The proof is in her success. Abovo Marketing Group started its life in the basement of her Atlanta home in August 1997 with two employees. They had one phone, and they would pass it around to one another when clients called. Strapped for cash and credit, they shopped for office furniture at estate sales and consignment shops. Those days are gone, but See isn't pining for them.
Many small businesses find it difficult to say no, and that's their downfall.
Trying to do more puts you into a death spiral. Before you take on more work, Weaver says, you need to seriously assess whether the growth represented by that work is worth the cost in real dollars and in customer and employee satisfaction. This situation hurts the company in the long term because it will be perceived as a low-quality business. In the short term, it hurts your profitability because you have to spend X amount of time correcting those mistakes. For new companies, the cost of correcting mistakes often means a further squeeze on profit margins that are tight to begin with.