IttyBiz

This article is part of the, “But WHY, Naomi?” series.

Testimonials are usually approached from the perspective of hard results. Conventional wisdom dictates that if people can see exactly how well a product or service performs, they’ll be more likely to buy it.

I lost X pounds!
I got Y dates!
I scored Z followers!

Conventional wisdom also says that bigger is better. The bigger the results, the bigger the selling power.

Therefore,

• “I lost 120 pounds” is bigger, and therefore better, than “I lost 12.”
• “I got 50 dates” is bigger, and therefore better, than “I got 5.”
• “I scored 100,000 followers” is is bigger, and therefore better, than “I got 192.”

I’ve always taken a different approach in the testimonials I publish, both on the products in my store, and with the coaching that I offer. (There’s one exception, and I’ll tell you about that in a moment.).

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If there’s one thing we’re all exhausted by, it’s content. The planning of it, the making of it, the promoting of it. Not to mention the navel gazing of it, the second guessing of it, and the getting 90% done and then bailing on it. And in the six years since Mark Schaefer broke our minds with his philosophy on content shock, things have gotten worse, not better.

I’ve done my best to contribute to the oh-my-God-how-in-the-hell-are-we-supposed-to-keep-up potluck with ways to write newsletters faster, how to do content marketing without a blog, and The 1-Hour Content Plan. But at the end of the day, the truth is the truth. It’s at least hard, and possibly impossible, to keep up.

In response to all this situation, the idea of repurposing content has emerged. If you turn THIS thing into this OTHER thing, YOU HAVE TWO THINGS! The internet abounds with ways to repurpose content so that we’re not having to reinvent the wheel every freaking time we take pen to paper.

The problem is, the biggest advisors in the repurposing world tend to be corporations. They’re companies… with whole teams of people, with massive existing skillsets, and functionally unlimited budgets. Turning an old newsletter into a webinar is a simple matter of emailing Brad in marketing with, ”Can you turn that old newsletter into a freaking webinar or something?”

For ittybiz owners, it’s not quite so simple. Turning that old newsletter into a freaking webinar requires figuring out how to make a freaking webinar, finding the time to make a freaking webinar, learning to promote a freaking webinar, and getting someone to watch the freaking kids.

For many, it’s a hell of a learning curve.

But! All is not lost. Even at the itty level, you can absolutely get in on the repurposing game. Here are a few ways to do just that. Some of them might be above your resource capacities right now, but others might not be. Have a peek and see if you might be able to take a load off.

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Working from home is a huge goal for many people. The allure is strong – no commute, you can do it in your pajamas, and you can eat your lunch when you want to. Even people who would no more start an ittybiz than fly to the moon still dream of a day when they can just work from their freaking house.

Having said that, most of our home offices suck.

For one thing, they’re rarely offices. Working in our PJs at our kitchen table has become almost a badge of honor in the solopreneur community.

And even if they are offices, they’re cramped, they’re messy and they create an environment that the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board would have to step in about if you ever forced anyone else to work there.

Unsurprisingly, that has effects on a person.

Shall we discuss?

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Minimalism has taken the world by storm.

I’m guessing you might have noticed that.

The Western world, after spending seven decades in the relentless pursuit of more, is starting to come around to the idea of less. Fewer things, but more carefully and consciously chosen. Fewer activities, but ones that are just right. We’re starting to move away from the black hole that is perceived lack.

I started my minimalism journey with Marie Kondo. (We all know how I feel about her.) When I packed my one bag and spent 100 days circumnavigating the globe, I got a little more into it. (Even the divine Ms. Kondo has more than a carry-on.) Then I read Goodbye, Things, and that’s when it really kicked in for me.

Having too much stuff sucks, and even when I had very little, I realized I had too much.

As we begin to apply the peace of minimalism to our lives, it is natural to start wanting to feel those good feelings elsewhere. Minimalist parenting, minimalist holidays, minimalist travel – we’re starting to realize that less really is more.

So what about business? Is it possible that this thing we spend all those hours on could be minimalist as well? Could we get the pure and peaceful and centered feelings at work, as well as at home?

Yes, dear reader. Yes, we can.

Here are some places to start.

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So you got yourself a VA. Or you’re just about to. Or you’re seriously thinking about it. That’s great. As you know, I’m a huge fan of hiring a VA for support, and a huge fan of supporting VA businesses. But now that you’re here, what do you do?

This is a really common situation. Ittybiz owners hire support staff, don’t know what to do with them, and then let them languish because we don’t know how to meaningfully start.

Now, we could solve this problem by systematically and strategically making a plan for what we’re going to do with our new team member, and gradually on-boarding them like the awesome CEO we are. That would be a super smart thing to do. But given the number of hats we have to wear as ittybiz owners, waiting to do the wise and prudent thing usually results in waiting forever.

Therefore, we need a new solution. The one I recommend is… the starting task. The test. The trial run. Some relatively small, relatively unimportant task or project that stretches your muscles as a leader, gets to know your new or potential hire, and gets something done at the same time.

With that in mind, here are some great trial tasks you can set up pretty much right away without having to go to management school before you can begin.

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