It’s 2023 and I think that we can all agree, we now know and appreciate how important boundaries are to creating a happy and harmonious life.
What one person enjoys or even tolerates does not dictate what we ourselves have to put up with, and hopefully we’re all getting better at setting firm boundaries to protect our peace.
I feel like I was quite good at setting my ‘business’ boundaries a year or so ago, I worked out what hours suited me, how it was best to get in touch, the payment terms I was willing to offer and I’ve definitely got better at declining ‘can you just…’ requests and my service suite is smaller than ever – but far more profitable.
Something I haven’t spent long enough considering however, and has all kind of come to a head lately, are the boundaries of what energy I won’t have circulating within my business.
I’m going to keep this quite short, I now only work with people who are kind. Who appreciate what I bring to their business, and who are respectful of my time.
The service I provide is of great value to business owners, whether it’s Social Media, Blogs, a Website – I wouldn’t be offering and they wouldn’t be paying for it if it wasn’t of value. However in the past, I’ve had clients who’ve made me feel like a burden, like I’m interrupting their day, like I’m an annoyance. About a mile before this, is where my boundary lies.
This goes beyond setting my working hours and my contact methods, this is a boundary that stretches way beyond usual business parameters. This is a boundary about whose energy I let into my life, who I choose to interact with and how I allow people to make me feel.
If you haven’t sat down and considered the type of relationship you’d like to have with your clients, I suggest you do it now. My hairdresser, for example, said that she doesn’t particularly want to make friends with all of her clients and maintains that professional relationship. However one of my very best friends started from doing my nails, and now I couldn’t live without her (and I think vice versa!).
What I’m saying is, I have decided that I want to work with clients who are friendly, kind, respectful and appreciative. You however, might want to keep things really strictly business only. You may prefer something in the middle. Whatever you decide, is entirely up to you and there will be plenty of clients who’ll fit into that description and you’ll have that perfect relationship.
*I’m also coming on a little later to clarify, I like my clients to be friend-ly, not necessarily my friends. It’s not written into their contract that they must come to my birthday, spend an hour a week talking about Sophie and invite me round their house on the regular. This whole post is about attitudes and feelings, I want to work with warm, receptive people who are just you know… nice!