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How many of you are sitting here on the last day of November stressed out, staying up all night editing all the sessions you took on and kicking yourself for another busy season that you swore would be different?  If you raised your hand, this podcast episode is for you!!

The end of the year is the perfect time to reevaluate your business and perform an audit of what worked and what didn’t work well.  And then take that information and plan ahead for the new year!

For help planning for the new year, listen to my podcast series on Planning your Best Year Yet at the links below!

Episode 65

Episode 66

Episode 67

One of the best things you can do in order to prevent burn out, stress and give yourself the freedom you deserve in your business is to say no and set boundaries!

Saying no can be hard.  You want the business so you cram one more session in or you take on a session that is outside the genre you specialize in.  But in the end, you end up stressed, overworked and resenting your business because you are left with no free time, no time for family and friends and no flexibility in your business which is probably why you wanted your own business in the first place.

Setting boundaries is an important thing to do in our businesses.  It not only protects us but it helps our clients as well.  By setting boundaries, we can ultimately have happier clients because they knew up front what our boundaries are and can adhere to them.  So what boundaries should you set in your business?

5 Boundaries to Set in Your Senior Photography Business

Personal Time

Educational Time

Business Hours

Shoot Days

Maximum Number of Shoots

Personal Days

Most of the time photographers start with the business needs first.  But I suggest you start with your personal time as the first boundary you set so that your business works for you and not the other way around.  So what does personal time include?  Time with family, days off or weekends off per month, family vacation time, your kids school or sports activities.  Anything that is important to you and your family, put it on your calendar first!  These are your non-negotiables…the things you do not want to miss because of shoots, editing, etc.

Educational Days

The next step is to add any days where you will be taking time for education.  I believe no matter what stage we are in in our businesses, we can always learn and grow.  Education should be a priority and therefore it should be scheduled on your calendar so that you set a boundary around that important part of running a successful business.  Are you attending a workshop, conference or retreat?  Add those days to your calendar.  Are you enrolled in a coaching program or online course?  Set aside days for that.

Business Hours

Setting business hours is an important boundary to set as well.  I once had a student who was telling me about her senior clients texting her at all hours of the night and she wanted to know how she could change that.  My first questions was, “are you answering them when you receive the text?”  Her answer was yes.  And I said that is why they keep texting you at all hours because you are telling them it is ok by responding.  To set boundaries on your time and business hours, you have to communicate those hours to your clients.  Have automated responses set up that let clients know your office hours and when you will respond.

Shoot Days

The number of shoot days is also a boundary to set as a photographer.  How many days a week are you going to shoot?  And before you answer, let me say…just because you can shoot every single day does not mean you should.  We have to have days available for reschedules due to weather or something that may come up, days available for editing, consultations, etc. and days for ourselves so that we aren’t shooting back to back.  Determine how many days a week you will shoot and add those days to your calendar for shoot days.

Maximum Number of Shoots

Lastly, set a boundary around the number of shoots you will take.  My suggestion is to set a goal number and a maximum number.  A lot of times we get into our shooting season and get inquiries for more shoots than we set as our goal number.  And it is hard to turn down those shoots.  But ultimately we know that if we book too many, our work, stress level and lives may suffer for it.  So having a goal number set and then allowing yourself a maximum number to take on a few extra shoots if you want is key.  But do not go over your maximum and make sure you are pricing yourself to make a profit for the set number of shoots.

Communicate Your Boundaries

Now that you have set these boundaries, put them on your calendar, it is time to communicate them to your clients and stick to them!!  Be sure to clearly state your policies and boundaries in all communication to your clients.  Talk about it in a positive way that benefits them and they will understand these boundaries.  Be sure to state in multiple places in order to make sure clients see this information.  Simply putting it in a contract is not the best way to ensure clients know upfront what your boundaries are because there is a good chance they may miss it in a contract.  So make sure you are stating business hours, shoot days and more in multiple places throughout the client journey so they know upfront what to expect.

What boundaries do you have set up for your business or what boundaries will you be setting for the new year?  I would love to hear from you!  Send me a DM on Instagram or email me at info@seniorologie.com and share!  We will also be talking more about boundaries inside my free Facebook group, The Seniorologie Community, so head on over by clicking here and join the conversation!

If you want help setting boundaries and creating systems for your business so it works for you and not the other way around, The Seniorologie Semester is available to help you with this and so many other aspects of running a successful senior photography business.  The six month program starts in January but is enrolling now with only one spot left!!  This program is specifically designed to help you become the go-to senior photographer in your area with lessons on everything from marketing to pricing to model teams to websites that convert and everything in between!  I will give you my proven roadmap on running a successful senior photography business, access to all my templates including sales objection scripts, email templates, social media templates, magazine, guides and more.  You get complete access to me during the six months to help you with anything in your business, 2 group coaching calls per month, 3 individual coaching calls and a two day in person retreat in Charleston, SC.  This program has helped so many photographers raise their prices so they make a profit, handle clients that have objections, create successful models teams, build websites that convert visitors to booked clients and book more seniors!  It could do that for you too!!

Dm me on Instagram @seniorologie and let’s chat!  I will answer any and all of your questions and help you determine if this program is a good fit for you and your business!

If you liked this episode, let me know!  I want to hear from you!  You can share your favorite piece of advice from this episode on social and tag me, email me any questions you have on how to handle a specific objection, or share a review on your favorite podcast platform!  You can also join my free Facebook community to further this discussion with myself and other senior photographers.  Simply go to www.facebook.com/seniorologiecommunity, answer a few questions and I will add you to the group!

Thank you so much for listening to today’s episode of the seniorologie podcast and I can’t wait to meet you right back here next week for an all new episode.