Myo Life

#3: Boundaries That Don’t Budge: 5 Boundaries For a Thriving Myofunctional Therapy Business

• Carmen Woodland • Episode 3

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In this episode of Myo Life, Carmen Woodland shares the 5 essential boundaries every dental hygienist transitioning into myofunctional therapy needs to set for a thriving business and a life they’re "bonkers" about. 

Carmen discusses how to identify non-negotiable boundaries, set up systems to protect your time, teach clients how to treat you, maintain business hours, and embrace the power of saying no. 

Whether you're just starting out or refining your current business, these boundaries will help you create a balanced, organized, and successful myofunctional therapy practice. 

Tune in for actionable tips on building a business that aligns with your goals and gives you the freedom you deserve.

Carmen Woodland:

Hey, I'm Carmen and welcome to Myo Life. That's short for my outrageous life, which is exactly the kind of life I get to live since I found the courage to ditch dental hygiene and build a life I'm bonkers about as a Myo functional therapist and entrepreneur. Here you will find all the things Myo business and how to build a life that you, too, are bonkers about. I'm very happy you're here. Shall we dive in?

Carmen Woodland:

Welcome, welcome, welcome. I hope this finds you doing fantastic.

Carmen Woodland:

Today we are going to be talking about boundaries, one of my favorite things. I really don't have this scripted out. I just have some notes and we are going to just roll with it. One of my favorite things to do. One thing I am always saying to students inside the Ditch Hygiene Academy™ is done is better than perfect, and also to take ugly and perfect action. So I made some notes and we're just going to roll with this.

Carmen Woodland:

So one of the things that my students inside the Ditch Hygiene Academy™ sometimes not sometimes what they really struggle with most all the time are boundaries. Okay, the thing is is, if you think about it, in your dental hygiene career, there's not a whole lot of boundaries you have to set, maybe with a boss or something, but your appointment time sets the boundaries, you know. So there's not a whole lot of that going, so I just really sat down. Boundaries are something that I have to work on and revisit all the time in my business, so this is not a one and done thing all the time in my business. So this is not a one and done thing. So, um, we're going to be going over five different areas of boundaries so that you can, um, have time and space for building that, uh, dream business, so you can build a life that you're bonkers about. So I'm going to just jump right in.

Carmen Woodland:

So the first one is identify your non-negotiable boundaries. Um and so in. When I teach the total calendar control, this is, um, you know, just one of the steps in laying out your calendar. These are obviously the things that, um, you can't negotiate. Okay, this might be kids activities. This is obviously your job. And then also, when do you refuse to work? So, when you decide on off limits time, this might be evenings, weekends, mornings. This is going to help you with your boundaries from the very beginning. Now you might be starting a business. You might be coming to study with me inside the Ditch Hygiene Academy™. It's hard to say. I don't know exactly where you are, um, but this will come into play when you start working with clients.

Carmen Woodland:

Um, for me, the this is one of the things that I thought of when I thought about um working weekends. So if you think about it uh, you know your dental hygiene job there are always those people who will say, well, do you have a an appointment at seven? For, crying out loud, there's probably somebody who would come if you had an appointment at six. You know, um, I used to struggle with this. I had people who were always mad that we got rid of the 6 30 AM appointments. We got rid of the 7 AM because we went to um normal hours, okay, like eight to five or eight to four. So when I was first starting out, when I was still working, cause, um, I worked three 12 hour shifts, so I had long days, um, but I would have clients that would say, well, I can, you know, I can do it on the weekends. So what I found in my business is this equated to kind of like a corporate dental model or a, I'll say like a perfect teeth or comfort dental, that kind of stuff that sees people. I'm, I swear, 24 seven.

Carmen Woodland:

Um, those were not my best clients. They were the ones who, um, wouldn't show up or maybe they didn't even become a client. You know, I would do their exam and I would agree to do it on a Saturday, rather than just identifying this as my non-negotiable and setting a boundary I would always bend, okay. So this is one of the first things to think about is, obviously, you can't make any changes to your job hours, or at least not yet. Uh, but you know, kids, activities, that kind of stuff. So that's the first one. The second one is set up your systems and processes from the beginning to include your boundaries. So what do I mean by this? Um, this is a going to be those hours that I was just talking about, and we'll dive a little bit more into that here, um, in a couple more.

Carmen Woodland:

But like email policies, phone policies, that kind of stuff. Texting, oh my goodness, that's a big one. I used to let people text me until one night I was going to bed and it's. It's always just very awkward when you're trying to say like, hey, good night, and somebody is. You know, you're kind of having this conversation back and forth. Um, and I woke up to a whole barrage of texts from her like, hey, I was talking to you and I want answers, and you know she had 15 different questions and I was like, um, timeout, I'm raising my surrender flag. We are never doing this again.

Carmen Woodland:

So when you're setting boundaries and you're setting up your systems and processes, this is important, like what's your phone policy? You know how fast are you going to answer emails, that kind of stuff. So inside the Ditch Hygiene Academy, I teach seven systems that you really need to have in place for building your business and for staying organized and for managing your finances and all and all your marketing, all of that kind of stuff. Um, so this is another one Um, my email. From the very beginning, clients know when I answer emails um, I don't live in my inbox and how and how fast they can expect a response. Okay, so I think that about sums up that boundary.

Carmen Woodland:

The third boundary is to teach clients and potential clients how to treat you. So this kind of piggybacks on that. My clients know if they're going to no-show their appointment or if they're going to try and late, cancel it and say I'm seeing them today at three o'clock and no, that's a bad example, say, I'm seeing them today at 10 and they're trying to get in touch with me. They know A the boundary that I have set with the email policy. They know that I check my email Monday through Thursday at around noon, sometime between 12 and one. So if they're trying to get in touch with me for their 10 o'clock appointment to let me know that they're going to be late or no show or try and reschedule it, I'm not even going to see it, okay?

Carmen Woodland:

So this goes back to teaching clients and potential clients how to treat you. What can they expect? Lay it all out. It doesn't make you come across as rude or anything, it it? Uh, in my eyes, it makes you come across as being organized. Um, I think that's all I need to say about that one. So if you allow them to abuse you, they will, which is precisely why I have had to end. You know, texting anything like that, like this is how it is. They don't message me in Skype. I don't want to hear from them on WhatsApp, anything like that.

Carmen Woodland:

They know I teach them from the very beginning. This is what it is like to work with me. Here are my rules, here are my standards. Um, your boundaries. You guys are like a bumper, like when you go bowling, and there's the bumpers that help keep your ball in the middle of the lane. This is the same thing, all right.

Carmen Woodland:

Number four do business during business hour. So I alluded to this before. So when you're thinking about your business hours or when you're going to be available to see clients, so if you're still working full time but maybe you're off on Fridays, friday is going to be your, your business hours. So what I teach my students inside the academy is do business during business hours. This is your boundaries. No, you're not going to have a client there week one, week two, week three, week four, um, but if you tell me and this, this happens with my, with my students that I'm coaching if they tell me that Fridays from eight to five are their business hours, I should be able to send them an email at one o'clock on Friday and say, hey, are you in the office? Um, that is the only way that you're going to get things done.

Carmen Woodland:

But also it puts a bumper around or a boundary around your time, like, hey, this is when I'm doing business. Hey, sweetheart, hey, children, mommy's in the office, I'm working. Okay, this is hard. This is probably one of the harder boundaries. Plus, it was hard for me, especially on a day when my sweetie is off, he decides to take a Ferris Bueller day and I'm supposed to be in my office and he wants to play cards. So that is a boundary of, hey, I have to get stuff done. I set up my calendar, I set up my to-do list, all of that stuff. I set up my calendar, I set up my to-do list, all of that stuff, planning that I'm going to have this time. So that's a big one.

Carmen Woodland:

And then the fifth boundary that I think that you need to set. I don't know if this is a boundary, but it says be assertive. So kids, partners, employers say no, yeah, it is a boundary, it's the no boundary, no is a full sentence. You're going to say no a lot because you can't have the time to build your business if you're saying yes to everything else. So be assertive. There's a difference between being aggressive, just being rude, anything like that.

Carmen Woodland:

Being assertive that just shows like, hey, I value me and this is important to me, so, so say no, one needed. You should set the boundary and run every through, every opportunity, everything through your boundary filter. Is this going to move me closer to my goals? Is this going to take me further away? Is this, um a needle moving, massive? You know priority, or am I wasting time? All right, so there you have it Five things that you can do.

Carmen Woodland:

Um to have boundaries that don't budge. And there's others um identify your non-negotiables. Set up your systems and processes so that you can um have your boundaries in place from the very beginning. Teach clients and potential clients how to treat you. Uh, do business during business hours. So set those boundaries that bumper on on your time, and then, uh be assertive. Do not be afraid to say no. All right, my friend, that is it. Remember, if you are in the market to build a thriving myofunctional therapy practice and you want to learn from somebody who has done it and teaches you exactly what to do there is no gatekeeping. I am a transparent, open book you exactly what to do. There is no gatekeeping. I am a transparent, open book. I teach you exactly everything that I have done Then you want to make sure that you are inside the Ditch Hygiene Academy™. Wherever you are watching this, there will be information on our next enrollment to join the wait list any of that good stuff. So that is a wrap. My friend and I will see you soon for the next episode.