The Mentor Chair · Clients & boundaries
The situation
Messages arrive late at night and on days off, and answering them has quietly become part of the job.
From the mentor chair
One of the hardest things about working for yourself is realizing that nobody else is going to create your work hours for you.
There’s no manager turning the phones off.
There’s no front desk telling someone you’ll call them tomorrow.
And there’s no time clock telling you that your workday is over.
So if you don’t decide when you’re available, your clients will decide for you.
And most of the time, they aren’t even trying to be disrespectful.
If you’ve answered a client at 9:30 at night before, she has no reason to think 9:30 at night isn’t an acceptable time to reach you.
If you’ve answered appointment questions on Sunday for the last three years, Sunday has quietly become one of your business hours.
That’s why I come back to something I learned a long time ago:
You teach people how to treat you.
And in business, you teach your clients how to treat your time.
The expectation starts with you
Boundaries aren’t only something you create when a client becomes difficult.
They’re something you establish from the beginning.
What are your working hours?
When do you respond to messages?
How should someone book?
What happens if they message you while you’re off?
What actually qualifies as something that needs an immediate response?
You don’t have to announce every boundary dramatically.
Sometimes the boundary is simply not answering until your next working day.
Because every time you make yourself available outside the expectations you’ve set, you’re creating a new expectation whether you realize it or not.
Working for yourself requires discipline
This goes beyond texting.
When you’re your own boss, you can give yourself Tuesday off because you’re tired.
You can answer messages from bed.
You can squeeze someone in on your day off.
You can stay two hours late because somebody asks.
And every one of those things can feel harmless in isolation.
But without structure, eventually your business starts running you instead of you running your business.
Working for yourself gives you freedom.
But that freedom only works when it’s paired with discipline.
You need a routine.
You need working hours.
You need days off.
And you need to respect those things yourself before you can expect your clients to respect them.
Try this
Decide what your communication standard actually is.
For example:
Messages received during business hours are answered within one business day.
Then live by it.
If someone texts at 9 p.m., you don’t need to send a paragraph explaining why you’re unavailable.
Answer tomorrow.
If someone messages on your day off, answer during your next working day.
Over time, clients learn the rhythm of your business.
And when you consistently follow that rhythm, it stops feeling like a boundary you’re constantly enforcing.
It simply becomes how your business works.
Don’t confuse access with good service
Being a great stylist does not require being available to every client every hour of the day.
Your clients need you to be present, professional and reliable when you’re working.
They do not need unlimited access to you because they get their hair done by you.
There is a difference between providing excellent customer service and making yourself permanently available.
Mentor note
The goal isn’t to become rigid.
There will be times when you choose to answer something after hours.
There will be clients and circumstances where you make an exception.
But an exception should feel like your choice, not something you’re afraid you’re required to do.
Your business should fit into your life.
Your life shouldn’t have to fit into every empty space around your business.
Business Boundaries Worksheet
Coming during betaComing during beta.
Mentor principle
You teach clients how to treat your time.