396: Designing a Life-First Business In An Uncertain World

Selling the Couch

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10d ago 11:24

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Today’s topic is at the heart of the Quiet Builder philosophy. The question is, “How do we design a business that supports our lives, not swallows it?” This becomes increasingly important as the world grows more uncertain and our responsibilities grow daily. This episode is for anyone building a business that fits into real life, and not the other way around.

You’ll Learn:

My pandemic story of stepping back and reassessing my business
3 anchors for building a life-first business in an uncertain world:
Design for margin, not maximum.
Clarity comes from creating margin, not hustling.
Designing for margin is how we stay well enough to serve others.
Build products that don’t require your constant presence.
Design for asymmetry, where value isn’t tied to one-to-one time.
A life-first business scales impact, not just hours.
Plan around what you can’t plan for.
Your business should be designed to absorb disruption, not collapse under it.
Strategies that work for me are “Walden months,” a hard growth ceiling on STC, and allowing maximum flexibility to travel when loved ones need extra help.
To sum up today’s topic: “A resilient business doesn’t break when life happens; it bends with grace.”
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