The Business of Joy: What Marie Kondo Can Teach Us About Entrepreneurship

The path from DIY to strategic delegation isn't about abandoning self-reliance – it's about being smart with your most valuable resource: your time and energy. Start by identifying one task that's consuming disproportionate time relative to its value to your business. Calculate the real costs using the frameworks above, and explore professional alternatives.

Remember: Every minute spent on tasks outside your core expertise is a minute not spent growing your business. In the end, the most expensive thing you can do is try to save money by doing everything yourself.

When Marie Kondo asked the world "Does it spark joy?" she was talking about decluttering closets, but she might as well have been talking about business strategy. Her profound observation that "The question of what you want to own is actually the question of how you want to live your life" carries unexpected wisdom for entrepreneurs who find themselves drowning in the complexity of their own creation.

Think about it: Every service you offer, every process you maintain, every meeting you schedule is something you "own" in your business. Each element takes up space – not in your closet, but in your calendar, your mental bandwidth, and your company's resources. And just like that drawer full of mismatched socks, not everything in your business truly serves your purpose.

The parallels become clearer when we look at how businesses typically grow. Much like our homes, businesses tend to accumulate "stuff" over time. A new service here, an additional offering there, perhaps a side project that seemed promising at the moment. Before you know it, you're managing a complex web of activities that barely resemble your original mission. You're maintaining everything but mastering nothing.

But what if we approached business strategy the way Kondo approaches home organization? Instead of asking "What should I cut?" we could ask "What truly serves our mission?" Rather than focusing on what to eliminate, we could focus on what deserves to stay. This shift in perspective transforms the overwhelming task of business simplification into an enlightening journey of purpose rediscovery.

The magic happens when business owners give themselves permission to keep only what aligns with their core mission. Suddenly, difficult decisions become clearer. That prestigious but draining client project? That popular but profitless service line? If it doesn't align with your mission, if it doesn't contribute to your vision of impact, perhaps it's time to thank it for its service and let it go.

This isn't about shrinking your business – it's about growing with intention. It's about creating space for what matters by releasing what doesn't. When you clear away the unnecessary, you create room for possibilities. Your energy is no longer scattered across dozens of mediocre efforts but focused on a few exceptional ones. Your team isn't juggling countless initiatives but mastering meaningful ones.

The end result? A business that feels more like a mission and less like a marathon. Operations that energize rather than exhaust. A company that's not just sustainable but deeply satisfying to run.

So perhaps it's time to ask yourself: Does your business spark joy? Are you keeping services and processes out of obligation rather than opportunity? What would your business look like if you only kept what truly aligned with your mission?

After all, the question of what you want your business to own is actually the question of how you want your business to live. And that's a question worth answering.