Right now I’m in the process of interviewing content creators as part of the content that I share in the Creator Income Collective. That’s the membership that I host on Slack where the focus is on list building and collaboration. I’m so excited to begin sharing those conversations. The week that I’m recording this episode I spoke with Kaitlyn Arford, the founder of the Freelance Opportunities newsletter. Each week she curates freelance opportunities for both free and paid subscribers. During the course of our conversation Kaitlyn said something that touched on an issue that I’ve been working through for awhile related to the actual time that it takes to grow your creator brand and business.
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Become a Creator Getting Paid
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Show Notes
Recently, I was struck by several references online content creators have made specific to the amount of time it actually takes to grow a successful brand. The concept of success is relative and each creator entrepreneur that I speak with has a slightly different definition of success. There is, however, a through line that I’ve heard from most successful Creator Entrepreneurs. I thought I would share what I’ve observed:
Definition of Success…
- Your Creative Entrepreneurship endeavor is trending upwardly. There is enthusiasm, energy and excitement connected to your project. People are signing up for your resources, livestreams, shouting you out, etc.
- You’re building a list-And it’s growing at a steady clip. The growth is also due to the marketing that you’re doing, SEO and related search strategies that you’ve set up and the people that you’re trying to connect with understand what you’re trying to do (this is a broad statement)
- You’ve identified what you would like to sell (products/goods/services/experiences/art/music/etc.) and have at least 3-5 items for sale
- People are buying what you’re selling
- You’re reaching your monthly income goal-Whatever it is that you’ve set for yourself. This goal will change with time.
How Fast Does Any of This Happen?
In my conversation with Kaitlyn she made a interesting point about how she thinks about the trajectory of her work. It’s a decidedly long-term view, longer than what I hear most content creators expressed. She said that she’s viewing Freelance Opportunities and the other projects that she’s actively building out as part of a media brand. Basically, she’s focused on building steadily and thinking about 3, 5 and 10 years from now. Building her project one subscriber, one referral, one shout out at a time over a number of years.
Having a longer view of what she’s building changes the following:
- The pace that she’s building Freelance Opportunities
- Her financial goals related to her media brand and company
- Having a longer term view related to her project gives her room to experiment, make mistakes and pivot when needed
Focusing on the long-term takes the pressure off of the project. Yes, she wants it to make money now. Yes, she has aggressive goals for it now. But, by having a 3, 5 and 10 year trajectory she’s given herself space and grace to grow with ease.
What About My Creative Entrepreneurship Journey
It’s now March 2026 and I’ve finally gotten into the groove of things. Initially I was a little frustrated with how slowly I’ve started the year off. I was really sick from the end of December through the end of January. But, as I reviewed data from previous years (when was money coming in) I noticed that once I had clarity on what my goals were for the year, I attracted the end results I was working towards. Put more clearly-I started making money.
Goals for 2026
I have to admit that I’ve spent some time reworking my monetization goals for this year. I feel good about what I ended up with.
Creators Getting Paid
- Goal 250+ Paying subscribers of The Creator Income Collective: https://creatorsgettingpaid.com/membership
- Publish my business focused book this fall and sell it. I’m working on the minimum number of books I would like to sell.
- There will be a Crowdfunding campaign attached to that launch
- Host an online summit (I’ve begun working on it) held in the Fall
- Co-Host an online summit-Myself, Corey Gumbs founder of The Black Podcasters Association and Angela Hollowell founder of Please Hustle Responsibly and Melanin MVP have already begun working on this and it will go “live” in April
- Qualify for Monetization on YouTube (yep, I’ve started a YouTube Channel)
Square State Colorado
- Grow Affiliate Income
- Qualify for the Raptive Ad Networks by the end Q3
Romance Brand
- Publish and sell romance books-I’m back in the business of publishing romance I’m so excited@
Those are the goals. I think they’re reasonable and I’m excited to see what happens during the second half of the year. I’m just relieved that I’m not building out products and testing out tech this year. Those two activities ate up almost 7 months of productivity last year. I’ve shifted my approach to my brand and am focused on a long-term approach to my work. I think it will also be a lot more enjoyable (as long as I’m hitting the metrics that I’m excited about) what are your thoughts?
The Creator Income Collective
Are you looking for a high impact resource for your online brand building as you manage the cost of living during wildly weird times. Are you an empathetic, mission led creator who is building beautiful work and is wanting to find more people to be a part of and support the work that you’re doing? Are you looking to be in community with other creators doing the work and who understand the stress of what you’re doing? Join The Creator Income Collective today. It’s ridiculously inexpensive on purpose. I want this to be the easiest professional development tool and space that you say “yes” to this year. Go to: https://creatorsgettingpaid.com/membership All community members of The Creator Income Collective also gain access to the resource: SUBSCRIBED a growing list of different mission lead content creator newsletter and email lists that compliment the type of work or communities that you’re building.
