You know that boundaries are important and you have probably heard a lot about them when it comes to relationships. But have you considered how important they are for how you show up in your business and the relationships you cultivate with your community and clients?

When it comes to the demands, needs, and opportunities of clients and gigs, it can be hard to draw the line and say no. We might even feel uncaring, overwhelmed, or simply nauseated when we say no.

When it comes to business, maybe you got the message to say yes to as many things as possible.

However, not having boundaries isn't sustainable and it makes your work less effective. Not only does it stretch you super thin, it also makes your "Yes" untrustworthy to others and yourself.

You say yes to a client even though you don’t want to do the work they need. So you feel resentful and overwhelmed, or you deal with a lot of resistance. This energy will most likely translate into the work you do and the relationship you have with this client.

Or you gather a community around you that is super used to your generosity when it comes to free content, but then there are crickets when you offer them something they can buy from you.

For an example on boundaries in business:

• I check in with how often I engage with social media and at what times.

• I don't check social media before 11 AM each day or before I journal to allow myself to first sit with my own thoughts, desires and plans before I let social media influence me. We often treat social media like an oracle, but it's not!

• Also, I am really clear that I want the bulk of my income to be from my own digital products so I don't rely on partnering with big brands to pay my bills. There aren't a ton of brands I've found who align with my values AND can compensate me enough to pay my bills.

Plus, promoting physical products (even if they try hard to be ethical) doesn't feel as good as facilitating experiences like I do with my courses.

Experiences are just so much more valuable to me than promoting more stuff that gathers dust around my house.

This is one of many reasons why I encourage folks to start creating digital products! The more excited you feel about your product, the easier it will be to talk about and sell.

When we are selling things that we don’t actually want anyone to buy, because WE aren’t feeling good about them, we radiate this in all the actions we take to promote it.

I also need to come back to asking myself what I want to focus on that will actually be effective AND feel in alignment with my values and happiness.

I get to remember that my business is up to ME.

There are many ways that you need to be able to say no in your business:

• saying no to opportunities that don’t align with your values;

• letting go of clients who don’t respect your established framework (e.g. paying you properly);

• or letting go when you don’t feel aligned with the work you are asked to do because your business is moving in another direction.

Remember: saying no gives room for your "FUCK YES."

As adrienne maree brown says:

“Your no makes the way for your yes. Boundaries create the container within which your yes is authentic. Being able to say no makes yes a choice.”

The first thing that will help you be able to say "no" is to create the time for yourself to think and build up the expectation in your business that you might want to say "no" to certain things.

Want journal (and action) prompts to reflect on the boundaries you have and desire in your business?

I have a free mini-course for you.

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