Work Less, Earn More

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 February 2020.   Listen to the full episode to hear: How I worked more than normal this month and why I have a really good excuse Why you need to intentionally create structure in your schedule A few reasons why you might want to work more even if you don't have to How I finally bit the bullet and spent the money on a big, scary expense I've been avoiding for years   Links: Podcast Feedback Form Startup Society GillianPerkins.com  

My online business efforts haven’t always been a success.   But some key choices helped me go from earning squat-diddly to six figures in gross revenue in just 12 months.   First, some back story.   Three years ago, I was supporting my family by working 30-50 hours a week running a local music school and I knew that I needed to do something different.   I wanted to start an online business where I could work when I wanted to work, travel when I wanted to travel, spend time with my kids, and actually make some real money.   I dabbled in different niches and experimented with business ideas for a few years. I was looking for a business idea that would give me the flexibility and freedom that I was looking for.   But nothing was really sticking and nothing was really earning any money.   And, on top of all the hours that I was already working at my “day job,” I was spending another 15-30 hours working on my online business and researching what the missing ingredient was.   After a lot of trial and error, things finally started to click into place. I settled on the business that fascinated me the most––digital marketing courses and services––and set out to become an expert.   Today, I am going to break down the six things I changed to take my business past the six-figure mark.   As you’ll see, it wasn’t just six new things I started doing. Some of these things were simple decisions I made and others were things I stopped doing.   Listen to the full episode to hear: What I was spending my time on when I wasn't earning anything The very counterintuitive thing I stopped doing that increased my income Who I hired to help me grow my business And the market research everyone skips and how once you understand this you never will again   Links: Profit Planning Challenge Startup Society GillianPerkins.com  

As a planner and very detail-oriented person, I tend to create extensive strategic plans for all sorts of things, vacations, daily routines, product launches, and hiring processes to name a few.   But sometimes I find that I run into a bit of a problem: my plans don't always work out.   Sometimes it’s because I chose the wrong tactics, but other times the plans themselves are fine except that they don’t get carried out because of how overwhelmingly detailed I have made them.   Because of this, I have learned to sometimes go with the flow, trust my intuition, and let go of expectations and just see how things work out.   Of course, this approach can be taken too far as well.Take hiring a new team member. On the one hand, if the process is overly structured, then it can wind up being overly bureaucratic–wasting a lot of time and energy and financial resources trying to discern who would be right for the job.   But this can swing too far the other way, as well. Going into the hiring process with absolutely no structure can have the consequence of hiring the wrong person and wasting tons of time and money.   We need to find a balance between structured strategic plans and simply flying by the seat of our pants. Especially if we want to intentionally build online businesses that meet our goals.   My guest today is Megan Minns, an expert at navigating this challenging situation and finding the balance between going with the flow and having the strategic structure needed to lead us directly to the results that we want.   Megan Minns is a productivity coach for ambitious women. She's the creator of Intuitive Execution, as well as the host of the Productive Life Podcast where she shares actionable advice on productivity, business, goal setting, and mindset. Megan has been featured in Inc, Business Insider, and One Woman Shop, and I'm excited to have her on the show.   Listen to the full episode to hear: What Intuitive Execution is and how it can help you get the right things done without so much stress How intuitive execution differs from conventional productivity techniques so you can take a strategic approach to getting things done How to find the balance between extensive strategic planning and letting go of expectations and following your intuition The underrated strategy both Megan and  Gillian used to successfully launch their flagship online courses   Links: Meganminns.com Megan's Intuitive Execution Workshop The Productive Life Podcast Megan on Instagram Megan on YouTube Megan on Facebook Startup Society GillianPerkins.com  

You know that hiring a little help you earn more without having to work quite so much.   You have tasks that you could easily delegate and you’re ready to bring some people to help you with this.   But... you just don't have the budget.   Maybe it’s because your business is still in the startup phase and money is tight.   Or maybe it’s because your profits just aren't yet where you want them to be.   In today's episode, the second part of our series on hiring help, we're diving into the logistics of how to make your first hire when the money just isn’t there.   Last week, we talked about determining whether or not you are ready to hire in the first place, regardless of budget. We also talked about how to strategically hire so that it’s a profitable move for your business.   So if you haven't yet listened to that episode and you're not yet 100% sure about exactly who you should hire in order to really have a positive impact on your business's profits, then go back and listen to that episode first.   Listen to the full episode to hear: How to determine exactly how much money you have available for delegating--including how to free up some funds so that you have more to invest How to mentally prepare for the process of hiring by understanding that it's a long game strategy How to figure out exactly what the outcome is that you're looking by hiring help How to go about finding the right person the specific job position you’re looking to fill And how to ensure that your new team member is actually helping you earn more and work less   Links: Startup Society The Profit Planning Challenge GillianPerkins.com Video: Running a $500k Company With Just 1 Employee Video: How To Get Started With No Money  

Too much work––and too little time: that’s the perennial problem every business owner faces.   If you’re feeling the crunch, chances are you’re already dreaming about delegating some of that work to a new team member.   But you might think that you can’t start hiring because you don’t have the budget.   You're not alone if you're scraping by each month even though you’re working all the hours, making only enough to support yourself. That's the fate of most entrepreneurs. The thought of bringing someone else on board––another mouth to feed––might sound scary and maybe even impossible.   It's kind of a chicken and egg problem. You know you need help if you want to grow your company and your revenue but you can't afford to hire someone with your current revenue.   So in today's episode, I'm going to help you overcome this problem by showing you how to make a strategic decision about exactly who to hire to give your income the biggest boost. And we're also going to discuss the logistics of how to bring this first person on board when the money just isn't there.   Listen to the full episode to hear: How delegating can help you work less and earn more Expensive pitfalls to avoid when making your first hire How to strategically decide WHO you should hire to have the best and biggest impact... especially if you're hiring on a tight budget Who to hire to have the biggest positive impact on your company and specifically on your business’s income.   Links: The Profit Planning Challenge Startup Society GillianPerkins.com

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 January 2020.   Listen to the full episode to hear: How I define passive income and the role it plays in my business A detailed breakdown of my business’s revenue for January What the monthly operation expenses were over the month What the net profit turned out to be And an itemized explanation of how much time it took take make all this happen   Links: Passive Income 101 9 Passive Income Ideas (that earn $1000+ per month) Startup Society GillianPerkins.com Smart Passive Income  

I am quite fond of my membership site because of the recurring monthly revenue that it produces for my business. But what if I told you that it's possible to generate recurring revenue with courses as well? This is the power of selling with an evergreen funnel. And I’m excited to have today’s guest share her brilliant strategy for building hyper-effective evergreen funnels that aren't super complicated. Mariah Coz is an expert at evergreen sales systems. She is someone who I have followed for a long time and consider a virtual mentor. She’s been creating and selling online courses, building webinars, and crafting funnels for years. In that time, her company has helped hundreds of people create and sell courses about everything from watercolor painting, programming, decluttering, football, and everything in between. She is a veteran course creator and a marketing genius. She has a no-BS style and creates insanely high converting webinars, funnels, and launches for herself and her clients using cutting-edge, innovative strategies that no one else is teaching. Listen to the full episode to hear:How to set up an evergreen funnel without all the headachesHow Mariah’s incredibly simple system actually outperforms more complex funnelsWhat the incredibly obvious rule is that almost EVERYONE breaks when building a funnelWhat the best ways are to convert your customers when the cart isn't actually closing Mariah’s Links:Mariahcoz.com Free Evergreen Sales Funnel MasterclassAccelerator ApplicationInstagram: @mariahpcozYouTube Gillian’s Links:Join Startup Society (promo code: earnmore)Profit Planning ChallengeGet in touch! 

It seems like people just aren’t as into New Year’s resolutions as they used to be.   It’s not that we’ve given up on setting goals or working to better ourselves––we’re just not as motivated by the romantic optimism of the New Year’s resolution as we used to be.   Setting goals is an important part of working less and earning more, of course. Goals help us figure out what we need to focus on in the limited time that we have.   Goals help us avoid wasting time and make sure that every minute we put into our work really counts.   But there’s often a really important part of goal-setting that’s missing from the equation––and maybe why New Year’s resolutions become problematic, too.   That missing piece? Meaning.   Meaningful goals create meaningful results.   When your goals aligned with your values and priorities in life, you can finally use your goals to motivate you and stick with a goal even when things get hard.   In this episode, I explain the difference between meaningful goals and strategic projects so you can stay focused on what’s really important to you while accomplishing more of the work that produces results.   Listen to the full episode to hear: Why SMART goals might not be so smart after all and why we often end up setting goals we don’t care about The key difference between meaningful goals and strategic projects and why you need both How meaningful goals and strategic projects work together to help you create results you care about The steps you need to take to identify your meaningful goals and choose strategic projects so you can build a plan you love   Links: Startup Society Blog Post: Re-Imagining New Year’s Resolutions Video: How I Plan & Organize To Reach My Goals GillianPerkins.com

Busywork: it’s the bane of business owners everywhere.   But how can you tell the difference between “busywork” and the important things that you should be focusing your time and energy on?   That’s what this episode is all about.   Today, we're talking all about how to avoid busywork and wasted time by creating a strategic plan to guide your work so you can be sure that the work you do helps to add profit to your bottom line every month.   Specifically, we’ll get into the how-tos of profit planning––what it is, how to do it, and how to create a profit plan for your entire year.   Then, I’m going to pull back the curtain and take you behind the scenes of my business, sharing with you a realistic and very close-to-home example of how it all works. I’ll be sharing with you our current monthly revenue numbers and plans for increasing them over the next 12 months.   Listen to the full episode to hear: How to avoid busywork and prioritize the tasks that will actually increase your business's profits Why your profit plan should be as simple as possible How to make your profit projections for the year so you’re always clear on how to move forward What product, service, or offer you will focus on and how to estimate the profit potential of this product How to brainstorm a plan to maximize this product's profits this year And a behind-the-scenes breakdown of my current revenue and goals for increasing it this year   Links: Startup Society Profit Planning Challenge GillianPerkins.com

When you’re your own boss, you have at least some degree of control over your schedule and working hours.   You might not feel like you have a lot of options, because, after all, customers have to be served, emails have to be answered, social media has to be kept up to date, and bills have to be paid…   But, ultimately, you do have control.   Nobody’s going to fire you if you figure out how to get your entire to-do list done in half the time every week.   And that’s exactly what this show is about: getting it all done in way less time.   In fact Work Less, Earn More is about accomplishing more in way less time.   This podcast is about getting the most out of every hour you work–so that you can work less, and earn more. We’re going to help you finally balance your time budget and be able to “afford” the time to prioritize what’s truly important to you.   Feel like “it’s not possible” or it sounds “too good to be true”?   Then pull out your favorite listening device and give Work Less, Earn More a listen.   List to the full episode to hear: What the Work Less, Earn More lifestyle is all about and how it can impact the level of stress you feel on a daily basis Why the conventional 40-hour workweek doesn’t have to apply to you and why I’ve chosen to run my business in just 20 hours per week How more time doesn’t automatically equate to more production or income Why I don’t think everyone should strive to run their business in 20 hrs/week And what you can expect from future episodes   Links: Startup Society Gillianperkins.com Sarah Blakely