Boundaries

As a small business owner you know that you don’t work the ordinary hours 9 – 5. We often are stretched doing many other jobs within our business, that often see us working well after 5pm and often before 9 am. Our weekends can be taken up with accounting, whilst a lazy Sunday afternoon can sometimes see me filing.

Ah, the joys of running your own business! Actually, I absolutely love what I do and most of the extra hours don’t bother me at all. However, it’s extremely important to set boundaries for yourself and your clients.

As much as I love my clients, I really don’t want to be speaking to them on a weekend or late in the evening. Calling me just as I’m serving dinner to my family is not a happy medium.

I’m guilty of sending out emails late at night to my clients or contractors but I never expect that I will get a response until the next day – in the working hours.

Don’t blur the lines. If you start answering that call at 7.30pm, that client will think they can call you anytime! Not only that, a “quick” call can easily turn into a longer conversation, which in turn can have you back at your desk, behind your computer working away to finish off your clients request.

Set yourself some clear boundaries and make them clear to your clients. A good tip is not to respond to emails or phone calls outside of your working hours. Make it known to your clients by putting your working hours on your website, Facebook and email signature

I hope you find your work/life balance with the boundaries you set.