I put all my effort into building an amazing course and thought that alone would be enough. Well, it wasn't- and it cost me a year or two of spinning my wheels before anything sold.In this episode, I'm breaking down everything I wish I knew before I ever tried to sell an online course. After almost ten years of doing this (eight of them actually profitable), I've learned the hard way what makes some courses actually sell while others just sit there. This one's for anyone who has an online course idea, is building one right now, or already has one that isn't converting the way they hoped.In This Episode, I Cover:Why a great course is almost never enough to make it sell on its ownThe real reason people buy a course (and it's NOT the content inside it)Why cramming in more modules and bonuses usually backfiresWhy pricing based on your hours of video is quietly costing you moneyThe uncomfortable truth about giving away your best material for freeWhy your first launch is guaranteed to teach you more than it earns youThe one thing that can quietly wipe out your course business's profit marginsFREE Resources to Grow Your Online Business:Free Audio Course ($100K Method): https://www.gillianperkins.com/100k-method-signupSmall Business 101 (Free Course): https://gillianperkins.com/free-training-small-business-101/Work with Gillian Perkins:$100K Mastermind: https://gillianperkins.com/100k-mastermindStartup Society: https://startupsociety.comConnect with Gillian:Website: https://gillianperkins.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/gillianzperkins/Screenshot this episode, share it to your Instagram Stories, and tag @gillianzperkins — I love seeing which lessons resonate most.Until next week — stay focused and take action.
In this episode, podcast coach and God-Led Business host Stefanie Gass joins me for an honest, unscripted conversation about the changes we've each made in our businesses over the last year - new platforms, overhauled teams, and product lines we simplified (or didn't, lol). If you're running an online business and wondering whether it's time to shake something up, this one is for you.In This Episode, I Cover:Why Stefanie added YouTube after years of podcast-only growth, and what changed when she didThe real reason we both overstaffed our teams, and how we knew it was time to cutWhy offering a cheap "dip your toes in" option is quietly costing you salesWhat happened when Stefanie stopped niching down on a specific topic... and let faith lead her content insteadThe unstructured, no-slide format that still converts better than anything polishedHow to know when one product has earned the right to become your whole businessStefanie's Free Podcast Bootcamp:5-Day Profitable Podcast Bootcamp, free with code GILLIAN: https://stefaniegass.com/giftsListen to God-Led Business: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/god-led-business-make-money-online-work-from-home-passive/id1437868374Gillian's free $100K Method audio course: https://www.gillianperkins.com/100k-method-signupConnect with Gillian:Website: https://gillianperkins.comYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@gillianzperkinsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/gillianzperkins/Connect with Stefanie:Website: https://stefaniegass.comInstagram: instagram.com/stefaniegassScreenshot this episode and share it to your Instagram Stories - tag @gillianzperkins so I can see it.Until next week - stay focused and take action.
This week I'm breaking down a policy change YouTube announced a few weeks ago that's about to reshape how every creator reads their own analytics. It's a quick, practical episode for anyone who publishes on YouTube - or watches their view count as a signal of how they're doing.In This Episode, I Cover:Why YouTube changed how Shorts views were counted a year before this updateWhat actually counts as a "view" starting August 24, 2026Where your old, more honest view count is still hiding in your analyticsWhether this change touches your monetization or Partner Program statusWhy I still don't care about a view under three seconds longWhich channels are about to see the biggest (and smallest) jumpsFree Resources to Grow Your Online Business: Early Access - Why Your Audience Isn't Growing: https://www.gillianperkins.com/early-access $100K Method (free audio course): https://www.gillianperkins.com/100k-method-signup Small Business 101 (free course): https://gillianperkins.com/free-training-small-business-101/Work with Gillian Perkins: Startup Society: https://startupsociety.com $100K Mastermind: https://gillianperkins.com/100k-mastermindConnect with Gillian: Website: https://gillianperkins.com Instagram: @GillianZPerkinsScreenshot this episode and share it to Instagram Stories - tag @gillianzperkins so I can see it.Until next week - stay focused and take action.
Everyone's using AI to make more content, but Kimberly Ann Jimenez has taken a different path - she used it to rebuild how her entire business runs, and now she does more in half the time with a smaller team than ever.Today I'm sitting down with Kimberly to talk about her AI strategies and systems. She’s the COO of The Business Lounge and a woman who's spent about a decade helping service providers, coaches, and small business owners turn their content into consistent customers. We get into how AI has shifted buyer behavior, what people still need from real humans in an AI world, and - my favorite part - exactly how she built a team of AI "thought partners" and agents that know her business, her offers, and her voice.In This Episode, We Cover:From accidental entrepreneur to CMO - how Kimberly went from a background in academia (and zero interest in business) to managing over 100 social media channels and a multi-seven-figure ad budget in corporate, then building her own company with her husband ChrisWhy she scaled down on purpose - how her core community grew to serve over 10,000 people, and why she moved from "really large" to a more boutique, three-tier model (community, small-group coaching, and just four one-on-one seats a year)How the buyer changed after COVID and after ChatGPT - the three waves she watched play out: wanting more one-on-one connection, growing more sophisticated, and now craving in-person, "look over my shoulder" access - plus why old-school tactics like Facebook ads are trending back in a "throwback season"Information overload vs. the age of insight - why long-form podcasts and deep content are winning, and why AI's confident-but-wrong answers are sending clients back to real experts (one client burned $1,000 on a Gemini-built Facebook ad plan before Kimberly's team fixed it)Her AI "thought partners" - how every team member has a trained Claude project (named Rosalina, Edie, Harvest) tied to a central knowledge hub in ClickUp, so the whole team stays in sync through "context handoffs"3 files that instantly upgrade your AI - the ideal client avatar, your offers, and your goals. Keep your conversations inside one project with these three files and, in Kimberly's experience with clients, results improve by at least 50%3 simple agents to start with - an inbox agent (turned her 2-hour email slog into 5 minutes), a podcast/content research agent (Google Trends + VidIQ), and a lead-research agent that briefs her on new leads before she reaches outConnect with Kimberly Ann Jimenez: 📺 YouTube - Kimberly Ann Jimenez: https://www.youtube.com/@KimJimenez🎙️ The Business Lounge Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-business-lounge-podcast-with-kim-chris/id1207088296📲 Instagram: @kimannjimenezWork with Gillian Perkins: 👉 Startup Society membership: https://gillianperkins.com/join-startup-societyFREE Resources to Grow Your Online Business: 🎧 Free audio course - The $100K Method: https://www.gillianperkins.com/100k-method-signup 📚 Free course - Small Business 101: https://gillianperkins.com/free-training-small-business-101/Connect with Gillian: 🌐 https://gillianperkins.com 📺 https://youtube.com/gillianperkinsonline/ 📲 Instagram: @GillianZPerkinsScreenshot this episode, share to Instagram Stories, and tag @gillianzperkins - I'd love to see you listening!Until next week - stay focused and take action.
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-signupDelegation 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 backThe one habit that turns a hire into a task-doer instead of a real partnerWhy the first 30 days with a new hire matter more than any month afterThe exact three questions Gina uses to hand off a project and make it truly theirsWhat a US-based executive assistant actually costs, and how that compares to overseas VAs and solo freelancersHow to tell early whether you've hired the wrong person for the roleSpecial Offer for Work Less, Earn More ListenersReceive 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_assistantsGrow 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-signupConnect with Gillian: Website: https://gillianperkins.com Instagram: @GillianZPerkins