The Observer's Notebook

  You Can Be a Generous Woman Without Turning Your Business Into a Rescue Mission I love generous women. The woman who sends the resource because she knows it will help. The mentor who stays ten extra minutes because the conversation is good. The teacher who creates something affordable because she genuinely wants more people to access the work. The founder who quietly helps someone because she can. Beautiful. I am not interested in building businesses where every human interaction needs to be itemized like we’re preparing evidence for a tax audit. But I am VERY interested in what happens when generosity stops feeling like a choice. Because that is where things get messy. “I want to give this” and “I will feel terrible if I don’t” look suspiciously similar From the outside, both can look generous. You give more access. You answer another question. You add the extra session. You extend the deadline. You make an exception. You reduce the investment. You let somebody into something be...

  Why You Keep Making Your Offer Smaller Before Anyone Says No There’s a very specific little business habit I keep noticing. You create something you genuinely believe in. The offer is good. The price makes sense. You know what it does. You know who it’s for. Then you imagine an actual woman buying it. And suddenly we’re renovating. Maybe she needs a smaller version. Maybe the investment feels like a lot. Maybe you should add more access. Maybe you need another tier. Maybe she’ll want a payment plan. Maybe you should make it easier to say yes. Meanwhile, this woman has done absolutely nothing. She has not objected. She has not told you she cannot afford it. She has not asked you to redesign the experience. She may currently be somewhere eating a sandwich, completely unaware that you are having a financial crisis on her behalf. This is where I get interested. Because that is not automatically a pricing problem. You may be responding to a buyer who only exists in your head This h...

Have you ever driven all the way to the store and then just sat in the parking lot? You made it there. The store is twelve feet away. You are fully capable of getting out of the car. And yet somehow your brain is like, “Mmmmm. I don’t know if we have that kind of capacity today.” So you sit. Check your phone. Answer a text. Open Instagram. Maybe stare through the windshield like you’re waiting for further instructions from the universe. I think business can feel a lot like that. You’re not technically trapped. You have options. Actually, you probably have TOO MANY options. You could rebuild the offer. Go harder on the offer you already have. Take the contract. Turn down the contract. Raise your prices. Change your positioning. Start the podcast. Finish the course. Get a job for six months and give yourself breathing room. Launch the idea you haven’t stopped thinking about. Burn it all down and become a florist. Honestly, the florist thing is starting to sound peaceful. And then someone...