Most creators think you need a massive audience to make real money. Phil Pallen is proof you don’t.

He will finish 2025 close to 7-figures in revenue — while barely having 6-figures in followers across platforms.

In this episode, Justin and Grace break down how Phil built a highly profitable creator-consultant business by positioning himself correctly, charging like a strategist, and letting his content do the inbound work for him.

Inside:

💡 The 3 pillars of a personal brand that actually sells

📱 Why follower count ≠ revenue (Phil is the perfect example)

💸 How he prices strategy, consulting, and brand builds

🔄 Rebranding yourself after a pivot (and why most people do it wrong)

📈 How Phil structures his business to stay creative and profitable

Timestamps:

00:00 – Phil Pallen’s business model

06:12 – Why most personal brands fail

12:45 – The 3 pillars of a high-trust personal brand

20:10 – Follower count vs. credibility (Phil’s anti-vanity approach)

26:30 – Creating content that attracts inbound leads

34:15 – Pricing yourself as a strategist, not a freelancer

41:20 – How to rebrand after a pivot

47:50 – Building an agency that scales your creative work

53:10 – Final takeaways

🎙️ Hosted by Grace Ling & Justin Nguyen

📍 How Creators Make Money — the podcast where we unpack the real strategies behind today’s smartest creators.

From affiliate YouTube empires to billion-dollar creator platforms, this episode dives into how creators are turning strategy into scale.

Justin and Grace break down the real business behind money-making on the internet — from finance creators earning millions off links to brands like Adobe rebuilding their image around creators.

Inside:
💸 The truth about OF and the “1%” income curve
🎯 Why vice-based content (betting, thirst traps, alcohol) always wins attention
🏙 SF vs. LA creator culture — how environment shapes identity
🎨 Adobe Max’s rebrand into creator-first marketing
🤝 How to get into the right invite-only brand rooms
📈 Charlie Chang’s $4M/year YouTube machine and affiliate strategy
🔁 Recurring revenue from affiliate deals (and how creators can copy it)

Timestamps:
00:00 – The economics of OF and vice-based content
07:28 – SF vs. LA culture and how it shapes creator identity
13:42 – Adobe Max: how Adobe is reinventing for creators
20:30 – Creator-first branding and event strategy
27:03 – Inside the “real” brand parties and how to get invited
29:46 – Charlie Chang’s $4M affiliate empire
38:02 – How to actually make YouTube affiliate content work
41:24 – ChatGPT affiliate ideas + AI product monetization
43:20 – Closing thoughts

🎙️ Hosted by Grace Ling & Justin Nguyen
📍 How Creators Make Money — the podcast where we unpack the real strategies behind today’s smartest creators.

From Reddit money threads to Wall Street creators, this episode breaks down the real side of personal finance.

Justin and Grace unpack the creator money game, what actually matters when building wealth, and why increasing your income beats budgeting every time.

Inside:
💸 Why “saving $3 a day” advice doesn’t work for creators
📈 How to actually increase your income (before worrying about taxes)
🤖 The Reddit flowchart thats better than most financial advisors
🚨 Why YouTube finance advice can be a red flag

Timestamps:
00:00 – When parents start charging rent
05:30 – The struggle of money management as a creator vs. employee
14:00 – Finance YouTubers and the clickbait dilemma
18:30 – Why Reddit might be the most honest finance platform
22:00 – The real truth about financial advisors & commissions
27:40 – Save vs. earn: what actually matters first
33:00 – FIRE, FAT FIRE & the rise of creator early retirement goals
39:00 – Vivian Tu’s rise and what creators can learn from her branding
46:00 – The game of perception, headlines & making people care
52:00 – Final thoughts: pay more taxes → make more money

🎙️ Hosted by Grace Ling & Justin Nguyen
📍 How Creators Make Money — the podcast where we unpack the real strategies behind today’s smartest creators.

From Ryan Trahan’s $1M YouTube sprint to Crocs pulling 64M views in a single campaign, brands and creators are rewriting the rules of influence.

In this episode, Justin and Grace break down the money, the strategy, and the clout hacks behind some of the biggest creator-brand plays today.

Inside:
💰 How Ryan Trahan made $1M+ in 50 days from one YouTube series
🎮 Why gaming companies spend $800K+ on creator sponsorships
👟 Anthpo’s Crocs collab - 22 videos, 64M views, viral genius
📊 CPM vs. RPM explained (and why finance creators earn 25x more)
🚪 Using clout to get into rooms and open doors

Timestamps:
00:00 – Ryan Trahan’s $1M+ YouTube sprint
10:45 – Gaming companies dropping $800K+ on sponsorships
23:00 – Anthpo x Crocs: 64M views in under a month
30:00 – CPM vs. RPM and why finance creators cash in big
48:30 – Success metrics: views vs. money vs. impact
53:45 – Clout hacks: getting into rooms that matter

🎙️ Hosted by Grace Ling & Justin Nguyen
📍 How Creators Make Money — the podcast where we unpack the real strategies behind today’s smartest creators.

From near-death travel stories to $600K journals, this episode dives into how creators are monetizing in surprising ways. Justin and Grace unpack the risks, niches, and products that actually scale in today’s creator economy.

Inside:
🌍 Justin’s wild Guatemala trip & the risks creators take IRL
🪵 The rise of niche creators - woodworking, gardening, golf & beyond
📈 The journal creator making $632K from a simple product
📱 Why Bobby Approved is crushing creator apps
🥩 Grocery store prices, U.S. food culture, and what Europe gets right

Timestamps:
00:00 – Near-death experiences & Guatemala travel story
15:00 – Going all in vs. gradual growth as a creator
23:00 – The fall of lifestyle creators & rise of niches
47:00 – Bobby Approved app breakdown & why it works
54:30 – Food culture, grocery prices & Europe vs. U.S.
59:30 – Could Bobby Approved become the next big food label?

🎙️ Hosted by Grace Ling & Justin Nguyen
📍 How Creators Make Money — the podcast where we unpack the real strategies behind today’s smartest creators.

What happens when creators stop being the face of their own businesses?

In this episode, we dive into the new wave of creator-led companies, how investors think about exits, and why the strongest creators build cults instead of just audiences.

Inside:

🏗️ Building creator brands that can outlast the founder’s face

📈 VC vs. cash-flow businesses — what investors really want

🔥 Measuring “cult-like” followings in the creator economy

💡 Why niche and “unsexy” industries are blowing up on social

🎟️ The rise of side events vs. big conferences like VidCon

Timestamps:

00:00 – Creator brands vs. personality-driven businesses

08:45 – The new wave: Joyride, Nami, and faceless creator CPG

19:00 – What does a “successful exit” look like in VC?

28:30 – Cult followings & how to measure them

45:00 – Unsexy industries turning into creator niches

53:40 – Events: side meetups vs. VidCon & SXSW

🎙️ Hosted by Grace Ling & Justin Nguyen

📍 How Creators Make Money — the podcast where we unpack the real strategies behind today’s smartest creators.

From vegan popcorn to TikTok beauty brands, creators are finding new ways to launch products that feel more like movements than businesses.In this episode, Justin and Grace unpack the strategies behind viral CPG plays, scam-exposing influencers, and the health trends shaping what people buy next.

Inside:

🍿 Daddy Snacks - the vegan popcorn brand born from satire

🕵️ Baller Busters, Coffeezilla & the rise of scam-exposing creators

🍵 Nami Matcha and why timing is everything in CPG

💜 Ube, Thai tea & what the next big drink trend could be

🪧 Why a $150 Times Square billboard looks like a $69M flex online

Timestamps:

00:00 – Daddy Snacks & vegan popcorn strategy

6:00 – Scam exposers: Baller Busters, Coffeezilla, Jideon

16:30 – Nami Matcha & the timing of creator CPG

25:20 – Predicting the next drink trend (ube, Thai tea, etc.)

57:00 – Times Square billboards as the ultimate creator hack

🎙️ Hosted by Grace Ling & Justin Nguyen

📍 How Creators Make Money — the podcast where we unpack the real strategies behind today’s smartest creators.

Description:From intermittent fasting experiments to vegan cults, this episode dives deep into how creators turn extreme lifestyles into cash.We cover:🥗 Justin’s 3-day fast gone wrong + why he’s trying intermittent fasting now💸 How mukbangs, thumbnails, and even Cameo gigs can stack six figures🎬 Why Supersize Me would’ve killed on YouTube today👕 The $800K streetwear drop from Mai Pham and how she built a private “cult” brand⚡ What makes a true movement vs. just selling a productTimestamps:00:00 – Justin’s 3-day fasting experiment (and why it failed)25:00 – Mukbangs, shock thumbnails, and monetization tactics33:00 – Why Supersize Me would have been a viral YouTube channel41:00 – Mai Pham’s $800K streetwear drop + building a private “cult” brand52:00 – Movement vs. product: what really keeps people buying🎙️ Hosted by Grace Ling & Justin Nguyen📍 How Creators Make Money — the podcast where we unpack the real strategies behind today’s smartest creators.

From Big Tech to burnout to building a million-dollar creator business, Zach Wilson has seen it all. After stints at Netflix, Meta, and Airbnb (earning $600K+ a year), Zach left it behind to go all-in on content, education, and his own platform.

We dive deep into what it really takes to transition from employee to full-time creator, and the business models that actually work.

Inside:
💻 How Zach went from Airbnb staff engineer to 150K+ LinkedIn followers in 1 year
🔥 The burnout that landed him in the psych ward, and the lessons he learned
💸 Building Data Expert Academy — cohorts, subscriptions, and a $400K month
🛠️ Why creators fail with too many income streams and how to focus on what scales
🤖 Using AI avatars + platforms to fight burnout and expand globally

Timestamps:
00:00 – From Big Tech engineer to creator: Zach’s backstory
05:00 – Burnout, breakdown, and lessons from saying “yes” to everything
10:00 – Growing on LinkedIn and becoming the #1 data engineering voice
20:00 – How the LinkedIn algorithm changed and what still works today
28:00 – Quitting Airbnb → first $0.19 TikTok paycheck → $50K cohort beta
34:00 – Building multiple income streams: cohorts, subscriptions, newsletter
41:00 – Platforms that convert (LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram) vs. ones that don’t
53:00 – AI avatars, teaching at scale, and the rise of one-person billion-dollar companies

🎙️ Hosted by Grace Ling & Justin Nguyen
📍 How Creators Make Money — the podcast where we unpack the real strategies behind today’s smartest creators.

Run clubs are blowing up, not just for fitness, but as the new way Gen Z is meeting people IRL. Grace shares her experience running with groups from LA to SF (and even almost making the Olympic team), while Justin breaks down how sponsorships are turning these clubs into real businesses.

We also dive into:

🏃 How college athletes went from banned to banking big with NIL deals

💸 Why pro runners struggle financially compared to football or basketball players

📹 Ryan Trahan’s wild leap from D1 runner to full-time YouTuber

Creators, athletes, and entrepreneurs are rewriting the playbook on how to monetize passion, and we’re here to unpack it.

🎙️ Hosted by Grace Ling & Justin Nguyen

📍 How Creators Make Money — the podcast where we unpack the real strategies behind today’s smartest creators.