Episode 5 A+A podcast: Should you create something new in your business, or do you need to simplify?

Do you need to create something new in your business, or do you need to simplify - and how can you even tell?

I'm going to share a personal story, but first of all, I'm going to ask you to think about your own business, and what you're creating at the moment. When you think about what's coming next for you, are you thinking about adding something to your business, creating a new service or a new offering, or are you thinking about subtracting? Perhaps completing a course that you offer, or narrowing down your focus so that you only have a certain number of offerings moving forward. Perhaps letting go of old blog posts or letting go of old videos. I'd love to hear what it is that you are focusing on.

The natural response is: I'm going to create something new.

I'm going to invite you to do a little bit of reflection, and at the end of this, you might decide, "Yes, I am going to proceed with this new thing that I want to create," but you might've also given yourself the chance to have a different think about it and maybe even consider cutting some things back.

Let's dive in. 

I'd like you to ask: What's the purpose of this new thing I'm creating?

Ask: How does it meet the needs of my ideal client? What is it going to be adding for that person? And, how does it fit into the structure of my business? You might be looking at the structure of your business and there is an obvious kind of gap or a need, and so you are creating something of out of necessity. Because you know it is going to improve the overall foundations, or structure, or experience that your clients have of working with your business.

That would be a great time to create something new.

A personal example would be back in 2016... I started writing a book. I wrote my book Align + Attract, which is the precursor to my course Align + Attract. And of course, I've used the name also for my podcast. So it's not a random add-on that doesn't really make sense in the structure of my business. There is a beautiful place for it in the business. So think about it like that. Is there something that I want to create that totally makes sense?

In which case, go ahead and make that thing.

Or, are you creating this new thing to avoid doing something else?

In 2020, I studied a diploma of Positive Psychology, and I had this thought as I went into that course: "I'm going to create a range of courses about positive psychology in a way that fits with my ideal client and what they need." Now, you might be thinking, "That sounds great. I would love to do one of those courses, Kerry, get started." I was going to create maybe six courses - and I just have to laugh - because there is a lot of work. I have very young children, I don't know what I was thinking.

The problem was time. It was a great idea but a huge amount of work.

So, there was a problem in terms of time, so I narrowed it down to four. I was getting closer. Then I narrowed it down to two ideas. It was a mindset reset, and it was a mindset refresh, like when you're feeling stuck and funky, to get yourself out of a funk and the mindset upgrade for when you're wanting to go to the next level in your business, and the types of tools and techniques that you might use. So, they sounded great. I'm sure if I created them, they would be fantastic courses.

But, really ... I'd be letting go of something that is unique to me, that I could build and grow and turn into something really special.

When I thought about it, I already have a fabulous course Align + Attract which is its own unique process. It's my own intellectual property. There's no one else who can create something exactly like it. Because it is just so born of my own experience, and it is something that I've refined over many years. Inevitably, if I went ahead, that would be set to the side because I'm focused on these new shiny things. I'd be letting go of something that is unique to me, for the sake of just creating new things in this field of positive psychology. Which certainly I have studied and I have lots of insights on. But I do not have this same level of embodied understanding from having used that work with hundreds or thousands of people,  like I have with Align + Attract.

I was avoiding doing the things that I just wasn't fond of - or excited about.

I recognised that I was avoiding doing the two things that I was not so fond of or excited about. So what were they? They were to get great at marketing Align + Attract and doing a great job at helping more of the right people to continue to find the course. To help them learn how to release their own blocks and create the kind of changes they want. I already know that it's a course that can change people's lives, can transform their lives in very dramatic ways, and have a very positive effect on their business. Over 200 people have already been through the program but it could become so much bigger.

I knew I'd have to market better, so that it could continue to grow. And I would have to become more visible.

Both of those things felt less appealing to me than going back into my creative cave and creating something new. But can you hear what the problem was?  I was going to hit up against the same challenge, wasn't I? I was still going to have to market those courses, and I was still going to have to become more visible...

I was taking the problems or the issues or the work that I was trying to avoid, and just pushing it down into the future.

What I decided to do was to cut those new courses. And focus on growing my business effectively and impact more people and to help more people to create beautiful change in their lives. To help them release blocks, and to improve their mindset, and to just love the business that they are growing. And the next question I had to ask myself: How can I actually meet the need of wanting to create? Because it certainly wasn't a negative thing. A big part of me was thinking: "I love the idea of creating something new. I want to be more creative. I want to enjoy that process of bringing something new out into the world."

How did I solve the problem? I started a podcast.

I can share not only the work that I've done in Alignment over the years or all of the different things that I have worked on with clients, and with people in my programs, and things from my book... But I can also weave in the new information that I learned in my Positive Psychology course. And that can be an outlet for me to share new information. That was one way for me to meet that need. Also, being aware that I have this creativity that I want to express. It's like, rather than having any kind of negative association with marketing, or with visibility, instead, it's actually about the work - and it's actually about you.

It's not about us. It's about the person who will receive that work and what they are going to do with it.

Throw creativity into that, and see that as a positive, generative kind of process that you're embarking on. And that is going to meet the needs of your ideal clients. But it's also perhaps going to meet some of those underlying needs for you. It could be that you're someone who has shiny object syndrome and you know that if you get an idea to create something new, that is going to feel more exciting for you, and so you're that person who always wants to add to your business.

If that is you, you might ask yourself, "What is the purpose of this new thing I'm going to create? How does it meet the need of my ideal client? How does it fit into my business? Am I doing this for the right reasons, or am I doing this to avoid doing something else in my business or with my existing work," and really getting better at maybe (like me) marketing the work that you've already created.

I didn't have to create something new; I could actually enhance the quality of the product I already had.

I also decided I could weave through some of the new learning into the existing content of my Align + Attract course, and I could add some aspects that were inspiring to me.  For me, I could weave in that learning with my private clients, and use that to level-up the experience that they had and also the outcomes and the results they get.

Ask yourself: "How can I solve real problems? How can I give myself the outlet I need?"

Or: "If I'm trying to avoid something, how can I re-frame that and make that more fun for myself? Or do I actually just need to learn something new about that topic? For example: "Do I need to improve my marketing skills? And if so, how am I going to do that?" So, think about it differently. Sometimes that will expose an area where we need to outsource, or we need to get additional help and learning.

Do that Thing that challenges you, or you'd prefer to avoid, and get the kind of results you want.

What I've ended up doing for myself is to say, "Okay, so I've got my book. I have got my Align + Attract course for people who want to learn how to release their own blocks, their own emotions that hold them back from creating the business that they really love. And I've got my podcast, which is my playtime, and it's also another opportunity for people to learn about me, and to learn about what it is that I do and how my work might be able to help them."

If you would love to work with me at Align + Attract, and learn how to release your own blocks, and align to your own business goals, I would love to support you. You can find out more at alignandattract.com.