Creative Process & Content Creation Tips For Entrepreneurs

As famously said by Lee Odden: "Content isn't king, it's the kingdom."

Content creation is a painfully slow process and it takes months or even years before one tastes success in this space. 

I talked about my experience in the field of content creation and what it takes to succeed in a podcast interview I did with Vatsala for her show "Voicing The Void."

Here are some of the value bombs that I've dropped: 

1) Everyone has their own aspirations. But because of how society works, we were all taught to settle for a job. You could be a 9-5 or shift worker. Or you may be what society refers to you as—a blue-collar or white-collar worker. It doesn't matter. What matters is you've spent your entire life for this organization and then you get erased from the company's history after a while. Unless you have contributed a lot to this company and maybe, you've even got some media coverage for what you've done. You get my point yeah?

Therefore, don't settle. Explore and find out what you are really great at. Make that a hobby first then slowly make it into your business. I know, it's tough but hey if there are gamers or sports personalities who can make it pro and make a living out of it, why not you?

2) Most of the time, every entrepreneur started off as an employee. Truth be told, everyone has to get food on their table and pay their bills. You have your mortgages, electricity bills, and credit cards bill to pay. You can't be expecting your parents to pay for you, hence, you got to start somewhere first. Gain experiences, skillsets, and even contacts like how successful entrepreneurs such as Tony Robbins and Marc Benioff (founder of Salesforce) did.

Disclaimer: Now you might be thinking that transiting from employee to entrepreneur is so easy, then I have to warn you, it's not. If one day you feel that you can have the audacity to walk into your manager or boss's office, curse off your boss, and risk everything in order to pursue your passion on a beach with perfect weather and a cool beverage. Please don't do that yet unless you are earning similar or twice the amount that you are earning currently.

Here's the reality: Most entrepreneurs fail. Even for the ones who are successful, it frequently takes years to just break even. You are required to put in more effort than you ever did as an employee and to assume far more risks and stress.

Question: Then, how can you get both the benefits of starting a business and the benefits of a full-time job? How can you gain from working a full-time job and launching your own business at the same time? In other words,  how can you get freedom and potential for a big win while you still have stability? Simple. Do both at the same time — at least for a little while. Having a cash cushion gives you time to find the best business model. Without a cushion, if your first idea fails, you might have to throw in the towel. Not being patient can ultimately do more harm than good.

3) You only have 1 life to live as you. Make it count. No one can live as you. Nor can you live as someone else. Therefore, don't waste this time by doing things that your future self will regret. Instead, do something which your future self will thank you for. You can do things like:

a) Reading business or personal development books so as to enhance your knowledge in a certain field that you are interested in.

b) Get yourself some mentors and coaches who are already where you want to be so they can help you on your path to success.

c) Go on vacation either by yourself or with your family and friends. Let’s face it, people are more concerned about their jobs and livelihood now more than ever. This may be because of the recent inflation and recession. However, we sacrifice certain significant aspects of our lives in an effort to selfishly preserve our time. We must work, but we also must take time off from our busy schedules to enjoy a vacation. It is because this will help to reduce our stress, improve our productivity and creativity, and open our minds to a new perspective.

4) My biggest learning from Gary Vaynerchuck: It takes about 21 years for a person to be successful. Overnight success is really overrated. For those of you working towards a degree, a job, a business, or a particular goal, this was one of the hardest lessons I had to learn.

There is no such thing as an overnight success, or “getting lucky”. You create your own luck through hard work and sacrifice. Like what Gary Vaynerchuck has mentioned to me on The Raygacy Show, the biggest mistake that many people make is that they don't realize that it'll take 21 years to what you defined as success. For some, it might be 3 years or so to become successful but if you think you need 21 years to become successful, you'll start to appreciate that nothing comes easy and fast. You'll start to love and even enjoy the process of going through the obstacles and failures along the way.

And for those of you that hit a breaking point, don’t stop, instead, take a break, refocus and keep at it. Like what Gary said, it doesn't mean you post a post on LinkedIn, and the next moment you'll be on the yacht. You got to be patient and consistent in whatever you are working towards. I believe in you and I assure you it’s worth it when you fully arrive!

5) Many people have been looking at the tip of the iceberg. They didn't see what was underneath it. The pain, struggle, rejections, failures, and sacrifices. 

Back in the year 2014, I was just this boy clueless about life. I had no idea what I want, who I am and etc. Only when a HUGE FAILURE in life hit me then I finally woke up!

As those who knew about my story through the newspaper, podcasts, magazines, and radio, I believe you guys would never have thought that I need to go through those shit (losing a job, breaking up and mum's relapse simultaneously in the earlier parts of 2014) before I got my own "over-night success" within a few months.

People thought life is rainbows and sunshine just like what you saw in Teletubbies. No storm, no whirlwind, no quarrels, and no struggle. Just happy faces daily and boy that's not true. Remember Cinderella had to deal with her Stepmother and stepsisters before becoming happily ever after. The same thing goes for every one of us in life, we need to overcome every obstacle and turn them into an opportunity. Instead of groaning about the problems all the time, why not learn and grow from them.

No pain, no gain.

For those of you who are new to podcasting, here's my message to you and that is "You are 1 Episode Away From Building Your Brand Up".

Listen to the full episode here: