Today’s business owner is a target market for business coaches, financial planners, and other B2Bs that insist you need to hire them to be successful. This can result in larger than necessary startup costs that can get you into financial trouble.
Last year, a total of 796,037 businesses and individuals filed for bankruptcy (see general rules for bankruptcy filing procedures at https://www.getfreeofbills.com/).
And in a Business Insider report, Chapter 11 bankruptcies were listed this year at 63 percent higher than at the end of 2017.
These figures should tell you one thing: It is going to take a tight ship to keep your business afloat this year. A strategy that many small business owners are turning to? Using the minimalist approach to cut costs and refigure priorities.
Do minimalism and business ownership seem an odd pairing? Look a little closer, and you’ll discover how these two can work hand in hand to safeguard your business’ finances.
More than just a design concept, minimalism can be used as a guiding principle for just about every area of one’s life. At its core, the theory of minimalism is simply to reduce the unnecessary and to live with only the essential.
Here’s what that could look like for your business.
Shun all the extras in your office.
Minimalism as a design concept might be one of the first ways you were introduced to the minimalist mindset. It’s also the easiest way to spot others who are taking up the challenge.
But not only are the clean lines easy on the eyes, but it saves you from unneeded office purchases. For example, that $1,000 leather sofa, or the paintings you were considering so that your office walls would have something on them.
Worried what potential clients might think of your bare conference room? You now have an explanation for shunning these expenses. You’re embracing a minimalist office design. You don’t need to state that you plan to spend the cash on more essential aspects of running your business.
Declutter and organize your workspace.
How much time do you lose by searching for papers or files that you need for your work? What about the time that you lose through your poor organization or time management skills?
Time spent looking for missing papers or figuring out where to put an overflow of inventory wastes energy that could be put toward sales.
Without the ability to stay organized both in your surroundings and in the work that you need to complete daily, you won’t make the progress your business needs you to make.
Take a look at the things you have in your office and do a large-scale purge of the non-essential. Anything that you do not directly use during your workday should be stored away. Only what you use in the course of your day should remain.
Stick to the core of your work.
Do you find yourself frequently taking on tasks that are nice to do but that aren’t your top priority? At the start of the day, figure out what is the most essential task that you must accomplish for you to have meaningful progress that day. Then do that one thing until it is done.
Have a hard time figuring out what that is? Your one meaningful task is likely worth more than doing 6 other tasks on non-essential aspects of your business. It is the 1 activity that can make a significant difference in moving your business toward your financial goals.
Not only can the minimalist approach apply to how you prioritize your work for the day. But also in what you choose to offer to clients.
Sure, having a wide range of services or products is nice. Particularly if you are seeing booming sales from everything that is on offer. But often more services simply mean more stress and more overhead for a business owner.
Is your business just starting out? While you get on solid footing, forget about all the other things that would be “nice to do” at some point. Stick to the million-dollar idea that pushed you to launch.
Focus on the one thing that only you can offer clients. Do that one thing so well that no other competitors can match your product.
In a nutshell, the minimalist mindset can be used to keep you focused on the things that truly matter to your business. Both when it comes to long-term goals and in the daily running of your business.