Welcome to World-Building🌎🏗️
We wrap up with our season finale. Plus, a thank-you note from NGL and a teaser of what's to come.
Did you catch our fifth and final video essay of Season.1, An Intro to World-Building, which touched on how creators like Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag are building their businesses with a bias towards the long haul?
Probably not, because it premieres in 10 minutes. So, what are you waiting for? Go join the rest of us and let’s all watch live together!
Okay, now that you’re back, I hope you’ve enjoyed our first season’s slate of content.
When I embarked on this journey over the summer, I had no idea how to properly explain what I was working towards. This newsletter was intended to keep you all in the loop, as well as share some of my writing that I’d been banking up from the last year.
I hope it makes a little more sense now, though. Essay 5 is the culmination of not only my thesis around the creator economy, but also how I’m approaching my current client work.
Before you tell your story, first, you need to make your map. This phrase has been rattling around my brain for quite some time now as I’ve transitioned from the original publication I started in high school to a creator agency focused on operations and brand strategy. As a creator myself, I’ve always tended to jump into things head-first without really planning them out; this commitment to world-building is a commitment to making things that last, however, and while I can’t tell you whether or not Powder Blue will succeed, I’m now fully in the space I want to be in and here for the long run.
I’ve always been someone who knew how to work hard and get stuff done. Now, my focus is on proving to myself — and others — that I can execute at a high level. I’m learning a ton as I land partnerships and build out alternate revenue streams for my biggest client, and it hasn’t been the easiest path. Yet heading into 2022, I’m thinking about taking on more work as I continue to move full steam ahead.
And I’m excited to say that on the Powder Blue website, creators can now officially fill out and download their own synergy map (for free), as well as sign up to a waitlist for our world-building services!
So, where does that leave this newsletter, our video essays, and Creator Mag? Glad you asked! Here’s a look at our Powder Blue synergy map:
Given how positively everyone has reacted to the video essays from Season.1, I’ll be bringing them back for our next season under a new theme, “Welcome to World-Building.” The focus will be on how top creators are building their evergreen worlds, but you better believe I’ll be taking each one in different directions (and working in a Big Lebowski reference or two whenever I can). Season.2 will debut on Sunday, February 20th, so enjoy this two-month break and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel in the meantime!
Additionally, similar to Season.1, we’ll be rolling out the five new video essays every week until March 20th, when the second edition of Creator Mag will drop. As I wrote about in my Letter from the Editor, I see the magazine as crucial to everything we’re building as we continue to cover the $104 billion creator economy in depth. We’re really excited to share the cover story for this one, too, so mark your calendars — it’s gonna be a doozy.
Finally, I’m not fully sure what I want to do with this newsletter and what role it’ll play moving forward. If you’ve liked reading what I’ve shared over the last six weeks…drop a comment and/or let me know what you think I should switch up! I’m not married to this format, so I’m truly all ears.
To conclude, I just want to say thanks. For everything. The outpouring of support has been nothing short of incredible over the last five weeks, and my life has been changing really quickly ever since I moved to Chicago in September.
I still feel like a crazy person every time I boot up my computer on a Saturday to edit 30 seconds of video late into the night. However, there’s a reason I have a sign taped next to my personal synergy map, serving as a reminder every time I look up to the wall above my desk. That sign reads, “It’s only crazy until you do it.”
I used to find it tacky when people posted things on LinkedIn saying “they couldn’t have done it without their friends and family.” But after the last two years, I truly believe that when it comes to finding happiness for myself, I know I’m surrounded by the right people, regardless of where my professional career takes me.
And yes, I couldn’t have done it without my friends and family behind me.
Thanks for joining me on this journey. Until next year — and happy holidays!
Make sure to shop Season.1 through the end of the week and keep up with Nate on Twitter.