👋🏽 Doors Opening

Hey! Welcome to Creator Economy NYC — the premier hub where the creator economy connects, learns, and thrives.

Last Saturday, we hosted our first-ever conference where 200+ creators, founders, and curious minds came together for an all-day experience — and the energy was unreal.

The biggest sign we did something right? Everyone left with a takeaway.

So this week, we’re diving into our favorite moments, insights, and aha’s from the day.

Let’s dive in.

✍️ Spotlight

My biggest takeaway from CONNECT?

Everyone had a takeaway. I've never seen so many recap posts in my life!

The week after CONNECT, my feed turned into a highlight reel… post after post, creators and attendees breaking down what stuck with them. Which honestly says more than I ever could: the day hit.

So instead of pretending I've got the definitive summary, I figured I'd do what we do best in this community — listen. I combed through the recaps, the screenshots, the scribbled notebook pages, and pulled out the threads that showed up again and again.

The insights that kept coming up

LinkedIn is having its moment.

We joked that "Cringy LinkedIn influencer" was the phrase of the day, but real talk: the platform is a serious unlock right now. Only 1% of people post, but 55% actively engage. The opportunity is wide open, and creators are finally catching on.

Impact > Overwhelm.

Olivia Owens nailed this: something like a course doesn't need to be 16 hours long to be valuable.

The best creators optimize for outcomes, not duration. If your content creates real transformation, that's what people will pay for. Stop overthinking it.

Start before you're ready.

Jess Ramos called out the thing we all do: waiting for perfection. That voice telling you your content is cringe? Ignore it. Post anyway. Build now, before life forces you to. Treat it like a business — because it is one.

Her timing couldn't have been better… half the room was probably overthinking their next post right then and there lol. She reminded us: sometimes you have to climb "cringe mountain" to get to the other side.

Simply put… F*ck It, Create It.

Lead with your story.

Terry Rice reminded us: "Be known for who you are, not what you do." Your struggles aren't weaknesses — they're your superpowers. People want to learn from the real you, not your LinkedIn resume.

What made this land so hard? Terry shared his own vulnerable moments throughout the talk, proving his point in real time.

Design your business like a sandwich.

Gabby Beckford's framework stuck with everyone: Start with where you are now. Layer on your ideal lifestyle. Add research to fill the gap. Your creator business should support the life you want… not the other way around.

I watched people frantically taking notes on this one… you could see them mentally redesigning their entire approach.

Viral fades. Value compounds.

Elfried Samba brought it back to basics: know your value prop, pick a platform where your audience actually is, and show up with one valuable idea, every day.

His mantra? Be the most helpful person in the room.

It’s not about chasing virality — it’s about consistent value, clarity of purpose, and the patience to let your audience find you.

And his reminder hit: even 200 engaged people is powerful. Build for them like they matter — because they do. (pointing out the 200-person filled room and putting into perspective the size of the impact).

Scale starts with systems.

Dara Denney's insight hit different: scaling doesn't mean you personally do more — it means you stop doing everything yourself.

Whether it's AI tools or finding the right VA, successful creators know what only they can do versus what can be delegated or automated.

The Q&A after this was pure gold as everyone wanted to know exactly what they could hand off first. Something I am actively thinking about!

No experience is wasted.

Our keynote speaker Timm Chiusano reminded us that every twist in your journey — even the detours — adds to your unique perspective. It's what separates you from the others. Your unique story. Your personal monopoly.

But what really stuck with me was his point about time: you only get one May 16, 2025. One today. One chance at this exact moment.

Bold self-awareness isn't just nice to have; it's the foundation of authentic content. And authentic content requires you to actually create it… today, not tomorrow.

The themes that tied it all together

Beyond the individual quotes, a few bigger themes kept surfacing:

• F*ck it, Create it. Every speaker, in their own way, said the same thing: stop waiting to be ready. Your real experiences are more valuable than polished content.

• Business thinking, creator heart. The most successful creators aren't just making content — they're building sustainable businesses around their expertise, personality and unique story.

• Community over competition. The fact that so many people shared takeaways, tagged each other, and built on each other's insights? That's the creator economy working exactly as it should. A rising tide lifts all boats.

We also asked a few attendees to share their biggest takeaway from CONNECT — in their own words. Hear what they learned.

And I added a few “post-game” thoughts as well. Watch it here.

What stood out to me

More than any individual takeaway, CONNECT reminded me why we built this community: to create a space where creators feel seen, where insights flow freely, and where we remember we're all building something bigger than just content.

The LinkedIn posts, the screenshots, the follow-up DMs — they all prove the same thing. When creators get together to share real talk about this industry, something clicks. Ideas spark, connections form, and suddenly everyone's got clarity on what they need to do next… keep building.

If you were there — thank you for making it what it was. If you weren't — don't worry. A lot more ahead!

Special thank you to Teachable for their incredible partnership and support for this community, and our other sponsors, ManyChat, MOFT, and Lyft.

I also want to shout out Winter Mendelson for their CONNECT takeaways that helped with today’s piece.

🎪 City Happenings

What's next: summer events preview

We're catching our breath after CONNECT and an incredible Q1/Q2. As we look ahead, here's what we're planning to continue bringing our creator economy community together (though details are still being finalized):

• Virtual event — final week of June

• Mixer & panel — July 22

• Mixer & panel — August 19

All events will be added to our events calendar once confirmed. As always, you'll hear about them first right here in the newsletter, then on our socials.

Stay tuned!

📚 Resources

2 FREE resources to accelerate your creator growth

The Creator Goal Setting Guide: A simple but powerful document to help you declare who you want to BECOME in 2025.

The Creator Accountability System: Your visual companion for consistent creation in 2025 (I’m using this now to send one newsletter a week!)

✌🏽 Stand Clear of the Closing Doors Please

Thanks so much for reading! It is an honor to build alongside you. See you next week.

LFC(reate),

Brett