Does your business feel complicated and all over the place? It’s time to simplify your business! In today’s episode, Elizabeth Henson joins me to discuss the concept of simplifying your business, where to start, and how to know if you’re making things more difficult than they need to be!
Called to Both is brought to you by Joy Michelle, mom of two and multi-passionate entrepreneur who’s on a mission to help others find balance between the worlds of motherhood and business. Called to Both is the podcast for women who have big business ambitions and also want to be intentional and present moms. At Called to Both, we truly don’t believe you have to choose between these two worlds tugging at your heart You can be Called to Both.
You can stay up to date with the Called to Both Podcast by subscribing on Apple Podcast App, Spotify, or your favorite podcast player!
Today’s episode is brought to you by Hobby to Pro Toolkit. I know just how many steps it takes to set up a photography business that you can feel confident in. Hobby to Pro Toolkit is your one-stop solution where you’ll find every tool, template, and guide that you need to confidently go pro in your business.
Simplifying Your Business
One of Elizabeth’s core values is light and easy. She looks for light and easy ways that provide maximum impact. As a society, we have this belief that we have to work harder in order to deserve more or better for ourselves. That’s simply false. The people that worked the hardest are often still broke while the wealthiest people who work a couple hours a day and go out on their yacht on the weekend.
When you keep things simple, you don’t overthink or overwhelm yourself.
Before you decide to simplify your processes and business practices, make sure you’re not avoiding tools that could create more efficiency in your business. You can’t oversimplify, but you can create more work for you when you’re not open to trying new tools.
Where to Start with Simplifying Your Business
If you’re ready to start simplifying your business, start with one thing at a time, that may be one service or revenue stream. Build one thing at a time until you master the machine that sells it! From there, you can move on to the next bridge.
As you begin to work on new bridges, continue to iterate as you need to (this could include building a team to manage it).
Simplifying Your Client Acquisition
One of the easiest ways that Elizabeth has found to simplify her business was to stop overcomplicating her offers for high ticket offers and go to her network. Rather than building out an elaborate plan, she simply goes to her network of peers, emails them asking if they know anyone who would need her services, and gets the conversations started from there.
When it comes to acquiring clients for a high-ticket offer, you only need a few people to connect. If that is three, reach out to ten people! No need for social media marketing and sales strategies.
Simplifying Your Business By Building a Team
While growing a team and delegating tasks isn’t necessarily easy, it is important to understand how a team can help you simplify your business. For Elizabeth, she knows the importance of focusing on the CEO tasks in her business that only she can do, while paying others to do the things she doesn’t necessarily need to be spending time on in her business.
This could mean hiring a team to take on the content creation or marketing tasks in your business. While Elizabeth creates her podcast episodes, she has a team that manages the show notes, graphics, and marketing materials that help grow the podcast.
Part of simplifying your business includes paring back what is on your plate!
Who should you hire?
When you’re just getting started, it’s not always ideal to hire an expert. You may not have the budget to support that hire. Instead, you can hire an assistant, train them on the things you need done, then have them incorporate that task into their workflow.
Creative Time vs. Priority Time
Separating creative time and priority time has allowed Elizabeth to step into the role of a higher-level business owner. She previously found herself sitting down with no plan—she’s a messy person in this way. This meant things weren’t happening in her business. That’s when she learned about strategic mapping and planning.
In her Google calendar, she’s mapped out every minute of her work day so that she knows exactly what she’s working on. This could mean she’s only working on her business from 8-10 every morning; then she tasks herself based on what she needs within those blocks. She also includes errands, gym time, and more.
These time blocks allow her to have creative time in her business, along with hard work time that allows her to get things done. She’s even found a way to involve her team members in this process as well, creating a simplified approach to collaboration, but it’s so much more efficient than it was before!
RAPID FIRE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Within our interviews on Called to Both, I’ll be asking each guest a series of rapid fire questions about being called to both! Check out Elizabeth’s answers to my rapid fire questions below:
What does called to both mean to you? Not being forced to choose motherhood or business owner, but rather prioritizing her kids while also maintaining and running a business. She’s taking care of her kids by building her dream and showing them what’s possible.
What is one thing that has surprised you about motherhood? That she allows her kids to eat in her car and be messy with food.
What is one tool/tip that has helped you thrive? Knowing that environment is everything—surround yourself with successful people.
What is the last book you read or podcast you listened to? Trust and Inspire
What is something that you’re excited about? Condensing all the things into one bridge.
If you’re enjoying the content we’re creating on the podcast and want to connect with others who are called to both, make sure you come join us in the Called to Both Facebook Group!
Mentioned in This Episode:
Connect with Elizabeth:
facebook.com/groups/thecommunitybuilder
instagram.com/elizabeth.henson
Connect with Joy:
Instagram: instagram.com/joyymichelle
Youtube: youtube.com/channel/UC-Ou6jRKxcjMrVMxWxLO_fQ
Facebook: facebook.com/joymichellephotography
Coach with Joy: joymichelle.co/coaching
If you decide to use any of the links above and buy through them, I’ll receive a small commission back. All of those affiliate income commissions really add up over time and help generate revenue to help support this podcast.
Looking for the Transcript?
