99% of creators should NOT hire managers. Here's why.

I've held my tongue about something for the last 3 years.

This is something that if I opened my mouth, I'd likely make some enemies...

...And hurt some of my friends.

But I'm ready to come clean and tell you what I truly think about DMs like this

Here are the 5 reasons why you should NOT hire a manager...

1) The financial incentives are misaligned.

This is specifically when the only way a manager eats is if they are getting their 20% cut of your sponsorships.

Even if they promise you that they have your best interest at heart, there will almost certainly be deals they’ll tell you to take that may NOT be in your best interest.

I talked about the parallels between AUM (assets under management) vs. "fee-only" financial advisors in my livestream last week, and it's worth a listen (time-linked).

2) You’re building THEIR Rolodex, not yours.

Let’s say you DO hire a manager and you DO start getting some deals.

But you’re creative so you don’t really wanna handle the business side of stuff or be CCed on those emails (that’s why you hired the manager, right?).

You do a few deals...you get paid...all is hunky dory.

But then, you get into a dicey situation with your manager where you have a disagreement.

They want you to take a deal that you don’t wanna take. They get pissed off. You’re annoyed but you brush it off.

Then over the next few weeks and months, you start hearing from your manager less and less. They start sending you fewer deals. You still get one every now and then but there’s a noticeable decline. You start getting even more annoyed. You tell your manager they’re not pulling their weight. They get even more pissed off and tell you "Maybe it’s best that we don’t work together anymore."

"FINE!" you say...

"FINE" they say back.

And then there you are, "manager-less" with absolutely no connections to those 10 brands you’ve worked with over the last year.

NOT IDEAL.

3) You don’t know how you're being represented in the market.

When I ran an influencer marketing agency, I worked with managers all the time (because I had to) and lemme tell you that there are a lot of managers who are NOT NICE PEOPLE.

They often have a gatekeeper complex and when there were time-sensitive edits or insights that we needed from the creators they manage, sometimes it would take DAYS to get a response.

I’ve even had managers cuss me out!

BTW...what do you think happens in those scenarios? Do you think brands and agencies want to work with those creators anymore?

They may be perfectly nice people but because their managers are a nightmare to deal with, well that creator gets put on a list called DO NOT WORK WITH THIS PERSON UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE.

These lists exist, believe me.

You do not want to find yourself on one of these lists.

The sad truth of this whole thing is that I think a lot of creators have no idea that their managers are insane. I’ve even wanted to reach out directly to creators sometimes and say, “Do you have any idea how your manager is making you look? They’re causing you to lose business.”

But there’s really no upside for me to do that lol.

So long story short, know who you’re hiring.

4) You’re robbing yourself of an education.

Your #1 job in the early years of growth is to understand how this ecosystem works. How do all the pieces fit together?

Especially when you start interacting with brands & partners, what are the things that they find most valuable?

In my experience, when you work with a manager or an agent as a creator, their #1 priority is deal volume which often translates into you becoming just another "talent" on their roster that they can aggregate into a stat like "Our creators reach 500M views a month!!1!!1!!"...

...Which reinforces brands' commoditized perspective of creators.

But when YOU are the one who has a direct connection with that brand, you’ll start to realize that there are a lot of things you can do for them that may not conform to a standard "brand deal.”

Maybe it’s helping them think through their social media strategy.

Maybe it’s connecting them with other creators that would be a great fit for them to partner with.

Maybe it’s offering to do a simple little value-add post that wasn’t required in the agreement.

So your top priority should be getting yourself an "in-the-trenches" education of how your business model is gonna work and be sustainable.

5) There are other higher-leverage people you should hire instead.

Most of the time when creators think they need a manager, they probably just need a virtual assistant or a video editor or a social media manager or a graphic designer.

My challenge for you: for one entire day, write down in 15-minute intervals every single thing you’re doing as a creator.

If more than 20% of your time is spent on something that is not in your "Zone of Genius" (i.e. something that others could capably take off your plate), your #1 focus should be to delegate that!

The objection I hear all the time on this point is “no one can do it like I do” which is absolute BS!

I guarantee you there is someone who is a better editor than you or can respond to emails more professionally and in a more timely manner.

Again, what I'm NOT saying is "don't hire people!"

I HAVE A TEAM.

But for 99% of creators, the person managing your business...should be YOU.

So, let me tell you point-blank: if your attitude about this whole topic is “Oh, I just wanna focus on the creative stuff and let someone else handle all the other details...”

Then this will always be just a hobby for you.

On the other hand, if you wanna have a long-term, lucrative career, start taking true ownership of this incredible asset that you're creating. ✌️