How to set boundries as a solo entreprenuer

You did one of the most ambitious things possible: start a business on your own.

I know you would like to have your calendar booked out of r the year immediately, but the slow season is the best time to set up systems. One of the most important systems needed for your business is boundaries. There isn’t a business owner on the planet that hasn’t had a client or customer cross boundaries. You will often cross them. However, while you are in your slow season I have a few exercises for you to do to ensure these don’t become a habit. 

Implement management systems:

It’s not enough to have a project management system for your client's work. Your internal systems are just as important. Create a structure that allows you to work on your business client work, miscellaneous needs, and of course a lunch break. Please do not neglect your body. 

The best way to do this is by doing a trial run. Create a fake client project and go a dull day pretending to work on the project and any other internal work. Use a resource like toggl to track your timing. This will give you a great idea of what it’s like to have a full workday.

DORA:

You’ll have a clear timeline of how long tasks take to complete and you can give your clients realistic deadlines for projects.

Custom Client communication channels:

Whether you use Slack, Pumble, Google Chat, or good ole’ emails. You need to have one client communication setting. Do not let communication bleed into DM’s, text, etc. How I ensure this stays true through clients' projects is to repeat myself. The entire onboarding process revolves around me ensuring a potential client is 100% clear about how the project processes function. I use Google Chat + Notion for all client communication. There is also a very clear boundary set of my office hours. If clients communicate outside of these boundaries they are sent very kind reminders. The worst thing you can have during a project is miscommunication due to too many side conversations.

DORA:

During the Discovery Call/Introduction and Onboarding phase repeat every time how the client communication and project process will play out. Do not leave room for confusion and do not feel uncomfortable about repeating yourself.

Transparency:

If you avoid hard conversations, entrepreneurship will be harder than it already is. Should you have a client who oversteps boundaries (we all do), hop on a call and see where the disconnect is coming from. The client experience is often more important than the project itself. There may come a time when you find out the client is no longer for you and you may have to pull the entire project. However, when you get ahead of these things with set systems and boundaries. The client will already know what to expect before they sign the contract. 

DORA:

Do not be scared to say no. 

Boundaries are very hard to maintain, let alone set. If you are struggling with boundaries it’s time to take a step back and evaluate your business practices and core values.