Work Less, Earn More

It can be SO frustrating to start a business, put in the work, and still not make any money.   I get it: it took me a few years of trying before I finally “broke through” and starting making money with my online business. I recently shared a video on my YouTube channel about how I took my blog and business from $0 to $100,000 in revenue in 12 months. But, in the video, I made it extremely clear that those 12 months were not the first twelve months in business.   In fact, I’d already invested a few years into trying to grow my business, trying to make money online, and, in all honesty, completely failing and essentially making $0.   So what changed between now and then?   It wasn’t that my hard work finally paid off, even though that’s a common story you hear among the small business world. Instead, I changed some key things in my business that led to that financial success.   Listen to the full episode to hear: The 5 things I did wrong (and what I see people doing wrong all the time!) that can stop you from making any money in your online business Why too much "patience" can be a bad thing The first thing you have to have to be able to make money online How to tell if you're trying to sell the *wrong* product and figure out what your audience actually wants How long you should stick to ONE strategy before you decide it's time to try something new   Links: This ONE thing increased my income by 1000% (and it didn't cost anything) (YouTube video) Attract Paying Customers Action Plan Join Startup Society (promo code: earnmore) Profit Planning Challenge Get in touch!  

Globally, there are over one million podcasts available—and growing! That is a HUGE number of podcasts.   Given the continuous growth of this industry, it’s no wonder that you’re considering creating one—or want to learn how to make your existing podcast even better than it is now.   There are countless resources available on HOW to start a podcast. That’s why I wanted to take a different approach with this episode and instead explore what determines the success of a podcast, how hosting a podcast impacts your business, and how you can make the most impact on your listeners.   Podcasting is relatively new to me and so that’s why I invited someone on the show who’s been in the game for awhile—someone who could share how to create a podcast that will not only be effective in terms of downloads and listeners, but will actually influence your business and revenue, too.   Tara McMullin is the host of the What Works podcast, founder of the What Works Network, and the co-founder of Yellow House Media. She’s been helping small business owners find what works for them for over a decade. Her goal is to push past the hype and facilitate candid conversations about doing business in the New Economy.   In this episode, Tara’s going to divulge all the ways in which we can make an impact in our communities through podcasting and so much more.   Listen to the full episode to hear: The #1 most important thing you need to figure out about your podcast for it to have the impact you're looking for How to stand out from OTHER podcasts that cover the same topic as your show How finding the right premise for you show makes everything else fall into place How to MARKET your show to build your listener-base and grow your audience   Learn more about Tara McMullin: The What Works Network The What Works Podcast Yellow House Media Follow Tara on Instagram Follow Tara on Twitter   Learn more about Gillian: Join Startup Society (promo code: earnmore) Profit Planning Challenge Get in touch!   Other resources from this episode: How The Premise Of Your Podcast Can Make Your Business More Money by Yellow House Media

Getting results with content marketing takes time.   To put it in perspective, one of my 15-minute YouTube videos can take anywhere between 2-8 hours to finish and have it ready to publish. And one of my blog posts takes anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple hours to write, edit, and publish.   Not only does high-quality content take a lot of time to create but in order to get real results with it, you have to give it as much time and attention it needs so that you can actually get people to read it. It’s no small feat!   If you don’t do all of these things, then you’re wasting the time that you do invest because the content won’t be doing anything for your business. That’s why it’s even more important to choose the right channel for you to see real results.   But how do you choose which of the three types of content is right for you right now? And which will create the biggest results for your business? In today’s episode, I’m going to share with you what I’ve learned from creating each of these types of content, some of the challenges that go along with each of them, and how they have impacted my business.   Listen to the full episode to hear: The pros and cons of blogging, YouTube, and podcasting The different *types* of results each of these types of content create The importance of focus and why you should pick just ONE type of content to create... at least at first   Links: EP 19: Courses VS Membership Sites & How to Decide Which Is Right for YOU Attract Paying Customers Action Plan Join Startup Society (promo code: earnmore) Profit Planning Challenge Get in touch!  

Every month, I’m peeling back the curtain and sharing the ins & outs of my monthly revenue.   These income reports are an in-depth and honest look at how much my business earned, what it cost, and how many hours it took me to do it.   I’ll also share which tasks and projects really ended up paying me best so that you can see how I’m optimizing my business so that I can work less and earn more over time. Plus, you’ll get a time report, breaking down the time I spend on each activity and how that created a financial result (or not).   I hope that you’ll be able to learn from my trial and error, as I work to grow my business, my impact, and my income––all while keeping clear boundaries on my time and personal life.   Today, we’re looking back on July 2020.   Listen to the full episode to hear: Why I'm working less than ever before How much my business earned while I was on vacation How much my TEAM worked while I was out of the office My new schedule and what's coming up in future months   Links: Instagram: @gillianzperkins Join Startup Society (promo code: earnmore) Profit Planning Challenge Get in touch!

A CFO does more than look at numbers—they also look at the big picture to find patterns in the data. Finding those patterns is what leads you, as an entrepreneur, to making better, more informed decisions for your business.   You might dig into the numbers and find that one of your products takes up 80% of your time but only 20% of your revenue—while, on the flip side, you might have a product that takes up much less time and much more revenue.   So how can stepping into the CFO role of your business help you work less, make more money, and make better business decisions? Where should you start? And what steps can you take to create a meaningful strategy?   Enter Susan Boles. Susan is a Virtual CFO and Operations Advisor for agencies, consultants, and coaches at ScaleSpark. She focuses on helping businesses get clear on their numbers and truly understand their inner workings at a deeper level so they can make decisions from a place of intention and purpose—instead of panic. Susan has over a decade of experience as a CFO and software consultant and she's on a mission to help founders build sustainable, resilient businesses.   Listen to the full episode to hear: The ROLE of CFO, and why every business – no matter how small – should have someone doing this work What does "strategy" really mean? Where should our strategy be based? What data to track and how to use it to make more strategic decisions in your business The #1 question to ask yourself about EVERYTHING to improve your strategy and create better results Why you should be tracking your time first before your financials   Learn more about Susan Boles: scalespark.co Break the Ceiling Podcast @thesusanboles on Instagram @thesusanboles on Twitter @thesusanboles on LinkedIn     Learn more about Gillian: Join Startup Society (promo code: earnmore) Profit Planning Challenge Get in touch!  

Being an entrepreneur and supporting yourself with your own business can mean that your income can fluctuate a LOT from one month to the next—and that can be scary and stressful, making it NO FUN to “be your own boss.”   BUT! There are things that you can do to create a stable cash flow month over month so you can work less and earn more.   You can diversify your income and develop multiple streams of revenue to really stabilize things. This also ensures that you’re earning a consistent amount of money every month and ultimately getting rid of the stress and enjoying the process of actually running your business a whole lot more.   However, there are some traps you can fall into as you try to create multiple streams of income. These mistakes can prevent you from successfully developing your multiple streams, keeping your business small, and ultimately wasting a lot of your time—and, in some cases, you might end up working MORE and earning LESS which is not what we want!   Listen to the full episode to hear: Types of income vs revenue streams A simple, step-by-step process you can follow to start developing multiple streams of revenue Big mistakes to AVOID so you don't waste your time on efforts that won't pay off Best revenue streams for people who are just getting started   Links: EP 19: Courses VS Membership Sites & How to Decide Which Is Right for YOU Attract Paying Customers Action Plan Join Startup Society (promo code: earnmore) Profit Planning Challenge Get in touch!  

When you think about public relations, what comes to mind is probably media mentions and magazine placements. But modern PR is about so much more than that. Today, appearing on podcasts is an essential way for small business owners to grow their brand.   Seriously: entrepreneurs who show up on key podcasts typically get more exposure, build their audience faster, and even get more sales immediately following a podcast appearance, according to today’s guest.   There are so many benefits to incorporating a public relations strategy into your small business—and, of course, I was determined to find out how to take advantage of the most powerful and most leveraged PR strategies that are out there today so that we can get the biggest results with the least amount of effort.   That’s why I’m excited to introduce you to my guest today, Brigitte Lyons.   Brigitte is the founder of Podcast Ally, a podcast booking agency that takes the hassle of researching and pitching podcasts off the to-do lists of their clients.   She originally came to this specialization by accident when her team booked a top podcast for a client and saw that it outperformed the magazines and online news sites her team was working with.   In addition to her agency, Brigitte also runs the Podcast Ally Pro Accelerator to teach other PR pros, talented virtual assistants, and internal teams how to book podcasts for their clients.   Listen to the full episode to hear: Why podcast guest interviews are the #1 PR strategy for busy entrepreneurs Ideas for how to position yourself as a podcast guest + what to talk about How to decide which podcasts are the best fit for you and your brand Best "pitching" practices to increase your odds of getting a YES   Learn more about Brigitte Lyons: Free Pitch List with 50 Podcasts Booking Thought Leaders and Founders podcastally.com Podcast Ally Pro Accelerator @podcastally on Instagram @brigittelyons on Instagram Get Booked On Podcasts Program   Learn more about Gillian: Join Startup Society (promo code: earnmore) Profit Planning Challenge Get in touch!  

Every month, I’m peeling back the curtain and sharing the ins & outs of my monthly revenue.   These income reports are an in-depth and honest look at how much my business earned, what it cost, and how many hours it took me to do it.   I’ll also share which tasks and projects really ended up paying me best so that you can see how I’m optimizing my business so that I can work less and earn more over time. Plus, you’ll get a time report, breaking down the time I spend on each activity and how that created a financial result (or not).   I hope that you’ll be able to learn from my trial and error, as I work to grow my business, my impact, and my income––all while keeping clear boundaries on my time and personal life.   Today, we’re looking back on June 2020.   Listen to the full episode to hear: How being out of the office for maternity leave has impacted expenses How June was our second best month yet even though I barely worked at all What “working almost not at all” actually means specifically How Q2 compared to Q1 and how it turned out to be our best quarter to date And an update on our Facebook advertising struggles   Links: Instagram: @gillianzperkins Join Startup Society (promo code: earnmore) Profit Planning Challenge Get in touch!

I get it. I’ve been there. I wanted to be successful and I didn’t know how because I wasn’t successful yet. So I did what I thought was the right thing: I asked for advice. I found people who I considered to be successful and I asked them what it took to get to where they were—and what I needed to do. In truth, I was looking for a formula—but what I found was not only generic but incredibly unhelpful. I didn’t understand why these successful people wouldn’t just tell me what to do! Were they being stingy or is there simply not a formula for success? Do we all just need to “find our own way?” What I want to know is: is that the truth? Is there really only one way to success? Personally, I think there are two main reasons why people tell you that there isn’t a formula for success. The first one is that they don’t know the formula for success so they just declare that there isn’t one. They think that since they haven’t found it, it isn’t out there. The second reason—which is the real, deeper, bigger reason—is that if we are just looking for a formula for success and success isn’t defined, then the answer is that there isn’t a formula for success at all. At the heart of it, success can mean so many different things to different people. Listen to the full episode to hear: Why everyone *denies* there's a formula for success Why "self-taught" is a myth A simple framework for finding your success formula How to put your formula to work and take ACTION to reach your goals Links: Attract Paying Customers Action Plan Join Startup Society (promo code: earnmore) Profit Planning Challenge Get in touch!  

My membership site is the lifeblood of my business. I started it two years ago and it’s done nothing but good things for my business—and life—ever since. There are a number of benefits that membership sites offer for your business. First, they produce recurring income. This really helps to stabilize your business revenue and profits. Second, they provide ongoing support for your customers. This is incredibly powerful because you learn SO MUCH about your customers and thus are able to serve them better. Truly a win-win. Third, your membership site is active, alive, and constantly growing. It’s not something you launch once. It’s something you can actually build momentum with over time. If you aren’t sure if a membership site is a good fit for you, listen to episode 19 of the podcast where I talk about courses versus membership sites and how to decide between the two. And if you’re ready to dive in on membership sites, listen to today’s episode. Listen to the full episode to hear: The most important thing to consider BEFORE starting your membership site How to make sure a membership site is actually the right move for your business right now The most important steps to get your first members and ensure your program is a success Step-by-step how to put your membership together Links: Attract Paying Customers Action Plan Join Startup Society (promo code: earnmore) Profit Planning Challenge Get in touch!