I often talk about creating elastic boundaries because I believe in the importance of drawing a line so that our personal time is not infringed upon or the people we do business with respect our time. However, I also believe in being accessible, not only during our business hours, but also if needed for a business emergency.
I think, especially in the case of freelancers and consultants, we need to be firm with our boundaries so we’re not constantly answering the phone at dinner time or working well into the night. However, when we make the times we’re not available more important than the times we are available, people tend to stay away altogether.
(Don’t)Bother Me On the Weekends
I recently handled a rush weekend project for a new client whose regular consultant has a strict four day work policy. The original consultant has made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that he will not be available during certain hours and days, so this client didn’t even try to contact him. He called me.
The part that gets me isn’t the four hour work week, but the client being afraid to call or email for help during an emergency. His consultant made it clear the times he wasn’t available were more important than his regular business hours.
My weekends are my family or personal project time, but it doesn’t mean that I won’t work on the weekend. I’ve taken on some rush weekend emergency projects that turned out to be amazingly lucrative – because they were rush weekend projects. The people I work with know I’d rather not be bothered on the weekend, but they also know they can call me in a pinch. If I have plans, I’ll recommend another consultant. However, I may say yes because I have some time on my hands and don’t mind the extra cash.
Oh and I have a reputation for being accessible. Clients and potential clients know they can call me at inconvenient times if they have no choice – they’re not afraid of being bitched out for invading personal time.
(Not So) Strict Phone Call Times
The hours between 1:00 and 3:00 p.m are my best phone call times. I like to wait until a certain part of the day when I’m awake for a few hours, there are no kids in the house and I can give the party on the other end my undivided attention. My regular clients know my best phone times and respect those times. That doesn’t mean they can’t call me during at other times, however. I’m not going to not help someone or refuse answer the phone just to prove a point or because it’s not between a two hour time frame.
Being Reachable
Being accessible doesn’t only mean being available during inconvenient times. It also means being easy to reach. It means folks don’t have to jump through hoops or spend hours trying to find contact information. It means your website or blog is updated with the most current information listing the best ways to get in touch with you. It also means that those who do get in touch with you will hear back within a reasonable frame of time.
Even though I don’t take on much client work anymore, I receive hundreds of emails each day, so it’s not easy to respond to everyone in a timely manner. However, at the email listed on this blog, there’s an automated response letting folks know what to expect. Client and potential client inquiries are generally answered in 24 hours (usually less), while it takes longer to respond to inquiries that aren’t so time sensitive. It’s important to be reachable and to respond, even if it’s only to refer a potential client to another consultant.
Establishing Boundaries But Letting Folks Know they Can Count on You
Boundaries are important or else people walk all over us. I enjoy taking my weekends off and I love that I can enjoy a nice family dinner each night followed by way too many episodes of SpongeBob. I look forward to nights after The Boy is in bed so I can relax and watch a movie or read my Kindle. I do all this knowing, for the most part, that my time won’t be interrupted. However, on the rare occasion that I’m needed during an inconvenient time, my clients are confident they can count on me, and that if I can’t help them I can recommend someone who can. My clients and co-workers respect my boundaries, they’re not afraid of infringing upon my time – and therein lies the difference.
Having Your Down Time & Being Accessible Too
Being accessible doesn’t mean you’re giving up your free time to be there for your boss or client. What it means is that people can count on you in a pinch. It means that the people who I work with aren’t afraid I’ll get angry with them if they do occasionally try to reach me on a Saturday morning because of some mix up or emergency. With the exception of a former boss from hell, just about everyone I ever worked with has an unwritten rule to hold anything that isn’t urgent until business hours or after the weekend. When you make a point of being accessible and available, people will respect your time.
When you make the times you’re unavailable more important than your business hours, people will just stop calling altogether.
How do you make yourself accessible?
