I Paid to Meet With a Professional So You Don't Have To

Breaking down our 60 minute conversation so that any of you can learn from it.

Apr 09, 2023

This past week I paid for a session with a man named Shan who runs Genflow, a creator agency that works with the biggest names in the social media industry. I thought he was the perfect expert to ask in regards to two of the endeavors close to my heart: running a social media marketing agency and being a creator.

Truth be told (I don’t have any problems being completely transparent with you), I need to identify ways in which I can monetize my platforms if I want to be doing this full time after I graduate. Sure, do I find fulfillment in biomedical engineering and would I have a job lined up for me in the field with my BS/MS degree + pharma experience? Absolutely. But do I find more joy in interacting with you guys and spreading positivity on my platforms? No doubt.

A little context…

I have been running a social media marketing agency on the side which has me working with brands to build their own social media platforms. This endeavor has seen good early success, and I was considering utilizing the next 6 months of my entrepreneurship co-op to scale this business. On the other hand, I also know I haven’t done any considerable partnerships with companies through my own brand and that could also be profitable.

“Shan, how should I delegate my time between the two endeavors if I want to be successful in both?”

This is the question I began with and here is a list of the conversation points so you don’t have to pay for a session like I did!

Get really good at ONE thing first.
- With my biomedical engineering background, I’m so accustomed to taking on many classes at once, but admittedly, I certainly am not an expert on any of them. Shan was suggesting that rather than splitting my attention to these two endeavors on top of everything else I have going on in life, to solely focus on one of them and give my everything to it. He said in regards to monetization in this field, it will follow highly specialized individuals, not so much someone that is somewhat good at multiple tasks.
Creator economy is NO JOKE.
- Businesses now have specialized budgets for creators because they understand how valuable those impressions are. For example, it costs a company on average $12K for a million impressions, but if a creator can get them that many views on a singular video + know that their followers are much more likely to purchase the product or service than a non-targeted viewer, then they can certainly justify paying that creator 10K+.
- If you have millions of followers, you will always have the agency as a secondary option later down the road because companies will see you have experience developing your own brand and will want you to consult.
It’s not enough to get exposure, you need depth in your content.
- Instagram and TikTok are great for organic reach, but Youtube and an email list is much better at getting your community to know who you truly are and the value you can bring to them.
- This requires a lot of time and effort. It’s not just posting once a week on a singular platform, but rather you need to post many times per week across multiple platforms. Only then will you be able to have both the reach + depth. A good goal to shoot for (according to Shan) would be posting a Youtube Short, Instagram Reel, and TikTok video daily while also posting a long-form Youtube video + sending out an email weekly.
Delay gratification more than you think you need to.
- The last 3 years I have not made money at all from my platforms directly, and I thought now would be a great time to monetize because I have the 6 month co-op. However, Shan disagreed. He asked me if I NEED the money now or if it would just be “nice”. To be honest, I am not a heavy spender and I am still in school so I certainly don’t need the money. I was just wanting to see the monetary fruits of my labor as soon as possible (which I get is a common feeling).
- Split your time 80/20. 80 being a creator and 20 getting your feet wet with sponsorships.

These are the main points of the meeting with Shan, and so here is my takeaway..

Rather than spending so much time on multiple pursuits at once, I want to focus on what I enjoy most: being a creator. I want to provide as much value as I possibly can to my loyal community, and I understand that it will require my FULL + UNDIVIDED attention. I won’t prioritize monetizing my platforms yet either as I really want to get good at this craft without any distractions. That is why these emails are entirely free + I have not introduced any sponsorships still to this point.

I keep talking about bringing value to you guys so what does this actually mean or look like? I will be providing as much information as possible in regards to life advice whether that’s academic, faith, productivity, or social media related while also doing my very best to encourage and motivate along the process.

Now I know today’s email in regards to Shan and I’s meeting could seem overwhelming or perhaps even straight up disinteresting especially for those that do not have any interest in pursuing social media as a side project, but I hope there were some general lessons that could be applied to your life.

For those interested in pursuing social media on the side like I have been doing for the last three years while being a full time BS/MS biomed student, I hope this conversation can inspire you to continue. I understand many of you haven’t been doing this for multiple years and you just want to learn how to get started before posting daily on all those platforms, so I will be breaking all of that down to its simplest form as part of the weekly emails. I desperately want YOU to experience all the incredible possibilities that come with social media + of course take advantage of the booming creator economy as well.

Now, I am still learning all of this, but just like this email, I promise you I will be fully transparent about this ENTIRE process of becoming a creatorpreneur. Hopefully you can learn something!

- Jun Yuh