Here’s something Sarah recently shared in her Scenthusiasm community on Patreon. This is an example of what subscribers get at the Maker 3 level. At this level it’s more than just perfumery; it’s also for people who already have, or are planning to start their own perfumery business. Our friends here can also join us for unrecorded Zoom calls where we share ideas or ask any questions, which often turns into a kind of business self-help session.

This one is about when to say yes and when to say no in business – both to potential clients and to yourself.

As a freelance copywriter, I knew straight away this one would resonate with me. I don’t only write for 4160Tuesdays, I’ve worked with a whole range of other businesses too. Many have been a joy to work with, though not all, for a variety of reasons.

Of course, since I’m writing this for 4160Tuesdays, you’d expect me to say it, but it’s true: Sarah is firmly on my “joy to work with” list. Clear communication, respect for time, and I think she holds the record for fastest-paid invoice. Not everything is about money, I know, but chasing invoices is every freelancer’s nightmare, and it happens much more often than seems reasonable.

So when Sarah wrote about what to look for before you start working with a client, although it’s from the perspective of a perfumer, the guidelines apply to almost anyone who has to judge a client by their cover.

As for when to say yes or no to yourself – definitely one for me also. I’d have a new business every week if I had the time or money.

If you’re having trouble deciding whether to say yes or no, or keep making the wrong decisions, have a read of this:

Many of us say yes to everyone when we start out. Someone asks us to do some work for them and we are so stunned that anyone likes what we do, we’ve said yes before we’ve had time to stop to consider how this will end, and how it will go in the meantime.

It’s all about setting our own real value. It’s not just about money. There are tasks I have taken to fill the bank account which I wish I hadn’t, because they depleted my resources.

Right now, beginning the rush to the end of 2025, I am getting at least one approach a day from people who want me to make them a perfume (maybe), or to run a workshop for their Christmas party (maybe), to give them a 70% discount while they stock their new store. (No.)

I get everything, and I’m getting more and more.

I have those who would like to establish their own brand and need me to be their “partner” - which is code for “I don’t want to pay you anything, I want you to do that and together we will make lots of money from my genius idea.”

I am getting dozens of “I have long admired your adventurous and playful approach to handmaking your fragrances in Hammersmith.” That is direct from a Google AI overview [other LLMs are also available]. I write back and ask which one of my adventurous handmade fragrances are their favourites. I rarely get a response to that.

Honestly, I don’t mind if people have had some AI help to write their approach, but I have worked in sales and I’ve worked in buying, and the least you can do before asking to work with someone is check their online presence first, and if you want them to make you something, to test the products to see if they are up your street.

I did accept one invitation this month, and that was to visit the Tate Britain’s paper conservation department to smell William Turner’s sketch books. I mean, who's going to turn that down? Apparently I’m the first person ever to be asked to do that. We’re not sure where it’s going, but it was worth taking a morning out of the studio. We all need inspiration.

I’ve written about this already but let’s revisit it because I’ve added another F.

I was at a workshop hosted by Brunel University Business School, and at my table was a landscape gardener who turned out to have worked on the Hampton Court Fifth Sense Garden that I made a fragrance for. He said that he only does work if it ticks at least two boxes out of his three:

• Is it fun?

• Will it get him noticed?

• Will it make a profit?

One box isn’t enough. At the follow up session, we’d named it Fun, Fame & Finance. It’s got to be at least two in order for me to say yes. Just profit isn’t enough either.

Running the business for 13 years now, I have definitely refined my idea of fun. At the beginning it’s almost everything, because it’s all new and exciting.

Fame: If the BBC calls and I’m invited to speak on Radio 4 with Evan Davis about pheromones or Donald Trump’s new fragrances, do I drop everything and sprint to Broadcasting House? Sorry, but yes I do! This is because it’s fame + fun.

I have recently added future to my collection of Fs.

Does this project help my future life or hinder it? Whether it’s tomorrow or next year, will this take me forwards or sideways, or set me back? Will it take more than its fair share of my resources?

How much time will it eat up?

Would I be better off allocating the time to current and future tasks, to running the business, taking care of the team and of myself?

If I'm invited to speak at an event in New York, and I have to be there and back in three days - which would mean I’d be exhausted for a week - it would have to be a LOT of fun, and pay a great deal, and also raise my profile for the amount of recovery time I would need.

My Future tickbox allows me to give time and perfume to people and organisations that make me feel better about being alive. I give occasional talks for a very small fee, to groups of people who want to know about what I do for a living. I take on work experience people, occasionally - and whether they are good or bad, or superb - I learn something.

Even if some projects turn out terribly, I still learn. I also collect material for my autobiography, anyway that’s what I tell myself when I’ve had no fun at all, then lost money and sleep over something. But I am getting better at turning them down.

A green flag is at least three Fs.

Amber, two Fs and a potential for another one.

Red, just the one F, especially if it threatens to snaffle resources.

Warning Signs

Yours might be different but here are some of mine for assessing potential clients:

• The first thing they ask is how much it will cost.

• The next thing they ask is if you do a discount.

• They say they only need “very small samples”.

• They tell you they have a very limited budget.

• They say they want a very small quantity and “know” they can get perfume oil for £25 a kilo.

I’m not saying that you ought not to work with tiny start-ups; I’m saying that these signs tell you that they value their own money far more than they value your time.

• They have never experienced any of your work.

• They haven’t looked at your website.

• They haven’t bothered to find out your name.

• They have obviously sent the same email to every company they can think of.

• They have sent the same email, but with one introductory paragraph taken from the Google AI Overview.

Like many of us creative types, I have far too many ideas and sometimes I rush into saying yes to them when I ought to say no - to myself.

I can make this new fragrance! I can set up this new event! I can create a new workshop. I can write a book, make a film, change the world!

My new ideas can eat up time that could usefully go towards concentrating on projects that I already have in progress, or to taking days off like normal people do.

Sometimes, my pet projects only deliver the one F - fun, and they have the opposite of a financial benefit. It’s not hard to justify putting effort into the fun stuff. But it’s research, it’s enhancing my skills, I need to try these new materials!

That’s where we need to set a value on our own time. If our own projects tick just one F box, then they are flying flags the same colour red as those the potential clients wave at us.

I would love to know your stories, from perfumery and from your other lives too. What did you take on or turn down?

I’ll end with one of my early no thank yous. Count the flags. I was invited to lunch with a woman I’ve met since but she’s forgotten me so that’s OK. She pretended to make perfume and wanted to run a workshop for some wives of wealthy businessmen visiting from overseas. She wanted me to pretend to be her assistant perfumer, as she had told them she was a perfumer herself. I would wear a lab coat, keep my mouth shut and do all the actual work. I didn’t actually turn her down, but I quoted £1500 for the day, which she thought was outrageous, so she thought she had turned me down instead.

If you’d like to join us in our Scenthusiasm community over on Patreon, you can take a look at the member options here.

Take care,

Sinead & Sarah