You need to set boundaries with clients to build a sustainable business, even if it feels uncomfortable at first.
A few years ago I was at a Christmas party. One of the hosts owned a construction company and needed an important advocacy letter written. When he found out I was a writer, he asked whether I could take it on.
“Sounds good,” I said. “When do you need this done?”
“Tomorrow morning,” was his response.
“Great!” I said. “I have a $1,000 overnight fee on top of my regular fee for the work.” I was only half joking.
In the end, he didn’t actually need the letter for another 10 days. He just wanted the letter by the next morning. Because why wouldn’t he?
Stop giving an automatic “yes”
Setting boundaries with clients is deeply uncomfortable, right up there with talking about your prices or accidentally sending a personal text to a colleague.
Especially when you’re new to running a business, you want to be known as a yes person so you can keep clients happy and coming back to you. You want to go the extra mile, all the time.
The thing is if you go the extra mile every time, you’re no longer going the extra mile, you’re moving the finish line. You get comfortable being accommodating, and that becomes a difficult habit to break.
Saying yes to everything every client wants is a surefire path to burnout, which is why you have to set boundaries with clients.
Clients will push for the most work done in the least amount of time for the lowest price possible because that’s how humans work. Without boundaries, we tend to take advantage of others because we assume the answer will continue to be yes until we finally hear no.
“She said yes to completing a 12-page report overnight five times already, she’ll have no problem saying yes a sixth time,” is the thinking.
This doesn’t make clients bad, necessarily. They have budgets to follow and deadlines of their own to meet. Often they put things off until the last minute and then leave it to you to scramble. If they have staff of their own, they’re likely used to their staff saying yes to their requests, because that’s what employees do. Or they think they need something ASAP because that’s their normal state of mind.
Often, however, when it comes down to money or time, money often wins out. Clients will agree to a longer deadline to save money. Or they’ll decrease the scope of the project, because budgets are almost always the most important factor.
But you’ll never know that if you keep accommodating everything, without asking for anything in return.
Start asking for something in return
The thing is, you won’t magically become comfortable setting boundaries or pushing back with clients. If your default is to accommodate everything, you’ll feel more comfortable saying yes and dealing with the burnout later than you will setting boundaries, even though boundaries protect you and keep your business more sustainable in the long run.
It’s something you have to practice so you can get comfortable with it, which means you have to be willing to be uncomfortable for a while.
The good news is setting boundaries doesn’t mean always saying no, it means figuring out what circumstances make “yes” worthwhile for you.
You don’t always have to state the boundary. Sometimes, your action or inaction sends a message. For example, I don’t respond to client emails outside of Monday to Friday, 9-5. I can tell clients that policy if I want, but by only responding during regular work hours, I send the message that’s how I run my business. They’ll adjust and adapt.
Get comfortable setting boundaries with clients
Figure out what your boundaries are and what would make it worthwhile for you to be flexible.
This includes parameters around things like rushed projects, expanding the scope of a project, or clients making demands on your time (such as wanting many long, tedious and unnecessary meetings). Give the client the choice of either meeting your requirements (more money, for example) or being flexible with their needs. That way, it’s up to them to set the priority and you aren’t turning down work.
In the above example, if the client had paid an overnight fee of $1,000 plus my regular rate, I would happily have gone home and written up that letter for him. That would have been worthwhile. But it wasn’t worthwhile to give up a fun night for my regular project rate. I gave him both options—pay me a much higher rate so he can get what he wants or pay me the regular amount and give me a few days to complete the project. Predictably, he chose to save money and I got to stay at the Christmas party.
Set policies for yourself about hours you’ll work, what constitutes a rush job, and when you’ll respond to clients.
Stick to them. Don’t let their behaviour push your boundaries. If you decide not to respond to emails outside of work times, then don’t unless it’s an absolute emergency (spoiler alert, in writing and editing, it’s rarely an actual, genuine emergency). They might send you an email after your work hours because that’s when they’re thinking about your project, but you don’t have to respond.
When clients come to you with an urgent situation, manage expectations.
Sometimes clients come to me one day (let’s say Monday) wanting something completed ASAP (which is vague as a deadline). I’ll often respond with, “I’m happy to work on this for you and I’ll have the time to focus on it this Wednesday.” Then it’s up to them to figure out if they’re okay with that. They almost always are.
It’s not your job to accommodate every request. It’s your job to build a sustainable business. Saying yes to everything isn’t conducive to sustainability.
While you might worry about losing business—and income—by saying no to clients, the truth is that unless you push back a little, clients will try to get as much out of you as they can for as little as possible. You’ll be limiting your income by saying yes to everything. Additionally, the harder you work for less money, the less time you have to find clients who respect your time and value your work.
When you set boundaries with clients, you show them how you expect to be treated and you set parameters for how you will respond when clients try to push those boundaries. Your boundaries don’t have to be set in stone–they can be dynamic as your business evolves and circumstances change. But you need to set boundaries with clients to prevent yourself from burning out.
Want to read more? Check out my previous post, “Why do you want to start freelancing?” to explore how your “Why” should guide your business decisions.
Ready to take your freelancing to the next level? Words That Attract Clients, shows you how to create messaging that truly reflects your why and draws in the clients you want. Start building the freelance business you’ve always dreamed of!