Stop Draining Your Energy, Set Boundaries for Your Time

Setting boundaries and upholding them in your business is one of the most important things you can do.

And it can also be one of the most challenging. You are not alone! 

It can be hard sometimes, and we all can second guess ourselves about whether we should make exceptions… “maybe just this once” … “only for this special situation”... or when you doubt your value or fall back into people pleasing behaviors.   

Boundary problems can destroy your business.  

Boundaries are part of the foundation of your business - right there with your vision and your mission.  

Having boundaries is essential, and having excellent boundaries is the healthiest way to serve your clients and yourself.  

But beware... people will definitely push against them!

Have you fallen into any of these boundary gaps?

• Clients not paying - or not paying on time
• Discounting clients
• Charging different amounts based on each client’s situation
• Bartering and trading services
• Working nights or weekends if that isn’t your first choice
• Undercharging and feeling like you’re not earning what you’re worth

All of these are YUCKY and sure signs of needing to shore-up your boundaries. 

When you create healthy boundaries you get to design your life and business the way YOU WANT IT TO BE.

You'll start making more money and enjoying so much more. 

Having strong, healthy boundaries is the most respectful thing you can do for yourself and others. 

• You will attract better clients and relationships.  
• You will have more time to yourself to enjoy being creative, relaxing, and enjoying experiences with those you love.  
• You will make decisions more quickly and easily and enjoy the results of those decisions.   

Setting Boundaries Around Your Time

I have a superstar client who is an amazing expert in her field. Over the years of owning her business, she has curated her schedule so she doesn’t work nights or weekends. 

She recently raised her prices and was tempted to take on these new clients in the evening to be accommodating.  When she told me about this, she said that just the thought of doing it made her feel frustrated, exhausted, and a little resentful.  

I asked her why she felt she had to compromise her boundary with this new client. Her response was, “Because I am charging more, and they are paying more, so I should really accommodate what they need.”  

All of her money blocks were tempting her to disregard a boundary that she had worked so hard to put in place over the years, and the tendency to over-deliver to feel validated in charging her worth was rearing its ugly head. 

I reminded her that more time with her family has been her primary goal in working for herself. 

Staying true to her time boundary will send a clear message to her new clients (and the Universe!) that she values her family time, respects it enough to protect it, and values the clients who respect it, too.

You and your family are more important than money.  Clients will sense it and will appreciate it too...or they will find someone else who fits their needs.

By upholding your time boundaries, you send a clear message to the Universe about what you DO want, and those clients will start flowing your way. 

Learning to say NO is a great way to uphold your strong boundaries. 

Depending on what you offer, people will sometimes just want to pick your brain and get advice or your expert input for free. You can’t blame them - you are really good at what you do! 

But we train people to do this by allowing it. We invite people to do this when we undervalue ourselves and have unstable boundaries. 

One of my biggest lessons around setting boundaries with my time was to say no to certain clients and to be clear from the get-go that I didn’t do free consulting. 

I used to spend all kinds of time talking with clients about their animals, their problems with their animals, their businesses, and their problems with their businesses.

I knew I could help and I wanted to help everyone!

The result? I drained my energy and ended up feeling depleted and grumpy.

It was a self-serving need to feel significant, and it was a huge wake up call about my time values and self-worth. 

Now truly, not all of my clients were like this – in fact most were amazing and very well-boundaried!   (I LOVE being able to use that word when describing clients… Well-boundaried… say it out loud, it’s awesome!) 

But because I wasn’t fully valuing myself, I was attracting these types of clients to teach me about my value and my worth.  

I thanked them silently in my heart and set new strong boundaries for my time.  

If you know you have an excellent way to help a client, do not give them a diluted experience via free advice!  

Instead, let them sign on to work with you and benefit from the full experience to transform their situation.  

The first time you say NO to offering free advice, services, or discounting your stuff and your time, you might feel awkward, like you’re being a mean-girl or selfish. 

But it will be the best possible gift you can give yourself and them!  

Here are some examples of language that will honor the time boundary commitment you’ve made to yourself in situations that may come up in your business:

• That is a great question…I will write that in my notes and we can address it in our next session!
• I am so glad that you emailed me about your dog. It sounds like you’re in a really challenging situation. I would be happy to have a consultation and have some openings this week and next. Here is the link to my website where you can order and schedule your private session.  
• Thanks for reaching out about coaching together! I can’t accommodate a one-time only session because that isn’t how I work with clients.  It sounds as though this package might be the perfect fit for you. Here are the details. 
• Thanks for your interest in my work. Unfortunately, I can’t address your question here, but I would be happy to work with you in a scheduled consultation where you will have my complete focus and attention for our time together.  Here is the link to register.  

Do these help you? I hope so. 

Take a look at your boundaries.  

Look to see if there might be reasons you are drawn to compromise your boundaries or hesitate to set strong ones. 

Is it related to your self worth, money mindset, tendency to over-deliver, or the types of clients you are attracting, etc?

If you need help discovering where, why, and how your boundaries are shaky, I’m happy to set up a consultation so that we can discover ways to shore them up together :)

For more information about Setting Boundaries For Your Time, watch my video here.