How many times has an uninvested relative or other acquaintance, who knows little about what you actually do, told you what you need to be doing in your business or non-profit?
For example, even though you are a parent coach, they've said “you know, what you SHOULD do is: make t-shirts, sell journals, sell key fobs, sell decorative water bottles, help these people over there get housing, write an e-book, apply for this grant, partner with this church, sell sandwich bags of frozen water at the football game, post content about… , start an Only Fans page, and …….”. “You know, Rachel pivoted her business and sold 2000 Montgomery Brawl t-shirts in only four days”.
These self-appointed advisers have no knowledge of the inner workings of your business/non-profit, nor can they see all your market research efforts. Yet, somehow, their comment feels like a demand to you; a demand that actually matters. It matters enough to cause a reaction in your body. It may even matter enough to set you down a path of executing their idea.
Here’s the thing: sometimes people just say shit. They think they have superior ideas + they have no regard for the fact that you have already researched, invested in and is operating a whole business or non-profit. Also, the demands they make on you costs them nothing. When it costs them nothing to get in someone's business, some people WILL insert nose.
Yes. The unsolicited ideas will come, but fret not. You can put a buffer between your organization and people's random ideas. Clarify the mission of your work. Even if you have been in business for years, write your mission statement on a Post-it Note you can see everyday.
Write “My organization does ____ for ____”. Fill in the blanks. Here's a hypothetical: “Le Company provides 24/7, in-home, post-partum care to birthing families who've had at-home deliveries”. LeCompany must provide quality, 24/7, in-home, post-partum care to birthing families who've had at-home deliveries before it can entertain cute ideas about key fobs.
The mission statement, even as you reconsider it from time to time, grounds you and your organization. The statement is a commitment to your values and to the people whom you serve. If you are committed to serving a clearly defined group of people in clearly defined ways, unsolicited ideas will go into one of two mental piles: (1) consider later or (2) not consider later.
Trying to execute every unsolicited idea is not only distracting, it reduces your capacity to deliver quality services. You have to look at what you are set up to do right now. When you jump on trends or try out things just to people-please, you are stressing the capacity of your operation to deliver to the people whom you say you serve.
Yes. You can make some quick money off a trend. I know several people who made extra money sewing masks at the beginning of the COVID19 Pandemic. Yes. That money could help you better serve you main client base. HOWEVER, if you are a person who has bouts of low energy and who needs extra supports for executive functioning, this is a big gamble with your organization and with your health.
Before you spend energy trying to execute random ideas to capitalize on a trend or to please-people, keep in mind, the person offering the random advice will likely lose interest within the next 24 hours - or 5 minutes. If they persist, however, you can say that’s not what your business or non-profit does. If that’s not enough to make them scram, ask them to put some time and effort toward what they are suggesting. That should take care of things.
Regardless of suggestions people make for your organization, you have to trust that you know what you should be doing. You have to resolve in your mind: every suggestion is not a call to action. People can and will say whatever. Only YOU have the authority to accept their idea as a call to action.
Think of it this way: your organization is itself a boundary. Inside that boundary, you are serving X people in Y ways. X people need you to uphold this boundary. They need you to stay true to your mission and your goals or take time to get clearer about what your mission and goals are.