This year has kicked our asses in a lot of ways. Yet, most of us still have much to be thankful for. I hope you and yours are able to celebrate some small wins this week and give thanks where you can. I imagine some of you have dealt with difficulties, tragedies, this year. If that is your situation, I’m sorry and I hope the future looks a little brighter each day.

This week, I want to share about Company of One, written by Paul Jarvis. I am still reading this book – I have this problem of switching books and bouncing back and forth, heh – but it had a positive impact on my business this year how I coach others.

The premise of Company of One is that growth is not the ultimate goal for a lot of business owners and solopreneurship is a lovely way to work and live in this world. I know with Duce Enterprises, I reached a point where I felt I needed to scale to match competitors, and this was a miss for me. I waffled between minimalism and growth for way too many years, and it affected my mental health and my bottom line. The Company of One mentality does not only apply to solopreneurs and freelancers, but it does focus on small and smart over growth at all costs.

I recently took some time to reflect on eight years of full-time entrepreneurship and think hard about the future of my business. I am fortunate to be in the position I’m in, especially in the middle of a pandemic. This comes from privilege, luck, and talent, in that order. My level of risk is so low. One of the reasons I quit my “secure” job when I did was the realization that the opportunity cost was far greater than any actual risk I faced. This does not play out the same for everyone, but I would bet that a lot of us get stuck on risk, when our worst-case scenarios aren’t all that bad.

The best advice I received last year was that I needed to identify my ideal client, describe them, and then focus on them. This, along with lessons learned from Company of One, Essentialism, and all the Basecamp books, has led me to be more intentional in partnering with clients and preserving the most valuable asset I have, my time. How I spend my time impacts my mental health, my clients, and my friends and family. I have also learned that when I spend my time researching and writing, I add value to my life, for my clients, and hopefully for some of you readers as I share more about what I’m learning.

I encourage you to take a step back and reflect on where you are, what you’re spending time on (tracking this for a couple weeks is eye opening), and what your ideal situation, and ideal clients, would look like. Then, keep it simple. Start small and stay focused. Small is good. Small is enough. Small is flexible.

If you’d like some help thinking through this, I have some excellent activities we can work through together. I would love to help you.

Worth Your Time:

Peace and love, y’all.

Small and Simple by Duce

Giving Thanks and Staying Small