I'm a designer who turned into a writer who turned into a startup CEO. My mission is to help creators earn a living. Subscribe for essays on building an audience and earning a living as a creator.
Giving without expecting anything in return
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Hey Reader, I grew up in a family with six kids where there wasn’t a lot of money. Looking back, some years we lived on $25,000. We had everything that we needed, but it wasn’t until college that I went out to eat for the first time in my life. Money was always stressful. People like to say money doesn’t buy happiness, but a lack of money sure brings a lot of frustration. I vowed at a young age to make sure money wouldn’t be my primary problem. If I’m drowning, I can’t help other people. But once I’m on a lifeboat, I can help others. Now that I’m taken care of, and my opportunities are limitless, I can help other people. That’s what I love about having an audience: Teaching what you know is a form of giving without expecting anything in return—and it’s a great way to build an audience. What’s amazing is then having that audience can put you in a position to be able to give monetarily without expecting anything in return, too. Since 2018, my wife Hilary and I have been supporting Earth Mission, an incredible medical non-profit in Burma. If you don’t know, Burma is in a 50+ year civil war that has left the ethnic minority populations in the jungle in desperate need of health care. Two years ago, we raised over $85,000 to build a new facility at one of their clinics and the impact has been remarkable. I’ve never seen an organization where such a small budget provides life-changing care for so many people. This Christmas, we’re doing a matching fund to raise $50,000 for a new inpatient building. Hilary and I will match the first $25,000 raised. If you’re in a position to give, I’ll personally match your donation. It's fully tax deductible. We're also headed to Thailand right after Christmas to meet with the Earth Mission team in person. We’d really appreciate your support: PODCASTHow to Turn Your Passion Into a Creator Business ($1Million+)This week on the podcast, I’m on stage with Tiago Forte at the Second Brain Summit to discuss building and monetizing an audience. We talk about how to get started and:
Tiago and I also take some questions from the audience, so there’s definitely something in this episode for everyone. Watch or listen to episode » KIT CASE STUDYLaunching products that sell out in minutesSelf-proclaimed marketing geek Katelyn Bourgoin runs the popular “Why We Buy” newsletter and sells digital products to help people sell more by understanding the science of why people buy. “Before, almost all of my list growth came from my personal social media. So if I didn’t tweet, the list didn’t grow.
But now, because of the Creator Network, I have amazing opportunities to get discovered.” – Katelyn Bourgoin
Learn how she made $116,000 from digital products in six minutes and how switching to Kit added 50,000 new subscribers to her list on autopilot. EVENTCreator Holiday Party @ Kit Studios 🎄If you’re in Boise this week, we’re hosting a holiday party for creators at Kit Studios.
Hang out with the Kit team and meet other local creators at a holiday party with food, drinks, and fun. Share what worked for 2024 and your plans for 2025. You’re also welcome to record content in our studios that you can use going into the new year. Open to all creators (Kit customer or not), so feel free to bring a friend! Have a great week! —Nathan |
Nathan Barry
I'm a designer who turned into a writer who turned into a startup CEO. My mission is to help creators earn a living. Subscribe for essays on building an audience and earning a living as a creator.
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Hey Reader, Have you ever spent money on something and immediately felt guilty afterward? Will Guidara spends his money foolishly on purpose. And he thinks you should too. He once bought an entire barrel of whiskey and put it in his basement. He also put a skee-ball machine in the office. Is he going to get a monetary return on either of these things? No. But that’s kind of the point. He calls it the 95/5 rule: Manage your money and time like a maniac 95% of the time (no expense is too...
Hey Reader, Have you ever spent a whole day on something almost nobody saw? It's painful when the whole reason you worked hard was because you wanted to reach people. If you teach a workshop in person, you reach the 20 people in that room. But if you record that same workshop once, you can keep teaching for years on autopilot. This is the concept of leverage, and it's something I talk about in my upcoming book, The Ladders of Wealth (you can pre-order it now). A lot of people will look back...