#33 - It’s really not too late
What I’m reading
Ray Dalio periodically writes follow-up articles to his book the Changing World Order. In the latest one, he describes how the evidence points to approaching the war stage.
Resource of the week
I’ve been playing with the Internet Archive, which takes you back to historical snapshots of websites. I’m mainly using it on the bbc to look at property sentiment/predictions in the past compared to now, but could be an interesting reference elsewhere.
Quote
Decision-makers tend to prefer the sure thing over the gamble (they are risk averse) when the outcomes are good. They tend to reject the sure thing and accept the gamble (they are risk seeking) when both outcomes are negative.
Daniel Kahneman - Thinking, Fast and Slow
Thoughts
I’m at an interesting point in my creator journey where I’m starting to get more collab requests and sponsorship proposals. A challenge I have is understanding how everything fits into my personal brand. While social media has been popular since the early 2000s, building a business out of content creation still feels like it’s the wild west.
I’m in the fortunate position of not relying on any potential revenue so I can be very selective in finding a partnership that is a good fit. Especially in my niche which is finance related, the responsibility is very large to not mislead my audience. I’m wary that if that goodwill and trust that’s been built, is broken, there’s practically no way to fully recover. My philosophy when I started the channel was simply to provide as much value as I can, by documenting my journey and the things I learn along the way. In that respect, nothing has changed.
A content creation-based business is different from a traditional business in that it’s so unpredictable. There’s no chance you can project reasonably estimate revenues, profit/loss going forward three years like a restaurant for example. It’s ever-changing. So while I have treated it like a business in terms of execution from the outset (filming an average of 4 videos a week, focusing on educational content) I also didn’t particularly have any expectations. It was always a long-term endeavour for me.
Incidentally, this is something I’ve learnt to do later in life. Too often I see (myself included in the past) people looking for shortcuts. In investing, in pursuing a hobby or a business. Especially when it comes to setting unrealistic goals in 12 months. Don’t get me wrong, you can do a lot in a year if you stick with it, but big changes take time. It’s no secret that people that delay gratification are statistically more successful. On the contrary, in my case at least, much more time is wasted chasing the next shortcut, the next shiny thing than just taking the time to get good at something. A small improvement in the right direction, every single day is what I now focus on. For example, if I was looking to go back to uni to study the degree I always wanted, but I had negative thoughts, being impatient to commit 3 years, or thinking that it’s too late etc. I would tell myself that whether I start this thing or not, 3 years will pass anyway. Would I have wished I started it then?
Coming back to my little dilemma, my plan is to continue to push out as much valuable content as I can. In terms of brand partnership criteria, I'll be looking for those that have a genuine benefit for my audience, staying patient and thinking longer term. I think this approach won't be as lucrative in the short term but will build upon my work, is consistent with my goal and will be more beneficial long term.
Any projects you’ve always wanted to start (or abandoned ones you’ve been meaning to get back on)?
Other stuff
My free Skillshare class on starting a business-oriented TikTok channel is now live.
Hans