[WR #09]A Framework to Bring Ease & Simplicity to Your Biz & Life
I'm late getting to the newsletter today.
And there's a specific reason for it...
As I sat down to write, it occurred to me that the reason I'm late is actually an excellent framework to share with you.
It's one of the main reasons why I've been able to maintain a 6-figure business working about 12- hours / week.
And it's something I use with every one of my clients as we set out to simplify their business models for scaling too.
Before I share the framework though, a quick backstory...
4 years ago, my business nearly went under.
I was in the midst of my divorce - to call it ugly and traumatic would be an extreme understatement.
During that time, it became impossible for me to manage the personal hell I was going through while simultaneously trying to grow my business.
And beyond the trauma of the divorce process itself, I was also faced with a new reality that I'd never expected.
With our 50/50 custody agreement, I was only going to get to spend half of my young daughter's life with her.
With this new future ahead, and my business crumbling around me, I realized something...
Suddenly, my business was going to have to work twice as hard to support our life so I could work half as much.
And with rent due and my bank balance not enough to cover it, it was going to have to happen FAST.
They say, "necessity is the mother of invention", right?
Well, this need sparked a fire under me that compelled me to simplify my business model, eliminate everything that wasn't necessary, and find the most leveraged way to grow - as quickly as possible.
The steps involved in that process are the same ones I use with my clients to help them scale - and are a story for another day :)
But the framework that's at the foundation of what worked to kickstart it all - and is what I come back to every single day since then - is the reason I'm late sending this newsletter today.
And it's something you can use right now to bring some ease and simplicity to your business and life too.
The reason I'm late sending this to you today is because I'm a mom first.
Full stop.
When I rejigged my business four years ago, it was with the intention to be as present as possible for my kiddo whenever she's with me.
With 50% of her life spent away from me, I was damned certain that every other moment we got to have together was going to count.
And even the business wasn't going to get in the way of that.
This weekend is a mama/kiddo weekend over here.
So my time's been spent playing, walking, wandering, wondering, reading, drawing, and cuddling.
Which meant that newsletter writing was just going to have to wait.
And I felt zero guilt or regret about putting my business second.
The reason why it was so easy for me to decide to be present for my kid was because of that framework I mentioned before.
Since my divorce I've used these three steps as a filter for making just about every decision in my life and business.
And now you can use them too:
1) Know what's most important.
For me, it was - and continues to be - time with my kid.
I love when I get to this part in my process with clients - identifying the Most Important Thing...
By being crystal clear about what's most important, we instantly create a trajectory for bringing more ease and fulfillment into life and business.
Once you know what your Most Important Thing is, every decision suddenly becomes binary.
When faced with a choice, I just ask myself, "will this bring me closer to or further from more time with my kid?"
You try it:
- Ask yourself "what's REALLY most important right now?" and then stress-test your answer by asking WHY it's that thing in particular
- Then insert your Most Important Thing in place of "time with my kid" in that question above and start making decisions from there
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2) Have a hierarchy of priorities.
I've heard "experts" say you can only have one priority.
I think for most humans, especially those who also call themselves "founder", that's impossible.
For me, having a hierarchy of priorities helps me manage decisions, and my time.
Mine looks like this:
1) Kiddo
2) Me time (aka self-care)
3) Business
4) Everything else
You try it:
- Decide what your hierarchy of priorities could look like
- Pick no more than 4 or 5 - remember, we're trying to simplify here and there's only so much of you to go around
- Make decisions and plan your time by filtering through this hierarchy from top to bottom
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3) Be relentlessly committed.
Committing to time with my kid seems like a no-brainer.
But in reality, it was a tricky transition to make.
It didn't feel natural at first - cutting off all other options felt like limitation.
But I realized that feeling of "limitation" was just a habit I'd fallen into, and not a good one.
My logical mind didn't trust that growing my business could be as simple as I was making it.
And it didn't beleive it was possible for me to work less, make more, and have a life of fulfillment and ease.
But I leaned into it anyway, in spite of the discomfort my mind kept throwing in front of me.
Relentless commitment became a habit - and I intentionally practice at it every day.
(Btw, the thing that makes this easier is when you're certain that your Most Important Thing is actually something you really value, which is why the "ask WHY" part of that "You try it" above is so important...)
You try it:
- Try and notice when your logical mind feels uncomfortable about these decisions you're making - you may find it easier to pay attention to physical signals from your body, like tension in your shoulders or butterflies in your stomach
- Be willing to ride out that discomfort and do the tough thing anyway
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There's almost no friction anymore when I'm making choices like the one that resulted in this showing up in your inbox later than usual - the framework makes everything feel easy and light.
I hope you'll try it out and find it as useful as I have.
Definitely let me know if you do.
And if it feels hard, or you think you might be ready for some help simplifying your model to scale, I'd love to help with that too.
See you on the other side...
Whenever you’re ready, there are three ways I can help you:
Experience more ease, fulfillment, and POWER in life and business here.
Simplify your growth-stage business model for scaling with the help of my outside perspective (and GPS Brain) by shooting me a message here.
Get daily tips, tricks, and hacks to help you scale your purposeful brand without sacrificing the important stuff by following me on LinkedIn here.