One of the hardest lessons I’ve had to learn as a business owner, is that one cannot be all things to all people. I think entrepreneurs have a general desire to be all things (partner, confident, friend etc.) to their clients. As a virtual assistant we spend a great deal of time with our clients learning the ins and outs of their businesses. In the process we learn a great deal about out clients. We learn their likes and dislikes, whether or not they have families and other personal information. Sometimes its hard to not to mix the lines of our personal and professional relationship. I don’t believe that it’s hard just on us, I think our clients have a hard time monitoring that line as well.
Sometimes it is important to set boundaries and make sure you stay within those boundaries as much as possible. It is equally important that you share those boundaries with your clients so that everyone is on the same page. Why you ask? There will come a time when you will need to part ways with a client. Letting a client go is hard enough without making things more difficult by blurring the lines of the business relationship.
How do you know when it is time to part ways? Access the relationship. Do you enjoy working with your client or do you dread picking up the phone when you see their phone number in the caller id? Des the client respect your office hours or do they call you after hours or anytime of the day or night? Is the client consistently giving you rush or emergency jobs not allowing for the proper lead time? And lastly, the biggest question of all. Have you spoke to your client to address these issues and still the problem remains? Then…it may be time to part ways. It’s nobody’s fault, sometimes we just need to admit we you are not a good match. In fact it is in both of your interests to admit it’s not working out and move on.
Let’s be honest here, if you are not happy than you really aren’t doing your best work for your client and that WILL spill over into your other client work. To make the transition easier, try to find a suitable replacement for your soon to be former client. Your replacement should have a similar personality type and a similar working style to your client. For example, if your client tends to always need projects done at the last minute and you know someone who enjoys working underpressure (yes some people do thrive in high pressure situation) it could be a win win situation for everyone involved.
The point here it to remember that you are the business owner and only you know how you want to run your business. Make sure you have a clear definition of what you want and make sure your clients understand and respect that definition as well. By setting and sticking to those boundaries, you can enjoy your business AND your clients for years to come.
