By Kee Smith
It seems like over the last year, or so we’ve learned the importance of creating boundaries. In most cases, we’ve learned to create emotional boundaries in our personal lives as they pertain to relationships with family, friends, intimate partners, and employers alike. It boils down to deciding what behaviors you’re willing to accept from those you interact with regularly. It’s you choosing what your bottom line is and standing on it, no matter what. Now, I say this like it’s an easy task to accomplish, but the truth is that it’s not. If you’ve lived your entire life without boundaries, just vibes and chaos, then I imagine it’s even more difficult for you because you not only have to create the boundaries, but you’ve got to learn how to implement them and stand on them, too. Initially, it creates an additional layer of frustration because you go through a series of emotions from guilt to fu*k it until you find the courage, balance, and tact to implement them in a way you feel is most beneficial.
Even deeper than that, as Black women, we probably have to create more boundaries than any other human on this Earth because, for whatever reason, they love to try us. Anyway, I would like to encourage you to not only draw your line in your personal journey but in your entrepreneurial journey, too. Black women have put themselves in a position to be amongst the quickest growing group of entrepreneurs. Although WE have always known that we are the standard, everyone else is finally starting to catch up and realize it, too. Sis, we are applying pressure, do you hear me?! We are finding our power and passion and flipping the profit. I love this for us. It only further proves that everything that the world needs, we breed. Every service, product, or source of information that is readily available and in high demand for consumers, is provided by the US at a larger rate than anyone else. The gag is, they expect discounts from us. They want us to produce the highest quality product, provide the most substantial service and share the most knowledge for a fraction of what they would gladly give to a non-Black business owner.
With that being said, I think it is more important now than it has ever been before to draw your line in your business. Please put your price on the table and leave it there. Force everyone to level up to meet YOUR requirements. Make sure they know that what you’re offering is exclusive, and because of that, your line is your line. Most importantly, draw your line to protect your business. Draw your line to make sure that YOU always meet your goals and scale your business without bending to conform to somebody else’s idea of what you deserve. Draw your line for your personal, mental, spiritual, and emotional sanity. Draw your line to ensure your authority is acknowledged. Draw your line because everybody else is drawing theirs. You know how much time, energy, effort, and heart you put into your brand or business, and the only person that can set the boundary and then draw the line right up under it is you. Draw your line, sis. Draw your line in a permanent marker and watch your profit soar.
Kee Smith is a contributing writer and is a homie, lover and friend and always “write” on time. Be sure to connect on IG @_ _ _lowkee.
The Pedestal Project 