Setting Client Boundaries When Everyone Wants It Yesterday

Your business can be solid and you can still have weeks that feel like the wheels are about to come off. I talk through one of those stretches: long days, nonstop demands, and that nagging feeling that everyone wants everything “yesterday.” But instead of spiraling, I focus on the mindset shifts that keep me steady as a business owner and service provider, especially as I write my next book, Hustle Like a Boss (launching January 2027). 

We get practical about boundaries that protect your time and your cash flow. I share real client scenarios, including the moment someone tried to refuse a deposit on a $14,000 job and how I held my line without apology. We also dig into why deposits matter, what happens when you front material and labor costs, and why chasing money is one of the fastest ways to burn out. If you’ve ever felt tempted to bend your policies just to “keep the job,” this will help you rethink what that really costs. 

Then we go deeper on contracts, cancellations, and the fear of getting attacked online. I explain how documentation and clear clauses change the entire power dynamic, and why confidence is often the difference between being pushed around and being respected. We also talk about entitlement, chargebacks, and how easily a small business can lose money even when they did everything right. 

I end with a challenge for both sides of the transaction: treat people like humans, give feedback with a normal tone, and stand up for your value without copying competitors. If this hits home, subscribe, share it with another business owner, and leave a review with the boundary you’re working on right now.

Transcript

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When The Week Feels Heavy

SPEAKER_00 0:26

I knew there was something missing. You guys need another podcast. My bad, my bad. I just had a really long day at work making people happy, responding to emails, and trying not to go crazy. Do y'all ever have weeks like that where you're literally just feeling like everything? It's not really necessarily crashing down around you, but it's like, is it in full moon like every single day? Because that's what I'm feeling this week. And I'm only I'm recording this on a Wednesday. So that means it's literally been three days, and that's how I feel about this week. Um, but it really prompted some ideas that I wanted to share with you guys and see if maybe you resonate with it.

Mindset Shifts For Business Seasons

SPEAKER_00 1:11

Being a business owner is a lot more than what we think, right? Um, I'm writing my second book called Hustle Like a Boss. It's launching in January of 2027. And in that book, I'm talking about the mind shifts that we're having to do in different seasons of our lives, especially as entrepreneurs, business owners. Um our mindset is so important. I know that the things that I'm going through this week are crazy, but the Shelby a year ago would have had a completely different reaction. I would have blown everything out of proportion. I would have been stressed out, I would have let it keep me up at night. I would think that my world is ending, that the business is over. And you may be listening to this or watching this and go, I is she like, does she know what's going on right now? Because that's what's going on in my life. Trust me when I say I completely understand. People have changed a lot over the last 14 years that I've been in business, and they are harder to please. They expect everything yesterday, and they prefer that you don't work for anybody else, but then also they don't want to pay you as if like you don't work for or like so you don't work for anybody else. So those are the things that I juggle with in my business is like, okay, you only have a certain amount of time with me every single month, whether it's if I'm working on your account or if Maddie's working on it or Chelsea's working on it, like we have allotted time for your account because that's how we have to work. That's how we have to make sure that, you know, I'm making business, the or I'm making money, and the business is making money, and that we can still fully help you guys as our clients. So trust me when I say that if you're going through a crazy time, which I've I've talked to a few of my clients and they're also feeling this way this year, that if you're like, I don't know what to do, it's okay to take a break. It's okay to reset, and it's okay to be afraid. It's okay to stress out. It is okay to be all of those things. If you've never been sued before and you're being sued, it's okay to stress out a little bit. If you have someone that's trying to attack you and you don't have your contracts together and you may be freaking out, that's okay. But guess what? We learn through the these types of seasons. We learn what we need to make sure our mindset is so that way when it happens again, because honestly, it's gonna happen again more than one time, unfortunately. So know that what you're learning now is what you're going to apply to your life later. Uh, just

Deposits Policies And Holding The Line

SPEAKER_00 4:10

recently I had a man tell me that he's not paying me a deposit for the signs, $14,000 worth of signs that he wants me to do for him. And I said, Well, sir, that's not how I do business. And he said, Well, I'll pay you when I see the signs and if I like them or not. I'm just gonna pause there, right? And I said, Well, sir, that's not my business policy. You have to pay me 50% up front, and the other 50% is due on the date of installation. He didn't really like that, put him in his place a little bit, but I hope that I gained respect from him because also I'm not gonna bend over backwards for you, go against my policies just because that's the only thing that you uh prefer or you want to happen, I guess. Um, and then also if I happen to lose the job because I have yet to be paid the deposit, and it's been a week almost. Um, if I lose the job, I can walk away going, you know what? I have self-respect. I know my value, I know my worth, and I'm not gonna let other people dictate that. Shelby a year ago would have been like, oh my God, I cannot believe like, okay, you know what? Yes, you're right. I will just let you pay me at the very end. No contract in place, no deposit. I'm fronting all the money for all the material, the labor, everything, in hopes that I'm not trying to get my money 60 or 90 days after the date of installation, right? And if you guys are in that kind of job or in that kind of business, you understand that we need a little bit up front so that way we don't have to fork up that much money in labor and material costs. So that way we also are not chasing money for 90 days because I gotta tell you how frustrating it is to chase money. That's the worst part of my job. Another person wanted to cancel a project in the middle of it. And I was like, okay, that's great. But according to our contract, you know, you're gonna owe me this, this, and this because I've made these purchases, I've done the work, it's a deliverable project. Um, and I expect, you know, if you're gonna terminate the contract as it says in this clause, you're gonna have to pay me anyways, et cetera, et cetera. Needless to say, we are still working on the project together. I'm very fortunate and very um, I'm actually looking forward to it. I've worked very hard on this project. It's not quite perfect yet. Um, and they are like, you know what, you're right. We've got to keep going. But guess what? Shelby five years ago, Shelby seven years ago. Oh my God, I would have been up in the air. I would have been like, okay, you're right. You know what? You don't owe me anything. In fact, I'll give you your money back because they did pay a deposit. I would have given them their money back. But no, I know what I'm worth. I know what my value is, I know what I bring to the table for my clients. And it's so nice to be confident in who I am and not afraid of what I may lose in the future. I'm not afraid of what they are gonna go say because guess what? The person that tried to sue me, if anything comes out about that on Google or, you know, a Facebook review or a Facebook post, one, it could be considered harassment. And two, I have all the documentation that says, listen, this is what our lawyers conversed about back and forth, and I'll just post it on there, y'all, because I know what my value is and I know what I brought to the table for that client. And of course I'm gonna mess up, right? I understand that things don't go the right way. I understand that if it was something that yeah, I was in the wrong about, I would 100% make that up for that person. But we cannot continue to be knocked down.

Entitlement Reviews And Chargeback Fears

SPEAKER_00 7:59

We cannot continue to live afraid as business owners, as service providers, because people are entitled today. People are so entitled and they won it yesterday. If they're not happy about it, they're gonna go tell everybody how terrible you are. Or if they're not happy about it, they're gonna try to get their money back. I just saw a post on social that somebody lost $4,000 from a custom-made door that they delivered to these people out in a different state, delivered it to them. They have proof of delivery, and the customer um reported it as fraud, said that it was never delivered, and the merchant actually allowed that to happen. So now that business is under $4,000 and no door, and that customer won. So tell me how that is fair when it comes to small businesses or businesses in general. We cannot continue to treat each other this way. And I'm not just talking about the consumers that have your regular nine to five job. I deal with businesses that are also small businesses and they continue to treat me in the same exact way. We have got to learn to respect each other. We've

Trust Respect And A Better Way To Complain

SPEAKER_00 9:16

got to learn to trust each other, to say, you know what, yes, this is the person that I want to do it. I my when my bug guy comes to my my house or if he comes to my office or my studio, I don't follow behind him to make sure that everything he does or everything is sprayed. I also don't ask, hey, you know what? Can I test your your your liquid that you're spraying? Is that water? Are you really spraying water around everything? No. I trust that he's gonna do the job that he's gonna do that I've paid him for. When my window cleaners come to my studio, I don't ask to test their water. I don't watch every move that they make because I trust that they're gonna do what I paid them to do. And you know what? If they don't, it's a simple phone call. Hey, listen, yo, by the way, they left a few streaks this time. Next time, do you mind just if if they can just wipe it down a little bit better, that'd be great. Or, hey, listen, I've got an event coming up. They really kind of did a half job here. I know that maybe they were in a rush. I know it's super hot outside. Do you mind if they just come back before the event? And guess what? People respond to that very well. People respond to that tone of voice. I'm not cussing them out, I'm not yelling at them, I'm not leaving them a negative review, I'm not firing them because we are all humans. So, whenever you're doing business next, if that's hiring a social person, if that's hiring a sign person, if that's going to a restaurant around the corner from your house, keep in mind that these are human beings that we're dealing with. That we need to be nice to them. And also, if you're a business owner and you're dealing with these assholes out here, stand up for yourself. Be true to yourself. Know your worth because you are worth the value that you place on yourself. Screw what anybody else thinks. Screw what your your competitors do. I don't do anything that my competitors do. I don't price the same. I don't do the same, I mean I do the same services, but in different ways. My processes look the same. My employees, I mean, my processes don't look the same. My employees look different. That's because I am true to myself. I know my value. I know what I bring to the table for my clients. And whenever I show that confidence, that only attracts more people to me. It attracts more people to my business. And it also keeps my clients here because that is what's important to me. I want to retain those clients. I want to keep them happy. I want to build their businesses. I want to have that relationship with them. So go today, be confident in yourself, shift that mindset if you have to, and keep on a lookout because Hustle Like a Boss is launching January of 2027. See y'all next episode.