Work Less, Earn More

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!

If you’re an overachiever, doing less doesn’t feel like the answer to earning more OR achieving your goals.   Because doing less feels counterintuitive to both of those things.   And by doing less—working less?!—you might feel guilty. You might even feel bad.   But according to today’s guest, doing less and scaling back doesn’t mean your business and life is going to fall apart. Instead, it could actually be the turning point you need to become more profitable and creative!   Kate Northrup is the bestselling author of Do Less, founder of Origin Collective, a membership site for female entrepreneurs who want to grow their businesses while doing less, and mom of two little ones.   Listen to the full episode to hear: How Kate launched her membership site and got her first members Different launch strategies Kate's tried and what she's learned from them Pros and cons of having a larger or smaller team How asking "what would this look like if it were simple?" can change everything   Learn more about Kate Northrup: katenorthrup.com Kate’s new book, Do Less The Kate and Mike Show Instagram @katenorthrup Facebook @Kate Northrup Twitter @Kate Northrup YouTube @Kate Northrup     Learn more about Gillian: Join Startup Society (promo code: earnmore) Profit Planning Challenge Get in touch!  

As my business grows, it’s going to get harder, right, Gillian?   Nope. In my experience, it gets EASIER—even with three kids AND a newborn.   Now, that’s not to say I haven’t faced challenges. Of course I have! And in your journey to grow a successful business, so will you!   And some of those challenges will relate to HOW you work and WHEN you work as you seek to balance family and business responsibilities.   Beyond the logistics of running a business and parenting, one of the MOST important things that really matters is that you truly enjoy what you’re doing.   Oftentimes, we simply assume that things are going to get harder the bigger our business grows. That in itself can hold you back from growing your business into its full potential.   But if you truly enjoy what you’re doing, you show up every day, get better at what you do, and grow through the challenges that creating and growing a business naturally brings.   In today's episode, I'm going to walk you through a few of my go-to tips and tricks on how to run a business while parenting (and homeschooling!) at the same time. And for those of you who aren’t parents—maybe you have a day job, maybe you’re in school, or maybe you have a side hustle—these tips apply to you, too!   Listen to the full episode to hear: My #1 habit for doubling my productivity every day Whether to multitask or not and how to get it all done when you simply DON’T have the time Simple tips for ensuring you have the energy to show up as the person you need to be to do what you need to do And how to approach that perennial question: should you use technology as a babysitter?   Links: 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 May 2020.   Listen to the full episode to hear: What my team and I did when my daughter showed up early! Why I wish I would have paid myself an average monthly income from the very beginning and an easy way to figure out your monthly salary How much a new hire is costing the business and why we made that decision Why the entrepreneurial mindset is SO necessary as you deal with the ups and downs of business How our product sales compare to our best month ever—April—and what impacted the numbers this month   Links: Instagram: @gillianzperkins Join Startup Society (promo code: earnmore) Profit Planning Challenge Get in touch!

When you’re selling online, most people assume that a bigger audience is better.   More people, more money, right?   According to today’s guest, a six-figure launch isn’t about your list size and it’s not just about how awesome you are—really! Instead, it’s about how you structure your offer, how you price it, and how you build a relationship with your audience. There’s a method behind it.   Tarzan Kay is an email marketing expert and former copywriter-for-hire who’s been able to generate massive revenue with a small audience. In this episode, Tarzan shares exactly how she did a $151,000 launch last year.   And, naturally, she shares all of her expert email marketing and copywriting tips on how she stands out in a crowded market—and how you can, too.   Listen to the full episode to hear: What counterintuitive pricing strategy to use if your list is small How you *structure* your offer matters and how sometimes it’s about more than your sales tactics What "small list tactics" you can use to maximize your sales when your email list is small Why you shouldn't WAIT to launch—and how it can actually be the best thing you can do to grow your audience   Tarzan’s Links: TarzanKay.com 10 Free Email Promo Sequence Swipes Instagram: @tarzan_kay The Must-Have Tool For Promoting To A List of Less Than 1000 Subscribers   Gillian’s Links: Join Startup Society (promo code: earnmore) Profit Planning Challenge Get in touch!  

Last year I spent over $20,000 on copywriters.   That is a lot of money by the standard of any small business, and it was a very significant chunk of my expenses last year.   You might think that it sounds crazy to spent $20,000 on copywriting services.  But consider this:  if you're earning $50k with a 1% conversion rate, you could bump it up to just a 3% conversion rate and generate $150,000!   That's a really big increase!   By improving my copy-–and increasing my conversion rate–by even a small amount, I can generate significantly more revenue and profit for my business.  So spending $20,000 on copywriting suddenly doesn’t sound so crazy.   In today’s episode, I want to share what  I learned through the process of spending so much money on copywriting services.   I’m going to break down whether or not it was worth it, as well as how to consider whether hiring a copywriter is a smart move for your business. I'm also going to share with you the impact that investing this money has had on my business – good and bad.   Listen to the full episode to hear: How hiring a copywriter can (potentially!) be a great investment but it can also have a lot of challenges 2 BIG copywriting projects I outsourced, and how each of them turned out What 5 big lessons I learned about copywriting, marketing, success, and taking shortcuts Whether or not I will work with copywriters again in the future and what I'll do differently   Links: Join Startup Society (promo code: earnmore) Profit Planning Challenge Get in touch! Episode 16 with Ashlyn Carter