Entrecon: Talking Books, Business and Balance with Emily Ley

By Savannah Evanoff

Emily Ley is everywhere you look.

The author, business owner and mom to three might be found at her children’s school surrounded by other parents who use her brand of Simplified planners. You might see her in the nearest Target, where her latest guided journal, “A Standard of Grace,” is exclusively sold until March. Or you might spot her snagging a caffeine fix at The Bodacious Brew Thru, a personal favorite.

Ley grew up in Pensacola, moved to Tampa and then returned to the area in August. She is in the process of writing her third book.

“I am going to be writing about busy women burning themselves out,” Ley said, “what it means to run on empty and what it means to come back from that in order to be the women you were made to be.”

The book is due for edit in January, and she is only in the early stages. She likes to work under pressure apparently, she added with a laugh.

Ley is the first keynote speaker at this week’s EntreCon event. She will talk about what it means to say no in business.

“A lot of times as we’re growing a company from a fledgling idea or trying to scale a company, we think we have to say yes to everything,” Ley said. “Every opportunity that comes our way is an opportunity we should take in the name of achievement, success and forward momentum. I’m going to be arguing that that is the opposite of the truth.”

“Many times the best answer to propel your company forward is going to be no.”

Ley has some experience with the word—since nearly cutting her business in half in 2016 by choice.

“We decided to cut 40 percent of our company by closing our wholesale operation,” Ley said. “So many people were like, ‘What are you doing? You’re chopping yourself off at the knees.’ I knew that I started that company to be a flexible mom, and I wasn’t able to do that with the setup we had.”

Simplified started focusing its attention on trying to grow the remaining and more profitable 60 percent.

“We nearly doubled the company by doing that,” Ley said.

Ley’s books aren’t “book” books, she explained.

“Mine are full color with photos and fill-in-the-blank spots,” Ley said. “They’re very interactive. We call them gift books.”

Her first gift book, “Grace Not Perfection,” published in 2016, is about how women hold themselves to impossible standards.

“We’re constantly looking at other people’s highlight reels on social media and telling ourselves our lives are not good enough and we have to be perfect in every area,” Ley said. “We have to do all the things, and we have to do them all perfectly. And that’s just not realistic.”

Ley has to remind herself regularly she can’t do it all and she needs to take care of herself.

“When we run on empty, where does that leave us?” Ley said. “What are we actually giving those people and the things we care about?”

“A Simplified Life” was published soon after. It’s extremely tactical, Ley said.

“It’s all about how to simplify 10 key areas of life that we become overwhelmed with—everything from scheduling to de-cluttering your home to parenting,” Ley said.

“A Standard of Grace,” recently released in Target, is a spinoff from “Grace Not Perfection.” The 2019 Simplified planners also recently released in Target, Office Depot and Staples, but Ley is already working on her 2020 planners, believe it or not, she said.

Having her books and brand carried in these stores is a dream come true, she said.

“I think I screamed the first time I saw it in Target,” Ley said. “I love Target. Who doesn’t love Target? I think our particular customer, follower or friend, they are shopping at Target as well.”

With twin 3-year-olds and a 7-year-old, Ley definitely identifies with her target demographic.

“It has evolved from something I created for myself out of a need, being a completely overwhelmed working mother,” Ley said. “It was something I was running on my own. I was creating it for women just like me.”

Her brand is much bigger than just her now.

“We changed the company name from my name to the name Simplified about a year ago because it was more than just about Emily,” Ley said. “It was about all women in all seasons of life who are finding themselves frantic, frazzled and thirsty for something a bit simpler.”

The message caught like wildfire, Ley said.

“We all want to slow down,” Ley said. “We all want to embrace a simpler life. We all want to know the tactics and strategies for living a life we feel proud of, getting all the things done but also savoring those things we care the most about.”

Seeing people use her organizational tools is surreal.

“It’s been exciting and crazy to me,” Ley said. “People will say, ‘Hey, I use your planners.’ I’m like, ‘Wait, what, really?’”

When Ley went on tour for her second book, it was unreal how many people told her what Simplified planners and her books mean to them.

“We run an internet business. Being online and on social media, it’s easy to live behind a screen,” Ley said. “But getting out there and meeting people and talking to them and hearing how the Simplified brand has impacted them is incredible.”

Ley’s impact is everywhere you look, but she’s happy to live in the one place she feels most at home.

“I don’t think there’s a city in the United States like Pensacola, and I’ve traveled all over,” Ley said. “Pensacola is so mighty. It’s really cool to be home and to see what’s happening here and be part of it.”

To order any of her books or a 2019 Simplified planner, visit emilyley.com