With running your own design business, it’s common to attempt to do absolutely everything. You’re doing client work, managing and onboarding clients, staying active on social media, marketing your services, creating and selling products, supporting other business owners, answering emails, and writing blog content.
The scary thing is…that’s just the beginning.
All these tasks are important and totally make sense. Especially when you’re trying to grow your income to those $5k months you’ve been working towards.
So the problem isn’t that you’re doing those things. It’s how.(And I’ve totally been there.)
You piece together different tools you can find to accomplish tasks as cheaply as possible. Even if it means something takes hours longer than it has to.
You get to the point where you can afford to outsource and get rid of some of the more time-consuming tasks.
But you don’t pay attention to what workflows make sense and if you’re actually seeing a return on your investment with outsourcing. And that’s exactly why we all need to focus more on simplifying.
Today we’re going to go over how simplifying your design business will save you money, time, and sanity.
How simplifying saves you money
Whenever you spend money on your business, you want to see a return on it.
- If you’re outsourcing, you want to know that the tasks you’re assigning are contributing to booking new clients or bringing in a new audience
- If you’re paying for marketing tasks, you want to make sure that those things are actually bringing clients through the door
- If you’re paying for tools, you want to make sure they’re saving you enough time to be worth their cost
- If you purchased a course, you want the outcome of the course to move you closer to an important business goal
But a lot of times, we don’t make sure those things are holding true.
Instead, we start adding everything we can to our business that might help us move forward. Especially if a big guru out there is saying that it’s super important.
Last year, there were a few big things I either removed or simplified in my business including YouTube videos, weekly blog posts and emails, podcast show notes, and being active on Twitter.
Removing just those things alone saves me roughly $10k per year that I was spending on editors, copywriters, assistants, and transcription. And that doesn’t include the time I was spending on each task.
The same applies to workflows you follow over-and-over that aren’t as simple as possible. My client onboarding process used to take me between 5-10 hours per client. With my hourly rate, that means I was losing out on at least $500 per project that I could have been spending on income-generating tasks.
So whether you’re paying for people, spending money on tools, or just taking up your own time, removing pieces of your business that aren’t making an impact and simplifying your existing workflows can make a huge difference in the money you get to put in the bank at the end of each month.
How simplifying saves you time
I’ve never heard a business owner say that they have too much time to work each day…ever. Instead, we’re all much more likely to need more hours in the day which quickly turns into long work days, nights, and weekends.
When your business is overcomplicated with tasks that aren’t making an impact (aka income) and workflows that aren’t really working, you’re missing out on a whole lot of spare time.
In the example I gave above, I’ve figured that eliminating just those things saves me an average of 2 hours per week.
That’s a big deal! That’s time that I now spend on client work that makes money or improving other things within my business to make it all flow a whole lot more smoothly.
Whether you’re simplifying your business by cutting out something that isn’t serving you well or taking time to simplify a workflow, that means more time to take on additional client projects, create a new product, or even pursue a hobby, watch Netflix, or relax with your family.
How simplifying saves your sanity
Before I focused on simplifying my businesses, I felt absolutely drained at the end of every day. It was to the point where I’d shut off my computer, sit on the couch, and not want to talk to anyone or do anything for the rest of the night. I was too tired to make healthy meals, keep up with housework, or give my husband the attention he deserved.
Cutting out the things that aren’t working for you is a total game-changer for how you feel both in and out of your business. You’ll feel:
- More put together
- Like you have energy for other things at the end of each day
- More excited about your business as a whole
When you know the things you’re working on are making an impact, it makes working a whole lot more enjoyable.
How can you simplify?
Now I want you to take 5 minutes to brainstorm things you want to simplify in your business. Consider things like weekly tasks that aren’t serving you, things you’re outsourcing that aren’t making a difference, and workflows that are far more complicated than they need to be.
10 Steps To A More Profitable And Stress-Free Design Business
