Why are self-employed creatives so unhappy?
I've read the largest ever study of the creator economy. Here are my main takeaways.
"Now is the best time in history to be a creative."
"The internet has democratized entrepreneurship. Anyone can make a living on their creativity."
"The future belongs to the creative."
"Follow your passion!"
When was the last time you heard or read something similar lately? Maybe in a book, a webinar, a podcast, or the sales page for a course.
Statements like these feel true when we see them. Not just because we badly want them to be true. They make sense logically. The internet has democratized entrepreneurship. Anyone could, hypothetically, start a successful podcast or YouTube channel, or blog, or online store. The world consumes more art, entertainment, and "content" than ever before. We are surrounded online by creatives who are making a living doing what they love, and seem to be thriving. And everywhere are influencers, coaches, and companies encouraging us to "take the leap!"
And yet... How many of us can honestly say that this reflects our current reality as creatives? That we are thriving in this future that supposedly belongs to us. Something doesn't quite add up.
A few weeks ago while driving to buy groceries, I was pondering this and thought to myself: "Why can't someone do a really big study of creatives and find out how we're all really doing, when we're not keeping a brave face and performing our most successful selves on social media?"
I wanted to know the truth. Not the "humble bragging" of the influencers, the feverish idealism of the business gurus, the cherry picked case studies and testimonials on sales pages for overpriced courses. I wondered how the average creative/creator was actually doing. And whether it's only me who's feeling disillusioned. Who's been working harder than ever, towards a goalpost that's moving further and further away.
Then I heard about something called the New Creator Manifesto, on
’s podcast What Works. It's a recent study - the largest one yet - of the creator economy, with over 1600 creators interviewed.Naturally, I dropped everything I was holding to go read it.
You see, most of the studies of the creator economy accessible online have been done by companies like Linktree, Later, Kajabi, and ConvertKit. Companies that make their money directly off of us creators. And even though their data is likely not incorrect, it's also likely skewed by a number of factors: their selected pool of creators to include, the nature of the questions asked, and the interpretation of the replies.
This new study is supposedly independent and unbiased, and its results paint a different picture compared to the previous ones I've read.