Picture this: I was in Rome, Italy. Myself and my husband were on a 3-week trip with my family across Europe visiting Rome, Sienna, Florence, Lake Como, and Venice. Dream trip, right?
Well, in some regards, it was. But you know what wasn’t pictured in my Instagram feed? The countless times I was on my laptop working. Supporting students. On Instagram searching for leads. Sending voice messages. And creating content for an upcoming launch once we were back in the States.
I truly was living the Laptop Lifestyle. I realized that what I once thought was a “dream lifestyle” was quite the opposite of what I wanted for my life.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to create a business that requires that I be chained to my laptop at all times. That doesn’t sound like freedom to me.
It sounds like a prison.
I want to build a business that is set up for sustainable, long-term growth. That is spacious. That allows for me to fully unplug, rest, and recharge. So, I can come back to the table ready to serve even better.
Now, let me make a disclaimer: There ARE some seasons in business that require more work than others. There are seasons of hustle and rest. This isn’t meant to put you down if you’re in a season of hustle - we’ve all been there.
But this is a conversation that is meant to empower you to think bigger and more long-term for your business. What can you do NOW to set your business up to sustainably scale long-term? To allow you to work less and make more? (Because let me assure you - it’s totally possible with the right foundations in place).
If you want to set yourself up to have the ability to disconnect from your business, you must have an offering suite in place (or at least a vision for an evolving offering suite) that will allow you to do so.
For example, if you only offer a strategy session or one-on-one services, you’re probably going to find yourself to be VERY attached to the business in order to make money and move the needle forward.
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If you’re a coaching based business → Integrating some passive offers into your evolving offering suite? Like a template shop, a membership, courses, etc.
If you’re a service based business → Ways to offload the work by outsourcing, hiring a contractor, or a team member over time?
Again, these are changes that don’t have to take place in your business immediately. But it’s good to have a big-picture vision for how you will grow while removing your direct time from the business operations.
If you want to reduce the amount of time you have to put towards lead acquisition and overall marketing efforts (as I know this is a big pain point for a lot of online entrepreneurs), consider the following:
1. Creating an offering suite that encourages client retention: Do you provide an amazing customer journey that causes clients to want to stick around?
2. Creating an offering suite that allows for up-sells: Do you have more options or ways in which clients can receive value from your brand? And therefore pay you more?
3. Create an offering suite that encourages brand advocacy: Do you offer a client experience that leads clients to not only be loyal to your brand, but to advocate for your brand via word of mouth?
If you’re looking to sustainably scale your business, check out The Awakening Academy.
The more you grow in business the more important your infrastructure is. What do I mean by infrastructure? Your CRM for seamless client management, your project management for smooth day over day operations for yourself and the team, and your overall processes and procedures.
True story: Here at The Awakening, we spent the last 5-6 months optimizing our project management setup alone. Why? Because as we prepare for our next level of growth (while prioritizing sustainability & a seamless flow), and having all of that in place is going to 1) Save us time and 2) Allow for optimized team communication and workflow.
Our project management of choice is ClickUp.
Some of the key pieces we set up that have CHANGED the game:
If you know anything about me, you’ll know that I am SUCH a nerd about time management and optimized productivity. That said, it’s something I’m constantly experimenting with, and one of the things that has helped me optimize my time in a whole new way is energy awareness.
AKA: I have taken the time to understand how my energy operates - both on a monthly and weekly basis.
If you are a woman that is not familiar with the phases of your cycle, I highly recommend doing a bit of research here. I closely monitor my cycle and aim to fill my time with tasks that align with whatever phase I’m currently in (aka - I’m working WITH rather than AGAINST my energy, which saves me so much time).
On a weekly basis, I know that I have the MOST energy on a Monday and the LEAST energy on a Friday (basically, my energy descends from the beginning to the end of the week). So, that heavily influences and informs the way I structure my week and overall calendar!
Ultimately, if you’ll take the time to understand your body and how you naturally operate, you’ll be able to work with your energy, save time, and actually feel good during your days.
Have a question about working less & making more? Drop it below
Ashton Smith is the CEO and founder of The Awakening, a platform dedicated to helping women in business build intentionally so they can leave a powerful legacy behind. She helps early-stage all the way to established entrepreneurs own their power as CEO, deeply connect with their vision, & sustainably scale their businesses.
