In a lot of ways, life around the globe has been getting steadily better.
Life expectancy is up, remarkably so in developing nations. In the last century, India’s life expectancy has nearly tripled. In Indonesia, it’s more than doubled. Much of the developing world has enjoyed similar gains.
Global literacy has reached more than 85% for all people over 15 years of age. Access to safe drinking water is at 71%. The number of people living in abject poverty has fallen steadily since the start of this century.
But the flip side of the improvements around the globe is a rapidly changing climate, and a climate crisis that is intensifying.
Here’s a moral conundrum. How do you put the brakes on climate change without putting the brakes on economic growth in developing nations?
The degrowth movement attempts to provide a solution to this two-sided problem.
Degrowth is the idea that the best way to turn the tide of climate change is to stop prioritizing economic growth in already-wealthy countries. Rather, those who promote a degrowth approach advocate for governments that meet basic needs for everyone in a society while discouraging (or even regulating) overall consumption.
A degrowth utopia would have a living wage, work-saving products like washing machines and refrigerators and last longer, and shorter work weeks. Transportation, healthcare, and housing would be provided or subsidized by the government. The emphasis would be on community and connection rather than consumption.
It sounds lovely. There’s just one problem.
Gross domestic product — the measure of total transactions within an economy — is the best indicator we have of overall well-being. Higher GDP tracks well with things like greater access to education, longer life expectancies, lower child mortality, and more women in the work force.
If we ask developing nations to stop growing economically, we deprive them of greater health, security, and opportunity. We’re also seeing a lot of nations successfully curb carbon emissions while still sustaining economic growth, so maybe we can have our cake and eat it too.
Another problem (okay, there are two problems) is that the pie-in-sky vision of degrowth advocates doesn’t come with a practical set of instructions for getting there. Still, the movement is gaining traction.
And that has a lot to do with what it symbolizes. The idea that individuals are more than consumers; that economics isn’t the only measure of value; that in our high-speed, high-tech, highly optimized lives we’re losing an important sense of connection; that nature is essential.
In short, the degrowth movement taps into a need to slow down. A need for simplicity. A need for meaning.
At an individual level, degrowth looks a lot like minimalism.
The Quietly Growing Minimalist Market
The minimalist market has been growing quietly since the beginning of this century — possibly longer.
By 2018, one survey showed that 10 percent of people are already living a minimalist lifestyle and another 14% are actively working on being more minimalist. And it’s no wonder.
Other research shows, we’re drowning in stuff, information, distraction, and scheduling.
- The average US household contains 300,000 items.
- The size of our homes has tripled over the last 50 years.
- One in ten Americans pays for off-site storage.
- In the course of your lifetime, you’ll spend more on shoes and jewelry than you will on higher education.
- You’ll also spend 153 days of your life searching for lost items.
- The average household spends more than eight hours watching TV in a day.
People want less. They want less noise. Less stuff. Less busy-ness. They want less so they can enjoy their lives more.
But breaking the habits of consumerism can be difficult. Which means people often seek help on their minimalist journey.
The Drivers Behind Minimalism
Where there’s an audience, there’s an opportunity. And if the idea of reducing your “stuff footprint” appeals to you, you might find yourself at home in the minimalist market.
The first step would be figuring out what aspect of minimalism (or combination of aspects) appeals to you.
Decluttering and Organization
The most obvious approach to minimalism is simply to reduce the amount of stuff you have. And then to reduce the amount of stuff you buy. This approach emphasizes organization, a clean and airy living space, high-quality products, and creative storage solutions.
Sustainability
Another type of minimalism is more environmentally focused. Here, you’ll find audiences interested in eating organic and/or local foods, supporting small businesses, and reducing their overall impact on the environment.
Community
An undercurrent of all minimalism is that we get more happiness from experiences and connections with people than we do from possessions. Community-driven minimalism may take a closer look at reducing spending and redirecting the savings toward travel or local charities. Time spent with friends and family, working on hobbies, or volunteering is central to this style of minimalism.
Authenticity
To a certain extent, all minimalist movements are striving for a life with more meaning and authenticity. They’re motivated by a desire to know themselves better, to live with more purpose, and to have real experiences… not those buffered by affluence.
In addition to these drivers, there are also many niches within minimalism:
- Finances and budgeting
- Travel
- Home organization and tiny living
- Time management
- Parenting
- Food and health
- Mindfulness and discipline
… just to name a few.
Growing a Minimalist Audience
As you can see, minimalism is a big umbrella.
If you’re interested in growing an audience in this industry, it helps if you focus on a smaller niche that falls under the minimalist umbrella.
You might begin writing a blog about downsizing and sustainable living, where you help your readers explore the pros and cons of reducing their living space as well as their environmental impact.
Of you might launch a newsletter that explores the link between discipline, minimalism, and authentic living. In such a newsletter, you might take a mind-body-spirit approach and look at how each informs the other.
Another option would be to focus in on raising children to be minimalists, and how to teach your children the value of people, knowledge, and experience over things.
The mixing and matching possibilities are endless. The key is to find your focus… and here, that’s as simple as thinking about your own take on minimalism and how you might share it to help others.
Creating a Minimalist Business
Once you have an audience of people interested in your own fresh approach to minimalism, you have a lot of potential opportunities for creating streams of revenue.
Remember to pay attention to your audience — the questions they ask, the comments they make, the pages they spend the most time on, the links they click — these are all attention signals. And they can guide you when you create your revenue model.
Some possibilities include:
Minimalist Consulting
You could offer your own Marie Kondo style services where you work with individuals, families, or groups to help them transition to more minimalist living.
This kind of consulting might include on-site time where you walk a client through the process of purging what they no longer need and planning for what they will keep and how they will make purchases going forward. Or it could be something you do remotely with groups, where you act as guide, outlining their next steps in one session, and having them report back in the next.
Products
From sustainably made products to home-organization items to well-made purchases that enhance a minimalist lifestyle… surprisingly, there are no shortage of products with minimalist appeal.
You could offer your audience reviews on products you’ve tested (along with affiliate links to those products). You could interview artisan producers of your favorite products. You could also feature sponsored products.
Just be sure that your curate any offerings carefully so that they reflect the minimalist brand you’re building.
Subscription Content
If you’re committed to developing and publishing high-value, comprehensive content on a regular schedule, you might deploy a membership model. In that case, you would reserve your best content for paying members and offer them some extras in the way of community and access to you.
Events and Experiences
Because a minimalist-focused audience is often seeking out deeper connections and meaningful experiences, putting together events — particularly events around an off-the-beaten-track experience — is a natural fit for this group.
For example, you might organize a back-to-nature event where attendees dine on locally sourced food while learning from experts about things like keeping bees for honey, identifying and gathering local edible plants, and baking bread.
A Growing Audience Seeking Grounded Guidance
I think it’s fair to say the world has become a more uncertain place in the last two years. It’s no wonder a growing number of people want to strip away all the things that don’t really matter, and zero in on the things that do.
But like any industry, there’s a lot of noise out there about how best to live simply. Which is ironic.
By finding your own focus and sharing it generously, you’ll grow an audience in the best way — by becoming a trusted guide.
If you find yourself exploring a more minimalist lifestyle in any aspect, why not share your journey and help others who are seeking the same thing.