Building Business Boundaries
Your Business Isn’t You.
As women, we’re taught that we must make ourselves available, be in service of others, and put others first. So it’s no wonder that many independent interior designers have trouble with boundaries. Society tells us it’s not polite to tell someone “no”.
Running a design business can be very personal, especially when you are doing it solo. You are the one wearing all the hats and directly available to clients. You’re in their home. Often clients become friends.
The key to building business boundaries is to put something substantial between you and your clients. And your business is what goes between. Clients aren’t hiring you - they’re hiring your business. This is a small, but significant mindset change. It’s important to think of your business as a separate entity from yourself. You may have a hard time with enforcing boundaries, but for your business it’s crucial.
Would you call your grocery store and expect an answer at midnight when they close at 9 pm?
Would you call to make a doctor appointment and say, “So I work during normal business hours, can you fit me in on a Sunday after my kid’s soccer game?”
Would you send a text message to your insurance agent at 11 pm wanting to know about a policy clause?
Nope. Nope. Nope. You respect other businesses’ boundaries, why wouldn’t you respect your own business boundaries?
Boundaries Start with You.
Sticking to your boundaries starts with you. You must be the enforcer. Clients and others aren’t going to automatically do that for you. You can build policies into your business that will help you implement boundaries in your business easily. (Check out Creating Interior Design Business Policies.)
But if you begin letting your boundaries slip, clients will take the lead from you.
Boundaries are necessary for winning at this running a business thing. You won’t feel fulfilled and satisfied if you let clients run all over you, if you’re answering texts at 11pm or on Sundays. When you have to take a call during your kid’s soccer game or when you have to work late into the evening because of a last-minute “emergency” meeting that wasn’t an emergency after all. Other people won’t respect your boundaries if you don’t first.
Building Business Boundaries.
You may know where your boundaries slip and slide. Tighten those up. Here are some suggestions on where to look first.
Business Hours
Knowing your official stop and start time is important for your work-life balance, but it’s also good for clients to know when they can get ahold of you - by setting their expectations with business hours. Something else to consider is activity-specific hours, for example, you may not schedule meetings on Mondays or after 4pm. Create boundaries around your time.
Respect Your Boundaries: If you expect clients to not email you at 2 am, you better not respond to that email. Keep your own hours and don’t take calls or respond to texts or emails outside of business hours.
Communication
Let clients know when and how they can expect to hear from you. Do you use text message? Can they call your personal cell phone? If they leave a message can they expect a response the same day or the next day? Do change requests have to come via email? Who receives invoices and when? Will you respond to a DM on Instagram? The better you can lay out your communication plan, the better clients will be at respecting those times.
Respect Your Boundaries: If you want clients to not use text to communicate, you better not respond via text. Create a communication plan that benefits you and your clients.
Get A Business Phone
A real easy way to create some personal space is to not use your personal cell phone for business. Get a separate business number and turn it off outside of business hours. This also creates credibility and professionalism for your business.
Respect Your Boundaries: Don’t want clients to call at 8 pm on Friday night? Don’t give out your personal phone number, or at least don’t answer.
Add a Business Email
This could be support@yourbusinessname.com, office@yourbusinessname.com, hello@yourbusinessname.com, or something similar, essentially it’s the general email address for your company. This is where new client requests will come in, what you’ll use when sending invoices or payment reminders, or meeting reminders, all the admin stuff that is necessary but doesn’t need to come from yourname@yourbusinessname.com. This email helps create separation between you and your business. Plus, when you hire someone to help with these tasks you can give them access to this email inbox for a seamless transition.
Respect Your Boundaries: Don’t want everything to feel so personal? Use your general email address and save the fun design stuff for your personal business email.
Boundaries at Home
The previous boundary tips were for client relationships, but this tip is for your personal boundary. You need personal boundaries when you are a business owner so you don’t run yourself ragged and neglect yourself and/or your family. If you work from home, you need to have hours that you can work without distractions. You can’t run a business if you have children, spouses, or pets constantly interrupting. Give yourself the gift of the undisturbed hours you need to run your business so you can be fully present for your family and life for the remaining hours.
Respect Your Boundaries: Want uninterrupted time to work? Create it and enlist those around you to help.
Your turn! What boundaries have you set in your business? What could use improvement?
About The Author
Hi! I’m Capella and I’m an interior designer who helps fellow designers build their businesses. Forget secrecy and competition, I believe designers should support and uplift each other. By helping and boosting one another, we can elevate the business of interior design together! Hang around a bit and I’ll share all the business “secrets” no one else wants to talk about.
