ISSUE 16 December 21 | Taking Time

The following article was featured on Beaute Industrie Magazine by Purely Polished. To see the ISSUE, visit https://beauteindustriemagazine.com/december/howtosethealthyboundaries/

Stop feeling guilty about prioritising your boundaries. Here are 4 ways to establish healthy expectations as a Freelancer Business Owner. As a freelancer and business owner, to ensure you prioritise your self and needs, it’s important to set boundaries and expectations with your clients. It’s your business, your time. Take control of your environment and run your business the way you want.

The fundamentals of running your own business comes from the desire to be your own boss and have flexibility with your time and schedule. However, running a business does not come easy, especially within the beauty industry, where relationship management is key. The sense of loyalty and establishing your customer base comes with great work and connection - and we’re here to help you discover how to manage the grey line between professional and personal.

Here are 4 ways to establish healthy boundaries with your clients:

#1. Reflect and understand how you want to spend your time.

Your business must have a clear vision around how you want to operate, what type of clients you want to work with, the hours you’re willing to put in, at what cost you value your services to be. Your vision will be the foundation for how you make your decisions and activate the conversations you need to have to then set your expectations. This is your business and you get to decide on your hours, pay, which clients you work with etc. Get clear on exactly what you would like and then you can start to communicate your guidelines.

#2. Establish your processes, policies and procedures.

With clear processes, you will receive fewer questions with less room to negotiate your terms. Your policies will enable you to be safe and secure from a legal perspective for any changes and liability that may arise. Your procedures are there to help carry out our work, efficiently and effectively. From a document that shows the booking process, to cancellation and payment terms, it’s important to present your guidelines clearly from the beginning. It’s important that you set some clear guidelines and consequences if your clients are late, do a no show, don’t pay on time or are expecting something out of scope. Ensure you have them clearly visible on your booking link or website, and if possible have them sign off on it.

#3. Communication is KEY.

This works both ways. Showing up and committing to deliver what you have promised will model to your client what is expected. Always address any issues and concerns upfront, it’s crazy how much stress and confusion can be caused by miscommunication.

#4. Don’t feel guilty about prioritising your boundaries..

Be prepared to say no to anything that doesn’t align with your current priorities. It can be difficult at first but try offering a solution such as details for another freelancer or business that may be able to assist them with their enquiry or request.

We spoke to two of our Beauty & Wellness Professionals, Tonya in Brisbane and Vicky in Sydney, Who gave us great insights into their own perspectives on how they work within the beauty industry.

Why did you decide to run your own business and become a mobile beauty professional?

“Being able to set your own work hours gives us flexibility to set our own times and hours. Having worked in salons, once I tried mobile work it didn’t take long to decide to make it permanent. I run my own business and only service areas within a 10kms radius which helps me balance work/life and my kids.”

What do you prioritise most when managing your time and schedule?

“Being part of a platform like Purely Polished gives us the ability to pick up bookings that suit our schedule. They do all the marketing, the financing, the management and coordination so I’m able to prioritise quality time I get to spend with my family and friends.”

What's your favourite thing about being part of the Purely Polished Community?

“Purely Polished is like being a part of a big family. Most of us have never even met but we’re always given a great amount of support and care from the team. I get to meet other Beauty and Wellness Professionals on corporate and group bookings which is always such great fun, and the customers are all so grateful for what we do.”