How I run a $200K business in just 4 hours a day

[00:00:00]I spent 13 years in a full-time job working at least eight hours a day. So, when I took my digital product business full-time in 2025, I tried to match that. I overcommitted to multiple projects at once, got completely overwhelmed, and ended up in the hospital for 3 days with a gut infection. And that wasn't even the first time my body sent me that message.

[00:00:24]Back in 2015, the chronic stress from fashion school left me with gut issues that I'm still dealing with today on a regular basis. I've learned that I'm just not someone who can hustle hard day in and day out because my body will always remind me that I need to slow down. So, I've now committed to running a sustainable six-figure business on just a few focused hours a day. And I'm going to show you what that looks like.

[00:00:50]By the way, if your goal is to grow your own YouTube channel and sell educational digital products, I made a free guide for you called the YouTube lead system.

[00:00:59]It walks you through how to make YouTube videos that generate consistent leads and sales. And you can grab that in the description box below. So, every morning I drop off our son at daycare around 8:30 a.m. And based on what I have to work on that day, I will either head over to a coffee shop or back home. For tasks that require a lot of concentration, like content research, putting together presentations, or script writing, I'll usually head to Starbucks, which is attached to a bookstore. That's where I get a lot of my deep work done. There's just something about sipping coffee and being surrounded by books that helps me stay focused. I get into a flow state much faster there. So, it really works well for me. If I need to film YouTube videos, though, I'll head straight home because I have a dedicated filming space set up in my basement. And I typically batch record three or four videos at a time. This is something I never take for granted. Having the freedom to pick up my laptop and work from wherever I want is something I dreamed about for years.

[00:02:04]It's a completely different feeling from being tied to an office, sitting in a cubicle, and having to be in a specific place at a specific time until the workday is over. So, typically I start my workday around 9:00 a.m. And the very first thing I do is write down the one thing I need to accomplish that day. I used to make a long list of priorities in my planner and try to juggle three to five important tasks at once. But after reading the book, the one thing, which I absolutely love and highly recommend, I committed to simplifying everything and focusing on just one priority at a time.

[00:02:41]My system is incredibly simple. I have a note in my notes app called the one thing and I write down the most important task for the day. Then I have a second section called after the one thing is done. That's where I keep the other tasks I need to work on but that aren't urgent right now. My focus stays on that one priority until it's finished before I move on to the other tasks if I have time. For example, the one thing might be script writing two YouTube videos. Then in the second section, I'll have tasks like updating the orientation lesson inside my membership, replying to sponsor emails, or writing this week's newsletter. Speaking of the one thing, the author recommends protecting a 4hour time block on your calendar every day for deep focus, and that's where you get the most important thing done. So, I use Google Calendar to organize my schedule.

[00:03:35]And ever since I read that book, I've blocked off 4 hours every single day for focused work. This is my no distractions, head down, get things done time. Now, that block doesn't always happen at the exact same time every day.

[00:03:50]It depends on any appointments or meetings I have that day. The important thing is that I fit those four hours somewhere into my schedule, whether that's 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., etc. I always try to schedule it earlier in the day because that's when I'm the most productive. And yes, I do take breaks. What I'll usually do is set a 4hour timer and whenever I step away for a coffee, lunch, or a quick break, I'll pause it so I'm not eating into that focused work time. On the days I work from home and I'm not filming, I also use a walking pad with my standing desk. When I worked in an office, I dealt with a lot of neck, shoulder, and upper back pain. So, I invested in a standing desk to help avoid that as much as possible. Plus, it helps me get some extra steps in throughout the day, which is a nice bonus. Now, if you're working a full-time job or part-time job and building your digital product business on the side, which is what I did for 5 years, your time blocks will look very different. You might not have 4 hours available every day yet, and that's okay. Start with 1 or 2 hours and fit it into your schedule wherever you can.

[00:04:58]Maybe that means waking up an hour earlier to work on your business before the day starts. Maybe it's blocking off an hour or two after work. or maybe your dedicated work time happens on the weekends. Okay, so I attended a presentation hosted by Seth Goden last year. And he said something that really stuck with me. Now, I'm going to completely paraphrase this, but he said something along the lines of, "If you're not using AI for at least 1 hour a day, you are falling behind." And keep in mind that was last year. So, I'm sure he probably recommends even more usage now.

[00:05:32]But anyway, my point is, whether you love it or hate it, AI is absolutely here to stay. [music] And if you want to speed up the tasks you already have on your plate, you need to start figuring out which AI tools can support your workflow. So, what I would do is take a step back and write down all the tasks in your business. Things like market research, creating digital product mockups, designing sales pages, making social media content, writing weekly newsletters, scripting videos, and so on. Then beside each task, write down which AI tool could potentially help speed it up or even improve the quality and start experimenting with it. A clear example for me is YouTube script writing, which I don't personally enjoy doing. I'm just not a strong writer. It doesn't come naturally to me, but I've been using tools like Chat GPT and Claude as my writing assistant for the past year. I'll brain dump all my ideas for a video, then go back and forth with Claude to build the outline and the structure of the script, one section at a time. Not only has this saved me hours of time, but it also reduces overwhelm because instead of staring at a blank page trying to figure out what to write, I already have something to work with.

[00:06:45]Now, another tool that's going to help you speed up the tasks on your list is KD, who is the sponsor of today's video.

[00:06:51]KD is not only a super beginnerfriendly graphic design platform that offers a huge library of fonts, graphics, and templates for your digital product business, but they've been rolling out amazing AI features that get your job done in way less time. They just introduced Aentic AI, which allows you to type in a few basic words describing exactly what you want, and KD handles all the rest. Seriously. For example, whether you're selling digital or physical product, you need to have beautiful mock-ups to showcase your designs because that's what's going to help you make the sale. One great use case is if you're selling printon-demand products. In one of my KD projects, I designed this really cute coffee t-shirt using the elements inside their library and I placed it onto a t-shirt mockup using their mockup feature here. Now, I can try to find a bunch of other mockups to showcase this t-shirt in different ways, or I can give KD a super basic prompt using Aentic AI. So, in this example, I selected my artboard and wrote, "Give me four images of this t-shirt for my Etsy listing." And these were the results I got, which is pretty amazing. I absolutely love the variety of these photos. We got some lifestyle shots and flatlay images, which is super cool, and ready to upload into our store. Or if you're selling digital downloads like wall art, planners, or worksheets, for example, you can still showcase them in lifestyle images to show what they would look like when they're printed out. So, for example, I made this piece of wall art inside KD and I placed it in a frame mockup. Then I selected the artboard and wrote, "Create four different lifestyle images for a product listing for my Shopify account." And within a few seconds, it produced these beautiful images that would have taken me a long time if I had to create them myself. Let's do one more fun, completely different example because there are so many ways you can use this feature. In a blank artboard, I typed in create four logos for a coffee brand called Sandra D. Coffee. Keep it cozy and premium. So, you can absolutely use this for your branding and marketing materials. And you don't have to hire a professional to create this for you. In just a few seconds, it came back with honestly really impressive logos. Like, these look super professional, clean, and I feel like I wouldn't have to change a thing. Which one's your favorite, guys? Let me know in the comments below. Now, for a limited time only, KD is offering 50% off any annual plan if you use code agentic. I cannot recommend this platform enough for helping you run your business. So, just click the link below to get started.

[00:09:36]Okay, so you might be wondering how on earth I managed to get everything done in 4 hours or less each day, especially when I've shared that I'm running a sixf figureure digital product business and I don't have any full-time employees at this stage. I do hire help on a project-by-p project basis, like a thumbnail designer, a video editor, and more recently, a tech expert who helps with some of the behind-the-scenes tasks in my business. But for the most part, I still do everything by myself. And I think it all comes down to one realization. Not everything you do in your business is equally important. Not every task is moving your business forward. In fact, it's very easy to fill your to-do list with busy work that feels productive but doesn't actually move the needle. For example, I used to think I had to show up on Instagram every single day. I would create at least one carousel, one reel, and one story because I saw other creators doing the same thing and claiming that social media was driving all of their sales.

[00:10:40]And while that can absolutely be true for some businesses, when I looked at my own numbers, Instagram was actually generating the fewest sales, the amount of work required compared to the return simply wasn't worth it for me. What was worth my time was publishing YouTube videos and sending emails to my email list. Those two activities consistently drove sales, so I reduced how often I showed up on Instagram, and it didn't affect my income at all. That's why it's so important to take a step back and look at everything on your plate. Write down all the tasks you're currently doing and ask yourself which of these are actually moving the needle forward.

[00:11:19]The goal is to either eliminate the tasks that aren't producing results or reduce the amount of time you're spending on them so that you can double down on what's already working. At the end of the day, you want to prioritize money-making activities over busy work.

[00:11:35]Those are the tasks that earn a spot in your 4-hour time block. Something else that's made a huge difference for me is knowing exactly what's coming up before the week even starts. So, typically over the weekend, usually when our son is napping, I'll make a coffee or a tea and take about 15 minutes to look and plan ahead for the upcoming week. Now, I use three different calendars here. And they all serve a different purpose. That might sound like overkill, but stick with me here. The first is my physical wall calendar. This is purely for big picture planning because I can see all 12 months at once. It's where I map out upcoming launches, workshops I want to host or attend, sponsored YouTube videos, major training, and other important projects. It hangs right beside my desk so I can quickly reference it before committing to anything new. The second is Google Calendar, which I mentioned earlier.

[00:12:32]This is where I manage my day-to-day schedule. I'll review any meetings or appointments I have coming up, block off my 4-hour focused sessions, schedule my gym workouts, and add any personal commitments. I also color code everything because it helps me instantly see what type of event I'm looking at, whether it's work, fitness, or family time. And the third is notion. This is where I plan the details of my content and launches. If I have YouTube videos going live or any live streams, social media content, or a membership promotion coming up, I'll map everything out there. I typically only plan about a month in advance because I've just found that's much more manageable for me.

[00:13:13]Regardless of what tools you use, try spending 10 to 15 minutes over the weekend planning your upcoming week. It gives you clarity on what you're committing to, helps you avoid surprises, and it makes it much easier to stay focused on what matters. So, on a typical day, if I don't have any meetings or appointments in the morning, I'll get all my important work done by around 2:00 p.m. or so at the latest.

[00:13:36]After that, I might choose to do a bit of extra light work, run some errands, do a few chores around the house, and start cooking before my husband picks up our son from daycare. Now, obviously, some days are going to be busier than others, especially if I'm in the middle of a launch, but this is what a regular workday usually looks like. and I've committed to keeping it that way because I've made the decision to prioritize my health over everything else. If you want to grow your own audience on YouTube and sell educational digital products, you can grab my free guide, the YouTube lead system that will be linked for you down below. It breaks down how to make YouTube videos that generate consistent leads and sales for your business. Head over to this video next where I share how selling $7 digital downloads helped me quit my job. I'll see you there.