Interview Lydia Lee
Want a guest who helps service-based business owners build a business around their life, not the other way around? Let’s talk.
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About my work
I’m Lydia Lee, creator of the Tiny Business Method. I work with service-based business owners who’ve outgrown the business they built, or whose business has outgrown them and gotten more complicated than they ever intended. Either way, they’re good at what they do. What’s changed is what they want from it.
Most have already tried the obvious fixes. Rebranding. Niching down. A new marketing push. It never quite sticks, because the business was never actually the problem. That’s the layer I help them work on: designing the next chapter of their body of work, inside a tiny business model that’s profitable, sustainable, and actually enjoyable to run.
I love speaking about…
Designing a Tiny Business on Purpose
Most business owners I talk to aren’t actually trying to build an empire. They just never gave themselves permission to stop acting like they were. We talk about what it looks like to build something intentionally small and genuinely profitable, without the pressure to keep scaling it.
The Human Behind The Business
Strategy is usually not the problem. I’ve worked with people who have the clearest niche, the best offer, the right pricing, and still feel stuck. What we actually need to look at is the identity layer underneath it all, and that’s the conversation most business coaches skip.
Redefining Success
At some point, most business owners realize they’ve been chasing a version of success they didn’t actually choose. This is about what happens when you stop measuring yourself against someone else’s definition and start building something that fits the life you actually want.
Minimalist Business Principles
I once had eight offers on the go at the same time (yes, it was as chaotic as it sounds). What I’ve learned since then about simplifying, what actually needs to exist in a business and what’s just noise, is probably the most practical thing I talk about.
The ‘Sweet Spot’
The work that sits at the intersection of what you’re genuinely good at, what you care about, and what people will pay for. Most people are sitting closer to it than they think. They’ve just been describing it wrong.
The Success Trap
A lot of business owners build something that looks successful and realize, a few years in, they’ve rebuilt the exact job they started this to get away from. We talk about what it actually looks like to catch that pattern and redesign the business once you’re already in it, not before you start.
Check out my contributions
Where I’ve been interviewed and featured
Podcast Features:
Press mentions and features:
- The Globe & Mail – Dream job 2.0: As offices and expensive housing lose their lustre, digital nomads take to the road
- The Telegraph – Hate your job? These ‘gurus’ are here to help
- The Guardian – Come with an open mind: the people who live at work
- Huffington Post – How I turned my dream life into my real life
- Huffington Post – Six signs it’s time to quit your job
- Forbes – 4 Ways To Build A Strong, Service-Based Business On The Side In Less Than A Year
- Forbes – Lesson I learned from leaving a six figure job
- Virgin – Behind the technology of ‘solopreneurship’
- Observer – 12 Powerful Habits I Have Stolen From Ultra-Successful People
- Pique Magazine – Ditch the office grind for your dreams
Other publications and videos:
- Go Solo – Build a Meaningful Business
- Starter Story – How I Started A $10K/Month Career Transition Coaching Business
- Business Heroine Magazine – Hot Pursuit of Freedom
- Wifi Tribe – Remote Work Insights By Lydia Lee
- Open World Magazine – Can Authenticity Transform your Business?
- Women Digital Nomads – On doing what you love and the power of support
Who dis?
I’ve been helping service-based business owners do less on purpose since 2013. My people have already built something real, they’re not starting from scratch. What they’ve outgrown is the version of the business that got them here.
My own business runs at about 25 hours a week. Bali is my home base but I split my time across Southeast Asia, Europe, and North America, including regular trips back to Malaysia to spend time with the aunt who raised me. That flexibility was always what the business was for.
I co-host the Small on Purpose podcast and I think a right-sized business is one of the most underrated decisions you can make.