How To Set Healthy Boundaries In Your Small Business
How do you feel about your career, small business, and family life? Are you able to unplug after a long day of work, or are you non-stop stressing?
Healthy boundaries are a must-have for spending your time wisely, working with awesome clients, and getting as close to work-life balance as possible in your small business.
Not sure how to set these boundaries? Use these 4 tips to draw healthy limits on your time and mental energy.
Tip #1: Use a client criteria checklist
Most entrepreneurs go into service-based businesses so they can choose their own clients. But sometimes (and especially in your early days) you get saddled with a nightmare client. What seemed like a great project at first turns into a nightmare of boundary-violating emails and demands on your time.
The best way to protect your boundaries is to work with clients who will respect them. Before you take on a new client, run them through a list of criteria to see if they would be a healthy fit for you.
For Studio Brinks, our checklist includes:
Ambitious business owner.
Funded and capable of a partnership.
A clear vision of what they want and a business plan.
They’re a good human.
Veering too far from your client checklist can come back to bite you. Over time, you’ll be able to recognize any red flags and avoid overly challenging clients.
Tip #2: Set clear expectations
Scope creep is a drain on your time and profitability. Set clear boundaries with clients by outlining your expectations from the start. Be crystal clear on:
Deliverables.
Budget or invoicing.
Due dates.
Get everything in writing and make sure your client understands the status quo going forward. The more specific you can be, the better.
Tip #3: Batch your tasks
Jumping between client calls, emails, and your actual work takes forever. And it’s actually not that efficient! Context-switching between tasks takes too much mental energy, which means you’ll spend more time in front of the computer with nothing to show for it. The best way to set boundaries in your work schedule is to batch tasks.
Organize your weekly calendar in a way that helps you batch tasks. That might look like:
Mondays: Admin days with client onboarding, kick-off meetings, project management, and business analysis.
Tuesdays: Creative or content days that include blogging, social media, and portfolio work.
Wednesdays: Coaching days for team one-on-ones and new client discovery calls.
Thursdays: More creative and content days.
Fridays: Work a half-day where you plan for next week.
Even if you don’t want to structure your week this way, batching tasks at the same time every day (ie. checking email at 9 am and 4 pm) will help you set better boundaries while running your biz.
Tip #4: Hold certain times sacred
Why did you start your business? Odds are, you wanted more personal freedom. Don’t take the office home with you; hold certain times of day sacred for yourself or your family.
For example, maybe you take off a few hours in the early afternoon to play with your kids. Set a calendar reminder so nobody over-books these special times of the day. Healthy boundaries make it possible for you to be human outside of work, so don’t miss out!
The bottom line
It’s easy to overlook boundaries in your small business, especially when you’re just starting out. But healthy boundaries are so, so necessary. Enjoy your work, leave your work out of your personal life, and use your time more efficiently with the power of boundaries.