Mantra for the day: Who’s the boss? I’m the boss. Who’s the boss? I’m the boss. Who’s the boss? I’m the boss. I’m the boss. I’m the BOSS!!!

Maybe you need to say this to yourself in the mirror, sing it in the shower, or write it one hundred times on your proverbial chalk board – whatever works. But you need to get it into your head and you need to believe it.

Your business exists because of you and you hold the controls for change and progress. Take the opinions of others, yes – but watch out for employees, interns, freelancers and even writers who try to cross your line of tolerance.

Being the boss, I think often means setting aside personal pet peeves and doing what is right for the business. Keeping a team of happy campers is really important. So I’ve gotten to know many of my team members pretty well.

It helps to have a human understanding that sometimes people have a bad hair day – so to speak. Sometimes meetings cannot be made. Sometimes family responsibilities outweigh work responsibilities. And all things considered – I can be a very accommodating boss.

Being the boss also means having to make tough decisions for the sake of the company.

And if you are going to make these decisions and have a team of people who act on your decisions – you need to set unbreakable standards of business etiquette. Stuff that really works for you and your company, of course.

You need to learn to put your foot down without stepping on ANYONE. And you need to do that right away.

If an employee comes to you with a comment that you feel is out of bounds – do not ignore it. For example: if Dude says — hey boss, just wanted to let you know that I think you made a really dumb decision in partnering with X Company on that project. Oh and you should make me employee of the month too, because I’m cool– Please kindly and bluntly tell Dude that this is your company and you make the decisions.

If Dude’s comment makes sense, but you feel that he should’ve been less forceful with you – kindly and bluntly require that he respect your position and let him know how you need suggestions given to you.

Claiming your authority in a peaceful manner may be all you need to do with this guy. Letting him know that you can exercise your bossness when necessary should be enough to put him in his place.

People like to try to take advantage of me. This is because I am kind and genuinely care about them – and this can come off as passive. Some of the people who work for me are very aggressive. I chose them deliberately. I know that I may run into situations where they attempt to get away with more than they should.

I used to be passive aggressive. I used to try and get my point across by saying things between my words. But I got tired. And that never helped anything anyway.

Look Dude in the eye when you speak to him – always. Or if on the phone always speak clearly and with conviction. Ask him a validating question like, do you understand? Or some version of… are you going to do it (this) way next time? You want a yes or no answer.

Do not ask him: Does this sound fair to you? Or can you understand where I’m coming from, and why I need to use my authority with you? Believe it or not – people have used these phrases with me. You don’t want the dude to follow your instructions because he feels sorry for you. And you don’t want him to think there’s an alternative to your decision.

You can, if you like, set your standards with company rules. Many people do it, and it works for them. And yours can be short and sweet.

I keep a private blog with my writers. I’ve set rigid rules for submission guidelines and deadlines. I make announcements about changes and upcoming events and progress of the magazine on the blog, as well.

Writers are allowed to ask questions and communicate with each other on the blog.

When problems with authority have occurred – I addressed them immediately, privately and calmly.

I’m able to keep healthy working relations with my team because I truly respect all of them. You’ll need to cut business ties if you lose respect for a team member.

I know you’re not only the boss right? You’re not only the Start-Up founder, but you are also the Public Relations Guru, Secretary, Driver and Janitor. I know how it is – you do so much yourself that you’re just glad to get help.

Being able to hire one employee or freelancer is a sign that more are on the way. Be honest and clear about your mission for them upfront, and your standards will be hard to break.