Latest / The Dept. w/ Omar El-Takrori / The Easiest Content Creation Strategy for 2026 | The Dept. #99

Transcript

The Easiest Content Creation Strategy for 2026 | The Dept. #99 · The Dept. w/ Omar El-Takrori

0:00
[SPEAKER_01]: In the next 43 minutes, you're going to get 11 years of insight on how to build a content strategy for your personal brand in 2026.
0:08
[SPEAKER_01]: Everything from what to create, how to create, and how it makes money.
0:12
[SPEAKER_01]: The reality is, is the plan you have in place is what's keeping you stuck.
0:15
[SPEAKER_01]: And so this conversation is actually going to show you everything you need to do right now to start building the personal brand of your dream.
0:26
[SPEAKER_01]: Welcome back to the department, Chris Poon Salon.
0:29
[SPEAKER_01]: And if you are a new watcher, this is the second episode we've had Chris and it's so cool to see the journey of what content creation could bring.
0:37
[SPEAKER_01]: But so many people are getting started, like going into 2026.
0:42
[SPEAKER_01]: as they thought in 2025 and in 2024 and 2023 they're like, you know, this next year is going to be the year I'm going to go all in on content.
0:50
[SPEAKER_01]: But this is this conversation I wanted to be for people who are getting started from zero.
0:54
[SPEAKER_01]: That's what they think about in their mind.
0:56
[SPEAKER_01]: And as someone who has psychalled through so many seasons of content creation, millions of followers across platforms, can you just define what someone should do if they're getting started from zero building their brand or audience
1:11
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, well first of all, thank you for having me again in this beautiful through really apartment.
1:17
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, by the way, we're in New York.
1:20
[SPEAKER_01]: What area would this be called Manhattan?
1:22
[SPEAKER_01]: We're in Manhattan shooting on iPhones, recording on recorders and no lights, no art.mp4, just two boroughs and a sick world.
1:32
[SPEAKER_02]: No, it's dope.
1:33
[SPEAKER_02]: I wouldn't have it any other way.
1:35
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, but to start from zero, man There's so but the thing that we were talking about before we hopped on was there's so many ways To approach it.
1:43
[SPEAKER_02]: There's so many different avenues.
1:44
[SPEAKER_02]: There isn't one blueprint that you can take and run with I think for me for me to end up back where I am now with tender care as the creative director.
1:53
[SPEAKER_02]: I think
1:54
[SPEAKER_02]: Providing value and we say everybody says that.
1:56
[SPEAKER_02]: It's become wallpaper to people at this point because everyone here is it But what I did for them at the beginning where I was like, hey, you guys are doing something incredible in a field that I Know and love deeply, which is caregiving let me come and just help you out and tell your story Let me shoot a free documentary for you and Let's see what happens and like let's prove let me prove to you that I can bring you outside's results.
2:23
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, and
2:24
[SPEAKER_02]: with no upfront cost to them, because I think a lot of people, especially most people I would say, especially a lot of people watching this, they're trying to see immediate results, they're trying to get the bag, they're trying to do whatever they can to make content, work for them and like squeeze out the money out of it.
2:40
[SPEAKER_02]: But for me, it was let me prove to you that I can bring your results and on the other side of that, then we can talk because I was able to bring results to tender care.
2:49
[SPEAKER_01]: here we are like what year are you in if you if you would consider yourself a content creator what what year how long you've been a content creator this is my 11th year being a content creator okay so somebody's sitting at year negatives euro that's not even a number um what yeah just what would you advise them to get started with
3:11
[SPEAKER_02]: Well, I think I'm really a big fan of what Alex Ramosi said about like sometimes making content about just whatever it is isn't the right move it the right move is to go out and do something incredible to then go back and tell people about what it is that you do because I think a lot of people trying to make content now it's like well I don't know what to talk about well it's because you don't have
3:32
[SPEAKER_02]: Anything to talk about.
3:33
[SPEAKER_02]: You think about your journey and in the hundreds of videos.
3:36
[SPEAKER_02]: I was just thinking about this the other day You've made hundreds if not thousands of videos before ever telling people like, hey, let me help you out But if you were to start, let me help you out But you don't have the backlog and the the you didn't become the person that the other person on the other side needy due to be
3:54
[SPEAKER_02]: What would you have to talk about?
3:55
[SPEAKER_02]: So I would say go out and do something, like build something for yourself, go prove to your future audience that you have something worth telling people about.
4:06
[SPEAKER_01]: So hot take, would you say sit out another year?
4:09
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes.
4:10
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
4:11
[SPEAKER_01]: So sit out another year.
4:12
[SPEAKER_01]: If you're in the place where you're like, I don't know what to talk about, sit.
4:17
[SPEAKER_01]: Let's talk to people who do have something to say.
4:19
[SPEAKER_01]: They just don't know how to show up.
4:21
[SPEAKER_01]: I think about like my sister who's been a hairstylist for 15 years, I think about, you know, my friends who've been in real estate and just been doing old ways of marketing and they have something to say, they just don't know how to show up.
4:37
[SPEAKER_02]: That's good.
4:38
[SPEAKER_02]: I think, and again, a lot of the advice that I've been giving out lately is like some of it feels very cliche.
4:45
[SPEAKER_02]: But it's because of the simple stuff and the cliches, they work for a reason.
4:48
[SPEAKER_02]: They're cliches for a reason.
4:50
[SPEAKER_02]: I think reverse engineering and figuring out exactly the result that you want, so that you have the correct inputs to put in to get the result.
4:57
[SPEAKER_02]: If you're a hair stylist and your end result is that you want more clients.
5:02
[SPEAKER_02]: Well, what is going to, what type of inputs are you going to put in with content, with your marketing?
5:08
[SPEAKER_02]: That's going to create, uh,
5:10
[SPEAKER_02]: customers to come in and get a haircut or get a get get get your hair color.
5:15
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
5:16
[SPEAKER_02]: Um, so thinking about the end result and then moving backwards from that.
5:19
[SPEAKER_01]: The number one question I usually get asked by people like you is Omar how the heck does your videos look and sounds so day and crispy.
5:26
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, the reality is it's the equipment I use and you'd be surprised how inexpensive it could actually be.
5:32
[SPEAKER_01]: So I've compiled all my gear.
5:34
[SPEAKER_01]: and I updated the list and I want to give it to you.
5:36
[SPEAKER_01]: So if you're listening or watching this, just hit the description box below and I'll send you my gear guide for every budget.
5:41
[SPEAKER_01]: Now let's get back into the conversation.
5:43
[SPEAKER_01]: That's really good because I mean, I think there's a, there's a, and result people have in their mind and that is usually just to make more money.
5:53
[SPEAKER_01]: If I post videos, then I make money and it doesn't work, it really worked that way and it works faster, the more clear you are about what you want.
6:03
[SPEAKER_01]: something you did because you're in it and we'll break down kind of like your career again as a creator but something you did it was you just you turned on a camera doing what you were already doing so like most people are already doing what they want to be seen they just think it has to like they have to stop what they're doing and then shoot the videos okay so like can you walk through like give us a mini course on putting your work out there on social media and
6:32
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I think the whole document don't create movement is the right thing.
6:37
[SPEAKER_02]: That's what I did.
6:37
[SPEAKER_02]: I literally just chucked the camera in the corner of my grandma's room as I was caring for her, taking care of her, changing diapers or whatever it is that I had to do in my day-to-day task, chucked the camera in the corner, put a mic on, and was instructing people on this is how you swivel a patient out of the bed.
6:55
[SPEAKER_02]: This is how you transfer from the bed to the wheelchair.
6:58
[SPEAKER_02]: This is how you safely feed somebody.
7:00
[SPEAKER_02]: Um, just the things that I was already doing, I just turned a camera on and put a mic on and you get results out of that.
7:06
[SPEAKER_01]: So did you.
7:09
[SPEAKER_01]: Did you know what would work or because like how did you know that like what you were doing was the proper way of doing it in terms of caregiving more in terms of content caregiving.
7:19
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I didn't I had no idea if I was everything that that I was doing up to that point was just me and my family figuring out what is the best way to keep my grandma safe clean and comfortable and whatever way we were going to achieve that yeah that was the right way to us in that moment.
7:36
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, I love that.
7:37
[SPEAKER_01]: So many course on getting started from zero is get a wireless mic, get a phone tripod, put it, and have it just film you do what you already do.
7:47
[SPEAKER_01]: Yep.
7:47
[SPEAKER_01]: And then figure it out later.
7:49
[SPEAKER_02]: Yep.
7:49
[SPEAKER_02]: I think people get, I mean, I know you've seen this a lot, especially with your background in making videos about camera and gear and all that stuff like people get really caught up in the gear.
8:04
[SPEAKER_02]: If you have a problem editing, just do it in one take or do it live.
8:09
[SPEAKER_02]: If you have a problem with gear, use your phone.
8:11
[SPEAKER_02]: Case in point, we're using phones that are problem with gear.
8:15
[SPEAKER_02]: And so I think most people already have the tools that they need to go out to make content.
8:21
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
8:22
[SPEAKER_01]: So most people probably haven't seen the last conversation we did, because what you're getting in this podcast right now, watching or listening, is you're going to get, you're getting 10 years or 11 years of insight from just feeling like, man, I should post content online.
8:39
[SPEAKER_01]: Because before your grandma, you were posting stuff on YouTube.
8:42
[SPEAKER_01]: It was still valuable information.
8:43
[SPEAKER_01]: You're posting producer, making beats, and all that stuff.
8:46
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, can you just break down the evolution of your content creator journey?
8:52
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
8:52
[SPEAKER_02]: So in the beginning, 2014 started making vlogs and made like maybe a hundred vlogs and none of them hit.
8:58
[SPEAKER_01]: Maybe again in the beginning there was vlogs and the vlogs was Chris and the Chris was the vlog.
9:03
[SPEAKER_02]: And there was a zero, there were like maybe 50 views, 100 views max on the vlogs because it was just about my life It had nothing to do with the person on the other side and as soon as I made that one piece of content about music production like hey This is how I make a beat from start to finish.
9:18
[SPEAKER_02]: These are all the things that I've learned
9:20
[SPEAKER_02]: Instantly, views were skyrocketed and skyrocketed means like 1,000, 2,000.
9:26
[SPEAKER_02]: But people were commenting and like, yo, would love to see you make a video about this.
9:30
[SPEAKER_02]: And I made the second video about music production, answering homey's question, and then just kept the cycle going.
9:35
[SPEAKER_02]: And eventually I built up an audience of producers who was like hungry.
9:39
[SPEAKER_02]: for content and hungry for tools that I could create, which then created a whole online business for me around music production.
9:47
[SPEAKER_01]: Hey, department fan, question for you, based on you listening to this podcast, you probably are either looking to grow your personal brand this year.
9:55
[SPEAKER_01]: build your audience online and just stop chasing business and start to have business chasing you.
10:00
[SPEAKER_01]: If that's you, I want to invite you to the content to cash challenge.
10:04
[SPEAKER_01]: This is a five-day coaching experience, a live coaching experience with myself that's done all on Zoom and you get access to a private community and it really is unlike any other experience that I offer.
10:15
[SPEAKER_01]: By the end of the challenge, you'll have unreal clarity on what you're supposed to do online and you'll have the insight on how you can make an extra six or even seven figures.
10:24
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, I said seven figures in your business this year.
10:27
[SPEAKER_01]: And if any of those things sound great to you, I want you to join the next content to cast challenge.
10:32
[SPEAKER_01]: Scan the QR code if you're watching on a television or click the link in the description.
10:36
[SPEAKER_01]: Once you go through it, go ahead and upgrade to VIP because you'll get an extra hour of bonus VIP Q&A.
10:42
[SPEAKER_01]: with me every single day of the challenge and so looking forward to seeing you there.
10:46
[SPEAKER_01]: Let's get back into the combo.
10:47
[SPEAKER_01]: So you're just answering specific questions, just answering questions that would come in the comments and those were that was those were many pieces of content that I found in the comments section with where AI is at right now and people going to AI to ask questions.
10:59
[SPEAKER_01]: I think about this often but what would be your approach if you were like literally still going to do a music production stuff now?
11:06
[SPEAKER_01]: Would it be the same thing?
11:08
[SPEAKER_01]: Or would you attack it differently?
11:10
[SPEAKER_02]: It would be the same.
11:10
[SPEAKER_02]: It principles are principles.
11:12
[SPEAKER_02]: I would do the same thing I would go and make a helpful video about what are the things that I think building in public has been has been really popular these days But I think you should do more than building public.
11:23
[SPEAKER_02]: You should tell people what did you learn?
11:24
[SPEAKER_02]: What are the hardships that you had to get over in the last 30 days of building this brand or building this YouTube channel or making videos or making music production?
11:32
[SPEAKER_02]: And let people know, this, I learned X, Y, and Z in the last 30 days, maybe you should avoid doing those things, so you could save yourself 30 days of heartache.
11:43
[SPEAKER_02]: So I would do the same exact thing.
11:45
[SPEAKER_02]: I would make videos, read the comments, reply to every single thing, and I loved, again, what you've said about, you've taken time to respond to every DM in comment, because that is where the goal is.
11:55
[SPEAKER_02]: It's not anywhere else, but in your comment section.
11:57
[SPEAKER_02]: and people complaining about, man, people don't interact with my videos, or I'm not getting comments, or I'm not getting, you haven't responded.
12:04
[SPEAKER_01]: So the last two people that commented on your videos, right, there's gold in there, and then you, like how long did it take for you to make new money with this, like,
12:16
[SPEAKER_01]: when you were making producing content.
12:18
[SPEAKER_02]: Man, I'd say in the first three months, I was able to really generate some revenue from not only add sense, but I spun up a whole new online business selling sample packs to producers online.
12:29
[SPEAKER_01]: So say, which everyone could do.
12:31
[SPEAKER_01]: Everyone can do like have a link in your description with the content you're creating.
12:36
[SPEAKER_01]: But if the goal is to fill the chair or grow your clientele, then obviously you want to think through,
12:41
[SPEAKER_01]: Would you want somebody to fill out a form?
12:43
[SPEAKER_01]: You want to fill out somebody to do maybe a an assessment Maybe you have like a mini course where you walk somebody through or a discovery call 10 minute 15 minute discovery call I was like that's when when you're doing content that really scales and you have the bandwidth to do discovery calls Like you can get so many people onboarded to whatever it is you're doing.
13:05
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah
13:05
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay, and then you transitioned from producer content.
13:10
[SPEAKER_01]: Did you start the podcast you did with your cousins next or did you start creating videos with your grandma?
13:17
[SPEAKER_02]: It was the podcast in conjunction with doing the production.
13:21
[SPEAKER_02]: We started podcast while the music production thing was killing it.
13:24
[SPEAKER_01]: In the middle of the music production, why did you then go, let's start another podcast?
13:30
[SPEAKER_01]: or another content format, another brand new YouTube channel, another...
13:34
[SPEAKER_02]: I think because I had the play, like, running from music production, like I had three...
13:38
[SPEAKER_02]: I pumped out three videos a week for two years straight, like, didn't miss a day, and built a skill that you didn't know was originally there.
13:47
[SPEAKER_01]: I just want people to catch this stuff, like...
13:50
[SPEAKER_01]: the skill of creating content like that is a skill coming up with an idea and executing on the idea and then releasing that idea and then now you're like, dang, I got the skill that I could now multiply in different forms.
14:03
[SPEAKER_02]: So you start a podcast, start a podcast and
14:06
[SPEAKER_02]: it was less about like hey let's run a play here like it was more so like this seems fun this was before podcasts have taken off and like people you know this is way before everything all of that and we just started a podcast and ran the same play that we did from music production created clips uh god on a schedule a state consistent all the simple things that everybody sees and we pumped out a podcast once a week for i don't know like three
14:35
[SPEAKER_01]: I think what I loved about what I saw because of me watching from a distance, I was actually impressed because how long your podcasts were and the velocity of views you had.
14:48
[SPEAKER_01]: But then even the way you
14:50
[SPEAKER_01]: grew the podcast is being consistent but also chopping it up and then posting like all the click.
14:57
[SPEAKER_01]: Like you guys had clips that literally made me want to go watch the podcast and that is a formula.
15:05
[SPEAKER_01]: Post along a very very very long on YouTube, cut it up and then let those moments drive people through the longs and you did that grew a community.
15:14
[SPEAKER_01]: How did you grow?
15:15
[SPEAKER_01]: Now, okay,
15:19
[SPEAKER_01]: Here we are with the podcast, doing it for fun, but then you still monetize it.
15:26
[SPEAKER_02]: So we monetize it through AdSense, which was up and down, not as consistent, but we started a Patreon, which is the thing that really exploded.
15:34
[SPEAKER_02]: There's essentially a paid community.
15:36
[SPEAKER_02]: It's a paid community.
15:36
[SPEAKER_02]: We just put a paywall behind a discord.
15:39
[SPEAKER_02]: And people seem to really enjoy just the community aspect of,
15:44
[SPEAKER_02]: All the like-minded people who thought our jokes were funny, and then we just created a community of people that were happily paying every single month for exclusive content because we were doing an extra episode for them, but also I think what people were paying for was the community behind the paywall.
16:01
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, which I think that's really good because people think you have to have something to sell.
16:07
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, if I'm going to take $30, $40, $40 from people every month, and that's not what you're doing by the way, you're not taking people's money, but you don't need to necessarily put something together.
16:17
[SPEAKER_01]: It could literally be just the, you're literally just selling a context for people to connect.
16:27
[SPEAKER_01]: And
16:27
[SPEAKER_01]: the shared interest is this podcast.
16:30
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, everybody just we we rallied around inside jokes that we made on the podcast which was then continue in the discord and what's funny I think I don't know if I mentioned this on the last pod but we had people find their spouses
16:44
[SPEAKER_02]: Oh, she's in the discord for changing lives out here.
16:47
[SPEAKER_02]: Changing lives bro like they would find you know a like-minded well because they were filtered out already like these people already had similar context similar interests and they were saying like humor.
16:57
[SPEAKER_02]: Let's run it.
16:58
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, let's get married.
16:59
[SPEAKER_01]: Dang family mart podcast making families do that's actually pretty crazy.
17:03
[SPEAKER_01]: I didn't know that.
17:04
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
17:05
[SPEAKER_01]: So how much did you charge had you come up with that price and like at its peak how much was it making?
17:12
[SPEAKER_02]: So we had different tiers.
17:14
[SPEAKER_02]: The most popular tier was $10 a month.
17:17
[SPEAKER_02]: That's we had I can't even remember how many members But we were probably doing anywhere from 2,000 to 2,500 a month just from the Patriot on alum so crazy and you're not doing anything extra other than just having it Having it and maybe recording an extra 30 minutes to an hour for people a week and it wasn't like
17:35
[SPEAKER_01]: And it also wasn't like a huge audience.
17:40
[SPEAKER_02]: No, no, we were probably averaging anywhere, during the peak of the pod, we were probably averaging anywhere from like 4 to 5,000 views of video.
17:50
[SPEAKER_02]: And we probably had 300 members total for the Patreon.
17:55
[SPEAKER_01]: So crazy.
17:56
[SPEAKER_01]: I hate that you guys stopped.
17:58
[SPEAKER_01]: Because that three to five thousand views that was brand.
18:02
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, not like algorithm People were coming back for the pride and I understand like I mean that's also something cool to get into Okay, so you grow this community and then you guys also started doing merch Pros and cons for starting merch on the back end of a
18:20
[SPEAKER_01]: social media audience.
18:22
[SPEAKER_02]: It's, I personally hated it because you had to house everything and distribute it yourself.
18:29
[SPEAKER_02]: You could go third party, but it doesn't have the personal touch, which I prefer in merchandise.
18:35
[SPEAKER_02]: So it's a headache for me.
18:37
[SPEAKER_02]: I personally wouldn't do merchandise.
18:39
[SPEAKER_02]: And I just don't, I mean, we could have made the margins better, but it's just, it's just a
18:46
[SPEAKER_01]: It was like what would you say net revenue from merch you guys did?
18:52
[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, and you were from like five to six thousand total revenue for all of the merch.
18:56
[SPEAKER_02]: That's from like the beginning of the merch till the very end.
18:59
[SPEAKER_02]: And we did pop ups and events and stuff.
19:01
[SPEAKER_02]: So that's included in that too.
19:03
[SPEAKER_01]: So good.
19:04
[SPEAKER_01]: Here's what my brain goes.
19:05
[SPEAKER_01]: My brain goes.
19:07
[SPEAKER_01]: You were already hanging out with your cousins.
19:10
[SPEAKER_01]: You guys probably laughed.
19:12
[SPEAKER_01]: and eight food and talked about culture and did that so you you turn on mics, you turn on cameras and and like whereas some other people will do like I don't know I feel like many people do odd side hustles to make a few bucks here in there but there's something about having a side hustle that is also very fulfilling yeah and it's not like taking away from you so you're essentially you started this
19:41
[SPEAKER_01]: podcast That was on track of scaling like the whichever way you would have wanted to take it And then after you said three four years you kind of you guys shut it down Yeah, we just shut it down.
19:52
[SPEAKER_02]: It was just too much, but I think we never at least me personally I never saw it as a side hustle.
19:56
[SPEAKER_02]: It was we're already doing this Let's just record it and at its peak.
20:03
[SPEAKER_02]: I remember telling the guys often like
20:05
[SPEAKER_02]: the the only reason we schedule time to see each other is because of this podcast and what a blessing it is for all of us because as soon as we stop recording we will never we won't see each other is often and that was true as soon as we ended it you know it's tough to like make time to see the homies if you if there's nothing yeah uh you know that's jankering it now you're in New York we're gonna have another company jays getting his barber's license right it's just like we're living different lives
20:29
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, that's crazy.
20:30
[SPEAKER_01]: So, um, really cool though, I think, I think there's something good about motive there.
20:35
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, like, don't be apologetic at the desire for money.
20:42
[SPEAKER_01]: But if you have an audience, there's a way, there is money there, email list or even just viewers.
20:48
[SPEAKER_01]: So you shut down the pocket and then you start posting short-form content with your grandma because you're doing care-taking content.
20:54
[SPEAKER_01]: And this is kind of where we can like talk into like how this turned into.
21:00
[SPEAKER_01]: crazy opportunity.
21:01
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, so you start filming yourself with a camera, wireless mic, just showing a side of your life that was already the case.
21:11
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
21:12
[SPEAKER_02]: I think the theme of all this is I was already doing this.
21:15
[SPEAKER_02]: I was already making music.
21:16
[SPEAKER_02]: I was already hanging out with my cousins.
21:17
[SPEAKER_02]: I was already helping my grandmother.
21:19
[SPEAKER_02]: Let's just film and make content out of it.
21:21
[SPEAKER_02]: So I think that principle of just film whatever it is that you're doing already.
21:25
[SPEAKER_02]: To make content so you don't have to like create you don't have to go and like build a whole production team to like make content is that's the theme What what did you do those days did you know in the moment as the lighting dynamic changed?
21:40
[SPEAKER_01]: Did you know in the moment that What what clips should be posted because let's just say let's take my sister as an example
21:49
[SPEAKER_01]: uh... she wants to post content of her doing hair which he only does once a week at this point in her career but like if she's supposed to know which thing from the day should be posted like what to capture when did you know to turn on the camera
22:04
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm not getting in the like the nitty gritty because that's just where people I think where I always go is I just air on the side of record everything One because it's just it makes it easier for you in post because you have everything to filter through and you never know like at the beginning of the cut or the beginning of the session Could link with what happened at the end because the story is actually really cool to tell it from in that in that way
22:26
[SPEAKER_02]: So my approach was always just like let's just record everything and figure it out and post which I know some people like they like to be spot on with like what am I about to film but I think when you're in when you're filming everything and documenting everything it's just easier to just record everything and yeah figure it out and post.
22:43
[SPEAKER_01]: That was good.
22:44
[SPEAKER_01]: I think something I would do knowing what I know now is doing what I just did here in New York and I would actually buy a separate phone.
22:52
[SPEAKER_01]: as a camera like do you have a thousand dollars or you can buy last year's phone do you have six hundred dollars don't buy whatever the new craze like for else new adidas jelly fissues you know like buy a separate camera keep it on airplane mode and you could trust that it's going to capture the stuff without having to get text messages and stuff but I think
23:14
[SPEAKER_01]: The accessibility of getting started, you know, you clicked on this podcast because you're like, man, like 2026 is going to be my year and we're saying What 2025 was your year?
23:26
[SPEAKER_01]: You just didn't have a camera on and Find the flow by just like Find the flow by just the go Okay, so you essentially became you essentially built a brand around
23:45
[SPEAKER_01]: caregiving and all Alzheimer's and the industry took notice of who you were because you were being invited to do stuff.
23:55
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
23:55
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, did you foresee that stuff when you?
23:59
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
24:00
[SPEAKER_02]: Absolutely not.
24:00
[SPEAKER_02]: And I'm glad that you asked that because I was going to make a disclaimer for people watching me.
24:03
[SPEAKER_02]: Maybe this is your first time ever interacting with me on camera, but
24:07
[SPEAKER_02]: I never set out to build a brand around being a caregiver.
24:10
[SPEAKER_02]: I was just Documenting my life and creating content because that's what I love to do.
24:15
[SPEAKER_02]: I love telling stories and I also just I love the the raw documentation and just being who I already am in front of the camera and and posting content online like that is what I love to do I wasn't like in my room making up a master plan like yeah, as soon as I post his first video That's gonna get a million like
24:32
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm about to be invited to care fast five years down the line to like go speak on a stage.
24:37
[SPEAKER_02]: None of that was in my foresight Yeah, I just decided to share the raw life of a caregiver and people seem to really notice and I think What people gravitated towards was one I was a young male.
24:50
[SPEAKER_02]: I was like in my early 20s
24:51
[SPEAKER_02]: And, which is, you know, this field is dominated by like older, older women.
24:56
[SPEAKER_02]: You don't really see men being caregivers.
24:58
[SPEAKER_02]: You don't really hear that.
24:59
[SPEAKER_02]: So I think when they saw that, and they saw that I was like, making this, this really difficult thing fun.
25:04
[SPEAKER_02]: I was like telling jokes.
25:06
[SPEAKER_02]: I was, uh, making fun of myself, using fun music, like, using slang, like, doing all kinds of things that are really, um, on orthodox.
25:16
[SPEAKER_02]: AKA, just being you.
25:18
[SPEAKER_02]: Just being you.
25:19
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
25:19
[SPEAKER_00]: I know what it is.
25:19
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
25:21
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, just being me in front of the camera.
25:23
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, everything you listed people would probably think going into it like would disqualify you Because I mean, we're all unicorns no one's necessarily like us and if you want to blend in then try To be different than you'll blend in, but if you're just yourself you'll be surprised dude like what I start looking around and I'm like dude
25:45
[SPEAKER_01]: Once you really just remove all the excess stuff that you're trying to be, you start to look around and you're like, ding, nobody really looks like me or sounds like me or does it like me or talk like me?
25:58
[SPEAKER_01]: You're fast forward, you're actually, you're going to speak on a panel, you said you're going to do an event with Hillary Clinton, which is like, what in the world is happening?
26:07
[SPEAKER_02]: What an ever thought that I'd be on a similar room with people like that.
26:11
[SPEAKER_02]: But that's where my life is taking me, and again, it was never written down in my master plan to end up here, but I think just being myself having the skill of creating content and that skill being valuable to a company like tender care or other people like companies that put on stuff like care fest.
26:29
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
26:29
[SPEAKER_02]: They took, they took notice and they want to learn.
26:32
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, so okay, so last time we had this conversation, you were just trying to figure out what this next season of your life would look like.
26:40
[SPEAKER_01]: In that time, you said, you made a documentary on this company, what you just found.
26:46
[SPEAKER_02]: Well, they, they reached out and they were like, hey, we see your killing it.
26:49
[SPEAKER_02]: It would love to talk about work in together.
26:52
[SPEAKER_02]: So then they fly you and the homies out in New York.
26:56
[SPEAKER_02]: They flew out to San Francisco to meet the CEO and founder of Shana.
27:00
[SPEAKER_02]: Yes.
27:00
[SPEAKER_02]: And I was like, hey, let's, let me, let's tell your story of being a caregiver for your dad, who has Alzheimer's, who is in mid-stage Alzheimer's.
27:08
[SPEAKER_02]: She's been a caregiver for the last 14 years.
27:10
[SPEAKER_02]: Nobody knows who she is.
27:11
[SPEAKER_02]: Nobody knows a story because she hasn't taken the time to tell it.
27:14
[SPEAKER_02]: She's too busy building a company.
27:15
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
27:15
[SPEAKER_02]: And I was like, let me go and help tell your story.
27:18
[SPEAKER_02]: And we went to San Francisco to film what what a day in the life was like as a as a CEO and as a caregiver for her dad.
27:26
[SPEAKER_02]: And we made his documentary for her.
27:28
[SPEAKER_01]: So you make this documentary, at the same time, you said you signed a book deal.
27:34
[SPEAKER_01]: These are all things that happened before, right after we did our thing.
27:37
[SPEAKER_01]: So like, did you ever think you'd ever signed a book deal?
27:41
[SPEAKER_02]: Come on, bro, not.
27:42
[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, ever, no.
27:43
[SPEAKER_02]: I never thought I'd be writing a book.
27:46
[SPEAKER_02]: Let alone get a book deal.
27:47
[SPEAKER_02]: And like, are you K to share the range of what this book deal looks like?
27:51
[SPEAKER_02]: It's in the high six figures more than 150,000 for the book deal.
27:56
[SPEAKER_01]: So six figure book deal because you threw on a camera.
28:01
[SPEAKER_02]: Dude, it's just crazy.
28:02
[SPEAKER_02]: The life is crazy when you turn on a camera and make onto it.
28:06
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, and if it feels late, I think it's still early.
28:13
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, it's crazy.
28:14
[SPEAKER_01]: Like it's crazy to think like you didn't miss the train, like AI, dude, it's funny about AI too.
28:19
[SPEAKER_01]: It's just like,
28:20
[SPEAKER_01]: AI is not replacing what we're talking about.
28:23
[SPEAKER_01]: Like AI couldn't have captured this podcast right now.
28:26
[SPEAKER_01]: AI couldn't have made this conversation happen.
28:28
[SPEAKER_01]: Like it just the way it happened was because of human doing stuff.
28:33
[SPEAKER_01]: But so you six-figure brand new and then you get this opportunity where they they offered you a position to be the creative director is.
28:50
[SPEAKER_01]: and the skills you possess that could be used to scale this company.
28:54
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, yeah, talk about how that even came about.
28:58
[SPEAKER_02]: Sure.
28:58
[SPEAKER_02]: So by the way, we, it was, they didn't offer it out right out the gate.
29:02
[SPEAKER_02]: I want people to really understand, because I get a lot of DMs now, like, because they see that I'm working with this company.
29:07
[SPEAKER_02]: Sellout?
29:08
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I'm screwed.
29:09
[SPEAKER_02]: And people are like, oh, like, how did you do that?
29:11
[SPEAKER_02]: Like, how do you get to the bag?
29:12
[SPEAKER_02]: Or like, what did you have to do?
29:14
[SPEAKER_02]: And I was like,
29:15
[SPEAKER_02]: I had to continuously show up and be consistent and be the guy that would be willing to do things maybe without pay because I really cared about this company and what they were trying to achieve.
29:27
[SPEAKER_01]: And by the way, did they did her or tender care like did they ever like comment on your stuff consistently?
29:33
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, like you didn't even know the existed and like this is like
29:38
[SPEAKER_01]: people are watching.
29:39
[SPEAKER_01]: If you just commit to being consistent, people will watch what you're doing.
29:43
[SPEAKER_01]: And I'm not even one to engage much, you know, but okay, keep going.
29:47
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, so we made this documentary, you put it out.
29:50
[SPEAKER_02]: Everybody's really happy about how it went.
29:53
[SPEAKER_02]: And I was like, let's continue working.
29:54
[SPEAKER_02]: I didn't ask for, I never asked for a position up front.
29:57
[SPEAKER_02]: I was just like, let's keep figuring out how I can help you guys tell the story.
30:01
[SPEAKER_02]: and they we did a couple more projects and then eventually I sent them a pitch deck me and Mars came up with a pitch deck and was like yo I think I could be your guys' creative director and they were like well think about it and then a couple months later we ended up figuring out a deal and they you know welcome to me as a full-time employee employee number seven and I've been helping them out ever since it's so cool at
30:28
[SPEAKER_01]: because most people want to get into content creation and build their personal brand to like build their own thing.
30:35
[SPEAKER_01]: And I actually don't know if there's such thing as anyone being successful building their own thing.
30:42
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, one would even look at what I'm doing.
30:44
[SPEAKER_01]: They're like, almost building his own thing.
30:45
[SPEAKER_01]: And it really is, like, I'm really building other people's thing with my, my thing is just to do that.
30:51
[SPEAKER_01]: And that is why it's successful.
30:53
[SPEAKER_01]: And like, the, whatever, whatever conclusion we have in our head from getting started, because if we think about it, the reason why somebody's listening or watching this and their stuck is because they are married to a conclusion that they don't know is true, right?
31:12
[SPEAKER_01]: like it's like what I'm trying to say is the biggest thing you're doing by showing up consistently is creating opportunity and I found that more than money, more than scaling a business and all that stuff, relationships, connections, networking, serving,
31:35
[SPEAKER_01]: Giving value into an industry that in a way they'd never seen it before bringing a fresh take on something There's nothing you under this son the Bible says, but something we can do is share a fresh perspective All those things are way better than just get the money and and Most people don't take the step to be consistent because it doesn't feel like it's worth their time, but you have a poor
32:01
[SPEAKER_01]: Perspective on time and money to begin with.
32:04
[SPEAKER_01]: It's everything we're talking about Would you say now looking back it was worth the time?
32:11
[SPEAKER_02]: There's 100% worth my entire 20s.
32:15
[SPEAKER_02]: I dedicated my entire 20s to this process.
32:17
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, and I'm just now reaping a little bit of reward.
32:21
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, just a little I'm
32:22
[SPEAKER_02]: both of us are so early in the process and I was just talking about this last night that you can't you tell a young person that and they're like yeah whatever bro let me get the bag but it isn't until you feel the hardship of the five year the six year the seven year where you're like wait patience is actually the game here and that's the real game and
32:40
[SPEAKER_02]: the gain from the early stages is not worth blowing to not receive the reward at the end.
32:48
[SPEAKER_02]: So be patient and I know it's difficult for young people hearing that or people early in their process to like prop on it.
32:54
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm trying to cash out now.
32:55
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, but really I'm telling you like after 11 years of creating content consistently in building relationships patients has served me so well.
33:12
[SPEAKER_01]: everything else like it was you were you were starting on a blank canvas like what would be your blueprint knowing what you know like your go you're it's December 2020 five you're going into 2026 you're like dude i'm going i'm gonna now be consistent but the way i'm gonna do that is this
33:30
[SPEAKER_02]: I really think it would be, I would start a podcast.
33:34
[SPEAKER_02]: Why?
33:35
[SPEAKER_02]: Because it's the easiest way to create content and have conversations that you were already going to have with people.
33:40
[SPEAKER_02]: And the easiest way to get multiple forms of content.
33:45
[SPEAKER_02]: One, long form with YouTube, YouTube is king, over everything.
33:48
[SPEAKER_02]: Over all social media platforms.
33:49
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't care what anybody says.
33:50
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't care what I,
33:50
[SPEAKER_02]: what you like the the example that I provide online like I don't I if you look at my content it doesn't look like that I think that but I know that internally that YouTube is number one for everything um and and podcast long-form podcast gets you that and it also gets you clips and it also gets you uh paid yeah you get paid to market your own thing tell me any other platform that really does that consistently I can't think of one insane it's insane
34:15
[SPEAKER_01]: did this year, we'll probably do 90K in AdSense to promote your own thing.
34:21
[SPEAKER_02]: No, insane.
34:23
[SPEAKER_02]: It's insane.
34:23
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I don't get it.
34:25
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't get it either.
34:26
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
34:27
[SPEAKER_02]: But, and that's a, that's a, it's a whole plane itself.
34:30
[SPEAKER_02]: But I would, okay, start a podcast.
34:31
[SPEAKER_02]: What would you start a podcast about, um, ah, man, I really don't know.
34:37
[SPEAKER_02]: I think,
34:40
[SPEAKER_02]: I would love to so that I have a podcast called Keep In Moving.
34:43
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't really promote it as that.
34:44
[SPEAKER_02]: That's just the term that I've given it so that it shows up as a podcast playlist on YouTube.
34:50
[SPEAKER_02]: But I'm really interested in the 10 year journey of somebody or the journey of you at the beginning of think media and even before that to where you are now there's so much wisdom in that conversations about 10 years.
35:04
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes.
35:05
[SPEAKER_01]: 10 years time keeping a move in so okay so you're gonna do which that is brilliant by the way because I find that one of the best content ideas is just simply a time trade so the like
35:23
[SPEAKER_01]: There's this really famous video as 36 years of business advice in two hours, you know, and but if you're whole concept and idea is around the idea of.
35:38
[SPEAKER_01]: biggest lessons in ten years.
35:41
[SPEAKER_01]: Do that.
35:41
[SPEAKER_01]: I actually all confirm that.
35:42
[SPEAKER_01]: That's like a one.
35:44
[SPEAKER_01]: Do literally meet me in a minute.
35:46
[SPEAKER_01]: We're here in New York ten years ago.
35:47
[SPEAKER_01]: November.
35:48
[SPEAKER_01]: I have a photo.
35:50
[SPEAKER_01]: I'll show you later.
35:51
[SPEAKER_01]: But I was I took it in front of the grace building because I had a little accessories company called Grace Brand.
35:57
[SPEAKER_01]: And um
35:59
[SPEAKER_01]: like when I think about like who I was 10 years ago bro like literally like from this point I just you couldn't you couldn't even like imagine and I actually wanted to sit down with Amanda and like shoot that video like what is it been like 10 years from August because six years from that moment
36:16
[SPEAKER_01]: I quit my job or I resigned from my role at the church.
36:19
[SPEAKER_01]: I was working at and then the rest is history But it but the catalyst was a trip to New York It's insane which by the way, I still have the the dog tag from from one of the pop-ups like Yeah, let's go.
36:30
[SPEAKER_01]: That's crazy.
36:31
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay, so you would start a podcast.
36:32
[SPEAKER_02]: You would you would clip it up?
36:34
[SPEAKER_02]: And I would spend 100% of my time distributing my content and then replying to whoever is coming in the DMs in the comments and then I'm making content.
36:45
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm filtering through every single comment that comes through as context for the next guest to make sure that this person gets seen or this person gets heard on the next one.
36:55
[SPEAKER_02]: did so good and that's it and just run that play and be consistent and I know we've said that so many times but like dude you've been so consistent with your podcast for once a week which is by the way people think like once a week is like that's not enough dude literally once a week we're gonna celebrate a hundred episodes this weekend
37:14
[SPEAKER_01]: from the time I shoot in this podcast and I just think about how like that was literally it.
37:20
[SPEAKER_01]: Like I was, bro, I did this one thing once a week and it changed my life and it was posting a very long video on YouTube.
37:29
[SPEAKER_01]: I've been conversations with people, I've been conversations and that's it.
37:33
[SPEAKER_01]: Like I, I was, I'm trying to like, you know, this that, no, it's like literally that was it and um,
37:41
[SPEAKER_01]: But the intentions, I told myself, I'm gonna do this, till Jesus comes back.
37:47
[SPEAKER_01]: That was like the business plan.
37:49
[SPEAKER_01]: So, so that's why I was okay with me, mediocrity in the beginning, cause like I always have next week's at bat.
37:59
[SPEAKER_01]: like even when it goes crazy like right now it's all gray and arrows down right now if you know what I'm talking about he's laughing because when you go on YouTube and you look at your stats and you're consistent it's like this is a slump season but there's slump seasons and there's freaking peak seasons and even when it's a peak season you still got to show up the next week which just gives you it's the it's also the internal creativity to be able to have conversations and not
38:23
[SPEAKER_01]: say the same thing or package things the same way.
38:26
[SPEAKER_01]: I literally had a very similar conversation before this one with Calum Johnson, but it was a completely different conversation.
38:33
[SPEAKER_01]: So I think that's the beauty of nuance and finding the nuance in the content you want to create.
38:42
[SPEAKER_01]: Don't overthink the whole niche thing.
38:43
[SPEAKER_01]: I love that you even thought up the 10 year thing is really cool because that provides the context
38:51
[SPEAKER_01]: to every conversation.
38:53
[SPEAKER_01]: And who cares the niche, the niche is human.
38:57
[SPEAKER_02]: I love that niche is human, right?
38:59
[SPEAKER_02]: And how much more niche can you get?
39:01
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah.
39:02
[SPEAKER_01]: No, yeah, it's crazy.
39:03
[SPEAKER_01]: Bro, appreciate you, a legit like this video was sponsored by Tender Care.
39:09
[SPEAKER_01]: So what's the ad read for Tender Care?
39:11
[SPEAKER_02]: Tender Care is the number one platform for all things caregiving.
39:15
[SPEAKER_02]: It helps you organize all your documents and we connect you to professionals in your area.
39:20
[SPEAKER_02]: We make caregiving a little bit easier because caregiving is really hard.
39:23
[SPEAKER_02]: And caregiving is under looked overlooked and undervalued by many, many people.
39:29
[SPEAKER_02]: And we will all experience caregiving in some capacity.
39:32
[SPEAKER_02]: I've seen it in my own family, and we're here to support you because I know what it's like.
39:38
[SPEAKER_01]: You ever thought about the word care giving or the, it's like a double give, which is why it's exhausting.
39:46
[SPEAKER_01]: It's so exhausting.
39:46
[SPEAKER_01]: So there's care.
39:48
[SPEAKER_01]: Giving.
39:48
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, I sound like, I'm saying nothing.
39:52
[SPEAKER_01]: But no, literally, it's like this concept that,
39:55
[SPEAKER_01]: it's it's it's probably the highest forms of service yeah it's not just that you care emotionally mentally but it's also care externally and and at a care that shown love does bro love love isn't is love does oh man so I do just proud of you and really pumped to see the journey and
40:16
[SPEAKER_01]: And did shoot what have you on at their time once the company exits And then talk about the new venture.
40:23
[SPEAKER_02]: We want to talk about patience, bro.
40:24
[SPEAKER_02]: Like to see me in 20 years like when we exit That's a go.
40:27
[SPEAKER_01]: It'd be crazy.
40:28
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, shout out to New York and appreciate you if you're listening right now DM me and just DM me the word department fam and appreciate y'all Sign it off