In this episode, I'm talking about building a lean and clean business that's easy to manage and helps you sell more. I love diving into this topic because having a streamlined business gives you more time to focus on the things you enjoy most.
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I'm always excited to share my insights on building a streamlined business.
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Hey there, and welcome back to the podcast. awesome to have you here. Today, we are talking all about building a streamline business that helps you to sell more. Now, if you've been around here for a while, you'll know that I love talking about building a lean and clean business, because we want to have a business that is clutter free, a business that is easy to manage. And also we know exactly what we're selling, when we're selling it, how we're selling it. And we really want to continuously be in a cycle of making our business better, more streamlined, easier to manage. So that is what we're going to be talking about today, I cannot wait to dive into this with you. Because whether you work with me in brandbuilders Academy, which is all about the system's strategies and structures to scale, we love talking about Lean clean business in there, or whether you work with me in the amplify mastermind, which is all about building your personal brand, and a thought leadership and knowledge based business. Once again, we want to have the right systems and the right structure to be able to give us more time back so that we can focus on and do the things that we love the most. So, without further ado, let's dive into today's episode. I love talking about having a really clean and streamlined business where you know, exactly, you've only got like a couple of products, you're really clear on what those products are, who they serve, how they help and how you're selling them on a regular basis. So the first thing when you are wanting to streamline your business is to really do an audit to take a look at what you've got right now and take a look at the products and services. It could be your freebies, so your opt ins as well. Anything just do a bit of a audit on everything that you've got, what are the lead magnets that we've got? What is the free content that we've got? Have we done masterclasses in the past? What are the products and services that we've got right now? And then take a look with a critical eye and ask the question, do I still want to continue to use this to do this, to have this in the business and some of the criteria that you might set around it, and you get to set the criteria for what good looks like in your business. But for me, I want to be able to enjoy it. Like it's something I enjoy doing. It's profitable in the business, it does give me time freedom, like it's not time intensive. And it's sellable. Like it's something that is in demand. It's something that I know my clients want, and I know that it helps them. And so when you're looking at your business as a whole, I think it's really about doing like a spring clean. Even though we're in autumn here in Melbourne, it's doing a bit of a spring clean. And doing that on a regular basis, I think is really important. Like one of the reasons that I'm going to do an episode on our move from Kajabi to heartbeat, and I'm gonna have the guys from heartbeat on as well. But that was a huge spring clean, it was like this does not feel like it's working the way that I want. It's expensive, it's cumbersome, it's draining. And it doesn't actually do the things that I want it to do. And so that was a big spring clean about streamlining the business was that we've got our Facebook, we got of Kajabi you know, other things that we use, we are now bringing all into one platform, which is just joy. And so that has just felt super amazing. And I mean, I've been in business for 10 years. So it's not like our you'll just do it in that build and test phase, you know, that we went through when we talked about the three different levels in different phases of business. But you might do it when you get to the you know, the evolve and elevate stage as well. where your business is at a point now where you know exactly what it is that you want. You know what products and services work. And so now you're reassessing it with different eyes of, okay, we've got the products and services that we want, we don't need to call that. But let's take a look at how we're delivering it and whether it still works for us. And something that I said to my amplify clients this morning that I think is really important to think about is that sometimes we maybe have been in business for a while. One of my clients has been in business for quite a while and she's got a Facebook group with like, I don't know 14,000 People in it But it's not something that brings her joy. And so you've really got to take a look at what are the things that I am potentially carrying in my business that no longer serve me? Or don't do what I want it to do? And how can I start to really decide whether I keep that or not, I think firstly, you've got to listen to your intuition. And you've got to listen to your own energy. And when your energy is like, I hate this, then you've got to really look at whether the payoff is worth the energy drain. And if it's not, you've got to make some hard decisions. And I think sometimes we sit in the comfort, and it's not even comfort, we sit in the discomfort, because it's historical, because it's something we've always done, when we've built it now, and people would be upset if we took it away, or, you know, people want things for free, or whatever the reason is, but it doesn't serve you anymore. It's, it's stopping you from going to that next level, or having that streamline business that helps you to sell in a better way. So the client that's got the Facebook group, we were talking about it, and I just sort of said to her, Do you know how many clients come from that? Like, you've got your team in there? You're giving free content, etc? Does that bring you clients? And she was like, we're not really sure. So then it's like, let's test it. So let's put some links in that can track that a trackable? Let's see if people like have one of the options when somebody buys as Where did you hear from us, it could be like, actually write the Facebook group name. And give it another month or so a month or two, test this out. If you're not seeing clients coming from that free Facebook group, then you can see that it potentially isn't worth it. And then if you aren't getting clients from it, then you can decide just to completely step away and have one of your team manage it. So there are different options for how you do things. But testing and seeing what do I like to do what actually feels good to me what is serving me at this stage of my business? And what do I need to get rid of, and kind of been really ruthless with what you need to get rid of, I think is
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a great place to get to in business as well, where you're like, slash and burn. Like, I
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know that that doesn't serve me it doesn't like do what I want it to do. Like, let's go like, let's just get rid of it. And I think that that is part of that, you know that decision cycle as well like make look at what you need to assess, assess it, make a decision move on. So good, feels amazing. So that's the first thing is doing an audit on your business, really assessing what's working now, where you want to go and what you need in order to move forward to. So once you've decided and you've streamlined your products and services, and you're really focusing on the core things and I would really just say, like have maybe two what one or two things that you're really focusing in on. The next thing is around the messaging. So how are you streamlining your messaging, so that it's really cutting through the noise, like I did a workshop recently. And it was all about the in demand brand method that I teach my clients as well. And a lot of it is about messaging. It's about being really clear on what you're here to do, who you're for, and I. And it's so much deeper than that, when I talk about it. It's like really listening to your customers using their language, knowing all of the stories as to why what you talk about matters, what's happened to people, how can you convey that, and just going so much deeper, you know, the core message is the heart of what it is that you talk about, and talking about why that core message matters. And I think that you can streamline your message to be something that's really clean and lean, when it connects on a much deeper emotional level. And I'll give you an example. Is that my core message, so my overarching vision, and the thing that I'm here to do is support women to become bold and powerful voices in the world claim their space with confidence. Why? What's the core of that is because I see really talented, highly skilled, incredible women that shy away from having a voice that shy away from being visible that shy away from putting themselves out there. And the reason so these are the levels. Yeah. And the reason that they do that, and the stories that they've told me are things like when I was a little girl, I was told that kids should be seen and not heard. When I once got up on stage, somebody commented on my weight and the way that I looked so I didn't get up on stage again. When I shared my thoughts with somebody, they laughed at me and said that what I was thinking was silly. I had an idea and my family friends didn't support me so I didn't know forward with it. And so when you are looking at how you build that lean and clean and connected message is that you can really hone in on it when you go deeper. And you talk about why people feel the way that they do, which then is the reason why you do what you do. And if you can share stories, then that's what people will connect with. And it means that you don't have to share more like broadly, but you can go deeper. And I think it's just I don't know, for me, I just feel it's more meaningful, when I go deeper as well. So you've got to really work out what it is that you love about what it is that you do. And then you've got to be able to communicate that and articulate that in a way that connects with your audience. I had another conversation with somebody the other day where the way in which she described her business and what she does was so in the clouds, that I was like, I don't really understand what it is that you do, I don't understand what the problem is that you solve. And so I don't really know who this is for, like, explain it to me as if I'm a 10 year old, you've just got to be able to speak to people, you know, at a at a simpler level, even people who have got the knowledge, you still want to come in at this level, where you're just really simple in regards to how you talk about what you do, so that it doesn't get confusing, it doesn't kind of get lost in the noise. But you're naming and claiming your audience like I work with women who want to build bold brand, stand out, get out of their own way, and be profitable, that's you then let's work together like being that clean and simple. And when it comes to your products and services also thinking about so if you're under 100,000 revenue, then BBA is a great place to be if you're over 100,000. And you want to build a personal brand, with personal brand assets, like a book or podcast courses, consulting, speaking then amplifies for you. So being super clear, in your own mind, which product is for who and being able to talk about that clearly, I think is something that a lot of people aren't able to do. Like if I say like, Who's that for? What's a common type of client you might have in that program or working with you? People like I work with, like lots of different people who have lots of different problems, just like just be a bit more like if you can nail it, then I can understand whether it's for me or not. And when it comes to messaging, I will say this till the cows come home. Moo. Yeah, is that you've got to name and claim your audience. It is the biggest differentiator that I see is that the more that I talk about who I work with action takers who want to be visible, who have something to say, who want to build a brand, you want to get out of your own way, like you're tired of your own Bs, and you're like, Let's go Sue's like, I need you to help me to make this happen. How do I manage my money? How do I sort out my products and services? How do I price? How do I go to market, like, those are the clients that come to me and I'm like I am here for this, like, let us sort your business out. And the more that I talk about that, the more I get those exact clients that are like when you talk about it, and also catch the energy there. When you talk about that, and you bring the energy of how you talk about it, I know you're for me. So when it comes to really having a lien clean message, there's two things, it's having a simple message that cuts through the noise, and really making sure that you're naming and claiming your audience and, and really speaking directly to them. And the second thing that goes with it is bring the energy that you know is going to connect with those types of people if I was like, so, you know, if you want to maybe like stand out and you maybe want to, you know, get some clients and you should speak to me like oh my gosh, would you ever want to work with. So I want to work with energized people who are driven and who are like I am here to get it done. So I have to be that energy as well, which is the energy I am anyway, it's fully authentic to me. But then by being that I get to attract the great people that are like that. Next I want to talk about marketing and sales and the process of how you're actually getting clients through the door. And I think that is another gap that I see with a lot of business owners is that you have potentially no real strategy around your marketing people all the time. Like okay, so when did you market when did you last make the offer? When did you share what you have? And are you excited about it? And so I think that that's also a gap that I see with a lot of business owners is that you love creating content, but you're not actually selling what it is that you have, and you may not be excited about selling it either. So really think about am I regular least sharing how people can work with me, I regularly sharing why this is such a great thing for people to come and join me in or be part of or learn from. Because if I just want to say, if you're not excited about it, why would anybody else be excited about it. And so a great analogy that I shared with a client who was feeling like she was kind of just posting all over the place, and didn't really have a goal around what she was doing is, and I love this analogy, you may have seen her on Instagram or got it in an email. But it's the analogy of your products and services, I want you to think about it in a timeframe of monthly. Yeah, because in VBA, I teach you monthly energize marketing offers. So you take one thing, so let's say I'm going to take VBA. And for the month of May, I'm going to promote VBA, I'm going to talk about VBA. And so that's like my plant. Yeah, the plant the little single flower that I have the the plant that I have is Baby A, and I'm gonna plant it in the ground. So the soil that surrounded all of that sort of stuff is the sales page. It's the messaging. It's what what the container sits in. And then my social media is going to be like the watering. So I'm going to water the plant or I'm going to fertilize the plan. And so that's my social media posts. I'm
going to story, Sal, I'm going to have over like come and join BBA. These are the bonuses that you can get in this timeframe, etc. And then I might send an email, which is watering it. So getting it out into more places and getting more attention on it. And then you know, I might need to prune it. So I might test some messages might do a webinar, does the webinar convert? No, it doesn't convert, I need to prune it, I need to get rid of that. And then I've got to try something else. And so when you look at your marketing, and you decide on this month, I'm going to focus on this one product, it's not to say that you may not have other things happening for other products, but it's about energized effort around a particular thing. So that when you're creating content, you know why you're creating it, you know, what you're actually selling what it is that you're trying to create energy around. And so for example, even when I am telling you this, and when I put it on socials, I was saying, you know, I teach this in VBA. So I'm story selling, I'm seeding. Even the seating goes with the analogy. I'm seating, I'm telling people, when I was coaching a client the other day, I am a coach. And I was talking to her about having a monthly energize marketing offer, which is something that I teach in BBA, then these are some of the things that she needs to think about. And so if I am doing that on the regular, then people are going to know she's a coach, and she's got BBA or if I talk about amplifier, whatever it is, and so really think about how are you creating the energy around a particular offer? And then looking at, Okay, where am I talking about it? How am I talking about it? How am I doing it on socials? How am I doing it on email? How am I doing it on the podcast, whatever else, whatever else that you're doing, I want you to really hone in and be like, I am going to have a streamlined marketing and content process, content marketing process, that I know what I'm doing, why I'm doing it, how I'm doing it. And then I can measure whether it's working or not. And so you've got to start to hone in and streamline the way in which you do your marketing content. Otherwise, you will always be somebody that is just randomly putting stuff out crossing your fingers and hoping that it works. And you've got to go through and we've all heard it before, you've got to go through the attract the warm convert, yeah, the attracting the warming of the of your audience and then converting like you've got to make the offer. So every single month, that is something you should be looking at. So if we just take a look at that quickly, because I always try and do short episodes for you. And it never works that way. Because I can talk the hind legs of a donkey. And I've got so much to share with you. So if we take a look at it, we're saying we want to have clean and lean products, we've only got a couple one or two, then we've got really dialed in message. And we know exactly why we're saying what we're saying and how we're saying it. And then we've got a really solid streamlined content marketing and marketing strategy as well. So that we're bringing people in, we're attracting them when cheering them, we're building the relationship and the trust, and then we're converting them. One of the big things that we're going to be doing in the next 12 months is we're doing a total overhaul on our funnels our, you know, top of funnel, middle of funnel, bottom of funnel and we're going to be Systemising and automating, like as much as possible. And so this once again goes into we've just streamlined the systems in the business. Now we've got to streamline our marketing efforts. And I'm just gonna focus on Instagram and tick tock and my email list. That's it. I'm like I hate if you're a LinkedIn person, don't hate me for saying that. I just find it super boring. It's not where I want to be, we might end up putting some content on there that rolls over from the podcast, or that might be stuff that we create for Instagram. But I'm like, where is my effort? How am I streamlining the things that I'm doing. And so Instagram and Tiktok because I love video, and I love to share video, that's where I'm gonna focus my energy and I think that they're great places for me to attract new people into the business and be able to lean into my strength of talking and video and do more there. So there's so much more I could talk to you about when it comes to this. If you want to learn more then come and join me in brand builders Academy as this is being recorded in May of 2024. There are limited time bonuses this month that if you come and join, then you can get those which is valued at over $1,000 So now is the time to join. If you want to know more DM me on Instagram, and I will let you know, but I'm gonna leave it there. I hope that that was helpful. Let's get lane and claim people and I will see you soon.
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