Hey Fabulous Health Professionals,
I want to talk about an issue that we help our clients with every day: setting boundaries.
We get the idea of personal boundaries… but what about professional boundaries? What boundaries do you have to protect yourself and your business as it grows?
If you’ve put in the leg work to build and plan your business (visit my blog for a bajillion posts on this), you’ve probably reached a point where your life (and your schedule) feels very full.
You make this transition from being low on income to low on time. And both of them are REALLY stressful! Especially as you establish yourself and your business, you are very likely going to reach a point where…
- People start noticing you.
- People start asking to meet with you.
- They ask to work with you.
- They want to pick your brain.
- They want to know what you know.
This can feel really validating. It almost feels like you’ve made it when people start to take notice of you and seek out your advice. But there is a fine line between offering help to others who want what you have to offer and turning your business into a charity.
You know it’s a business, not a charity, right?
It’s time to start protecting your boundaries. What are you not willing to do for free? You’re busy enough now that you must be selective with your time. If there IS work that you’re willing to do for free – How much? How often? Give yourself a quota and stick to it.
You are not running a charity.
Your time and expertise is valuable.
Remember this!
What boundaries have you set in your business? Let me know in the comments below?
Here’s to your success,
Jo
P.S. I help overwhelmed practitioners set boundaries and gain clarity in their business. Is this something you would like help with? Click here for a free 30 minute consult call with me.
This is a wonderful article. Being a clinician and business owner has you wearing two different hats almost all the time. Unless you know how to wear both your success will be limited. The time issue is really one of the best killers to enjoying your success as a owner of a small owner. I want to be able to enjoy the benefits of the sucess by having more time not less time when the financial stress is not there. This has happened to me on my podcast The Couples Expert I now have people asking for advice its really difficult sometime setting those boundaries. Thanks Jo for helping us see the importance in these concepts.
Stuart this is such an important point. Somehow we forget to think about the fact that more success =/= more time! So how are you going to make the most of the time you have? I have a print-out on my wall to remind me that “there is enough time to do what matters”. So what matters to you?
Jo, you really hit the nail on the head with this one! I can’t tell you how much I have experienced this in the past two weeks. In fact I just got 4 phone calls today from people asking for something from me, whether it was interviews, advice, or a new counseling client. It made me look at my schedule for the next few weeks, and while it is full of excitement, I’m also wondering when I’ll schedule bathroom breaks, haha! I have decided that from this point forward, I will only be saying yes to the things, that I feel truly and deeply passionate about. Thanks for the lovely reminder.
Hi Brittainy – this is awesome news to hear – your time IS valuable and it is yours to spend on what YOU deem important. Maybe we need to develop some criteria 😉 – Jo
Jo,
This is such an important article. I constantly realize the clearer I get about my business, who I want to serve and how, the more it grows. I think being clear on who we work the best with and referring to others for the rest is such a crucial practice, for all involved. I think that really owning our value really goes a long way too. I really appreciate your tag of #knowyourworth. Thanks Jo!
Hey Michael – thank you for this. The only way we can do the work we love is by knowing our worth, knowing ourselves and enforcing the boundaries around that. I see how well it is working for you!
Great article Jo! I too have found that I have been receiving more calls and emails from other professionals as my schedule gets busier. Now I just have to figure out how to graciously decline some of these requests. Thank you for the valuable reminder!!