In the rep or t, creatives across the b o ard attest that saying “no” is the most underrated skill. D o es this resonate with your experience? Building strong boundaries arou nd my work and learning to say “no” is a muscle that took a long time to build, es pecially when you’re first star ting out in freelance because you of ten feel th at your skills and ser vice are dispensable. It took many years of bad experien ces to realize that overex tending of ten yielded fruitless labor, of ten over demanding contracts with an ever expanding “scope creep” came from clients that paid the least , or did not understand the value of your work or exper tise. When I star ted working with the companies that I de eply admired, I finally witnessed the ease and flow of good business practic es. In my experience, the most aligned clients and projects see your valu e and wor th— and of ten have the right amount of resources to implement it . Olivia What ’s B uilding e xperience your Boundaries ? Rewriting romantic my ths of the creative industr y 49 Re alit y check