Interview With Ev Bogue, Author of "Minimalist Business", Part I

I recently conducted an interview with Ev Bogue, who has just released a completely rewritten version of his best-selling ebook "Minimalist Business".

Since Ev kindly took the time to provide a lot of information in his answers, I decided to split the interview up into two parts. Today is part I, and here is part II.

1. How do you define a minimalist business?

A Minimalist Business exists in the cloud. It’s as close to zero-overhead as possible. A Minimalist Business delivers products and services digitally.

I built my first Minimalist Business in 2009, after I quit my job, threw out all of my stuff and started moving through the world more than I did before.

I realized if I separated my income from my location, I’d be able to earn a location independent way. If I kept my business (and personal) overhead low, I’d be able live a very flexible life in the world.

Over the past year, it’s become increasingly easier to live and work from anywhere in the world. Minimalist Business takes all of my experiences from the past three years living and working from anywhere and condenses the experiences into one compact package for your benefit.

2. Could you mention one difference between the original edition of "Minimalist Business" and the current edition, specifically concerning attracting attention/gathering permission?

In 2010, I released the original edition of Minimalist Business. I’d been living and working from anywhere for 6 months at the time. I’ve learned a lot since then, so I decided it was a good time to revisit the work.

The technologies we use to communicate online have transformed significantly over the past few years. I’m constantly experimenting to see what works best.

What I do know is this: I can only sell digital products to the people I’ve gathered permission from. There’s an entire section in the new Minimalist Business on gathering permission.

Gathering permission is the act of asking this in public spaces online ‘Would you be willing to hear more from me?’

3. Do you think it is harder to attract attention / permission online today, compared to when you first wrote "Minimalist Business? If so, is it because people are more jaded? Are prospects too busy trying to promote their own offers?

It’s actually easier to get the word out about your work than it was three years ago. The flow of information on the web is almost frictionless. Even a few years ago, information was still being controlled by a few self-appointed very important bloggers. Now, I know if I put something which benefits people into the world, it will reach the people who need it.

The challenge is, in this world of frictionless information – how do we stand out in the noise? The answer, for me, is to continue experimenting, and doing the work, every single day.

I know if I create things which benefit other people, they will find a way to the information.

4. Would it be fair to say that the overall lesson in "Minimalist Business" is about continuously conducting experiments to find an independent path to success - as opposed to giving readers an absolute plan to follow? Is there a concern that readers may want more specific steps?

There’s no certain path to success in the online space. In Minimalist Business I talk about how to keep overhead low, experiment, measure, and untether from what isn’t working.

The only way to find out if my work is going to land in the online space is to push it out into the world and see how it lands.

If there was a surefire path to success, everyone would be doing it, and it wouldn’t be a path anymore – it’d be a really crowded highway.

5. Could you give us a quick experiment that a new minimalist business owner (with no list or followers) could try to attract attention?

I were just starting off I’d try to find one person I really trust to give me honest feedback about how my work is landing for them.

I'd again like to thank Ev for taking the time to answer my questions. Here is part II of Ev's interview.