I would like to admit. Each time, I promise myself that I should never take these kinds of projects again, trusting my gut feeling. And yet, it happens again and again.

In fact, this year I have turned this into a new years resolution of sorts, not taking projects like this, despite them securing a bit of cash. As small business owners, we of course love financial stability. It is easy to forgo the alternative cost, that is, not having time to do a more lucrative project (either in motivation, financials or both) that comes along shortly thereafter.

So, I’d like to stress what I think we all know deep down. Most of the time, this extra financial stability now, is not worth the troubles that this project might bring. Turn it out and sleep like a baby afterwards. Trust your gut feeling and go with your instincts on this. Chances are, you will not regret it.