Saying no is something I finally got good at doing this spring.
For about the past decade, I've been known in several circles of friends as the go-to car guy for anything and everything. I'd typically charge half of what a shop charges so an enticing proposition for my many friends without deep pockets. Since I wasn't making good money at my day job yet, it was decent extra money. However, I'm finally making a good wage and wanting to take more advantage of my accrued vacation days, plus getting tired of working basically 7 days a week, so I was starting to think about taking on fewer side jobs. Then, as luck (both good and bad) would have it, I had two back to back jobs for friends go rather poorly and that was the kicker for me to let everyone know I was no longer doing side work. Let me say, it's been great. I have so much more time and way less stress. There are still a select few friends whose cars I'll service, plus one friend's dad who pays VERY well (it's hard to turn down $150 an hour), and I happily do consulting and give recommendations, but don't do the hard work. It's hard to say no at first but once you do it, you stop feeling bad about it.
Thankfully for bikes, my brother runs his own bike shop so I can deflect any bike projects from friends to him. Any bike project that winds up in my garage will be of my own doing.