The Creator Spotlight Podcast

• Ep. 83: He left ESPN to make YouTube videos ft. Joon Lee

  This week on Creator Spotlight, Francis is joined by former ESPN journalist Joon Lee. Joon shares how he turned a layoff into a creator career, breaking down his 22-month YouTube study, and how he is building an independent sports media brand that puts storytelling and trust first. Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/profiles __ Follow Joon YouTube Twitter/X Instagram TikTok Website Follow Francis LinkedIn Twitter/X __ Timestamps 00:00 Introducing Joon Lee 01:15 From tech YouTuber to sports journalist 06:49 Preparing to be a YouTuber 13:02 Indie creator bootcamp 17:05 What should new creators focus on? 22:58 The process of making high-quality YouTube videos 33:19 Making revenue and maintaining ethics 40:56 The most valuable asset as a creator is trust 44:55 Building relationships in the creator economy 50:30 The hardest part of YouTube

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• Ep. 82: The systems that made him a millionaire solopreneur ft. Ken Yarmosh

  This week on Creator Spotlight, Francis is joined by Ken Yarmosh, founder of The Remote Solopreneur. Ken is a creator who’s been building online businesses long before the creator economy had a name. Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/profiles __ Earn with Google AdSense: https://goo.gle/earnwithadsense __ Ken Yarmosh YouTube Website LinkedIn Francis Zierer LinkedIn Twitter/X __ Timestamps 00:00 Introducing Ken Yarmosh 01:16 Becoming The Remote Solopreneur 04:29 Redefining 'creator' 08:20 The creator to entrepreneur spectrum 12:15 How Ken runs a solo business 16:51 The importance of community in business 22:13 The 4 C's of the creator economy 29:42 Are all creators solopreneurs? 34:50 DTA: The framework for all entrepreneurs 41:58 Is the LinkedIn gold rush over? 47:15 The best time to be a creator is now 50:11 Advice for newsletter creators 53:20 Creating a personal brand in 2025

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• Ep. 81: Building a $500k+ local newsletter business ft. Geoff Sharpe

  This week on Creator Spotlight, Francis is joined by Geoff Sharpe, founder of Lookout Media — a network of local newsletters collectively generating almost $500K a year. Geoff shares how he built a profitable, subscription-first media business, why trust and real journalism still win, and the systems he’s using to scale local news across Canada.Read the newsletter__Tired of explaining the same thing over and over again to your coworkers? It’s time to let AI do the explaining for you. The Guidde extension is completely free. Go check it out at Guidde.com__Geoff SharpeLookout MediaLinkedInTwitter/XFrancis ZiererLinkedInTwitter/X__Timestamps00:00 Introducing Geoff Sharpe01:40 Making $500k+ with paid subscriptions07:16 Don't listen to your audience12:00 The merging of editorial and business16:20 Running a media company sustainably21:01 Building trust through food27:06 How to get people to pay for your content37:43 What do people not pay for?40:44 Don't scale too quickly43:41 The difficulties of local newsletter ad sales49:11 How to grow a local newsletter52:40 A bullish and bearish take on local media57:50 Best advice for entrepreneurs

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• Ep. 80: How a YouTuber's study group grew into a profitable business ft. Kaelyn Grace Apple

  This week on the Creator Spotlight Podcast we're joined by Kaelyn Grace Apple. Kaelyn is the founder and co-owner of Accepted Society, an international online community of students, educators, and independent researchers dedicated to learning, research, and creating networks of support. In this episode Kaelyn shares how she cracked the formula for building a profitable, niche, online community. She breaks down the business plan behind her 500+ member collective, lessons from working with Ali Abdaal, and the strategies every creator can use to turn research into results.Read the newsletter__Earn with Google AdSense__Kaelyn Grace AppleAccepted SocietyWebsiteYouTubeLinkedInInstagramFrancis ZiererLinkedInTwitter/X__Timestamps00:00 Introducing Kaelyn Grace Apple01:28 From eight members to over 50008:02 Why you should not scale too quickly12:03 The course model vs. community model14:03 Using YouTube to build a community18:42 Pricing a community22:01 Scaling a business up, and scaling it down30:46 The evolution of Kaelyn's YouTube content37:24 Revenue breakdown42:44 Why Kaelyn left the Ali Abdaal team47:34 Lessons learnt working with Ali Abdaal53:47 Kaelyn's 30 year plan

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• Ep. 79: He had 15M followers, then he quit — here's why ft. Caspar Lee

  This week on the Creator Spotlight Podcast, we’re joined by Caspar Lee — one of YouTube’s early stars turned entrepreneur and investor. Caspar talks about why he walked away from 15 million followers, how he built four companies after YouTube, and what every creator should know about building a business that lasts. __ Caspar Lee YouTubeWebsite LinkedIn Twitter Instagram Francis Zierer LinkedIn Twitter/X __ Timestamps00:00 Introducing Caspar Lee 01:17 How to exit, as a creator 07:11 It's hard to do YouTube and business 12:49 How influencer marketing has evolved 16:02 The hardest part of influencer marketing 20:33 Investing in the creator economy 25:18 What is the perfect investment? 30:14 Equity vs cash in brand deals 33:14 The vulnerability of the creator economy 38:43 If Caspar Lee started YouTube in 2025 43:28 Caspar Lee's five year plan

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