Are you simplifying? 🍳

Hello Reader,

I've mentioned that I've been having to do some unexpected systems overhauling around here (no fun!), and something I've noticed as I've been trying to figure out the best path forward is that the theme is, "How can this be simpler?"

This is super interesting to me, because in the 2020-2023 era, we saw a bit push for complex systems, large teams, "scalable" (a word that's too often misused) offers, and elaborate marketing ecosystems.

Part of this is likely due to the world feeling heavy and a bit overwhelming, I am certain, but I also wonder how much is a reaction to all that complexity not working for many humans.

I look at how so many people have resonated with my friend Kerstin's Calm Business movement or Rochelle Moulton's Soloist revolution (you can listen to my episode on her podcast here) and I can't help but think there's something happening here.

Or even on a more granular scale, I recently posted on Facebook about how I was looking for some new tech and a whole bunch of the comments were from people talking about how they were canceling tech that just made everything fussier.

Because I've been having this conversation so frequently, I created a little checklist that I've been sharing with clients that I thought may help you:

1. Identify Duplication: Are you using multiple tools or services to do the same thing?
2. Simplify Your Offers: Are your offerings or services easy to understand and choose from?
3. Leverage Existing Resources: Can you repurpose existing tools or partnerships?
4. Question Necessity: Is this new project truly essential, or can it wait?

None of this means you need to take action, but it's a good way to frame the thinking around simple versus complex. (Note: I am not saying complex is bad, I'm saying that many people I'm talking to right now crave simplicity.)

Let me know if this is helpful to you if you're in that, "Ah is this all too complicated?!" frame of mind!

Now, I'm asking you for a quick favor, if you have a moment:

In the spirit of the simplicity theme, I just discovered my email marketing program allows me to do polls and it's dead simple. We're planning 2025 (WILD! — that sounds so futuristic) and would love to know if any of the following interest you. For reference, Summer of SEO's info can be all found here, and you can use that as a guide for how I structure my programs.

Your feedback is so appreciated as we do this planning—truly!

Talk soon,

Sarah