Written by: Christine Luken, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
You've probably heard that you should create healthy boundaries for your business. But what does that mean, really? Boundaries are the limits and rules you set for yourself and others within your business relationships. Boundaries are all about respecting your own time and money in your business and setting clear expectations with your clients and customers.
I find many kind, creative, and fun business owners resist this tooth and nail. Why? It’s because they want to be "nice." But this can actually backfire and cause all kinds of emotional turmoil and financial damage.
The solution is to discover a simple and effective way to maintain healthy boundaries in your business around both time and money. There are three parts to this: setting boundaries, communicating boundaries, and enforcing boundaries.
Step 1: Setting Boundaries
The first and most important step in having healthy boundaries is deciding what boundaries you want to set. When you work for someone else, these boundaries are set for you. The company has set working hours, price and compensation structures, return policies, and company procedures. When it’s your business, you get to decide. That’s both a good thing and potentially a bad thing!
When I first started my Financial Dignity® Coaching business in 2012, I had zero boundaries in my business. I began setting boundaries as knee-jerk reactions to clients and business partners who took advantage of my kindness and inexperience. (I definitely don’t recommend YOU do it this way!)
A few years into my business, I worked with a coach who enlightened me on the benefits of boundary-setting, both for me and my clients. I established refund and return policies, formal business hours, and coaching contracts. I marveled at how these boundaries made my life easier and let my clients know exactly what to expect.
Step 2: Communicating Boundaries
Once you’ve set healthy boundaries in your business, now you need to communicate them. I thought having clients sign a coaching contract meant that they would actually read the whole thing before signing and therefore understand my boundaries. Boy, was I wrong! Clients seemed surprised when I charged them a $97 rescheduling fee when they failed to give me a 48-hour notice.
Now, when I start a new coaching relationship with a client, I take several minutes of our first meeting to review the contract and communicate my healthy boundaries. I inform them of the cancellation policy, the rescheduling fees, the confidentiality agreement, and how and when they can communicate with me in between sessions. I never assume they know my boundaries anymore. I tell them what they are.
If you’re in the business of selling physical or digital products, this could be as simple as putting your returns and exchange policy on the checkout page. If you clearly communicate your healthy boundaries for your business, the number of times you need to enforce them drops drastically.
Step 3: Enforcing Boundaries
A boundary that’s not enforced might as well not exist. If you don’t enforce boundaries, you’ll be viewed like the parent who threatens to spank his or her child but never does. People will start ignoring your boundaries because they’ve learned you don’t enforce them.
If you’ve successfully completed steps 1 and 2 for healthy boundary setting, this third step is actually pretty simple. It’s simply reminding the person of the boundary and standing firm with it.
For example, some time ago I had a client who wished to cancel her financial coaching contract. She used 3 of her 12 sessions and rescheduled her 4th session multiple times over three months. I told her I was happy to cancel her contract and reminded her of the cancellation fee, the loss of her pay-in-full discount, and the two rescheduling fees she incurred. The client wasn’t necessarily pleased about the fees, but she knew about them and had a signed copy of her contract. There was nothing to argue over. Having healthy boundaries for my business saved me almost $1,900 in this situation alone.
Healthy boundaries prevent burnout and protect your time and money. The sooner you set, communicate, and most importantly, enforce those boundaries, the better off your business will be. And of course, you can do this in a respectful, graceful way.
Want more help with this? I believe healthy boundaries are so important to the long-term financial success of every business, that it’s included as one of the ten modules of the Manage Money Like a BO$$ Course. This course empowers you to master your business finances in a way that’s simple, streamlined, and FUN. Use promo code “brainz” (all small caps) for a special reader discount!
Christine Luken, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Ready for money to support your happiness, rather than stress you out? Then you need Christine Luken, Financial Dignity® Coach in your corner! As the Founder of the Financial Dignity® Movement, Christine has coached hundreds of high-earning professionals, business owners, and divorcing women to pay off staggering amounts of debt and massively increase their net worth. The author of several books, including Money is Emotional and Financial Dignity® After Divorce, Christine blends wise money management with emotional intelligence.
