035 BFM + MVP = A Mantra for Life and Business
EXPLICT WARNING ON THIS ONE FOLKS… ⚠️⚠️⚠️
In this episode, we dive into the power of BFM (Bare Fn’ Minimum) and MVP (Minimum Viable Product) and how these simple strategies can make a huge difference in your business.
Topics Discussed This Episode:
EXPLICT WARNING ON THIS ONE FOLKS… ⚠️⚠️⚠️
0:00 - 4:00: Introduction to BFM (Bare Fn’ Minimum) and why it's crucial for small business owners.
4:00 - 8:00: How BFM can save energy and prevent burnout in managing business tasks.
8:00 - 12:00: Introduction to MVP (Minimum Viable Product) and its role in testing and improving business ideas.
12:00 - 15:00: Blending BFM and MVP to create sustainable, impactful business strategies.
15:00 - 20:21: Wrap up and next steps.
In this episode, we break down two essential business concepts: BFM (Bare Minimum) and MVP (Minimum Viable Product). BFM challenges the perfectionist mindset by encouraging entrepreneurs to focus on what is truly essential, avoiding the burnout often caused by trying to go above and beyond on every task. By setting a manageable standard, you can maintain your energy, stay productive, and still deliver high-quality results to your clients. This idea of doing just enough can actually push you further in the long run, especially when your minimum effort is already above average compared to others.
MVP complements this by focusing on getting a product or service to market quickly and efficiently, allowing you to gather feedback, make improvements, and keep growing without being stuck in endless preparation. It’s all about progress, not perfection. By combining BFM with MVP, you'll have a sustainable, stress-free approach to building a successful business. If you're tired of burning out or need guidance on launching your next idea, get in touch for a no-pressure 15-minute chat—let’s make your business easier!
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0:06
G'day crew, it's so the video confidence coach here and welcoming you to the podcast. Video, confidence
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can coach cast. I forgot the name of my own podcast. Wow. I am very smart. Essentially, welcome to the podcast episode today. And for those who are joining us for the first time, I welcome you to a podcast that I release weekly about all things personal branding and growing with video. Today, we are going to talk about a two acronyms that I use a lot of, and I'm probably going to be referring people a lot to this podcast episode regarding my two favorite acronyms, BFM and MVP. I use this a lot extensively in my coaching and mentoring
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work that I do with clients. So if you're interested in growing your business with the power of marketing but not sure how to do it, why not reach out and maybe we'll have a bit of a chin wag and sort things out for you. So these two acronyms, I use a lot of, and they are going to be all over my website and my branding in the work that I do, and we're probably going to have to put an explicit warning on today, because as an Australian, I like to use me swear words, and I also just find saying them cathartic. I did have a lot of problems with people thinking I was crass and thinking that I was prudish.
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So not prudish that I thought they were prudish when I would use again, not extensive swear words, but, you know, one or two every like five minutes.
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And of course, people would turn their nose up in me and be very upset. So I learned, okay, maybe you're not the right people for me, and if you are sensitive to those swear words, maybe today might not be a good podcast for you. But what I'm going to be talking with you about today, again, are those acronyms. So we're going to start off with BSM,
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bare fucking minimum. What is the minimum amount of effort required to get a product or service to market for yourself? We're talking about the energy that you are providing in this business to be able to see something to fruition. This could be a product or service. This could be a marketing activity that you're doing. This could be doing your taxes, this. This could be anything this. This mentality could apply to any part of your business. I came across this from a client of mine in the past who runs a boxing gym and a training gym. Lena Moxon, Hi, love your work, and I continue to you know, listen to your podcasts and listen to the work that you do as you continue to grow your business, and it's always awesome to see you grow. And she had a particular podcast that really resonated with me about what is your bare effing minimum? What is your bare minimum that you can do that is going to save you energy in the long run, but ultimately allow you to achieve what you want to achieve without the overwhelm. So the reason I put the effing bit in the middle for myself and also for my clients, is that sometimes you just need need to say fuck. Sometimes you just need to say this wayward. And for yourself when it comes to the amount of effort. And now we're not even talking money here. We're talking about energy and effort for you as the business owner, as the one who is generating these resources,
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the one who is organizing everything, the one who is putting in the work in these small businesses. And if you are not personally, the one doing the actual work or labor to get something done, you are still organizing it. You are still overseeing it to get it done and to get out there. And this very much correlates with the other acronym that I like to use, MVP. This is a
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practice that is used very extensively throughout business, and I have come across this a lot in my most recent course that I've been taking online for business. But I first came across this in a entrepreneur
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series of events that I went to. It was called getting down to business, and it was run by Linda and Frank. Thank you so much. I very much appreciate their wisdom and their insight and the ability for me as someone who was starting their business at 14, bouncing around just trying new things every single time, and then not really having any clear understanding or direction, because I didn't really have any mentorship of any kind when I first started my business. And then once I was 18, I came across this
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training that was being run up in Melbourne. And.
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Think someone came across it and sent it to me, and they just said, Hey, I came across this in my, you know, travels. This seems like something that you would be interested in. Why don't you apply? And so I applied. Didn't hear anything back for a while, and then almost immediately, like, the start of the year, they said, Hey, you're in, you know, we'll see you in like, a week. So I had to, like, Okay, I'll make some changes and make sure that I'm there and available to help out. Be Able there, to be there and ready to learn. And it was a very opening experience. I was so grateful to have this opportunity as a young person, starting their business. And again, keeping in mind that by this point, I had already had my business for four years. I had made so many mistakes, and will continue to make mistakes,
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but to be able to have some sort of support outside of yourself is something that I strive to be able to provide my own clients through my coaching and mentoring services.
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And the reason that whole diatribe that I just went to just now is about minimum viable product is it is essentially about what is the quickest thing that takes that is the cheapest, easiest and quickest thing that you can do to get a idea, get a product, get A service out to market that people can see, have their thoughts about it. You can get their feedback and improve and improve and improve and improve and improve. This is how all businesses run. And once they get to a higher level, and once they grow to a large amount of people, they still do MVPs very consistently. They trial things out with test audiences they have, they provide products or services to a select few people to get their feedback and improve the product so it's ready for market. And this mentality, both of these acronyms, I use quite heavily, to be able to not take the pressure that we put on ourselves as small business owners, but to be able to understand that this is a journey that is going to take a lot of time and a lot of effort
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for both yourself and the business as a whole.
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So to have that mentality of Not everything has to be perfect to get out there to the market, I can test things. I can improve things. And say, for example, if you try a if you try something out, you give it a red hot go. But again, you make it as cheap as quick and as easy as possible to you, for you to do physically, and you do your bare minimum. Again, remember, as an expert in your field and someone who is running a small business, your bare minimum is a lot higher than everyone else's. I want to stress that to you now and the people that come to me and the clients that I work with, your bare minimum is usually quite high, so to be able to even cut it in half a makes it easier for you and less stress for you, but you're still going above and beyond for your clients. You're still going above and beyond for the products and services you provide to your customers.
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But you don't need to burn out to do so.
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You don't need to make everything a really big deal for it to have impact
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for the people that you want to have an impact for.
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So
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going through those both acronyms, bare fucking minimum is for yourself and your energy and your mindset and your focus. Minimum viable product is what the other aspects of the business, the resources that you have to take, the time that you have to take, the money that it will take to get this idea out there into the market in the quickest, easiest possible way, so that you can then
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grow it, that you can adapt it, that you can change it to suit the market needs.
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So again, those two things are what I use a lot in business, and it's something that I have to coach myself with. From time to time, I find myself overwhelming and stressing about really small details that no one notices. In all honesty, no one notices. For example, with our weekly live stream the video confidence connect that I am currently recording this podcast episode on so again, making the the bare minimum for me is to record my podcast episodes once a week in an open forum live stream, where I have the opportunity to tackle two birds with one stone. I'm able to record a podcast episode. So I always am able to reach out and help people through the podcast, as well as be able to be available to answer people's questions in a live stream format. When people want to get access to me and I say, Hey, I don't have free time right now, but I am available from 10 to 11 Australians at standard time every Friday,
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reach out to me. Reach out to me then, and we can have a chat on air.
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If you like,
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I must remember to breathe sorry.
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And when it comes to those things, that is my bare minimum. My bare minimum is that I want to make sure that every email is answered. That is my bare minimum, that I am helping people who reach out to me, and if I cannot serve them, being able to send them to someone who can.
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My bare minimum is not to burn myself out on the small things. My bare minimum is to put my clients first and then me second, but a very close second,
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because I honestly have spent the past five years of my mental health journey and covid,
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honestly, just burning myself out consistently
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about my bare minimum, my bare talking minimum being just way too high to be sustainable for my amount of energy that I have at the time in my life and my health, and also just the amount of time that it was taking in my life where I wasn't seeing any returns.
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And if that's you right now, I get it. I understand. I am with you right now.
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And if it's something that the part that is stressing you is marketing, feel free to reach out to me. I'm always happy to have a 15 minute free chat, no obligation, chat with people who may be interested or just want to talk with someone about their woes when it comes to marketing.
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And then to be able to think, Okay, what is the easiest way to get an idea that I have out there, what is my MVP? What is the quickest, easiest, cheapest thing that I can do to get out there in the market? And that's
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something that I have to keep reminding myself. That's something that I have to keep coaching myself. I'm honestly getting mugs, like really big mugs, because I like big mugs of, you know, BFM on there so I can remind myself constantly what is the minimum that is going to make me happy and satiated and still serve my clients?
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And sometimes that's a lot of a harder question than you would care to admit, but
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that's why you got to sit with it. That's why you got to take a breath. That's why you have to stick to habits. And for example, me making Friday my my day, my business day, the day that I spend on myself and my business no if ands or buts, I do my absolute best to avoid any sort of meetings, catch up calls, or anything like that. So if you are trying to book a call or a chat with me on a Friday, I'm sorry it's going to be quite hard, because I do do my best to make Friday a day where I don't communicate with people,
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or if I do communicate with people, it's something that I can, you know, relegate to like, the start, you know, 10 minutes of the day, or the end, 10 minutes of the day, of course, except for my live stream, where, if you do need to chat with me, you can just reach out here.
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But when it comes to your minimum
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setting, it at a standard that you feel happy in your core, that you're
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feeling okay with yourself and the decision that you make
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and setting it about half of that now I stress this for again, the people that I talk to and the clients that I that I bring into the business are very high performing women and also non non binary folk who set their own standards incredibly high. Why
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do I attract people like this? Because I do that as well. I personally set my own standards very high,
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because I should be able to meet them. I have
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the energy, I have the time I should be able to meet them. I
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understand that's not always the case, and
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having this mentality has burned me so much,
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but I have learned to quell that, and that is also something I help with my coaching and mental clients. I'm doing a lot of drops today in the podcast. I apologize, but yes, that's why this thing is so relevant to the work that I do.
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And I want you to understand that your BFM
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is going to be a lot naturally, just a lot higher than amateurs or new or newbies or novices to your industry or to your line of work, or even to your business, because, of course, it's your business at the end of the day, your face, your personality, especially if it's a personal brand, business, is on the line
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and you.
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If it doesn't work out, then that shows on you. And of course, I can have another podcast topic, which I will definitely link to, about
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not linking your personality or your self worth to your business. That is not a good thing. Do not recommend that. It's something that I had to learn the hard way when I had to close my first business, and
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that was just because I was not listening to my gut. I was consistently, consistently ignoring how I felt about myself. And I was always putting my BFM way too high, where I couldn't even meet it because it wasn't a BFM. At the end of the day, I was setting my bare fucking minimum way too high. So it wasn't a bare fucking minimum.
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That is something that I had to
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have a very hard talk with myself and very hard look at myself to just go, Zoe, you're an idiot. Sit down. Shut up. You.
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And as you
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can imagine, that sort of great thing to talk to yourself about, and not having to have that feeling and
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when talking with others, or when you're talking with a mentor, or when you're talking with other business owners who are in the same stages as you, it can be quite confronting to have people say, oh, you should do this, or you should do that,
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or, you know,
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stop listening to
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the critic on your shoulder
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who had does not have the best interest for you
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and do the minimum that is going to serve your clients and yourself.
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Now, of course, your bare minimum every day is going to fluctuate. That's why the fucking part's in there. It's going to fluctuate so much that sometimes it can seem overwhelming.
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But if you're able to keep it at a consistent level over time
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to a point where, hey, my BFM, when it comes to recording podcasts, is that I record to a week.
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That's a BFM for me.
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I want to make a habit of doing a live stream every week so I can be there publicly to support my crew and my clients, to be able to support them however they need in a schedule and a time that I can do, that I can support myself, that I have the energy for.
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And how do I do that? Well, I do that with an MVP. I start before I'm slightly ready, and just get the live stream going, get a calendar going, start telling people, Hey, I'm available on a Friday from 10 to 11 if you want to chat online, there I am,
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of course, not making myself available to everyone all of the time,
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but to a level that I'm okay with.
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And, for example, my minimum viable product for a project I started recently, the Geelong podcasters. I restarted it again recently, my minimum viable product was an event once a month
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that I promote once a week,
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and I record a five minute podcast, which is relatively easy for me to do, because I've just done it so much to a point where I can record on average, five episodes in under an hour.
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And that's easy for me. That's my bare minimum. That is my BFM. That is my bare fucking minimum because I've done it before. I've trained before. I can do it before your BFM for things that you know nothing about is going to take a little bit of getting used to. You're going to have to hold the reins of that bucking horse until you get thrown off,
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and then you let it sit, let it calm down, and then try and get back on the horse again, once you feel ready and once you feel safe to do so.
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So in wrapping up today's podcast session, gonna go over it again for you, for myself and for you, what is your BFM for yourself, and what is your minimum viable product for the thing that you want to put out there in the world using your business and your personal brand. Thank you so much for spending your time with me today's podcast and my rant about the things that I talk about so often with my clients. So if you were just wanting to understand what that acronym was, thank you for joining us today in today's podcast episode. For
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those who are interested in learning more about the podcast you're listening to right now. You can check us out at Vcc dot training, slash podcast
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or just search video, confidence coach, video,
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video, confidence coach, cast in all good podcast players. I am thinking about changing the name, in all honesty, but I don't exactly know.
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What that is going to be yet. So there will be future need to figure out. In the future you.
The above episode description and transcript were generated with ai.
Who is your host?
Zoë Wood, your Video Confidence Coach connects the dots between personal branding and video marketing. Helping women and non-binary folk in small business, find their way in the world of marketing their passion without the energy drain.
Find out more about how to grow your personal brand with the power of video right here on vcc.training
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