Secrets To Prioritize And Thrive Despite An Endless To-Do List With Kristi Veitenheimer

Do you ever find yourself looking back at the end of a busy day, wondering what you did all day? If your to-do list never ends and your Trello board is working on overdrive, you’re going to love this episode with Kristi Veitenheimer. Kristi is a fellow podcaster and the owner of Simplicity For Solopreneurs. She’s a time-management and business strategy guru, and today she’s sharing her best-kept secrets for truly prioritizing your schedule and finding the accomplishment in your day that you’ve been yearning for. This episode is tactical, fun, and inspirational. Grab that laptop or pen, and dive in!

More About Kristi Veitenheimer
Kristi Veitenheimer is a Jesus-loving, coffee-drinking, chocolate-loving gal from Texas. She’s a wife, mother of two, and Mimi of four grandsons and adores her family. Kristi is the host of the top podcast for new solopreneurs, Simplicity for Solopreneurs™. Her mission is to inspire and empower women 40+ to make their dreams of owning an online business a reality. 

Kristi specializes in helping the beginning entrepreneur create her online business without all the overwhelm and stress by teaching her how to simplify her entire business system so she can actually enjoy the journey to achieving her dreams. Because Kristi believes women shouldn’t have to choose between their God-given dreams and talents and their current reality.

Resources From Today's Show:

Connect with Kristi: https://simplicityforsolopreneurs.com/

Kristi’s affiliate link for Builderall: https://simplebizforone.com 

Kristi’s time management bootcamp: https://bit.ly/sfs-bootcamp

If you want help simplifying your online business, grab Kristi’s free business starter kit at https://bit.ly/sfs-free 

Shout–outs for sharing the show!

Kim Stewart – book marketing strategist and host of the Book Marketing Mania podcast. Kim and her guests share tips to help Christian nonfiction authors reach new readers, market their message, and make a bigger impact online. She is kimstewinspired on IG https://www.instagram.com/kimstewinspired/

Holly Stockley – Holly helps people suffering from digital disorientation in this modern world learn to slow down, practice good stewardship, and find satisfaction in a more handmade, home grown lifestyle. She has a blog at www.brambleberrymeadow.com and a podcast called “Vintage Americana”. You can find her on IG https://www.instagram.com/brambleberrymeadow/ 

This blog post is a summary of The School of Copy And Messaging Podcast episode #93. You can listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts.

Full Audio Transcription of this Podcast Episode:

Amber (00:03):

Thank you so much for joining me today, Kristi. I'm so excited to have you on the show. So first please just introduce yourself, tell my audience a little bit about who you are and what you do.

Kristi (00:13):

Okay. Um, I am, I am so excited to be here, so thanks for having me. Um, I am Kristi  Veitenheimer. I am the creator of simplicity for solopreneurs. Um, I am an actually a retired teacher. I taught in the public school system for about 24 years. And then I taught at our regional service center for six. So I went from teaching children, elementary school children to teaching administrators and teachers. And, um, but so I I've always had that, that teacher background. And, uh, I was able to retire when my first grandson was born. And, um, once he went to daycare, when he got a little bit older, I did not decide to return to the classroom. Um, you know, back when I first graduated from college, which is, uh, let me think, 1986, I'm thinking it was, and I know a lot of your listeners are probably going, oh my gosh, that was way before I was born.

Kristi (01:24):

But, uh, anyway, uh, you know, the whole online space was not even a choice back then. You know, it was, you want to be a teacher, a lawyer, a doctor, you know, that kind of thing. So, um, instead of going back into the teaching field or doing, uh, you know, some other nine to five job, I decided to give the whole online entrepreneur thing a try. So, um, I had, you know, my God given talents of being super organized. I mean, people back whenever I was teaching, they would come to me for tech help. They would come to me for organization kind of structure questions, you know, how I structured my day, how I structured my lessons, that kind of thing. So I took those things that I was already good at. And I, you know, I was looking for a creative outlet and I turned that into an online business. So that's, that is how it happened. And I am just having a ball.

Amber (02:34):

That's great. Well, that's the number one thing, right. Is having fun in our business.

Kristi (02:39):

Yes, it is because, you know, I, I didn't want it to be work in, in the terms of, you know, you come to Sunday afternoon and you're going, oh, I have to go back to work tomorrow. You know, I didn't want to do that. I wanted to get up every morning and go, oh my gosh, I get to work today.

Amber (03:00):

Yes, absolutely. Well, I love to hear you talk about the fact that you took some of the things that you were already good at some of those talents that you were already good at and things that you knew were kind of a gift that you had and you worked them into a business. And I think for many women that's hard for us because it's hard sometimes to think like, what do I have that I can make a business out of? And sometimes we're, it's the things that come natural to us that it's hard for us to see it because we don't look at it as something that's, you know, that we could do. And it's something that comes natural to us. It doesn't always come natural to other people. And so I love that you kind of made that connection with what you naturally did and how you could teach that to other people. So did you identify that right away or was that kind of a journey for you?

Kristi (03:45):

No. And it's funny that you said that because you're, as you were talking through that, I thought, well, that is not how it it's, you know, started out and it is hard sometimes. And it was for me as well to find that niche, to find, to find that thing that you're going to do. And people would always, you know, you would go through these exercises that all of the online gurus tell you to do to find your niche, you know, and, and they'll tell you to, you know, look at your talents and things, but it is when, when it's you, and it's something that is natural for you and you don't realize it doesn't come naturally for others. Um, it is sometimes hard to pinpoint that. And so for me, it was a journey, you know, jumping from thing to thing until I finally, I finally found my thing. It's like I was sitting there, it was sitting there staring me in the face the whole time.

Amber (04:44):

Isn't that the truth? Well, sometimes the journey behind that teaches us a lot that we need later in our business. Anyways, I know that's been true for me, but it doesn't happen overnight. At least it didn't for me either.

Kristi (04:56):

It did it. But, you know, even though it took, you know, actually a couple of years to settle in, I don't consider any of that wasted time because I did learn so many lessons and I was learning a lot about just the online business world and journey in general. And so there's really a lot of skills I picked up that I'm using in my business. So even though I didn't necessarily serially start in this specific space, none, none of that time was really wasted. So

Amber (05:30):

Yeah, amen to that. Amen to that. Well, Kristi today, our conversation is about how to prioritize successfully in our business and in our life because the two really go hand in hand to thrive despite the endless to-do list. And I don't, I don't know if that resonates with anybody else, but boy does it resonate with me because I know almost on a daily basis, I feel like I'm choosing between the stream that I have and then everything else that I have to do. And I know listening to you that you talk about your belief being that women shouldn't have to choose between their God-given talents and the dreams that that are their current reality. So what, what advice can you give to women? And can you kind of talk a little bit about how we choose those tasks that kind of have to fit into all of that stuff that we have to do as well as the dream that we're trying to build?

Kristi (06:17):

Right. Um, you know, I just think it is so important and especially because there just weren't as many options back for me. So I think it is important for today's woman to realize that the possibilities are truly limitless today. You don't have to go in and work a nine to five, if you were in either want to work, or if you're in that position that you need to work to help bring, you know, income into the family, you don't have to leave the house and go to a brick and mortar place work your nine to five. Um, you know, there are other options that are, you know, very viable options for today's women. Um, and one option is to share your God-given talents with others in the online space. Like, like I have been able to settle into, um, it is also really important to understand that online business, it doesn't have to be hard.

Kristi (07:28):

It doesn't have to be complicated. Um, you just, you have to, well, I think it's important to find someone to learn from that, um, shares your values. Um, so when w because it really does help to have someone to follow, to help to get you started. So even if you can't hire, you know, a business coach off, you know, first off, because, you know, the money is just not there, at least following just one or two people online that can kind of help you, like, say that your values are aligned and you like the way that they do their business. You'd like the way that they have their set up, you know, so someone who compliments you and, um, you know, most people out there give a lot of free content that you can, you can start learning from, but, you know, just keeping in mind that it doesn't, it does not have to be complicated.

Kristi (08:30):

You don't have to have all the tools and, and all the things in place to start. And if it's really important just to make money in the beginning, you can just take something that you do well, get on Fiverr, offer your services and get your little money built up so that you can take the time to get into the business that is meant for you to be into, um, you don't have to start out by offering products and services. I mean, products and courses and things, you can start out just by, and not even being a business coach, but just providing your services online just to get started. And I think it's also important to realize that where you start doesn't necessarily mean that's going to where you're gonna end up in the long run. And it's so true. And that's okay. Just start somewhere and, um, try to enjoy the journey as you go.

Amber (09:34):

Yes, that's so true. When I started, one of the things that I offered was running Facebook ads, because it's what I knew. And then I had some issues. I think I had shared this with you before I got put in Facebook jail. And I ended up having to outsource my clients just for Facebook to tell me they were sorry. It was just, you know, nothing was wrong with what I did. They reviewed it, but that took like two months for them to review it and tell me there was nothing wrong. And of course, you know, I had had my clients referred out by then. And so it's, it's not what I do now, but the amount of stuff I learned during that time, and even just about Facebook ads now for running my own, um, was tremendous. And so it's, it doesn't have to be what you do all the time, but sometimes you just have to start. And that's what I knew at the time, even though it's not what's and that service that I offer anymore. Thanks. Good.

Kristi (10:23):

Exactly. And I find so many people that that is part of their story is that what they started with is not what they ended up with.

Amber (10:34):

So true. Well, how do we stay motivated when our list doesn't seem to have an end in sight? I'll be a little honest that this is kind of a selfish question, because this is something that I'm always wondering. Like sometimes I'm a very self motivated person, but sometimes when you look at the Trello board that I have for my weekly to-do list, sometimes it is so overwhelming that I don't know where to start, and I start to feel overwhelmed and it makes me lose a little bit of that natural motivation, but I typically have, and I think that a lot of people can resonate with that feeling. So how do we stay motivated when there just doesn't seem like an end in sight to that list? Right.

Kristi (11:14):

Well, I, I ha you know, this is, this is not a complicated system, but I actually have a system for you. And, and it is very simple. So, um, I feel like everybody has that big dream. Like if you close your eyes and you think, what do I want life to look like in five or 10 years? You know? So whether that is sitting on a beach with your husband or traveling and being able to work while you travel, or, you know, having that freedom of time with your kids or your grandkids, your family, or friends, or whatever, just think about what your dream is. And then just list two or three goals that will start moving you toward that dream. Obviously the bigger, the dream, the more goals you're going to have to sit before you get there, but just those two or three goals that will just start moving you that way.

Kristi (12:17):

And so you just, you write out your dream in a sentence or two you're just, or even just a phrase or two under that you list two or three goals that will move you that way. And it can just be a bullet list. And then you place that quote-unquote vision board, which is really an index card, a sticky note, what piece of paper, whatever it is, but put that vision someplace where you will see it every single day, because that can motivate you more than anything if you know where you want to end up and you can see it every single day to remind yourself why you're doing this whole business thing.

Amber (13:04):

Yeah. Very good. Sometimes we, I think sometimes it's easy to lose sight about why when we get so busy, you know, so I, I like that having it somewhere where you can see it every day, because it's easy, it's easy to get busy today,

Kristi (13:19):

Get overwhelmed. It is, you know, and so many people talk about the vision board and, you know, the pictures and the quotes and all that. And for me, you know, my, my business name is simplicity for solopreneurs. So I don't get into all the stuff, but, but a vision board, as far as that dream and a few goals, you know, that for me is my vision board and that helps tremendously. So, yeah.

Amber (13:47):

Yeah. Well, I appreciate the simplicity. I, that's something that makes me feel like it's something that's more doable, so

Kristi (13:55):

Yes. Well, and you know, I, I don't want to say I, I'm not knocking vision boards for those, um, people that are artsy and get into all that. I just, I want to put my time elsewhere. Um, you know, I'd rather just jot it down, get it up and then, um, spend my time tackling that to do list.

Amber (14:18):

Yes, absolutely. Perfect. Well, Christie, how would you suggest we deal with having too many things on our plate? Because I know sometimes we can feel like it's not an option to remove something from the list. Even maybe if it doesn't match one of those goals or that vision that we wrote down. So how do we maybe figure out what we have to take off if we feel like our plates are too full, but we know we feel overwhelmed by having so much, like on that list in the first place. How do we kind of tackle having too many things at once

Kristi (14:51):

Or kind of touched on it there, because the, the big word here is to make sure everything is aligned. Um, so you start out, you've got to make sure that those dreams and your values and everything, that your goals that you have set line up, they align your goals with your dreams and your values. So for example, if one of my dreams, you know, my five, 10 year bigger dreams and my values, if that is having time with my family, you know, having more freedom to do what I want and to spend time with my family to spend time with my grandsons. But then one of my goals is to start getting speaking engagements. Those really don't align. So you have to start there at the very top and decide, do you want the time with family, or do you want the speaking engagements? There's nothing wrong with either one, but those don't align.

Kristi (15:55):

So you need to make sure that everything lines up that there's no discord. Then once you have made sure that all those goals really do align with your dreams, with your values. So whether you need to change your dreams, or you need to change a few goals, then it is so important to make sure that everything on that to-do list actually aligns with those goals and that they are actually going to move the needle forward toward achieving them. Okay. So for example, if my goal is to grow my podcast audience, but a lot of my to-do list items are things like changing my branding colors or updating my social media templates. And those, you know, do those really are those going to get me to the goal of growing my podcast audience versus spending my time on being a guest speaker on other people's podcasts and getting my episodes all lined out for the next month?

Kristi (17:04):

You know? So, so just looking at, yeah, I could do those to-do list items, but is it really going to be worth my time or is my time better spent on something else? Because it is, I think it is so important that every single thing on that to-do list has to matter, and it has to have a lot of value. So there may be things on there that we want to do or that we think we need to do. But once we really sit down to evaluate, I know that there are always things on my list that have ended up on there that I can scratch out, or I can put on a, to do when I have lots of extra time, which never,

Amber (17:52):

We never go to

Kristi (17:55):

The anyway.

Amber (17:56):

So true. Well, I know I'm guilty of that. I actually, so I do my to-do list for the week on Monday morning. So today is Monday that you and I are having this conversation. So just this morning I was sitting down and organizing my board for the week and I had to take out some things that I w that I kind of had first thing this morning. I was going to spend some time on that when I looked at my day and I kind of put the time-blocking in, I wasn't going to get to everything. Right. And, and boy, is it hard sometimes because I really have to check myself, I know this doesn't apply to everybody, but it certainly does for me, I had to check myself and really say, why are these things on my list today? And the truth is they were kind of easy.

Amber (18:36):

Um, they were in my comfort zone and the things that I wasn't going to get to, if I did those things are a little bit more difficult and they're kind of outside of my comfort zone. And so I had to check myself and kind of say, okay, truthfully, these aren't going to help me. And I need to move these off of my list, um, and outsource them, or maybe put them to a different different time when I've got more time. And I need to focus on these things that unfortunately are a little harder. So sometimes we have to do that, and that's not always easy.

Kristi (19:04):

You know, that, that is a perfect, perfect example. See you, you've got to go on girlfriend. You weren't doing the hard work

Amber (19:14):

Well, and truthfully, um, my secret to that has been that I tell my husband when I identify something like that, like, oh, I noticed today that this is what I'm doing. And so he's like my accountability partner. He, he doesn't have anything to do with marketing and copywriting. He's in construction. And so this it's a whole foreign business to him, but when I tell him like, oh, I identified that this is something I get stuck on. He is the one. Now when I tell him like, he'll check me. He's like, so what are you doing this week? What's your list look like? And he's actually the one who says that seems like you're like doing busy work instead of doing this stuff that actually would get you more clients. And it's like this, dang it. And so sometimes I'm like, ah, man, I wish I wouldn't have asked him to do that. But man, is it worth it?

Kristi (20:00):

That is wonderful. Yes. Accountability partners. And unfortunately, husbands make some of the best ones.

Amber (20:08):

It's so true. It's so true. Sometimes I, it just, it just makes me cringe, but he is so right. And he's perfect at that. Cause he'll call me out in a heartbeat and he's not afraid to do that. Well, what are some of the strategies that you recommend? And I know from listening to you, you've got a lot of really good practical tips that you get, which I just love when I hear those on your podcast. So what are some of the strategies that you recommend for being more efficient with our time? And we have a lot of stuff to get done.

Kristi (20:39):

Alright. I have two for you. Um, number one, it's the one that I tell people all the time and it is to use a timer, you know, set it for whatever amount, whether it's 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 40 minutes, whatever, but set that timer. And then don't look up until it goes off. That is just going to keep you crazy focused so you can work way more efficiently, then take your short breaks, set that timer again. And don't look up until that timer goes off and make sure that you're not working on five different things during that, you know, you have your one activity or you have your list of, you know, activities you get started on the first one. And the only reason you get to look up as if you get, if you finish it before that timer goes off. And, um, and then my second piece of advice is to batch work.

Kristi (21:41):

And I know that you already do this because we've talked about it before. But so for example, if you're a podcaster and you're outlining a podcast episode, well go ahead and outline your next three or four, instead of just one, because you are in that zone, you're, you're in that type of activity where you're, where you're using, um, certain skills. And so you just, you keep doing that same, that same, um, workflow or whatever, you know, that seamless to set. So just go ahead and do it for three or four or six episodes, whatever you have time for. Um, because when you are focused on just one type of activity, you're not multitasking as they call it. You're not switching your brain back and forth between different types of behaviors, different activities, and you're going to work much more efficiently. So when you record an episode, then go ahead and record three or four. And so that is just, that helps tremendously, if you will just batch your work, which just means, you know, doing the same repetitive type of work a number of times. So yeah, those are my two using the timer and batching the work

Amber (23:05):

Really helpful. I'm not using a timer actually. So I'm going to have to try that because I know one thing I get stuck on some times, well, let's be honest. A lot of times it's all planned something and something takes a lot longer than I thought it was going to take. And so I keep going and then next thing I know, you know, I've worked on it for two or three hours into like the next block of time I had for something. And then I'm all messed up for the day and then I get frustrated.

Kristi (23:29):

Yup. There you go. Then the timer would work well for that for some people. Yes. It is an accountability to not work too long as on something. But then a lot of people, they have trouble focusing for very long at a time. And so it is a way to keep them working for a decent amount of time. So, you know, really it can be used in both ways to make sure you do keep working if you're easily distractable or so that, like you say, all of a sudden you did not get, you know, several things done because you've worked too long. Like you said, in one time block, I love time-blocking oh,

Amber (24:10):

Me too. Me too. Sometimes it's the only thing I get done in a day is to set up my time blocks. But I love it.

Kristi (24:19):

That definitely too much time on the structure you want to be doing.

Amber (24:23):

I know, I know I get stuck on that because I'm like, oh, this is fun. I got it all mapped out. And then I'm like, oh, wait a minute. Now the day's over. No, I'm kidding. So Christie, I know one of the things that you helped solopreneurs focus on is saving time and money. So often we hear about priorities and to-do lists and we hear recommendations for just outsource, outsource, outsource. Well, outsourcing can be great if there's funds available to do so. Do you have some suggestions for ways we can be more productive and save money in our business if outsourcing isn't an option?

Kristi (24:56):

I do have a couple of things. Um, first of all, one way to save money is to, instead of investing in a lot of different tools and, and obviously when you're starting out, you, you don't have to, you know, spend money on a lot of tools. There are a lot of free options out there, but I will say to save money, but also have a structure that is scalable. That's going to grow with you. I have decided the best way to save money is to spend a little bit, but to find an all-in-one platform that will give you the most tools for your money without breaking the bank. I know, I believe you use Kajabi. Is that correct? That's correct. That's what I was thinking. Um, I use build role. There, there are a number of different all-in-one platforms out there it's so easy for, um, for someone to just go out there, research some of the top ones, find the one that gives the tools that you're going to need.

Kristi (26:11):

Um, but it just in the long run, it does save a lot of money because I know, I think we had talked about that. We both have spent money on tools then trying to get them to work together. And really, but the time I spent, you know, money on five different tools, even once I found my all-in-one platform, I'm able to have 40 tools for less than the price of the five that I had originally spent money on. So I think that that is a great way to save some money is to end. The important thing is like I tried to start out with all the free ones, but once you start outgrowing them, then it's not real easy. The, they either get really expensive, really fast. And then you're trying to switch platforms again, which is a real pain. So, so true. I've been there done that.

Kristi (27:14):

And if I had just, just found an all-in one and I say all in one, I still have one or two more tools that I have to use, but it's so minimal. And I actually have a mini course on, on that, you know, on the tools that kind of, you know, keep me running. But, uh, so, so even though it's not free, I still think it's a great way to save money and still be able to grow in your business to find an all-in-one platform. Um, and that another thing is to just remember, to try to keep things simple and not feel like you have to like be on all the social media platforms. So, you know, do you really have to spend the money on a social media, um, calendar tool, for example, if, if you don't feel like you have to be everywhere, you know, you, you can have the time to just pick your one platform and post to it yourself or use their, um, their source.

Kristi (28:23):

You know, so like Facebook, it has as a post scheduler on it, you know, because I'm pretty much just doing Facebook. I don't do Instagram. I don't do Twitter. I don't do LinkedIn. I, I, I have simplified to where I don't feel like I have to be everywhere. Um, and so that saves me time and it saves me money because I'm not needing to purchase a social media scheduler, cause I'm just not out there on social media, 24 7. Um, I have found that some options for outsourcing without having to pay for it, if you can get friends or family members, especially like I, my children are grown and I have grandchildren now. So it's not an option for me, but, but some of, some of the women out there that have older children that they could probably, and, you know, kids are as good or better online than many of us are so true.

Kristi (29:21):

So being able to give them some small, you know, repetitive jobs that don't take a lot of your creativity, but they take a lot of your time. Um, I have heard some people talking about hiring free interns that just want the experience and they will get, they will, they will do those jobs for you for free, uh, even swapping services with other solo preneurs. So, you know, as an example, I, you know, I'm not the copywriting person that you are and maybe I would, you know, maybe I had some service that I could do for you and you could do copywriting for me kind of thing. So, you know, find finding online friends to swap services with perhaps. Um, and then when I, you know, also mentioned earlier getting on, you know, fiber, for example, finding some services that you can do very quickly to make a little extra money so that you can get a little bit of money to outsource some of the tasks that are taking, taking time away from your more important, more valuable, you know, to do items. So,

Amber (30:39):

Yeah, that's great advice. I heard somebody in a group a few days ago talking about they swapped, um, letting somebody take their course for free for services that they needed. And I thought that was such a great idea. If you're somebody who does have a course built and you have somebody who would like to take that course and you can swap services that they offer for an hour or two. And I thought, what a great idea for somebody who has a course, that's a really great swap to make without having to pay to outsource something

Kristi (31:10):

That is that's great. And, you know, there are some I have at least found in, I don't know, maybe it's the groups I have found online, but, um, I have found that there are a lot of people in the online space that are so giving and so ready to help out. And, um, and I think that you could very easily find someone who, who would, you know, find some kind of an arrangement with you. Yeah,

Amber (31:41):

Absolutely. Well, Christy, what about the feelings? Sometimes? I think a lot of us have where you get to the end of the day and, you know, you were busy all day, but you have no idea what you got done. Do you have any advice or tactics that we can walk away with to maybe help mitigate that and kind of really feel like we accomplished something during the day and it had at least something to do with what was on our list.

Kristi (32:05):

Yes. Cause I can definitely attest to having had that happen before, you know, the, the husband comes home and uh, what'd you get done today and you just look at, I'm like, oh my gosh, I, you know, I really did work all day, but I am not sure what I got done. So yes that's happened. That definitely happens. Um, so after you know, that to-do list after weeding out those things that you can get rid of entirely, like we talked about earlier than what is left, that to-do list really prioritizing it by two things, prioritizing by deadlines. If there are deadlines, whether a client set deadlines are deadlines that you've set for yourself and then also prioritizing by the value of those items, which like we talked about, what's going to get you to those goals and dreams faster, or what's going to make you some money because unless you are just in this as a hobby, kudos, if someone is just doing it just for the fun, but if people are listening to your podcast, your audience is probably not looking just to do this whole thing for fun.

Kristi (33:22):

They want to enjoy it, but I want to make a little money too. Yes. And so prioritizing that to-do list and looking at it and finding the top three things each day that are going to give you the most value so that even if you just get those three items finished and nothing else has crossed off your to-do list, you can know that you spent your time. Well, guys, I think that that's really important. So finding your top three, and like I said, making sure that they're very valuable tasks, so weighing each one of them against another and going, what will, what will get me to my goal? What will get me to my dream faster? And so just working off that to-do list like that will, I think, make you feel much more productive and go, wow, I am S I, I had a good day today.

Amber (34:28):

Yep. Great advice. That's the feeling that we want to have, right. Is it was a good day. I, I feel productive and I enjoyed it too. I enjoyed it. Yeah. Well, I know many solopreneurs are solopreneurs or smaller businesses because we maybe don't want a big team to manage. And I know you work with solopreneurs for the most part. So is it possible to scale a business to six or seven figures as a solopreneur? Or do you think there comes a point where you do have to leave that solopreneur realm to scale and kind of level up your business?

Kristi (35:04):

All right. I will be totally honest with you here. I have no idea, but I am really looking forward to finding out as I, as I scaled to six and seven figures, you know, um, I, I I'll let you know when it happens.

Amber (35:23):

Oh, please do I, and I'm in the same boat. That's kind of something I'm, I'm not sure about either. I, I think as you and I talked about before we started recording, it can depend on your business and where you take your business.

Kristi (35:33):

It definitely does. Uh, you know, I, one of my goals is to, um, scale to where I have that freedom that I am not one of those that necessarily aspire to six and seven figures and often be great if it happened, I would be quite satisfied, you know, with, with less than that. Um, but, um, you know, one of those dreams is to be able to scale the business with a passive income so that I am able to work fewer hours and still be bringing in, you know, whatever X amount of dollars is. And if I can do that by myself, that's fine. But if I can employ a few other women and help them to be achieving their dreams, and that is wonderful too.

Amber (36:33):

Yes, absolutely. When congratulations do you, cause I know you've already done that. You already have it, do you have at least one course, do you have more than that?

Kristi (36:40):

I have one course that is out. I've kind of been revamping it all. Um, you know, we, we talked about, we don't always get it right the first time. So as I was working on this suite of courses, um, I kinda got some clarity and so I've had to backtrack a little bit. So I actually just have, uh, I guess you would, some people call them tiny offers or whatever outright. Now it's a time management and it goes more of a deep dive into what we've been talking about, the prioritizing and, uh, you know, getting, getting your goals down, deciding what those are, your dreams and your goals, getting that to do list made prioritizing for the day. So it's kind of a deep dive of a lot of the things that we've talked about. And, um, then that is going to go into my other courses that I am, I am in the process of working on right now. So.

Amber (37:42):

Perfect. Good. Well, I will link that in the show notes so that my audience can find that course, if they want to dive a little bit more into some of the stuff that we've talked about today, and then I also will link your podcast as well as your website. So tell us a little bit about your podcast and where my audience can find you.

Kristi (38:00):

Okay. Well, I, yes, I would love if your audience would, um, check it out. And if they like what they hear, subscribe to the podcast, it's simplicity for solopreneurs. Um, you should build a subscribe wherever your fate, whatever your favorite app is to listen to podcasts. Um, I go into time management. I talk about, um, digital organization, online tools for your business and, um, creating and using simple business systems. So it's all about simplifying and organizing your whole business and using your time well so that you can, like I said, enjoy the business journey and not feel so overwhelmed as you're trying to figure it all out. So getting, getting those back back end office things in order. Um, so I have my podcasts, like I said, it is, it is titled the same thing, simplicity for solopreneurs and my website, simplicity for solo preneurs.com and then it links to, um, I have a freebie and introduction to simplifying and organizing your business that has some tips and tools and things that I use in my business. It'll have a link to the course. Um, you know, all of that.

Amber (39:25):

Perfect. Well, I am a listener of the podcast, so I highly recommend it really great tactical advice for business owners. So I always appreciate your message that you have on there. And you're so fun to listen to. So I hope everybody goes and checks out your show. Um, and I also would like for you, if you would just one more time, cause I didn't catch the name. What was the all-in-one platform that you use that you recommend?

Kristi (39:48):

Um, I use builder all builder all and um, I have been very, very pleased. Um, it is great value for the number of tools that you get on there. Um, it is a very, the owner is Brazilian. His name is Eric Salgado. And what I really appreciate about him, his goal when he started this a few years back and he started it in Brazil and it is in, I'm not sure how many countries now, including the U S but his goal is to have one entrepreneur in every household.

Amber (40:31):

Oh, wow. That's

Kristi (40:31):

Neat. And I love it. And he, he realizes for that to happen, it has to be affordable. And, um, I just, I love his whole premise of it is it is a great company and I will, I will add there too. He has a very generous affiliate program. Um, I am an affiliate, but I would, I would sing, build girls' praises, even if I was not just because I just, I really the whole back end family feeling. It just, it really resonates with me and with my values and stuff. But, um, I'd say I've been very pleased, very pleased with it. So. Awesome.

Amber (41:16):

Well, if you would send me your affiliate link and then for anybody who wants to check that out, that might be a program that works for them and they can use your affiliate link. So I'll include that in the show notes, as well as your course and your website and your podcast. Um, so Kristy, thank you so much. Um, I know that my audience is going to appreciate hearing from you. I think they would love your show. So I hope they go check out your show and get to know you a little bit more. Um, they'll become friends, just like I did cause I love listening to everything that you have every week. So, um, anything else you'd like to share with my audience today before we go? We really appreciate you being here.

Kristi (41:52):

Well, let me say, thank you. Thank you for having me and thank you for your kind words I have. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know you as well, and I am an, a subscriber of your podcast as well. It helps me tremendously as I try to get copy-written. Uh, I'm kind of, I had heard of Donald Miller before and the whole story brand thing has reminded me about all of that. And, um, I guess I would just say, I end all of my podcast episodes with a reminder, uh, to the ladies who follow me to keep it simple sister. And so, uh, that's kind of my mantra. And so that is what I would leave your listeners with today is just try to keep it simple. Don't try to do all the things because it really will just keep you in a state of overwhelming. You won't get to enjoy the journey. So

Amber (42:49):

Yes, that's so true. Well, Christy, thank you so much for being here. I really

Kristi (42:53):

Appreciate it all. Thank you. I'd loved it.