Ever feel like your business eats up every free moment? The truth is, you don’t need Taylor Swift-level fame or Hormozi-style hype to succeed. What you actually need is space—room to create, promote, and step away without guilt.
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That’s why I use the GAPS framework: Gear, Automations, Playbooks, and Support. It’s the system that helped me reclaim 10–12 hours a week, even during one of the busiest summers of my life. In this episode, I break down how you can use GAPS to stop fighting with your tools, cut the manual busywork, and finally get your time back. Top Takeaways
- Fame hacks don’t apply—your focus should be on knowing your audience, creating for them, promoting, and experimenting.
- The biggest bottleneck isn’t knowing what to do—it’s finding the time to do it.
- Gear: Invest in reliable tools so tech doesn’t slow you down.
- Automations: Use tools like Zapier, Riverside, and Notion to handle repetitive tasks.
- Playbooks: Create simple SOPs so you or anyone else can follow the same steps every time.
- Support: Delegate to a VA, editor, or even students—don’t try to do it all yourself.
Show Notes
00:00:00 --> 00:00:05 Hey everybody, this is an episode from my other
00:00:05 --> 00:00:08 podcast, Streamlined Solopreneur. It's quickly
00:00:08 --> 00:00:12 approaching 500 episodes. It is more broad than
00:00:12 --> 00:00:16 this show, but a similar mission. Help solopreneurs
00:00:16 --> 00:00:20 simplify tech so that they can show up as better
00:00:20 --> 00:00:24 human beings in their business and for their
00:00:24 --> 00:00:27 family and in their lives. And so I wanted to
00:00:27 --> 00:00:32 publish this episode. on the feed because I talk
00:00:32 --> 00:00:35 about, among other things, Taylor Swift and what
00:00:35 --> 00:00:38 her appearance on New Heights means for podcasters.
00:00:38 --> 00:00:41 Spoiler alert, nothing. But there's a lot of
00:00:41 --> 00:00:44 good stuff in here for podcasters as well. So
00:00:44 --> 00:00:47 I hope you enjoy this episode. And if you do
00:00:47 --> 00:00:50 like it, subscribe to Streamlined Solopreneur
00:00:50 --> 00:00:55 wherever you are listening to this. I have a
00:00:55 --> 00:00:59 confession to make. I'm getting a little tired
00:00:59 --> 00:01:03 of the conversations around Taylor Swift. Particularly
00:01:03 --> 00:01:06 around Taylor Swift going on the New Heights
00:01:06 --> 00:01:11 podcast. And not because it's bad content. It's
00:01:11 --> 00:01:17 very good content. And it's brilliant for both
00:01:17 --> 00:01:21 Taylor Swift and the New Heights podcast. But
00:01:21 --> 00:01:24 there has been over the last couple of weeks
00:01:24 --> 00:01:28 as I record this. Far too big a focus on what
00:01:28 --> 00:01:32 it means for podcasters, content creators, business
00:01:32 --> 00:01:37 owners, marketers, and what we can learn. What
00:01:37 --> 00:01:41 did they do that we can take and then do for
00:01:41 --> 00:01:45 us? It's kind of like saying Gordon Ramsay just
00:01:45 --> 00:01:48 made the best beef wellington he's ever made.
00:01:48 --> 00:01:52 What does that mean for cooking at home? It means
00:01:52 --> 00:01:57 literally nothing. Ramsay is a skilled chef and
00:01:57 --> 00:02:00 perhaps the most recognizable one in the world.
00:02:01 --> 00:02:04 The same thing goes for Taylor Swift and the
00:02:04 --> 00:02:07 New Heights podcast. They are all huge names
00:02:07 --> 00:02:11 in their own right. Jason Kelsey and Travis Kelsey
00:02:11 --> 00:02:15 have both won Super Bowls. And Taylor Swift is
00:02:15 --> 00:02:19 the biggest pop star in the world. The views,
00:02:19 --> 00:02:23 streams, downloads. buzz that they generate can't
00:02:23 --> 00:02:27 be a lesson for us to extract and apply to our
00:02:27 --> 00:02:31 lives and our situation because it's so vastly
00:02:31 --> 00:02:37 different from our lives and our situation Taylor
00:02:37 --> 00:02:42 Swift did a single podcast interview and that
00:02:42 --> 00:02:48 podcast is co -hosted by her boyfriend so like
00:02:48 --> 00:02:53 is the lesson here be Taylor Swift's boyfriend?
00:02:55 --> 00:02:58 The wider world is talking about this particular
00:02:58 --> 00:03:02 episode of New Heights because Taylor Swift announced
00:03:02 --> 00:03:07 a new album. She could have announced a new album
00:03:07 --> 00:03:10 using a CB radio, for those of us who remember
00:03:10 --> 00:03:13 CB radios, and people would still be talking
00:03:13 --> 00:03:17 about it, and it would mean nothing for the trucking
00:03:17 --> 00:03:22 industry. No, the things that help podcasters,
00:03:22 --> 00:03:26 content creators, small business owners, the
00:03:26 --> 00:03:29 things that helped us before Taylor Swift's appearance
00:03:29 --> 00:03:33 on New Heights are the same things that will
00:03:33 --> 00:03:36 help us after Taylor Swift's appearance on New
00:03:36 --> 00:03:40 Heights. We need to know our audience, which
00:03:40 --> 00:03:43 Taylor Swift and the Kelseys know very well.
00:03:44 --> 00:03:47 We need to create great content for them. Again,
00:03:48 --> 00:03:51 Check and check on that episode. We need to tell
00:03:51 --> 00:03:56 people about it. And we need to experiment. I
00:03:56 --> 00:03:59 suspect many of us already know that this is
00:03:59 --> 00:04:03 the answer, but in our constant pursuit to find
00:04:03 --> 00:04:07 shortcuts and apply something that makes sense
00:04:07 --> 00:04:10 to us, to our business, without having to take
00:04:10 --> 00:04:16 too much risk, I think we were hoping for a...
00:04:16 --> 00:04:19 Just an amazing strategy that definitely works.
00:04:20 --> 00:04:23 This is why Alex Hormozy makes so much money,
00:04:23 --> 00:04:26 right? He is promising that you are going to
00:04:26 --> 00:04:31 make nine figures. Except what no one, very few
00:04:31 --> 00:04:37 people talk about is how aggressive and disrespectful
00:04:37 --> 00:04:45 he is in trying to make those sales. They want...
00:04:45 --> 00:04:54 The real problem isn't that we don't know what
00:04:54 --> 00:04:57 makes good content. It's that we don't have the
00:04:57 --> 00:05:01 time to spend on what it takes to create it.
00:05:02 --> 00:05:07 So what do we do? We fill in the gaps. Gaps is
00:05:07 --> 00:05:09 my framework for building more space in your
00:05:09 --> 00:05:14 business. It stands for gear. automations, playbooks
00:05:14 --> 00:05:17 and support. You need to make your life as easy
00:05:17 --> 00:05:20 as possible when it comes to creating content
00:05:20 --> 00:05:24 or just running your business in general. That
00:05:24 --> 00:05:27 means you don't want to spend your time fighting
00:05:27 --> 00:05:31 gear or setups, doing everything manually, reinventing
00:05:31 --> 00:05:35 the wheel or doing everything yourself. By filling
00:05:35 --> 00:05:39 in the gaps, you can focus on what really matters.
00:05:40 --> 00:05:43 defining your audience as clearly as possible
00:05:43 --> 00:05:47 making sure your content serves them as best
00:05:47 --> 00:05:50 as possible building space into your schedule
00:05:50 --> 00:05:54 to not just create the content but promote it
00:05:54 --> 00:05:57 or not just create the product but market it
00:05:57 --> 00:06:02 and then Once you're doing those things, you
00:06:02 --> 00:06:04 can experiment because you're actually putting
00:06:04 --> 00:06:08 content or products or things or services in
00:06:08 --> 00:06:10 front of people and you're getting feedback.
00:06:10 --> 00:06:16 And so that allows you to try things. So what
00:06:16 --> 00:06:21 is filling in the gaps look like? Well, you get
00:06:21 --> 00:06:24 a good mic and an easy to use camera so you don't
00:06:24 --> 00:06:27 have to worry about quality. One of the reasons
00:06:27 --> 00:06:32 that I have the setup that I have is because
00:06:32 --> 00:06:38 I don't want to have to stop recording when my
00:06:38 --> 00:06:40 kids are playing upstairs or when my dog is barking.
00:06:41 --> 00:06:45 So I got the gear that means I won't have to
00:06:45 --> 00:06:50 stop and start and extra edits and. reshoot things.
00:06:52 --> 00:06:54 It means that you use tools like Ecamm Live and
00:06:54 --> 00:06:57 Tella to make creating and editing videos easier.
00:06:58 --> 00:07:01 I'm recording this with the Ecamm Live virtual
00:07:01 --> 00:07:03 camera so I can easily switch scenes and add
00:07:03 --> 00:07:06 overlays and then I'm recording it in Riverside
00:07:06 --> 00:07:11 and they do editing by transcript. You set up
00:07:11 --> 00:07:15 simple automations in Zapier and Notion to manage
00:07:15 --> 00:07:17 communications and move files for you so you
00:07:17 --> 00:07:21 don't need to remember to do that. You create
00:07:21 --> 00:07:25 standard operating procedures so they act as
00:07:25 --> 00:07:27 step -by -step instructions that can be clearly
00:07:27 --> 00:07:32 followed either by you or by someone else. And
00:07:32 --> 00:07:36 you hire a virtual assistant, an editor, or anyone
00:07:36 --> 00:07:40 else who can do a job better than you. so that
00:07:40 --> 00:07:44 you can focus on what matters most. And this
00:07:44 --> 00:07:46 will definitely take some investment, both time
00:07:46 --> 00:07:52 and money. But the ROI is invaluable. I've been
00:07:52 --> 00:07:57 able to save 10 to 12 hours per week by implementing
00:07:57 --> 00:08:05 my GAPS framework. And this summer, this summer
00:08:05 --> 00:08:09 has been hectic. We are at the tail end of my
00:08:09 --> 00:08:13 parents visiting for two weeks. My wife is going
00:08:13 --> 00:08:16 back to school. The kids didn't have summer camp
00:08:16 --> 00:08:19 and we vacationed a lot. And my business, while
00:08:19 --> 00:08:24 I had long days, I've been able to take that
00:08:24 --> 00:08:28 time off more or less worry -free. That's what
00:08:28 --> 00:08:33 filling in the gaps does for your business. Or
00:08:33 --> 00:08:34 maybe to think about it a different way, you're
00:08:34 --> 00:08:38 creating gaps. in your life so that you have
00:08:38 --> 00:08:42 more space in your life. And I do want to share
00:08:42 --> 00:08:46 one more example here with a woman named Margaret.
00:08:46 --> 00:08:51 She wants to start a podcast for her school district.
00:08:52 --> 00:08:57 Her official title is Work -Based Learning Coordinator.
00:08:57 --> 00:09:00 And she's teaching high school kids really valuable
00:09:00 --> 00:09:04 stuff. But she booked a coaching call with me.
00:09:04 --> 00:09:09 for how to launch her podcast. And this is, you
00:09:09 --> 00:09:12 know, she doesn't have a huge budget. She is
00:09:12 --> 00:09:14 time starved because she is doing a bunch of
00:09:14 --> 00:09:17 other things. And she thinks the podcast can
00:09:17 --> 00:09:19 save her time while still creating great content
00:09:19 --> 00:09:23 for her students and their parents. So here's
00:09:23 --> 00:09:27 how we applied the GAPS framework to make this
00:09:27 --> 00:09:30 happen for her. First of all, gear. We start
00:09:30 --> 00:09:35 with a sub $100 microphone. Like the Samsung
00:09:35 --> 00:09:39 Q2U. It's beginner friendly. It's portable. It
00:09:39 --> 00:09:43 plugs right into a laptop. So she doesn't have
00:09:43 --> 00:09:47 to break the bank on gear. Automations. We talked
00:09:47 --> 00:09:49 about the tools that she can use so that she's
00:09:49 --> 00:09:51 not trying to do too much or move things too
00:09:51 --> 00:09:54 many places. And we settled on Riverside for
00:09:54 --> 00:09:57 remote interviews. But also Riverside has editing
00:09:57 --> 00:09:59 right in the platform. So she can also, like
00:09:59 --> 00:10:03 I'm doing right now, record solo episodes. in
00:10:03 --> 00:10:07 riverside and then edit them and publish them
00:10:07 --> 00:10:11 and for publishing i recommended rss .com and
00:10:11 --> 00:10:14 full disclosure here i am an rss .com evangelist
00:10:14 --> 00:10:17 and uh i you know i create content for them and
00:10:17 --> 00:10:20 i'm on their payroll but they also have an educator's
00:10:20 --> 00:10:23 discount and they have everything that she needs
00:10:23 --> 00:10:28 to make sure her podcast gets everywhere it needs
00:10:28 --> 00:10:30 to be. Wherever students prefer to listen, wherever
00:10:30 --> 00:10:32 parents prefer to listen, and there are a whole
00:10:32 --> 00:10:34 bunch of other tools built into the platform
00:10:34 --> 00:10:38 like automatic transcription associated or our
00:10:38 --> 00:10:41 PodViz technology that will send a more engaging
00:10:41 --> 00:10:43 video to YouTube because she doesn't want to
00:10:43 --> 00:10:45 do video at first. So that's Gear and Automation's
00:10:45 --> 00:10:48 playbooks. We walked through her basic workflow
00:10:48 --> 00:10:52 right on the call. A clear path from record to
00:10:52 --> 00:10:55 publish so that she doesn't have to figure it
00:10:55 --> 00:10:57 all out on her own. And then I gave her the documentation
00:10:57 --> 00:11:01 and the recording so that she has it for her.
00:11:01 --> 00:11:05 And support. In this case, Margaret might not
00:11:05 --> 00:11:08 be able to just hire on her own, but she has
00:11:08 --> 00:11:14 access to students to whom she can give these
00:11:14 --> 00:11:18 work -based learning experiences. And so we talked
00:11:18 --> 00:11:20 about how she might be able to delegate editing,
00:11:20 --> 00:11:22 graphics creation, even bring students on as
00:11:22 --> 00:11:25 co -hosts. So that she has the support that she
00:11:25 --> 00:11:32 needs to make this happen. And now she's launching.
00:11:32 --> 00:11:36 She's getting things ready. And she's confident
00:11:36 --> 00:11:38 that she's going to be able to do this without
00:11:38 --> 00:11:42 dramatically adding more work to her plate. Ideally,
00:11:42 --> 00:11:44 this is actually going to take stuff off of her
00:11:44 --> 00:11:48 plate. So that's it. That's the GAPS framework.
00:11:48 --> 00:11:53 It's gear, automation, playbooks, and support.
00:11:54 --> 00:11:58 If you want to learn how you can fill in the
00:11:58 --> 00:12:02 gaps of your business, let me know. You can go
00:12:02 --> 00:12:06 to streamlined .fm slash overwhelm. There you'll
00:12:06 --> 00:12:10 take a simple six question quiz and then you'll
00:12:10 --> 00:12:13 get a personalized plan based on your answers.
00:12:14 --> 00:12:16 Thanks so much for listening to this episode
00:12:16 --> 00:12:19 of the Streamlined Solopreneur. I hope you enjoyed
00:12:19 --> 00:12:22 it. And until next time, I hope you find some
00:12:22 --> 00:12:24 space. in your week.