I've been in business for just over 6 years now and reading back through my old business plan[s], policies, and forum posts I have come to know that evolution is not reserved to nature alone. Business - like life - can and should evolve. Mine certainly has.

In this series of posts I will revisit ten business policies I've either outgrown or have evolved my perspective on.

Business policy revisited #1 - No Phone Calls

I never used to give clients my phone number. And I mean never ever.

I was protective of my family life and uncomfortable with even the suggestion of blurring the lines between business and personal. But I've learned that when you run your business from home there really are no exacting boundaries. Try as you might to avoid it, the two will bleed into one other, if even just once in a while.

I've also learned that some of my clients feel most comfortable communicating over the phone. Perhaps they aren't as savvy on the computer, or maybe they resent the disconnect they get from a strictly emailed conversation. Whatever the reasons, when I took a good look at my business practices I understood there was plenty of room for compromise when it came to being available for phone calls.

Now, I still don't give out my phone number unless I'm already contracted with a client - prospects still reach out to me via email or social media, but I do make myself more available to clients via the phone.

In order to ensure that business hours don't interfere with my family life I require that all calls are scheduled in advance, and most of those meetings are held via Skype. This gives clients a place to leave a message at any hour and I know that when I turn off the business Skype account the 'business phone' is effectively off - preserving the precious after-hours family time that is the very reason I work for myself in the first place.

Have you changed or revisited any of your own steadfast business policies and procedures? What made you change your mind?

Stay tuned as I revisit nine more business policies!