Welcome back to another Monday Check-In!
Every Monday, I post this newsletter to keep track of how my life, job, channel, and business are going. What’s working, what’s not, the things that happen to me, and the numbers behind it all.
If you’re new here, my mission for the next 10 years has three parts:
- Build a community of 100,000 happy creators who love their life, content, and business.
- Make $500,000 net income in a single year.
- Stay consistent enough to become one of the most influential people on the internet.
These posts serve as way for me to be disciplined and transparent about my journey — to build a business I love alongside you, so that we can do it together.
Today is September 16th, and the main thing I’m thinking about is…
Jim Harbaugh accidentally nailed modern creator strategy.
Yes, Jim Harbaugh. The former head football coach for the Michigan Wolverines and current face of the Los Angeles Chargers. The ultimate Football Guy and one of the wildest people that’s ever lived on this earth.
Quick story time, because I don’t have anywhere else to tell this story:
An old friend of mine played for Jim Harbaugh at Michigan. He once told me a story of Harbaugh visiting his high school to recruit him. There were six people in the meeting:
- Jim Harbaugh
- Michigan special teams coach
- My friend
- My friend’s mom
- The high school football coach
- The high school principal
My friend’s mom was excited, so she figured it would be best to get a half-dozen donuts as a kind gesture. You know, one for each person.
Jim Harbaugh ate all six donuts.
That’s the kind of person he is.
An absolute madman.
But the thing about Jim Harbaugh is, between all of the wild shit he does, he’s one of the most prolific football minds who’s ever lived. He is a genius, too smart for his own good. And this offseason, one of his press conference answers about football turned out to be the perfect analogy for what’s actually important as a creator:
The quote:
If I asked you the question, what position group depends on no other position group to be good, but every other position group depends on them to be good – what position group is that? Offensive line. They’re not relying on any other position group to be good, but yet every other position group relies on the offensive line to be good.
The quarterback needs the line to block so he doesn’t get killed.
The running back needs the line to open holes in the defense so they can get down the field.
The pass catchers need the line to block so the quarterback has enough time to get them the ball.
The defense needs the offensive line to block so they have more time to rest between possessions.
As creators, distribution is the offensive line.
When I first heard the word “distribution” used in the business space I had no clue what it meant. Then I drove by an actual distribution center and realized it’s the big warehouse that all of the semi-trucks go in and out of, putting the product into stores or directly to the consumer.
Then, it hit me:
Everything in your business is relying on your ability to be seen by as many interested people as possible.
Sometimes it’s as straight forward as YouTube ad revenue, where you get paid out for views. A lot of times, it’s the funnel of views → subscribers → clicks → sales.
In the best times, it’s “Hey, I know a guy who needs a guy. You in?”
Your ability to add help to your creator team (editors, strategists, coaches, developers) is depending on how much revenue you can pull in, which is dependent on how many sales & clients you have, which are dependent on how many people are seeing your content.
There’s a reason for the rise of founder-led and employee-led content lately. Everyone is becoming a creator, because everyone knows that distribution makes the rest of the machine go.
Distribution is the offensive line.
When I post consistently I get so much luckier and earn so many more opportunities for my business. When I stop posting, no opportunities come in.
You can volume-post and max-kindness your way to the business you want. I’m seeing this right now.
So what am I going to do?
The other best Jim Harbaugh quote is “Attack each day with enthusiasm unknown to mankind.”
I’ll do that.
That’s what I’m thinking about this week.
Now, let’s get to the good stuff:
The Good Stuff
This is the part of the Monday Check-In where I update on all of the good & exciting things happening around me and my business.
Here goes:
-
Last week’s Monday Check-In is seeing traction on YouTube! I’ll get to it in the Running Numbers section but the channel saw a significant spike between last Monday and today. The numbers in combination with the kindness in the comments/DMs means I’m on the right track.
- A bonus thought to this: In the past, I would’ve titled the video “Monday Check In September 9th” — but a broad title like “Being likable is the biggest growth hack” is much more appealing to a random person. Why would anyone care about my Monday Check-In? They wouldn’t. But they do care about growth hacks, and I think that’s why it jumped.
- I finished up my video project with the SaaS company and it’s live! Reply and I’ll send you the link. It’s really cool to jump in and help teams like that. I would love to do more work like this. I’m realizing that a dream role for me would be a hybrid editor/strategist for 3-5 different companies at like $2K-$5K each.
- I continue to get inbound for video editing work. and it’s the best kind — that “I know a guy” recommendation. Right now it’s “I have an editor you’ll love” and soon it’ll be “You have to talk to Tim — he’ll help you understand your strategy.”
Now, here’s what’s got me down:
Got Me Down
This is the part of the Monday Check-In where I talk openly about the things I’m struggling with, in regards to my content, mindset, or business.
- I got recommended for a massive video editing gig with a super successful creator, but wasn’t a fit. I’m torn on it because it was a significant amount of work and money, but it was a lot of After Effects & motion design work. Those are skills I just don’t have the in the toolbox. My #1 priority was making sure this guy didn’t miss his deadline, and learning on the job wouldn’t have been fair to him. At least, that’s what I’m telling myself.
- I’m able to get two videos per week out right now, but I’d love it to be three. Again, this means I need to write daily, and stick to my idea file I’ve been adding to. When I post I get luckier and I make more money. And if I’m seeing more inbound, that means it’s double and triple down on distribution.
Now, let’s check in on this week’s Running Numbers!
Running Numbers
Every week, I’ll take stock of multiple different numbers in my life and track them here, along with their % increase or decrease.
- 2024 gross income: $41,871 (+$2,962)
- 2024 product/service revenue: $7,069 (+$500)
- YouTube subscribers: 139 (+30)
- YouTube total views: 3,219 (+552, a 20% increase)
- YouTube watch hours: 92 (+29, a 46% increase)
- Newsletter subscribers: 350 (+1)
- Newsletter open rate: 44.42% (-0.22%)
- Twitter followers: 565 (+12)
- Fantasy Football record across four teams: 4-4 (3-1 last week)
- Rec league basketball points per game: 11
That’s it!
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Thank you for being here!
Tim
