Written by: Kc Rossi, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Every business owner can identify with the sacrifice, risk, and grit involved in increasing the bottom line. One way to reduce overwhelm and stress is to take a minimalist approach to your business. This means simplifying all operational aspects from marketing to admin. When adopting this practice, business productivity naturally improves.
More does not equate to better. Often, adding elements equals additional projects to manage both mentally and physically. Juggling excess wastes time and energy. According to the LA Times, the average American home contains over 300,000 items. The NY Times adds that 10% of Americans need to rent out additional storage space to house their stuff. There is no advantage to being so inundated with material possessions. It’s easy to see how this applies to your lifestyle, but what about your business? How can you simplify and streamline your day-to-day work life to increase clarity, capacity, and calm?
Here are 6 ways to take a minimalist approach with your business to improve productivity:
Email — According to a McKinsey analysis, the average full-time American worker spends 2.6 hours reading 120 email messages per day. This is a colossal amount of time that can be trimmed to increase efficiency.
Tip 1: Unsubscribe from any non-essential email. If you’re honest with yourself, you probably have 30+ people that you can click unsubscribe on or more. If you’re not finding value or haven’t had the time to read a sender’s email in 60 days, chances are you can unsubscribe with ease.
Tip 2: Plan scheduled inbox maintenance times. Checking your incoming email periodically vs. instantly provides uninterrupted blocks of work time. Reducing task switching greatly increases your one-pointed attention and the results produced.
Social Media — According to Statista Research Department, “As of 2022, the average daily social media usage of internet users worldwide amounted to 147 minutes per day.” This overconsumption not only hijacks your nervous system but also contributes to feeling scattered.
When you reduce your time on social media, it’s easier to focus on the most important business tasks at hand.
Tip 1: Put boundaries on the amount of time you spend on social media per day. Many apps have a daily limit reminder. Once you adjust your settings, the app can keep track of the time spent,
and some even provide an in-app reminder once that limit has been met.
Tip 2: As a content creator, decide which social media channel best serves your audience and double down on your presence there. This will eliminate the need to post on multiple social media platforms, saving you time, energy, and mental distraction.
Apps — Technology is a beautiful thing until it starts to become overwhelming and difficult to monitor. There is an app for everything from video production to checking your grammar. According to identity platform Okta, the average number of apps per customer in 2021 was 88! It’s easy to see how you’d need a system just to keep track of all your apps.
Tip 1: Do an app audit. Create a spreadsheet of all your current apps. I like to include columns to keep track of paid vs. free apps and when the subscription renews. Once you have the full list, highlight your top 10 apps. From there, analyze which apps are worth keeping. If they are not being utilized often or adding value, remove them.
Tip 2: Choose apps that can multi-task. Some apps can simplify systems by providing the ability to cross-perform. For example, Later is a social media scheduling app that allows you to schedule posts on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Offers — It’s common for entrepreneurs to feel like they have to provide several offers at various price points to please their customers. However, this is not true. When you apply the Pareto Principle, which states, “80 percent of effects come from only 20 percent of causes.” This means that 80% of most sales come from 20% of the items sold. I saw this to be true in my confections manufacturing company of 17 years. When there are too many choices, consumers often get confused and move on to something easier elsewhere.
Tip 1: Know your niche. Drill down on what your ideal customer truly needs and provide a solution that will solve their problem. The more specific your solution, the better your conversion rate will be.
Tip 2: Go through your current offers. See which ones are your top sellers and which rarely have an interest. Reduce the number of offers based on your research. Be sure to have a clear and efficient sales path for your buyer’s journey — one that leads them to step by step from the top of your marketing funnel to becoming a paid client.
Employees — Building a support team is an important part of growth. However, there comes a time when your staff can become bloated and inefficient. Signs that this may be the case are when productivity decreases, workplace tension increases, and you’re coming up with busy work to fill the gap.
Tip 1: Define clear roles and expectations for each team member. A solid support plan helps eliminate position redundancies. Having goals that you can track and measure makes it easier to see which associates are meeting or exceeding expectations and which are not.
Tip 2: Cross-train your staff. There are several benefits to cross-training employees from greater engagement to better team collaboration and having built-in backups. Utilizing key members in multiple positions allows you to have fewer employees and less financial overhead.
Personal Development — Most high-achievers are forever learners. Consuming content can be an advantage unless it becomes excessive. Just like overeating, overconsuming
educational material causes indigestion, stagnation, and lack of clarity.
Tip 1: Assess whether the next program that you’re interested in is a “need” to know or a “nice to know.” Knowledge without implementation is a waste of time, money, and valuable headspace. Before you sign up for another mastermind or course, ask yourself if the new skills align with your immediate goals or are a form of creative avoidance.
Tip 2: Most times, what’s holding you back from achieving your objectives is your mindset, not your skillset. Knowing this, tuning toward your inner wisdom vs. looking outside of yourself to get the answer will be more prudent for your success.
Most entrepreneurs desire increased profits, efficient systems, and team harmony. They also crave less stress, overwhelm, and frustration. Minimalism in the workplace fosters these endeavors. Simplifying your business practices provides more space — mentally and physically. Try approaching your business with a less is more mindset and be ready for powerful productivity.
Lastly, having a process to make fast and confident decisions is invaluable when implementing the above tips. To request your free copy of my Decision-Making Matrix click here.
Kc Rossi, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Kc Rossi is a Business & Leadership Coach who helps high-achieving CEOs and entrepreneurs go from people-pleasing burned-out perfectionists to profitable powerhouses.
She’s been a full-time entrepreneur since 1991 and has built six and 7+ figure businesses. Kc is a Certified Aromatherapist, Mind-Body Eating Coach, and NLP Practitioner. This allows her to bring an integrated and intuitive approach to her coaching.
Kc is the Founder of The Soulprint Method®, a system that combines energy, mindset, and spirituality. This holistic approach provides extreme clarity, dissolves limiting beliefs, improves performance, and opens the way to experience and share your full potential.
She is the host of Women Developing Brilliance® — The Spirit of Business; a show dedicated to cultivating confidence, increasing visibility, elevating vibration, and leading with purpose.
When she’s offline you can find her whipping up plant-based eats or hiking the Finger Lakes Trail in Upstate, New York.
Kc is an Executive Contributor of Brainz Magazine. Her work has been highlighted in ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, Thrive Global, SmallBizDaily, International Journal of Professional Holistic Aromatherapists, Female Entrepreneurial Association, and The Smart Girl Tribe.
