Hi Reader 👋

That is one way Francis Zierer, host of Creator Spotlight, defined the term Creator in a recent conversation we had on the channel.

That includes the guy who posts on TikTok you already forgot about, Jay Shetty exclusively moving his podcast to Netflix and everyone else with a smartphone.

But for this exercise let’s focus on you:

Someone who is publishing content as a business or as part of a business and let’s find out what’s your Cost of Doing Business?

C.O.D.B for short.

Because knowing this number is the difference between thriving and surviving as a creator. Giving you a clear target to aim for and a guide when to say no.

For example most creators price their ad integrations backwards. Asking: “What’s the brand’s budget?” But the better question is: “What does this need to earn for me to keep making it?”

Because every day you work is costing you money. Through the equipment you bought, the never ending software subscriptions, random post-it notes and just being alive.

so the question is

How much does it cost you to stay in business?

On a basic level, you add up all of your purchases and expenses to run your business, as well as your salary and divide that by the total number of content pieces you plan on publishing each year. That will give you a number that is the minimum you must make from each piece to break even.

If you make more per day on average than your C.O.D.B., you are profitable. If you match your C.O.D.B but publish less than you expected, your business is in the red, and you’re on a path to being out of business…

What has amazed me time after time is how few creators know what their number is, and how that in turn makes it very difficult for them to grow their business over time.

Which brings up a bigger question?

→ What does this number actually tell you?

• It gives you a clear benchmark to accept or refuse ad integrations.
• It is a clear indicator for how many people need to purchase your service from a video.
• It tells you exactly if this video was worth making. (From a financial standpoint)

To help you find that number, I made a simple spreadsheet where you can type in your own numbers.​

In turn it shows you exactly what each month in business costs you. But more importantly how much each video, sponsor slot, or content opportunity needs to make back so you can keep doing this.

This was one of the first business lessons I learned as a filmmaker. From Vincent Laforet, who might have been the first camera gear influencer ever. More about that in another issue. Unfortunately his original blogpost from 2013 about it has gone offline but I made a copy for you if you want to read further.

PS: Not everyone publishing content needs to make it a business.
This can just be a creative outlet like it’s for my friend Tim Ung. This episode is going live later today.