I’m just going to say it:

If your clients are texting you at 9pm, asking for “just one quick thing,” if your calendar is a game of Tetris built around their schedule, if you’re constantly adjusting your boundaries just to “keep them happy”…

Then your clients are running your business—not you.

And I say that with love and experience.

Because I’ve been there.

Early in my business, I thought being available 24/7 was what made me valuable.

I over-delivered, undercharged, and said yes when I should have said “that’s outside of scope.”

The result?

Burnout, resentment, and clients who didn’t actually respect my time (because I didn’t either).

I stopped building a business for validation and started building one for sustainability.

I set clear expectations.

I communicated boundaries.

And I started acting like the CEO—even when it felt scary.

You don’t need to be a robot with autoresponders and contracts carved in stone (unless you want to). But you do need structure.

Because when you set the standard, you attract clients who respect it.

So if you’ve been feeling overwhelmed by client demands or like your business is running you… it might be time for a boundary tune-up.

You in?