The Influencer to CPG Founder Pipeline

Hey honeys and hustlers,

Building an audience and personal brand as a solo creator and then growing it into a business can be a daunting task. As the face of a creator business, some people have seen succes in leveraging a personal brand to create and sell a products, bucking the current landscape of the creator economy of solely growing media empires. Products can look like

• courses (Ali Abdaal’s Part-Time YouTube Academy)

• books (Yes Theory’s Talk to Strangers)

• digital products (ex. Jay Clouse’s Notion database, Creator HQ)

• SaaS tools (Cody Schneider’s, Swell AI and Drafthorse AI)

• usable branded items (Kondor Blue’s collaborations with Tyler Stalman and Gerald Undone)

• educational items (Mark Rober’s CrunchLabs)

• food and beverage products (Mr. Beast’s Feastibles)

Let’s focus on the last one. A well-known story in this category is the TikTok sensation Dylan Lemay who created viral videos of him making ice cream at Cold Stone and went on to launch a brick-and-mortar ice cream shop in NYC. It was reportedly super expensive to upkeep and closed in under a year. He had the right idea (to leverage his personal brand and creative skillset for marketing), but the wrong execution (going all-in on a huge idea without validating the market fit with his audience). So let’s look at a few creators who got it right, particularly in the coffee brand arena. If they can do it, you can too!

Emma Chamberlain: From YouTube Star to Coffee Mogul

Emma Chamberlain, a name synonymous with Gen Z culture, has successfully transitioned from a YouTube sensation to a CPG founder with her brand, Chamberlain Coffee. Leveraging her massive online following and authentic persona, Emma has created a coffee brand that resonates with her audience. Her journey underscores the importance of understanding your audience and creating products that align with their values and lifestyle. Every red carpet interview feels like a commercial for her product.

Cole Walliser: The Director Who Brewed Up a Storm

Cole Walliser, known for his stunning Glambot slow-motion videos on Instagram, has also ventured into the coffee business. His transition from a video creator to a coffee brand founder highlights the versatility and potential of influencers to diversify their income streams. Cole's story is a reminder that your skills and passions can intersect in unexpected ways, leading to new business opportunities. Cafe Colione has seasonal drops, making it a part-time passion project with less maintenance that doesn’t take away from his main creative lane.

Michelle R. Johnson: From Barista to Oat Milk Innovator

Michelle R Johnson's journey is particularly inspiring for those who are just starting with smaller followings. As a barista who gained popularity through her social media content, Michelle leveraged her expertise and audience to launch Ghost Town Oats. Her story illustrates that you don't need millions of followers to make a significant impact; a deep understanding of your niche and a strong connection with your audience can be just as powerful.

What This Means for You

The success of these influencers-turned-entrepreneurs offers valuable lessons for creative entrepreneurs and video creators:

1. Leverage your personal brand for YOU, not other brands. Your unique voice and persona are your greatest assets. Use them to create products for your community that reflect your values, deepen your connection with your audience, and transfer that audience to a product with an email list.

2. All businesses are technically media companies that sell things. Creating a media agency isn’t the only way to grow and scale your creative skillset into a creative business. Your creative skills and passions can be applied to marketing products you want to sell.

3. You don’t need a big audience, you need a big idea. Audience size isn’t everything. The depth of your relationship with your audience is, however. If the right people are watching and engaging with your work, you have a better chance at a successful product launch.

Many creative businesses struggle once they reach a certain height because of ‘key man risk.’ A creative business attached to someone’s name (selling books, courses, digital products, or attention via brand partnerships) can’t truly be invested in, because once that creator leaves, that business fails to exist. Consumer product goods, however, can provide a stable and sustainable foundation for creators looking to pivot away from having one business that is exclusively linked to their face and still allows them to use their creative skills and audience loyalty to market that brand effectively.

Do you have an idea or prototype for a product you’re working on? Let us know in the chat! We promise not to spoil the surprise 🫢

The Queen is Calling

And if Queen Charlotte came to your mind, that could mean 1 of 2 things: You binge-watched the new half-season of Bridgerton or you’ve been to the city of Charlotte. I’m referring to the second one (even though the first 4 episodes were really good!). I have two fun announcements relating to Charlotte, NC:

// This week on Honey & Hustle I spoke with Charlotte-based entrepreneur Desmond Wiggans, the founder of BatteryXChange, about his journey into tech and manufacturing. The video episode will be released tomorrow, but in the meantime, you can check out the audio episode on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

// I’ll be speaking at the Empowered Podcasting Conference taking place from June 28th-June 30th in Charlotte! I don’t have a special discount link, but if you’re in the area, I’d love to see you there!

Have a great week on purpose. Stay creative and keep pushing boundaries!

Please Hustle Responsibly,

🤙🏾✨

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