What are the rules anyway!?!?

I’m a rule follower. I have been my whole life. I pay my bills on time, I look both ways before crossing the street, I don’t talk during the movie. I follow rules, all rules…well mostly all rules. That’s not to say I’m not a risk taker. This is not at all the same thing. I’m a huge risk taker, especially in my career. I’ve had at least five completely different careers in my life (not different jobs but entirely different careers), I’ve moved to different states and different countries over a dozen times as an adult, I launched my first company when I was over 50 years old. I’ve jumped into risks with both feet over and over and it’s served me well.

But I’ve always been a rule follower. As a small business owner my challenge has not been following rules. What keeps me up at night is not worrying about following the rules. What wakes me up at 2am in a cold sweat is figuring out what the rules are. I’m not talking about the legally mandated rules. You still have to pay your taxes, possess the appropriate required permits, etc. I’m talking about most of the other rules and processes that come with running a successful business.

One example of this is your business’s customer facing policies. Early on in my business I tackled the question of how much flexibility to give my clients in scheduling services. Could they schedule at the last minute? What happened if they cancelled? What if they cancelled at the last minute? Would I charge them extra for any of these situations? As a brand-new business I was anxious to have clients, any clients, under any circumstances. Consequently, I tended to let clients do whatever they wanted and I was often scrambling to meet less than fair demands. I made the mistake of many new business owners who tend to undervalue their worth. It wasn’t long before I developed a policy that was fairer to me, better for my employees and better for my business. That was many moons ago and the policy in place today bears only a small resemblance to the original. The point is, as your business changes, the rules change too. My cancellation/change/scheduling policy has matured as my business has grown. It works for my business today, it won’t tomorrow and that’s the way it should be. The smart business owner is constantly questioning how they do things and looking for a better way.

I still struggle with these questions and I’ll admit, I don’t follow my policy rigidly. I consider a variety of factors when deciding how to proceed. How long have they been a client? Do they regularly push the limits of the policy? What were the extenuating circumstances? It’s sometimes (often) a judgement call and yes, I have lost clients because of the decisions I’ve made. But I’ve also kept clients who respect what I do and the value I bring.

The answer I’ve come to is that there are no rules in small business. Rather there are no set or permanent rules. Rules are created based on the situation, the tone and the heart of the business. You, as a small business owner, have to decide what is right for your customers and what is right for you and what is right for your business. You may choose to have rigid return policies, or you may choose to have none at all. You may choose to take on any client or be more selective. There’s a million different little, and not so little, rules you set for your business. These are set in the beginning or as you go along and can and should change as your business changes. It’s just another one of the challenging, infuriating, frustrating, amazing, wonderful things about owning and running your own business.