Beyond Margins: Build a calmer business with comfortable margins

What if you could build in more space to your business? An extra day off? More time to strategize? Less urgency and more rest? 

We're continuing in our mini-series on my calmer framework for a calmer business. This week, we're diving into margins -- financial margins, capacity margins, and energetic margins -- to decrease urgency and burnout and create calmer, more sustainable businesses. 

We're joined by Nathalie Lussier, an award-winning entrepreneur who has been making websites since she was 12 years old. She graduated with a degree in Software Engineering. She was the founder and recently exited AccessAlly, the digital course and membership solution for industry leaders. Nathalie has been featured in Forbes, Inc., Fast Company, Success Magazine, Entrepreneur, Venture Beat, and Mashable.

On this episode, we learn how we can rethink our work so that we build in margins, and dive deep into one founder's journey to transitioning to a 4-day work week for their entire company -- with exceptional results. 

Listen to the Full Episode to Hear:

1. How to build in margins, beyond profit margins, to your business
2. What the transition to a 4-day work week can look like in practice 
3. How to experiment with and build comfortable margins for your business 

Learn more about Nathalie Lussier 

Taking care of people in or around your business isn't the default when it comes to business and what we're taught business should be. How is this way of doing business actually hurting us? And, how can we change our systems to be more authentically people-first? 

We're continuing in our mini-series on my calmer framework for a calmer business. This week, we're diving into lens of care and how operating with a lens of care can decrease panic and urgency in our daily work. 

We're joined by Heather ONeill, the anti-capitalist business coach for tech and service businesses, and founder of UX consultancy, Pixels for Humans. She puts people over profits and believes that you can make money while doing good.

On this episode, we learn how businesses can prioritize people over profits, especially during challenging times; how to find and build community in an authentic way; and the impact of white supremacy on our default way of doing business. 

Listen to the Full Episode to Hear:

1. How businesses can measure success beyond revenue and longevity
2. How care-centric practices contribute to a calmer business environment.
3. What an anti-capitalist approach can look like in business 

Learn more about Heather ONeill:

Can we create calm workplaces that are not only remote, but also asynchronous? And can we do it while avoiding micromanaging from afar? 

We're continuing in our mini-series on my calmer framework for a calmer business. This week, we're diving into autonomy. Why is autonomy essential for a calmer business? What does an autonomous work environment even look like? And how can you apply some of the best systems and tips for creating an autonomous environment into your own business. 

We're joined by remote-work expert, Marissa Goldberg. Marissa has managed distributed team members across 20+ countries and in 2018 founded Remote Work Prep. Remote Work Prep offers Fractional COO services and courses to help companies successfully create healthy, effective remote work environments.

On this episode, we learn how to set up employees to be their best selves and do their best job in an autonomous work environment. 

Listen to the Full Episode to Hear:

• What autonomy in a work culture means and why it is essential for building a calm company.
• The importance of clear communication, clear expectations, and the need for documentation to support autonomous decision-making.
• The necessity of intentional onboarding and training to help employees adapt to an autonomous work environment.
• Marissa's tips for managing 'overwhelming freedom' through self-management skills.

Learn more about Marissa Goldberg:

What if you could design a business that inherently operates on calm, not chaos? What are the essential elements to make this possible, and how can they be systematically incorporated into your business model?

As we dive into our new series on creating calmer businesses, we explore the foundational elements that make businesses serene and sustainable. Each episode of this series will deconstruct a key component, starting today with an overview of what it takes to design a business for calm.

So, how do you start engineering a calmer business with limited resources? Using the CALMER framework, we'll look at how these elements function as the building blocks to a less stressful and more effective business model, providing actionable insights that can empower business owners to make intentional, strategic decisions.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• How clarity in roles and goals reduces stress and confusion, leading to more effective operations.
• Why autonomy in decision-making can prevent bottlenecks and enhance job satisfaction.
• The importance of a Lens of Care in prioritizing well-being over profits, affecting every aspect of business operations.
• How building in margins—financial, time, and emotional—can prepare your business for unexpected challenges.
• Why efficient systems are crucial for maintaining calm and how they can be implemented to support overall business health.
• The role of rest and reducing urgency in avoiding burnout and sustaining long-term productivity.

Learn more about me, Susan Boles: