Boundaries don’t feel important until you’re dealing with a tough client.
The one texting you at 10pm. The one who skips your process and emails you directly about everything. The one who makes it hard to do your best work.
This happens more often than most of us admit. Here’s how to fix it.
Put it in writing
- Review your contract. Make sure it covers communication, response times, and what happens when a request falls outside the scope.
- Create a boundaries and expectations document. Clients sign off on it during onboarding, or whenever your process changes.
Communicate it
- Add your office hours to your email signature.
- Remind clients how to reach you. If you want everything in your client portal, say so. More than once.
Protect your time
- Set a temporary out-of-office when you need focus time or a break.
- Pause incoming email so new messages don’t pull you away from deep work.
- Turn on Do Not Disturb on your phone outside office hours.
Follow your own rules
This is the most important one.
If you answer a 10pm text once, you’ve told the client that’s how you work. Boundaries only work if you keep them.
Let your CRM do the enforcing
You shouldn’t have to remind every client of your boundaries by hand. HoneyBook, Dubsado, and Aisle Planner can do it for you:
- Auto-responses with your office hours, so clients know when to expect a reply.
- Boundaries built into onboarding. Add your expectations to your proposal or welcome flow so clients agree to them before the work starts.
- A scheduler set to your availability, so no one books you outside your hours.
- A client resource library or FAQ, so clients find quick answers without waiting on you.
When the system handles it, you’re not the bad guy. It’s just how things work.
Give it time
People need time to adjust to a new process. Expect a learning curve of one to two months, depending on how often you communicate with clients.
If you’ve been flexible and need to tighten up, make the change seasonally. You might add a rush fee for last-minute requests that aren’t scheduled ahead. Frame it as a benefit to the client and stay consistent, and it’s hard to argue with.
Handling rush requests
You don’t have to say yes to every rush job. Try:
“I’d love to work on this for you. The earliest I can start is [date], once I have your signed agreement and retainer by [date].”
If you do take it on, charge a rush fee. When your calendar is full, two to three times your standard rate is reasonable, as long as the rush isn’t caused by a delay on your end.
When a client still won’t get on board
There’s usually one or two. Ask yourself:
- Are they your ideal client? Sometimes the answer is that they’re not, and it’s time to part ways.
- Are they working late but still respecting your boundaries? If they send messages at night but don’t expect an instant reply, that’s not a problem.
If you serve a lot of late-night clients, you have options. Offer one evening a week that fits their schedule, hire a VA to cover evening hours, or build a resource library they can use anytime.
Set your boundaries up once
Need the document? The Boundaries + Expectations Document gives you a ready-made starting point to customize and send during onboarding.
Want your CRM to enforce it? Our done-in-a-day builds set it up for you. Lead Flow includes an auto-response in your voice and a scheduler set to your availability. Booking Flow includes a welcome email and questionnaire that go out the moment a client signs.
