🎯 SETTING BOUNDARIES AFTER ACADEMIA: Why Freelance Editors & Coaches Struggle (and How to Fix It)

When you're in academia, you're trained to sacrifice---your time, your health, your family, your peace.

You're made to do more with less.

You're "voluntold" to serve on committees and take on projects, all without extra compensation or appreciation.

But here's the problem: when you leave academia to start your own business, those harmful patterns don't magically disappear. You bring them with you.

In this episode, I walk you through:

✓ Why academics struggle so much with setting boundaries

✓ The specific boundaries every freelance editor & coach needs

✓ How to charge for extra work without guilt (yes, that second revision round counts)

✓ What to do when clients push back or ask for "just one more thing"

✓ Real talk on sustainability: why boundaries aren't selfish, they're essential

✓ How to communicate boundaries without over-explaining or apologizing

✓ The difference between boundaries rooted in fear vs. boundaries rooted in clarity

If you've ever:

🎯 Worked way beyond what you promised (and not charged for it)

🎯 Felt paralyzed by guilt when setting a boundary

🎯 Over-explained yourself to a client

🎯 Taken on rush jobs you didn't have time for out of fear they'd leave

Felt obligated to respond to emails immediately

🎯 Stayed on a call longer than you planned because you didn't know how to end it

...then this episode is for you.

Your worth doesn't come from the amount of time you work. It comes from your expertise, your skills, and your labor. You deserve to be paid well for the value you provide. And you deserve a business that serves your life, not the other way around.

To use your skills to build a rewarding and profitable academic business, join the next cohort of Becoming an Academic Editor or Coach (BAE): AcadiaEditing.com/BecomeAnEditor

To grow your existing academic business, join The Academic Entrepreneurs Studio: AcadiaEditing.com/Studio

2:45 - The "voluntold" problem in academia

5:30 - When obligations become exploitation

8:15 - Sacrifice myth perpetuates exploitation

11:00 - Unlearning academic patterns after leaving

13:45 - Boundary #1: Set your work schedule

16:30 - Using your calendar as boundary

19:15 - The vacation trap: never taking time off

22:00 - Why real rest keeps business sustainable

24:45 - Boundary #2: Stop over-delivering work

27:30 - Permission to be "good enough"

30:15 - Scope creep: "just one more thing"

33:00 - Charging for work beyond contract

35:45 - Boundary #3: Don't undercharge clients

38:30 - Why nervous energy repels quality clients

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