Subtraction as a growth strategy

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If you want to grow your business, you are probably thinking about what you need to ADD.

A new marketing channel. A new offer. A new launch strategy. A new feature.

Growth by addition is a proven strategy. For example: if you want to make more money THIS WEEK, simply offer your existing clients something new – ideally something new that helps them make better use of what you already sell them.

Example: if you are a portrait photographer you could offer your previous clients a branding photoshoot with a stylist, set, hair and makeup included. You handle the details and charge a premium. They show up and shine. Boom. More money this week. (Someone please make me this offer, stat).

Like I said, growing by ADDING can absolutely work.

But the more things you ADD, the more complexity you inject into your company.

Personally, I do love me a clean, simple, scalable business. And many of my biggest growth breakthroughs have come from what I have removed. Look at Apple – one of the world’s most valuable companies grew by cutting product lines, removing features, subtracting everything that wasn’t essential from its product lines and products themselves.

Turns out humans are wired to think ADDITION FIRST. Researchers from the University of Virginia found that, when it comes to thinking about how to improve their organizations, study participants came up with hundreds of ideas.

Less than 10% of those ideas involved taking something away.

One problem is that people dislike ending things. I frequently coach clients who hang on to unreliable suppliers, under-performing team members, and unprofitable offers because they are afraid of what Dr. Henry Cloud calls necessary endings.

One of the problems is that when you ADD something, you get tons of recognition. “Lewk! A new widget!” But when you subtract something, it’s harder to see. No one – and I mean No. One. will celebrate you for removing things. But you can feel it. Pruning a business feels purposeful, powerful, and spacious. And even though people won’t celebrate you for removing things, they WILL enjoy being in your spacious, orderly world.

Here are some things you can subtract in order to grow:

• A low or average performing marketing channel or social media account
• A low-performing team member or contractor
• An unprofitable offer
• A profitable offer that drains you
• 20%-40% of the features of an existing offer you sell
• Recurring expenses or apps that you don’t use

It feels good to stop tolerating things.

A couple of weeks ago my client Wendy interviewed me for her podcast. She asked me to share an example of a boundary I have in business.

The boundary came out of my mouth before I knew what was happening. “My boundary is that I will not create an offer that can’t be a 7-figure revenue stream.”

That one sentence basically sums up Safi Media’s growth strategy. Go deep and be excellent at the few things you take on.

I have discovered that when I grow by SUBTRACTING and SIMPLIFYING, that growth feels better. As a leader and as a company, we’re grounded in ourselves. We’re in our lane. We’re centered. And from that place comes insane amounts of clarity and focus. We feel clearer. And that clarity is the biggest gift we can offer our clients.

THIS is what I call scaling with sufficiency. You’re not trying to keep up with your competitors on the ‘gram. You’re not freaking out and adding stuff. You’re patiently pruning, then fertilizing, and supporting the few things that make the biggest difference.

How To Take Insights From This Article Further

Safi Media’s growth strategy is: Go deep and be excellent at the few things you take on.

Our coaching programs are designed to help female founders build strong 7-figure ecosystems that NOURISH the planet.

You can learn more about our growth philosophy in this white paper.

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