Are you creating a life AND business you love?

I have a quote in my home office that I read regularly.

You teach people how to treat you by what you allow, what you stop, and what you reinforce.

Tony Gaskins

This quote has helped me to determine when to move on from a problem client and when to say no.

If you are like me, you’re working countless hours building a business AND life you love. As an entrepreneur they really do go hand-in-hand; business and life. We spend so much time working in and on our business that it shapes our daily life. I am working to shape my life into one I love. Every morning when I wake up, I want the thought of my business to be one of happiness. Not a stress-laden, oh my goodness, I can’t believe I have to do this again today feeling. I’ve experienced it. Before I came across this quote, I didn’t always set strict boundaries in my business. I wanted to help clients in any way possible even if it meant not sticking to boundaries.

Have you thought about the behaviors you allow? Are there any behaviors you’ve learned to stop? What behaviors are you reinforcing? While I am addressing these questions specifically with client interaction, it applies equally to your employees and contractors.

Your Business Needs Structure

Negative behavior from a client could be as simple as one thinking they can text or call you at any time, day or night. Maybe they routinely no show for scheduled calls or meetings. Or maybe all of their requests are on a rush time-frame because they ignored every one of your communication attempts and waited until the last minute. Perhaps one of the hardest ones to deal with is known as scope creep. When a client consistently asks for services outside of your scope. Without set boundaries, it’s all too easy to allow scope creep to take over. And once allowed, it’s hard to stop.

Adding structure with setting boundaries can completely transform your business and life. And keep in mind, a lack of boundaries can invite a lack of respect. So make sure you respect your time and talent and others will be more likely to follow suit. If someone continuously oversteps your set boundaries you might need to rethink whether you want them as a client. Hopefully, you’ve learned by now, not every potential client is an ideal client for your business.

Do you need to retrain any of your clients? If so, I challenge you to start today. The longer the behaviors continue the harder it is to stop. You can start small by adding office hours to your email signature. Or waiting until Monday to respond to weekend text messages. Determine the boundaries you are lacking and work to implement them.

This leads to the article next week on niching down. In my experience setting boundaries and sticking to a tight niche work together. Until then… check out the e-book for more tips and strategies for building a solid foundation for your business.

~ Christi is a successful business owner who enjoys traveling and making a mess in the kitchen with her husband and two daughters.

The article is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as business, accounting, tax or legal advice. Details are subject to change without notice.