My Journey to Full Time Content Creation (and how I knew when to quit my job)

You know those people you see on your way to work? They're pulling their boat headed to the lake. They're always catching a flight. Posting from wherever they are in the world. They're at home spending time with their kids. They're at Target. And you wonder.. Don't these people have jobs? These are the people I used to give the side eye, until I became one of them.

I used to be one of those miserable people, unsatisfied at my job and wondering if there was “more” to life. I subconsciously took it out on those people. I regret to admit that I was one of those “must be nicers.” And this video is the story of how I went from clocking in, watching everyone else live the life I wished I had, to becoming a full-time content creator who gets to build my own schedule, chase my passions, and work on building a business I love that grows every year.

So if you’ve ever felt stuck, jealous, confused, or like “that could never be me”… keep reading. Because I was exactly where you are—and my life changed.

PRE FULL TIME CONTENT

First, let’s rewind to 2019. I was working at an outdoor industry PR agency—doing the behind-the-scenes stuff: publishing press releases, meeting with outdoor media, handling influencer management, trade shows, and networking my way through the industry.

Can I start out by saying it was a solid job. I was learning a lot. In case any of my old coworkers are watching, can I just say I had no idea what I was doing? Some of the things I had to do at my job I was like “my professors did not cover this. Holy crap.” There were points in my career there where I learned just how unorganized, and not ready for the real world I was. 

Strengths: I knew the product. I knew the industry. If we were in a meeting presenting the newest fishing gear to the media, I could sell it like a pro. I was very educated about my client’s products because I was a user. 

Weaknesses: Though I was thankful to work on such big accounts, I struggled with managing them. I wasn’t organized enough to work on large accounts at such a high level. My years fresh out of college kicked me in the teeth to where I didn’t manage my time well, and I didn’t problem solve that well either. Looking back, I’m just glad someone took a risk on hiring me at a dream job straight out of college. It was truly eye opening on the things I needed to personally and professionally work on to be better.

2 or 3 years went by at that job, and my social media was growing quite a bit. First things first, it was awkward. I would wake up to 10K new followers, and go about my day job, then go home and film. Attending trade shows gave me extreme anxiety because I was there to do my job and represent my clients, but people wanted pictures. Friends wanted to film tiktoks with me. It was an extremely weird spot to be in, and I handled the social growth vs work expectations the best I could. Plus it was covid times. It was a really weird time for everyone. Keeping a good job vs taking great opportunities was my constant daily struggle.

My social accounts kept growing, and I saw the long road of opportunity that came with that. It was like something clicked. I sat at my desk most days with so much ambition, I could barely sit still. It occurred to me that the hourly rate I made took me a whole HOUR to make. Why should it take an hour to make that? I wanted something to make me money while I was sleeping so I didn’t have to sit at a desk all day. Based on what I was making with social media, I calculated the hourly amount I was making from it. It turns out, I was losing money by simply going to work my job. I projected myself to make significantly more on social that year than I did at my full time job, so I began to *respectfully, plan my escape during my what they call 5-9. Which is what you do after your 9-5.

I also looked around at peers I graduated high school and college with. Some already had their own successful businesses. Some were scaling the corporate ladder and making real money. Now let’s be real.. Some had 3 kids and some were in jail.. So I wasn’t doing that bad. Unfortunately, I could already see the ceiling in my career, and social media was my way to break through it. For those who are ambitious, curious, and forward thinking, seeing your ceiling 2-3 years out of college is a really uncomfortable spot to be in. And ultimately it put pressure on me to make a leap of faith.

MAKING THE LEAP

So around Christmas of 2021, I decided to make a change. I left the agency and started doing contract work—managing social media accounts for businesses within the fishing industry. It was a very scary leap, but it gave me flexibility. I found a rather large company within the industry that paid me a great hourly rate for 30-40 hours of social media management each week. That covered my bills and then some. That opportunity alone made it possible for me to leave my job, and pursue social part time. More than anything, I had the flexibility to make things happen. Plus I was my own boss, which meant I could take a break in the day to film content if I wanted to. I could work from a hunting camp if I wanted to. And I did. In this period, I had around 100K-300K followers on tiktok and somewhere around 70-100K on Instagram. As I soared past 200K on instagram and 500K on tiktok, I began to rethink the whole “managing other companies social thing”. I was very thankful for the word and definitely wasn’t above it. The work my social media required was proving itself to be so demanding.

In the spring of 2023 I had a big jump. I was managing several clients’ social accounts, and I was in an absolutely hot period of growth. I was riding a wave of viral videos that gained me about anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000 followers per week on tiktok. I was gaining tens of thousands on Instagram every week. This steady growth lasted until the end of the year. I remember on the last day of the year I was sitting at 1.4M on tiktok and 250K on Instagram. To achieve and sustain that growth I had to put out about 7 videos a day during my most viral period. Do the math, that’s 49 videos a week that I pushed out for a few months. Which meant I had less and less time to put towards my clients. Eventually, I let it all go, which meant I was now a full time content creator.

Today, I’ve continued to experience unimaginable growth and a career I feel that has been completely blessed by God. There have been a lot of learning curves that really humbled me. People always ask me if I get burnt out with all the content. I’m like, no it’s fun. I truly love filming and creating. I delegate the things I don’t want to do and don’t have time to do. You don’t get burned out having fun. You get burned out at a job. The truth that sat so uncomfortably with me was that if you’re not working for your own dream, you’re working for someone else’s. 

TAKEAWAYS

Here are some takeaways from my story.

• Don’t be afraid to get real world experience first. It doesn’t mean you can’t film things you love on the side. Just don’t work on it at work.

• Consider part time work that bridges the gap between Full time employment and full time content creator. Find something (even remote work) that covers your bills and FULL SEND IT on the content side.

• If you’re building something and you’re anything like me, you’re most likely thinking too small. Once I “made it” I was able to see so much further. That salary you’re making now could be what you’re invoicing someone for in a few years. Let that sink in.

• If you’re going to do content full time, heck if you’re going to do anything full time, you MUST treat it like a business. What’s your plan? For me, it was hiring on help, making and sticking to a strict posting schedule, studying analytics, pitching big rates, and filming a ton of videos even when the last thing you want to do is be on camera.

So that’s the story of not how I did it, but what God did through me and my career. I am so thankful for the ambitions he placed in my heart. I think and operate on such a higher level now, because I have had quality experience working within someone else’s business, but also managing my own. I go to sleep on Sunday so excited about what I get to work on the next day. And you can too. I hope my story inspires you to chase your own passions and build something wild!