Good morning and happy Saturday!
This past week I traveled to NYC for the first time. To sum it up, I think it was my favorite trip I've ever taken.
And I'll be honest, I needed it.
It's been a long 14 months since I took the leap into solopreneurship, started creating, and started Piertree and frankly, I've hardly given myself any time to breathe or reflect since then.
And I think that's a one-way ticket to burnout. So while the purpose of the trip was initially to attend the Bitcoin Conference for Advisors, which was cancelled and went virtual, I'd booked a few extra days anyway so I could explore the city.
I left my dog back at home with a friend, traveled alone, and saw all the typical New York sights.
Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge, Wall St, 9/11 Memorial, Time Square, all that.
Here's a couple quick pictures I took on my phone:
I shot mostly on disposable cameras because I wanted a vintage film-feel and it was oddly nostalgic because my mom and grandma would use disposable cameras for everything when I was younger. So I just wanted to replicate it and use the same thing.
Hopefully they'll be developed soon and I'll share some of my favorites.
But this week did something. I'm not sure what, but I feel more like myself again.
When I got home and put away by bags, I sat on my couch and wrote for about 3 hours straight. Not because I had to, but because I didn't spent too much time working while I was in NYC and ideas were building in my head, I captured them in my Notes app, and then had time to subconsciously develop and think about the ideas in a different environment.
Then when I had the time to flesh them out last night, the words just poured out.
It felt good.
So if you've felt stuck in your creative efforts or felt close to burn out, you may be a short trip away from breaking through it.
Anyways, let's get into this week's edition.
— Treyton
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In just a little over a week, The Loaf has reached 17 subscribers. While that number isn't considered a smashing success by any means, I'm counting it as a win. And first, I just want to say thank you for being here and taking the time to subscribe. I appreciate you.
But I'm at a crossroads.
I'm not sure what direction I want to take this newsletter. I'm always going to write it, but I want to be unique and valuable.
The way I currently view it is more of a news/media memo and structure of it is:
To me, that style of newsletter feels overdone.
The main reason I structured it like that is because of the tagline 'like the Wall Street Journal, but for the creator economy'.
I came up with that tagline so that when someone sees it, they have a good understanding of what to expect without even reading it.
I was hoping that it would increase the conversion rate for subscribers and I think it's working very well.
And I think using a comparative tagline is a great strategy if trying to launch something, but I don't think comparing it to the Wall St Journal aligns with what I truly want to write about.
I'll share relevant stories and why they matter as they come up, but I don't think trying to report on one or two main news stories every week when several other outlets and newsletters already do that is the best, most impactful, thing I can do as a creator.
So while reading this, if you think of any content you'd like to see, a certain format or perspective, or any feedback, please reply with any thoughts or suggestions.
This newsletter is going to be a constant work in progress—as I believe all great content is—so if you want to stick around and watch how it's built, what changes that get made, and hopefully find some interesting content and takeaways along the way, I appreciate you.
Or if you want to unsubscribe, that's okay too.
I just want to be transparent and say that I don't have it all figured out.
I don't really even know what I'm doing.
I just know that I love writing and want to figure out a format that I enjoy creating and that you enjoy consuming.
And I believe that's the holy grail for a content creator.
There's a fine balance between the two that must be found to be able to create prolifically for long periods of time.
Outside of my own realization, this change is also partially inspired by Internetly by Alice Lemee - it's one of my favorite newsletters and I look forward to browsing it every Sunday.
I love how she tells her freelance story, shares lessons learned, and shares helpful and relevant content for creators. So because I enjoy reading that style and perspective of writing, I want to create more of that style of content but with my own twists and structure.
I think that's another takeaway/lesson: Create things that you'd enjoy consuming
So since I started a financial planning firm last year, now running it with a partner, I'm a solo creator, and a freelance content writer, I think telling more stories and sharing lessons I've learned would be more impactful than just curating content and trying to be a news reporting kind of thing.
With that, also put a spin on the content and stories with some financial lessons - for example how I've managed cash flow getting started, money mistakes I've made and how to avoid them, tips and tricks to make more, save more, and invest more, stories and takeaways from successful creators and how they've built their business - truly just sharing content and lessons from the financial side of the creator economy.
So I just wanted to take a slight pause this week.
My mindset and my mental health overall changed after a week away from work and I feel new creativity & vision for what I want to do.
And I think it's important as a creator to pause and take a step back.
Think about what direction you want to go & what you're trying to accomplish and evaluating if your current actions & the direction you're currently headed will get you there.
So next week's newsletter is going to be a new structure, some parts will stay the same, and will be formed around this newfound vision and from the feedback I get from you.
And this section you just read is an example of what the new structure may consist of as well - sharing something I'm struggling with or working on and how I'm thinking through it.
We'll see.
But I'm going to build this newsletter, this community, and Creatorbread as a whole into a true brand and valuable source of information in the creator economy and I can't do it without you - and again, I want to say thank you again for being here from the beginning.
This chart from Domo breaks down what happens across the internet every 1 minute of the day. Some highlights:
This chart was found from a tweet by @MattNavarra
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Keep creating,
Treyton DeVore
Creator | Content Writer | Financial Coach
