North Texas content creators: from side hustles to successful careers
Social media content creators and influencers are all over Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
It's estimated that thousands of them are living in North Texas. But how much are they earning from it, and could anyone be successful at it?
Meet the DFW content creators and influencers
You'll find Courtney Stensland at the fair, on the field and and anywhere there's good food.
You might find Krystyan Lazarin there as well, or promoting a sports line and skin care.
Cord Green is a chef cooking up classics and cashing in while doing it from the comfort of his own kitchen.
They are DFW social media influencers who took a big risk leaving behind 9-to-5 office jobs to build what have become successful careers in a growing industry.
"You know, I worked in corporate America, different jobs, and then, during the pandemic, is when I came back around to trying to do our YouTube," said Green.
"I've been in that 9-to-5 job," said Lazarin, a social media creator/influencer. "You know, I had a job where I was traveling an hour to and from work, and it was almost like, 'wow, I'm making great money, but I'm not happy because I'm not able to use it.'"
"I actually was really scared to go, you know, more full-time," said Stensland, a social media creator/influencer. "I quit my corporate job two years ago."
Getting started: advice from content creators and influencers
These content creators say they are now getting by on the income from being online entrepreneurs. We spent time with them to find out how they do it and how you can as well.
In Green's case, he's now authored a popular line of cookbooks for his YouTube followers because he looks at them as more than just numbers.
"Focus on community is not about the number of followers that you have, but the quality of followers that you have," Green said.
Stensland says the key to standing above others in her profession, as she has, is to know your audience and only promote what you actually like.
"Since I'm from Dallas, I want people to love Dallas as much as I do," said Stensland. "It's easy when you're promoting things you use every day."
Lazarin evolved from being a top amateur tennis and pickleball player, and now, with more than 400,000 followers, says he has more branding opportunities to make money than he can handle.
But he says you have to be willing to invest in quality equipment.
"So a lot of people don't know, you know, like that will come out of my pocket, but I want to make sure I give the best quality content, whether it's on my page or for a company I'm working with," said Lazarin. "But I have probably four or five different editing apps that I will use in terms of video or photo."
You might have to settle for just getting free products or services at the beginning of a content creator career.
But those who do it say, as their base grows, the $200, $500 and $1,000 payments for postings start adding up.
There are 50 million global content creators, according to research by the Wall Street Journal, which found that only 13% earn over $100,000 annually.
From side hustle to full-time job
But the money people make from it is expected to double in 2 years to $480 billion.
It started out as a side hustle for these North Texans who say if you post consistently and follow their paths, it can eventually pay off.
"You're not going to know what you're doing, but that's the beauty of it," said Green.
J.D. Miles is an award-winning reporter who has been covering North Texas for CBS 11 since 1996.
