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Boundaries. They’re like the invisible lines that help us navigate our interactions and keep us from veering off course. Not only do they save us from burnout and keep our sanity intact, but they can even lead to more fulfilling relationships!

But have you ever wondered HOW you can set boundaries that strengthen, not hurt, our connections? What about how to define these guardrails in the first place to ensure you’re respecting your own needs while being aware of the needs of others?

In this episode, we’re getting real about how setting (and keeping) boundaries aren’t exactly a walk in the park. This is why I’m going to give you the exact questions you should ask yourself when setting personal boundaries, as well as professional ones with your team, clients… even with your loved ones and your usage of social media!

That’s right… we’re talking ALL things boundaries in this episode, so grab your favorite beverage and a pen and paper to take notes, because it’s a good one!

Personal Boundaries

1. When will you work and when will you unplug?: I’ve often talked about how I’m not pro-hustle culture but I am realistic that oftentimes to get a dream off the ground or a business launched, hustle IS required. If you’re in that stage of business, what will your boundaries be around working? Trust me, you’re going to want them or you’ll get burnt out. 
2. What do your work conversations look like with your partner/family?: Drew and I RARELY talk about business or work. Honestly, we like to keep life/life and while I love my work, I get that he doesn’t totally understand all the intricacies. If I talk about work with Drew, it’s more on a need-to-know or excited-to-share basis but we seldom actually talk about work. I think this boundary is so important because it can be easy to go too far one way or the other where you’re either ONLY talking about work or never talking about it and feeling unsupported. 
3. How will you plan for life events with your work?: What does your planning process look like in terms of ensuring that you’re not missing your LIFE and the events that are most important to you and how can you seize the control you DO have as an entrepreneur to have your work support your life and not have your life revolve around your work? I’ve been more proactive with this and a lot more flexible. Holding my plans more loosely. 
4. When is enough enough or when is it not working?: I have an entire chapter in my book about your “enough point” and establishing like: when are you going to slow down or let enough be enough. Drew and I were JUST having a conversation about this the other night. And then how do we establish if something is simply not going to work out. Like how deep will you go on an idea or business before you have clarity that it’s not going to work. Setting boundaries on both ends of the spectrum gives you a scale to really be honest about your efforts and the future of your business. 
5. How much are you willing to invest to make a go at this?: What boundaries and parameters are you going to set so that you know where the line is when it comes to investing in making your dreams happen. 
6. When it comes to social media, what is considered personal and what is business?: What will your boundaries be around social media since the two can easily bleed together. – I’ll talk about this more in a bit!

Boundaries With your Team

For most entrepreneurs, we never really imagine having a team – and I don’t know about you but I never went to boss school. Having boundaries with your team and being intentional about what that can look like will save you so much stress and frustration and even heartbreak, in the long run. 

1. How you prefer to communicate: I feel like we’ve always used Slack but truth is, we didn’t! We used to text and/or email to be in touch, Slack has changed the game in terms of communication. 
2. When you will be available: Set statuses, communicate on what the expectation is and leverage things like scheduling messages to help people disconnect and unplug more. 
3. What your relationship with your team, contractors, or employees will look like: Will you only talk about work? Will you share personal life details? How do you communicate? What does it look like in terms of your personal relationship outside of work? 
4. What are the expectations around work hours, holidays, time off, sickness, etc. I had to figure out how to handle things like maternity leave and what that would look like. 

Client Boundaries

When I first started out in business, I was accessible EVERY hour of every day, I didn’t leave the house without my laptop, people would be texting me asking for specific photos etc. Towards the end, I would give my phone number the WEEK of the wedding just for any last minute changes or emergencies but I was way more intentional and guarded and organized. 

1. When people can expect to hear back from you: Setting expectations early on and then reminding people of when they can expect to hear back with things like an autoresponder.  
2. If you’re willing to offer discounts or free offers: Decided I’d either have people pay full price and get the full experience or entirely free and then I got to choose how things went. 
3. How will you handle a dissatisfied client: What is your plan if you get someone who is unhappy with their purchase. Will you refund? Will you enforce policies? What is your plan – and here’s a pro tip: make that plan before you experience anyone who’s unhappy! It’s a lot easier to create when you’re not emotional. 

Boundaries in Business

Having boundaries that you put in place as you put yourself out there in a vulnerable way is so important and something we don’t often consider. I wanted to touch on this piece of things because we often think of boundaries in the ways I have already discussed, but the deeper I get, the more I recognize the power of boundaries while you’re in pursuit of your dreams and likely going to get feedback – whether you ask for it or not. So how do you navigate some of the more vulnerable and challenging parts of chasing your dreams? 

1. What parts of your life you’ll give people access to: For me, I was an open book as I was growing online and as my following has grown more over the years and I’ve matured more and entered a different stage of my own life, I’ve kind of pulled back in terms of what I’m willing to share and give people access to. I don’t show my kids faces online any more – we made that decision a year ago and it’s been so good for our family. I don’t often share my friends on my account etc. I feel like the most sacred parts of my life are lived and experienced offline when in the past everything was posted. 
2. How you will filter feedback and criticism: This has been a hard one for me especially when it comes to boundaries. I am highly sensitive and I’ve been doing a lot of work in therapy to unpack that but really getting clear on whose opinions you value, what you do with feedback, how you approach criticism and the roles they all play in your day-to-day life is a great thing to evaluate and set boundaries around. 
3. How you will make decisions for other people’s opportunities and invites: What filter will you run things through if/when you get invitations? What will your process be in making those decisions and how will you respond?
4. Who you’re willing to partner or collaborate with: How will you choose who you are willing to partner with and what you’ll use to make those decisions: is it values, is it financial, is it exposure, is it friendship, is it mission driven? 
5. How you will handle negative comments or online bullies: What will your tolerance be if a troll comments on your post? What is the boundary for your social media and access? Will you delete and block? Will you respond? Will you do nothing?

Now that we’ve covered the ins and outs of setting boundaries, it’s time to take action – consider the areas of your life or business that are screaming at you to create boundaries and start there.

The thing I want you to take away from this episode is that boundaries are NOT about building walls; they’re about creating clarity for you to navigate work and life in a way that supports whatever is most sacred to you. 

So as you go about your day, take a moment to reflect on where you might need to create or reinforce your boundaries and don’t be afraid to communicate them clearly and confidently. The people that love and respect you WILL respect your limits!

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