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

We hosted our final event of 2025 on Wednesday, which feels surreal to say. Thanks for being part of it all this year.

At the event, our panel dove into an honest conversation about what it actually takes to build a product business as a creator.

Sharing with you some of my top takeaways from our convo to support your thinking heading into the new year.

Let’s dive in.

— Brett

Shopify continues to be a driving force in helping creators build sustainable businesses.

Right here in the city that never sleeps, they’re powering the next generation of creator-led brands with everything needed to launch and scale – from customizable storefronts to powerful tools for inventory, marketing, and customer relationships.

Whether you're building from a Brooklyn studio or a Manhattan skyscraper, Shopify makes it possible to turn your creator business into something bigger.

Building products in 2026: the stuff that actually matters

Bryan from Little Chonk, Jess from Women of Type, David from Superlost Coffee, and Jacob from Shopify got brutally honest about what building a product business actually requires.

The tools are easier than ever. The fundamentals haven't changed at all.

Here's what matters as we head into 2026:

Know your product options (and what they actually require)

The barriers to launching a product have never been lower. But each path requires different levels of commitment:

• Print-on-demand (Printful, Printify): Zero inventory risk. You design it, they print and ship it. Works great for apparel with original artwork.

• White-labeling: Partner with manufacturers who handle production. David's coffee company does this for other creators - they source, roast, and package while the creator focuses on marketing.

• Custom manufacturing: Build it from scratch. For ex, Bryan spent four years designing his dog backpack - learning patent law, testing prototypes, managing factories.

Your audience is already telling you what to build

Every creator on the panel started the same way: they made something they personally needed, then noticed people asking "where can I buy this?" in comments and DMs.

That's your signal. Not a market analysis. Not what's trending. Your audience is often begging you for a solution.

Mission is everything when shit hits the fan

Being a creator is already hard. Adding a product business on top? It's brutal.

This year, Bryan dealt with tariffs forcing factory moves. Jess shut down international shipping when costs exploded. David navigated supply chain chaos. Every single day brought new problems that had nothing to do with making content.

When someone asked about exit strategies, Jess cut through the noise: "There's no exit strategy. You do this because you love it. The exit is failure, which shouldn't be an option."

It's about internal drive. When you're managing inventory at 2am, dealing with customer service issues, and still need to create content, you better be doing it because something inside you has to build this thing.

If you won't sell it, don't build it

The room got quiet when Bryan said this: "I can't tell you how many creators launch a product then refuse to talk about it because they don't want to be a salesman. Well, then don't fucking build a product."

This is the inconvenient truth nobody wants to hear.

KatGPT (who recently launched a physical phone) makes 3 pieces of content per week for her personal brand. She makes 3 pieces per day for her product. 

That's the actual ratio.

Your product needs more content than you do. Not less. Not the same. More.

If that makes you uncomfortable, you have two choices: get comfortable with it or don't launch a product business.

Building a product means you're signing up to be a salesperson. Every single day. In your content. In your DMs. In your emails. There's no version of this where you launch something and "let it speak for itself."

Persistence is the entire game

David emailed a Whole Foods buyer 50+ times. Radio silence for months. Finally, the buyer responded: "Stop emailing me, please."

David's reply? "Just put me in one store and I'll leave you alone."

They did. Now Superlost Coffee is in multiple Whole Foods locations.

The pattern is everywhere. Most people quit right before the breakthrough. Not because they're not good enough. Because they interpret silence as rejection when it's usually just... silence.

This isn't about being annoying. It's about understanding that busy people miss things. That timing matters more than you realize. That persistence signals genuine belief in what you're offering.

The bottom line for 2026

The creators who win next year won't be the ones with the most polished launches or the biggest budgets.

They'll be the ones who:

• Build something people are already asking for

• Care more than anyone else about the problem they're solving

• Refuse to stop when the first version fails

• Show up consistently even when engagement drops

• Get comfortable selling every single day

The tools are there. The playbooks exist. What's missing isn't information…it's the willingness to push through when everyone else checks out.

Thank you for an incredible year!

This was our biggest year of events yet, and it wouldn't have been possible without you showing up, engaging, and being part of this community.

From packed panels to spontaneous conversations in the back of the room, you made every event what it was. Thank you.

2026 is going to be even bigger. New partners. New formats. Maybe even new cities.

Our next event is likely the final week of January. Pencil it in. More details coming soon.

Finally, if you attended any of our events over the years, could you share a brief testimonial with me? Just click the link below!

3 weeks left in the year, it’s time to finally launch the thing you've been thinking about (40% off with code ‘FICI’ till Monday)

If you've been sitting on an idea but can't seem to take the first step, this is for you.

F*ck It, Create It is a proven mindset shift and workbook that helps you clarify what to build and gives you the confidence to actually ship it. It's the same framework that helped me go from "I should do this" to actually building Creator Economy NYC into the largest creator community in the country.

This is what one person in our community wrote me this week after taking it:

That's what this course does: gives you clarity and confidence to finally move.

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 2026.

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

That's it for this week. And remember, if you're thinking about building something in 2026, ask yourself the hard questions now. Do you actually want it? Are you ready to sell? Get after it!

See you next week,

Brett