How to Build Your Business Boundaries

As a business owner, you often want to seem friendly and feel the need to respond to an inquiry almost right away. You don’t take time to think through the implications of our boundaries until you are close to burnout. By setting boundaries in your business, you can create a better work-life balance.

Here are some reasons why you should set boundaries and ways to do it.

Manage your precious time

Set a schedule for everything you do in your business. Time block it. Blog post every week? Schedule it. Social media content? Schedule it. A call with a client? Schedule it. This also shows professionalism!

Keep your sanity

As a small business owner, you are probably are used to doing everything yourself. And why not? If you need help with designing, hire someone. This does not only help YOU and your business but also creates relationship with other business owners. Make some new friends in the industry along the way!

Define your work hours

Listing your office hours in signature goes a long way! Just like going to the mall, there is set time for when you expect for the businesses to close. Some business owners like to set up automatic replies for after business hours.

It’s OK to say no

Freelancing sometimes means you can’t guarantee a set income and because of that you might feel the need to take on more than you can. Say no more often and see how that increases your workflow. By saying ‘no’ you are saying ‘yes’ to sanity and potentially a better opportunity in the future.

Stop scope creep

We are all guilty of this during some point in our business as we want our clients to know we’re willing to bend over backwards for them. You should always clearly define the project specs and stick to it. If the project is exceeding the pre-discussed scope, don’t be afraid to charge. To be fair to the client, give them a warning or a heads up that because you are going outside the specs, there will be an added fee to the project.