Simplify Your Business
What if doing less was actually the secret to building a more profitable business? Lynn Rivest, founder of Minimalist Biz and digital strategist with over 20 years of experience, joins me for episode 166 of the Gratitude Geek Podcast to talk about exactly that.
Originally aired: April 25, 2023
This post has been updated and republished as part of rebuilding the Gratitude Geek podcast archive.
Lynn helps micro business owners cut through the noise, ditch the psychic weight of too many offers and projects, and build sustainable businesses that genuinely fuel the lives they want — not the lives hustle culture tells them they should want.
Listen in if you have been feeling scattered, overwhelmed, or like you are running hard without actually getting anywhere.
Key Takeaways
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Clarify exactly what you want your business and life to look like in the next one to two years, then use that vision as your North Star for every decision you make.
- Minimalism in business is about subtracting the clutter—offers, tasks, and even physical stuff—that creates psychic weight so you can focus on what truly moves you toward your goals.
- A “skinny funnel” (or small marketing colander) works better for micro-business owners by attracting fewer, better-fit people instead of trying to catch everyone with broad, expensive marketing.
- Standing out on purpose—through authentic language, visuals, and values—both magnetizes right-fit clients and intentionally repels the wrong ones so you conserve time and emotional energy.
- Small, consistent brand cues (like a signature color, recurring motif, or recognizable background) build instant recognition across platforms without you having to shout louder.
- Focus is an act of minimalism: you often need to postpone or eliminate good ideas so that one or two key projects get enough attention to actually ship and create results.
- Email is your most intimate, consent-based marketing channel, letting you nurture relationships and make offers in a way that feels personal, honest, and sustainable.
- Designing your business around your real life—kids, health, finances, values—instead of the other way around gives you freedom, stability, and a lived legacy your family experiences now, not just after you’re gone.
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Get clear on what you really want
When you’re overwhelmed by “all the things,” Lynn says the first step is deciding what you actually want your business and life to look like over the next year or two. As she puts it, “the very first thing is to work on what it is that you want… be really specific… if you say like I really want to… be the income provider for my family… say it’s 200,000 a year, why, what does that 200,000 mean for you?”
Practice minimalism by subtracting
Minimalism in business isn’t about prettier systems; it’s about shedding the excess offers, tasks, and even physical clutter that creates “psychic weight” and distraction. Lynn describes so many entrepreneurs as being “in the damn weeds… in the poison ivy on the forest bed,” and encourages us to keep asking of everything (even a packed bookshelf), “Is this helping me get there, or is it adding psychic weight to my day?”
Build a skinny funnel (or small colander)
Instead of chasing a huge audience with a traditional wide funnel, Lynn advocates a “skinny funnel” that brings in fewer, better-fit people because micro-business owners don’t have the budget to “go broad” and “see what we catch in this gigantic net.” You and Lynn align on the idea that you do not need millions of followers to thrive; as you shared, “you can be a nano influencer… you can have a thousand followers and make an income,” and a colander-style system lets the wrong-fit people drain out instead of clogging the works.
Use your brand to attract and repel on purpose
Standing out means some people will not like you—and that’s a feature, not a bug. Lynn notes you “have to have some people really not like you,” whether that’s through swearing in your tagline (“I help solopreneurs get [___] done”), owning your “witchy” side, or keeping a cross on a Catholic coach’s site so the right people recognize shared values instantly.
Let small, consistent cues do the heavy lifting
Tiny, repeated visual cues make you recognizable without needing to “shout” louder. Lynn shares an example of a health coach who tucks a little plastic frog into every photo, and you riff on how her peony wallpaper could become that same recognizable motif across her brand, just like marketers who always wear the same shade of green or stick to one color-pop jacket over black basics.
Focus on fewer projects to actually ship
Minimalism is also about what you choose to focus on: the 20% of work that delivers 80% of the impact. Lynn sees many entrepreneurs with “so many projects… and they’re excited about them all but nothing’s getting enough attention and so nothing’s really ever seeing the light of day,” which is why she spends so much time helping clients eliminate or postpone ideas so a few key projects can truly move forward.
Treat email as your most intimate channel
For launches and day-to-day marketing, Lynn loves email because subscribers have “invited you in,” which makes it “the most intimate of the communication that you can have” at scale. She writes each message with one person in mind, often tucking the sales piece into a PS, and notes that even though attribution can be messy, “sales were directly… attributable to those emails” and replies become a rich source of connection and feedback.
Design your business around your real life and legacy
Lynn’s own story as a single mom who went freelance to create a calmer, more secure home life illustrates how business design can serve your actual life, not the other way around. She keeps expenses low, holds onto cars for years, and thinks more and more about legacy—not just what she’ll leave “after,” but how she’s “living” it now with her kids, echoing your friend’s idea of “don’t leave a legacy, live it.”
Meet Lynn Rivest
Lynn Rivest is the founder of Minimalist Biz, where she helps micro business owners create simple, sustainable businesses that truly fuel the lives they want for the long term. With over 20 years of experience as a digital strategist and having coached hundreds of online entrepreneurs—including serving as right hand to a founder who scaled from 100,000 dollars to multiple seven figures in six years—she brings deep, practical insight to every conversation. A single mom of two and self-described “cozy minimalist” who loves experiences, pillows, blankets, and books, Lynn blends minimalism, authenticity, and strategy to support entrepreneurs who crave a less complicated way of doing business.
“I don’t love complicated… business and online I had 18 million tabs open and I was doing 500 things, and this business just had a lot of moving parts, and I thought, there’s probably a better way to do this.” – Lynn Rivest
Connect with Lynn Rivest
- Website: LynnRivest.com
- LinkedIn: @lynnrivest
Resources Mentioned
Disclaimer: Some links may be affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you choose to purchase. No added cost to you.
Final Thoughts
If this conversation with Lynn left you fired up and ready to simplify, the next step is getting around other women creatives who are building their businesses on their own terms too.
That is exactly what the Creator Collab Mixer is all about. It is a free monthly event for women creators, bloggers, podcasters, YouTubers, and solopreneurs who want real connection and visibility without the bro marketing nonsense. No pitch fest. No pressure. Just genuine conversation with people who get it.
We meet every fourth Wednesday of the month, and I would love to see you there. Grab your spot at kandasrodarte.com/mixer and come introduce yourself.
Stay Groovy!
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