How These Entrepreneurs Set Boundaries Throughout The Holidays

For almost all of parents, the vacations are for relaxation and rest because it’s the one time of yr most individuals get a break from college and work. But, for small enterprise homeowners, that’s not fairly the case. In reality, November by means of December is commonly the busiest season for these entrepreneurs. Many rely on gross sales made throughout these months, main them to work lengthy hours through the holidays. However this may result in severe well being penalties. One examine discovered that people who work over 61 hours per week have an elevated danger of growing excessive systolic blood stress.

By establishing some boundaries nevertheless, it’s attainable to create work-life steadiness throughout probably the most festive time of the yr. This is how three small enterprise homeowners deal with their busy schedules through the holidays to allow them to benefit from the season with their family members.

Why setting boundaries is so necessary

There are a ton of benefits to being your individual boss, however the one draw back is that your workload can oftentimes really feel prefer it’s by no means ending. Whether or not it’s responding to emails, posting seasonal offers to your social media channels, or transport out merchandise, work can pile up – particularly throughout busy seasons.

By setting boundaries through the holidays, you’re not solely growing a more healthy relationship to work, however are additionally giving your self some crucial downtime. Merely put, people who work 24/7 have a a lot greater danger of growing burnout. This may end up in a number of penalties, together with not feeling fulfilled by your job, which results in poor efficiency and impacts the standard of your work. Different signs embody fatigue, stress, insomnia, and in extreme circumstances, some individuals even develop anxiousness and melancholy.

This could be a tough topic as most enterprise homeowners really feel a robust obligation to work across the clock and make sure that their clients and staff are taken care of. However as soon as you’re taking a step again, you’ll usually discover that you simply’re extra productive and happier.

A minimum of that’s what occurred when freelance author Kat Boogard switched from working 4 days per week to 3 with a view to spend extra time together with her children. Whereas the transition did require boundaries, Kat says it’s been extra of a psychological shift than anything.

“Somebody asked me if my three-day workweek was more of a mindset shift than a system-building exercise, and I think that’s a great way to describe it,” she stated in her publication.

Whereas reducing again on work signifies that she will be able to not do all the issues she used to, the author believes it’s been a good commerce off. Not solely has she been capable of be extra selective and strategic in regards to the initiatives she now takes on, however she’s not placing stress on herself to consistently be on the go. Most significantly, this change has allowed her to have extra household time.

“My kids and I potted some flowers and are caring for them. We take weekly trips to the library or playground … Will I earn as much as I did last year? Nope. Probably not even close,” Kat stated. “But at the end of the day, it’s all the other stuff that feels way more like “success”—even when the quantity on my revenue and loss assertion is smaller.”

Even if you happen to’re not seeking to have a 3 day work week like Kat, her mindframe on scaling again with work could be helpful for any entrepreneurs eager to dedicate extra time to themselves and their households, particularly through the vacation season.

How these small enterprise homeowners method work through the holidays

These three entrepreneurs deal with work through the holidays in a different way, however they’ve every applied some form of boundary into their schedules to make sure that they don’t overload themselves.

Implementing a strict schedule

A single mother and a staff of 1, Assie Khoussa is used to working 24/7 on her small enterprise Eizzy Child. When it’s the vacations, nevertheless, she establishes clear boundaries with work so she will be able to guarantee her son doesn’t miss out on any of the festivities.

“The holiday season is one of the busiest times of the year for me. Not only are there several sales, promotions, and new product launches happening within my business, my schedule is just as busy,” Assie stated.

“As a single mom, It is important that my son does not miss a single holiday experience from thanksgiving dinner to wrapping and opening gifts. To make sure I am as productive as possible, I make sure that I am fully scheduling my days,” she stated. “From 9 am – 4 pm, I focus on my business and work. Once I pick up my son from school at 5 pm, my attention shifts to family time, we laugh, play, eat and work on the things he needs.”

The entrepreneur has discovered that with out this construction, she tends to gravitate in direction of working extra.

“I try to be very strict with this schedule because it allows me to prioritize and focus on what is important. Once [my son] is in bed, then I have the flexibility to work on whatever I need, whether it is self-care or opening up my laptop to edit content. I am the queen of going with the flow, but I’ve noticed that when things are not scheduled or prioritized, That’s when I drop the ball the most.”

Assie acknowledges that creating boundaries as an entrepreneur is tough, however she credit her self-discipline, particularly relating to her son.

“The strict boundaries really come from having the discipline to shut your computer or phone off,” she stated. “For me, dropping the ball when it comes to my son sucks and because of that, I use the time allotted to really focus on him. My advice would be to build discipline and realize what’s important during [the holidays].”

Being selective with work occasions

Sisters Kelly and Anna opened up their small enterprise Arctic Haven Studio in 2021, and promote hand-crafted paper artwork impressed by the Alaskan wilderness. Nonetheless early of their journey, the duo work through the holidays to develop their buyer base.

“As a small business still trying to gain a foothold in the industry, we take advantage of every viable opportunity we have. During the holidays, we participate in several local holiday markets to reach customers individually and concentrate sales. The holiday markets themselves require a lot of hands-on work from ourselves and our family members who help us create, set up, and maintain the booth space, all for a two-day show, at most,” they stated.

Fortuitously, these occasions are intently tied to the vacation season and are an effective way for the entrepreneurs to fulfill their clients in individual, making it really feel much less like work and extra like group constructing.

“These events require energy and preparation, but they are festive and a great way to interact with potential customers. We listened to customer feedback we received last year and created a holiday card since notecards are our primary product line, and they have been well received this season.”

Nonetheless, Anna and Kelly don’t say sure to each alternative through the holidays, and as a substitute are selective about which occasions they select to attend so that they don’t overwork themselves.

“While we do not take time off from the business during the holidays, we are able to regulate our workload by choosing the holiday events we participate in and how much marketing we want to send out prior to the season. Each season we learn new ways to fulfill customer interests and ways to prep better for the upcoming year.”

Closing up the enterprise for the vacations

As a content material creator who operates her tarot studying enterprise by means of her Twitter account, Ashani has extra versatile hours than the everyday entrepreneur. However that doesn’t imply the creator hasn’t had points with burnout. Up to now, she’s labored by means of the vacations and didn’t have clear boundaries together with her followers.

“I remember, back in the day when I would not carve out [vacation time], I’d be like, “oh, my goodness. Why are people hitting me up on Christmas?’ But now, it’s as simple as just closing my readings to be quite honest … I’m blessed to have that function and work for myself. I don’t have to go ask anyone if I can put in PTO or anything like that. I get to create my own schedule.”

However Ashani solely applied these boundaries after studying from her first couple years working her enterprise.

Studying to take actual days off they usually’ve been so therapeutic.

As we speak I went mountain climbing within the rain with one among my oldest buddies 🥰

We’ve identified one another since 1st grade!! 🥹❤️ pic.twitter.com/tAJgCaSFpW

— ashani the alchemist ☿ (@ashanism) November 10, 2022

“A lot of people have their own business because they want more flexibility. But I remember thinking like, ‘this is not more flexible. I’m overwhelmed with having to do the [reading] services, and run the business, and also schedule myself in.’ But, it’s gotten so much easier [to take time off] over the years.”

She typically nonetheless offers with the wrestle of feeling like she’s not working sufficient, and empathizes with different enterprise homeowners who’ve a tough time taking day without work.

“Sometimes [closing my readings] creates additional pressure. Because, of course, the holidays are the time where people are wanting to spend money and buy gifts. And so, you want to be making more money. And I’ve definitely had to work up to the point. Years ago, it was much more of a struggle, knowing when I should be working more, or working less,” she stated.

Quite than specializing in vacation gross sales, Ashani now prioritizes work-life steadiness.

“A lot of things are in demand during the holidays, and people are super busy. But I try to take this time to relax and spend it with family and friends, and just do little things for myself,” she stated. “So vacation time isn’t as much of a priority for me as just simply maintaining that balance between work and play. And seeing the people that I love, of course.”

At Buffer, we additionally shut down the corporate for a complete week on the finish of the yr to make sure everybody on our staff has the chance for some self-care time.

We hope these examples from different small enterprise homeowners have impressed you to carve out time for your self this vacation season. Keep in mind, giving your self a break is wholesome and the top of the yr is the proper time to recharge and replicate.

If you happen to’re enthusiastic about creating extra boundaries with work proper now, there are a ton of productiveness habits you’ll be able to incorporate into your schedule to liberate a while. We advocate making a content material and social media calendar to have an organized view of your entire work. Batch-creating content material can also be an environment friendly method to get extra use out of your time.

Among the best methods to make sure you’re current through the holidays is to schedule your social media posts forward of time — and we might help with that! Get began with Buffer without spending a dime in the present day to schedule your content material, analyze the efficiency of your posts, and interact along with your followers!