October 11, 2024

Here’s my entire business model in one email

Eric Thayne
5 min read

In this email, I’m going to share with you what I call the Creator Operating System, or Creator OS.

This is the business model that I’m building my creator business on. And if you’re building a personal brand and want to grow in the creator economy, this is how to do it.

How is this different? Well, the Creator OS is about building a business around you as the creator. It’s built around your craft, what you’re uniquely good at and passionate about, and it’s based firmly in your personal mission, your beliefs, values, and morals.

Put simply, it’s how you build a business around the impact you want to make in the world, so that you can go deeper and deeper into your craft, and ultimately impact more and more people.

Now if you’re an entrepreneur—as in, you’re in the business of starting, acquiring, investing in, scaling, and exiting companies—then you’ll probably own and operate other businesses as well. For example, I have my creator business, but I also own and operate a media agency, and will in the future start or acquire other companies as well.

But for most people, their Creator Business will last the longest. Because as I state in my upcoming book Create Don’t Capture“The only exit strategy for a personal brand is six feet under.”

Whether you’re an entrepreneur or not, everyone can (and I think, should) build a Creator Business around themselves as a creator, even if it’s just a passive side income. Because you get to make extra income, *while *****helping other people by doing something meaningful to you.

For me, this has been the greatest source of personal fulfillment and real happiness.

So let’s dive into it.

The 3 Elements Of The Creator OS

There are three key elements of this operating system: your brand, your content, and your business. Let’s take a look at each of these three.

Your Brand

Your personal brand is you. It’s the combination of your unique passions, interests, morals, values, and beliefs that makes up who you are and makes you completely unique from any other person on the planet.

Now don’t get your brand confused with branding. When I talk about brand, people typically jump to fancy photoshoots, logos, fonts, colors, and websites. That’s branding. Branding—when done right—is how you express your personal brand. It’s in what you wear, what colors you use, how you create your content, etc.

Discovering your personal brand is a journey of really figuring out what makes you tick, what you really care about, and what your passions are.

Use this as an exercise to help you figure this out:

What is your craft?

Your craft is what you’re uniquely good at and passionate about. It’s probably not just one thing, but more likely a combination of things. It’s also not all hard tactical skills. It probably includes some soft skills or tendencies you have as well.

For me, my craft includes entrepreneurship, creativity, leadership, strategic thinking, video creation, and visionary skills.

(Knowing that, doesn’t it make so much sense why I do what I do??)

Your craft will be unique to you. You don’t need to look to other people to get ideas. What are you naturally good at? What do you love to do? Start writing these things down.

What is your mission?

Your mission is how your craft benefits other people and the world. This is the unique impact and mark that you can create by leaning into what’s natural for you and figuring out how to serve other people with it.

You might be tempted to think that your only goal is to have fun or build financial freedom for yourself and your family. I used to struggle with this too. But trust me on this:

Your life will be far happier and more fulfilling (and you will attract more success), when you hone in on a “why” that is bigger than you.

So figure out why you do what you do. Why did you start the business that you started? Why are you passionate about the things you love?

For example, if you sell marketing software, maybe your real mission is to help entrepreneurs make an impact on the world.

If you’re a portrait photographer, maybe you care about helping people see the best version of themselves.

If you love creating beautiful content, maybe your mission is actually helping people be creators and producers in the world (just kidding, that’s mine 😉)

Don’t feel like you have to have this all figured out right now. Write down your thoughts and keep going.

Your Content

In a Creator Business, your content is the way you get the word out about what you do. It’s the tool for rallying people to your cause, and building your movement.

It used to be that you had to have a lot of money or know people to get a message into the world (think radio, TV, magazines, billboards, etc.). But in today’s day and age, the internet and social media have democratized attention.

It’s now easier than ever to share your message with tons of people at once and build a following of people that resonate with what you do.

But to create content that really resonates with people, it has to be a true, authentic expression of your personal brand. That’s why it’s so important to figure out your personal brand first (or actually, do it along the way).

I’ve always said that content creation is a personal development journey, because it forces you to really figure out who you are. And even more difficult, love who you are enough to be comfortable sharing yourself with the world.

What type of content do I create?

The type of content you create and what platform you use is totally up to you. If you like writing, maybe start a blog, use medium.com, or write tweets (are they still called that?).

If you like making videos, create content on YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram Reels.

If you just like talking and sharing ideas with people, a podcast could be a good choice for you.

What do I talk about?

Well, what do you like to talk about? This is where you get to bring together all of the things that you care about and love talking about and share them with other people who are interested in the same things.

One of the biggest mistakes marketers make with their content is just using it as a tactic to promote their business.

Here’s a truth bomb for you: People are far more interested in you than they are in what you do.

Your personal brand—or your unique combination of passions, interests, beliefs, etc.—is what makes you an interesting, dynamic human being.

Lean into that.

Your Business

The last key element of the Creator OS is your business, or your series of products or services that you offer to your audience. If your brand is built on a mission or a cause, and your content rallies people to that cause, then your business exists to support your followers in achieving that cause.

It could be a service, a course, a mastermind, an event or retreat, a software, or even a physical product. Or a variety of these things.

Think about where you were five years ago or ten years ago. Put together something that would have helped you get to where you are now. Because that’s probably what your audience is looking for and will buy.

When you effectively turn your “followers into dollars”, you make more money, which ultimately means you can go deeper into your craft and make more of an impact.

Think about it, the most impactful charities in the world are the ones who are the best at making money.

The Creator Business model is really simple:

Make good contentLink to newsletterLink to products

Let’s break it down further:

First, you start by creating good content, like we talked about above. This is how you attract new people into your world. You use other peoples’ platforms, like Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube to get peoples’ attention and tune them in to what you are about.

The only problem with social media platforms is that you don’t own your audience. If a platform shuts down or changes its algorithm, it could put you completely out of luck in an instant. That’s why the next step is so important.

Second, you move people to your email newsletter. This is a critical step in this process because instead of just “borrowing” attention on social media, you actually move people to platform that you own. Instagram can take away your followers, but nobody can take away your email addresses.

So deliver a high-value weekly or daily newsletter to your audience to continue giving them value and helping them with their goals. This also serves as a way to qualify your most loyal followers and build a deeper relationship with them.

Third, use your newsletter to occasionally promote your product or service to your audience. You don’t have to shove it down people’s throats. Just make the option available for those who want to go deeper with you. And for those who don’t, no big deal, just keep sending them value.

If your products and services are highly valuable to your audience, it won’t take much selling anyway.

Everyone A Creator

What I love about the Creator OS is that it allows anyone to see themselves as a creator. It gives you the ability to go deep into your craft while helping people on another level.

It makes you more income because you’re building something meaningful and lasting that is built on your core values.

It provides real joy and fulfillment that comes from pursuing a cause outside of yourself.

And ultimately, it creates a ripple effect that benefits the world.

So hit reply and tell me… do you have a creator business? What does it look like? What do you do? If not, what could you start? I read every response. Can’t wait to hear from you.

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…and you’re ready to take your brand, your content, and your business to the next level, here’s a few ways I can help you:

1. Join my free Skool community - and get free content, trainings, industry updates, and network with other amazing creators.

2. Join my free workshop to learn how to build your content production system and send a flow of leads to your business.

3. Book a free strategy session - I’m opening a few slots on my calendar to meet with serious entrepreneurs who want to grow their audience and their business. I’ll look at what you’ve got going on and help you develop a winning strategy.