People are lazier than you think. This was an aha moment I had while remodeling older self-storage properties for my last company, Bargain Storage. This aha came when we bought a property with second-floor storage units only accessible by stairs.

The second-floor storage was only a quarter occupied. We figured we would just lower the price a little, clean it up, and it would fill. It didn't. I reasoned that many renters had to bring their things downstairs to move out of their house or apartment, so they shouldn't have an issue climbing them to a storage unit for the right price. But they didn't rent at any price.

We decided to bite the bullet and install an elevator. And they filled up!

While this is the most obvious example, there are many others where, when we bit the bullet and catered to the lazy, it worked, and we made more money because of it -- enough to pay for the upgrade and then some. In our current company, Carefree RV Storage, propane is a good example: Customers asked for it to be onsite rather than at a gas station a few miles away. It was costly to build, required special training, and we had to fill tanks daily. But, we get 5-star reviews mentioning the convenience of it, which propels more sales and allows us to charge a little more for our space.

Now, when faced with a feature request or design question, I always opt to cater to laziness and admit the customer is right. After all, what we want to do isn't the point of being in business.

I asked a few members of EO Portland if they catered to laziness in their businesses. My inbox filled up with examples and anecdotes. Here are three more ways companies achieved this:

1. Craft a Real-Time Pricing Solution

Justin Riordan, the founder of home-staging company Spade and Archer, shared his aha moment: He needed to buy some razor blades, but instead of driving a few blocks to buy them at Walgreens, he took out his phone and ordered them from Amazon, which took two minutes instead of 30 minutes. "I realized at that moment that it was too hard to work with my company," he said.

As a result, Spade and Archer dismantled their entire sales process, built an instant-pricing machine, and made it so that clients could get a set price in under five minutes -- instead of two weeks. Their sales process used to involve two or three phone calls, in-person meetings and took a total of two weeks. Their former sales rate was around 33 percent after a site visit; it is now 98 percent after a site visit.

2. Unleash Efficiency with Subscription Models

Augusto Carneiro, founder of Nossa Familia Coffee, shared a great example of catering to the lazy: Online coffee subscriptions!

Customers choose their favorite coffee, the quantity they want, and the frequency of shipments. They enter payment info once, and voilà: They get a guaranteed supply of freshly roasted coffee on hand at all times!

"We recommend people start with a two-pound bag monthly for optimal shipping and maximum savings," Augusto explained. From there, skipping a shipment or speeding it up is super easy. Also, there's no such thing as having too much on hand. Coffee makes a great gift -- it's like having a bottle of wine handy for that dinner party!

Nossa Familia offers additional benefits, such as early access and discounts, but the "set it and forget it" convenience is the number one benefit of being a coffee subscriber. It's a win-win because, from a business perspective, it is tremendously helpful to spread out shipments throughout the month and provide predictability for their roasting and production team.

3. Expand Customer Communication Options

Five Star Guitars co-founder Geoff Metts shared some of the company's recent attempts to increase convenience for customers by expanding interactions beyond store hours:

• A live chat system on the website, linked to Facebook, allows web customers to ask questions in real time without coming in or even picking up the phone.

• A dedicated text line empowers customers to communicate with the store via text message for all manner of reasons, including work order updates, stocking inquiries, or placing special orders.

• Online scheduling software enables students to purchase, schedule, and reschedule lessons at their convenience. The system fosters smoother communication between students and teachers while automating standard communication between students and the store (such as scheduling reminders, etc.). As a bonus, it enables the store to offer auto-pay for recurring students.

"We have received genuinely positive feedback from customers since making these changes," Geoff said. "We endeavor to make every decision based on whether it makes Five Star Guitars a better place to work or shop. While the live chat and text line have definitely made things more convenient for customers, the online scheduling has helped everyone involved through automation."