5 Business Boundaries to Make Non-Negotiable in Your Biz, Sis!

Hey sis!

In today’s BONUS episode, I walk you through FIVE business boundaries that should be non-negotiable in your life and business! We will go through them, one-by-one with examples of how I personally implement each.

These disciplines have helped me scale effectively while still keeping my priorities in line! In order to have time, space, and focus in your business it’s critical that you set up boundaries BEFORE you get too far in.

These are hard lessons I’ve learned after growing my business wild and free in the early days vs. now – full of structure, automation, and boundaries! And truthfully, the way I operate NOW is 100000% better. More freedom, more peace, and – way more PROFIT.

I hope you enjoy today’s bonus and learn, but more importantly, I pray that you implement these strategies! Never a better time than NOW to make the changes that will transform your life.

Love y’all! XO.

FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPTION:

(00:00):

Hey sisters. In today’s episode, I am sharing with you five non-negotiable boundaries that I have set up in my life and business that really create massive success for me on my terms, because I’m all about working from home in my PJ’s. I’m literally recording this episode for you guys from my phone while my kids take a bath right here in the bathroom next to me.

(00:25):

And so I want that for you, but it all starts with you really getting gangster on your boundaries. You really deciding to create more discipline in the way you structure your life in business so that you can show up with more purpose, with more intentionality and partner with God in every aspect. I know you guys are gonna love this.

(00:49):

This is super important that you listen to this episode before you do all of your goal setting before you joined me in the Dreamer Summit that I’m speaking at, December 5th, that you go through this episode first because we have to bring our disciplines and our boundaries into our goal setting.

(01:08):

So this is right on time. Take notes, pour into this one, yu guys, I know that it’s going to really inspire you and make a big difference for you next year, before we dig into these five boundaries that you’re going to set up, I want to remind you that prices go up for coaching on January 1st.

(01:29):

If you’ve been thinking, praying, considering doing coaching with me. now would be the time. There’re multiple reasons for that reason. Number one, I want you to be set up for success in 2021. I want you to have absolute clarity. What am I doing? What is my messaging and four tiers of brand creation? I want to get all the things mapped out so I can actually launch the podcast in the beginning of the year. I need you guys to have absolute clarity. And that is what I do.

(02:03):

I offer clarity inside of my coaching sessions. Book a one hour, you will not regret it. Now, reason number two, maybe those of you are stuck on how do I monetize this thing I’ve created. I’ve created the podcast, but now I don’t understand how I’m supposed to make money from it. What’s my course, what’s my offer? Let’s do an hour and jam those things out together so that you have a strategy.

(02:28):

And all you have to do is go create the actual things. So you can start profiting and reason. Number three, pricing goes up January 1st. So now your opportunity to get coaching with me at this incredible rate, you guys, coaching. Your time should always be the third, the most expensive, the most optimal space for people to work with you truly because your time is money. And right now in my business, it’s not structured that way.

(03:03):

And so coaching is often one of the first things that people do with me, and I’ve truly just hit capacity and which is such a blessing. And I’m so grateful. However, I have my boys. They’re young, we’re still doing distance learning over here. I’ve got all my other things that are happening. I’ve got this podcast, I’ve got the mastermind programs.

(03:24):

I’ve got my elite clients who have been with me for a really long time. And so there’s just not capacity to continue growing the coaching business at as the first point of entry to be really honest with you guys. So it is now going to become the third level, which means pricing is going up quite a bit. So if that has been on your heart, do it now. As long as you book with us before December 31st, you are good to go.

(03:50):

Also, those of you that have done a one hour and you want to book a package, I would highly recommend locking in your package before the first as well, so that you can get current pricing. I want to serve you guys. I’m so excited to work with you at a deeper capacity.

(04:05):

And I know that if God has this on your heart, where there’s a will, there is a way, and don’t forget you can always ask for it as your Christmas gift. That was how I got some of my very first courses, how I met with some of my very first coaches was, Hey, honey by the way, can I have this for mother’s day? Can I have this for Christmas? I’m not kidding. All right, friends, let’s dig into the five non-negotiable boundaries in your business.

(05:21):

All right, sisters! Boundary number one is that you have to set standards for yourself when it comes to your work. And what I mean by this is you have to decide how much do I want to be in the weeds of this business? You have to have standards for yourself. And some of the things you can implement to make sure that you do this our first journal, what does the ideal situation look like inside of this business?

(05:49):

How much am I working? What am I actually doing? Getting out a sheet of paper and writing down a list of the things you love, the things that light you up within your business, and then the things that you don’t love, the things that make you go like, I really disliked doing this thing and making a list of those so that you can begin to outsource.

(06:08):

So one of the very first boundaries that I should’ve set up, but one of the last that I actually implemented, I was making myself the visionary in the business and setting up boundaries of things. I was not going to do any longer setting up work hours and making sure that just because at the beginning I was a solopreneur, it didn’t mean that I worked 24/7. And it didn’t mean that I had a permission slip to be a workaholic.

(06:38):

So, number one, what are the boundaries you need to set for yourself in 2021 when it comes to your work hours, when it comes to the things you’re doing within your business and the things that you need to outsource. And again, I feel like I’ve said this 100 times, let me go ahead and say it a little louder for those of you in the back, it’s time to get help in your business or in your life so that you can do more in your business.

(07:08):

Ladies, get resourceful. I used to go to the gym and my kids would be in the daycare. And I would use the extra hour of daycare, time to work the business. Some of my clients have interns that are free, that are helping them in their business. Do you have a family member that can take the kids one day a week so that you can work? Do you have a spouse who you can have that really serious conversation with about the fact that you just need one weekend to create the course?

(07:37):

What are you not prioritizing? And what are you not communicating on? What are you not delegating? Those things need to change those boundaries and those disciplines need to be set. And let me share with you guys, something that I just really feel is on my heart. The sooner you implement this stuff and know it’s not easy to set boundaries and disciplines, but the sooner you do it, the better you’ll be set for success.

(08:04):

As you scale your business is just going to grow ladies. Okay? Like if you’re doing all of the strategies, I teach you. If you’re in my courses, if you’re in my masterminds, if you’re with me on this, I know your brand is going to grow because I’ve helped people do this over and over again. And so it’s so critical that you act as if from day one.

(08:31):

All right, boundary number two is you have to have boundaries with your clients and your team. Now, maybe you’re just on your own right now. You don’t have any clients yet. You don’t have a team. It’s okay. You will. And so it’s still important for you to set this up in your mind and just plan on it before ever hire someone before you ever take your first client, you already have this in your mind. So what do I mean by setting boundaries with their clients?

(09:04):

If you guys are a coach, if you guys meet with clients, if you guys run programs, how many of you are doing free calls that lasts 30 minutes? How many of you are doing 30 minute sessions that actually take an hour? How many of you are going? You’re booking six calls and you’re doing the free one because you’re just not done. How many of you are moving the boundary because it’s a client?

(09:31):

That’s got to stop. There’s going to be a time where you’re maxed out. And let me tell you what your time is, the most valuable, incredible asset that you have. Your every minute of your day matters. It could be going to your kids or your spouse. It could be going to a hot bath with bubbles, good book, or that Bible study.

(10:00):

It could be going to a walk outside in the fall with the leaves with fresh air. Just some time with you and God, it could be going to God and your prayer closet, like every minute matters. And those of you that are not valuing your time, you are not setting boundaries with your time with your clients and your team. It has to stop right here right now.

(10:27):

Now you’re like, Oh no, but now I’ve already created this standard that I just answered the phone whenever. When my team calls, I just take it whenever. When my VA needs me, I just immediately drop everything. You get to set the hours within your business that you show up. You get to have structured office hours. In that time, that’s when people can get ahold of you, period. Nobody gets a hold of me on the weekend.

(10:56):

I don’t work on the weekends. You guys I’ve had clients ask me, can’t we just meet on Saturday? No, we cannot. Absolutely not. I’ve had people ask me, can’t we just meet at eight at night? No, we cannot. We absolutely cannot. Do you do Hey Stef, don’t you do free calls with people before they book you as a client? No, I do not. Okay.

(11:16):

I have boundaries within my coaching business that has allowed me to grow and scale to the capacity that I am. I have a multi six figure coaching business alone. Forget about the courses. The coaching business alone is extraordinarily profitable. How did I do that? I set up boundaries. I decided that if people really wanted to coach with me, they’d take the leap. So, I didn’t need to have a 30 minute conversation about what that looks or feels like.

(11:50):

That’s what the podcast is for, right? I don’t need to do free calls with people. That’s what the podcast is for. I don’t need to do discovery calls. That’s what the podcast is for. That’s why I have coaching here on the air. You already know what you get with me. I am a completely open book. Also having pricing. That’s reflective of your demand. That needs to happen.

(12:12):

Those of you that are still coaching at 50 bucks an hour for the past five years, and you have 20 clients a week, that’s got to stop. And I know that there’s this weird mindset thing, especially for those of us that are Christian about raising prices and feeling guilt or shame around that. I can’t raise my prices again. I just raised them last year or whatever it is or like, am I really, what if everyone else is coaching at 80 bucks at 50 bucks an hour though, Stef like, how can I raise my prices?

(12:44):

You have to step up into your value and you have to put on your business hat. I believe that when God opens the flood gates and He’s calling us to serve in whatever capacity that we’re meant to serve, we have to be willing to take that success so that we can do more good for the kingdom. And you working at 50 bucks an hour, doing coaching for the past five years at a capacity that’s draining you.

(13:14):

And that’s taking every minute of your time away from your family, from your health and from your relationship with God, that has to stop. Also at that level, are you really making an impact? Are you tithing at the highest capacity and giving to organizations that lights you up? Are you getting out of debt? I don’t know, but I’m going to venture and say, now that there’s a different, more impactful life for you on the other side of breaking through the fear of success.

(13:46):

So in this boundary, in this discipline, my discipline is that whatever I book with my clients is exactly what they get. What you book with me is what you get no less, no more. We have a really open door communication policy. Also having boundaries with pricing. The prices are what they are. I don’t change my prices based on different people. I don’t change, my prices in the menu are the prices in the menu. And that’s what it is.

(14:23):

I’ve had people come to me like, well, can’t you like, I’m having trouble financially. And I don’t know if I get like… Look, I’m sorry, but I have to have boundaries here because your problems are not more important than someone else’s problems who’s been saving to work on this with me for six months. So one of the tips I have for those of you getting into the coaching industry, when you decide on what your pricing is and make it stretch yourself, okay, go up a tad, but base it on demand.

(14:59):

And then hold fast, steadfast, lock into that rate until you max out your book for 60 to 90 days. So typically my rule of thumb, my discipline in my coaching business is once I’ve hit the max client load, which is truly roughly about 20 recurring clients every month, because I also have the one-on-one hour and a half hour that are for my students.

(15:25):

And I’m running a Podcast to Profit mastermind as well. So roughly 20 recurring clients is my max. When I’ve hit that number and held fast for about 60 to 90 days, it’s time to raise my prices. Why? Because I don’t want to turn business away, but I do need to create a bit more of a barrier to entry because that’s the amount of time that I like to spend in my coaching business.

(15:59):

So that I’m really intentionally here, the rest of the time, doing all the other things I need to do, right. Staying as the visionary. So you need to have boundaries with yourself and your clients, those of you that do not, I want you to journal over what needs to change. What does this need to look like? And guess what? January 1st is the perfect time to make those changes, to have those conversations, to implement new office hours, et cetera.

(16:27):

All right. Number three, you need to have boundaries in your content. Some of you are spending five, 10 hours a week on content creation. Oh my gosh. Let’s have a moment, Lola. Hear me? Okay. You gotta have boundaries in your content. Listen to my episode, roughly, I don’t remember the number. It was like episode 218 or 219 when I talked about the push versus pull method. You got to have boundaries.

(17:01):

So my boundaries are, I’m creating a one piece of written content that goes with each podcast episode. Also, my discipline for myself is a minimum of two podcast episodes a week. And my third discipline when it comes to content is I am not creating extra content that goes on different platforms. One piece of written content that goes with my episode that we use everywhere.

(17:29):

And we repurpose that. So those of you that don’t have any boundaries in your content creation process, you got to get some, because again, social media is not growing your brand. It’s not growing your business. Sorry to bust your bubble. A podcast partnered with Pinterest is really the secret sauce to growing an organic evergreen funnel. And it’s super easy. So this doesn’t mean I don’t do any content. It just means I really have a high level of discipline here, because I know that it’s wasting my time.

(18:02):

If I spend more than maybe 30 minutes on this every single week, yes. You heard that right. Roughly 30 minutes on my content per episode. So let’s say an hour, max, how much time are you spending there and what needs to change?

(18:20):

The fourth boundary, number four is social media and technology boundaries. Every person who is extremely successful and intentional running multi-six figure, and seven figure businesses they have boundaries when it comes to social media and technology. And if they don’t, they are having anxiety attacks. They’re having mental health issues, depression, anxiety, believe me. I know many of them.

(18:51):

And I also know many that have the boundaries in place, and they are running extremely profitable businesses in 20 to 30 hours per week. And I’m raising my hand because I’ve actually been both. I’ve been the workaholic working 50 hours, 60 hours a week in my business, no boundaries when it came to the phone and no boundaries when it came to technology and my health was awful.

(19:17):

My relationships were awful. So many things were just hindering on breakdown. And it was when I decided to create boundaries for social media and for technology that everything really transformed. You’ve heard me talk about this. So I’m not going to go crazy here, but just in a nutshell, I turn off my social media apps every single weekend, unless I’m in a launch or something crazy, which is like twice a year.

(19:51):

From Friday through Sunday night, no apps, no Instagram, no Facebook, no Facebook messenger. They’re gone. Why? Because I have an addiction. And so do you, so does all of America because, if you haven’t watched the social dilemma yet, go watch it and you’ll learn why, but we are being played and we are being paid for by the advertisers. And so it’s the brain. It’s literally a drug. Now, when it comes to technology, we also have boundaries here, no technology at the dinner table, no work after roughly 5:00 PM, no phone before I do my Bible study, in the morning.

(20:32):

Boundaries. And you’ve got to lock in to what you need and want your life to look and feel like, and get so disciplined and do not fall prey to peer pressure, do fall prey to what everyone else is doing. Even if your spouse is not on board, you be the example, you’ll make the change. Some of the most incredible changes that I’ve seen are not because I tell someone to do something, it’s because I do it and I model a certain behavior.

(21:06):

They decide that they like what’s been happening for me because of that choice that I made. And they decide to try it too. And that’s exactly the same concept, like for advantage, for evangelizing others or leading by example, as a Christian, it’s do it, lead, pray, and then see what happens and see how others are transformed through your example.

(21:30):

That’s what I feel that be the salt really means. We get to be the seasoning of the earth and people are looking at us to examples and to being the life and to being the light. So what boundaries do you need to set in your social media, in your apps and with your technology, write them down and actually implement them.

(21:51):

I can tell you guys this stuff until I am blue in the face. And I literally, if I could just show you how different your life would be. If you broke the social media addiction every week, just on the weekends to start, you would not believe me. But I’m telling you, you’re going to feel so at peace. You’re going to begin to see you. You see more clearly because you’re not stuck in this constant reactive mode.

(22:21):

Your children take on a new life because you’ve literally been ignoring them. You’ve been living your life through a phone, through a scream instead of living your life on purpose. And you will, it’s the most woke you’ll ever be. Okay, you’re going to wake up and go, Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I’ve been living this way for far too long. I promise you. It is so worth it.

(22:44):

If you want to go next level, and you’ve already done all of this with me, because some of you have, I’m down to an hour a day on social Monday through Thursday. Yes, I now have help in my business. I have a community and marketing manager who runs the groups. I have a program facilitator running my programs. So it’s an evolution to get there, but that would be the goal.

(23:07):

And for some of you, maybe that first step in getting help in your business is just getting a social media manager, get someone to do the groups for you, get somebody to do the correspondence with you. And if you feel like you just can’t grow a business without social media, go listen to my push versus pull strategy episode. It’s like roughly 217, 218, 219, right around there. I’m telling you, you got to change your perspective. Okay?

(23:34):

The final boundary you’ve got to set in your business is to have a foundation of faith. And so often we separate business and faith because we think we can’t have faith in our business, but I’m here to tell you guys that the second that I decided, I always knew, you know, I’m partnered with God on this journey. I’m a Christian. I pray, faith is a huge piece of who I am, but I was tiptoeing around it on my podcast because I was afraid of being too polarizing or afraid of not serving everyone.

(24:17):

And even up until today, I still struggle with this sometimes. When I show up on other people’s platforms that are non-denominational, it’s like, you feel like you have to say something like for me, it’s God. And for you, it might be whatever, but we all are not perfect, so you’ll find your way here. But what I want you to understand is that you have to have a boundary and a discipline when it comes to your messaging. What are you? Who do you serve? What do you stand for? And what is your promise? And don’t deviate.

(24:53):

You’re going to deviate sometimes as you find your footing, I’m eight and a half years into being a full-time entrepreneur. And I still struggle sometimes with like, who am I? What do I do? What do I stand for? And, what is my messaging? Because while we’re growing a brand, sometimes we get lost in trying to serve everyone or be popular instead of being a foundation of truth. And it just doesn’t work.

(25:19):

When we show up with a specific message, we have discipline around who we serve, why and how we show up for that person. And we stop trying to impress everyone. We stopped trying to be what everyone wants. And we start being what God wants. That is when it explodes. When people know who you are inside and out, who you authentically are at your core, because your messaging is steadfast. You’re trustworthy.

(25:48):

You’re loved. You’re the light, and you’re the salt. And, you’re the difference. You’re the way maker. You are the change. So you’ve got to structure these boundaries and decide, who am I serving? How am I serving them? What am I saying? What is my message? And decide on truth over popularity and having a foundation of faith. And also along with this one, it’s not just a faith in your message.

(26:12):

It’s not just the foundation of faith in your messaging, but it’s the foundation of faith in your life. You must have a discipline of getting with God every day, sisters, every day, I spend an hour with God every day, whether 90% of the time it’s in the morning before my family rises, sometimes that just doesn’t happen. And so it’s at nine in the morning when it’s chaos, when the house is a mess, when the kids are going cocoa puff, and I’m still doing it because my time with God is non-negotiable.

(26:46):

And if I don’t do it, I do not have the renewing of my mind every day. The world begins to creep in the fears, the anxieties, the judgment, the imposter, you guys, I am human. I face all of those emotions. I’m just more disciplined about bringing them to God before I let them come into my heart. They’re still thoughts. I just have learned how to take them captive and give them to God so that I can look at my thoughts through a biblical lens before I accept them as truth.

(27:24):

Because so often our thoughts are not truth. They are of the world and they are someone else’s thought, you know, it’s like, Oh, I saw that I should do this. I guess that’s truth. No truth is what God says. And truth is literally only in one place, which is the Bible. So your five boundaries non-negotiables, you’re setting up for 2021, actually set them up right now. But for sure, plug them into your goal setting for next year.

(27:53):

The first boundary when it comes to the way you show up in your business. Number two, the way you work with clients and your team. Number three, your content, how much you are spending in creation mode and where you are putting that content. Choosing push over pull. Number four within social media and technology, and number five, having a foundation of faith. And here are my children. So I’ll meet you guys here, back on the podcast real soon. Love and light, Stef.