Episode 199

Episode 199: The Power of Focus: Why A Simple Shift Creates Big Growth

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What you’ll learn in this episode:

In this episode of the It’s Your Offer Podcast, we’re unpacking one of the most underrated assets in your business: your focus.

You’ll learn why focus is a key profit lever, how to reclaim it, and where to direct it so your business grows with clarity and ease. We break down three essential places to focus and three common distractions that pull high-earning entrepreneurs off track—and share stories of how clients doubled down on focus and saw real, measurable results.

With distractions pulling at us from every angle—new tools, new trends, and everyone else’s priorities—your ability to focus on what actually moves the needle is what separates high-growth leaders from everyone else.

If you want to grow faster, create more profit with less effort, and feel more in control of your time and energy, this is the episode for you!

And stick around until the end for a special announcement as we gear up to celebrate 200 episodes of this show!

In this episode, you will learn to:

  • Why focus is the shortcut to results—and how to use it to unlock effortless growth
  • The 3 highest-ROI places to direct your focus on today
  • The hidden distractions that derail high-earning entrepreneurs (and how to stop them)
  • The mindset shift that turns your focus into your most valuable business asset

💬 Loved this episode? Let’s keep the conversation going—DM me on Instagram (@jessicadioguardimiller) and tell me your biggest takeaway! 

Mentioned in this episode:

FOCUS = PROFIT: Growth Acceleration Worksheet

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Jessica Miller
00:01 – 00:17
Hello everyone and welcome back to the It’s Your Offer podcast. How are you all doing? In today’s episode, I’m going to talk about one of the most underrated assets in your business, your focus. This has been a topic that’s come up quite a bit lately.

Jessica Miller
00:17 – 00:51
It’s been on my mind, it’s been on the mind of my clients and my colleagues, and I think in the world of ever-changing AI and all the things that are happening around us, this is one of the most powerful pieces of our business that already exists for all of us that we are overlooking. If you want to grow faster, create more profit with a lot less effort, and feel more in control of your time and energy, you need to double down on your focus and where it’s going. Today, we’re going to learn how this is a key profit lever in your business, how to reclaim that focus, and really where to direct it so that your business grows with clarity and ease.

Jessica Miller
00:53 – 01:18
This is not something new. And as we grow in our businesses, this is one of those areas that I feel gets more attacked than others. And today we’re going to really lean into it. I also want you to make sure that you stick with me to the end because I have two things that you are going to do after this episode that is going to take what you learned here today and just go make it create results in your business right

Jessica Miller
01:18 – 01:28
now. Plus, I have a very special announcement for all of you that have been on this journey with me that I want to make sure you hear. So, let’s get into it so we can get to that. Okay.

Jessica Miller
01:30 – 02:06
Your focus is one of your most valuable assets. And in some ways, I want to even say like more than your team, more than your tools, even maybe more than your time, although I think focus and time like go together hand in hand in a very powerful way. When we talk about growth and scaling and momentum on this podcast, and we talk about what already exists in your business from the perspective of growing faster and easier, at the heart of that is you as an asset in your business. And the thing that is most important about you as it relates to your growth in your business and leveraging what is already there is your focus.

Jessica Miller
02:07 – 02:45
It is the ability to understand where you should be putting your energy and your time and your intention, what things could be pitfalls in distracting you from that or taking you off your path, and how when you balance these things and you manage it well, you can really throw kerosene on your business growth. and you can do it in the most powerful and easy way because focus and the ability to lean into the things that we really care about and the things that actually matter more, frankly, whether it’s in your business or your life, is something inherent to all of us. But like me too, I’m guilty of this.

Jessica Miller
02:45 – 03:06
We all are. Sometimes we just sort of get on the hamster wheel of our business or the hamster wheel of life, and the tide just carries us. And we end up just kind of showing up every day, doing the things and kind of going with the flow of wherever it takes us. And we lose the ability to focus in on what really matters, what’s there in our business for us to really double down on.

Jessica Miller
03:07 – 03:38
and also, to give the deep work and the time to those things that are actually going to make a difference in a way that isn’t going to deplete us of all of the energy and resources that we have at our disposal. So, I want to start with talking about where that focus really matters and why it’s often overlooked. Like I said, you know, one of the things that happens in our business as we grow is we just kind of go along with the flow. We’re kind of doing the things the way that we always have done them.

Jessica Miller
03:38 – 03:51
The other curse of us creative overachievers. I mean, you are a special snowflake if you are listening to this podcast and you have built a business. It is not easy. It takes a special someone who wants to have a big impact and do all the things.

Jessica Miller
03:52 – 04:25
But as high achievers, we are often good at everything. And sometimes that could be a real problem because we get into this place where we’re putting a lot of effort and we’re almost over-efforting and we think it is a badge of honor. versus almost scaling back and deciding what it is we’re going to put our effort on and where we’re going to allow our attention to go and doing that really well is what focus is all about. When we think about focus from a profit lever in our business, I want you to think about it like this.

Jessica Miller
04:26 – 04:36
Focus in your business is a multiplier. It is a multiplier. It is leverage. And when you focus on what matters, everything else compounds.

Jessica Miller
04:37 – 05:06
One of my mentors used to ask me, you know, what is the one thing that you can do? What is the one thing you could focus on that makes everything else after that easier? And putting your focus in the right place is that in your business. When you actually lean into those things that matter, that actually move the needle, it creates this huge momentum, this huge cascade of results that actually is compounding in your business and making things easier.

Jessica Miller
05:06 – 05:25
It’s allowing you to get what you want faster and more powerfully. To put it really simply for you, and I love this quote, Focus is the shortcut to results. It is the shortcut to results. We are in an environment where we want to do all the things to create our results.

Jessica Miller
05:25 – 05:57
But I promise you, if you do less and you do the right things, not all the things, your results will come faster and easier. So, the power of focus is huge. and we want to make sure that we are focusing in the right places on the right things to get that big ROI we always talk about with the things that we already have and the tools that we already have in our business and within us, okay? So, these are the places that I have found that you get the fastest growth when you focus on them.

Jessica Miller
05:57 – 06:19
So, I’m going to share these three things with you that I have found in my business, and I have found coaching hundreds of clients to grow more easily, to actually create more power and more results in their business. The first place is your ability to focus on your goals. you need to know where you’re going. And not only do you need to know where you’re going, those things need to be top of mind.

Jessica Miller
06:19 – 06:43
You need to define those actual and aligned goals, not vanity metrics, not the random things that everyone else is doing. The things that will get you what you want in your life and in your business. The real things that are going to create all of the stuff that we work so hard for and all the things in our business that we have built this to create. You want to have goals that are aligned, they are clear, and they are on point.

Jessica Miller
06:44 – 07:03
And you want to focus on those things. When you know what your North Star is, it is easier to filter decisions and figure out what it is you are not going to do. One of my coaches always says, you know what, I’m successful because I say no to 85% of the things that come across my desk. I love this.

Jessica Miller
07:03 – 07:23
I emulate, I channel this in my brain when I am trying to make decisions. Focus is one of my strengths. By StrengthsFinders, if any of you have ever done that, focus is my strength. And I love dialing into it because it really allows me to get laser clear on the things that are actually going to move the needle for me.

Jessica Miller
07:23 – 07:42
I can see how those things are going to create those results, and I can say no to every single thing that is not in that way. I want to give you an example of what I mean by this. Imagine you’re a boutique owner, you have a big business, and you’re growing. And it’s great, but it feels like a big lift, okay?

Jessica Miller
07:43 – 07:49
And maybe that’s because you’re launching offers every quarter. Right? Have any of you ever been in that world? I have.

Jessica Miller
07:49 – 08:13
I used to run an accelerator program where I ran that program every single quarter. Ten people to get them in and, you know, I would just repeat it. Well, instead of this person focusing on launching a new offer every single quarter, what if they focused on optimizing the top product line, like the things that are actually working? What would that look like?

Jessica Miller
08:14 – 08:29
And I’ve had a lot of clients that have done this, right? They’re doing all the things, whether you’re a brick-and-mortar med spa or maybe you’re an online coach. I’ve had both of those clients. and they’re like, let’s do the manifestation thing and let’s do this mastermind and let’s do this other thing.

Jessica Miller
08:29 – 08:51
They’re always putting out something new. Or maybe you’re brick and mortar and you’re like, let’s try this new product or let’s put this new service in. Instead of doing that, if you optimized for your top products, do you wanna know what the result of that? For every one of these businesses, they have increased their profit easily, like 20% or more.

Jessica Miller
08:53 – 09:21
and they have reduced their monthly workload significantly. Because not only do you get more profitable when you optimize because your inputs are less, it is a less of a lift and you have less expenses, things become a lot more efficient and you become a lot more focused. So, there’s so many like cost savings to that and you can iterate quicker and it’s just so much more powerful. But the other thing that happened is your workload drops.

Jessica Miller
09:22 – 09:29
So, your team is not running around all over the place. You are not running around all over the place. You know exactly where you’re going. You know what those top line products are.

Jessica Miller
09:30 – 09:47
You know like where the rubber is hitting the road and you go. And let me tell you, you make so much more. You get so much more back because you’re getting back all that time and that energy and all that money and you grow so much more easily. because you know what those goals are and you’re focused and doubled down on them.

Jessica Miller
09:47 – 10:08
Okay, so the first place is focusing on your goals. The second place is focusing on the present moment. Okay, I’m going to just stand on my little soapbox here and say very transparently, there’s nothing more that I love to do than look into the future. In fact, futuristic is another one of my strengths in StrengthsFinders.

Jessica Miller
10:08 – 10:32
Besides focus, it’s futuristic. However, the one thing we really can control are the things that are happening right now. And one step further to that is not only the things that are happening right now, the things that are happening right now that are on the plan and tightly connected to those things that we just talked about before, which are your goals and the things that are going to move the needle in your business that are connected to them.

Jessica Miller
10:33 – 11:00
Shiny object syndrome and future tripping, and I love that word, future tripping, kill momentum because we get stuck in the swirl of like all these things that frankly we can’t control and that are, they’re just shiny objects. And I’m not saying don’t have intentional space carved out to think about the future, right? When you think about goals, we think about the future. Or to even dream and scheme around what that looks like.

Jessica Miller
11:01 – 11:27
But when it takes you out of the things that you need to be doing right now that are important for your business and are actually going to create the results you want, you end up really tanking your growth. And unfortunately, or fortunately, the only thing we can control right now is in the present moment. So, we want to focus on the next right thing. We want to focus on the next best opportunity.

Jessica Miller
11:28 – 11:37
Not all the opportunities, not everything in the future. What is happening right in front of you. Those things right in front of you are the things that move the needle. Not the stuff that’s not happening.

Jessica Miller
11:38 – 11:46
Not the stuff that happened already. Not the stuff that’s happening in six months. It’s right now. And we want to make sure that we stay focused on the present moment.

Jessica Miller
11:47 – 12:11
I have had a client, and one of my clients, I’ve had a med spa client actually, that this was really important. She was really focused on scaling and growing, and she thought that that meant adding. So, one of the things that she wanted to do was add more services, add a second location. She wanted to really think about growth from this place of future, you know, future casting.

Jessica Miller
12:12 – 12:52
And again, that’s not bad, but what she needed to do right now and what we worked on was actually increasing the retention of her existing clients in her business right now, and then reactivating those people into her current spot and her current locations with her current offers that were selling and were amazing. And when we did that, she could put down all of that heavy lift, and when we really leaned into those levers that were working and found the way that her clients were coming in and consuming those, she did things like run events and put out promotions and create bundles that created $30,000 for her in a weekend.

Jessica Miller
12:52 – 13:28
In a weekend. And not only just $30,000 in a weekend, but because of the angles that we took and the packages that we created and the programs that we created, it also led into her monthly recurring revenue. So, things like memberships and special programs and VIP options not only allowed her to generate that income so that it was a one-time acute influx of cash, but it actually was really sticky. And frankly, it was just the beginning, because when you have that monthly recurring revenue, when you’re doubling down on the things that work, guess what you can do?

Jessica Miller
13:28 – 13:50
You can pull those levers over and over and over again. So, focusing on the present moment, focusing on the next right thing in front of you right now, moves the needle. And here’s the thing, it always sets the stage for the other things that you want to create in the future. It always sets a more powerful foundation, but we need to stay focused in the present moment.

Jessica Miller
13:52 – 14:13
The third thing that I think is probably the most important thing on here, besides everything else that I said, and this is going to sound very funny when I say this out loud, but you’re going to know what I mean by this because it is so true and is the underpinning of all this. You want to make focus itself your number one priority. I am a creative person.

Jessica Miller
14:13 – 14:28
I work with creative entrepreneurs. I work with highly functioning, you know, A++ people, those overachievers that can do so many amazing things, and they’re very creative. They’re constantly thinking about other things. And I’m that way too.

Jessica Miller
14:28 – 14:49
But let me just tell you that when I figured out that focus was my profit superpower, like it was the hidden thing in my business, that became my number one focus. And yes, it took so much for me to redirect. Like, nope, what am I supposed to be doing right now? Nope, what is the most important thing?

Jessica Miller
14:49 – 15:03
Nope, what is the thing that’s going to get me closer to where I want to go? Nope, where do I want to go? Like, what is the thing I said I wanted? And to be completely transparent, it’s also the thing that I help a lot of my clients with on a daily basis.

Jessica Miller
15:04 – 15:49
is coming back to focusing on what matters, focusing on leveraging your focus, doubling down on your ability to like deep dive in and do what needs to get done and to have that be the most important part of your business and what it is that you’re putting into your business and letting go of the rest. So, if you treat focus like a resource to protect, really like structuring your time, getting clear on your plans, guarding your calendar, making sure it’s on there, saying no to 85% of the things that come across your desk, you will be shocked at how much more you have to give and how much easier of a lift it becomes to grow in your business.

Jessica Miller
15:50 – 16:11
Things that come out of this or that are really important as a result of this is you have more mental clarity. You can bake in things like recovery time. You’re like, you’re not an asset that you’re constantly like grinding through things, right? You even have these sort of reset rituals that you can put in there that replenish this focus that allow you to you know, filter out all of that noise.

Jessica Miller
16:12 – 16:52
And when you make focus a focus, and you really lean into that, you will be shocked at how much more you produce, because you’re not trying to be everywhere or everything to everyone. I have said many times that I think we are in a focus crisis. And with all the advent of all of the software and all of the tools that can do all of the things, you know, faster, better, you know, whatever we can create now at an infinitely more faster pace than we could before. The problem is that Many of those things that we’re going to go into the abyss to create because we can are not the things we should be focusing on.

Jessica Miller
16:53 – 17:38
Like AI and all these things are great until they are taking you into the things that frankly you shouldn’t be focusing on in your business right now anyway. and that’s where it really becomes problematic. 60% of the calls that weren’t serving her, the touch points that weren’t serving her, to protect the things in her business that actually were important, including like deep work blocks, the things that only she could do, like be a guest on a podcast, or go and do business development activities, or talk to different people, or raise visibility of her business.

Jessica Miller
17:39 – 18:02
When she cut out all of the other stuff that was actually not where she should be spending her time focusing, she doubled her revenue and cut her delivery time in half. It was astonishing. So, she got people into her programs faster. She was able to have a more powerful impact on them while they were in her program because she had the space and time to focus on the things that really mattered.

Jessica Miller
18:03 – 18:35
And she actually was able to create much, much more from there with half the inputs. So, we want to make sure that we are protecting our focus. We want to make sure that we are protecting that energy and that it is our number one priority because it is one of the most powerful things that you can do in your business to create profits. Now, I want to also touch on the three common distractions that derail high earners or high achieving entrepreneurs from actually focusing in on this.

Jessica Miller
18:35 – 19:01
So, number one, it’s consuming too much instead of actually creating and doing the things. We have all been like the person that’s consuming all the podcasts, all the courses, we’re looking at competitors’ content, we’re listening to everything else that all the people in our mastermind groups are telling us. Like it feels like working and it feels like we’re doing the things. And we also often are doing the things in our business that maybe we don’t have to be doing.

Jessica Miller
19:01 – 19:18
And I’m going to get to that next, you know, because we can. All of those things that feel like working but dilute our focus from what it was that we’re supposed to be actually doing are killing our growth. They’re killing our profits. And we want to make sure that we are very careful that we don’t get into that pool.

Jessica Miller
19:19 – 19:45
As I alluded to, another thing is solving problems that aren’t yours to solve. So maybe there’s team issues, client drama, buying new software you don’t need. All of these things that divert your focus from that high-level strategic work that only a CEO can do can be really damaging. And this is why it’s so important that when we have a team, we actually are delegating to them.

Jessica Miller
19:45 – 20:13
We actually are letting them create the outcomes that we need and not micromanaging how they’re doing it and getting involved in everything. And that includes having the right people in the right place and having the systems for it and having the processes, you know, delineated. But when we start getting into the things that are not, like not problems we need to solve, it takes our focus off of the things that we actually need to be doing that actually drive our business. And then as I mentioned before, like jumping into the future too often, right?

Jessica Miller
20:14 – 20:24
Everyone loves to future click cast. I love it. Dreaming and scheming, one of my favorite things. But a lot of times we’re planning like 10 steps ahead without executing on the next thing in front of us.

Jessica Miller
20:24 – 20:38
And that is the problem. We get stuck in ideation over action. And that kind of thing really, really, really kills us. So, we want to be careful of these pitfalls because that can really tank our focus.

Jessica Miller
20:38 – 20:51
It could, you know, you say yes to one thing, you say no to something else. We want to stay in our lane. We want to hone in our focus on the things that actually really matter in our business to actually propel us forward. And we want to be careful to not get pulled off course.

Jessica Miller
20:52 – 21:04
So, focus is your passive. Focus is your fastest path to growth. Let me get it out here. It is the profit lever hiding in plain sight.

Jessica Miller
21:04 – 21:22
When you dial up your focus, you will dial up your profits. Where you focus matters. Goals, present moment execution, protecting your energy is key. That is really where you want to be, making sure you’re doubling down on that focus and you’re really protecting those pieces.

Jessica Miller
21:23 – 21:39
Eliminating distractions is just as powerful as choosing what to focus on. I want to let that sink in. Eliminating distractions is just as powerful as choosing what to focus on. What you say no to is equally important as to what you say yes to.

Jessica Miller
21:40 – 21:47
Cut the noise. Reclaim your power. Focus in on the things that matter. Stop getting pulled into the undercurrent.

Jessica Miller
21:48 – 22:19
I know this is hard, but if you do it, it becomes a habit. and it really also becomes an identity shift because you become somebody that is not going to be pulled into all the directions. It’s going to be someone who is clear on where they’re going, what actually moves the needle, and where they’re going next, and what they need to do to get there, and nothing else. And if you choose to do something else, which sometimes happens, let’s be real, you do it with the clarity of knowing you’re doing it and you’re not just being pulled around all over the place.

Jessica Miller
22:19 – 22:32
You’re doing it in a very, very intentional way. So, focus isn’t about doing less. It’s about doing the right things with more intention. And when you double down on what matters most in your business, you create momentum that compounds.

Jessica Miller
22:32 – 22:38
Focus creates momentum that compounds. You don’t need more tools. You don’t need more ideas. You don’t need more hours.

Jessica Miller
22:38 – 23:15
You need more focus. And when you protect that focus, like it’s the most valuable asset in your business, because it is, growth becomes inevitable. Now, I want you to take a moment and I want you to go to the show notes and I want you to download the worksheet that I have that is going to allow you to double down on these things. I want you to take, literally, it’s going to take you like five minutes, to uncover where do you need to double down more on the things that actually you should be focusing on.

Jessica Miller
23:16 – 23:32
And then I want you to identify what are the things that are those distractions, like what is taking you away from it, okay? So where do you need to be focused so that you’re clear on those things that we talked about, and then what is distracting you? And then here is your homework. Here are the action items.

Jessica Miller
23:32 – 24:00
I want you to pick one thing, and you will be able to see it materialize on that worksheet. One thing that you are going to lean into that is going to cause your business to become more profitable and grow immediately when you start doing more of it. So, what is one of those things that you’re going to lean into that is creating more focus, that is doubling down on your focus, that’s going to create more growth? and then I want you to identify one thing you are no longer available for.

Jessica Miller
24:01 – 24:15
In other words, that you are going to stop doing that is distracting you from what it is that you should be doing and is robbing you of the growth you deserve in your business. Okay? So, I want you to go do that right now. This is going to be the most powerful five minutes.

Jessica Miller
24:16 – 24:24
Every single person on this call has the tool and the gift and the superpower of focus right now. Let’s go mine it. Let’s go mine it. Okay?

Jessica Miller
24:25 – 24:44
Also, right now you are listening to episode 199. Can you believe it? Can we just have a moment of silence here? I am so grateful for all of you that are listening to this podcast for what this has become over 200 episodes of this journey, of this lifetime, of being on the airwaves with so many of you.

Jessica Miller
24:44 – 25:11
And I know that some of you have just come here now and we are so grateful for you. And there are some of you who have been on this journey for all 200 episodes and some of you that are like binging them right now. Well, let me just tell you, we are celebrating you and all the momentum and all of the amazing things with a very special 200th episode coming up in a week. And there are some really amazing things that are being planned around that episode.

Jessica Miller
25:11 – 25:25
to really love on all of you and to create so much excitement and celebration around this special time for us. I gotta tell you, I cannot believe we’re here. It is amazing. We’re talking three plus years of doing this every single week with all of you.

Jessica Miller
25:26 – 25:53
So, if you are not subscribed to this podcast, subscribe. If you are not following us on social media, make sure you follow us because we are going to be letting you know what is coming and we want you to be part of it. So, make sure that you’re subscribed, make sure that you’re following us on all of the interwebs where we are, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, so that you are the first to know about this. If you are not on our email list, get on our email list, because that’s the other place that we’re talking about this.

Jessica Miller
25:54 – 26:03
And please share this with other people. This is one of my most favorite corners of the internet. It really is. It is such an honor to be here with all of you.

Jessica Miller
26:03 – 26:13
I truly believe on a very deep level; people need to hear this message. They need to be growing a business in a way that feels easy. It feels in alignment. It is creating growth.

Jessica Miller
26:13 – 26:26
They are making the money and the impact that they want. No one should have to grow a business where they feel like they are struggling and it’s a huge lift. It does not have to be that way. This is the best time to be an entrepreneur and I am here for it to help you on this podcast.

Jessica Miller
26:27 – 26:42
So, if you know somebody who needs this, please share it with them. and get them in on the party, because that is going to be one of the most fun parts. So, I cannot wait to see all of you here next week. Tune in for a very special 200th episode and stay tuned for all of the awesomeness that’s coming.

Jessica Miller
26:43 – 26:48
And I cannot wait to celebrate with all of you in a week. All right, everyone, have an awesome week.


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