How do you know if becoming a minimalist business owner right for you?

Is your business now causing you stress and anxiety? Do you feel like you are doing all the things but getting nowhere? Is there just too much on your plate to focus on?

Girl, I’ve been there! This is very common in the beginning stages of entrepreneurship. In fact, I would be surprised to find a mom entrepreneur who hasn’t felt like this at some point in their business.

I’ve experienced this myself and have finally come out on the other side of this season to share what I’ve learned and tell you there is a better healthier happier way.

Simply put, you are doing too much.Β 

Minimalist living or simplistic living means freeing yourself from clutter and β€œstuff”. It means thinking, acting, and working with clarity, purpose, and intention. Being a minimalist means intentionally promoting the things you value most and removing everything else that distracts you from it. This will force you to be intentional with what work you are doing and how you are choosing to run your business. 

Similar to the Marie Kondo Kon Marie method, taking this approach will create a shift in your mindset and make improvements not only in your business life but in all aspects of your life. 

Questions To Consider:

Here are a few questions to ask yourself to determine how will minimalism help you stress less and achieve more and where you should start to cut back to focus on what will actually help your business:

What benefits could minimalism bring to your business?

Where are the areas in your business that feel chaotic, stressful, or cluttered?

Do you have an ideal vision for how you want your business look like?

Once you’ve visualized what your idea business looks like and how you will feel now you are ready to declutter by removing unnecessary things off your plate!

beige and black chair in front of white desk

Here are 3 simple ways to become a minimalist in your business.

Declutter To Become A Minimalist Business Owner

Look at the tools and apps you use to run your business. What tools do you actually use? Which tools can you still run your business effectively without? Then delete the tools and apps that you are no longer using. If it is not helping you make more money then delete it. It is taking up mental space by being there.Β 

Remove the excessive amount of voices in your head. How many podcasts or audiobooks do you listen to daily? How many business coaches do you follow on Instagram? Learning from people who are successful in doing what you are doing is good and necessary. So being inspired by them is helpful, but too many other opinions in your head will only cause you stress. It will cause you to compare your journey to theirs, make you feel imposter syndrome, confuse you by making you think you need to do what everyone else is doing, etc.

Limit your online mentors to three people. Three business podcasts about different areas of your business, three online business mentors to follow on Instagram, take only one course at a time, etc. The unfollow or unsubscribe to all the other podcasts and blogs that you do not need right now will help you become a minimalist in your business.

Organize To Become a Minimalist Business Owner

If your email is out of control and causes you stress, start with unsubscribing to things you no longer want to receive. Create folders in your email inbox to organize the important emails you want to save. Delete old emails and your spam folder. Do one area before moving on to the next area. 

So, this can also be done to your Word documents, Google Docs, and or your phone’s notes app. If you are like me you probably have notes written everywhere. All those creative ideas just pour out constantly. Because if they aren’t well organized, it will be hard to actually finish them so they can be used in your business. Organizing your content is a big step in stressing less. You can use a free project management tool to keep your workflow and ideas organized.Β 

Delete, upload the photos on your phone and organize them into folders. Beautiful pictures and graphics are necessary for our visual social media phone, but how stressful is it when you cannot find a photo you are looking for? Delete old photos, upload them to an external hard drive, and organize all the photo content you’ve created into folders. This will make it easier to find photos you need quickly to work more efficiently.Β 

composition of clipboard and stationery

Manifest Minimalism

Minimalism is a mindset. You have to believe in why you want to take a minimalist approach in your business for you to feel the benefits. 

Read personal development books on minimalism. Start training your mind to accept the concept that you do not need β€œstuff” to be successful. You do not need β€œstuff” to make you happy. Truthfully, we should look at life as not about how much we can acquire, it’s about how we choose to live and the impact we leave doing so.Β 

Minimalist Business Quick Recap

Declutter and focus on one area in your business at a time. 

Prioritize quality not quantity. 

Organize your work and life using a free project management tool. 

Practice gratitude and work on your mindset. Remember you are enough and you have enough. 

So, minimalists are happier because they have less worry, stress, and chaos in their lives. Let’s choose to run our business like a minimalist. They have the right idea!Β