The more I revise the estimate, the shakier my business feels

Scenes

• The more I revise the estimate, the shakier my business feels — With tomorrow’s pitch ahead, I keep revising the estimate again and again. It feels like one number will decide both this opportunity and my entire business.
• If I miss this one, I may never get another chance — Lowering the price feels like a way to win the work, but keeping it feels like I’ll lose the opportunity. Either way, it feels as though my whole business is at stake.
• I lowered the figure below my minimum — At the kitchen table, I lowered the amount on the estimate one step at a time. Beside the final figure, I wrote in small letters, “What am I going to do this month?”
• The number that wins the deal isn’t the number that keeps you going — In business and finances, we don’t treat the outcome of this pitch and the minimum needed to keep operating as one number. When they overlap, revising the estimate can easily become a way to soothe anxiety.
• Write two separate lines beside the number — Beside the estimate, write “Outcome of this pitch” and “Minimum to protect this month” on separate lines. Instead of rushing to settle on a number, try separating the worries tangled together.
• One meeting does not define your entire business — Whatever happens tomorrow, that number does not stand in for your whole business. Looking again at both standards is also part of what I’ll help you consider in business and finances.