Self-Manage Before Agencies

Dani Austin shares her experience about early career management in content creation, emphasizing the importance of self-management over signing with large agencies when starting out. Her insights come from personal experience managing her YouTube and social media career.

Key Points:

• Early Agency Experience:

  • Signed with a manager within 3 months of starting YouTube
  • Manager represented creators with over 1 million followers while Dani had 150,000
  • Found herself funneling brand deals to other creators represented by the same manager
  • Wasn't getting opportunities despite bringing in deals

• Self-Management Benefits:

  • Better control over brand partnerships
  • Direct relationship with brands
  • Ability to build your own team that cares about your growth
  • More focus on personal brand development

• Strategy Shift:

  • Got out of agency contract as soon as possible
  • Built in-house team instead of external management
  • Maintained direct relationships with brands
  • Could prioritize own growth and opportunities

• Lessons Learned:

  • Don't rush into big agency contracts early in your career
  • Build your own relationships with brands
  • Focus on growing your audience first
  • Wait until you have significant leverage before considering major representation

• Current Approach:

  • Maintains in-house team
  • Direct brand relationships
  • More control over content and partnerships
  • Better ability to serve audience needs

This point of view emphasizes the importance of maintaining control over your career in its early stages, rather than delegating it to agencies that might not prioritize your growth.