Kristen Fischer, who blogs at Creatively Self-Employed has published an interesting piece on Freelance Switch called Am I a Freelance Pushover?
Kristen's post summarizes the reactions from some of her clients when she needed to take a few days off. Surprisingly, or perhaps not surprisingly, Kristen's clients didn't want to give her a break.
I read Kristen's article on Freelance Switch with interest, because Kristen sounds a lot like me. To tell you the truth, she sounds like many freelancers and work-at-home moms (WAHMs) that I know.
Something that helps me to set boundaries is to remember that I'm a professional. When I find myself forgetting what this means, I remind myself of my experiences with other independent professionals and ask myself: "Are they giving up vacations and weekends?" The answer is, of course, "no they are not."
If you've ever tried to set an appointment with a repair person, an accountant, or an attorney then you know that you have to wait until they are available. Even my doctor's office usually can't squeeze me in at the last minute. The doctor's office tells me to go the emergency room if it's an emergency, otherwise I will have to wait two weeks for an appointment.
Are work-at-home moms any less professional than other self-employed individuals? I say no, we are not less professional. If our services are in demand, that's a good thing. However, setting appropriate boundaries between you and your clients can be crucial to your success as well as being the professional thing to do.
How do you set boundaries with your clients? Have you experienced this problem? Leave a note and let me know.
This is such a timely piece! I come from a family that didn't take vacations. My parents held "no work/no pay" type jobs. I have difficulty taking time off work because I am so deep into that mentality.
I had nine week's vacation stocked up when I gave birth to my daughter from my last day job. I just never took time off.
Now that I work from home, it's become an issue. My husband wants to go away and I'm trying to work it around my schedule. I said that we could take a long weekend.
Maybe I need to reassess my answer.
Posted by: Tammi | August 6, 2007 5:15 PM | Permalink to Comment