On the podcast today I am talking about one of the most difficult and challenging topics of running your own business: Setting Boundaries.
How do you set boundaries for yourself while still creating an excellent client experience?
Before I even start this episode, I want to say that this is something I am still working on, but every year I feel that I get a little better at doing this. In the process of mentoring others for my one-on-one workshops, I can see already that this is a huge struggle for others.
So here we go!
The first thing you need to do in order to start setting up boundaries for yourself is recognize what is important to you! I have been photographing weddings and running my own business for almost ten years now so I will share with you what I have found to be important to me:
– Sleep
If there was one thing that was lacking in the earlier years it was sleep. According to the Sleep Association, the sleep needed for an adult to properly function is a minimum of 7 hours per night but they encourage up to 9 dpending on the person. I do not know about you, but sometimes 8 hours of sleep seems like a luxury. The busier you are, the more necessary it is for you to make that sleep a priority. Lack of sleep can cause accidents from lack of attention, moodiness, hunger, weight gain, and depression.
Try setting your phone to do not disturb once you go to sleep. If you are light sleeper like me this will help calls and text messages alerts prevent you from waking up when you most need your rest!
– Food
Food is a big obstacle for me. I hate to grocery shop and food is typically the last thing on my mind unless it is a piece of cake, a cookie or cookies and cream ice cream. However, Brad has been so great in helping to educate me about food and the power it can have over you! One thing we have started doing to help is buying enough chicken, sweet potatoes, and veggies to create pre-made meals for Brad and I to eat throughout the week. We make 14 meals at a time which takes a total of 2-3 hours to prepare.
I just listened to Chris Kresser this weekend speaking on the Joe Rogan podcast about food! I am not even going to begin to speak as though I am an expert in this area so I will just say, take some time to listen to that podcast because it is a good one.
– Personal Time
Food and Sleep are honestly the basics for survival. Personal time, however, is a way to keep your sanity. Work is awesome, but no matter what you do for a living, if you do not take time for yourself to do things outside of work you will eventually see work as a burden and an obstacle for life. One thing that makes me sad is when I start to feel like I am only seeing people I love through snap chat or Instagram stories. When I start feeling like this, I will Facetime or call a friend (if I don’t have time for an in person hangout) and I always make sure to spend at least 1-2 afternoons or evenings a week with someone I love.
– Most Things Have a Price
When I started my photography business, I did not realize what life would actually be like without weekends. My workdays on the weekends usually start between the hours of 11AM and 4PM and end between 11PM and 3AM. When it comes to Sundays however, I have learned to protect this day. Sundays are the day of the week that I sleep late, hang out with Brad and my family. I am asked very often to photograph sessions on weekends. So, how do I say no to this? I do not! I used to say no, and then it hit me one day that most things have a price! What amount of money would it take for me to wake up and drive to a session and not feel anything but excited about it? That is how I set my weekend fee.
Another example of something I was struggling with, is the amount of time I was spending on the road. Every moment that I am spending in my car is a moment away from home, away from productivity and a moment that I am also investing money into my vehicle, gas, and to go food. Once I started charging properly for miles I traveled, I stopped thinking of it as a burden and started seeing it as part of the job, which it is!
– But Some Things… you just cannot put a price on
It was New Year’s Eve about 5 or so years ago. Every year we would go to one of Brad’s friend’s homes for this HUGE New Year’s party. But, this particular year I booked a wedding on New Year’s Day. I wanted to do an amazing job for this day wedding and knew that I would not be my best self without enough sleep. I will never forget the feeling of driving away from the party before midnight with tears streaming down my face. It was an eye opening moment for me because I realized that there was no price I would accept for certain things. I realize these things could always change but if in this moment someone asked me to photograph a wedding that would prevent me from doing Christmas or New Year’s with my family, I would not take it. There is something about this time of year that is very very special to me, and there is no money in the world that would change this for me.
– The Power of Communication
As a business owner, I think one of the biggest boundary challenges for me is communicating a vision to my clients. So for example, as an artist it is very common to be asked to do things outside of your artistic preference. For photography, maybe that is doing certain poses, shooting in certain locations or even using a specific editing style. If it is something that I am okay doing (like photographing a specific pose) then I will adopt Jose Villa’s quote from episode 6 which is, “One for Thee and One for Me”. I will shoot one image that the client suggests and then shoot another that I feel good about. However, if I know the photograph will not turn out how they are thinking it will in their mind, I will simply communicate that idea to them. Sometimes, even going as far as showing or demonstrating to them can also help them to understand.
– Stand Up for What you Believe in
About one and half years ago, I made the decision that I was no longer interested in doing boudoir photography. I have only done a few sessions for close friends and family, but very quickly came to realize that this type of work simply is not for me. If you are not familiar with boudoir it is a type of photography described as intimate images primarily intended for the enjoyment of someone’s romantic partner. A few weeks a go I had a client ask about photographing a boudoir session for her husband. It is so hard to tell a client no, especially when you are a people pleasure. But, you have to assert yourself with confidence. I simply explained to her that it was not my area of expertise and I recommended other photographers that are awesome at it! If there is something that you are not good at or are not willing to do, just know this in advance. Also, have a script prepared so that when you are asked about it, you do not stutter over your words or lack the confidence you will need.
– “Turn Work Off”
Entrepreneurship is amazing and there is freedom in creating your own schedule by taking on as much or as little work as you want to. However, you have to set up boundaries in your work days or you will NEVER turn it off. This right here is probably the part of self-employment that I most love and hate. So I want to talk about a few things that I have done to sort of “Turn Work Off.”
Besides protecting my Sundays, another thing I do is I take off the entire month of December. I have personally made the decision to take off the month of December each year from photographing and use it to catch up, prepare my business for January, and enjoy the holidays. It was a crazy idea at first, because I could not imagine how I would take off essentially the most expensive month of the year. But, I have learned to budget and plan for this by scheduling payments to come in around those dates, spend less leading up to that month, and take on almost more work than I can handle in the months of October and November. If you have a desire in mind for your business, set it as a goal and make it happen! Michael Hyatt is a great one to follow if you are looking for tips on how to plan for time off and sabbaticals.
In episode 7 of the Podcast, I talked about setting boundaries with text messaging. We are in 2017, so I am also aware that text messaging is a very acceptable form of communicating for business, however email is my preference. To reinforce emailing as the best way to communicate with my I a) always am prompt with my email responses and b) email clients or vendors as a response to text messages. I will simply explain to them that it is the best way for me to stay organized and we will continue the thread this way!
– Remember That You are in it for the Long Haul
A while back, I was sitting across the table from my friend Lindsey Rogers and at the time I was coaching her for a one-on-one mentoring session, but since she has since grown into one of my very best friends. We were talking about being a photographer and how difficult it is to leave when the coverage time has ended. She said something like this “I love my job! I’m just not like you. When my coverage time has ended I just want to stay and hang out and keep taking photos!” But, I had to stop her, I immediately responded “I DO love my job. Which is why I leave when the coverage time has ended. I owe that to myself, to my client and to my other clients to leave when the coverage time has ended. If I stay for that client, it is unfair to my other clients. In order to continue to do what I LOVE for the long haul I HAVE to set boundaries and be fair to all of my clients by charging for my time.
– Trust Your Gut
It never fails that when I go against my gut, I regret it! If you have an inclination about something trust the way you feel because your gut feelings derive from your experience and instincts and going against that can often lead to disappointment and frustration! If you have a client meeting and you feel like you may not be a good fit, trust that feeling and lead them to another photographer that may better fit their personality or vision for the day. Sometimes, standing your ground may even call for charging the client. An example would be, if a client is asking for more photos or more details and you know there is not enough time in the schedule for this, simply explain that in order to fulfill this request they will need to add time. It is only uncomfortable when you cannot meet their needs and have not taken the time to explain this to them on the front end.
– Knowing Who Your Client Is
Often times if you are providing a service for your client, you may have someone outside of your client request something of you. In photography, that could look like an aunt asking you to take certain photos or a guest asking you to take photos of them during the wedding. I always defer to my client first in these situations. If I am already occupied taking photos of the client, I will agree to take the aunt or guests photo after I have fulfilled the request of the client. You can often feel pulled in one thousand directions, but just remember what your job is and why you are there!
– Remember That YOU steer the ship
A few years ago I was really struggling with boundaries in both my business and personal life so my aunt gifted me with the book Boundaries by Henry Cloud and John Townsend! I am going to link this book below if anyone is interested in checking it out. It is such a good read!
LINKS REFERENCED:
Joe Rogan & Chris Kresser Podcast
Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No To Take Control of Your Life by Henry Cloud
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