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How Setting Boundaries Can Help You Grow Your Small Business

By Ileana Kane

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 30Aug2009 Word count: 496 Viewed: 239 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

When I first started my entrepreneurial journey, boundaries had a bad reputation. We think of them as things that stop us: brick walls, cliff edges, end of the tracks! When we talk of setting boundaries, we are usually talking of setting limitations - of stopping behaviors, of ending actions.

There is another kind of boundary, however, and that is the channel. Every river in the world, from the mighty Amazon to the Small Fork of the North Platte has banks and it is these natural channels that keep the rivers flowing long distances. At places, when the banks narrow the river rushes at great speed - at other places, the banks widen and the river slows to a stately pace. It is not the water that controls the speed of the river, it is the banks that create the channel through which the river flows. So how do you apply the principle of boundaries to channel your business into positive growth?

1. Plan the FUN stuff FIRST

2. Create a marketing plan that is dynamic - that is, one that allows for course correction. Start with creating an annual plan, then chunk it down to a quarterly plan, then chunk that down to a monthly plan, and finally a weekly plan. Remember, just as a river will narrow and widen, speed and slow, your business will need room to fluctuate as well.

3. Limit the time you use for emailing to 60 minutes per day. Make sure you do the priority emails first, and the rest can wait until the next day. This works terrific for phone calls too!

4. If you have clients that are pulling you down, and you use energy trying to avoid their calls, or don't look forward to your conversations with them, do yourself a favor and refer them to someone else. Make the boundary to work with clients you only are delighted to work with.

5. If you're doing anything that's draining your energy, have someone else do the work. Your time is too valuable to do a $15 an hour job!

6. Before you go to sleep at night, make sure you set your schedule of what you're doing the next day. Make sure you only focus on the 20% of the work that brings in 80% of the business.

7. Again, plan the FUN stuff FIRST because it's that important to mention this twice... (and your business will love you for it)!

By setting boundaries in this manner your small business will begin thrive within its channels. Boundaries are not only walls to stop forward progress, but channels to guide progress at a greater rate. By setting boundaries for your small business, you will be encouraging natural periods of heightened activity that will grow your business. Try to avoid simply using shorter deadlines to achieve this. Instead, use heightened focus and specialized projects to propel your business forward. Like a river, build banks that will contain and focus the energy of your efforts.

© 2008-2009 Ileana Kane All Rights Reserved

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