Welcome to Day 2 of Creator Money Week: Your financial goals. Yesterday, we did a deep dive on your relationship with money. Today, we’re talking about your financial goals as an influencer or content creator.
If you’re just joining us for the first time, the purpose behind Creator Money Week is to set up creators to be paid.
Who should set financial goals?
Whether you’re a new-ish influencer who just started their TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube, or you’re an established influencer who has been making money on the side of their full-time jobs for the last few years, I encourage you to set financial goals.
Why is it important to set financial goals as a content creator?
Defining your goals allows you to visualize and lay out a plan to achieve it. Plus, laying out your goals allows you measure and track your progress. If you want to make money as a creator, but never have defined your monetary idea of success, you might be unhappy no matter how much money you make. Even if you made $10,000, you might feel like you aren’t doing enough or you need to make more money (even though $10,000 is quite a bit of money in my perspective).
Setting financial goals as a content creator and influencer also pushes you to prioritize your time and your energy. For example, if it’s important for you to save towards a down payment of a house this year, you might be prioritizing your side-hustles vs. traveling around the world.
Lastly, setting financial goals gives you a reason to celebrate and helps you stay motivated in your financial journey. If you set a goal to earn your first paid brand collaboration and you accomplished it this year, celebrate it! If you set a goal to earn $500 a quarter by selling courses or presets and you’ve accomplished it, celebrate it!
Celebrating small goals, big goals, large milestones, etc. is so important in your journey as a creator. Your confidence will grow in your ability to earn money and you’ll set bigger and bigger financial goals each year.
Here are 3 key questions to ask yourself in day of 2 of Creator Money Week:
- What are your financial goals as a creator?
- Why do you want to achieve your financial goals?
- How often are you measuring or tracking yourself to your financial goals?
Your financial goals:
Is it your goal to breakeven in your content creation side-hustle? Do you want to be able to make enough money to cover the cost of photography, paying your website hosting site, and your tools and technology (subscription to Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom, new laptop, or new camera).
Is it your goal to save $40,000 for a down payment on a house?
Is it your goal to replace your $75,000 corporate salary?
Is it your goal to earn your first $10,000 with your side-hustle?
Is it your goal to pay your student monthly loan payment of $600 with content creation?
Why it’s important to identify why you want to achieve your financial goals:
One of the most important steps in laying out your financial goals as a creator is to define why you want to achieve your financial goals. Identifying why you’re intrinsically or extrinsically motivated to earn money will help you solidify your financial goals.
One of the most helpful things in turning around my financial narrative and giving me the confidence to set financial goals was determining why I wanted to earn money as a creator.
Over the last few years, I’ve saved for our wedding, a down payment on our first home, and I’ve paid down my student debt of $30,000. I’ve had many reasons to save and increase my earnings each year as a creator. I’ve found that the more I earned money, the more freedom it’s allowed me to do (i.e. buy a house, pay for our wedding in full, etc.).
Think about your financial goals and if your content creation career can help you achieve those goals.
How often are you measuring or tracking yourself to your financial goals?
Aside from identify your financial goals and why you want to achieve them, it’s important to lay out a high-level plan on you’re tracking yourself to meeting your goals.
Are you currently tracking your goals on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annual basis?
How are you tracking those goals?
With a Microsoft Excel sheet or Google Spreadsheet? Or in your notebook?
When you measure your goals, you’ll find that you’re giving yourself the chance to reflect on your progress and if you need to make or adjust your plan. You give yourself the opportunity to step back and look at how you’re progressing and what you’ve learned along the way.
What are your financial goals as a creator?
Thank you for participating in Day 2 of Creator Money Week: Your Financial Goals. “Day 1: What is your relationship with money?” is live and Day 3: Set Your Budget as a Creator will go live tomorrow!
Thank you for reading! Day 2 of Creator Money Week: Your Financial Goals is also live on the Content Creatives Podcast.
Love,
Emma