Making More Time For Life Outside of Your Business

Last week we touched on a topic that was a personal to me, but I think important for other business owners to read about: setting boundaries and sticking up for yourself in your business. Building off that topic and idea, I wanted to move into how you can make time for your life and activities outside of your business (even if you feel like you are working 25/8).

This time last year I was at the beginning of a downward spiral business-wise and if I am being completely transparent with you, some of those feeling seep in from time to time – so I totally understand why last summer happened.

Here’s the thing – I am a summer lover to the extreme and living in Charleston fills my heart with joy. The days are already longer, warmer, and just calling me to be outside, be with friends, go on bike rides, lay out a the beach, etc.  Last year I let myself do that – and lost track of my business, put myself into stress mode, and ended up burning out because of weird schedules and making up for my summer fun. In an effort to avoid any of those sorts of mishaps from now on, I’ve made a lot of changes (which if you follow the blog, I’m sure you’ve gathered at this point).

But here we are, my favorite time of the year drawing close and days like today I find myself staring out the window and longing to be outside in the sun. But, luckily, this year I’ve got a few things as my disposal to make sure I don’t fall into the same traps as last year and still maintain my business WHILE having time for fun and a life.

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AUTOMATE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE

I know you hear this one a lot, but having things run smoothly with little to no effort is key for work/life balance. Invest in systems and/or people that can take things that you dislike, don’t have time for, or can’t do and free up your time to focus on your business (and have fun).

Hiring out a team is a super scary venture and I get how that can be something you want to put off. Even if you do decide that you’re not ready for a team, you can still save yourself hours by investing in software or programs that take work off your plate. My favorites are SmarterQueue and Tailwind – between the two of those most of my social media is taken care of.

You can also automate things like auto-responder emails that help you feel less anxious about needing to answer an email immediately. Something that ends up being a big distraction to me is getting an email with a quick ask (something that will take me less than 15 minutes) so I stop and do it really quick. Though it seems like a quick and innocent action, it reality that sort of multitasking actually throws a wrench in my overall productivity – so instead of sitting and having my inbox in my face all day, auto-responders can alleviate that feeling of needing to check it constantly.

Similarly, it helps me not feel anxious when I do get an email to my phone while I am not working. I still might peruse the subject and sender, but I don’t feel like I need to stop what I am doing (i.e. something not work related) to answer right away.

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WORK AHEAD WHEN THE OPTION PRESENTS ITSELF

This is something that I love to do. I do keep a pretty regimented schedule of what I am accessible to clients, but I don’t mind sometimes working into the evenings if I feel particularly motivated. My partner has a sporadic schedule sometimes, and most of my 9-5er friends aren’t super active during the week, so on a Tuesday night you might find me parked in front of a Tiny House Hunters marathon or you might find me working ahead.

What do I mean working ahead? Well, I make a weekly to do list on Monday and then each morning sit and pull the top 3 tasks from it that I want to work on that day. But sometimes, if I decide I feel like working, I’ll go ahead and knock some more things off that to do list.

I’ll be honest, it’s always the most fun things I decide to work on – making cute icons or creating a workbook – but regardless, it gets crossed off the to do list and opens up more time later in the week for me to relax, take a half day, or just feel less stressed.

So I know the point of this post was making time for your life, and you’re probably thinking “wow, working at night, what a life” but for me it clears up more time so that when there’s something I really want to do (go on the boat, etc.) I have already created space in my schedule for it!

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SCHEDULE DAYS OFF, HALF DAYS, OR SUMMER FRIDAYS

Another important thing I do is actually pre-schedule days I will take off or take a half-day. Maybe I know that the weather is going to be perfect and my boyfriend is going to have the afternoon open on a Thursday, so I’ll schedule a half day that day and make sure I get my work done accordingly around that.

I guess this exists in a traditional 9-5, so I’m just carrying over habits, but it’s a lot easier because no one is really going to be able to tell you “no” right?! I also have toyed with the idea of scheduling Summer Fridays this year, and stopping working around noon or 1pm on Fridays. I haven’t fully decided, but I think that’s an idea worth exploring. I know a lot of larger businesses do that and I think establishing myself as that type of business owner early on is a great idea.

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DON’T OVERCOMMIT

The biggest favor you can do yourself is not overcommitting you time. This is hard, especially when you start getting lots of inquiries and clients. It’s such an exciting feeling – but you have to be realistic with what you can actually do and accomplish. When I started really getting a lot of clients over the past few months, I had to stop and decide just how many hours a week was I a) willing to work on client work and b) actually able to work on client work. I landed around 25 hours/week of client work would be my maximum and have worked hard to keep it around that figure.

Overcommitting is easy to do – you don’t want to disappoint people, the money seems great, etc. But what will happen, in reality, is that your work will suffer and clients wont have as good of experiences, which overall will be much worse for your business. If you haven’t already worked out exactly how many clients you can take on (or how many hours of work you can do), I highly recommend doing that math.

"Overcommitting yourself is a slippery slope - be honest with how much you can do in a week." [tweet that!]

Overall, I’ll say that in my experience having a work/life balance is essential to not getting burned out – but focusing on the fact that regardless, the work needs to get done, is important too. I’ve been focusing on creating ways to make that happen that don’t feel like I am sacrificing “fun time” or “me time”  and that has seemed to work best so far!

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Sticking Up For Yourself In Your Business

When I first started TheCrownFox something that happened, a lot, was that I got walked all over. Not in a mean or negative way, but if someone asked me to do something outside the Scope of our agreement I would just do it and take the financial/time hit out of fear of hurting a client’s feelings or displeasing them.

Something that has happened in my recent business evolution is the ability to stand up for my work, my business, and myself with a lot more ease (suddenly). I’m not sure if it just falls under being more confident in my services and abilities, being a 2nd year business owner, or growing more as a person – but either way I’m proud that I’ve become someone who can stick up for myself in my business.

There are a few scenarios that call for this sort of strength: people asking you to do work for free, people asking for you to do more work than you agreed to (with no extra payment), people expecting unreasonable results in limited time frames, etc. I wanted to cover a few main ideas about this topic and help motivate you to a) stand up for yourself and b) notice these issue and be prepared to handle them in a professional, polite way.

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SAYING NO TO WORK THAT YOU DON’T WANT TO DO

As a designer in the online space I’ve rarely been faced with work that qualified as something I felt uncomfortable about, but before TheCrownFox I worked for a huge advertising agency briefly. I was desperate to impress everyone, eager to come in early and stay late, and overall an ‘overachiever’. One day I was presented to do work for a tobacco company that wanted to specifically target college kids in this campaign – and I felt sick to my stomach over it. I don’t smoke, I think smoking is not a good thing, and I definitely don’t think we should be targeting young people to take up this awful habit…

I felt really uncomfortable by the whole situation and conflicted over how to proceed. I didn’t want to look like a bad employee but I also couldn’t do the work. I finally discussed it with my superior and was met with nothing but kindness and understanding, which taught me a valuable lesson – you are allowed to say you don’t want to do something, you don’t feel comfortable, you don’t feel like you are able to do your best work, etc. People will respect your honesty and life will go on.

I haven’t been faced with that same scenario yet in my own business, but I say it to point out this to you: you don’t have to do work you don’t feel comfortable doing. If you think someone is selling scammy products or courses, and they want you to write their sales copy or design their graphics – it’s okay to say that you’re not the best fit. If you think someone is putting out the wrong kind of lessons and thoughts into the world through their business (for example: be extremely competitive, step all over people to move up, etc.) and that makes your heart hurt – don’t work with them. You can politely say this: “Thank you for thinking of me, but I don’t think I am the best fit for you in this project.”

"You are allowed to say no to a project as a freelancer." [tweet that!]

I’d usually recommend offering a suggestion of someone else to work with, but in this scenario you don’t even have to do that! Be polite, be courteous, and don’t let anyone have anything bad to say about you and their experience interacting with you – but do be direct.

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EXPLAINING YOUR PROCESS AND STICKING TO IT

Another scenario where you should focus on being direct and confident in your interaction with a client is when it comes to explaining your process. If you look at some of the most well known designers in our Internet space, something they all have in common is a very specific process – it what makes them stand out. Maybe it’s an incredibly short timeline, only presenting one logo, mailing a physical style guide, or something else – but it’s a process that they know works time and time again, and they only work in that way.

So here’s this thought that used to make me uncomfortable to acknowledge: I am the one in control. Yes, the client is paying me, but they are paying me because I can do something they cannot and they need my help. In this scenario I am the expert and I should be confident in that and in my ability to deliver.

I know that sounds really dramatic, like I am puffing my chest out or hair flipping – but I am not. I’m stating a fact. I was hired as the expert, the same way that I would hire a Pinterest expert or a copywriting expert to help me. So, remember that when it comes to explaining your process and sticking to it. Yes, clients have input and suggestions and ideas and boundaries, but overall you are the one that can and should present a plan of attack, a system, or a way to help a client (and they, in turn, should listen to your ideas, thoughts, and knowledge – trust me in this: there are dreamy clients out there who will think what you do is fantastic and love that you are bringing your knowledge to them).

When clients start to ask if they can drastically change parts of your plan, listen, acknowledge what they want, and yes, you can totally be adaptable and try to work with them.  But, you don’t have to be and you don’t have to work that you aren’t selling/offering in the first place. If you’re a sales page copywriter and you have a process that takes two weeks, one phone call, and one round of revisions but suddenly a client asks to make it last a month because they haven’t nailed down the details, and they need text message updates, and revisions from themselves, their partner, and their friend… it’s okay to say that wont work.

Again, I reiterate my point from above – be polite and courteous, but also be direct. You can say, “that is not my tried and proven process, I don’t think that is the best way to approach this project. We should get started after you’ve nailed down the details so we can contain this work into my 2-week time frame and multiple people can definitely offer revisions, but it is up to you to compile them and send them to me as one set of revisions.”

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GETTING OVER THE FEAR OF LOSING A CLIENT OR SAYING NO

I totally feel you right now if you are reading this and thinking “this makes sense, but I can’t actually be that firm. I need clients to make money.”

Well, yeah, you definitely do but you need the right clients if you want longevity in your business, to avoid being burned out, and to avoid having unhappy clients (because trust me, the more you bend to doing everything you don’t want to do for a client, the unhappier you’ll get, the worse the work will be, and the angrier the client will get).

Here are two thoughts that helped me greatly with the idea of saying ‘no’ to a potential client:

1. You won’t do your best work or make your best impression doing work you dislike/don’t want to do.

2. If you fill up your schedule with work that makes you miserable, you’ll never have time to take on the dream client when they show up.

Keeping those things in mind when I answer the email or get to the point in the phone call when it’s time to say “no” makes it so, so much easier.

"You won't do your best work if it's a project you don't want to do in the first place.' [tweet that!]

If it’s a client you’re already in contract with that is now making things more difficult, it’s okay to be polite yet firm in saying something along the lines of, “I’d be happy to send you a quote for that work, but it definitely falls outside of our original scope of work so I won’t be able to do that for you at this time.” In my experience, 9 times out of 10 the client doesn’t even realize that what they are asking for is outlandish and super time intensive.

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PREVENTING FUTURE ISSUES

Over time I’ve come to realize that a lot of these issues result from me not being confident enough in my abilities and not being clear enough in my initial interaction/documentation of the project.

I’ve grown more confident over time, and you will to (I definitely think this is a scenario of faking it until you make it), but being prepared will ultimately help you the most.

So first things first: establish your client process, write down every aspect of it. Write down associated timelines and expectations. If you need the client to have their copy due 5 days before the start date of a project, write that down. Make it fool proof as far as what you need and what has to happen for this process to work (for both you and the client).

Then, take all of those assorted due dates throughout the project and make associated late fees, so that the client knows you are serious.

Now, make that a deliverable option to send to clients even before booking (but again definitely after booking) so that they are very aware of the rules of the road. Bonus points if you make them initial or sign an agreement that they saw, read, and understood the process. (PS if you need help designing this deliverable option, it totally falls into my wheelhouse).

Now, make sure to send over a detailed Scope of Work that works in conjunction with your contract that states exactly what you will do for the client and exactly what deliverables they are to expect. Make note in your contract that any delays caused by the client will result in late fee charges, as that will slow up the remainder of the process.

Review all of these points in your consult call and/or email. People, in general, value specificity and you are definitely offering that. Once they’ve agreed to everything, though, you HAVE to follow through on your end and work within that timeline/process that you presented.

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Bonus Tips

You should also be specific about ways of communication. My contract used to say that phone calls must be pre-scheduled, and otherwise communication could and should happen via email unless we have established a workflow via Asana, Trello, (or similar programs) or Slack. Lately I’ve adjusted it to include that at no point is text messaging or Facebook Messenger a means of communication and messages sent through those channels might go unanswered. You can and should also specify when you are available: so I say that I am available 10am-5pm EST, Monday-Friday. Now I might answer/respond outside of those hours, but I want it listed so that I cannot be faulted for not answering a message at 8:30pm or something. Be specific!

I also want to take a brief second to point out something else: while you should have a process and a system – you totally have the right to be as adaptable as you want to be for certain clients. There are some clients that can ask me to do something completely out of my wheelhouse – and I’ll do it, but here’s why: the respect and understanding is already there and established, they are offering to help me expand my skillset by taking new courses or learning new information, and they aren’t going to be angry with me if it’s not 100% perfect the first time.

But I say that with the thought that that type of relationship should be developed and a goal to work towards, not an assumption. In my case I’ve been fortunate enough to work with amazing lady bosses who definitely fall ‘outside of the lines’ in our communication or ‘rules’, but that happened over time of getting to know each other, understanding our working styles, etc. In my type of work now, as I do basically join on teams, a lot of these ‘rules’ have been stretched but it’s always been through an understanding on both sides and done out of mutual respect. It should never feel like ‘you have to do XYZ to keep this client happy or else’ in my opinion.

Wow, as I blow past 2,000 words I should wrap this up by saying a few things: first, never be rude or mean to clients (or anyone) online. Your reputation is everything. BUT, you do have the right to stand up for yourself and your business. Just because someone is paying you does not mean they own you, your time, or your abilities. Being as specific and detailed as possible will only help you, and it is okay to lose a client or say no – because the dream client is out there and will respect you.

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