As a female entrepreneur with BIG goals and a well-balanced life, it’s incredibly important to me to protect my time, space, and energy.
Have you ever found yourself taking on too many projects, scheduling too many calls, answering too many questions (for free!) and then all of the sudden not having time to do the things that really matter to you?
I've been there! And that's why boundaries are SO important to me in my life and business.
What I've learned is that setting boundaries (for both you and everyone else) is the key to creating a balanced life and business - because they are so interconnected!
3 tips for setting boundaries in your business...
If you've been feeling like your business has control over your life, here are 3 tips to help you set boundaries so you can focus on the things that truly make a difference.
1) Plan Ahead
Set and stick to your own office/working hours. Create a weekly block schedule for yourself that sets very specific hours to work on specific tasks on specific days. When you create a block schedule, you can batch all similar tasks together and work on them at once. This allows you to stay in a flow state and helps eliminate distractions.
2) Power Off
A lot of our work requires creativity, space for inspiration and reflection. We can easily be distracted and pulled away from these spaces by our clients, team, social media, etc. so literally power off your phone or turn off notifications while you work. It can wait - I promise. And when you are not working, do the same! This will help you create more intentional time with business AND personal/family life.
3) Prioritize
Set aside 1 hour at the beginning or end of your week to re-prioritize your to do list. Pick your top 5 (not 50) money makers to accomplish that week and go from there. Often times we get overly ambitious and that leads to spreading your energy too thin and getting nothing done, but by focusing on the top 5 needle-moving tasks you're able to stay focused every day.
Working ON versus IN your business
It's also important for us to discuss the differences between working on your business and working in your business... There is a difference!
As your business grows it's crucial for you to differentiate between the two:
→ 𝐎𝐍 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 Working on your business means that you are working on projects and tasks that promote business growth. This could be lead generation, improving your client process, setting up collaborations/partnerships, content creation, brainstorming, goal setting, etc.
→ 𝐈𝐍 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 Working in your business means that you are working on your actual client work, the thing your clients hire you to do! This includes any client deliverables, client calls, emails and administration, customer service/support, etc.
It's important it's to spread your energy into both client work AND the growth of your business, which is why we often need to hire support as we grow in order to maintain balance and avoid burnout!
One of the first steps in creating a balanced business is to understand where you're spending the majority of your time, and then assess if that is actually helping you grow or turning you into the bottleneck of your business.
Where do you find yourself spending most of your time? Do you need to hire support?
Be careful who you share your dreams with...
Last but not least, when considering your boundaries, I want you to be very careful who you are sharing your dreams and goals with.
When I worked my corporate job I would tell my co-workers that I wanted to start my own business working online so I could create my own schedule, choose who I work with, have more freedom and flexibility, and enjoy every minute of it... I got blank stares, eye-rolls, and laughs.
I used to listen to the cubicle zombies and had my own doubts at first, but over the last 3 years, I’ve been able to prove them wrong EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
Now?
I'm the owner of a creative agency that designs high quality brands and websites for health and wellness businesses. I get to be a vessel for those who help others and make an impact in the world through design and creative strategy - I literally pinch myself every single day.
It wasn’t always sunshine colour palettes and rainbows to get here, but on a typical day, I’m stoked to sit at my desk, hop on discovery calls with awesome humans, communicate with the VB team, and design websites that make an impact for my clients!
Imagine if I just kept listening to those couldn't see my vision?
This is why I want to remind you... be careful who you share your dreams with. Don't listen to what the nay-sayers are sayin’. Not everybody "gets it" or has the same values as you and you wouldn't want them to discourage you. Just keep working towards your big goals and keep your boundaries in mind ;)
XOXO
Shayah