by Laurie Mazzarella
Know Your Values and Set Effective Business Boundaries
As every holistic business owner knows, good business management is the foundation of running a business smoothly. What most of you also know is that personal energy management is a prerequisite for running a business (and life) more effectively. Those of us who are responsible for businesses, clients and employees can easily find ourselves in situations where we feel burned out, stressed and not in control of our lives. We know the basics of living well like eating healthy foods, exercising and getting enough rest. However, I would like to add another factor to the list of basics, and that is boundaries.
Knowing your business boundaries is just as important and healthy as knowing your personal ones. Since many of us are on a 24/7 schedule, managing stress and walking a path of wellness can be a bit of a challenge. We are multitasking masters and dealing with many different types of personalities throughout the day. If we don't know where our boundaries are, it can spell B-U-R-N-O-U-T. There are many ways to say "no” and set a boundary, but first there is a need to determine when and why "no" would be the best practice.
How do you clarify your boundaries? First, take some time to discover those things that you truly value. This will help you know where you need to establish strategies in the structure of your business to avoid conflict. You will have definite parameters that you can work with.
After investing some “clarifying your boundaries and values” time, start proactively setting those boundaries professionally. For example, if one of your values has to do with spending evenings with your family, consider taking an action like recording an outgoing phone message explaining to callers that if it is after 8 PM (or whatever time you would like), that you will be returning calls in the morning. And, be sure you follow through. If you hear clients and employees complain that they are unable to reach you, try what a colleague of mine does. She records a different outgoing phone message each morning telling callers what her schedule of availability is for the day. She told me that her clients and employees were much more forgiving of reaching her voicemail and that callers were more assured that she would definitely be returning their call that day. She dealt with less client and employee stress and found it worth the time it took each day to help her clients and employees feel more secure.
We know that we need to earn income, and that is what makes it hard to say no at times. However, we need to know what our priorities are and how we can honor them to preserve our own wellness and sanity. Taking some time to “know thyself” and institute some guidelines is crucial in any client-demand business. If you need assistance with parameters for yourself, a coach can help you facilitate this process. As a coach, I have certain assessment tools for guiding my clients in finding their true values and clarifying boundaries. Why not invest in yourself and your business by truly determining who you are and what boundaries you need in your business?
Laurie Mazzarella is a Strategic Coach for Holistic Businesses with Inspiration, Inc. Her goal is to assist you in being well and successful personally and professionally. She can be reached at (800) 507-1620 X4 or click here to request a complimentary consultation.
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