What is a creatorpreneur & how to become one

Did you know that while 50 million people call themselves creators, less than 4% earn more than $100,000 annually?

The difference between struggling creators and thriving ones often comes down to one thing: thinking like a creatorpreneur.

I’ve spent years studying what separates successful creator businesses from those that fizzle out. And I’ve applied these lessons to build my own creator business.

In this guide, I’ll break down exactly what it means to be a creatorpreneur and how you can become one.

Let’s dive in.

What is a creatorpreneur?

A creatorpreneur is someone who builds a business around their content and personal brand.

Simple as that.

But here’s what makes it different: creatorpreneurs don’t just create content. They build systems, products, and teams that generate income beyond ad revenue or sponsorships.

Think of it this way: a content creator makes content. A creatorpreneur builds a business.

A content creator gets paid when they post. A creatorpreneur gets paid even when they don’t.

According to a Linktree report, only 12% of full-time creators earn more than $50,000 annually.

The ones making serious money? They’ve transitioned from pure content creation to business ownership.

I’ve watched thousands of creators come and go. The ones who last? They think like business owners, not just content makers.

Justin Welsh is a perfect example. He started by creating LinkedIn content. Now he’s built a multi-million dollar digital product business teaching others how to do the same. In 2024, he earned over $5 million selling digital products.

The shift from creator to creatorpreneur happens when you stop asking “What should I post next?” and start asking “What business am I building?”

The evolution of creatorpreneurs

Back in 2010, being a “creator” meant posting videos on YouTube or writing a blog. You made money from ads. That was pretty much it.

Today? Everything’s changed.

Let’s look at the actual evolution:

2005-2010: The platform era

Early creators focused on one platform and one revenue stream (mostly ads). Success meant views and subscribers. Average YouTube CPM was around $2, meaning 1 million views earned you about $2,000.

2010-2015: The sponsorship era

Creators started working directly with brands. This was better than ads but still tied your income to your posting schedule. Studies show sponsored posts typically paid 10x more than ad revenue alone.

2015-2020: The product era

Smart creators began launching their own products. Courses, templates, newsletters. This was the first real step toward creatorpreneurship. Course platforms like Teachable reported creator earnings growing from $5M in 2015 to over $500M by 2020.

2020-Present: The business era

Now we’re seeing full creator businesses with teams, multiple revenue streams, and systems that work without the creator’s daily involvement. The top 1% of creators are building 7-8 figure businesses.

Take Ali Abdaal. He started as a med student making study videos. Now he runs a business with courses, a community, and a team supporting him. According to public interviews, he now makes over $5 million annually and is on his way to 8 figures.

This evolution happened because smart creators realized something important: platforms come and go, but your email list and business remain.

Key characteristics of successful creatorpreneurs

What separates creatorpreneurs from regular content creators? Here’s what I’ve seen:

They build their email list first. Without an email list, you have no business. Period. Your email list is the only asset you truly own. According to ConvertKit’s 2023 Creator Report, creators with email lists earn 2-3x more than those without.

They diversify income streams. The most successful creatorpreneurs have 5+ revenue sources. A SignalFire study found that creators in the top income bracket average 7 different revenue streams. When one stream dries up, they’re still good.

They balance creativity with business sense. You need both. One without the other won’t cut it. Great content with poor business strategy = broke creator with lots of fans.

They build community, not just content. Your 1,000 true fans matter more than 100,000 casual viewers. According to Kevin Kelly’s math, 1,000 true fans paying you $100/year equals a $100,000 business.

They think in systems, not one-offs. Every piece of content, every product, every offer fits into a larger ecosystem.

They’re patient with growth but impatient with monetization. The best creatorpreneurs start monetizing from day one, even with small audiences.

When I transformed my own approach from just making videos to building a real business, everything changed. My revenue grew because I focused on creating systems, not just content.

Dan Go is a perfect example. He built a Twitter following sharing no-nonsense fitness advice, then monetized with his “High Performance System” program. He now generates seven figures annually from his digital products and coaching, despite starting with zero audience in 2020.

Business models that actually work

Here are the models I’ve seen work best for creatorpreneurs:

Digital products: Courses, templates, guides. The margins on digital products are insane—often 90%+ after payment processing fees.

Newsletters: Paid newsletters are powerful because they combine content creation with recurring revenue.

Services and coaching: High-ticket offers where you solve specific problems.

Virtual Summits: Bringing together experts in your niche can establish your authority while building your email list and generating revenue through all-access passes.

Membership communities: Recurring revenue is the holy grail.

Licensing and partnerships: Letting other businesses use your content or brand. This is where big money happens once you’re established.

The magic happens when you combine multiple models. One feeds the other. Your free content attracts the audience. Your low-priced products qualify buyers. Your high-ticket offers generate profit. Your recurring products build stability.

Here’s a simple ecosystem I recommend:

• Free newsletter/content (builds email list)
• $50-100 entry product (qualifies buyers)
• $500-2,000 flagship course (profit center)
• $20-50/month membership (stability)

Real challenges creatorpreneurs face

Let’s be real. Building a creator business isn’t all Instagram filters and passive income. Here’s what you’ll actually face:

Platform dependency: What happens if X (formerly Twitter) changes its algorithm tomorrow? Or LinkedIn restricts your reach?

A Patreon study found that creators who derive more than 70% of their audience from a single platform earn 33% less than those with more diversified traffic sources.

The creator-CEO balancing act: Creating content while running a business is HARD. Most people can’t do both well.

In a recent survey, 68% of full-time creators reported working over 50 hours per week, with content creation and business management being the biggest time drains.

Scaling beyond yourself: Your business can’t grow if everything depends on you.

Every successful creatorpreneur eventually hits the same wall: there are only 24 hours in a day. Without systems and team members, your income hits a ceiling.

Burnout: It’s real and it’s dangerous.

According to the Creator Burnout Report, 90% of full-time creators experienced burnout in the past year, with 71% considering quitting entirely during tough periods.

I remember when I was trying to do everything myself—creating content, managing products, answering emails, handling customer service. It was overwhelming.

The solution? I built systems and hired a team. Now I focus on what only I can do.

How to transition from creator to creatorpreneur

Want to make the leap? Here’s what works:

Shift your mindset first. Stop thinking like a content creator. Start thinking like a business owner who creates content.

This means tracking metrics that matter for business, not just vanity metrics. Forget views—focus on email subscribers, sales, and customer lifetime value.

Build your email list aggressively. This is your most valuable asset. Period. Justin Welsh, Ali Abdaal, Matt Gray—all of them prioritize email list building above all else.

In a 2023 survey of 2,000+ creators by Kit (formerly ConvertKit), those with email lists of 10,000+ subscribers were 3.6x more likely to earn six figures than those relying solely on social platforms.

Map out multiple revenue streams. What can you sell besides your attention?

Here’s a simple exercise I use:

1. List all your areas of expertise
2. For each area, brainstorm products at different price points ($50, $500, $5,000)
3. Rank them by effort to create and potential return
4. Start with the highest ROI option

Build systems before you need them. Document processes now, even if you’re small.

Create SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) for:

• Content creation workflow
• Email marketing sequences
• Sales processes
• Customer support

Ali Abdaal revealed in a podcast that creating these systems allowed him to step back from daily operations and focus on strategy, taking his business from $1M to $5M+ in annual revenue.

Hire before you’re ready. Successful creatorpreneurs know when to get help.

Start with contractors for specific tasks:

• Video editor
• Virtual assistant
• Copywriter
• Tech support

The biggest mental barrier is letting go of control. You might think nobody can do things as well as you can. Usually, that’s wrong. A team will handle many tasks better than you can alone.

The future of creatorpreneurship

Here’s what I’m seeing on the horizon:

AI integration: Top creatorpreneurs are using AI to scale content while focusing on strategy.

This isn’t about replacing creativity—it’s about augmenting it. Creatorpreneurs are using AI for:

• Content ideation and research
• Repurposing (turning one email into 10 pieces of content)
• Personalization at scale

According to a recent Influencer Marketing Hub survey, creators using AI tools report saving 15+ hours per week on content production, allowing them to focus on higher-value business activities.

More direct monetization tools: Platforms are finally making it easier to earn directly (but don’t depend on them).

X’s Subscriptions (formerly Twitter), Substack’s simple subscription model—all attempts to keep creators on platform. Use these, but don’t rely on them. They’re designed for the platform’s benefit, not yours.

Deeper niches: The days of being generic are over. The riches are in the niches.

I’m seeing creators in ultra-specific niches outperform broader competitors:

• Not just fitness, but “strength training for busy professionals over 40”
• Not just marketing, but “email marketing for course creators”
• Not just business, but “scaling service businesses to 7-figures without burning out”

Adam Enfroy went from 0 to $200K/month by focusing specifically on “blogging for business” rather than general blogging advice.

Creator businesses becoming acquisition targets: Companies are starting to acquire creator businesses, not just hire creators for marketing.

Morning Brew, which started as a newsletter, sold for a reported $75 million to Business Insider. We’re seeing more companies acquire creator-built media businesses for their audience and systems.

Creator funds drying up: The platform-sponsored creator funds are proving unsustainable. TikTok’s creator fund payments have decreased, and Meta has scaled back similar initiatives.

Smart creatorpreneurs are seeing this writing on the wall and building businesses that don’t rely on platform generosity.

The landscape is changing fast. But one thing remains true: those who build real businesses around their content will always have an advantage.

In five years, I predict we’ll see several creatorpreneur-built 8-figure companies. The question is: will you be building a business that could scale to that level, or will you still be chasing likes?

FAQs

Here are some common questions I see about creatorpreneurship and becoming a creatorpreneur.

Your next steps

If you’re ready to evolve from creator to creatorpreneur:

1. Start an email newsletter today

• This is your foundation
• Commit to a consistent schedule
• Focus on providing specific, actionable value

2. Audit your current content and identify potential products

• Which content gets the most engagement?
• What questions do your audience ask repeatedly?
• What problems are they willing to pay to solve?

3. Choose one business model to start with

• If you’re just starting, I recommend digital products
• Focus on getting 1 revenue stream working before adding another

4. Build systems that can run without you

• Document your content creation process step by step
• Create templates for everything you do repeatedly
• Set up automation for repetitive tasks

5. Focus on solving specific problems for your audience

• The more specific the problem, the easier it is to sell the solution
• High-value problems = high-value solutions = higher prices

I’d recommend starting with one simple product priced between $50-200. This is low enough that it’s an easy purchase, but high enough to validate that people will pay you.

Let’s say you have 1,000 email subscribers. If just 2% buy a $100 product, that’s $2,000. Not life-changing, but enough to prove the model works. From there, you can scale up.

Remember: The goal isn’t just to create content people enjoy. It’s to build a business that generates value and income whether you’re actively creating or not.

This is the creator economy’s next evolution. It’s not about going viral anymore. It’s about building something that lasts.