The Art of Setting Business Boundaries for women in marketing
Calling all women in marketing! Let’s talk about nailing your business boundaries.
As a small business owner, you're undoubtedly driven and passionate about your work.
You pour your heart and soul into making your services business thrive and bend over backwards to deliver the goods for your clients. However, it's crucial to recognise the importance of setting boundaries to protect your well-being.
If you have recently (which is a relative term) shifted from being an employee working for someone else, it’s now time to take a beat and re-think the way you protect your time and energy.
Passionate freelancers or self employed marketers are often guilty of pouring from an empty cup and giving their all to clients - without considering what kind of business they are building and whether this constant over-delivery in the name of “high standards” is sustainable or dare I suggest, profitable.
If you can’t figure out how to service more clients or you’re struggling to manage the ones you have - then strap in!
Fact: Service providers are wired to deliver excellent service. This means you are probably putting your needs last because your sense of integrity often won’t let you deliver anything less than 100%—every time.
Fact: If business growth suddenly feels impossible and you're doing the dance of "I have no time to deliver my current work" coupled with "So how will I ever earn more money?" then you may have a business boundaries issue.
Let’s deep dive into why we should all be implementing boundaries in our marketing businesses and what a having basic business boundaries might look like:
What are business boundaries, and why do they even matter?
Boundaries, in the context of small business ownership, mean establishing limits and guidelines to protect your time, energy, and personal life from being consumed by work-related demands. Implementing boundaries helps you strike a healthy balance between your professional and personal life, preventing burnout, maintaining relationships, and promoting overall well-being. Sounds ideal right?
The worst part - aside from working all the hours - is that when we have poor boundaries, we tend to attract other people with poor boundaries. We end up with clients who don’t value our time. Because we haven’t shown them that WE value OUR TIME. Sneaky hate spiral coming right at you.
What does a marketing business WITHOUT boundaries feel like?
You’re suffering from the 3 Ps: ImPoster syndrome, perfectionism, and people-pleasing.
Spending additional time on clients but not billing for it #overdelivering
You’re avoiding raising your pricing despite an increase in your skills, knowledge and expertise.
Hustling through impossible deadlines and saying yes to absolutely everything with no pushback.
Clients break all your boundaries with no consequences from you because you’re too worried to pull them up on their behaviour.
Neverending client communications fill your inbox and give your crippling anxiety.
Five reasons why your marketing business needs boundaries
Preserving your precious time and energy. Being a small business owner often means wearing multiple hats and juggling countless tasks and responsibilities. It's easy to fall into the trap of overworking and neglecting personal time and self-care. By setting clear boundaries, you avoid overexerting yourself, allowing for adequate rest and rejuvenation. This way, you can consistently bring your best self to your business and avoid exhaustion.
Boosting productivity and focus. Boundaries help you focus on the most important shit, avoiding distractions and time-wasting. By setting clear boundaries on working hours, response times, and availability, you can carve out uninterrupted periods for deep work, strategic planning, and creative thinking.
Maintaining healthy relationships. Establishing boundaries ensures that you have quality time for yourself, your family, and your friends to do whatever you need to do. By prioritising personal connections, you strengthen your support system and create a healthier work-life balance.
Strengthening professional relationships. Communicating your boundaries effectively helps set expectations with clients, suppliers, and collaborators. When you clearly define response times, preferred communication channels, and working hours, you establish a professional framework that fosters respect, trust, and effective collaboration
Avoiding chronic burnout. Small business owners often face the risk of burnout due to the demanding nature of their work. This is particularly true for women, who often assume additional household responsibilities. Boundaries act as a safeguard against burnout by preventing chronic stress and exhaustion, enabling you to sustain your passion and motivation in the long run. Because at the end of the day, you’re not Wonder Woman, and you can’t do this alone
A marketing business with boundaries feels like:
Freedom and flexibility within your business work hours to get shit done.
Knowing what behaviours you tolerate (and what you don’t).
A process for how clients can get more of your time and expertise.
Established boundaries that are repeated in all areas of your business marketing to truly drive home who you are and how you do business.
You’re utilising tools, systems and processes that allow you to create a business that is aligned with your why.
If you’re thinking, “Shit, I need a bit of that”, then carry on reading, my friend.
Creating and implementing boundaries means you’ll have the framework for a sustainable and fulfilling marketing business that you love.
Get out of the hate spiral, sit the F down and dive deep to define your boundaries, communicate them clearly, don't be afraid to repeat them and make a conscious effort to honour them.
Remember, setting boundaries isn't selfish; it's an essential part of running a successful, balanced and badass small business.
