Advanced Riskologists: Tammy Strobel on Embracing Minimalism

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I was sitting at a cafe a few days ago with Tammy Strobel from RowdyKittens, what I consider an excellent blog about minimalism and simple living, and she asked me point blank, “Tyler, do you consider yourself a minimalist?”

I had to think for a minute, but when I finally came up with my answer, all I could say is, “I guess not.” Then, I went on to explain how certain things about the minimalist movement really spoke to me and certain things kind of turned me off.

It was a great discussion, but when we left, I couldn’t help but feel like I didn’t really give her the right answer. When she interviewed me for RowdyKittens recently, she asked me the question again, and I gave what I think is a much better answer.

I said, “I consider myself more of a maximalist with minimalist tendencies.”

Basically, I like to keep my life really simple and lean so that I can fit more interesting experiences into it. You can read the whole interview over here, but today, I decided that I’d invite Tammy to share her own views on minimalism, how she applies them to her life, work, and leisure, and what, if anything, a group of riskologists like us could learn from it. Here’s what she had to say:

Sidenote: For those that remember, the last interview here was with Everett Bogue about running a minimalist business. As you can see, I’m on a bit of minimalist kick lately.

Tyler: Let’s get this out of the way first because everyone’s dying to know — how the heck did you come up with the name “RowdyKittens” for your blog?

Tammy: I started RowdyKittens about three years ago and wanted to go with a blog name that was memorable, represented my personality, and would make my readers smile. There is so much bad news in the world and I wanted a fun blog name to combat all the negativity.

With this in mind, I was talking with a few co-workers about how I wanted to start a blog but I didn’t know what to name it. Simultaneously, one of my co-workers shouted “Rowdy” and then another said “Kittens.” I liked the sound of the two words together and thus, RowdyKittens was born. As you can tell by the names of my e-books, I try this two-word hybrid thing a lot.

Tyler: Speaking of which, you just launched a new e-book, Smalltopia. Can you tell us about that and who it’s supposed to help?

Tammy: Smalltopia: A Practical Guide to Working for Yourself will benefit anyone who is interested in leaving a traditional 9-5 job. It’s full of tips, tools, and strategies that will help folks create personal freedom through a very small business.

The part I’m most excited about is the Smalltopia case study section featuring stories from more than a dozen folks that run the gamut of experience. From crazy successful small business owners to those getting ready to break up with their day job, the case study section represents inspiring tales of individuals who have discovered their passions. The list of rockstar contributors include: Leo Babauta, Chris Guillebeau, Jessica Reeder, Chris O’Bryne, Everett Bogue, Russ Roca, Laura Crawford, Karol Gajda, Chloe Adeline, Victoria Vargas, Karen Yaeger, Jules Clancy, Heather Levin, Matt Cheuvront, the one and only Professor of Riskology, and more! (Tyler’s note: Yes, that’s me. I’m honored to be included in Tammy’s e-book.)

Tyler: Why is it so important for someone starting a small business to embrace simplicity and minimalism? Don’t businesses that spend a lot end up making a lot more?

Tammy: Just because you spend a lot of money, it doesn’t mean you’ll make a huge profit. Starting small and making your business scalable is key to making your dream business turn into a reality. If you have to take out a large bank loan just to get started, then you may have to wait a while for that loan. Plus, you might be setting yourself up for failure and additional debt. Excessive debt is a sure way to limit your freedom to make lifestyle changes. By embracing a simple, small, and debt free model you can start immediately on your dream business and take advantage of opportunities that may be traditionally deemed to be more “risky”.

Living a simple, minimalist lifestyle gave me the financial freedom to leave my day job and start my own business in February 2010. In essence, I was able to cut a lot of unnecessary expenses and take a big risk. If I still had a car payment and a huge two bedroom apartment, there is no way I would have been able to build a profitable business around my blog.

Tyler: How long have you been living as a minimalist?

Tammy: We started our downsizing journey about 5 years ago. But, it was really in the last 2 years, after we were inspired by Dee Williams, that we started shedding stuff like crazy. I love having less stuff. It means I don’t have to spend a lot of time cleaning or picking up after myself. Now I can use that time to write, hang out with friends, or to volunteer. Plus, moving is a breeze. For example, my parents helped us move to Portland about 6 months ago. It was a fairly easy move; we packed our stuff in the back of their pick-up and hit the road.

Tyler: What’s the “craziest” thing you’ve done for the sake of simplifying.

Tammy: Initially, I thought selling both cars was crazy. But now that we’ve been car-free for over two years I don’t miss it at all. I don’t have to worry about the car payment, insurance, gas, or repairs. The best thing about going car-free is saving extra cash.

Tyler: Isn’t it kind of risky to give up all your stuff? What if you give something away only to realize you need it again later?

Tammy: Well I didn’t give all of it up. I still think I have a lot of stuff. I’m sure some folks would disagree with me, but right now I feel like I have plenty and I’ve reached my “enough point”.

Living a minimalist lifestyle is also about opening yourself up and acknowledging the need to share with the community. So if I need anything that I previously gave away I could always borrow the item from a friend, family member, or use some kind of sharing service. We always find a way to reciprocate the favor of borrowing something. If my community doesn’t have what I need, then I can always head to the local thrift store and purchase the item.

Tyler: What’s the most important thing you’ve learned from this transformation? What can a riskologist get out of embracing this kind of lifestyle?

Tammy: The most important result from this transformation has been enhanced focus and determination. If I hadn’t started living this lifestyle, I would still be deep in debt, working in a cubicle, and too distracted to question the status-quo and explore new possibilities. Living a simple and minimal lifestyle has removed these distractions and has given me the freedom to take risks and actually pursue my passion of writing. I’ve been able to build a small, profitable business around my blog using the principles of minimalism. By going small and thinking big I focused on my dreams and help other people find their passions.

Advanced Riskology is “for dreamers, believers, adventure seekers, independent thinkers, and anyone else willing to set aside preconceived notions about life and explore new possibilities to what’s safe and what’s dangerous.” Living a simple, minimalist lifestyle can help all of those folks by giving them tools to dismantle their preconceived notions about life and forge a new meaning that focuses on their needs and values.

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Thanks so much to Tammy for taking the time to share her perspective. There’s a lot of good stuff in there.

As she explained above, Tammy recently launched her latest e-book, Smalltopia: A Practical Guide to Working for Yourself. It includes a ton of, well, practical tips, strategies, and resources for starting your own very small business. It also comes with a number of case studies of people who have either done this themselves or are in the midst of doing it and I contributed my own small section to the e-book.

Tammy creates great stuff and I’m more than happy to promote it. If you decide to pick up a copy, you’ll be supporting my work here at Advanced Riskology.