Small Business Stories: Let's Talk about Setting Boundaries in Business
As a small business owner we can often find ourselves pulled in a million different directions. We want to do the best we can to make our business successful and that can sometimes mean going full out. I often see that meme “I left my 9-5 job and now I work 24/7”. But does it need to be this way?
Just because we are small business owners doesn’t mean that we are not still human first. A human that has physical, emotional and social needs beyond our business. And we need to honour that human. This is where I think boundaries come into your business. These are the guardrails that we put up for ourselves that help define what we will and will not do, when we can stretch, and when we’ve gone too far. What we will accept and what we will not.
What do boundaries in your business look like? Here are some common examples that I see:
Work 4 days per week
Work from 10-4 every day
Close Slack on the weekends
No social on weekends
Theme days, e.g. Monday’s are for bookkeeping, Wednesday is for CEO time.
Having boundaries is one thing, but do you even see them when you have them? You’ve probably unconsciously implemented some, but what if you were intentional about it? Can you reverse engineer your wants and desires to notice what your boundaries are or what you want them to be?
Last month, I talked to Skye Paul from Running Fox Beads about boundaries in her business. Skye is an artist that uses her traditional skills and knowledge to produce incredible beadwork. In this video, Skye shares with us her thoughts on the boundaries she has created for herself and her business.
Want to hear more Small Business Stories? Here’s the link to the previous one Taking Risks in Business.
