Growth of creator economy = opportunity for neurodiverse thinkers

Who am I? After being diagnosed with ADHD at 26, I became frustrated at the lack of support and awareness of this condition in society and in workplaces. I am trying to build Flair, the first holistic health platform for people with ADHD. The mission is to empower people with ADHD to thrive. I have built a small community of women with ADHD, you can join via WhatsApp.

In this blog post, I share my reflections on the growth of the creator economy and its implications for my community. In a nutshell, I see it as an opportunity for neurodiverse people to have more flexibility in their working arrangements and to have room for unrestricted creativity. It is about time the economy places a higher value on creativity and creates opportunities for artists to monetize their creations and content.

Key points

1) Creator economy 101 and why it is growing

2) Why the creator economy is changing the career landscape

3) Why neurodiverse people are best placed to capitalize on this

4) Practical tips and advice on how to get involved in the creator economy

Creator economy 101

In simple language, the creator economy is anyone like me and you who is pushing content out into the internet. Think content creators, social media influencers, bloggers, YouTubers, tiktokers… yeah so anyone can become a content creator. You just need to have an idea or knowledge and be able to share that on the internet.

The creator economy is growing for several reasons… technology and platforms is rapidly developing to help content creators distribute their content. This means it is getting easier every day to create content and push it out to an online audience.

In terms of implications, I view this as the decentralization of content where the big media firms used to control what we read and consume, and now individuals can have that power to disseminate information and create content that we the consumer would be happy to pay for. Anyone can be in the content economy and it offers us the choice of content to consume, which enriches all of our lives.

The creator economy a.k.a the passion economy, changing how we think about careers

The growth of the creator economy is finally pricing creativity. Before when people created content, it was hard to get paid for it. Now, with improved technology, there are more ways to get paid for the content you create. I have always realized that the creative arts were underpriced. When I think about the impact of COVID, I and many people coped with Netflix, YouTube, TikTok, calm music playlists on Spotify… This confirms that we as a society and community need creative arts. It enriches our lives and becomes a source of inspiration or escape from the often grim realities of living in our modern society.

As society is realizing the value of creative content, more people are openly following their passions to monetize their skills and interests to be content creators, freelancers, and entrepreneurs. This is shaping career aspirations. A YouGov survey found that 19% of GenZ respondents said they wanted to be content creators. The freelance economy is getting larger with more people quitting their jobs to go freelance. This is not surprising considering how Covid contributed to the burnout that millennials had been experiencing….

Neurodiverse thinkers, it’s time to capitalize on this

What I find attractive about the creator economy is the flexibility and the freedom for creative expression. I have explained before the high correlation between neurodiversity and creativity (because of our ability for lateral thinking, novelty-seeking, etc.) which sometimes can be stifled in the workplace due to processes, lack of flexibility and accommodations, and strict job roles.

I have and still struggle with working in organizations because we build the very concept of job roles in industrial times where everyone had one role and specialized in one thing. This does not go well for neurodiverse thinkers like myself. New ideas are constantly flowing through my mind and there is always a new initiative I want to explore. Yet time and time again I have felt my creativity stifled because I had to focus on the work aligned to my job role or go through hoops and barriers to try to find opportunities to develop the creative ideas I have.

For the creator economy, dealing with workplace processes or feeling pressure to stick to activities centered around one job role no longer applies. I have total freedom with the content I want to push out into the world.

For years, I have suppressed my creative tendencies because I want to conform to what I saw as society’s perception of success. One job role and one specialism. To know that the creative economy exists for people like me who want the flexibility to create content whenever I want is empowering. I believe that this is truly the space for neurodiverse thinkers to push into the world different ways of thinking and share with the world our niche interests and unique point of view.

How to get started with the creator economy

I’m no expert as I have only really started dabbling in this world since I left my office job, so the advice I give below is really from my own personal experience.

1. Start with your interests and passions
   Content creation is all about sharing the world with your interests and passions. If you don’t know what this is, then it is going to be difficult because it will take a while before you will get paid for your content. Therefore, being driven by your interests is going to keeps you going in the early stages…
2. Pick the platforms — you don’t have to be present everywhere
   There are so many platforms and it can be overwhelming. So pick a few that you know and feel you want to invest in. For example, I have never used Twitter before and so I have decided not to use it. I’m not comfortable using it, and it is not a good use of using my energy to invest time in learning how to use it. I also changed how I viewed certain platforms. Like LinkedIn, I used to think this was a glorified C.V. directory, but now it has evolved into a place to get interesting content. I now use LinkedIn a lot more to push out my content and to connect with potential business opportunities.
3. Use technology to help
   You don’t need to be a graphics designer to get started on a website. Use platforms like Squarespace and Wix to get started with website building. Also, with your logo and any design needs, use Canva. For social media posts, use a scheduling tool like Hootsuite. Getting started may seem overwhelming, but start with one thing at a time and you will pick it up easily. These tools were made to help anyone get started.
4. Consistency and trust your sauce
   Content creating is tough stuff. You have to give up X amount of time to create content and not get paid anything initially. This can be demotivating, especially since in the working world, we are used to giving up our time knowing that we will get paid for it. That is why being passionate about what you are creating and sharing with the world is important. Because initially you won’t get paid for your time and efforts. However, with consistency and trust in yourself, you will make small progress.
   For me, this has been the most challenging since I have to give time to activities that will pay me a salary to cover rent. Finding time to create content is very challenging.

However, I have a firm belief that the content I am creating has value. And as long as it has value to even one person out there, I am happy to continue to create and share my knowledge and insights with the world.