Vacationing, but make it *business owner edition*

“Break In Case of Emergency”

I had a plan of attack. This is the first time that I really let go while I was away and I wanted to make sure I had all my bases covered. 

I created a delegation document for my team and met with each of them to review what was needed from them and what they were covering. There will always be hits and misses, but we covered the majority and for the most part, it worked as intended.

Having this document, these conversations, and this plan helped give me peace of mind because I had reassurance with my team and I knew they could handle it. If I wasn’t sure if I mentioned X or Y, I consulted my document.

And what do you know, we all survived!

Whatever Happened to Boundaries?

Let me preface this by saying, I have some great clients who get it, and they hold a very special place in my heart. Those who respected my absence and my varied direct communication, heading the very early warning of my vacation time, understanding my OOO auto-reply, I see you, you’re great. This has nothing to do with you.

As a general reminder, nothing is ever THAT serious. In the rare cases it is in fact, then it probably should have been brought to attention much earlier.

I’ve been quietly observing the customer/client-business owner relationship, and I’ve noticed something jarring. I don’t think it was a “COVID consequence” either, but I do think COVID was a catalyst for an already-building ideology:

Your boundaries don’t matter if it interferes with another person’s demands.

I used the right wording there too, “demands” is the correct wording. I’ve watched the mutual respect deteriorate because as small business owners are striving for that continued connection, some customers and clients are only interested in seeing how far they can push, how you’ll bend to the snap of their fingers.

All I have to say to that is, not a chance.

I take pride in being reasonable and accommodating. Life happens and there are so many things that are out of our control, so that’s why I work WITH my clients but I too have my limits. 

For my fellow entrepreneurs, I’ll be more clear. You are allowed to have limits when it comes to how accommodating you choose to be or want to be. There is only so much we can do and say before it becomes evident that you and your client/customer have outgrown or no longer align with each other.

There’s no shame in that on either side, but it’s important to draw that line before it becomes, well, toxic.

Yes, your business relationships can become toxic, and even more so in a self-centred ideological world and culture like ours, where we have to fight and push just to recognize basic empathy and decency.

The Clean-Up Crew

And now, the aftermath.

I’m back at my desk and this is what I’ve realised. 

I need to not be the key person. My team should be prepared to provide support where needed but also be empowered to maintain the boundaries we set with our clients. Oddly, when I was moving between provinces, I was given much more space to not respond to emails and I didn’t even have an out of office on. 

We need to give space to humans to be human. Ultimately, I took 10 days off, about 8 or 9 business days and that was too much for some. Where is the humanity side of business? We should be able to take a couple weeks off at least once a year to enjoy time with our family, friends, or loved ones. 

So ultimately, should people be more patient or should I just relinquish more control?