Words by Megan Smith Biggest fear as a businesswoman?<\/b><\/p>\n Speaking up for myself without hurting anyone\u2019s feelings when I say \u201cno.\u201d Biggest sense of accomplishment as a businesswoman? <\/b><\/p>\n My biggest sense of accomplishment in business is making time to live a normal life.
\n<\/strong>Photography by Diane Cu<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nI often have to make important decisions every hour (sometimes it feels like every minute) of the day and I can\u2019t always say \u201cyes.\u201d Ultimately, I\u2019ll have to turn down an opportunity or turn down something I\u2019d love to work on because I know that it\u2019s not necessarily going to be in my best interest or because I just don\u2019t have the time.
\nI don\u2019t have issues with saying no, but sometimes the hardest part for me is explaining why, so that there\u2019s no misunderstanding. I always want those folks to know that just because I respond with \u201cno,\u201d it doesn\u2019t mean that I\u2019m a bad person or that we can\u2019t be friends.<\/p>\n
\nIt has always been very important to me to be able to put all my work aside at the end of the day and spend quality time with Todd, my family and dear friends. For many years in my early career, I was so driven and focused on growing my business, expanding my client base and leveraging more opportunities that I forgot how lovely it was to just have a sane home life.<\/p>\n