What if you could reclaim 10+ hours a week without working harder, waking up earlier, or finally finding the perfect productivity system? Grab my free 10-episode series, The $100K Method, for the systems that let me build a business that doesn't need me in every corner of it: https://www.gillianperkins.com/100k-method-signup

Delegation sounds simple: hire help, hand things off, get your time back. In reality, it often creates more questions and more management, unless you build the right structure around it. This week I'm joined by Gina Cotner, founder and CEO of Athena Executive Services, one of the top US-based executive assistant agencies. Gina's spent the last decade pairing highly skilled EAs with busy founders and executives, and she doesn't just treat delegation as an outsourcing task. She teaches leaders how to build trust, transfer real ownership, and create accountability so their business runs better without them doing everything.

In This Episode, I Cover:

• Why delegating a task doesn't automatically buy you your time back
• The one habit that turns a hire into a task-doer instead of a real partner
• Why the first 30 days with a new hire matter more than any month after
• The exact three questions Gina uses to hand off a project and make it truly theirs
• What a US-based executive assistant actually costs, and how that compares to overseas VAs and solo freelancers
• How to tell early whether you've hired the wrong person for the role

Special Offer for Work Less, Earn More Listeners

Receive 5 free hours of service added to your first full month of work with Athena Executive Services (AES) — a $275 value! Just mention this offer during your first call with them.

Connect with Gina Cotner:
Website: https://www.athenaexecutiveservices.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/athenaea/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aes_executive_assistants

Grow Your Online Business:
Free training, Small Business 101: https://gillianperkins.com/free-training-small-business-101/
The $100K Method (free 10-episode podcast series): https://www.gillianperkins.com/100k-method-signup

Connect with Gillian:
Website: https://gillianperkins.com
Instagram: @GillianZPerkins

If your launches have been underperforming, the problem probably isn't your offer — it's the strategy around it. Today I'm sitting down with Shannon Matson, founder of The Social Bungalow and former corporate VP of marketing, to talk about what's actually working in online business launches right now.

Shannon has built an eight-figure business helping online entrepreneurs build a signature offer and sell it consistently. In this conversation, she breaks down the exact launch framework she's using today, why the old playbook isn't cutting it anymore, and the subtle mindset shift that makes buyers feel like they came to the decision, rather than being sold to you.

In This Episode, We Cover:

• The Double Milestone Approach: How Shannon structures a private podcast + live event sequence to warm and pre-sell audiences before cart ever opens, and why it converts so much better than a cold webinar
• Intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation: Why flipping the 80/20 ratio (less urgency, more conviction) is the key to lower refunds and higher referrals
• Low-ticket self-liquidating offers: How Shannon uses a paid asynchronous product between launches to build a pool of buyers (not just subscribers), and why a price tag actually increases conversion into the main offer
• The deposit + bonus month structure: A specific payment plan design that reduces buyer friction, increases completion rates, and builds in a natural renewal conversation
• The Popcorn Theory: Why most business owners quietly run out of new customers and don't notice until it's too late, and what to do about it (hint: it's not more Instagram content)

Connect with Shannon Matson:

• Free private podcast WTF Is Happening in the Online Space: https://thesocialbungalow.com/wtf-is-happening-online
• Instagram: @thesocialbungalow

FREE Resources to Grow Your Online Business:

Is your online business making as much as you hoped it would? If not, listen to my free private podcast series Stuck at Zero: Why Your Online Business Isn’t Making Any Money (And What to Do About It) https://gillianperkins.com/stuck

Connect with Gillian:

🌐 https://gillianperkins.com

📺 https://youtube.com/gillianperkinsonline/

📲 Instagram: @GillianZPerkins

Screenshot this episode, share to Instagram Stories, and tag @gillianzperkins — I'd love to see you listening!

Until next week — stay focused and take action.

In this episode, I'm telling the full story of how one $27 live class turned into a $100,000/year business, and breaking down the exact process I'd recommend if you want to do the same with your own idea.

In This Episode, I Cover:

• Why testing beats planning when you're picking your first product idea
• The exact 3-email sequence that got 50 signups with barely any audience
• The relaunch move that keeps momentum building instead of fading out
• Why raising your price sends the opposite signal of what you'd expect
• The 10-step framework for building a six-figure digital product from scratch

Work with Gillian Perkins:

Free podcast series, The $100K Method (10 episodes on building an evergreen sales funnel): https://www.gillianperkins.com/100k-method-signup

FREE Resources to Grow Your Online Business:

3 Secrets to Reach 1,000 Subscribers and Get Monetized in Just 3 Months (free workshop): https://creatorfasttrack.com/workshop-registration

Small Business 101 (free course): https://gillianperkins.com/free-training-small-business-101/

Connect with Gillian:

Website: https://gillianperkins.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gillianzperkins/

Until next week - stay focused and take action.

Wondering which funnel platform to finally commit to - ClickFunnels, Kajabi, GoHighLevel? Before you pull out your credit card, listen to this.
👉Grab my free $100K Method audio course here: https://www.gillianperkins.com/100k-method-signup

After nine years and just about every funnel setup you can imagine, I've landed somewhere that surprises most people: you almost certainly don't need funnel software at all. In this episode I walk through what a sales funnel actually is, the few tools you genuinely need to build one, and why the "convenient" all-in-one platforms usually cost you more money and more time than they save.

In This Episode, I Cover:

• The wrong question - why "what's the best funnel software?" sends most business owners down the wrong patWhat a sales funnel actually is - the simple path every customer walks, from discovery to checkout
• The tools you really need - a website, email marketing, a way to host live events, and a payment processor (and that's it)
• The two-tool trick - why an all-in-one platform is really only replacing your website and your email software
• What I actually use - Squarespace, Kit, and the cheaper alternatives worth knowing about
• Free ways to start - the indefinite free plans on Kit and MailerLite, up to 10,000 and 2,000 subscribers
• The thing that actually matters - why your strategy, not your software, decides how profitable your funnel is

Work with Gillian Perkins:

• $100K Mastermind: https://gillianperkins.com/100k-mastermind
• Startup Society: https://startupsociety.com

FREE Resources to Grow Your Online Business:

• The $100K Method (free audio course): https://www.gillianperkins.com/100k-method-signup
• Small Business 101 (free training): https://gillianperkins.com/free-training-small-business-101/

Connect with Gillian:

• Website: https://gillianperkins.com
• Instagram: @GillianZPerkins

Screenshot this episode, share it to your Instagram Stories, and tag @gillianzperkins.

Until next week - stay focused and take action.

Work with Gillian Perkins: 👉 Apply for 1:1 coaching to grow your audience past 5,000 followers in 6 months: https://gillianperkins.com/apply-to-grow

Everyone repeats the same advice: just be consistent and everything will click. I followed it for 2 years - posting as consistently as I could - and at the end of it my audience had barely grown and I wasn't making any real money. Sound familiar?

In this episode I want to take the pressure off and tell you the truth about consistency. It's not that you're lazy, undisciplined, or somehow broken. It's that consistency on its own was never the thing that grows an audience. Being consistent with a strategy that isn't working just helps you waste time faster. What actually changes everything is having a strategy you're confident in - because once you believe it's going to pay off, showing up every week stops being a fight.

In This Episode, I Cover:

• The consistency trap: why "try harder and just show up" quietly costs creators years, and how I lost 2 years to it myself
• The 3 most common reasons your content isn't growing: you're not actually being consistent, you're picking topics that aren't popular enough, or the quality isn't high enough yet
• Confidence over willpower: how belief in your strategy makes consistency almost automatic (even when you're traveling or sick)
• My 18-month experiment: the break I took to study YouTube like a scientist, analyzing thousands of channels to find what actually predicts growth
• What to do instead: stop muscling through, start experimenting, then double down on what's actually producing results

Work with Gillian Perkins:
👉 Apply for 1:1 coaching to grow your audience past 5,000 followers in 6 months: https://gillianperkins.com/apply-to-grow

FREE Resources to Grow Your Online Business:

• 🎧 Free audio course: Stuck at Zero - https://gillianperkins.com/stuck
• 📚 Free course: Small Business 101 - https://gillianperkins.com/free-training-small-business-101/

Connect with Gillian:
🌐 https://gillianperkins.com
📺 https://youtube.com/gillianperkinsonline/
📲 Instagram: @GillianZPerkins

Most people hire help too early, delegate the wrong things, and wonder why they're somehow busier than before. I've made every one of those mistakes - so this episode is the conversation I wish I'd heard back when I was hiring my first team members.

This one's a little different. My friend Sarah Noked, founder of OBM School, had me on her OBM Show to talk about the client side of a long-term OBM relationship: what actually happens after the honeymoon phase, after the first launch together, after you've handed over real ownership. I've worked with my online business manager, Cortni, for almost eight years now, and I loved the conversation so much I wanted to bring it here to Work Less, Earn More.

We get into when you're truly ready to hire an OBM (hint: it's not a revenue number), the difference between hiring help and hiring leadership, and why more time won't save you if nothing in your business is working yet.

In this episode, I cover:

• The real difference between hiring a VA and hiring an OBM
• The one sign you're actually ready to hire (it's not a revenue number)
• Why more help won't save a business that isn't working yet
• What made me pass on the cheaper candidate and never regret it
• How trust really gets built with an operational leader
• The work you should never hand off, no matter how busy you are

Resources:

• Get matched with an accredited OBM: https://www.obmschool.com/matchmaking/
• Become an accredited OBM: https://www.obmschool.com/gillian-perkins/
• Find out more about Sarah: https://www.sarahnoked.com

Work with Gillian Perkins:

• Get your online biz started with Startup Society: https://startupsociety.com
• The 100K Method - my free limited podcast series on building an automated sales funnel: https://www.gillianperkins.com/100k-method-signup
• Learn more about Gillian: https://gillianperkins.com
• Instagram: @GillianZPerkins

Is your online business making as much as you hoped it would?
If not, listen to my free private podcast series:
👉 Stuck at Zero: Why Your Online Business Isn’t Making Any Money (And What to Do About It)
🔗 https://gillianperkins.com/stuck

Most people who are trying to grow their audience aren't failing because they're lazy or untalented. They're failing because of a handful of very specific, very fixable mistakes. In this episode, I break down the five most common ones — and I'll be honest, I've made most of them myself.

Whether you're building on YouTube, podcasting, Instagram, or a blog, these patterns show up the same way. And once you can see them, you can fix them.

In This Episode, I Cover:

• Poor packaging: Why the appearance of your content matters more than almost anything else, and what "packaging" actually includes beyond just design
• Inconsistent output: This isn't just about posting on a schedule; it's about topic, tone, and the experience people expect when they find you
• Doing too much: How spreading across too many platforms (or producing too much content) dilutes your results and prevents the snowball effect from ever starting
• Content that's too vague: Why general "success" or "mindset" content struggles to attract subscribers, and how to make your content more specific and sticky
• Unpopular topics: The balance between being specific and making sure there's actually an audience for what you're talking abou

Work with Gillian Perkins:

• 👉 Build Your Audience Bootcamp (6-month program — join the waitlist!): https://gillianperkins.com/build
• Startup Society (membership): https://startupsociety.com
• $100K Mastermind: https://gillianperkins.com/100k-mastermind
• Learn more about Gillian: https://gillianperkins.com
• Instagram: @GillianZPerkins

Learn “The $100K Method” with our free audio course - https://www.gillianperkins.com/100k-method-signup

In today's episode, I’m sharing a conversation with content strategist Jana Osofsky all about how to simplify your content marketing strategy while increasing conversions. Jana explains her “capsule blog library” approach — a system built around creating a small collection of intentional, evergreen content that helps your audience feel ready to buy. We discuss why repetition matters more than constantly creating new content, how to repurpose long-form content effectively, and why blogging can still be one of the most powerful low-lift marketing tools for digital entrepreneurs.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• Why creating 12–20 intentional blog posts can outperform constantly publishing new content
• How to repurpose long-form content into emails, social posts, collaborations, and sales assets
• The biggest mistake entrepreneurs make with content marketing — and what to focus on instead
• Why repetition and clear messaging help you become known for your expertise faster
• How creating content helps refine your offers, messaging, and overall business strategy

Want to quit your job in the next 6-12 months with passive income from selling digital products online?
Check out Startup Society:
https://startupsociety.com

Have you already started your business, but it isn’t generating consistent income?
Schedule a free, 30-minute strategy session with our team to get unstuck!
https://gillianperkins.as.me/?appointmentType=57013246

FREE Resources to Grow Your Online Business:

• Grab our free course: Small Business 101: https://gillianperkins.com/free-training-small-business-101
• Learn “The $100K Method” with our free audio course: https://www.gillianperkins.com/100k-method-signup

Work with Gillian Perkins:

• Apply for $100K Mastermind: https://gillianperkins.com/100k-mastermind
• Get your online biz started with Startup Society: https://startupsociety.com
• Learn more about Gillian: https://gillianperkins.com
• Instagram: @GillianZPerkins