👋🏽 Doors Opening

Hey! Welcome to the Creator Economy NYC newsletter — your weekly dose of actionable insights and strategies to help you build, monetize, and scale as a creator.

Last week, I challenged you to find your why and identify your essential 30% — the core work that truly matters.

This week, I'm sharing what happened when I took on that same challenge and discovered my 'why' and the mission behind it.

Let's dive in.

🎥 Brought to you by BILD Expo

The creator event you can't miss (and it's FREE)

Our friends at B&H are hosting their BILD Expo that’s happening June 17-18 at the Javits Center in NYC. It's basically Christmas morning for creators.

We're talking 100+ speakers, including Peter McKinnon, Brandon Woelfel, and the Mr. Beast Film Team. Plus hands-on gear demos, portfolio reviews, photowalks, and networking that actually matters.

Plus, it's happening right here in our backyard. And did I mention it's completely free!?

See you there.

✍️ Spotlight

Mission vs Vision: The framework every creator needs

I took my own advice from last week's challenge and went through the essential 30% exercise for Creator Economy NYC (inspired by how Steve Jobs slashed 70% of Apple's projects to focus on what truly mattered).

What I discovered is that knowing your why is just the beginning.

There's a crucial next step: translating that why into a clear mission and vision that actually guides your daily decisions. Going through this exercise completely shifted how I think about everything we're building together.

I went through that exact exercise for Creator Economy NYC, and what I discovered completely shifted how I think about everything we're building together.

From why to how: mission and vision building

Here's what I've learned from helping hundreds of creators at our events and studying successful brands: knowing your why is essential, but it's not enough.

You need to build systems around that why.

Mission = How you deliver on your why every day. Your operational purpose.

Vision = The long-term impact you want your why to create in the world.

Most creators stop at finding their why and wonder why they're still scattered.

But here's the thing: your why needs structure. Your mission and vision act as decision-making filters for every piece of content, every opportunity, every use of your limited time.

Think of your why as the foundation, your mission as the blueprint, and your vision as the destination.

What I landed on (and how it shows up)

Here's what I've decided for CENYC:

Mission: Empowering creators and their professional ambitions through intentionally curated events, content, and education.

Vision: To unlock professional opportunity for every creator and redefine what a modern career can look like.

This is now actively shaping everything we build.

Every decision now gets filtered through: "Does this help empower creators in their professional ambitions?" If not, it's not part of our essential 30%.

I'm curious if this resonates with you as part of our community — hit reply and let me know your thoughts.

Your turn: The mission clarity exercise

Ready to find your own North Star? Here's the framework to use:

Step 1: Start with impact

• What change do you want to create in people's lives?

• What problem are you uniquely positioned to solve?

• What would success look like for your audience?

Step 2: Define your unique value

• What's your specific angle or perspective?

• How do you deliver value differently than others?

• What do people consistently come to you for?

Step 3: Craft your mission (what you do daily) Template: "I help [target audience] achieve [specific outcome] through [your unique method/content]."

Example: "I help young professionals build wealth and financial confidence through relatable education and actionable money strategies."

Step 4: Dream your vision (long-term impact) Template: "To create a world where [your desired change] becomes possible/normal/accessible."

Example: "To create a world where financial literacy is accessible to everyone, regardless of background or income level."

The real test

Once you have your mission and vision, everything becomes clearer:

• Which content ideas align with your mission?

• Which opportunities support your vision?

• Where should you spend your time and energy?

If you can't clearly articulate your mission in one to two sentences, start there. It's the foundation everything else builds on.

Your challenge: Take 20 minutes this week to go through this exercise. Write it down. Share it with someone. Let it guide your next content decision.

And if you want to share what you come up with, hit reply — I'd love to see what you discover about your own creator journey.

🎪 City Happenings

What's next: summer events preview

Summer events are in the works! Stay tuned for announcements on our July, August and September events. More details coming soon, but for now:

• Virtual event — Early July (TBA next week)

• Mixer & panel (announcing partner soon) — July 22 (RSVP EARLY HERE 😎)

• September Mixer & Panel — Late September (TBA)

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.

📚 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! This mission and vision exercise has been a game-changer for me, and I hope it does the same for you.

Let's keep building with intention.

LFC(reate),

Brett