5 Tips for how Financial Boundaries Can Help Your Teacher Business with Guest Writer: Omar Helal

Introducing Guest Writer - Omar Helal

Omar, a professional bookkeeper specializing in small business solutions has been helping Jewels of Teaching behind the scenes for some time now. He is also a wonderful writer and I have asked him to share his thoughts and experience in a few articles about small business finance. Here, we can learn about a different perspective on finance and how our monthly theme of boundaries works within this sphere. 

What is Bookkeeping for Small Business?

When people ask about being a bookkeeper (a term which a surprising number of people conflate with being a librarian), they’ll often ask how important bookkeeping is to a business. To which I’ll respond with something like “That depends, does the business need to make money?” 

That may sound like a rhetorical question, but it really isn’t. Lots of small business owners across many industries don’t view their business as a business. They think of it as a side hustle, or a hobby that just so happens to make money once in a while. And there is nothing wrong with that at all! 

But if you’re reading this, I’m guessing that isn’t your situation. I know the Jewels of Teaching community is dedicated, hard-working, and probably a little overwhelmed. Many of you are still in the early stages of growing your teacherpreneur business, and may not yet be making enough to be profitable. That’s OK! I promise, lots of businesses have to operate for a while before they start making a profit. 

What’s important is that you are setting yourself up to eventually be profitable. And if you don’t establish strong boundaries early on, you can prevent your business from reaching that goal. Remember that you want to work smarter, not harder. So I’m going to give you 5 finance tips that anyone, at any stage of entrepreneurship, can put into action right now:

Disclaimer: This advice is exactly that, advice. I am not a lawyer nor do I play one on TV. None of the following are binding by law or a guarantee for success, that is up to you. These 5 tips come from my experience and opinion on what will serve your business to become better. 

1. Ask for what you are worth

“I have a great job opportunity for you! We can’t pay you any money, but it is in your field and will be a great experience for you!” 

Every small business professional has heard something like this before. And all too often we get talked into working for free. The reason this works is because we get overly focused on what we get out of the situation. We think of the experience that might be good for our long term growth or look good on our resume, or maybe the exposure we get from our work being presented on someone else’s platform. But remember what the other party gets out of the deal. Your labor has value to your clients. In business, no one is doing anything out of pure generosity. So if someone is asking you to work for free, that means that they expect to benefit from it in some way. And if they can enjoy the fruits of your labor, you should too! 

Now there is nothing wrong with charity. But charity is a personal activity, not a business activity. Even if you are being asked to work for a noble cause, like making a difference in someone’s education, don’t be tricked into thinking that giving your labor away is the only way to make a positive impact on the world. You can always volunteer at a homeless shelter, or donate to your favorite charities, or get involved with your local friends of the library organization. But when you do something professionally, don’t do it for free. It sends the message that your professional labor isn’t valuable, and people will expect you to provide it for nothing. Asking to be paid will teach your clients that they are getting something worth paying for.   

2. Get It In Writing 

Beware the ever expanding job! You know, the one where a client asks you to do a simple job that turns out to not be so simple. It may start as “I just need you to do x”. Then you’ll hear “How come you didn’t do y?”. And then, “I was expecting you to do Z”. Maybe even, “this doesn’t work, throw out XYZ and do ABC instead.” 

The ever expanding job is usually a result of a client trying to bargain hunt for the lowest price on something. But the thing they really want seems expensive, so they don’t buy that. Instead they buy something smaller for less money, then push you to make it into the more expensive thing they didn’t buy. Think of it like someone going to McDonald’s and asking for a plain cheeseburger because it only costs $1.99. Then they go to the counter upset because they wanted fries too. No they didn’t order it, but they thought it was obvious they wanted fries. So they demand a fully stacked burger with all the trimmings, but they already paid for the plain cheeseburger so they shouldn’t have to pay again right? And actually, they’ve decided they don’t want a burger, they want a filet mignon and stuffed mushrooms. All for $1.99! 

So what does this have to do with getting things in writing? Simple: it provides a reference. When someone orders something from McDonald’s, they are given a receipt. That is so both parties are clear about their expectations. A customer can’t dispute their order if you have a written record of the agreement (though it may not stop them from trying). Whenever you take on a job, get documentation on what exactly you are doing, and what you are not doing. Personally, I like to communicate by email as much as possible because it leaves a written record of everything that was said. But if you and a client discuss something on the phone or in person, try sending a follow up email recapping your conversation and outlining clearly what your deal is. And if they ask for more later on, don’t be afraid to provide a gentle reminder of what they agreed to, with receipts! 

3. “Last minute for you does not mean emergency for me”

Give yourself a reasonable amount of time to complete projects, no matter how urgent the client claims that it is. Small businesses have limited resources, and so must strive to work efficiently. This does not mean quickly. Working quickly can at times be the opposite of efficiency. When clients force you to drop everything to work on something because of their delay, you are not able to plan an efficient workday. Your workflow gets interrupted, and that will cause whatever work you dropped to take even longer once you come back to it. You should not be getting vital information in piecemeal fashion on a tight deadline. It is your client’s responsibility to get things to you in a timely fashion so you can plan your work schedule and get things done efficiently. Ask your client, would they rather have it done right, or done quick?

You’ll find that most of the time when a client demands something at the last minute and claims it is “urgent”, it doesn’t mean there are dire consequences for failure. It just means they are impatient and want it done now. If something is significant enough to carry dire consequences, then they should have talked to you about it well before the due date, and that is their failing, not yours. And if it really means that much to the client, then consider offering the client the option to pay a rush order fee for your inconvenience.  

4. Collect from your clients

Money is a strangely taboo topic for many small business owners. The goal of any business is to make money, but it can be hard to tell somebody that they owe you and need to pay up. Many business owners will not bring up overdue invoices to avoid awkwardness with clients, or for fear of driving a client away. They might assume the client is just a little behind and will send them payment any day now. And in the meantime they’ll just keep working, hoping to get paid eventually.                                        

This is a recipe for disaster. In your accounting software of choice, you should have the option to set “terms”. This is the timespan in which you are expecting the client to pay you in full. You can set whatever terms you think are reasonable, but once you do, hold your client to it. Send reminder emails when invoices are due or past due. Try sending a statement to your client showing all outstanding invoices. In QuickBooks you can even automate these emails, which many prefer because it seems less confrontational than sending the client a reminder email directly. And if a client still won’t pay, don’t be afraid to put a temporary pause on service. The best time to do this is often when they have a request. Then you can say, “Sure, I’d love to handle X for you. Once your invoice #123 gets paid, I’ll get to work.”  

5. Say no to clients!   

You WILL have clients who do not respect the four boundaries listed above. You will have people who will ask you to work for free, or constantly rush you, or refuse to put things in writing, or get offended when you ask about an overdue invoice. Maybe you already do. And you may wonder what to do with these clients. Well, first make sure you’ve clearly communicated your boundaries with them. People pleasers may be so used to accommodating they’ve never actually defined their boundaries before.

But once you’ve made yourself clear, if they still can’t respect those boundaries, drop them. Yes, don’t be afraid to lose a client. The truth is, not every client is worth having. 

I am not one to advise on general stress management or time management. Jewels has lots of great resources for that, but I am advocating these strategies from a strictly financial perspective. Clients who don’t respect these boundaries will wreak havoc on your business. They will demand the most work from you while paying as little as they can get away with. As a result, you’ll invest most of your resources into the clients who give you the least return. Instead of doing everything possible to hang on to a bad client, let them go so you can free up time for better clients! Clients who will respect you, appreciate you, and pay you. 

If you want to learn more about bookkeeping resources/services, feel free to contact me via my Linkedin profile: www.linkedin.com/in/ohelalfla 

And if you want to learn more about boundary setting and stress management, check out the Self-Care Planner from the Jewels of Teaching Store.