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- Life as an Unemployed Creator
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The End of a Chapter
Well… it’s finally over.
The last paycheck hit my account
My laptop has been returned
I’m officially unemployed
A few weeks ago VMware was acquired by Broadcom and they fired thousands of engineers, team members, and of course… Me!
My first month unemployed has been wild, to say the least.
Hit 1,500 subscribers on YouTube
Landed my first brand deal
Hired a team of editors
Paid my rent from content
The Fear
Things are going great… but I’m terrified.
Not because I’m worried that my content business will fail or that I’ll have to find another job…
I’m terrified because this is the first time in 5 years that I have ZERO idea what my life will look like 12 months from now. 😟
So I’ve made a plan.
A plan to create my dream life as a full-time creator.
Here’s how I’m going to do it:
The Freedom Number
A freedom number (or “escape number”) is the exact dollar amount you need to quit your job and become financially independent.
It’s the ABC’s of F.I.R.E.
This number covers everything you need from rent and food to business expenses. Once you hit this number, you can go all in.
For me, that number is $4,000/mo.
This number allows me to call myself a full-time creator. Until I hit it, I’m still applying to jobs and keeping my coding skills sharp. I’m in this for the long haul and if that means building more B2B SaaS so I can achieve this goal — so be it.
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The Roadmap
Creating is what I feel like I was put on Earth to do.
So I’m building out a path to make it my job.
Sponsorships
Make evergreen videos
Pitch them to brands I want to work with
Put every dollar back into the channel until sponsorships cover production costs
Repeat until I hit my freedom number
Digital Product
Use audience to test product ideas
Find one that resonates
Make a course around it
Plug it in videos
Repeat until I hit my freedom number
Consulting/Freelancing
Make a portfolio of my editing/writing works
Pitch to clients for scriptwriting
Pitch to clients for brand-building
Make bangers, add them to my portfolio
Repeat until I hit my freedom number
The Backup Plan
If all else fails: Code.
It worked before, it’ll work again.
If I can make 50+ videos, pull 100k+ views, and build my business from scratch WITH A FULLTIME JOB… Damnit, I can do it again!
My backup plan is that I’m in this for life.
I’m not trying to become a full-time creator because I want to be rich. I’m doing this because I love it. That’s my advantage.
I’m not just fine with landing another tech job, I’m actively looking!
But you can bet your ass that my focus is on creating.
Always was. Always will be.
I have no idea where I’ll be in one year.
But I do know that I’ll be closer.
See you next Tuesday,
- Jack
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See you Friday in the Premium Edition,
- Jack Ross ✌️
Jack Ross (Data Engineer, Writer, Nomad)