The Key to Growth as a Creative Entrepreneur

If you’re a seasoned professional in any field, you may have long forgotten what it was like when you were just starting out.

For me, video editing has become second nature.

However, to truly understand the pain points of a beginner-level video editor—I have to actively seek out their problems and challenges.

Strange, right?

I mean—I’ve been doing this for 20+ years… shouldn’t I know their challenges?

This can be due to something called 'the curse of knowledge,' a cognitive bias where experts—once they understand something—presume it to be obvious to everyone. They lose their ability to think like a beginner in their field.

But to effectively teach or instruct, we must be able to explain what we know to a novice-mind.

Remember, as someone with expertise:

Your process is your product.

Let’s dive into this weeks 5 high-value creator insights:

1. How to Find Success as a New Creative Entrepreneur

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Josh Spector shares his experience and insights on how to find success on social media, produce compelling content, build an audience, and turn your passion into a profitable business. He also talks about the challenges he faced at as a beginner.

Key Ideas:

• Get crystal clear on your target audience and what transformation you want to help them make.

• Set output goals for how much content you’ll produce vs. vanity metrics like follower count. Celebrate creating value.

• Have patience and faith in the long game. Overnight success is extremely rare.

• Start an email newsletter. This builds your most valuable asset—direct access to your audience.

2. Master the Art of Powerful Video Editing from a YouTube Legend

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Famous YouTube editor Hayden Hillier-Smith offers his advice on how to captivate audiences through psychology-backed techniques. Edit with transformation in mind, and learn to tell visual stories that stick with viewers.

Key Ideas:

• Focus on storytelling and change—every edit should bring your viewer from point A to point B.

• Prioritize emotion and tone. Think about how you want viewers to feel.

• Avoid over-editing. Confidence in your content is more important than quick cuts and effects.

3. Creating Your Dream YouTube Studio: A Beginner's Guide

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Kevin Shen shares how a few simple studio design choices can transform your DIY Youtube videos from amateurish to cinematic. From lighting techniques to ideal camera angles, learn how to level up your production value and wow your audience.

Key Ideas:

• Determine your content purpose and emotions you want to evoke. Think about the "feel" you want your videos to have. A tighter, more intimate setting? Or an expansive, cinematic look?

• Layout your studio space. Consider camera positioning, subject distance, lens options, and room for lighting gear.

4. The Latest in AI: New Tools, Ethical Concerns, and What's Next

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Matt Wolfe is a must follow for keeping up with all things AI. In this video, he covers new AI tools, ethical considerations, and speculation on what's to come.

Key Ideas:

• Time Magazine highlighted 12 AI products in their best inventions of 2023 list, but some argued they left out other impressive innovations like Midjourney and tools for AI music generation.

• Companies like Google, Microsoft and Anthropic created a $10 million fund to research AI safety and "red team" models for dangerous capabilities.

• Amazon released an AI image generator to help sellers create better product ads.

• Google announced "About This Image" to provide context and fact check AI-generated images, marking ones created by Google AI.

5. Unlock Your Creative Potential: Lessons from Legendary Music Producer Rick Rubin

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In this wonderful interview with Tim Ferriss, Legendary music producer Rick Rubin digs deep into his creative process and shares advice for artists on how to access inspiration, break through barriers, and endure over time.

Key Ideas:

• Focus on the process, not the product.

• Let the best ideas win, regardless of ego or bias.

• Curate and amplify your inspirational inputs—Surround yourself with art, nature, and media that moves you. Then translate the feelings and sensations into your own work.

Create Smarter 

A weekly newsletter designed to help you transform your knowledge and skills into pro-level content that will stand out in the creator economy.