This one’s going to be real transparent — and that’s the point.
Over the past month or so I have completely changed my business, earning potential and predictable monthly revenue. This was unexpected. While I made the decision internally to start taking on client work a few months back, I hadn’t reached out to anyone asking if they were looking for video help.
They asked me.
Two projects fell into my lap in that moment, but they were one-offs. Like $750 total.
I went hard on my own content for a few months, fell off after my trip to Boston, and have been beating myself up about it since.
But then, something amazing happened again:
Since April I’ve been living almost exclusively off my $3,550 take-home monthly pay from my full-time job at HeyCreator. This is not bad — I can comfortably pay all of my bills and put money away to save on this salary.
But my girlfriend and I bought a house this year, and I’d like to get her a ring soon, and I’d also like to build up a nice savings that pretty much got wiped out in the home buying/renovation process.
So it’s GRIND SEASON.
But I’m shy and not the type to reach out to people asking for work.
Luckily, these four people — creator/entrepreneur friends I respect & want to be like — reached out. Now, in addition to my full-time job I am:
- consulting & editing for an entrepreneur in the sports world
- editing short-form videos for a creator in the B2B space
- editing podcast clips for a record label
- producing a podcast in the newsletter space
With all four of these projects starting these past few weeks, I’m adding $6,332 in predictable revenue to the mix, totaling $9,882 per month.
Why am I telling you this?
I believe everyone should be extremely transparent about how much money they make and how they make it.
Understanding how other creators & entrepreneurs make money is literally the most valuable thing you can learn. It allows you to see what’s possible for yourself. It helps you understand exactly what kind of career & business you want to have — how you want to make money, and how you don’t.
How many times have I told the story about logging into Sahil Bloom’s ConvertKit account and seeing that he was making $520k/year from one newsletter ad slot?
That was among the most transformational moments of my life. It completely sold me. I will never get a job outside of the creator space again.
Now, if I’d heard about that OnlyFans girl who made $43M in one year first, maybe I’d be on a different path. Just kidding, Mom. (Maybe?)
On the flip side, talking about how much you make & how you make it is the best way you can help someone looking to build a business around their passion. It gives them permission to talk about it, too.
Not talking about the money might cost you money you didn’t know was there.
In the beginning of our creative careers, our self-worth is tanked because making videos and writing copy is what we would do for free. So we undersell ourselves and say a low number in hopes of getting the work. And then the client on the other side says “What the fuck?” and gets an absolute steal, because we had no idea that anyone else half as good as us is charging double for the same work.
I vividly remember listening to Aaron Draplin’s appearance on The Futur podcast during one of my hour-long drives to see my girlfriend in 2020. Chris asked Aaron how he prices his design work. Aaron replied with something along the lines of:
“I don’t have prices. The client tells me what they want to pay me and I say yes. Life is about compromise. If Nike calls, it's 3x whatever scientific bullshit formula I cook up in my head."
That’s a dude who has made more money than probably every designer ever.
Doing creative work means initiating the money conversation. Ask them their budget. Fight like hell until they say the number first. The question that always works for me is “When you hopped on this call, what was the number you had in mind for this project?”
The first time I did this, it was $40/short-form video. VC-backed startup with employees who were real scared of their future. I would’ve done it for $20. So I knew from this point on never to go lower than $40.
The second time I did this, it was $75/short-form video. Better company. Got it off a recommendation from the first guy so the goodwill was already there — but I was fully prepared to say $40 if I had to say the number first.
Now, my editor friends and I know the range to hover around for this kind of work.
Talking about the money puts you in the arena.
I’ve been hesitant to get specific about how much money I’ve made in the past because I was ashamed of it.
I once heard someone say “If we need to hire a junior employee at (insert my salary at the time) just to make it easier, we can do that.”
Gut punch.
I didn’t feel like a junior employee. I was working on awesome clients and doing work I was super proud of.
I understand now that still, even though I felt like I was struggling, I should’ve been talking about the money. Not to get all woo-woo but business is just like sports, and money is how you keep score.
Let’s be clear — not the score of how you stack up against other people. That was my mistake. Everyone else online seemed like they were so much more successful than me. Chances are some are and some aren’t but that doesn’t matter.
Documenting in public how much you’re making allows you to simultaneously show others what’s possible, create trust through vulnerability (people will know you’re real), and keep score on your own journey.
There’s going to be a point in my career when I look back on this post and say “Remember when I was only making $10k/month? Ahh, to be young again.”
Some don’ts around talking about money
- Don’t lie about how much money you make
- Don’t let anyone convince you not to talk about your earnings
- Don’t think that talking about money is bragging, inappropriate or taboo
- Don’t value someone solely for how much money they make
- Don’t exclude or put anyone down over how much money they make
- Don’t get jealous over how much someone is making doing what you do
Let’s hit on this last one real quick. My guy George revealed he’s getting paid $1,000/day from a client just to edit. That’s fucking insane and way more than I’ve ever made in a day. But sitting here and pouting and yearning for a client like this is a waste of time. Just like George says, there’s so much context around landing a gig like this. So I’m happy for my dawg!!
So what’s next?
I’m going to make a concentrated effort to talk about money more often and shed the stigma around it for other people.
Being honest, hitting this near-$10k mark is probably what prompted me to write this post. It’s the most exciting work thing for me in a while. Will I drown trying to balance all of this and my full-time job? Maybe, but I’m willing to push it this time and pay the consequences later.
Grind season!!
What I know is you should never, ever be afraid to talk about how much you make. If you’re on this email list, you’re a good, well-adjusted person with real creative skills who deserves to make bank and talk about it.
Thanks for being here.
Tim