Boundaries for Entrepreneurs | Virtual Assistant for Creatives
You’ve dreamed of owning your own business for years. You love the work, and feel so inspired when creating. On paper, everything looks like a wonderful lifestyle. In reality? You’re running around trying to keep up, your to-do list feels cyclical, you constantly feel like you’re failing in one area or another, and wonder when it’s all going to “click”.
If this is you, I’ve been there. And it’s time to talk about boundaries for entrepreneurs.
We all need boundaries as human beings, but ESPECIALLY as small business owners. The whole vision of what we want for ourselves falls apart with lack of boundaries.
Rewind a year ago, and I was burnt out. I was squeezing work around everything else, constantly feeling pulled in every direction, and eventually just equally numb and upset. I felt stuck by the limitations of the pandemic & the learning curve of motherhood. I felt powerless, so I did nothing. After a couple months I finally said ‘enough’, and started setting boundaries around my needs.
Everything changed.
I started asking for support, being clear about my capacity with those close with me, and making business decisions that felt good instead of forced.
As someone who grew up learning that needs don’t matter (thanks evangelical culture haha), this was hard to accept. But one day I wrote out every need I could think of. The length of the list made me uncomfortable. But it also made me realize that no one was going to be protecting those needs for me. Put a whole ass business into the blend, and I had a recipe for continued burnout if I didn’t do anything.
I realized how important boundaries for entrepreneurs really are for sustainability, and I started off being open to the process of saying “no” and cultivating out a lifestyle I loved.
So first things first,
What are boundaries?
For a long time I thought a boundary was telling others what behavior is okay/not okay for you. But implementing boundaries that way still felt off. What happens if they ignore your boundary? It still felt centered around other people’s behavior, and that didn’t provide me with the autonomy I craved.
I stumbled across a different angle on boundaries, and it’s this:
Boundaries are what YOU are willing to do (or not).
When you’re presented with a business opportunity or a family obligation or WHATEVER that brings up that tension of overwhelm inside of you, simply ask yourself what you are willing to do.
It makes it pretty fucking clear, and leaves all the responsibility with you - which is where you have control. I promise it’s a much more empowering way to go about setting boundaries for entrepreneurs.
When you set boundaries, you are crafting your lifestyle. You’re building your dream business because you’re saying ‘no’ to the things that don’t align. We’ve all been there saying yes to everyone when first starting out. And most likely that didn’t lead you far. As you grow as a creative entrepreneur you learn to start only saying Yes to the things that feed your dream work/life balance and career.
But beyond clients, projects and collaborations, there are boundaries you need to set with yourself too.
Maybe you need to hold yourself to a routine, or start creating more than you consume. You need to get real fucking honest with yourself about the ways you might be getting in your own way and find doable strategies to make changes. And I say “doable” because I don’t think sheer will power is a sustainable strategy & often leads to shame. Not here for it.
When it comes to boundaries with yourself, I highly recommend the book Atomic Habits. He talks about how our choices are votes for the person we want to be. And gives practical strategies to make changes in an effective and sustainable way. And we know how much I love practicality. haha
Okay so all this is well and good, but if you are still struggling to think about what boundaries might look like, here’s a list to get you brainstorming:
take email off your phone
have set office hours or set days off
stick to your policies! (have a good contract)
stop personalizing business things
create a routine for yourself (this has been so essential in my experience)
stop saying yes to projects that are draining
set up automations and systems so you aren’t doing repetitive tasks & wasting time
sleep with your phone in the other room
create an AM/PM routine that feels good to you
add some sort of movement to your daily routine
practice habit stacking
ask for help
have a clear client experience, so that you can communicate well with clients & not have to make up the rulebook every time
set a timer when you scroll social media
take up your space with your loved ones & say your needs outloud
set screen limitations
limit your coffee intake if it’s making you anxious
use a habit tracker (I have a FREE one for you HERE)
Okay but how do you take that list and get clear on what YOU need?
Everyone is different and you better not just copy/paste that list and think it will work for you. I dare you to remove “should” from the equation and think about what YOU need (no one else). That’s the only way this is effective for you .
Here are three ways to go about setting boundaries for entrepreneurs:
how do things feel? when you feel tension about something ask yourself if you need a boundary. how does it feel when you have good boundaries in place? keep it simple.
assess your needs, and align with your goals: this one is the “meatiest” part of understanding your boundaries. get really clear on your lifestyle and needs. I highly suggest writing out a list of your needs. at the very least it will help you get a clearer picture. just be honest and try not to judge yourself. then look at your goal-lifestyle. and align the two things to come up with tangible things that need to change.
what are your limitations? this one is worth asking yourself because it’s different for everyone. I am someone with chronic health issues, so my limitations are very obvious. I need to spend more time, money and energy on my health than a lot of my peers. If I don’t factor those things into my equation, I won’t have proper boundaries. but we all have limitations. get clear on yours and honor those things. you will only thrive once you do.
Having boundaries allow your business to serve your life, not the other way around.
We started working as creatives for a reason. Being intentional and setting up our lives with boundaries is the way to reach those goals. Even if it means difficult conversations, disappointing others, or losing the occasional ill-fitting client. It’s ALLLL worth it when you start actually enjoying and loving your life.
Your time becomes so much more free, rich and joyful when you start honoring your desires and living with room in your capacity. As a recovering hustler, this has been very new and very liberating for me. I hope these tips and tricks help!!
