In the busyness of being a small business owner, there are so many details to consider. From the foundational decisions behind your business, to the ways you want your business to grow or expand in the future — there is so much to consider. Today, we want to share a single approach that changed our business — how we approach our business as a whole, how we determine our products and services, and how we run our business too.

A Single Approach That Changed Our Business

Welcome to Episode 098 of the Brand It, Build It Podcast. As small business owners, there is so much to consider each day. Not only do the daily to-dos within our businesses keep us focused, but our focus is also divided among diverse areas within our businesses: solidifying the foundation of our business, refining our products, services, and processes, serving our clients, and marketing our business for future growth. 

With so much going on in and around our businesses, it can be challenging to know what to work on, when to work on it — or even whether it’s a good use of our workday to work on what we’re working on. 

It sounds like a lot, which is why at With Grace and Gold, we’ve adapted a single approach to help direct our decisions — to help us approach our business with more clarity and peace of mind. And that is: We have decided to focus on serving our audience — our prospective, current, and past clients and customers — well… to create and work from a true and honest place of helpfulness, service, and a passion for equipping small business owners for success. With this single approach and single focus in mind, how we run our business as a whole, how we determine our products and services, and how we run our business each day can all be rooted in something, or in this case, someone, meaningful. 

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

1. First, by focusing on serving your audience well, your approach to running your business changes. Your definition of success can become rooted in how kindly, generously, or personally you service your clients. Your approach to managing the day-to-day operations of your business can become less overwhelming, because your goal is to meet each client where they are and to share your expertise and approach in a kindhearted way. When you begin each day focusing on serving people well, external pressures — like the noise of social media or the successes of fellow business owners — become less of a burden. 
2. Next, by focusing on serving your audience well, you can make more strategic decisions regarding the products and services you offer. In Episode 8, we ask “Are you offering too many services?” And we share our approach to polishing and paring down your products and services in a purpose-driven way. When you focus on serving your audience well, you can ask yourself, “Will this product or service meet my customers’ or clients’ needs? Does this product or service align with what my customers or clients are looking for?” A focus on serving your audience can lead to a better use of your resources, because the products and services you do choose to develop and offer will be developed from a place of purpose.
3. Lastly, by focusing on serving your audience well, you can add layers to your business with more direction and strategy. As an example, many clients we serve at With Grace and Gold know how valuable having a newsletter can be — but struggle to determine exactly what their approach to their newsletter will be. For example, do you have to be a small business educator to have a newsletter? What if you don’t want small business education to be part of your small business? What kind of free resource or lead magnet could I create? If you’re a small business owner, such as a photographer, who doesn’t want to offer photographer education, your newsletter should be focused on serving your audience — the clients you’d like to photograph. What resources would your prospective clients value? What type of language or wording would they connect with? What problems are they facing, or what questions do they have — and how could your newsletter help equip them for success? Of course, a newsletter is just one example of a layer you can add to your business — but this audience-focused approach can be helpful for any type of additional facet of your business. Before adding anything new to your business, asking yourself how your audience will benefit, can make all the difference. 

Whether you’re having a challenging week, or you’re feeling like you have less direction in your business than you’d like to — we hope you’ll consider the ways serving your audience can equip you to develop and run your business with purpose and greater piece of mind. Sometimes, a change in perspective is all you need to come up with a new idea, or to create from a place you feel proud of. 

About Brand It, Build It Podcast, Hosted by Kelly Zugay

Hosted by Kelly Zugay, co-founder of With Grace and Gold, The Brand It, Build It Podcast is a leading small business marketing podcast for small business owners, creatives, founders and entrepreneurs. Enjoy weekly, actionable episodes to build a successful, sustainable small business from the inside out.