Boundaries Are a Business Strategy. Get Some.
Always on, always available, and on the fast track to burnout. Setting clear boundaries isn’t just self-care for solopreneurs, it’s a business strategy that protects your time, focus, and bottom line.
Earlier in my career, I thought good client service meant never saying no. I gave everyone my cell number. I answered emails at 11 p.m. I thought being “always on” was the only way to prove my value
I was terrified that if I didn’t respond instantly, the work would disappear.
It was exhausting from the start, but I told myself it was just part of building a business. Then one night, sometime in 2008 or 2009, when the kids were still small, I realized this had to change.
It was 8 p.m. I was in the middle of wrangling the kids into pyjamas, mentally preparing for a quick kitchen clean-up. My phone rang. An e-book client wanted to “chat about some new ideas.”
I could hear the excitement in her voice. I could also feel my jaw tightening. But I didn’t cut her off. I told the kids, “Mommy will just be a few minutes.”
And then I stood there, one hand holding the phone, the other holding my temper, while this woman who insisted I call her “Grandma So-and-So” prattled off her thoughts, and I made notes like a dutiful assistant. For over an hour, friends.
My sense of boundaries back then was nonexistent.
When I finally hung up, the house was quiet. The boys had fallen asleep, and I’d missed their bedtime. Dishes still sat in the sink. I lay in bed that night, my brain buzzing with her nervous energy and my own resentment, unable to fall asleep.
And I was angry… yes, at her, but more so at myself.
The next morning, I removed my phone number from my email signature and told every client that moving forward, calls would need to be scheduled. No more “quick” after-hours chats.
Here’s what I learned: being constantly available doesn’t make you indispensable; it makes you expendable and easy to exploit. If you’re always on call, clients start to see your time as cheap and your expertise as something they can tap into whenever they feel like it.
And when you treat your own time as unlimited, they will, too.
While you’re busy fielding every ping and “urgent” idea, the deep, focused work that actually grows your business suffers.
If you’re reading this, I have to ask:
How often are you interrupted in the middle of your best work?
How many “urgent” messages have you dropped everything for this week — only to realize they weren’t urgent at all?
When was the last time you set aside a whole evening or weekend without checking your work messages?
Those constant interruptions aren’t just costing you peace of mind. They’re costing you money. Every time you stop deep work to answer a “quick” request, you lose momentum. Your productivity drops. You work longer hours to catch up. And you train your clients (and yourself) to expect that your time belongs to them.
If you’re used to an employee mindset, boundaries can feel uncomfortable at first. You might worry you’ll lose the client. You might feel guilty. But healthy clients respect healthy boundaries, and the ones who don’t aren’t worth keeping.
Here are three ways to start:
Decide your availability first, before a client ever asks. Create a work schedule that protects your peak energy hours for deep work. Share it clearly in your welcome email or client agreement.
Move all communication to one channel. If you let clients email, text, WhatsApp, and DM you, you’ll be “on call” without realizing it. Pick one channel and check it on your schedule.
Price for priority. If someone needs after-hours or immediate attention, make it a paid service. That way, urgency is a choice — for both of you.
Now, I’m clear about how and when I’m available. I answer emails during set hours. I keep communication in channels I can manage asynchronously. And if something really is urgent, it comes with an urgent price tag.
The clients I was most worried about losing respected those boundaries immediately. The ones who pushed back were the ones who drained me anyway, and I learned to become unavailable to those types of projects.
That’s not to say I’ve been perfect at it ever since. I’ve taken on long-term contracts that started to feel a little too much like employment. Slowly, I’d find myself agreeing to early-morning or late-night calls to accommodate time zones, or blocking out huge chunks of my week for standing meetings that could have been handled with a few emails.
That’s usually my red flag… when I feel tethered to the desk, obligated to be “on” for hours instead of focusing on the work that moves the needle. There are so many ways to work asynchronously, and while face time has its place, it’s not the only way to collaborate. It’s certainly not worth sacrificing your health, focus, and the business you’ve built.
Boundaries aren’t just about protecting your time; they’re about protecting the quality of your work, your mental space, and the energy you need to keep your business healthy. You’re going to need healthy internal boundaries, too, which I talked about recently here:
If you’re still stuck in “employee mode,” afraid that a slow reply will cost you the work, I get it. So start small. Pick one change — no more after-hours messages, or no meetings before 9 a.m. — and stick to it. Then add another.
You’ll be amazed at how quickly your stress drops and your work improves when you give yourself permission to work on your terms and learn to communicate those effectively.
Boundaries aren’t an enemy of growth. They’re the structure that allows you to build something sustainable, profitable, and actually worth showing up for every day.
✌️Miranda
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