Self-Employed - How to Manage Client Requests Without Losing Your Mind

One of the most important things that I have learned as an entrepreneur is how to handle requests from potential and current clients without losing my mind. What I mean is that when I was starting out I would go nuts every time a client wanted something. Every email and phone message felt like a crisis situation that had to be handled ASAP.

The reality of the situation, however, is that my business is fitness. There are no fitness emergencies. Even if your business does handle certain types of emergencies it is valuable to know how to handle those requests that fall outside of the emergency realm.

Understand that it is OK to say no. It is OK to say no to working on a weekend or even a week night. It is OK to say no to breaking your policies even though you make them up. You had good reasons for setting your policies the way that they are. Unless you feel that they are in need of modification do not change them every time a client asks you to. It's OK to say no to requests that you don't feel good about fulfilling. If you do a favor, break policy, or otherwise compromise yourself or your business in a way that doesn't feel good in order to please a client then that relationship will never be a positive one. You will never get back enough value to make up for the sacrifice you made. The universe just doesn't work that way.

Trust the value of setting limits, establishing rules and enforcing policies. First of all you must clearly, ideally in writing, communicate to all relevant parties any limits, rules or policies that you want to use to run your business. Then you must enforce them. I learned early on that while a lot of people will review and agree to your policies some will later forget and some will just ignore them. When I was starting out I thought that if I communicated my policies to my clients then they would be followed. I didn't think I would ever have to enforce them. However, there have been many incidents in which I have had to make the decision to either break policy or enforce it. There are exceptions. A good client with a solid history deserves a break now and then. Other clients begin breaking the rules from the beginning. When this happens you have to enforce your policies or get rid of the client. Otherwise the relationship will create resentment and make you miserable. What I have discovered is that almost everyone appreciates it when the rules are clear. If they test the rules and you enforce them, most people will respect you for it.

It is important to respond to client requests in a timely fashion. However, even though you may work at home, even though your cell phone is your business phone, you do not have to respond outside of business hours. You are running a business. You need to decide what your business hours are. Maybe you set aside one night a week for taking calls later than usual. Maybe you're OK with doing business on the weekends. Maybe you are old school and only do business 9 to 5 on week days. That's fine. The key is to decide what business hours are and then stick to it. Just as this works with other policies you set, your clients will respect your working hours if you do.

Because it is important to respond to your clients and potential clients in a timely manner it is OK to respond with a simple acknowledgement of their request. When you're getting things started you want to deliver on every request right away. You tend to feel like the client requires this, like it's the only way to make them happy. It's true that some clients will be demanding that way but, are these the clients you really want? Most people just want to know that you received their request and that it is in the queue to be addressed. If it's a simple request and you can fill it immediately that's great but, don't feel like it's required. Some things require some decision making, scheduling and planning. If you take the time to think it over then you'll avoid responding to the client with promises you can't keep or committing to things you'll regret.

The biggest lesson I have learned running my own business is to be clear about how I want my business to be. What hours do I want to be available? What are my policies about billing, late fees, cancellations, discounts, etc.? What kind of client is the best fit for me and my business? Once you are clear on how you want to run your business you must communicate through words, in writing and through your actions. Stick to your vision, your policies and your boundaries, being judicious in making occasional exceptions,  and your clients will respect you, you'll respect yourself and your business will take shape the way you want.