Many small businesses are created from the wish to help others. Whether it be coaching, therapy, or yoga teaching, you set up your business because you want to be able to help more people. So, you’re wondering why boundaries are so important for business owners and how to set boundaries, read on to learn more. 

If you are a people pleaser, a rescuer, or someone who always thinks of others first,  it may feel very uncomfortable to ‘push people away’. You’ll be inclined to say yes to every request because you don’t want to upset the other person. You might find that you are not charging them properly or giving lots of discounts to customers because you feel bad asking clients to pay.  You might spend lots of time helping people with their various issues, being very helpful and then wonder why your business is floundering and you’re not hitting your goals.

When we talk about boundaries, what do we mean?  It’s usually used in the context of needing to limit other people.  To set personal rules or guidelines over what other people can and can’t do.  How they can and can’t interact with you.

It’s actually super important to think through in advance what your rules are and why they are needed.

As small business owners, often our most valuable and most scarce resource is time.  We feel we must guard it against other people stealing it from us.  We often know that we could achieve so much more if only we had enough time in the day. 

So, what boundaries could you put into your life and your business that would make a massive difference to your success?

For example, not to respond to personal approaches on social media, only official communications through business accounts. 

Not to come in at any time, only once a formal appointment has been made.  

Not to monopolise your time unless they have paid for that.

Not to expect an instant response, or that you will be immediately available for a request.

Setting boundaries is essential when running a small business.

When I was a lawyer I used to think of it as ‘training’ my clients in how to get the best out of me.  After all, they were paying a lot of money for my time, I didn’t want them to waste it by having me do things that wouldn’t progress matters.  Therefore, I would set out in advance, what they could expect from me, and how to communicate with me.  When I would be available and when I wouldn’t.  How long they could reasonably expect before they receive a full reply from me. In turn, this helped to stop client’s worrying that they hadn’t heard from me, and then chasing up. Above all, it was essential to work in this way with a full workload and time pressures.  It reassured them that, even if they hadn’t yet heard from me, I was busy working on their case for them.  Subsequently, setting boundaries in this way, also helps reduce stress, anxiety and burnout.

1. Get good at blocking out your diary with chunks of time for your top priority tasks.

2. Allocate certain times in your day for replying to clients or following up.

3. Tell your clients in advance when you are available and when you are not available.

4. Have a calendar booking system for them to book your time.

5. Be clear about how long it will take for you to reply. You could send a quick reply which says, “I’ll reply in full within 48 hours” perhaps.

6. Tell your clients how to contact you. Be clear if you accept DMs or emails only for example.

7. Set automated responses which will reply to enquiries.

8. When you are asked to do something, ask, “when does this need to be done?” And follow it up with “Does it need to be done by me?”