Ep 356: Asking yourself this ONE question makes all business decisions easy.

Welcome And Free Support

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Well, hello friends, it's Kimberly, it's episode 356, and I am so glad that you are here today because we're talking about how to make it really easy on yourself to make any business decision. I've got a question that you can ask yourself. I want you to hear it and think it through. And I know this is gonna help you from here on out with all of those big and little decisions that you have to make along your business journey. If you're new here, welcome. I'm so glad that you found this podcast. I have no doubt it's gonna help you along your business journey, whether you're in the idea stage, whether you're starting, whether you're growing your business now, you are welcome here. Whether you've got a product business, Etsy business, service business, you're selling programs, digital products, whatever it may be, you are in the right place. And I'm so happy to have you here. So there's some ways that you can get plugged in and get some free help. Number one is this podcast. So make sure you hit subscribe or follow right now. If you're an Apple Podcast, Spotify, whatever it is, you don't want to miss out on any future episode that I drop for you each week to make sure you can build your business dream. Also, two, I have some free downloads for you and some freebies. So if you're in the idea stage, for example, I've got this guide called Iki Guy Guide. If you're starting your business, I've got a printable checklist. If you're trying to start a podcast, you're thinking about that. I've got a free training down in there as well. So make sure you click the link, it takes you to my website, and then you can just pick and choose what you want. And again, it's all free. So make sure you take advantage of it. You don't want to be that person that is too good to get help from those who have gone before you. So make sure you do that. And if you have been listening a while, thank you so much to all my loyal listeners. Y'all are awesome and wonderful. And I have a favor to ask: if you have been listening to this podcast and you find value in it, would you be so kind to just give it a rating? You can hit the five stars. Like if you're an Apple podcast, just hit five stars. It's all you have to do. You're done. It means so much to me because it tells Spotify and Apple and all the players out there that this is a valuable podcast. And then if you have 30 seconds to write a written review, that would mean so much. Because then I read those, I see them, they bring a smile to my face. And I know that you are benefiting from this podcast and that you are doing the things that you need to do to build your business dream. So that is it. Okay, on to the episode. Well, hello

Decision Fatigue In Real Life

SPEAKER_00 2:40

friends. I'm so happy you're here today because this is an important episode that is going to help you when you are suffering decision fatigue. I know so many of you are just tired of making decisions. Should I get this app? Should I price something at this? Should I change my colors? Should I do an Etsy store or an online store? Should I offer a program, a group program, or just one-on-one coaching? Like the decisions are daily. How do you deal with customers if they're upset? Or how do you decide on what shipping methods to use, what boxes to use, what logos to use, what colors, what tissue? Like literally, there's decision fatigue. It's so funny because we were on vacation and my family, we were, we were talking about decision fatigue. I think it was my son who had mentioned that Barack Obama was talking about his time in the White House and he had so much decision fatigue that he would limit his choices on like really trivial matters. Like maybe what he wore. He said, I think he wore only gray or blue suits so that he never had to think about that or make a decision. And there was a rumor out there that he said he didn't order food ever, like he didn't make a choice. He just told people to bring him food. But really, he was just saying it was very structured and automated so that he didn't have to waste mental energy on things and he could save it for his presidential duties. Right. So this is the same for you and your business. You're going to have decisions every day. So you have to think about what is the easiest way and most automated way. So I don't have to keep making decisions. For

Simplify Branding To Move Faster

SPEAKER_00 4:16

example, there is, there are things that I'm creating in my business right now. Many of y'all know this, that I'm about to have some tangible products for you. And I'm so excited. The first time in this business, I've really done something tangible. Well, I take that back. I've had my mugs and I've had my little tablets that were so cute. I even created some bags, but I wasn't totally selling them. I didn't go all in on selling them. They were more giveaways for my programs, coaching clients. I did sell some that people bought for a while, but now I'm kind of changing things up and super excited about what I'm going to present. But I've had decision fatigue because I'm like, what should I use for this? And what I realized was my branding, for example, had a little heart symbol. I'll go ahead and tell you that. I've I've used hearts the whole time in this business because we are all business owners who are passionate about what we do and our businesses mean so much to us. And I feel like a heart symbolizes that. So I've used that since day one. But I was trying to decide on things like little stickers and what I'm putting here or there. And I kept thinking, oh, should I come up with a little shopping bag? Should I come up with a little art for this and that? And I realized I have a heart that was designed by my graphic designer, my branding person, and it looks amazing. And I don't need to make a decision anymore. Put that on the sticker, put that on a bag. Like, let's be done and stop trying to be so creative all the time. I think a lot of us try to be uber creative and we are creatives and we want to make things cute and we want to make things awesome and personal. And those are all great. But sometimes you'll notice that things are slowing you down because you're trying to be creative instead of using what you already have, right? And so this was happening to me. And I realized lately I'm like getting the store ready and getting everything ready. And I'm like, just use the heart, use the heart. So you will see the heart because I am not going to come up with the 80 million designs because it causes decision fatigue. So there's things like that in our daily business, like what we should be working on and all that. I'm creating products to help you with that. But my point is, you may be trying to make even big decisions in your business, and you're feeling kind of exhausted and you're overthinking and you're going back and forth and you're running around. And I have a question that you can ask yourself today, tomorrow, and from here on out to help you in your business. Okay. So let me set the stage for you.

Define Your Business By Your Goal

SPEAKER_00 6:52

Everybody has a different type of business. Some of you are selling products that you make, some of you are reselling products, some of you are selling services, some of you are selling programs, some of you are selling coaching programs, some of you are going out in your community and you're offering a service. Some of you are public speaking, you're doing all these things, right? And everyone's business is different. And everyone's business means something a little different to you and how you want it to fit into your life. Some of you are just taking a hobby that you had, let's say photography or some kind of design or jewelry making, and you've decided to turn it into a small business. Money isn't your biggest motivator. You just want to put this out into the world. You've always wanted to do it. You're super excited. And that is fantastic. That is actually a lot of people that are here. So if this is you, you're in good company because there are many that aren't strictly driven by money. Okay. That doesn't mean your business means any less. It just means you're in a position in your life where you don't have to be so, so stressed about making an exact dollar amount. And your business is passion-based and you want to create and you want to put things out there and you want to feel that fulfillment from producing and creating, right? Then there's another camp of you that have to replace a certain income and you have more pressure and you're taking things more seriously. You may be taking more risks. You may be buying a business and now you're running it, or you may be putting a lot of money into certain things so that it can grow fast and get moving, right? You may have coaches like me and people helping you, right? And you've had to spend money on that because you want to save time, right? And that is amazing. And you may have a different goal than the person who isn't as money driven, right? There's no one that's better than the other. It's just different avenues that you're taking in your business, which brings me now to my point. That you have to ask yourself this one question. This will determine everything that you're doing. And that is, what do I want out of this business? What do I want out of this business? Do I want a part-time business that I just work a few hours a week? Am I willing to work on this full time every day? I know some business owners that are working literally 12 plus hours a day. And it's a very stressful, but they love it and they have the time to do that. They don't have kids. They have a lot of time. Okay. Or their kids are off and graduated and they're an empty nester, and they have all a lot more time than people do when they have little kids or they're in school and they've got another job, right? What do you want out of this business? Do you want a part-time business, full-time business? Do you want something where you can create and be passionate about it and not have to worry so much about the money? Or are you like, no, I have a loan because I bought a business or I bought, you know, I started something and put a whole bunch of money into it and I have to replace my income. And so I have to be very smart about these things. This question, a lot of times, can answer decisions quickly for you, right?

Use One Question To Decide

SPEAKER_00 10:18

If you're thinking, should I get a business coach that costs me 20 grand a year? By the way, that's not me, but I'm just telling you, can you do you need a business coach that's going to go all in that's, you know, built 10 multi-million dollar businesses and they're the best of the best, or maybe they're 100 grand or whatever they are. You would make that decision based on your goal being different than the person who's just turning a hobby into a fun business. It helps you make those decisions, right? It says, is this the right path or is this the right path? I want you to think about the decisions that you're making in your business right now. Maybe it's whether to start a podcast or YouTube channel or or like, do you want to write a book or are you out there public speaking? What do you want out of this business? Do you want more fulfillment? Do you want money? Do you want both? How much time do you have? And what energy do you have? Because I will tell you this. I'm in my mid-50s. When I started my first business, I started with a friend in year 2000. And I feel like now my brain, I can feel it. I'm just a little bit slower than I was when I started even my first online business in 2003. And I was having to learn everything. Y'all, I'm working on Shopify right now for the stuff that's coming. And I can't even believe the technology that is there compared to when I started my business back in the day online with a Yahoo store and had to take every single picture, write every single description. I had to do all the things, y'all. We didn't, we just started getting phones, but the cameras weren't good. So I had to have like a really nice camera. I had to take a million pictures. I had to edit them. I had to slowly try to get, you know, every product up. I had to get programmers to add in apps because I needed personalization. All these things now are like automatic. I had to do gift messages. Like my brain at this older age is a little bit slower. I can feel it. And the thing is, I'm less busy than I was back then. But that's the truth. That's the season of life. That's how God made us. We age, things slow down. We have seasons, right? So my point is, what do you want out of this business? Can you imagine right now, if I'm like, no, I'm going to build a $10 million business. I need to be flying around. I need to be meeting with clients. Like, I would have to be doing all these things. And that's totally fine if you have the energy to do that. But it helps me make a decision for my business. What do I really want out of this? Because now I have more time to travel. My youngest child is going to be a senior in high school. Like we are about to be empty nesters. And my husband's going to retire in a few years. This is my season of life. What do I want out of this business? And it makes you feel good about your decisions because you're making an intentional, intentional decision. And you're not going to regret it. You're not going to be like, well, I'm really sad that I'm not trying to build a $10 million business. I'm not traveling around and being gone all the time and spending $100,000 on a coach and a program and all this stuff. Like, I don't need any of that. My choice for my business now is based on what I want out of this business. What do you want out of your business? So today, when you're sitting here and you have to make some decision and you're like, I can't spend a lot of time. Should I get this software that's going to save me a lot of time? Do you have all the time in the world? Do you like doing that kind of stuff? If you want out of this business the least stress, then it's worth paying money for software. For example, if you're trying to decide on that right now, it's going to save you time. So I think it stops this whole overthinking and belaboring every decision. Like, let's be quicker about things. If I was with you and I said, okay, what do you want out of this business? And then you're like, okay, well, I'm trying to decide. Um, I'm trying to, you know, learn how to research better my SC, Etsy listings and see what's selling. And let's just say you're on Etsy and you're doing all that. And I'm like, well, there's a software that I've heard of that you can use to automate all that, or you can program that in AI yourself and be working on that may not be as easy. And you're sitting here going, well, I'm going back and forth. I'm like, I think you should probably test the software for a month because what you want out of this business is time saving. You want to click quickly get answers, and you want to be able to move fast. So, do you see what I'm saying? Like, what do you want out of the business? And if I was coaching you, I would find out first, what do you want out of this business? And let's help make decisions based on that. That's your rule. What do you want out of this? Why are you even doing this? Why are you starting this? Why are you building this? Why are you growing this? Are you not growing this? If you're thinking, gosh, should I start spending money on Instagram ads? Okay, what do you want out of this business? Do you want more business? Because ads will bring you more business. Do you have the bandwidth to handle more business? See, this is a basic question. If you do great, okay, pass go on that one. And then do you know how to do Facebook ads? And then you're like, no, but I have a lot of time to research. Great. Then start doing that and let's research that. Or you could hire a company to do it for you, depending on how big your business is right now. What type of business do you have? Do you have an Etsy store? Do you have a print-on-demand business? Are you a coat? Are you a service provider? Is that even going to work? Are you advertising locally? Right. All this is why am I doing this? And am I causing myself more work where this goes down a road that is not what I actually wanted? Because that is my fear for you. That you will build something that is not yours. It's what you think the world needs. I mean, that the the world is telling you that you need to be doing. Or is it something special, all your own, using your worldview, your skills, your God-given gifts? That's what we have to look at. Why are you doing this? So let's stop all the decision fatigue. Let's be more like maybe Barack Obama and say, you know what? I'm going to cut out things that drain me and save my brain for the important things in my business and what matters most. And this can go for life as well,

The Bigger Picture In Life Too

SPEAKER_00 17:25

right? When you're trying to make decisions in life, like, is this for the bigger picture? Like we were going on vacation, and I'm like telling my husband, this is going to be a lot of money for five of us, all our meals, all our tours, all our flights. We went to Belize recently, the the bigger hotel room that had two bedrooms and a rollout couch so we can fit all these young adults, right? Three children, and my husband and I, without hating each other by the end of it, my husband said, This is about memories. This is about memories. And when you look at it that way and you go, okay, yeah, it is extra money that we weren't planning on, but we made the best memories. We will talk about this forever. I'm about to make a photo book and do all that, right? It's for the memories. So when you see the bigger picture in life and in business, it makes these decisions less painful. And you're actually happy to spend the money or make the decision where I'm not going to spend the money, you feel good about it because you're like, you know what? This is what I'm trying to get out of life. If we were trying to get out of life, you know what? We cannot spend any money and we can't, we can't afford that right now to be able to fly to another country. We could have figured out something locally to go in the state of Texas. We could have driven, we could have tried to stay with a friend. See, that would have made our decision. But it's not about me belaboring those. It's saying, what do we really want to do? We want to have a whole new experience. We want to go off together. We want to get out of our normal environment. We do want to fly. We don't want to be trapped in a car with our family for that many days, right? Because when you drive across Texas, you could be in there for days. If anyone knows Texas, it's a big state. But do y'all know what I'm saying? It makes your decisions easier and you feel confident in them.

Encouragement And How To Get Help

SPEAKER_00 19:16

So today, as you work, my friend, ask yourself, what do I want out of this business? Why am I doing this? Because that will help determine any decision you have to make from here on out. What's the most important thing is helping the people that you want to help. And is this going to help you get there and help the amount of people? Because you can go for it and the world is your oyster, but it but it means that you have to make decisions that may sacrifice other things that are important in your life. So I hope that helps you. I think you're amazing. I think you're awesome for pursuing your passion, going for something that means so much to you and helping other people in your way because that's what you're doing. And I'm so proud of you. And I admire you, and I'm happy you're here. So again, make sure you subscribe. I don't want you to miss out on any future episodes. Reach out to me if you need help. I offer one-on-one coaching. I can help you start your podcast, get your business going, and I'm soon gonna be able to help you in some really fun new ways with some products coming to. So that's it. Y'all have a great day. Until next time. Bye now. Now, this episode may be over, but our relationship does not have to end here. Head on over to Kimberlybrock.com, and yes, you can get more valuable information for your journey. And you know what? You don't need to go through this alone. I would love to help. Thank you so much and have a great day. Bye.