How have you been working smarter not harder and keeping things lean in your business? What does that look like for you and your business right now? What could you optimize going forward?
Over this past year we have had a wide variety of incredible entrepreneurs on the Lean Out Your Business Podcast who have shared their words of wisdom.
These are just a few of the top tips to help you feel more fulfill, be more productive and have an even more successful business this season.
How Jordan Eades Works Smarter Not Harder and Keeps Things Lean-Episode 39:
She focuses on daily habits.
- “Your best self does your best work. Remembering how you show up on a daily basis affects everything-productivity, profit, impact.”
Jordan Eades is the owner of Your Best Business. Listen to the full interview for how to show up daily for yourself and your business.
How Meagan Ruppert and Athena Quinones Works Smarter Not Harder and Keep Things Lean-Episode 37:
They keep things simple.
- "You keep things simple. Keep your strategy simple. I always tell my clients do everything as if you're teaching a kindergartner. The way to do that is by simplifying everything and writing it all down.”
Meagan Ruppert and Athena Quinones are co-founders of Ladies Who Scale. Listen to the full interview for tips how to practically start scaling today.
How Lisa Pezik Works Smarter Not Harder and Keeps Things Lean-Episode 36:
She outsources anything outside her zone of genius.
- “You have to be in your zone of genius and love what you do, and if you don't love it you have got to find a team member and hire it out. Make sure business stays fun. It should stay exciting so you don't get burned out.”
Lisa Pezik is a lead generator and content creation specialist, who founded Infinite Design House with her husband Eric. Listen to the full interview to know how to position yourself in your zone of genius for success
How Nikki Nash Works Smarter Not Harder and Keeps Things Lean–Episode 34:
She structures her projects based on what motivates her.
- “I realized that I tend to write things last minute under pressure. I wrote my entire book proposal in 48 hours, I thrive on crazy deadlines. So I created a focus group of about 80 people that I sent a chapter a week to for 90 days. The smart thing for me to do was to write a chapter and send it to people, then they can leave comments on what they loved, where they had questions. So when I went back to edit, I knew where I needed to explain more and so on.”
Nikki Nash is the founder of Market Your Genius. Listen to the full interview for insight into how to be an expert in your industry and what it was like to write a book.
How Aimee LaLiberte Works Smarter Not Harder and Keeps Things Lean-Episode 33:
She knows when to say no.
- “I've learned to say no and say no to opportunities that look like they’re really good on paper, but I know are distractions and being able to discern exactly what those are. I use my intuition, and trust myself to know my business, I am the soul of my business, it is a direct creation from me, and being able to discern is this a distraction? Or is this a great opportunity? Do I like my reasons to do this? Am I being brutally honest with myself?”
Aimee LaLiberte is the founder of My Virtual CFO. Listen to the full interview to lean into trusting your intuition and trusting yourself with your finances in business.
How Jen Coken Works Smarter Not Harder and Keeps Things Lean-Episode 31:
She knows exactly what to delegate in her business.
- “I delegated things out that I had no business doing they were important to run my business, but I didn't need to be doing like dealing with my calendar. So, I hired a VA to deal with my calendar and then we had to train him, so I now have a team around me, which is really distinct and unique for me. Allowing me to spend time in my zone of genius and not my zone of competence. Also literally hands down Crista was a game changer for me working with you.”
Jen Coken is an imposter syndrome expert who works with women to turn their imposter syndrome into their superpower. Listen to the full interview to learn how to delegate and outsource the things you need to stay on track.
How Melanie Herschorn Works Smarter Not Harder and Keeps Things Lean-Episode 29:
She knows when to hire a coach.
- “Having a coach, even if you are a coach, every coach needs a coach. I have been fortunate enough to work with a coach that has helped me figure out what I'm doing. Now I'm actually working fewer hours and enjoying my life more. So, as I am planning my content, I know it can be repurposed, by having a VA that takes what I've planned and repurposes it and they put it on all the various platforms for me.”
Melanie Herschorn is a content marketing strategist coach and the founder of VIP Digital Content. Listen to the full interview for advice on being coachable and getting hours back into your life.
How Jenny Lind Works Smarter Not Harder and Keeps Things Lean-Episode 27:
She stays fully present in each moment.
- “Well, I've learned most of it from you. With breath work, and really focusing on getting really present. I have focus on putting all this energy into things to create and to produce. A lot of times we're overdoing it, we're over spending our time and our energy. The breath brings us back to allow the energy to give us the insight that we're really seeking for the best of our business.”
Jenny Lind is the founder of Infinite Well Co. Listen to the full interview to hear how Jenny took back her control through breathwork and getting clear on her life.
How Crista Grasso Works Smarter Not Harder and Keeps Things Lean-Episode 25:
She is intentional with her time and works in focus blocks.
- "The secret to my success in working smarter not harder and keeping things lean is twofold. One is alignment and making sure that the things I'm working on are the things that are actually going to deliver the vision and goals that I've set for my business, and the second is to work in focus blocks and structure my days to play to my strengths."
Crista Grasso is the founder of The Lean Out Method and the go-to strategic planning expert for leading global businesses and online entrepreneurs when they want to scale. Listen to the full interview for tips on how to transition in your business.
How Kathy Svetina Works Smarter Not Harder and Keeps Things Lean-Episode 23:
She works on her business not just in her business.
- “Systems and process, I use a project management tool called Click-Up. Everything is in there, my SOPs, my client communications, and all the processes I have are in one place.”
Kathy Svetina the founder of New Castle Finance. Listen to the full interview to hear how to create a budget for your business and have a profitable launch.
How Jessica Maine Works Smarter Not Harder and Keeps Things Lean-Episode 21:
She creates capacity.
- “Evaluate what you’re doing on a daily basis and find ways to get organized to create capacity.”
Jessica Maine is the Sales and Marketing Director of Lean Out Method. Listen to the full interview for more insight into being prepared for the rollercoaster of entrepreneurship.
How Jordan Eades Works Smarter Not Harder and Keeps Things Lean-Episode 19:
She makes time for what brings joy.
- “We need to make sure that we are prioritizing things that bring us joy and light us up outside of our business, taking time for pleasure.”
Jordan Eades is the owner of Your Best Business. Listen to the full interview for how to show up daily for yourself and your business.
How Viola Welang Works Smarter Not Harder and Keeps Things Lean-Episode 17:
She has a roadmap on how to get to her destination.
- “It’s clarity. I do this planning for myself every year. We do it in my business and we figure out what was the direction. That way, if a new fancy thing comes out, I’m not like, “Let me try this.” No, I have a plan. I’m clear on where I’m going. That’s what I do. It yields results. It works.
Viola Welang is the creator of the Business Done Right program. Listen to the full interview to learn about the three key foundations for any successful business.
How Nicole Doumato Works Smarter Not Harder and Keeps Things Lean-Episode 15:
She leverages her productivity with time blocks.
- “I am very intentional with my time. I time block my day at the beginning of the week. I am very intentional about not being on an Instagram when I am working either for my own business or my client's business. I have very few tools that are my go-to and I get in there and do the work, that's it. It's more important for me to sit there, head down to the work, than it is for creating a whole system or a process or looking at this new shiny thing over here or whatever it is. Being very intentional with my time.”
Nicole Doumato is an Instagram marketing coach. Listen to the full interview for more tips on achieving success with Instagram and what metrics to focus on for true growth.
How Nicole Iacovoni Works Smarter Not Harder and Keeps Things Lean-Episode 13:
She keeps expenses to a minimum.
- “Always keep expenses to a minimum and increase revenue. That is always the objective in my business. It’s simple. Every decision that I make, I ask myself, “Am I keeping expenses at a minimum and maximizing revenue? Is this thing that I’m thinking of doing going to create an amazing experience for my clients, where they are eager and ready to hand over money for it? Is this thing that I’m thinking about spending money on in alignment with my own values for my business and what I want to achieve in my business?”
Nicole Iacovoni is a Financial Therapist and Licensed Psychotherapist. Listen to the full interview to begin to unravel some of the toxic money relationships you might currently be in.
How Nikki Nash Works Smarter Not Harder and Keeps Things Lean-Episode 11:
She knows how to outsource,
- “One of the biggest ways that I do this, and not everybody is down with this methodology but I love it, is that I hire a team to do very specific things over and over again. For example, I bring on somebody and they only work on my podcast. They only edit, they're the podcast guru. I have somebody who's going to be only YouTube or only micro-content. The reason why I do this is because then I can put in systems, structures and processes for everything, and this is exactly how we do stuff. People know exactly what to do and they're trained to do it."
Nikki Nash is the founder of Market Your Genius. Listen to the full interview to learn about unleashing your full potential in your business marketing.
How Michelle Glogovac Works Smarter Not Harder and Keeps Things Lean-Episode 9:
She keeps herself fully present.
- “I work within the time that I have. I've got alarms on my phone to stay on track. It's about having the schedule, prioritizing what you want to do, and then also creating processes for everything."
Michelle Glogovac is the host of the My Simplified Life Podcast. Listen to the full interview to gain insights into leveraging your podcast for business growth and learning to pitch yourself effectively.
How Annie P. Ruggles Works Smarter Not Harder and Keeps Things Lean-Episode 7:
She knows how to ethically ask for sales.
- “I make sure that I'm not over-marketing and underselling because over-marketing is expensive, shiny, fun, time-consuming, and it will kill your business. It has almost killed mine more than once. I have to make sure that I am boldly, bravely, compassionately, ethically asking for the sale.”
Annie Ruggles founder and dean of the Non Sleazy Sales Academy. Listen to the full interview to learn how to do sales in an authentic and sustainable way to grow your business while being ethical.
Summary of Top 18 Tips:
- Focus on daily habits. -Jordan Eades
- Keep things simple. -Meagan Ruppert and Athena Quinones
- Outsource anything outside your zone of genius. -Lisa Pezik
- Structure projects based on what motivates you. -Nikki Nash
- Knowing when to say no. -Aimee LaLiberte
- Delegate inside your business. -Jen Coken
- Hire a coach. -Melanie Herschorn
- Stay present in each moment in and out of business. -Jenny Lind
- Work on your business not just in your business. -Kathy Svetina
- Be intentional with your time and work in focus blocks. -Crista Grasso
- Create capacity. -Jessica Maine
- Make time for what brings you joy. -Jordan Eades
- Have a business roadmap. -Viola Welang
- Leverage time blocking. -Nicole Doumato
- Keep expenses to a minimum. -Nicole Iacovoni
- Know how to outsource projects. -Nikki Nash
- Be fully present. -Michelle Glogovac
- Ethically ask for the sale. -Annie P. Ruggles
Which one of these tips will you apply to your business this quarter? Let us know in the comments below!
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by Crista Grasso
Crista Grasso is the go-to strategic planning expert for leading global businesses and online entrepreneurs when they want to scale. Known as the "Business Optimizer", Crista has the ability to quickly cut through noise and focus on optimizing the core things that will make the biggest impact to scale a business simply and sustainably. She specializes in helping businesses gain clarity on the most important things that will drive maximum value for their clients and maximum profits for their business. She is the creator of the Lean Out Method, 90 Day Lean Out Planner, and host of the Lean Out Your Business Podcast.
