I’ve worked with entrepreneurs who were making less than $5k a month and their expenses were a quarter or a third of their revenue.
They followed the advice of various coaches and ended up paying for Facebook ads, hiring a VA, getting a bunch of different software…all kinds of things that weren’t necessary to make the money they were bringing in.
In the business I helped grow to nearly $3M/yr, I’m convinced that it could have been more profitable with fewer parts…and people.
It’s possible to build a highly profitable business that gives you everything you need without adding unnecessary stress and messiness to your life.
How you approach building your business matters.
If you want to have time to reflect, to deeply connect with people, to make money with purpose, you need to have the space for it.
For some people, space is uncomfortable. Being busy all the time is their comfort zone.
They say they want to simplify and work less but that actually freaks them out.
Minimalist business owners are not those people.
They left the bloated bureaucracy of a corporate career in part because they were tired of doing things they knew didn’t really matter.
So the last thing they want to do in their business is create a micro version of that world and fill their days with pointless activities.
They want to be more intentional about how they structure their days, weeks, and months so they can have more quality years for a long time to come.
They want to be fulfilled kickass entrepreneurs.
And that’s what the minimalist biz framework helps you to be.
Based on a lot of reflection in my 10 years of being behind the scenes as a coach, strategist, and implementer in a wide variety of businesses, I’ve distilled what matters most.
Introducing the minimalist biz framework…
At the core, you are a fulfilled kickass entrepreneur (FKE).
As a fulfilled kickass entrepreneur, you embody 3 things.
You are fired up, filled up, and wised up.
Fired up: Fired up to see what each day brings. Fired up to put out amazing stuff into the world. Fired up to work with amazing people. Fired up by the everyday moments. Savouring the shit out of life.
Filled up: Filled up with a roster of clients you adore. Filled up with wonderful relationships with family and friends. Filled up with the money you need to have the life you want.
Wised up: Wised up about what matters most. Wised up by thinking better and asking better questions. Wised up by listening deeply and staying curious.
To become a Fulfilled Kickass Entrepreneur, you need to focus on three essentials: A minimalist biz is meaningful, memorable, and maintainable.
Let’s look at each of these essentials and what it takes to bring them to life in your business.
*Your business needs to be meaningful.*
Without meaning, you’re chasing the money and you’ll never be satisfied.
What’s most important to you though is to make a difference and to feel the difference.
To have a meaningful business you need to:
1- Have clarity and focus.
You have a ton of ideas but you know that you can make a bigger impact when you focus on only a few key projects and activities.
You need to get clear on exactly what those things are to make the biggest difference in your life and your clients’ lives.
2 – Lead with connections.
You prioritize real connection with customers, partners, family + friends, and with yourself.
You optimize your business (and life) systems without sacrificing the important human elements.
3 – Live a deep life.
A deep life requires deep thinking + deep work + deep appreciation.
This part often gets left out of most business-building models. There is no space for things that are slow and deliberate.
Having the space is vital but you also need to avoid filling up that space with more to-dos and busy work.
*Your business needs to be memorable.*
If you’re not memorable, you’re pretty much invisible.
You want people to think of you when they need what you offer.
Heck, you want them talking about you because of the impact you’re making.
To have a memorable business you need to:
1- Stand for something to stand out.
It’s not enough to have a niche. To be memorable, you need to stand strongly for something that your best clients will resonate with.
For me, that’s simplifying a chaotic world with a crazy amount of distractions and information and not enough depth.
It’s also refusing to be invisible as I age and supporting others in midlife to show up fully.
What do you stand for? Are you sharing it?
2 – Get quality attention.
You don’t want an audience of people who think you’re alright.
Be visible, reliable, consistent, and engaging around the things you stand for.
You will build an audience of people who care A LOT about the same things.
On the flip side, you must repel people who aren’t as closely aligned with your point of view and philosophy.
3 – Be Specific.
This is the most important element in being memorable.
If you don’t communicate clearly and precisely, all the visibility and strong opinions in the world aren’t going to make a meaningful dent.
If you want people to feel understood – and I know you do – you need to be specific about what you can help them with.
Always be asking questions and getting feedback from the people you work with so you can keep getting better at making them feel seen and heard.
*Your business needs to be maintainable.*
If your business isn’t maintainable, you won’t be able to fuel the life you want for the long term.
You need to be able to manage your business without being overwhelmed and stressed.
You want to grow intentionally and make decisions that will keep you calm and confident.
To have a maintainable business you need to:
1 – Keep it simple.
You have loads of ideas. Many of them are really good ideas. But most don’t need to be monetized.
To be able to sustain your business without burning out, you focus on 1 main offer solving 1 specific problem at 1 point in time.
This also keeps it simple for your customers which engenders trust and confidence.
Simplicity is a powerful lever.
2 – Use leverage.
With a simple and streamlined model, you can maximize your profitability. Then you can leverage your profits to invest so your business isn’t the only way you’re making money.
When you focus on a few key projects, your concentrated efforts become leverage for outsize results. For you and for your clients.
Leverage your brand and exclusive intellectual property. The minimalist framework is one of my assets. A standout brand and approach will yield returns far beyond what it takes to create them.
3 – Be a 1-person business.
At this stage of your business, you build without employees. Without having to manage a team.
Being a solo entrepreneur doesn’t mean doing it all alone.
You outsource deliberately.
Most entrepreneurs start with a freelance virtual assistant but this might not be what’s best for you. You could use that money for a meal prep service or a local personal assistant for example.
That’s the minimalist biz framework in a nutshell.
This is the most effective way to be a fulfilled kickass entrepreneur with an uncomplicated yet mighty business.
Having gone through the framework, you can see which areas you need to work on to get there.
Don’t worry if it’s most of them.
That’s the case for most entrepreneurs after a year or two in business.
Those months and years of exploration and experimentation are necessary. Now it’s time to get focused and do what’s needed to leverage your experience up to now.
If you want my help, I’d like to invite you to book a call with me where we’ll go over where you are in your business.
So I can help you figure out what to address first on your way to becoming a fulfilled kickass entrepreneur.