How can YouTube help Propel your Online Business with Jerry Potter

What if the real secret to time freedom in business is not better time management… but building high leverage assets that keep working even when you are done for the day? 

Today’s guest is one of my favorite people to learn from on that exact topic - Jerry Potter. 

Jerry teaches online entrepreneurs how to run their business in half the time by focusing on assets like YouTube channels and podcasts. He’s the host of the Done By Lunch Entrepreneurs podcast, has grown a YouTube audience of more than 150,000 subscribers, and he’s on a mission to help business owners make more money, work less, and avoid burning out along the way. 

In this conversation, Jerry shares the moment that changed everything for him, the big mindset shift from time management to return on effort, and why YouTube is one of the most powerful platforms for discovery, authority, and long-term growth. 

We also get super practical - how to create YouTube content without perfectionism, why long form is still the move, and why not having a massive audience can actually be an advantage when you are a business owner. 

Connect with Jerry Potter

LinkedIn | Website

YT90 Roadmap: Jerry’s system for doing YouTube in 90 minutes a week as a business owner.

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Transcript

Time Freedom, Not Time Management

Carrie Saunders 0:00

What if the secret to time freedom and business is not better time management, but higher leverage assets that keep working when you're done for the day? Today's guest is one of my favorite people to learn from on that exact topic. And his name is Jerry Potter. Jerry teaches online entrepreneurs how to run their businesses half the time by focusing on assets like YouTube channels and podcasts. He is the host of the Done by Lunch Entrepreneurs Podcast and has grown a YouTube audience of more than 150,000 subscribers. And he's on a mission to help business owners make more money, work less, and avoid burnout along the way. In this conversation, Jerry shares a moment that changed everything for him, the big mindset shift from time management to return on effort, and why YouTube is one of the most powerful platforms for discovery, authority, and long-term growth. He's also got super practical how to create YouTube content without perfection and why long-form video is still the move. And why not having a massive audience can actually be an advantage when you're a business owner. Let's dive in. Struggling to turn website traffic into real sales, you're not alone and you don't have to figure it out all yourself. Welcome to Smarter Online Business, the podcast for course creators, coaches, and e-commerce entrepreneurs who want their websites to convert visitors into buyers without the tech overwhelm. I'm your host, Carrie Saunders, a website strategist and conversion expert with over 20 years of experience. Each episode delivers simple, proven strategies to help you generate more revenue and make your website your smartest sales tool. Welcome back to the show. Today we have a special guest with us, and his name is Jerry Potter. He teaches online business owners how to run their business in half the time so they can make more money, work less, and find success before they burn out. He even teaches entrepreneurs how to create and manage their YouTube channel in less than 90 minutes a week. So welcome to the channel and welcome to our show. Jerry is so excited to have you here.

SPEAKER_01 1:56

Yeah, I'm excited to have this conversation.

The Wake‑Up Call And Done‑By‑Lunch

Carrie Saunders 1:59

So I gave a little brief intro into who Jerry Potter is and what's behind what's behind you. Can you give us a little bit more details? Anything I missed or anything special you want to tell the audience?

SPEAKER_01 2:09

Yeah, well, a lot of what I do is driven by something. I started my pan uh my business uh in January of 2020. Uh, and then obviously the whole world changed two months later. But a lot of what I do is driven by something that happened that year when all of a sudden kids were home. And my son at the time said, Dad works all the time. And it broke my heart because I like if he knew me before he was born, like I, you know, I loved what I did. I used to work as a radio personality. I'd work 70, 80 hours a week and I loved it. Nothing wrong with it. But when the kids came along, it's like, okay, time to, you know, do things differently. And so I would often work, you know, less than 40 hours a week. And I'm like, he has no idea. But he went from not seeing me work ever, right? Because I was away at work and he was at school, to all of a sudden, dad works all the time. So I got the observation. And so since then, I've always thought about how entrepreneurs can have more time freedom, have the ability to, you know, work more if you want. If you love what you do, that's great. But also not feel like, oh my gosh, where's my next lead coming from? I gotta get this thing done, I gotta get that thing done, you know, living in their email inbox all day. And so that's where um the beginning of this whole idea of being a done-by-lunch entrepreneur came from. And so for you, it could be working, running your business in half the time, or it could be running your business in 60 hours a week. But the bigger thing is figuring out how you can, you know, scale without having to work more hours or having to hire a team. And so, shout out to my then, I think he was uh nine at the time when he said it. And uh now, obviously I work from home now and he's home sometimes and he knows that I work, and I think that's good for kids, but it really is about you know helping people do things in a better way. And it's it's not time management, like time management can save you minutes. These kind of things can save you hours and hours.

Carrie Saunders 4:01

I can actually relate to that a lot because um those that have listened to podcasts for a while might know this, but I started the business in 2002 and I had a nine-month-old and then shortly thereafter had another child, and then we waited a little bit longer and had a third child. So I've ran this business pretty much the whole time from you know, a child who's nine months old, who's now 24, which is kind of wild, wild to think about that he's 24 now and the business is going to be 24 later this year. Um, so yeah, I can totally relate to, you know, having to juggle having a young child around and, you know, oh mama, you're working all the time. And in your case, you know, hey, dad, you're working all the time. Um, I can relate to the goals of wanting to be more efficient with your time and making sure you're not encroaching on your family time too much.

90 Minutes A Week: Ditch Perfection

SPEAKER_01 4:48

Yeah, well, and if you are a parent, um, you know, it doesn't matter if you're really working all the time or not, it's all about their perception. And that was his, you know, that was his perception. And so, and you know, I when I started my YouTube channel, I was working full-time at an agency. I had the two kids. My wife worked evening, so I was doing school pickup from both schools and dinner and cleanup and bath time, and you know, and everybody was like, Oh, yeah, I spend 19 hours editing every one of my YouTube videos. And I was like, okay, well, I can't do that. So from the beginning, it was like you said, I'm not going to give up a bunch of valuable family time, especially when the kids are young. So I had to figure out a way to do it more efficiently. And turns out I was figuring out how to solve a problem that a lot of people have. So it's worked out well.

Carrie Saunders 5:31

Well, and speaking of that, I do know that you help teach entrepreneur entrepreneurs how to create and manage their YouTube channel really in 90 minutes a week or less. Can we touch on how do you do that? How do you take something that feels like it should be hours and hours, maybe even a whole day or a day and a half worth of time just to produce one YouTube video or, you know, do the things you need to do? How do you pull that back for entrepreneurs so they can really make this more feasible and tangible to fit into their busy entrepreneur life?

SPEAKER_01 6:03

Yeah, if anyone's not skeptical about the 90 minutes a week, that's not normal. If you are skeptical, it's very, very normal. And there's a couple of things that happen. And when I put this together and figured out how to do this so that I could help other entrepreneurs do it, it was because I kept seeing entrepreneurs that I was like, you'd be so good on YouTube. And they're like, oh, next month, next year, when I have time. And so I kept telling us like, well, what if you had three hours a week? What if you had two hours a week? And when I said 90 minutes, like all of a sudden people were like, yeah, tell me more. And so there's a couple of principles here. One of them, I'm going to be completely transparent. You have to let go of perfectionism. Um, my father-in-law is a structural engineer for Boeing, the airplane manufacturer. And we want him to get things right at his job, right? Let's keep the planes functioning. Let's keep the planes in the sky. Let's keep everybody alive. That is a place for perfection. YouTube is not a place for perfection. I mean, first of all, if you think about the idiot things people do on YouTube, but more than that, I know as business owners, we want to come across as professional, but it doesn't have this layer anymore of, oh, I've got to have perfect lighting, perfect sound, a set in the background, like all of that. Now, you may want to build that stuff, but you can come across as professional with much less than that. I started my channel standing in my living room. I'd clean up the kids' toys in front of a window for light. I had a$15 microphone that plugged into my iPhone, and that was it. And I was able to make great videos. And I did my first 25 videos that way. After that, I was like, maybe I'll get some, maybe I'll get some, you know, more equipment so I don't have to wait for a cloudy day when it's overcast and I don't have to film in the living room and things like that. So we have to let go of the perfectionism. But the second part, and I think this is the most important part, is I talk a lot about ROE or return on effort. And for all of us in all of our business, ROE is everything. We shouldn't be putting time into things that don't pay us back in a big, big way. And so with YouTube, we focus on only the most important things that have that highest return on effort. If you go in and you say, okay, I'm gonna have shorts, I'm gonna have long form, I'm gonna have a podcast, I'm gonna have a membership, I'm gonna have a live stream, I'm gonna have a community post, I'm gonna, you know, you're never gonna be able to do this in 20 hours a week, let alone 90 minutes a week.

Carrie Saunders 8:19

Well, and I I feel like that brings up a really good point of us really needing to like look at our business and what what does bring that good return on effort? Um, and speaking of which, you know, those that might be YouTube curious and might be like, well, why would somebody want to listen to me on YouTube? What's what's in it for the entrepreneur? Why would this help my business? So let's talk a little bit about how YouTube can really help our business grow and especially even grow when we're sleeping, which is one of the things you like to help people with is you know, have it work while you're not working, right? So, how can YouTube really do that for our entrepreneurs that are listening?

Why YouTube Beats Blogs And Reels

Authority, Trust, And Fast ROI

SPEAKER_01 8:57

So there's a few things that are unique to YouTube compared to other platforms, okay? Um, one is discovery is unbelievable on YouTube. And I mean that means new people can find you. So one of the things that's been going on the last few years since ChatGPT came out is blog traffic has been plummeting, right? People are getting their answers from AI. They don't visit your website anymore. But meanwhile, YouTube is having two things happen. One, uh, it's where people go when they can't get an answer from Chat GPT. And two, it is the number one cited social source. This actually just happened recently. The number one cited social source on LLMs, on Chat GPT and Gemini and all of the platforms. Um it used to be Reddit, and then YouTube just slowly creeped up. So I'm getting thousands of views a month from Chat GPT. So that's one thing, just as a platform, that makes it an incredible place to be. If we compare that to, like, say, an audio podcast, audio podcasts can be great for building and nurturing and stuff like that. But it's really hard to get new people to find a podcast with if it's not on YouTube and set up the right way. So that's one thing. The second thing, when we think about other ways that we could spend our time, is when we compare YouTube to Facebook and Instagram and TikTok and LinkedIn, let's say we're going to make videos there, it's really important to understand that, well, most people already know this. You publish a video on Facebook, let's say you put up a reel and maybe it gets some views for 48 hours, maybe four or five days if you're lucky, and then it kind of goes and dies. But with YouTube, all the videos that you publish, and you have to build some momentum first, but when you publish a video, it gets views. But then at the same time, your older videos keep getting views. And so just to put this into perspective, my first year on YouTube, which is a partial year, about four and a half months, I got 1,150 views. My second year, which was a full year, I got 300,000 views. My third year, I got uh 1.2 million. And my fourth year, I got 2 million views. So what happens again is your older videos keep getting watched. I have a video that I put out in 2017. It got 16 views in its first month, and it's now getting four or 500 views a month, and it's approaching 100,000 views. So it's just a totally different kind of investment than the other platforms. And then the last thing too, it grows your authority in a way that other platforms just don't for two reasons. One, because people spend more time with you, right? Like Carrie, when you get on a call with a client, I assume you're like, hey, nice to meet you. And they're like, yeah, take my money, right? They want to get to know you, they want to like you, they want to trust you. And with YouTube, somebody could find one of your videos, watch another one, and watch another one all in one sitting, and all of a sudden they've spent, you know, 25 to 30 minutes with you before you even heard of them. And those people do go and buy something right away, or they go get on a call and they're like, Yeah, I just need help choosing which package I want. I'm going to work with you now. Or I just need to know which product I want. So it's it's so different. My uh, I I had by the time I'd been on YouTube for two months, I had 28 subscribers, handful of views, and I'd been booked for two speaking gigs, paid speaking gigs, because people saw me on YouTube. And it's just something about the platform and people seeing that you know what you're talking about. It's not about having, you know, 50,000 subscribers or anything like that.

Carrie Saunders 12:23

Well, and I think that's a really good point, too, is that you didn't have that many subscribers, but yet you got these speaking gigs from, you know, the videos you did already have up there.

SPEAKER_01 12:32

Yeah. Yeah. Cause it was like, oh, this guy knows how to communicate, he knows what he's talking about. He'd probably be a good fit for my organization. I believe me, I was as stunned as anybody.

Carrie Saunders 12:43

Well, and they get to know you some, they get to, you know, see your personality, how you present, and and all the things. So I feel like it helps qualify you a lot, just like it can help, you know, entrepreneurs who are trying to get that like, know, and trust factor like you were talking about. You know, you you kind of feel like when you've been watching somebody on YouTube for a while, you feel like you know them. You kind of feel like you've had coffee with them or, you know, went on a chat walk, you know, with them on a bike path or something, you know, you feel like that versus just a stranger from a Facebook or an Instagram post that's, you know, put this super polished thing up and then it disappears and can't find them anymore.

SPEAKER_01 13:20

Yeah. And it is, there's a lot of psychology behind it. But if two people are like if somebody's watching you and I right now on video on YouTube, and if you're listening to the audio podcast, I'll describe it. But if they're watching us, it looks like we're sitting less than three feet away from them. And somebody that is allowed within a three foot like radius of us, we consider them a close friend. And so if I walked up to a stranger and walked within three feet, they're going to turn around and be like, oh, hi, what like, what do you need? Right. It's startling. Um, even if an acquaintance does it, like somebody you kind of know, they come within three feet. You're like, oh, hey, you know, what's up? Um, and so using video, we get to enter this new level of intimacy with our future customers and clients. Just because we're on video, we're talking right to the camera, we're making eye contact. And it's just one of those things where it builds trust faster than anything else.

Carrie Saunders 14:16

And then you mentioned already that, you know, you already got these speaking gigs from, you know, not very many subscribers on your channel. And I know a lot of other entrepreneurs I talk to get worried about not having a big audience. So, how does not having a big audience on YouTube actually kind of give you an advantage and get you some big sales? Because I know we've talked about this in some of your programs. I've heard you talked about how small audiences actually can be an advantage on YouTube right now.

Small Audiences, Big Sales

SPEAKER_01 14:43

Um, well, that's a that's a tall argument for me to back up. You know, like here's why you want a small audience. But um I will say starting out, yeah. Yeah. So there's there's two types of people on YouTube. And most people, if they're not on YouTube for their business, they think of the most popular type of YouTuber, which is that influencer creator, right? They're on there and they're making videos or trying to get as many views as possible. And then the other side, though, is people like us, a business owner or an entrepreneur. And here's how I define the uh define them. And it's very clear. If you make most of your money from selling other people's offers, you're an influencer or a creator, right? So whether it's YouTube running ads on your channel, they share it with you. If it's you having sponsors, it's you promoting affiliate products, different things like that. That's that side. And that side's not very good until you make it really big, because you can't monetize any of it until you've got at least a decent sized audience. The other side, our side, the entrepreneur business owner side, is actually pretty great because you can make money from one viewer when they're the right viewer. And so that's what makes a massive difference. I got my first client from YouTube, I think 11 days in. Again, no big social proof, not many views. Um, Cheryl, who I recently worked with, who's a doctor, she um had been publishing and you know, the the earth, I'm not gonna lie, nobody's going viral overnight, right? You gotta you gotta put in the the, you know, the work in the beginning. But she all of a sudden, with one of her early videos without a lot of views, had somebody book a call and sign a year-long contract with her. And so that's the beautiful thing about it, is one viewer who's the right one is going to be very, very profitable for you and your business and your business's future.

Carrie Saunders 16:31

Well, and a lot of things that we've talked about too, and like your programs I've been in that have stuck with me is that people on YouTube to solve a problem and are on the cusp of wanting help. And that's what can help us as entrepreneurs, especially if our videos are curated correctly, that they are kind of answering that call or that question as to, you know, that help that they need. Would that could you talk a little bit more about that? Because I know I don't do it quite as gracefully as you do.

Long‑Form First, ROE Over Everything

SPEAKER_01 17:01

No, no, what you said was totally fine. So, one thing to know before I answer that question is uh because we haven't mentioned this yet, when we talk about doing YouTube as a business owner, as an entrepreneur, and getting that ROE, that return on effort, we don't waste time on shorts, we don't waste time on live streams, we don't waste time on uh, you know, having a membership on YouTube. Like there's so many features and they add more all the time. But the number and if you've got 30 hours a week for YouTube, then go for it. But if you're limited on time, as most business owners are, we want to focus on long-form videos. The original YouTube video landscape, you know, five to eight minutes uh is a great length if you're getting started. They could certainly be longer if you have more valuable content to share. And so, in those, as you mentioned, Carrie, um, we have the opportunity to reach people who are looking to solve their problem, which translates to looking to invest money in solving their problem, right? If, if, if they're at that time. Sometimes it's a quick problem, right? Not everybody goes on YouTube going, all right, I've got to spend money to solve this problem. But you can help them sometimes solve a small problem that then they go and hire you or buy from you to solve a bigger problem. So that's the beauty of it. People go to YouTube to find solutions. And if you make videos about the right topics that are the questions people are asking before they're ready to buy, like shortly before they buy, then in that case, they're much more warmed up. Obviously, we talked about YouTube builds trust and likely to become a client or customer.

Carrie Saunders 18:31

So then I know that, you know, there may be some entrepreneurs and business owners now listening who we've piqued their interest. They're interested in potentially getting on YouTube and using it as their high-leverage asset, which is not actually a term we've used yet. So you might be want to talk to that. But what do what do you find holds business owners back from success or from even getting started on YouTube?

Overcoming Tech Fears And Burnout

SPEAKER_01 18:55

Well, one is just a complete misconception of what's required because we all just assume that, oh, well, I have to have a video editor, I have to have a fancy camera, I have to have a studio, I like all of these things. And there's a woman I talk about a lot, uh, Maggie, who's a coach, and she grew to 200,000 subscribers, making videos of her just walking in the park. Like, and some of them it looks like it's raining. She's clearly not, you know, she's holding up her phone and that's it. So part of it is understanding and accepting that, you know, you don't need to be perfect. Um, and then the second part that um holds them back is just, yeah, a little bit more of that perfectionism where they think, oh, I'm not gonna look professional. I'm not going to um, you know, uh I only or they start, I've only got 17 views. That looks bad for my business. But I had somebody say to me, I was in a mastermind group a few years ago and I was thinking about launching something new, and I was really nervous about it. Imposter syndrome was creeping in. And she said, Do people need this? And I said, Yeah. And she said, Okay, well, don't let your insecurities get in the way of helping the people who need it. And it was just this like moment of like, oh my gosh, that is like I'm so selfish, you know, from that standpoint. Not that we don't take our own needs into account, but so I think that sometimes it's the tech, but the tech is usually simpler um than people want. And I'll tell you the biggest mistake that business owners make, though, is they make too ambitious of a plan from the beginning. So they might say, I'm going to publish one or two videos a week, plus five shorts, plus I'm gonna do this and this. And since I'm making them anyway, I'm gonna use AI and repurpose it for a LinkedIn newsletter and then also my email list and and you know, they burn out in three or four weeks. So I encourage people to, you gotta let go of the perfectionism, realize that you don't need to be perfect. Um, if your video is not good, people won't see it anyway. Sometimes that's a sad but happy truth, right? Um, and so, you know, it really does come down to come up with a plan that you can keep up with and get going. And when it comes down to what to focus on, um, from a tech standpoint, make sure people can see and hear you. But I can't imagine anyone's listening right now that doesn't have an HD camera on their phone in their pocket, right? Um, so get a cheap microphone and stand in front of a window. That's how I started. Um, and then after that, really put your effort into what you're talking about in your video. Is it going to be valuable? Is it going to be something that people are wondering about? People are thinking about. Don't worry about, oh, I have to script it word for word. Don't like like pretend you're a guest on a podcast interview when you record, right? You don't, I'm I didn't script this word for word, clearly. And so um and all your effort should go into what you talk about. Yes, do some editing, take out the silences, take out the mistakes. But other than that, I can't tell you how many times I've watched a video with no production value that's been watching. Of the most valuable things I've ever seen. And that's where people will come back. If people will click on your video, they'll watch your video, and then YouTube will recommend it to more people like them.

Carrie Saunders 22:10

And I think if those listening listen to what you just said and think about it while they're watching the videos that they're naturally going to further help, they're probably going to see some of those elements where it's not perfect, it's not scripted, it's, you know, just giving them really good information. And that's really what's the most important part about a YouTube video is being valuable and giving the audience the answer to the question that they have in their mind or the entertainment, depending on what type of video. But as business owners, we're generally educating, not entertaining quite as much. Um, but as long as we're giving them what they're keen for and what they're asking for, then that helps build the trust factor even more, wouldn't you say?

Niche Down To One Person, One Problem

SPEAKER_01 22:52

Yes. But I will I do want to go back to one thing you said. Another roadblock for a lot of people is they watch YouTube as a consumer, and YouTube is serving what it considers to be the best videos on the planet for you or I or whoever's watching. And so sometimes all we see is high production value and big budgets and things like that, and we feel like we can't get started. And so I think it's important. Now, if your feed doesn't have that, then maybe you're fine. But I think it's just important to emphasize that uh there are tons of videos that don't have that that are doing really well. And I actually just recently uh heard an interview with a guy at YouTube, and he told me, I can tell you actively, they they are trying to help smaller channels grow faster. They want new voices, they want new people, they want, you know, what they ultimately want is they want to match the right video with the right person all the time. And what he said, and and I was skeptical, but he said, if you go to YouTube.com, any logged in user, and you scroll down, like it's not gonna be one of the top three videos, but if you scroll down, you're gonna see a video with maybe only a handful of views and almost no subscribers. And sure enough, I was like, well, that sounds good and all, but let's see. So I went to youtube.com and I scrolled down and you know, didn't have to go too far. And here was this video that had like, it was four days old, it had like 12 views, and the channel had like five subscribers. But something about it thought YouTube would like that video. I would like that video rather, and so it recommended it to me. And I was like, oh, let's see this again. So I hit refresh and got new videos to come up. And sure enough, you know, little scroll, there was another tiny channel with a video that was two days old and only had 15 views. So this is this is happening now. It didn't used to happen. You can grow faster, you can get discovered faster. I'll tell you the biggest thing though is as you get started, help one person with one overall problem. That's what makes YouTube able to match it up. If you go on there and you talk about 10 different things, then YouTube will never be able to help you grow your own channel because it doesn't know who to show it to.

Carrie Saunders 24:57

That makes a lot of sense. And I love the points you brought out there, especially as um a consumer watching it, because I personally don't watch a whole lot of YouTube videos. So I wouldn't get that experience of the highly refined, highly produced type of videos. Um, and I didn't really think about the fact that many people who consume YouTube all the time might end up just seeing all the polished videos and not um, you know, the ones that are a little bit less polished.

SPEAKER_01 25:24

Well, especially if you're watching stuff from TV networks and you know, film studios or just, you know, people who are full-time creator influencers who have a team of 50 people, right? That's a very different world. And you don't have to do that as a business owner because you are helping somebody solve a problem and they're gonna appreciate it.

Carrie Saunders 25:44

So for those listening, uh, before we wrap up, I want to, I would love to have you give us like your top tips on getting started with YouTube. Obviously, find Jerry Potter on YouTube. He and we will we will talk about how to find him here in a minute. Um, he's excellent at teaching. But what are some of those top things that you would recommend for getting started?

Practical First Steps And Sustainable Plans

SPEAKER_01 26:05

Um, first thing is um, and I've got a resource like I mentioned in a second that will help people decide if YouTube is gonna work well for them or not. Um, because if you're gonna try and do it, and if you're gonna try and do it in 90 minutes a week, um, we can help you assess that. But my like my motivation to most people is like, look, if you feel like YouTube is right for you, start building it in 90 minutes a week because it's gonna take a little time. And so that's why I built this so you could build it as a side hustle. But if somebody wants to get started, um, you know, the first thing is obviously figuring out who are you talking to. And I want to reemphasize pick one person. Um, I analyzed a uh channel for a client this week, and she was doing something that appealed to Airbnb owners, real estate agents, and homeowners. Well, on the back end to YouTube, even though her topic fit all of those, on the back end to YouTube, they don't know who those videos are for. They're like, no matter how smart the algorithm is, it just it's make you're making it work too hard. And so figure out who's your one person that you're going to help. And then, second, help them with one overall problem. So I like to, this is a new a new filter I've been playing with, but basically take your channel and say, I help this type of person move toward this like dream outcome or desire and away from this fear. So it's just a real simple framework. And if your videos don't fit that, then don't like you, you don't have a plan yet. You need to, you need to figure that out. So if this woman was, you know, saying, I help real estate agents, Airbnb buyers or Airbnb owners, and homeowners, it's already it's too many people. Meanwhile, if you went out and you started a um, you're a cat person, right?

Carrie Saunders 27:52

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 27:52

Okay. What kind of cat do you have?

Carrie Saunders 27:55

Well, we have two orange tabbies in our office, and I've got three more cats at my house.

SPEAKER_01 27:59

Okay. So let's say, and I I assume they're not twins, but let's say you had, or are they siblings?

Carrie Saunders 28:05

They are siblings, actually.

SPEAKER_01 28:06

They siblings. Okay. So let's say you started a channel for owners of sibling orange tabbies. Like YouTube is gonna figure out real quick exactly who your videos are for because it's so specific. But if you started a channel for all cat owners about five different breeds or something like that, that's where it's gonna get confused. So so first just get very clear on what you're doing. Um, second, let go of again, some of that perfectionism and and uh start, you know, in my program we teach you how to do research to figure out what your first videos should be. But um, you know, start making some some videos and get, you know, get if they're gonna be bad at first, get the bad ones out of the way. You know, but the biggest thing, and I mentioned this earlier, don't go in with too ambitious of a plan. Go in with a plan that you can keep up with if you get sick, if you have extra client work, if you have a busy week. Like I said, when I started mine, I built it as a side hustle and you can do the same thing.

Carrie Saunders 29:03

And I think your example on the cats was honestly super on point. I feel like I just loved it. It was so unexpected. And I was like, wow, that really, really makes you think about what you're really doing there. Like it just, I don't know. It just made it so clear to me how to not jumble up too many audience ideas into one channel.

SPEAKER_01 29:25

Yeah, and you can, I mean, you can go a little broader, but YouTube's gonna not gonna do as good a job. Um, and if that's what you need, that's fine. But you just don't want to go, you know, too, too far from that. So just really try and narrow it down. Because I can tell you, if if uh if you started a new channel helping somebody use one feature on one piece of software, it's gonna find those people real quick, right? Um, and so that's where, yeah, the the more narrow you can be, the faster YouTube's gonna figure out who your channel is for. And when you do this right, you can be getting views from strangers in your first week or two, views from search, uh places like that. Because YouTube knows, oh, this video is about this. We know people that would like that, and they match them up. And as long as the first people enjoy the video, and in other words, they watch at least some of it, then they're gonna recommend it to more people like them.

Resources, Belief, And Closing Notes

Carrie Saunders 30:15

That's just great. That's super helpful, Jerry. And so I know some will be listening, be like, oh, I need to find out more information about Jerry Potter and how he does his YouTube in 90 minutes a week or less. And for those listening too, I'm actually relaunching my YouTube channel in April. So look for that coming up via the help of Jerry. I've been working with him for over a year now. Um, so how what's the best places to find you, Jerry? Obviously, YouTube, but let us know some details and we'll definitely put any of the links in the show notes too.

SPEAKER_01 30:44

Yeah, if you're thinking about getting started on YouTube as a business owner, like a lot of the advice out there is for creators and influencers, and it backfires on you. So um, I recommend getting started. You can go to what my my YouTube in 90 minute system, I call it YT90. So you can go to yt90roadmap.com and it'll talk about kind of how to do this in 90 minutes a week. But there's also a section that'll help you realize, okay, this could work really well for me, or this will just be another distraction or time suck.

Carrie Saunders 31:13

I just love how you just make it so real, Jerry. And just, you know, it may be the best thing for you. It might not be the thing that you need to do. And I love how you don't just push people to being like, oh, you have to do YouTube because that's all the rage right now. I just love how you really get realistic and and let people know it might be great for their business, or you're maybe it's just a distraction. So I love how you're super honest there.

SPEAKER_01 31:35

I I believe that if you don't believe it's going to work, you'll never succeed. And so I think that's why it's an important part because there's there are going to be hiccups, right? Your gear is not going to work every time, your editing software is not going to work every time. You're not going to feel good every time it's time to record a video. And when you believe something's going to work, you just go, Oh, I'll try again in an hour. The software didn't work, or I'll try again tomorrow. But when you don't believe it's going to work, you throw your hands up, you go, Oh, we're so bad that I can, I can never succeed at this. And so that optimism is more powerful than people give it credit for.

Carrie Saunders 32:09

That's so very true in all aspects of our business. Thank you so much, Jerry, for being on our podcast. I just, I love, always love listening to your videos and talking to you whenever we get a chance to talk. And you're just, you know, a breath of fresh air of being realistic with how we run our business, um, having fun with our business. And um, I love your posts on um Facebook too. You hiking up a mountain and just having a good time while you're still running the business and helping other entrepreneurs um, you know, be successful.

SPEAKER_01 32:41

Well, I've loved getting to know you, and I appreciate your support and thank you for having me on the show.

Carrie Saunders 32:46

So good, right? I love how Jerry makes YouTube feel realistic instead of overwhelming. My biggest takeaway from this conversation is this you do not need a perfect setup. This is something I struggle with: a giant audience or a complicated content plan. You need a clear person who you're trying to help, a clear problem you help them solve, and a simple plan you can stick with even when life gets busy. If YouTube has been sitting on your someday list, let this be your nudge to start small and start consistent. If you want to check out Jerry's system for doing YouTube and 90 minutes a week as a business owner, he mentioned his YT90 roadmap. We will put the link in the show notes so you can decide if YouTube is actually a fit for you or if it'd be a distraction right now. I love how he keeps that real. And if you want help turning your website into a smarter sales tool that supports your content, builds trust, and converts visitors into leads, come join me in my free Facebook group at smarteronlinebusiness.com forward slash Facebook. And we will see you next week.