👋🏽 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.

I recently signed with management for the first time after years of being completely independent.

In this week’s newsletter, I want to walk you through my exact decision-making process, including the math I used, why I waited, and what this means for creators considering management.

Let's dive in.

📚 In partnership with Teachable

What I'm learning as a “modern course creator”

I'm creating my first course right now (designed for you) , and I almost made the classic mistake: trying to put everything I know about growing as a creator into one massive program.

Then I caught myself. That's the old playbook…and it doesn't work anymore.

Instead, I'm focusing in on one major transformation: helping creators break through the mental barriers that keep them stuck in planning mode.

Not "everything about creating" but "the specific mindset shifts that turn planners into creators."

This is exactly what Teachable calls the "Modern Course Creator" approach.

The future of online learning and digital products is that people don't need more information. Instead, what they need is a GUIDE who delivers clear transformation over overwhelming content dumps.

And that guide is YOU!

Want to build, sell, and scale smarter in 2025?

Download Teachable's guide to help you simplify your systems, clarify your value, and create offers that actually sell.

✍️ Spotlight

When (and why) creators should work with management

For five years, I've been an independent creator.

I’ve secured every brand deal, negotiated every partnership, and built every brand relationship myself.

And I’ve been very proud of that.

But recently, I decided to sign with management.

So why the change? And more importantly, what does this mean for creators thinking about management?

Let me break down my thinking while it's still fresh, because there's real value in understanding when this shift makes sense (and when it doesn't).

What made me consider management

When Aneesh from The Wishly Group (who spoke at our CONNECT conference!) approached me about representation, I was intrigued by two key possibilities:

• Growth potential: Could they help me secure opportunities I wouldn't have found on my own?

• Bandwidth freedom: Could they free up time for me to focus on longer-term, more strategic initiatives that would benefit both me and this community?

But first, I needed to understand my own numbers.

My "management math"

I started by evaluating the data I already had in front of me:

• My current monthly/quarterly partnership revenue

• Time spent on partnership-related tasks (prospecting, negotiating, executing)

• My conversion rate from pitch to signed deal

• Average deal size and repeat partnership rate

And then, I approached this decision like any business decision: What's the ROI?

Here's my framework:

• The Cost: 20% commission on deals they bring in. That’s not insignificant.

• The Test: Can they generate more total revenue than I'm currently bringing in solo, even after their commission?

• The Bonus: How much time do I get back to focus on other areas of Creator Economy NYC and my personal life?

This approach came from watching other creators in our community make decisions based on emotion rather than data.

I've seen creators sign with managers because they felt "behind" compared to peers, or because they got frustrated with a single rejection. I've also seen creators turn down great management opportunities because they were afraid of giving up control (this was tough for me, too).

The key insight from our community: the most successful creator-manager relationships are built on clear expectations and measurable outcomes.

My advice for other creators

Here's what I want every creator to understand: You shouldn't rush into management.

I spent five years learning the creator business inside and out:

• Building brand partnership relationships from scratch

• Learning to negotiate (and getting rejected... a lot)

• Understanding my rates and value proposition

• Perfecting my pitch deck

• Understanding the entire ecosystem

That foundation made me a better partner for management, not just a client hoping someone else would figure it out for me.

When management makes sense (and when it doesn't)

Through our events and community discussions, I've noticed patterns in who thrives with management versus who struggles:

Management might make sense if:

• You're already successful at securing deals independently

• You have more opportunities than you can realistically handle

• You want to scale beyond what's possible with your current bandwidth

• You understand your value and can evaluate whether they're adding to it

Management probably doesn't make sense if:

• You're just starting out and hoping they'll solve your problems

• You haven't learned the fundamentals of creator business

• You're not already generating consistent revenue

• You don't understand your own value proposition

The bigger lesson

The most important thing I've learned about management is this: It's a partnership, not a solution.

Good management amplifies what you're already doing well. They don't create success from nothing… they scale success you've already built.

I'm sharing this journey transparently because I want you to see the decision-making process, not just the outcome. In three months, I'll report back on whether this experiment is working.

🎪 City Happenings

MIXER & PANEL: Creators mean business (with Visa!) - July 21st

We’re teaming up with Visa this month to celebrate and explore how creators are redefining what it means to be a business in 2025.

We'll dive into the journeys of two standout NYC creators — Vincent Chan and Nicole Casperson — who are forging their own paths, and hear from Visa's Head of Small Business on why they're officially recognizing creators as small businesses.

Expect great conversation, meaningful connections, and a night built for creators who mean business. See you there.

📚 Resources

LAUNCHING SOON: "F*ck It, Create It" Course (Early Access)

I've been heads down working on our first creator education course: "F*ck It, Create It."

It's designed to break through the mental barriers that keep you stuck in planning mode instead of creating mode.

I’m looking for early testers to help shape the course. Jump in early and get a limited-edition hat plus access to resources, challenges, and community accountability.

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!)

🤝 Industry Conference

Creator Economy Live East is coming to NYC August 5-6.

This influencer marketing conference hosts brands like NBA, Hulu, Southwest Airlines. With speakers from Hilton, SHEIN, FOX, Nespresso, United Airlines. It’s stacked.

I'm partnering with them because it's actually worth your time. And you get 15% off a ticket with the code CENYC15.

Snag your ticket, and see you there →

✌🏽 Stand Clear of the Closing Doors Please

Thanks for reading! I'll keep you posted on how this experiment goes.

Let's keep creating,

Brett