Lately, I’ve been applying KonMari magic to my business and weeding out mindsets, strategies, and tactics that bring anything but joy. It’s been a blast, to say the least.

So whether you love to get a peek behind the scenes or are just binging (hey I see you), this is for you.

What I No Longer Do for My Business

1. Send out client materials as PDFs

Earlier this year I made the switch from pdfs to hidden pages on my website.

Look, I’m a sucker for gorgeous, branded, informational pdfs. I’ve delivered pricing brochures, welcome guides, and goodbye packets as pdfs for a better part of running my online business. If done well, it’s an instant client experience upgrade.

But you know what makes for an even better client experience?

Ensuring all my clients – past or present – always have the most up-to-date information about my services and processes.

The problem with pdfs is that the information is hard to update. Once your pdfs are out there, clients can keep them around for years, share them with other people and there’s not much you can do about it other than send out revised copies.

Just this year I had repeat clients (which I’m very grateful though) using my old pricing guides to inquire about services I haven’t offered in years. It gets old pretty quickly.

I don’t want outdated information about my services and processes floating around and cultivating confusion (not to mention extra work for myself), which is why my onboarding and offboarding information are now shared as separate hidden pages on my website. The link never changes, but I can make updates in a jiffy.

2. Offer services outside VIP days

It’s one thing to find a way of working that suits you as a person, and another to find a work schedule that suits your current season of life.

I’ve realized that I don’t thrive working on long-term projects. I hate having to divide my attention between multiple clients. I hate when projects drag on. And I definitely hate when projects overlap.

It’s partly the reason why I stopped offering Pinterest monthly management. I don’t want to just get the job done, I want to do it with drive and passion.

Also, my current season of life is unstable. We’re in the middle of our house build and sharing our time between our city apartment and homestead. With all the madness going on it is not feasible to work the same schedule as I did before.

For me, switching to the VIP day business model (combined with niching down) is the solution for both.

The week I ran my test VIP days was probably one of my most profound aha moments ever! I was like, why haven’t I done this before? It’s genius!

One day of dedicated work on a single client – sign me up! I loved every minute of it and after seeing the affirmative feedback from clients, I was sold.

I love the fact that not only do I get to work in the zone focusing on solving a problem for just one client at a time, but my clients also get the best bang for their buck in a fraction of the time it would usually take.

So long story short, I’ve been thinking that I’ll keep offering them even after we move and settle back into a stable lifestyle.

If you’re intrigued by the idea of a day rate, I recommend checking out Systems Saved Me and Ashlyn Writes’ post.

3. Offer services (and take on clients) that don’t feel right

Um, Captain Obvious?

Nothing surprising here.…

Joking aside, it pains me how many times I’ve kept offering a profitable service I didn’t connect with anymore. It’s hard sometimes to let go and step out of the comfy zone.

I started out my online business working on social media for small businesses. Back then I was studying marketing and loved it, not to mention people were always looking for social media help.

But after a couple of years, I lost the spark for handling other people’s socials. It was time to move on. I was so sick and tired of it that I remember to this day what a relief it was to finally sign off on projects that no longer lit me up.

The lesson here is that it’s not worth offering a profitable service if it’s quietly killing you inside. I know for me especially I have to believe in what I’m doing and it has to feel right, otherwise, I’m on a fast lane to burnout.

In the past few years, I’ve stopped offering monthly management and pin graphics because I felt misaligned. I still get people asking about it every now and then but it feels good to refer to someone better suited instead.

Your set of services is something you constantly edit and improve as you gain more experience. It can never go stagnant and feel like a burden.

4. Be afraid to experiment

Experimenting = possibly failing. That’s the mindset I was stuck in for so long.

Oh my god, it has felt amazing(ly terrifying) to steer off the beaten path, take risks and try things out that feels right for me.

Every failed decision and misdirection has brought me closer to the business I want to run. And for every failure, there has been a win that has changed JSC for the better.

For example, last year I decided to finally follow my gut and quit doing calls with my clients in favor of Voxer and email.

Why? Because I’m more well-spoken in written communication (and an introvert). My mind runs a million miles an hour, and when I write, I have the time to get my thoughts in order and communicate more clearly and effectively. Instead of almost letting this be a detriment (because not doing calls isn’t “professional”), I restructured around what I’m good at.

I guess the surprise factor (for me at least) in this experiment is that it actually turned out fine. I was scared of losing clients, even though I had the process to back up the change. Sure, my process isn’t for everyone, but that’s exactly why I’m so ecstatic about this change.

Long story short, I wound up discovering there are A LOT more women in business who don’t like communicating over calls.

Instead of pushback, I got to establish a more effective, in-tune mode of working and tapped into a market of women (including HSP and socially anxious women) whose wishes have been overridden for so long. Like, why didn’t I do this earlier?

Since then I’ve extended the call ban to other people and businesses reaching out asking if we can hop on a call to discuss something that can be said in an email 99% of the time.

In a long list of things I changed or am changing, these ones made the biggest difference. If you take anything away from this post, be it the permission. Permission to do things your way. Permission to quit. Permission to change. Permission to do something because it’s right for you, not because you “should”. Permission to feel good in your business.

Before you go, save it for later!