Boundaries in Business

Boundaries in business.

Admittedly, I had shitty boundaries at the beginning of my business.  I allowed others to bend mine in ways I would never dream of pushing others.

A turning point for me was the first time I invested in a “high level” mentor.  It was the first time investing $10, 000 a month in coaching & due to time zone differences I would stay up late to catch our calls.  For our first 1:1 call I got a text “Hey, on live. Can we push our call back 15 minutes?”.

I didn’t even think twice about it, “Of course! No problem!”

I got back “Come over & join the live!”.

I have clients that hear that story & laugh because they were actually on the live when this all went down not realizing it was me on the other end.

Not once did I think “What a bitch”, “How dare she?!”, I thought “What a fucking badass!”.  It was in that moment I gave myself permission to do things differently.

This was a hard one for me in the beginning, however.  Around the time of the above story I noticed the exact same patterns beginning to emerge that I had when I was a counsellor on call for group homes & emergencies…

I would literally get anxiety checking my phone as I always felt I had to be “on”.  

On to DM’s.

On to Voxer.

On to Facebook.

On to Kajabi.

On to emails.

And on to any other app that had the ability to send messages.

I was literally available 7 days a week, almost at any time (as long as I was up).  I would even panic at the cottage if the internet was too spotty to receive messages.

This was on me, yes, and in a world of Amazon Prime & high speed internet.  In a world of NOW, instantaneous everything, we can also put pressure on small businesses & entrepreneurs to be “on” & available all the time…

And, I do believe sometimes there IS that expectation.

Sometimes this is even taught in business, that you HAVE to be available whenever the messages come through.

Sure, there are times that I am called to check my Voxer on weekends, or pop into program chats on weekends, or drop into my DM’s.  Yet, it is because I am pulled, not because I HAVE to.

We all need space to unwind & disconnect.  It is not healthy to always be on & available

I realized, reflecting on what led to those weak boundaries, that I had a deep fear of letting people down, or triggering people's emotional waves (undefined solar plexus).  I have also seen clients afraid to not check out of fear of losing a sale if someone had to wait.

YET, for a business to grow & for you to be able to sustain the growth you MUST have boundaries in place.

And those boundaries may change over time, that is ok as well.

I do believe we must shift how we perceive coaches & mentors in the online space & their availability.  Did we all not get into this for more freedom?

Let’s support women running BUSINESSES.  Being the CEO.  Making CEO moves.  Cultivating freedom & STILL being of service.  Still giving a massive damn about her community & clients even though she has boundaries.

AND, women entrepreneurs, set those boundaries & stay strong in them.  Sure, the pressure may still be there yet claim who you are available for AND how your business runs.

Think long term.

Think being in it for the long haul.

And protect your precious energy.

It doesn’t make you a bitch.

It doesn’t make you less caring.

Give so many fucks you set your business up for long term success. 

And, notice patterns so that you can shift them.  I burned out & left the counselling field many years ago.  Noticing the patterns in my business allowed me to shift them so that I do NOT burn out here as well.

Happy weekend my friends!

Hope to see you on the Manifestor live on YouTube Monday, if you are a Manifestor!  More content will be happening over there starting next week so make sure to subscribe!

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