By Jennifer Berson, founder and president of Jeneration PR
When I first shifted my career from working as a civil litigator to running my own public relations agency, I struggled with setting boundaries. Answering texts from clients on evenings and weekends became the norm, and I stopped everything to answer an email from a client—no matter what time of day. I needed to create a vision for my life and business—and make a concerted effort to protect my time.
I know from experience that it can be tough to set boundaries with your clients, especially if you already have a working relationship with them. So here are my top tips for drawing those much-needed lines in the sand—no matter where you are with your clients in your journey as a solopreneur.
1. Set a precedent right from the start
You don’t have to exhaust yourself as an entrepreneur. Newer business owners feel they need to earn the ability to set boundaries, but that’s not the case. You created this business for yourself, right? That means you can make it look however you want for yourself, including client boundaries.
Realize that you deserve to create your business like this from the get-go. You shouldn’t feel the need to instantly reply to every client communication or stay at your computer at all hours of the night. Entrepreneurship doesn’t have to be that way for you to be successful. In fact, it’s a recipe for burnout.
2. Shift your mindset and your availability
Many new solopreneurs struggle to set boundaries because they believe they have to be on 24/7 for the sake of their clients. This is a misconception and a bad mindset to be in when kicking off your business.
You don’t have to be accessible at all times to be a good service provider. When you have boundaries in place, clients respect your availability (as long as you’re getting the work done). They’ll see you crushing it during your available hours and will trust that if anything comes up after hours, you’ll get back to them right away the next morning.
3. Vacation is still vacation—even if you work for yourself
Taking time off is always okay. As long as the work gets done, it should not matter—barring the rare work emergency, of course!
Make sure you convey your available hours to your client in what you say and do. Don't send a proposal or work-related emails after hours or while you're supposed to be OOO. Doing so sets the expectation that you’re working and accessible around the clock, and clients can easily take advantage of that.
It’s all about the follow-through here. You have to exemplify your boundaries, not just have them in your head or mention them to your clients.
4. Be ready to speak up for yourself
If you have a client with a habit of sending last-minute asks and after-hours messages, you must correct the course. If it doesn’t get better when you work on it, know that it’ll probably never get better, and you might need to part ways with the client.
Don’t be intimidated to say something to your client when the last-minute asks are becoming too much and your client's boundaries are being crossed. Your relationship with them should be mutually respectful. You’re running a business just like they are.
About Jennifer Berson
Jennifer Berson is a former civil litigator turned strategic communications advisor who champions the PR agency model for ambitious women seeking a satisfying, high-powered career that doesn’t require the sacrifice of personal and family time to make a powerful impact. Her mentorship and direction as the founder of the Jeneration Academy community have led thousands of international boutique PR agency owners to quickly scale their businesses to six figures and beyond.