Here’s why you’re not simplifying your business even though you know it’s the best way to ensure long-term success

Change is a pain in the ass.

Even when we really want to make a change, we hit a lot of resistance. For busy entrepreneurs, there never seems to be enough time. Because meaningful change requires deep thinking and modifications to the way things are done. And simplifying a business is no exception.

But time isn’t the biggest obstacle.

Feelings. Nothing more than feelings.

Change is hard because you want to protect yourself from the feelings that come with it.

You understand that there will be some pain in the process. You’ll have to face a bunch of things you’ve been willfully ignoring. Um. No thanks, my head is good to stay in the sand.

I can’t breathe so well but I’m managing just fine.

There’s a time limit to keeping your head in the sand

To build a successful business, you need to show up consistently and do a lot of hard things.

You’ve put in a lot of effort into getting where you are. But you know the way you’re doing things is not sustainable. And for many entrepreneurs the way to change things is by simplifying. You know that you can make more money with relatively more ease.

Simplifying is not so simple

Simplifying requires making hard decisions that butt up against some of our biases.

Loss aversion and sunk costs being some of the most intense.

You’ll have to let go of things and stop doing some things you’re attached to. All that work you’ve done should count for something. And you’ve often thought that if you just tried a bit harder, you could make it work.

That’s the kind of thinking that gets us into unsustainable situations.

Please, don’t wait until you burn out

Too many business owners wait until they are close to burnout or completely burnt out to make changes they knew were needed all along. And then they are too depleted to make effective changes. Oof!

Simplifying is the best way to improve your business for long-term sustainability.

It is a huge change. It’s going to impact all areas of your business. In the short-term it makes things more uncomfortable.

That’s why I started my business — minimalist biz. To help make simplifying an online business more simple and a bit less uncomfortable.