Our world is noisy. Somedays it can feel like there is a new approach to add or try – everyday! At some point, all of the strategies start to shout overtop of the basics of running your business and this leads to overwhelm, loss of focus, and confusion.

Because of the changing landscape of creative business ownership and our desire to keep up, it can be easy to feel frustrated. Overwhelmed. Tired. 

Its one of the reasons many small business owners feel as if they will never “make it“. It’s the overwhelm. It’s the feeling of running on a hamster wheel without any ROI. It’s a mistake in mindset because social media compels us to compare our today with someone else’s 5+years.

But what if I told you there was a better way.

Because there is. There should be. And it’s something that is lost when we try to align who we are with who they are.

A Work In Progress

I’ve been working on something for creative business owners for over a year. And the progress we’ve made is exhilarating because the clarity it’s brought to my own business has been life changing. It’s resulted in greater impact, enhanced focus, greater peace, enhanced client experiences, and a happier life.

It’s something I am passionate about sharing with all creative business owners – but especially you mompreneurs. Because my story is your story.

For this reason, you better believe it’s going to be easy to implement, accessible, quick, and results driven.

No fluff. Not thousands of dollars spent with nothing to show. Because you deserve more.

It’s coming and I cannot wait to share this with you.

But for now, let’s get you started. As mentioned last month, our focus in the first quarter of the year is on simplification. Because I too have fallen victim of overcomplicating the foundation of my business.

Yes! I Am Excited Make This Year Different

So if you are ready to really make this year – a year of impact, transformation, the turning point, we want you to keep this one mindset shift top of mind as you read this post. The transformation and impact you seek will likely require you to make a very simple promise – to yourself and to your business.

Very simply, it’s a commitment to this for the long haul.

Overnight success is a rarity – or dare I say doesn’t exist. For most businesses that appear to have achieve overnight success – there are years and years and years of hard work.

Especially when you feel like your efforts aren’t paying off.

Instead of trying a new strategy every other day, I want to encourage you to focus on this idea of simplification during the first quarter. And then adopt mindsets honoring consistency, simplification, and solidification of the systems that support your work. 

Because if your foundation is solid – the sky is the limit (and next quarter’s guide is all about the strategies that are going to amplify the foundation you’ve built in these first three months!)

Let’s start with the four foundational elements of a simplified business:

Number One: Your Offer 

The what of your business. Specifically what your business sells or provides as a service(s).

Depending on where you are in your journey – this may be one or many products/services.

Clearly identifying the problems your core products/services, ancillary products/services, and hopeful services solve and the benefits gained by your clients is a critical piece of the simplified puzzle.

How do you get started with this? Value align your offerings by focusing on benefits. Our guide here gives you a quick step by step process to do this in 5 minutes today!

Number Two: Simplified Straightforward Yet Comprehensive Systems

The step by step approach and tools that support both the clients you serve and the backend of your business.

To run your business you need at least one system for walking your clients through a transformation and at least one system to support your backend. But more than likely you will have more. 

These are the two critical pieces of ensuring you can efficiently operate on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis.

How do you get started with this? 

• First take 10 minutes to write down – everything you need to do to run your business – both client and backend facing tasks.
• Then take another 10 minutes to identify the system or tool you currently use to support those tasks

If you are missing things like:

• customer management systems
• step by step identification of items needed to complete a task or project
• automation of the tasks you do routinely

then your day to day, week to week, and month to month will feel traction-less.

Project management is a key component to efficiency.

Our guide gives you the tools you need to get started with this today! 20 minutes is all it takes. And then dive into our facebook group and let’s brainstorm how to get your first system setup!

Number Three: Communication + How You Share Your Message

The approach, message, and tools you use to share your offerings with the community you seek to serve.

This includes a foundational awareness of your key stories and then how the stories add value to the community you deliver them to.

It also includes the tools you use to get your message in front of your community.

How do you get started with this today? Gaining an understanding of  the process and purpose of content. Our guide this quarter highlights how content creates community and empowers you with a plan to build your content journey for your community.

Number Four: Build Your Community From Within

Your offerings, communication, and approach would be lost without the community that encourages, relates, believes, and affirms that they can see their journey – and subsequently their path – in both you and the solutions you provide.

Community is key.

Your community, their journey, and your story are all connected. This year and the work we mentioned above is tied to helping you take this critical connection and create a greater impact than ever before.

Next Steps

These are the four spokes to our simplified approach to running a life giving business.

The center of the wheel is you.

Its your ability to help others see their transformation in your own. It’s how you extend an invitation to join hands and journey together. This is how you build community and use the spokes to create an experience of value and traction.

And the project we are working on will help you do all of this and more. Want to be the first to know when the doors open wide? Join us here (and get all the preliminary work that will set you up for success when we hit publish!)