is.....SETTING BOUNDARIES! We all know healthy Boundaries = HEALTHIER MINDSET. And a HEALTHIER MINDSET = More Business SUCCESS!!!!
Here are a few tips to take away this week:
1. First Identify your boundaries for non clients. Do you allow everyone and their mother to pick your brain? Do you give free advice from facebook messenger? Yep! I am bringing up the ELEPHANT in the ROOM. So many of my clients and colleagues talk about this. They have potential clients reach out looking for free advice and before they know it they are sucked in and coaching everyone for FREE. Honestly, I was there before when I first started. My inbox would get FLOODED with brain pickers and I honestly couldn't keep up and thought if I didn't give them free advice I’d be missing out from a potential client. WRONG.
None of those people ever bought and why WOULD they buy if they were getting free 1:1 attention? A few months back I put an away message up on my FB business page messenger with a redirection to my group, email, or my packages if they were looking to work with me. It’s that simple. If someone messages me on my personal messenger I redirect them back into this group and honestly sometimes just can't respond due to the high volume that I get. Are you giving it all away for free or are you setting a boundary so if people want to pick your brain they need to pick a payment method (thanks Marie F for this one!) ??
2. Second identify your boundaries for working with clients. Do you have a questionnaire future clients need to complete in order to get on the phone with you? When you begin with a client do you start with a contract? Are you clear with how often you are available and the best way to reach you? Are you good at respecting your time and wrapping the call up when the time is over?
3. Lastly, identify personal boundaries. Does your partner or family know which are the best times to reach you and when you are in session or taking client calls? Mine does. This makes it so simple because they know which days are best to text me rather than call, because I’ll be back to back with clients. They know which days I am available if anyone needs help (say with grandma or an errand). And they know when my doors are open to come visit! This may sound structured and not like something you'd be interested in doing, but my family totally respects it and knows in the long run it allows me to get even more done efficiently without interruption so in turn I can spend MORE time with them. And think of it like this, if you were a surgeon in surgery for 8 hours, your family and friends would respect that it might be difficult to get back to you or a school teacher teaching 30 4th graders for 8 hours, you get the picture!
I want you to take some time to think about where you can start setting some boundaries in your business. What situations cause you the most anxiety? Write those down. Then strategize what first steps you can take to create a boundary in this area or situation.
Here is a quick video on this topic:
Have a blessed and abundant week,
XO Kate