Episode 183: Simplicity Unveiled - Beyond The Power of Less
In today's episode of FEMNation, I dove deep into a topic that's become increasingly central to my life and work: simplicity. As your biz bff and favorite online mentor, I've often juggled countless ideas and projects, always searching for the next big thing that could transform my audience's lives. But, as I've ventured further into the entrepreneurial world, I've realized that more isn't always better. Let me share a bit about why embracing simplicity has not only reshaped my approach to business but could potentially change how you see your own projects and ideas.
Simplicity, to me, is not about doing less for the sake of it. It's about focusing on what truly matters. Every project I start, every idea I brainstorm, I now see through the lens of simplicity. Is this something that aligns with my core mission? Can it deliver value without adding unnecessary complexity to my life or the lives of my audience? These questions have become my guiding stars.
This journey towards simplicity began with a realization: not every idea needs to be pursued to fruition. There have been countless times when I've mapped out an entire program or product, only to step back and realize that it doesn't fit with my current goals or the needs of my audience. Instead of viewing this as wasted effort, I've learned to see it as an essential part of the creative process. It's about exploring possibilities, even if they don't all lead directly to a new offering.
One practical strategy I've adopted is the creation of a digital workbook. This tool has been instrumental in helping me plan, review, and refine my ideas. It's a space where I can ask myself tough questions about what I've accomplished and where I want to go next. It encourages me to consider the efficiency of my actions and the financial health of my business. By regularly reflecting on these aspects, I ensure that my efforts are aligned with my ultimate goals of simplicity and impact.
Digital products have emerged as a key focus in my quest for simplicity. They represent a way to deliver value without tying my time directly to revenue generation. Creating a digital course back in 2020 was a pivotal moment for me; it was when I fully grasped the power of leveraging my time more effectively. This doesn't mean I've stopped exploring new ideas or considering different projects. However, now I approach each with a critical eye, asking whether it truly simplifies my mission or adds unnecessary complexity.
Adopting a simplicity-first mindset doesn't mean abandoning creativity. On the contrary, it's about channeling creativity more effectively. It's recognizing when an idea, no matter how good it seems, might be better off shelved for a future date. This approach has freed me to focus more on what's already working and double down on those areas.
To my fellow entrepreneurs and creators in FemNation, I encourage you to consider the role of simplicity in your own projects. Reflect on the ideas you're pursuing: are they adding value or just adding to your workload? Sometimes, the most powerful step we can take is to simplify our focus, honing in on what truly moves us toward our goals.
And for anyone looking to streamline their approach to business and creativity, consider the practical steps you can take. Whether it's creating a digital workbook to track your progress, focusing on digital products, or simply taking time to reflect on your goals, simplicity can be a powerful tool in your entrepreneurial toolkit.
In conclusion, simplicity isn't just about doing less; it's about doing what matters most. By embracing this mindset, we can make our work more impactful, our lives less cluttered, and our paths forward clearer.
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Podcast transcript:
Welcome back, FemNation. I am so delighted to have you here with me today for another episode where I'm going to dive into a little bit of my simplicity. I know I started that topic last week in the previous episode about simplicity, but I just really feel compelled to dive even further into it. And I'm gonna kind, of dip my toes in the water of a little bit of what, what I do, you know, what does simplicity look like for white Dove here in today's episode? So, hi, I'm Whitev, your bizbff, and your favorite online mentor. Welcome to femination. Sometimes I build something out of only an option to get the thought process out of my head, to move the creative idea out of my mind, and to follow through with the process of potential, let's put it that way, only to realize it's not what I want to pursue as a mode of inspiring transformation for others. Now, some people may say, or may think or may, may object and try to associate, you know, some sort of tag or label to that which really isn't, isn't the, isn't necessary, I should say is probably my best word choice for that. it's not that it wasn't valid. It's not that it was not, going to work or the transformation didn't exist. It's more that I find in the creative process of releasing that creative mode or transformative option and diving into the path of the creation itself, diving into the possibility of what bringing life to that transformation could look like. It's more of going through the motions myself. Right? So it's a form of me walking that customer journey. So I have, for example, let's say, take a good idea, really good idea of a program or transformation that I want to build a program around. And from there, then I'll say, okay, then what is the best way to deliver that transformation to others? Right. You know, and how can I draw my experience, my expertise, my knowledge, my, specific uniqueness inside of this transformation? How can I draw on all of that in order to, bring to life this transformation? And then ultimately, you know, what are the pieces, the elements of content delivery, that I would want for, for said, idea, said transformation idea, said program idea. And it's through that process that, I've gotten pretty good at being quick at that process, pretty good at being able to flesh that out in a fantastic manner where I'll sit down, I'll think about it, I'll work on it, I'll write notes about it. I'll open up a Google Doc and store mapping it out into like a three tier bullet, point system, because I need to know what that journey is going to look like for the end user, for my customers in order for me to, you know, work forward also working in reverse, and then kind of forward engineer, reverse engineer, poke holes through it, put life to it instead of it just being a creative idea. And then from that process, being able to, determine if that is going to be, something that I want to actually create, like go through all the motions of creating it. Because I create my own programs, I put my own content out there. I put all the pieces together, I formulate every ounce of it, mostly myself. the content, the program itself, all of that. I do create myself now, being efficient with the use of certain elements of content for that particular program, of course. And I'll use apps or other programs that help me become efficient or help me be efficient with that which I've already created. Now, that being said, there is an option, an opportunity. Not an option, but an opportunity once I flesh that out, to be able to look at and say, you know, the best way to pull this transformation together and see the maximum potential for this transformation is putting it into a container that I don't have the time or bandwidth for. And so I shelve it right now, that content, that fleshing out that, putting theory to purpose and kind of mapping or outlining is not wasted time. It's an efficient opportunity for me to say, this is going to work in where I am today and what I'm searching for today and what I'm seeking today. And if it's not going to work, then I put it on the back burner for a hot minute and then, maybe come back to it later, maybe my bandwidth is different. But the idea, the transformation, the process never is without merit. Just because I don't breathe life into it at the moment and put all the creative elements to it together at the moment does not mean it was for nothing. It just means that at the moment, this is not something that I am willing to pursue the creative process, finalizing the creative process on in order to bring this life. Because the time constraint that it would take to put to maximize this transformation is not one that I'm capable of or willing to dive into right now or today, or to promote or spend the time launching or all the above, all the, all the elements and pieces. I want to encourage you with this example that just because you put something together. Just because you go through the motion of mapping something out and you're not finding a way to fit that into a creative option for people to maximize that, that transformation does not mean that you can't put it on the shelf and save it for another day. That is an asset that you can come back to at any point in time. That is simplifying to me. That is a form of simplification for me, because then I'm not building out and then going through creating the entire thing, not being in love with it, or not finding the compatibility with time exchange in order to fulfill that for those that invest in it that way, I'm no longer, really tying, leashing myself to what that creativity looks like. Sometimes that creative process is what's necessary to get that idea out of my mind so I can move forward with something that is relevant or working in my bandwidth at the moment. I've got tons of ideas, tons of creative ways, tons of knowledge, tons of experience, tons of, tons of know how to put all of this together to make programs whenever I want to. But it doesn't mean every single program that I create is relevant right now. And it's not because the transformation's not necessary. It's because sometimes I am not capable of putting something out there and fulfilling on it, and I don't want it to be less than genuine to the people that are there. Right? So, second part of that is that I'm good at reinventing the wheel. And, it's a creative element in who I am. And it's something that I've learned to recognize over time, that now, while it's not bad to reinvent the wheel or recreate the wheel on something, it holds me back from doubling down on what's already working. Right? So the second point to this is that I will, I will, I love the creative process. So let me not, I will. I love the creative process. I enjoy the creative process. There's kind of a, almost a high in, having an idea and bringing an idea to life. And, and I've done it before to where I would have that emotional attachment to, at the high of bringing a creative idea to life, and then all of a sudden finding that by the time I put all the pieces together and launch it, something's off with it. And it was the timing or my own personal bandwidth, or my capacity to, be that tied to the fulfillment aspect of the program or the offer, what I had to recognize and why simply going through the process of fleshing out the idea and allowing myself to flesh it out and look at the elements of it without being attached to launching it, is that I stopped myself from absolutely recreating, you know, making new things all the time. I can make new things all the time, and I love that aspect of it. But at the same time, am I creating new things because of that high or that moment? Or am I creating new things because of the rush that it gives me? Or am I creating new things because it's keeping me from doubling down on something that's already working? You see, I've tested probably hundreds of potential theories of programs way to deliver knowledge, my unique knowledge, my unique skill set, my unique, experience turned into a valuable opportunity for people to learn at, you know, various price points. But some I launched, some I didn't. And so it doesn't mean that those weren't valid or lacked potential or had, didn't have any relevance. It just meant that they weren't fitting into my end goal as well. See, and I'm going to segue this from that aspect of creation into simplicity for me, which is my end goal. So that's my, that's what I'm ultimately working on. There are times where I create something, I flesh out an idea, and I realize that that also isn't just in the moment, it's just not working towards my end desired goal, which is ultimately simplicity. That's my lighthouse, that's my beacon. My unwavering focus is, I want simplicity in all things. I want to untie my time from revenue, initial time investment obviously not withstanding. But I don't want to always be tied to a time frame or a time exchange in order to generate revenue. And I'll expand that a little bit. That's one of my end goals. That's one of my visions, my focus. Simplifying. Simplifying everything I do. Because, of course, the greatest asset that we have is time. The greatest that, that is the thing that most people do to alleviate almost everything in order to produce, or, not produce, but allow more, options to choose with which we do with our time. And so digital products per se, are probably the most surest way to alleviate that time revenue. tie. And so that's why my focus is, has been for years on digital products. Way back when I created pint sized digital products as a little mini course, in 2020, that was my focus, because I realized then that I needed to, if I was going to grow that which I wanted to grow, and I wanted to address my goals and my end game and my future. It was untying that revenue from time machine. but it's not an easy accomplishment to do so, which means that it may be may, and I put may strong emphasis on may because not always, maybe a slower path. It may be something where it's not as obvious up front because there are many components inside of building a business that are necessary. Audience, engagement, content, product itself, different price points, you know, showing up consistently, marketing, getting good at asking for the sale, you know, all those things I talk about regularly. Anyway, it really unties, the capacity to be interwoven with, not just fulfilling that is time draining, you know, not time draining because I don't want to say that that coaching, and I'll get into that for a minute, is a time drain. I don't want to put a negative connotation on it because I don't believe it is that. What I'm trying to articulate here is that the desire to free up my time, the desire to choose my heart, desire to live in the ebb and flow of creativity, the desire to test new theories, desire to allow my genius to have life was throttled by the time constraint of being tied to the, you know, the more of a one to one container or coaching container or a coaching aspect. Now, coaching in itself is, is a fantastic opportunity. It is an opportunity to flesh out you know, independent transformations. It's an opportunity to work on your learning curve. It's an opportunity to begin leading others directly, you know, so one to one is valuable, is very valuable because it's a very deep connection. It's a very true opportunity to walk the road with others uniquely and build relationships and build that rapport, leadership for both parties. I love coaching, but I also find that I'm in a moment in my world that I am focusing more on keeping the release of my time and focusing more on the digital product aspect of my time. Coaching is not a digital product. You can take elements of the coaching, create digital products from it, but you cannot, you cannot digitize the coaching experience because it is definitely directly related to time spent with both parties. Right. One to one is both parties. Me and client or you and client. that being said though, there is a high demand, a high push for a race to the bottom in the digital product space for price points. Right? We see a lot of PLR, master, resale rights, private label rights, you know, low ticket, small ticket, low ticket product pricing, a lot of massive giving inside of a low ticket product, and that becomes very confusing for a lot of people. What I want to draw attention to, circling this back around to simplicity again in the online business space, predominantly for me, and what I've seen is that the pricing that is out there is irrelevant to what exactly you are creating for transformation. And I firmly believe that when pricing something, especially at a low ticket price point, your gut is going to be a good indicator. If you feel like something is you're pricing it or wanting it to be priced at 47, when you're not sure that that's where you want it to be, you're sitting on that and you're kind of like, give yourself a gut check on whether or not you're pricing that because you need the money, or if you're pricing that because it's genuinely worth, you know, it's valuable at that contribution or that investment from others. But if you, if you're sitting at it at 47, you're saying, I know other people that sell this, or something similar to this at, 7, it doesn't matter, sell it for 47. Right. That is simplifying that pricing process instead of overwhelming yourself with, what should I do? How should I do it? is it priced properly? Is it delivered properly? Is it as cool and sexy as somebody else's similar program or similar, concept? Is it, you know, is it all the above of those things that come up for us? Again, remove and let it be simple that the price that, that initially comes to mind for something, if it's not based around the need or desire to, to price it at that, because you want or have to have that money, then price it accordingly. You can always go up. Now, simplicity in this process, though, simplicity in building your online business ought to start with organic because there's less pressure. There's more do and less pressure when you go organic, right? If you run straight to ads first, and this is why I teach organic. I absolutely, validly teach organic and stand behind that strategy, and will, because it stands the test of time. But if you jump straight into ads and there are options for you when it doesn't go exactly as you're planning or the results that you're looking for, you desire, you want, without context of certain other elements that maybe you overlooked in the process because you weren't ready for them or it wasn't the right timing for them. If you jump straight to ads and there's too much opportunity to, blame the ad itself or blame the structure, blame the app or blame the algorithm or blame the process. There's too much opportunity to place blame where blame isn't. And when maybe it's your copy and you need to go revisit that, maybe you need to spend, spend more time with sharing your thought process with your audience organically, even if it is only a couple hundred people on your organic, profile. The simplicity factor of building this online business absolutely starts with organic. It absolutely starts with fleshing out the idea, but not being married to the time invested to flesh out the idea and have to back that with a launch. Simplicity is being able to flesh out the idea and turn around and say, you know what, right now is not the proper time for this product. I'm not there yet. I'm not ready for this yet. I'm not ready for this time commitment, or I'm not ready to put everything into the front side of this smaller digital product so then I can be free on the back end of it while it can sit, while it generates money when I launch it. you know, that's the simplicity of it. Being able to say, here's the creative idea, this is what's going to work. This is not going to work. Shelve it for right now, run with it right now. That's the simplicity of being able to flesh out the idea. Not tying yourself up to the fact that this was necessary to follow through with, because you spent the time on it, your time was not wasted. So don't think that you have to, just because you started down the path. You can say, shelving this for right now, give yourself an opportunity to say that I do not have the bandwidth for this right now. I do not have an opportunity for this, you know, to fulfill this right now. Let me come back to this and revisit later. That's simplicity, guys. That's where you find that you are leading yourself and not letting the need to generate revenue control your actions. And there's so much of that in the online space. I see a ton, thousands of, of people, consistently taking the need to generate revenue, which is a very valid need. I'm not negating that need to generate revenue, but taking that need to generate revenue and driving full force to the point where they are hammering something that doesn't need or shouldn't be hammered right now. That's the difference. It's not simple. It's no longer simple. There's roadblocks or things that come up or, the, the simplicity factor is maybe staring you right in the face where it's just a fraction of that idea that you fleshed out, you can run with that one right now. There's so many things you can do with it. If you're not tied to the fact that the idea that creative inspiration has to be fulfilled because you spent the time right now recently on it, you're going to spend time over and over and over and over in the creative element of fleshing out awesome ideas and breathing life in them and bringing them to the forefront for people to be able to have that transformation you're going to. But there are certain elements along with that creative inspiration, that creative, process that you must, must, must continue. You must continue content, you must continue talking to your audience, you must continue putting stuff out there. You must continue other things, too. And if you can't continue all of the pieces, then a mistake that I made was launching and then backing off so bad that it turned around and kickstart that momentum again the next time around. It's not necessary to do that, because then I, what happened was I was building too big of programs, or I was building too much in depth, and that was okay for me for the learning curve. So then I could bring this information now and say, hey, it doesn't have to be that. And in this particular era that we find ourselves in, at the date of this recording, simple is necessary. There is simplicity, I would say is going to be a currency, that is of this time. There is a need and underlying development that we need to find simple, because we have been sold complex for years and this online space has told you, you have to create high ticket, you have to create assets, you have to create all of these things. You have to have all this. You have to establish this business, you have to become an established person that is knowledgeable, you have to be a thought leader. You have to do all of these things. You have to reinvent the wheel. And there is no reinvention that needs to happen. There just isn't. You don't have to reinvent the wheel. I got good at loving to reinvent the wheel because that rush of creativity was so amazing. My dreams and thoughts and ideas and aspirations of what I could do with this thing, this amazing idea I was recreating from the ground up was great, except for I didn't have to. I was overlooking that I was not doubling down on what was already working. So for the last thing I want you to consider inside of today's episode is, what are you overlooking? Go back to a couple of those ideas and determine whether or not you, you, those are ready for now if they can be, reanalyzed, for even more simplification. Because what you know today is way more than what you knew probably when you started that great idea. So are you overcomplicating the creative process? Are you overcomplicating what you have or what you're creating right now versus what you have in your creative database? Are you working for consciously remembering simplicity and all things? Do you end the day with overwhelm or with, an anxious feeling that, I didn't get it done, I didn't get it launched, I didn't get the content. If you cannot ease into that moment in the evening, that is like, I can put this down for right now and come back to it tomorrow. You're overworking your entire creative process because you're driven by a have to, instead of driven by, the ability to create something that can withstand time, that can last forever and ever, that can be repeatedly, offered, that can come back to on a launch and relaunched again, that can be asset stacked, that can have a live element later, all of those things can be part of your growth. But if you are captivated with not being able to put it down because you have to get this done, because you put this much time into it, because you've got to launch it, because you need the money, because you're tied to something other than what's going to make you successful, because those drivers are not the metrics of success. Consistency and simplicity are the metrics of success. And if you are holding on to that creative process in such a manner that it prevents you from launching on a consistent basis, then you are missing the entire point of being in business in this online space. I'm going to tell you all again, because I love you, my femme family, that the business model is selling. Create something quick and easy and small and simple, and transformative, and amazing and informative and valuable. And put a small price point to, I don't care if a million other people in the world are giving it away for zero charge, 7 for it, but if you're not doing that simple step, if you're sitting in the creative element, reinventing the wheel of being bound to the thing that you think you've got to create, and you haven't launched anything, you're missing a critical moment in your business. Cause that creative time is going to come and go. You need to learn how to bring the launch element into it. You need to learn how to offer things for sale. Some are going to go gangbusters, some are going to flop and it doesn't matter. It happens for everyone, including the top earners, the high names, the big money out there. They all have launches that flop. Just do it on a, do it on a small scale. I have launches that didn't produce anything. So I turn around and offer something else. But I'm not married to any one particular product in order to make sure that that thing fulfills. And when it doesn't, am devastated. It's not simple. That doesn't get me to my end goal. Simplicity. Untying the time and revenue coupling in my life. Building things for people at different price points. Being free to live in the creative element when I want to and when it feels right to me. Being able to let go of things that, that creep up or ideas, that, that trickle in on where I am in this entrepreneurial journey. Being able to let go of those because I'm in charge of it. Having a database of a few things that I've created and rotating through those, absolutely. That is simplicity to me. That is beneficial. That is where I can turn around and launch something again. Turn around and launch something else. Turn around and launch something new with the twist. That's where I can spend time in my creative element, fleshing out an idea and determining if it's the new thing for now, or if I'm avoiding something that's already working and trying to reinvent the wheel. It gives me perspective, an opportunity to look at this business as a business instead of being so married to the outcome that I'm building something that by the time I'm done with it, is not even what I want to be doing. That's not simple. That's not simple, my friends. So I encourage you to go back through this episode, write down some of those gems and those points that I made to reference simplicity for you. And, my simplicity, my example of simplicity does not have to be the same as yours. Yours is unique. But I'm giving you perspective inside of this, the journey that I have had for seven plus years at this point in the online space, so that you can find an element that maybe strikes a chord with you and your simplicity. Maybe some of what I view as simple as is parallel to yours, maybe none. But maybe hearing the perspective of it helps you understand more of what you do and don't want in this online space. If you are not a part of Toolkit coach launch toolkit membership, I, highly encourage you to be a part of coach launch toolkit membership. It is for 7 a month probably the most no brainer option out there that walks you through this simplified process of starting and maintaining an online business in this very, very, very amazing era that we find ourselves in. And of course, I have to reference again that it's only 7 a month. It is not a great example of what you should create, but it is a culmination of a lot of things that I created over time that I was finally able to put together in something small. And so that's what I created. But for you, gives you an opportunity to see a simplified process by learning exactly how I got to where I am today. And I highly encourage you to be a part of coach launch toolkit. If you have any questions, find, me on socials and reach out and let me know. Also, if this episode strikes a chord with you at all, please share it. That is the greatest form of thank you that you could give me is by sharing this femnation podcast with those in your world. But also remember, no matter what you do, keep moving forward.