Hey fam, before we dive into today’s post I want you to take literally 90 seconds to do something for me…well, actually… for you…

Seriously.

I want you to please pull up your 2025 content + income goals.

You know, the one you created January of this year when your mind was fresh, and soul was eager was for killer 2025.

If you thought we covered it all in Part One… oh no, my friend. There’s wayyyyyy more to this shady brand collab game.

As the creator economy keeps exploding, so does the creativity (and sometimes sketchiness) of the brands sliding into your DMs and emails. Sure, some opportunities are legit. But others? They're designed to exploit your time, your content, and your community… oh and without giving you real value in return.

Man oh (FREAKIN’) man… before we dive in, you have to hear the quick backstory behind filming this LIVE yesterday:

I’m actually in Spain right now for my niece’s communion, and as you probably saw on the news the ENTIRE country (plus Portugal and part of France) lost power right before I hit record.

Whether you're a full-time creator or building your digital hustle on the side, working with brands can be an exciting part of your journey. But as the creator economy grows, so does the number of SUS "collaboration" offers flooding DMs and inboxes. Some are well-meaning but unfortunately others can be straight-up predatory.

You know that moment in The White Lotus when the rich guests realize they’re being charged triple for a massage, but still tip anyway because they feel weird complaining?

Okay hold on to that and because that’s basically what Uber is doing to all of us when we travel.

There was a time many moons ago when aspirational influencers roamed this fertile earth.

You know the pre-historic aesthetic of blinding white veneers, oat milk matcha lattes, Loewe bags slouched “casually” on the passenger seat of a G-Wagon. Grid-perfect. Caption curated. Every pixel brand-safe.

These numbers are screaming at us and those that don’t listen will be left behind: The influencer economy is crumbling… like Blake Lively’s career during the “It Ends With Us” press tour. CRUMBLINGGGGGGG. BIG TIME.

If your engagement on Instagram has been feeling a little... off lately, you’re not imagining things. A lot of creators and brands have been noticing that views and likes have taken a dip, even on content that usually performs well. It’s frustrating, especially when you feel like you’re doing “everything right.”

It smacks you right in the face.

You open Instagram and there it is: another sunrise yoga shot in Tulum, a rooftop cocktail in Paris, someone oooohhhh-soooo-casuallllllly working poolside in Mykonos.

Alrighty fam, I’ve been reading your DMs and I hear you loud and clear.

Creating content all the time can feel like A LOT. One day you’re in a flow, posting with ease, and the next you’re like: What even is my brand again?? Why do I go on?? Do people even care??

At the SAG awards this year, Selena Gomez appeared slimmer than she’d been in years, looking radiant, styled to perfection… and yet, something about it felt familiar in a way that made my stomach sink. BIG TIME.

I had so much fun chatting with Emily Blumenthal (yes, THE FIT Professor & fashion powerhouse!) on her podcast, diving deep into branding and storytelling.

Emily has dedicated her life to the fashion industry and pushes her students to think critically, creatively, and strategically (aka, my kind of woman). And because she teaches Entrepreneurship, I couldn’t pass up the chance to ask her: What are the TOP 10 homework assignments every aspiring entrepreneur should do?

Okay fam, I’m gonna lay something a bit thick here. I know this may cause some sort of SubStack controversy, but YOLO, let’s do it.

I love my free subscribers. Seriously, I do. Every time you read, engage, and share my work, it means the world to me.

But here’s where I lay it thick : If you’re not a paid subscriber, you’re only getting half the experience.

Boy do I have something for you, my digital warriors!

If you’re sick of watching your content get buried by the Mark-Machine (ahem, Instagram), my live workshop is your battle cry, and I’m giving it to you for less than 85CENTS a day.

We’ve officially entered the era of the slow and steady demise of the “Instagram Influencer”… you know, the ones who survived off street style photos of them in a Fendi bag they probably couldn’t even afford… the ones who survived off viral TikTok dance trends… the ones who survived in showing you a fake life where everything is perfect all the time.

Okay fam, I just got off my quarterly call with META, and the updates they’ve rolled out are kinda bonkers… think a Kourtney Kardashian pre & post Travis barker 180* kinda flip. Like everything META’s been telling us for YEARS we have to do, are now obsolete.

Let the social controversy begin, ‘cause I gotta be honest… I can see this being really brilliant, anddddddd I can see this being a sh*t storm of negativity and anxiety-inducing icon-warfare.

I remember back in 2012 when I was working at a talent agency, we couldn’t get the smallest of brands to invite our biggest influencer at the time, Chiara Ferragni, to their runway show during Fashion Week. It was pulling teeth. But by educating brands about the importance of influencers (ahem, bloggers as we knew them then), the tides began to shift. And then that tide became a tsunami…

I was out to dinner with a good friend of mine last Sunday and she was giving me an update about an on-again-off-again boyfriend/lover/f*ckboy she’s been seeing for over 20 years. Don’t know why I even ask for an update at this point because it’s been the same rhetoric since before smartphones existed. No joke.

Man.

Oh.

Man.

With all the changes happening in Instagram this year, I think you’ve gotten the major hint that social media isn’t just about pretty pictures anymore.