From Music to Millions: Lirty E's Content Creator Journey

0:00 I'm your host, Andreas, and I got a... Love her. I'm supposed to go to sleep, but I be all over the place, so I was like... Yeah, that's what we wanted it to be. Following up on social medias right now because... It wasn't producing a lot at the time. So just hearing about... Google, Google and YouTube University is idealistically the best way to learn. They really hit me on that microphone to see me on this stage. I feel like the whole city here. Aw man, I'm gonna go crazy. Alright y 'all, it's your opportunity for another episode of Bankedoutt Radio Show.

0:46 I'm your host, Andreas, and this is Music and Business Talk, and we have a returning guest, I think. This might be about the third time, I believe, with Lertie E., who is not only a recording artist, but now a content creator, a businesswoman, doing a lot of different things, a teacher as well, during the day. So Lertie, welcome back to the platform. Thank you. Thank you. So happy to be here. Good to see you. Feel like I ain't seen you in forever. Yeah, it's been a good little bit. uh whatever that when you made that post a few weeks back or whatever so uh you know because uh what what prompted that you was going through like your pictures or something like memories or something like that when yeah yeah posted on facebook yeah it's like yeah where's that spark making it took that uh pitch together yeah um yeah but i wanted to you know bring you back and you know talk about what's been going on in your life, you know, you've switched careers as far, not really switching careers, but I guess you just, you know, pivot and went to a different direction. You know, you was really on the making the music and then the content creation started taking off. So I wanted to dive into that and then, you know, you can talk about some strategies and stuff like that that you know people necessarily don't think about and how has the landscape of content

2:17 changed because you've been doing it for i think about what six seven years now yeah i'm knee deep up in there's been a many yeah so you've learned a lot of things that you know have transpired over the course of just what content creation is the platforms the algorithms constantly changing you know which platform is working for you versus which ones you know i'm saying very much not so but uh let the audience know when what got you into going into like you know content creation um music like you said i started out making music and um during the time i trying to kind of transition into content I really didn't want to do it. I didn't really want to transition into content.

3:09 Music was all that I had known since I was 12. So a new wave was coming in and I was like, E, you got to use content in order to promote your music. So I had been making like little videos here and there, but it was just for fun. It wasn't like, you know. you know something that I took seriously and then um I just started shooting my own music videos and I was like I kind of like this you know I kind of like filming and editing and directing so um I started doing it more um I have been doing it a long time I think it was like 20 I started in 2020 2020 I want to say is when I started and then Unfortunately, in 2020, 2021 or 22, something like that, my page had got taken down on TikTok. This is TikTok.

4:10 And it took me a long time to kind of bounce back from that because... it was a hurting feeling. It was hurting because I had built my platform up and I had so many followers and just to have it swept from up under me was devastating. I think like about two years later is a year or two, I would say 2021 because about around about 2023 is like when I started just really buckling down and like I need to start taking content more seriously. And still now, like, it's not really about the money for me, because honestly, we don't make what people think we make. But I just do it because I love it. I love making people laugh. I love bringing joy to people's life. I even love when people stop me on the street. They be like, oh, I know you. I watch your videos all the time. That's an unexplainable feeling. Yeah, I definitely like the fact that you're wise, you know, it's more purposeful, it's bigger than just yourself. You say you like to bring joy to people, you know, give them that sense of relief that they have out there day because, you know, times are hard and then, you know, people just go through a lot or whatever.

5:25 So when they go to social media and looking for that escape, yeah. Is it that your original page on TikTok had get taken down? Did they tell you why it was taken down? Oh, it was an ex of mine. It was an ex of mine. We parted ways and I guess like the way things went the way you know I kind of parted my way and she reported my page and they took it down with no investigation or anything. So that's one thing I really don't like about some of the social media sites, they really don't investigate as much as they should. They'll just take it down within an instant. So building a page, what does that look like for all those who really want to jump into it? Because I think now, like you said, I want to go back and revisit this too. No matter what you're doing, whether you're an artist, whether, you know what I'm saying, you're a baker, whether you're a physician, it seems like content creation is a thing that you have to do with social media and to really be able to promote your business. What does that look like as far as building a platform from zero followers to, you know, thousands, you know what I'm saying, hundreds of thousands of followers?

6:49 What does that look like? Consistently. Like you have to be consistent. You have to post regularly every single day. It's going to throw off the algorithm. You have to post consistently. And I think most people get so caught up in the numbers. Don't look at the numbers, especially when you're first starting out. You should be doing this because it's something that you love. It's something that you like to do. bring that spirit and put it into your work and the people, the numbers, the followers, they're going to come because they're going to see you being your true, authentic self. Consistency, like I said, being yourself, stepping outside of the box. There are going to be a lot of because I'm let me use me for example when I first started out um and still now to this day I really don't feel like I have a niche um niches are uh just categories that the algorithm places you in he I don't feel like I fit into any category because I make so many different um videos and uh they whatever comes to mind whatever I'm experienced experiences, I use those experiences to put out content. So,

8:22 you know, follow the trends, but get into the tree. Use the trending sounds. Follow other people coming on other people on things like repose. All of that is is telling the algorithm, hey, I'm I'm active. Some people over my way, I'm shooting some stuff over here, too. All of that and one bowl will help you get to where you need to be. So what is it a little like as far as the because like I've been what I've been doing here lately I've been on threads right and I like the way that people talk on threads I like the fact that it seems like it's a community people are passing the information I've actually met a couple people off of threads in person.

9:09 Really? Yes so No, but you know, that's, that's me. I like to go that extra step. One, I like just meeting people in general. Um, so it's, uh, you know, link up with somebody like, Hey, you know what I'm saying? This is where I'm going to, you know, be at blah, blah, blah. You know, let's sit down for a meeting or whatever. Cause again, I get like threads is this sense of community. Um, and it's getting popular. And like one of the features that I had access to before a lot of people were like actually the podcast links and I don't have a whole lot of thread of followers. But it was because I was interacting, like you said. I talk and I post on people's threads. I comment. I give them, like, you know, good advice, my experiences, understanding, you know, what they're talking about and building this sense of community and value. How does, like, you know, because I see a lot of people, they want to be content creators and then talk about, like, you know, wanting to work with people, but not necessarily putting in the... energy and effort that it takes to like really do collaborations or having a clear understanding of what they want to achieve out of like a collaboration.

10:20 How's those experiences been for you then overall what do you see as like you know the ones who are successful what are they all doing or what do they seem to have in common versus the ones are not as successful as they want to be? Collaboration. You know, that's what is going to make you or break you. Learning how to work with others, learning how to network, learning how to work rooms. Lucky for me, I kind of had a head start with music. Like it was a gateway for me. I learned how to network. I learned how to go out and talk to people, like trying to promote my music. So I kind of transitioned that over into content creating. I have yet, besides you, I have yet to really collab with any other content creators.

11:12 And I think it's because a lot of them, they jump in it. And I think that, you know, it's easy, but it's not. It's not as easy as shooting a video and posting it. It's not that simple. Like you have to put in the background on the back work. Like you have to work on the back end. It's not just... One and done, no. I think that is what deters a lot of people when they jump in, they don't understand how much work comes along with it. And I think for me, that's what made it so easy because music and content are so relatable when it comes to the background work. Like you have to go out, you have to shake those hands, you have to meet new people in that work. Even with music, it was hard to get artists to collab or to meet you at the studio or to lay down their verse. And it's the same thing with content creating. Like people just, I don't know if they're not taking it serious. And then there are some content creators who are, I wouldn't say that they are. superstar status but they are a little a little above my lane and I've reached out to them but it's like I understand pain because I don't mind pain but it has to be reasonable If I have 30 ,000 followers and

12:45 you have 50 ,000 and you want to charge me, I'll stack the work. That doesn't make sense to me. You're only 20 ,000 followers above me. I can do that. That's easy numbers. But what we can do is we can take that money and we can collab together. There are so many content creators in the Middle Georgia area. If everybody would just come together and work, do you know how far that we can go? Yeah, I think, go ahead. Finish it now, finish it out. They just, I don't know. They just not clenching on. They're just not understanding. And I think that my ideology is just so far gone that we just not on the same wavelength. Yeah, I think what my experience has been when I was down there is that you know it has everything that does there to be able to create and amplify a lot of different things to the point to where it becomes known on a nationwide and worldwide scale but again I think it's a lot of people's mentality and like you said their ideology of if they didn't create the idea Or if it's not about them per se they don't want to participate in it because they're looking for validation in the wrong places And they won't step outside their comfort zone. I mean with

14:17 all the different collaborations I did with folks and all the different, you know things You know, I brought along the way 500 million people listening podcasts Worldwide that's a huge audience to tap into don't waste your time. Just starting Use your time wisely by starting correctly Hi, I'm Andreas and I build bank that radio show from zero to eleven thousand followers And if you're trying to start a podcast, I wrote an ebook about it clear Concise you don't have to have the biggest audience You don't even have to have an audience at all and still commoditize your podcast Remember everyone has a story if you've been on the internet searching There's a lot of information out there how to start your podcast and it could seem overwhelming I believe in the kiss model keep it simple stupid short concise Straight to the point all on ebook. You can change your life in a week start your podcast Launch it and monetize it all within a week You can go to the pay link check out the book. You can also subscribe to the newsletter Get more advanced techniques and lessons. You can change your life in a week. Like I was saying to uh My experience down there, you know I'm like I wanted it for everyone and It just wasn't going to happen. And I don't think it will happen anytime soon because of the mentality. So you can't want it more than they do. Exactly. And I don't think everybody, like you said, they don't want to

15:48 put in the work. They think it's going to be easy. And then they let their ego, you know, control opportunities because they should be one. Like you said, there's a lot of talent down there. there's a lot of different ideas i've seen a lot of different people blow up doing different things and if they just keep collaborating with one another when it would it's bigger than just one person but everybody would benefit though just think about that everybody would benefit so when it comes to the content creation and like you said earlier you're talking about how even as an artist you didn't want to like you know do content creation Why do you think artists feel that way like what is it about content creation and pushing your music that? artists don't want to like put together and they just want to record and just put it out and Be I guess okay with it. Oh Honestly for me it was just like you say I don't want to put in the word No, it's just like recording like I mean I never, which I regret, I never wanted to learn how to go in the studio and what buttons to push to make it sound good.

17:04 I just wanted to show up and lay down my verse and be done with it. It was the same thing with content creating. I didn't want to shoot the videos. I didn't want to edit the videos. I didn't want to keep posting those same videos over and over and over again. I didn't want to do it. once I put my hand in it, once I dabble in it, and I was like, this is something that I actually like. I love doing this. I love shooting the videos and directing and know what angle I want and what angle I didn't want, what to cut out, how loud I want this music or how low I want it. And I think that's another thing that kind of like pulled me in, the fact that I... was able to control how I wanted everything to go.

17:58 And I think a lot of artists, well, the ones who are really serious, I think once they start getting into the content market, they'll see like, first of all, how much it'll expand your brand. But secondly, I think it'll be something that they'll like to do because A lot of artists, like myself, we are controlling in certain aspects. We like things to go a certain way. I know that I do. That's just because of my work ethic. I like things a certain way. So to be able to control a lot of that, that what kind of pulled me in.

18:44 And I think that kind of comes with maturity also because once again going back to the business I mean back to the music side a lot of artists don't want to learn the business side they just want to show up and it's like that's how a lot of y 'all are being Forced into these ugly deals because you're not you're not showing up for yourself You want other people to show up for you, but you're not showing up for yourself You have to be present. You are your first manager. You are your first Publicist you are your first everything you're going through all those steps So you can learn that when you get to that higher level You won't have people You know pulling you this way that way that way and you just going because you don't know Me I like to learn different things. I like to learn things and I think just I learned a lot from experience Yeah, no, they said experience is the best teacher So you've done a lot of different content like you said You've had I guess your I want to say I think your first like really big Massive viral video.

19:56 Was that the one we use throwing the fish grease or the grease out of the door? Outside. Yeah, that was my first million video million views video. Yeah. How did that feel when you were able to accomplish that and you saw that it was very relatable and then what did that do for you mentally as far as like, okay, now this is the type of approach I'm gonna use because you get real -time data off of it and is the feedback from just the community at large? Um it was amazing and it still feels amazing because the video is still actively going viral like I think currently it's at like 22 million views and it's like wow yeah but is it like 1 .1 million 1 .2 million likes which is even crazier. It's just like a million people have seen my face. That's crazy.

20:53 22 million. I know, right? It feels great, man. And then that pushed me into overdrive because I'm not going to lie. I tell people not to watch the numbers. But when you're that close to a million and you're like, man, it's any day now, any day now, and then it finally happens, you're like. Oh my God, it's an undescribable feeling. Like I said, it pushed me to just do more because you're gonna have to do more. People are gonna want more from you. So just doing that, wait, I have that one and I have two more that are at a million on TikTok. The one that was, that hit me, the Facebook million threshold was My cooking videos. I knew the aggressive cooking videos. So I kind of retired those Only because I don't want to be known for cooking content I hate cooking like to be honest I hate it those videos were real what you see or it's real passion because I don't like to cook but single mother of two girls to cook so um a lot of your content just comes from survival just yeah what was the latest one that did Amelia oh the latest one

22:26 oh teaching and then i was saying how um how we send the kids to the principal the the kids that are acting now we send to the principal and they come back with a lollipop and we're like oh my god the teachers and the kids are all in the comments and their experiences and it's cool um sometimes don't read the comments y 'all sometimes you can read the comments But don't read the comments all the time because sometimes the comments can be very, very, very discouraging. So just be wise when you're reading the comments. No, I definitely get that because as you get success and you feel like, you know, other people are envious of that and that the fact that they feel like you don't deserve it and therefore they're trying to troll and, you know, eat off your coattails and stuff. Mm -hmm.

23:25 It's a lot of day. It's a lot of day and it's a lot of people day who They like you said they're envious and then there are people who live with their mom in the basement and they just want to say some crazy things to you, but Gotta learn how to decipher the good in the bed when you're reading the coming so when you first start now and your video goes viral and I would say read about those first ten comments and it'll tell you which way your comment section is kind of leaning. And if you know that it's going left and then you need to left, get up out of there.

24:05 Yeah. Yeah. What would you say to people like? You go viral, you establish yourself, and you start to get a name known. What other opportunity comes along with it, or what have you been able to get, you know, receive, put in front of, you know, to where you can maximize those other opportunities or those spin -offs? I'm still working out the kinks, but I had an opportunity with This guy, he owned this company called The Cook Shop. He gave me an endorsement deal, which allowed me to create content the way that I wanted to and to promote his business. So that was a great opportunity. And I thank you so much again for that opportunity. I am figuring out for me I do want to get into shooting contents for businesses.

25:15 But I really don't know how to go about doing it. There are a lot of other opportunities out there. I think for me it's so difficult because of the environment and where I live. And I'm working on that. Once I get out of here, once I go to an inner city, I feel like the opportunities will be endless. I'll be able to network with a lot of other people. I think my dream from content is to go into acting. I like being able to step into somebody else's persona. I like shooting, I like editing, I like directing. Just all of those aspects of different alleyways that I can take. I just need help. So do you think you would take on the mantle, like you said, until you can relocate to where you want to be at, right? Would you build the infrastructure and create the situations to where, you know, You're putting everything out there. You're being like you said the director or the writer and all that you're shooting And getting other people involved or do you just want to be like, you know not as responsible for all those other aspects

26:45 and Just like you know, we don't we're you wait on the opportunity for you to relocate Wow, um, and honestly, I never really thought about it but taking it back and thinking about it. I'm open to collaborating with other people. I'm willing to step into that role, but it's just building that circle of people who are going to work as hard as I am. I think that is where the biggest dilemma is. I really don't mind working with other people. I don't mind stepping into the leadership role, but it has to be a balance.

27:33 I don't want people around me with egos bigger than the Skyscary person. It has to be leveled out. And I don't mind. I travel. I travel to Atlanta a lot, which is where I'm trying to relocate. I don't mind traveling outside of here because I know that bigger opportunities are out here, but I don't also mind bringing those bigger opportunities to here, but I got to see what y 'all putting to work. Yeah. I definitely get that. Um, where do you go from here? Cause like you said, you built up your following base. you're constantly putting out content. Like you're looking for either the people to work with, to do the infrastructure, or to go to the, you know, bigger city, inner city, to where, you know, you have more like -minded people. Where do you go from here? Because you've accomplished a lot. Do you feel like you've plateaued where you are? Or do you feel like you can grow more? There's definitely room for growth. Um, I tell people this audit Well people tell me this. Um, I think you were one of those people that told me like I Don't see all of the

29:06 stuff that everybody see now like I don't think that I'm just well established right now I think because I have that tunnel vision and I see Where I want to be I want to be in Hollywood. I want to be hosting I want to be Acting I want to be a spokesperson on a commercial doing brand deals and things of that sort that is where my mind is but um It's also it's very difficult for me to step back and to see all of that. I've already accomplished and I think that's because like I said I just have my mindset on where I want to be and I just everything around me is is building towards that but it's not where I want to be.

30:01 So I feel like if I stop and look around I'm gonna get distracted. No I get that. Yeah. No I definitely understand that. So I just want to get your perspective on a few things so Me moving up here been in a metro Atlanta area that allowed me to see you know I'm saying some more stuff has been going on But then I also take these ideas that I've had and find the right people with them so with that being said do you think Lurdy would ever have her own like reality type show because in the essence that's what you're doing with your content anyway because I also want to talk about What do you choose to put on the internet versus what you don't choose to put on the internet? So that's one as far as would you ever consider having a reality show? The other thing is I just signed an artist to where we're working on a documentary for him because he's going to be releasing the album here in May. We're going to start shooting here shortly. So in the next few months, I'm going to be following him around. Do you think that's a pathway for artists? to display themselves in a whole totally different manner or what do you think about those type of visual representations?

31:22 I do, I'm going to start with number two. I do think that that would be great for artists because people want to see you in your natural element. They want to see you outside of your music so they can be able to relate to your music. I don't know about other artists, but all of my music is, it came from me. It came from life experiences. So a lot of people can relate to those life experiences, but when they see you in your natural element, it's something about that they just can't take away, which relates me over to the first question. I would love to have my own reality show. I think my life is very entertaining. Very entertaining.

32:12 As far as what I put on the internet, what I don't, I put everything on here. I don't really have a limit because I know what I'm going through, somebody else is going through the same exactly. There are a lot of teachers out here. There are a lot of single parents out here. There are a lot of lesbians out here. There are a lot of teaching lesbian single parents out here. I don't really have a limit. I think the only thing that probably off limits is like when random, like when I'm shooting randomly and I have people in it and they don't consent, then I can't post it. But up and down, I'm posting everything because I'm getting a head start on people, if they don't have it, if I'm posting everything, they don't have nothing to talk about. Yeah. This is like in Eight Mile, when Jimineel went in and he dished out everything. He was like, now at the end, you don't have nothing to talk about because I already aired out all my dirty laundry. And I feel I live by that principle. I don't have secrets. I don't have anything to hide. I'm just authentically me. And people love me, and I'm glad that they love me. I'm glad they do because you're like me you're very authentic and transparent but then there's also been other people that

33:43 say to like me for instance you know being like and I see it people say this in general too they're like you know well you're just being too transparent you're being too authentic and I'm like no I don't know how to not be me and then they're like well you if you over share um you won't have anything else to talk about and I'm like that's not I don't believe that there's a such thing as oversharing because that means that you take my life and you end the experiences. So that's you saying that I'm not going to have any more experiences in life. There's no way that I can't, I'm like, there's no such thing as oversharing because as long as I'm going through whatever experiences, the highs, the lows, you know what I'm saying, the middle, the middles, then I have more experiences to share. And like you said, when you put it out there, you never know who will gravitate towards it. And I'm glad you brought it up because I wanted to get into you sharing about your experience with losing your job and then posting about that. And then within, I think, a day later, you had got another job opportunity. Talk to us about that. What was your mindset of really wanting to express that and to use the internet as the tool of expressing?

34:59 Those emotions. Um That day was chaotic. It was chaotic and um, I Didn't have anywhere else to turn, you know, my internet family's like my family like community So I felt comfortable sharing that with them. Um It was just something that I just had to get out my chest because I knew eventually like it was gonna get out so why not come straight to you guys and tell you about it and The people they were very supportive very supportive and um If you know me, do you know I'm a host Like that's what's gonna keep me down.

35:42 And so that same day when I got fired, I went home applying for a job because I know that I have two, not one, but two. I have two daughters that I have to take care of. Like those are my father. So I knew that I had to find something else. I was just job applications. I didn't even have time to process the fact that, oh my God, I got fired. Because I went right into go -go, like, okay, I got fired. And I was, like, I was the type, and I'm still the type, that I'm not scared of losing a job. Because there are plenty others out there, and I know what skillsets that I bring to the table. So, it was, it was, at first, when it first happened, of course, that dagger in your heart, but I pulled it out, and I was like, I don't have time for that, I gotta get back to work. And that way, it's kind of what led me to getting a job the next day, which is absolutely insane. I did the application the same day I got fired. And within what, minutes of me submitting my application, they called me. It was like, oh, we love your resume. We wanted to call you in for an interview. I was like, sure. And she was like, can we do it tomorrow?

37:03 I was like, yeah. Got there to the interview. In my head, all the way there, I was thinking, I was like, oh my God, what if these people had me on the spot? That would be amazing. I'm already grateful for the opportunity to have a job interview the day after I got fired. This wasn't planned. This wasn't in my plans. when i got there um did the interview of course i told about my story time with early business he loved it and they hired me on the spot and i've been there ever since do you believe that some people are like predescent to be greatness as long as they are living up to their potential well i guess you can say that about me that's why i was pointed to you know i've always said that there's big things to come of you And you know, I've said over the course of the years that I will continuously to keep saying that you're built differently.

38:04 Your mindset, the way you approach things, your love for people, you just have this within you that a lot of people don't exhibit. So I expect, you know, I'm seeing you to always, as long as you're put in a position, you'll come through and it'll be like amazing. when you did the cook shop and you recorded that one video, I saw people sending you gifts. Yeah, I thought that was amazing that, you know, saying give the opportunity to push something and then people are supporting you. Yeah. I believe that, you know, some people are pretty destined to do things as long as they have the support system behind them. They have someone in their corner or someone's then, you know, they'll go and live up to the potential that they're supposed to live up to. Um, and I don't think everybody's like, you know, being pushed in that area. People can go and do things, but I don't think it's built. They're not built for that. What is your support system as far as like, you know, just having fellow content creators or entrepreneurs, like, you know, just talking to, you know, whether it be twice a month, once a week, something like that. Do you have that system in place yet? Or are you building it? Why have you? Yeah, I love the call and time wreck your brain about business talk We talked for hours and hours and I tell people when I

39:36 mention you I tell them that I love talking to you because it lights a fire in me I've seen you be this business mogul and I've seen you, you giving me so many opportunities that endless, I can't even count. So I'm very appreciative of that. So I love the call and I think you're very wise and I think you have so much wisdom. And if you ever had the opportunity where you wanted to manage, I hope that I would be in the number. But you know, you don't know how how great it is for me to say that because people know me I had an interview a prior prior interview years ago where they was like, oh You just don't trust nobody. You don't want nobody managing you cuz I've never had a manager My life had a manager. Um, I've just been I just learn to do things on my own, but to watch you, to see you, you put, you light a fire in me. So I would definitely be open to the opportunity of you managing me. But besides you, I really don't.

40:51 I have a lot of people who kind of look up to me. Which is crazy like never thought anybody with webcast They have the song is like it's crazy that you know You have people looking up to you, and I never thought in a million years. I would have people looking up to me Just besides you I'm like my biggest cheerleader I have like my family my mom and my niece Stay in my corner. Help me with my girls My niece she's um, well, I have two knees. They're both active on social media. So they always telling me Oh my friends.

41:36 They saw your video. They don't even know that you're my Come in it. They're Shannon to their friends and I'm like, yeah support. And I think that is what drives me so hard because I know that I have two kids and I know that they're depending on me. So I think that is what makes me go so hard because I don't want to let them down. No, I definitely understand that. And you know, also, and I tell entrepreneurs this all the time and I see it too. Like entrepreneurs, creatives, because creatives are entrepreneurs anyway. So you're entrepreneurs as many times over. And everyone, no, not for real. Everything is a business. Story time, alerting, you know what I'm saying? You being an artist, that's a business. You being a content creator, that's a business. All that is exactly, it's all a business.

42:34 Being a brand, it's a business. But I don't think a lot of entrepreneurs get the intangibles that they need, which is emotional -based support. Being having access to other entrepreneurs who are thinking like you, to where you can even if you just spit balling ideas, you know, and stay in a constant contact, like I said, whether it's once a week, twice, twice a month, whatever the case may be. I think all entrepreneurs should have some type of support system where they have their peers or mentors of whomever that they're entangled with to stay on them and then also to hold them accountable and stuff like that because it's a lonely road and I don't think people talk about that as much either. how being a content creator and an entrepreneur solopreneur is a lonely road. What do you do when you have those roadblocks? How do you stay motivated?

43:31 How do you keep pushing through even though sometimes we set unrealistic expectations? Especially when someone like me, I'm a single parent. I don't have anybody to rely on. I'm single and it's hard to date. It's hard to date because as a single parent and as a content creator, because as a single parent, my kids are going to be my main focus. And as a content creator, it's like people see you on the screen, but they want to see that person behind the screen. Behind the screen, I like to sit in my house and just be quiet. Like I don't like to talk a lot. And they expect for that person on the screen to be the person that they're sitting with. And I'm like, no. You know, I turn that on, I turn it off.

44:26 That's me, but that's me when it's just me and my camera. It's not me and another person, another person, another person. It's just me and my camera. So I'm in my mode. I'm in my element then. But when you're dating, you're getting to know people. You're not getting to know... me, the content creator per se, you're getting to know me, Erica as the person. Yeah. And I think it's sometimes it's hard for people to distinguish the two. Cause like you said, you do, cause at the end of the day, you know, you're creating content and you're doing it for the purpose of entertainment. Um, and you bring it, you want to use your talent to bring joys to others. So whatever they're going through. So it's a job at the end of the day. Um, and it's not. defined about who you are as a person all the way in totality. It's a part of who you are. That's not your identity.

45:19 I think people misconstrued that. When it comes to putting out the types of content, where do you draw your inspiration from? How do you stay creative? I've seen you do a lot of different things. I know you draw a lot out of real life experiences, but what if you're having a downtime? Do you look to others? they were like you know what they did something i'm gonna put my little spin on it or everything is basically original and created through your experiences and through your thought process um for the most part everything is original um i would say the only thing that i draw inspiration from and when i do dance videos um the dance trends but most of it is just from everyday life experiences. And sometimes I do draw a blank. So what I do is I have this system where there's one week where I just constantly, I'm posting, I'm shooting, I'm constantly. And that following week, I'll take it off. I'll take a week off and I'll gather some content, gather some content. And then the next week posting consistency. So it's like a balance. Like I have to have a balance. A lot of it, like I said, just comes from life, just living. And there are moments where I'm just out shopping and something pops into my mind. I'm like, oh, my phone, I need to write this down so I can do it later.

46:50 So it's just any moment, any time. It's crazy because I used to say all the time that my music was just I just pulled it out of thin air. But now that I'm looking back, a lot of those were experiences. Even with music, I don't do music the way that I used to, but I don't know. Music is like we have a love -hate relationship. No, I definitely get that. I could get away from music the way I did, you know. that's still talking about music where I'm still interviewing artists and you know understanding you know the creative process and putting them out there and just I keep meeting artists and you know doing interviews with them and stuff and allowing people to hear of stuff so now they're getting out there more they're getting introduced to a new audience and you just can't leave it alone but I definitely understand what you say about that. What would be like you know Two pieces of advice that you would give the getting content creator that they want to jump into the industry You know jump into the game Will be those two pieces of advice that you definitely would like hey this and this I Would say first off you have to be your own everything You have to be your own Director editor Shooting a video videographer and chill leader

48:25 You have to be your biggest supporter. You have to know that, you know, I'm doing this for a purpose and for a reason. You can't just be doing it for the money. You can't do it for the fame. It has to be something that's in you. Secondly, I would say consistency. Consistency will get you a long way. How is Storytime with Lertie doing? Storytime with Lertie is doing actually pretty good. During the holidays is when our business really picks up. People are having like fall festivals, Christmas events. I know I paint faces. I also added on character rental. So I have characters. I have Mickey Mouse, Sonic, the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus. And I think that's all I have right now, but I am planning to get more. um and it's starting to pick up like word of mouth people are starting to tell each other about it and it's starting to grow um hopefully like once i relocate i'll be able to really grow and uh the goal is to make the business work for me not to work for you yeah uh i can say that i met someone else who does characters and stuff I actually met her at a birthday party celebration last week. And the thing I wanted

49:57 to say to you about that is that, have you ever thought about partnering your services with other businesses? So what I mean by that, Bouncy House Company, right? When they have the bouncy replayables. If someone books them, they're also booking a character too. and you're taking your services and coupling them with that person and then now that business is seeing even more stuff and plus you're getting paid for your services and all that and you're not having to worry about to like you know do all your own bookings yourself you're diversifying your bookings have you thought about things like that or Yes, I definitely have.

50:40 Especially like people who plan parties. That would be great to collab with them because with Storytime with 30, I'm planning to add more. I'm planning to expand. I'm planning on adding a magic show and I'm planning on adding games, such as like those giants. connect four games so people can rent those for entertainment at the parties. So yeah, I'm definitely down to collaborate with any business that's in the party industry, kids' party industry. Yeah, because I like that's where you're going towards it there, the whole family, kids, entertainment, which kids always need to be entertained anyway. Adults need something that's wholesome to where they can entertain the kids. that always you know i'm saying on the video games and stuff like that are being influenced by all these different things that they don't need to be influenced by exactly um one thing with the collaborations so you want to work more with businesses have you ever thought about just doing a trial run with the business like per week you go you pitch to the business um they're like yes you take a screenshot of their analytics you focus your content a week on pushing that business and then by the end of the week you see what your content idea for them and therefore you renegotiate prices.

52:11 I never thought of that. That's why I have you for. I think that is a great idea. I never really thought of that. I love the fact that I will also be able to collab my two businesses, Content and Store Time with Erdy, which I've done in the past, but I've never collaborated with another business. That would be great, but I think the problem for me is, once again, location. I think once I get... to Atlanta. There are a lot of different party planners. And to be able to just shake hands and network my pitch to not just one, but many different brands. What's the closest city? What is the closest city outside of your city, your closest to the next one over? Probably that's like an inner city, kind of. Yeah well even if okay so small cities right you can still do the same thing like you can go to let's say and i'm gonna just say this let's say you go to a nail salon right you can do i'm thinking from the way that i'm thinking about it you have an audience right the whole point is to drive traffic to that um business now it's there it's there responsibility to sell, but as long as

53:41 you get people calling, talking on social media, or showing up at the door, the sales process is on them because you don't get to control that. That's their sales process. But you're a traffic draper and an influencer and all that stuff. So I would go to them, but look, I do all sorts of type, and then they give you a little diversification too. Like creatively, how can you make people see a nail salon business and highlight what that business is doing and doing it in a manner to where it's creatively and it's related to, right? Because that's what you do, you do relatable content. So that's how I would pitch it to them.

54:24 Any type of business, I don't care what it is, small mom and pop, they all need advertising, right? So that's what you're doing. So instead of them be like, okay, well, I can't afford you, blah, blah, blah, you're gonna show the value. So that one week. You'll get content that you can post. You'll be able to tag them or collaborate with them on the pages and see their social media pages. So you get to see the insights on that. You already did the pre of seeing where they are versus, you know what I'm saying, what they'll be after that week. And then they'll see the value of what you did. So if they want more, then of course they're going to be like, you know what? We're going to hire her. And even if they don't hire you, you have a study now.

55:05 that you did that you can pitch to other businesses you guys look I uh I increase this person's within a week uh 500 percent in reach or they have like you know 50 people calling them after I did this particular type of content with them this week and you just do that you just pitch it to other ones that's all you do and you keep doing it until You land, you know, I'm saying the ones that you don't need it because a lot of businesses small business owners They can't focus on creating content like you know how to do stuff that people don't want to do or They don't know how to do You see what I'm saying? So you already got a leg up? You're right. It's just with me. I don't know yourself stop down yourself Stopped down yourself I just gave you the pitch Which is why I keep coming back to you which is why I love talking to you because I Love the information that you give Yeah, they go they go be free for a while. I've actually been putting exclusive content Yeah. Well, no, I did a, uh, I did a, yeah. Okay. So now Apple, when people go to Apple podcasts, they can subscribe monthly to the Apple podcast. Uh huh. And I have exclusive content

56:35 on there. I have the free interviews that I've done, but I've also been doing, I just did my first solo one where I told people how I used the platform for a free interview and it had been a $2 ,600 payday for me. And I went to a 17 minute detail of how I did that. What? Yes. But that's not the first time I've done that, though. No. No, that's not the first time I've done that. When I knew with the platform, within year three, I had something to where I could monetize it. Yeah. And now. Like when people listen to it, they're going to hear ads first.

57:18 Like if you go on any platform, Spotify, Apple, wherever you listen, iHeart, all that, wherever you hear, you can type in to bank that radio show or music and business talk. It pulls it up. When you hit the play button, there's an ad that plays. And then there's two ads at the end as well. And like I was telling people like, My big thing is now that since podcasting has become such a hot commodity, when I have these discussions with people all the time, first thing like the general consumer think that podcasting is oversaturated and it's not. The reason I say it's not is because of the active numbers. They're looking at the overall numbers, but it's the active numbers that talks about the industry.

58:05 Yes, there's over six million podcasts has been out there. Only 10 % of them are active, meaning that they released an episode within the last 10 days. That's crazy. Most podcasts don't even make it past 10 episodes. Because like you said, with content and music, there's a low barrier entry, right? That means that a lot of people could do it. But in order to make the money from it, you have to be consistent. A lot of people don't want to put in the reps to the tanks. So they start to see it, which is cool, because then they fall off. So that means that across all genres of podcasts, we're talking about narration, we're talking about kids, we're talking about cooking, relationships, crime, interview style, business, religion, whatever it is, all across all those genres, only 10%. is being to play out across all those genres. That means there's 90 % room for other people to make a name for themselves. But they're not going to make a name for themselves because they don't want to put in the work. Mm -hmm. That's how it is. Mm -hmm.

59:17 It's out there, you just got to go get it. Yeah. And now with the way that they look at it as far as monetization, most people think that you got to have a whole million downloads and all that stuff where they make money, get it, attract sponsorships, and you don't. You can sell a podcast idea You don't have to have a tangible yeah exactly you look at me like It's been done Yes, you can sell a podcast idea You just have to sell it to the right person That's crazy like I never thought of it I had it to the point to where I had people paying me money to not run ads on their interviews. Why? Because they didn't want ads. They wanted the interview was solely to be just about them without any interruption.

1:00:12 So I was like, you got to pay me what I charge their people. I charged other people to run ads. Exactly. I got paid not to run ads. That's crazy. That's good. and that's crazy yeah so it's like i'll tell people there's all these different ways that how you can monetize the platform and when you get your numbers up and now since i done switched uh distribution feeds for my platform i'm rebuilding my audio numbers and when they get to the same level that they were prior to me switching feeds and stuff it's going to be game over because i already see the money uh falling in now and Next year would be different than this previous and I just started back in November with though building a platform back up. Cause you know, it took a good year and a half off of not really doing anything in my life together. And plus, you know, shooting the reality show and stuff, whatever, you know, that's a, that's a lot of work, but now networking, meeting more people, bringing more, a new audience. So because my Atlanta numbers have been growing on my analytics because I'm out here in the metro Atlanta area. So, you know, these different people are and then now they'll my other numbers are going like Dallas, Texas is starting to grow too because I've been interviewed by three, four people from Dallas. And they're they're tuning in and got California and I got other interviews

1:01:43 that I have not released yet that I'm going to release. And it's just this ongoing thing of growing. consistently pushing and putting new stuff out there and just showing people that you could do all these various things and that what they are telling you out there is not the correct information because they're not the ones that are in it. Even with you, like even with you seeing you having to start over, I was never worried because I've seen what you can do. So it wasn't a thing for me. And I'm like, now I'm in like this point where I'm watching you build from the bottom up. And it's amazing to see you build from the bottom up, because when I met you, you already had it. Yes. Now I can see you start over. It's like, I see it. And I think that we... I think that we get along so well because we're so much alike. I think our work ethic is alike and I think the consistency, how we are is alike. I think you're very similar in so many ways. It's just amazing just to see you, you know, building your brand. Yeah, and like you said, you got to witness where I was at the time that you met me, at the height. Now you get to witness the rebuild. But here's the interesting thing though. The rebuild is quicker.

1:03:14 Yeah, well, you know what you're doing. Yeah, exactly. Because I got like if you were to see where I built prior or whatever, it took longer. The rebuild is way it's like 10 times quicker. I've been able to accomplish more. What do you say? If I say this is off the record, OK. Oh, OK, this is off the record. I was talking with a friend of mine, and she was saying how her friend was with this girl, and she had an ex -wife, and they had this six -figure business. And when the wife left her, the wife took all the money, everything, and she didn't have anything.

1:03:56 But she never rebuilt it. And it's like... can't you see that she never had it? You know, she wasn't a person that was putting in all of that work. So because like you said, if you had it, if you already had it before, it's nothing to rebrand and rebuild and get that back and go 10 times over because now, you know, you have more knowledge. Yes. That's the thing that people don't talk about when you're rebuilding and stuff. and when people get accolades and stuff like out and out and I'm related back to this and this you know I'm saying fortunate wherever we can put it back in but so like with Dame Dash and uh Jay -Z and Kevin Biggs right building Rockefeller Dame Dash's thing for over the last 10 15 20 years or whatever you know I'm saying Rockefeller was sold and all that stuff he always talk about how he built Jay -Z Right? And I told someone, I can't remember who I was talking to about it, but I was like, he can always say that.

1:05:08 But at the end of the day, if you did it, you could do it again. You can go make another one because it's not necessarily just the person. It's a lot of different ingredients. And as long as the person and new people have those same type of ingredients, you can go build another Jay -Z. But he hasn't. Exactly. So you can't take away what Jay was. Yeah, he added to him and he enhanced them. But in a day, if it was all about like really about you and the way that you come off, you can duplicate it because you've learned as a business owner and just the business person in general that you can duplicate what you've done in the past. So was it really you who built Jay to the point that where you know, you get all that credit and right in recognition Why would you be so bitter Because once you get past the emotional part right because we all it's like, you know I'm saying you build a business and it's your baby and stuff like that. I get that right I'm not saying that you know, I'm saying we're not subjective to that. We're humans We're emotional based creatures up in the day, but once you get past the emotional part you can go and rebuild something if you had that much input into it. Because you know what pieces to put in place for the puzzle. And you can even skip a few steps because you've already went

1:06:38 through those. You know what to do and what not to do. Exactly. And that's the thing, you know, if you've done it, you can do it again. But, you know, the ones who really want to do it or whatever are the ones who go out there and do it time and time again. Everyone, you know, is not who they claim to be. So there's a lot of people out there who get, excuse me, recognition and notoriety. And not to say that they shouldn't get recognition and notoriety, but it's to the degree of where they're praised way more than what their skill set is. Yeah, like, did you really do that? Uh huh. And I've always been the person that like, you know, proof is in the pudding. Yeah. You know exactly it does every time You're gonna have to put in the work Eventually, you're gonna you're gonna stop riding people's coattails and you're gonna put in the work and it's gonna show who's actually been doing the work Exactly, and I might get you see it's what it is, but you know, we don't have those discussions business really that's why I like talking about the different things and bring in a conversation like this to life because at the end of day we need conversations like these and we need to talk about the real stuff not just all the like the fruits of the labor what people see but the

1:08:10 labor part itself the building of an infrastructure and what that looks like even when I was younger looking at 106 and Park, I used to like listen to the, they always used to ask that one question, what advice would you give the younger artists, you know, coming up, coming behind you? And they would be like, oh, believe in yourself. Something bullshit. Give me the roots of it, you know? What do I need to do in order to get to the next level? It's like, I want to give that to people. I don't want to sugarcoat it. And I think a lot of a lot of that was because the artist didn't want to be taught. They didn't want to be pushed out of the way. But I'm not that type of person.

1:08:56 I want to give it to you. I want to help you. But I got to see the fire in you. You got a few more than I do. I had to learn that lesson a lot when I first jumped out there in entrepreneurship world. And I think it was between the years of 2006 all the way to about 2010, 2011. And it took me a while to learn that. But when I did though, everything else started taking off and I was able to focus because I wanted it more than other people. And I told them, I can't be wanting this more because I'm putting way more energy and effort into it and I'm getting so emotionally involved that I'm, you know, saying it's jeopardizing relationships. And you can't do that. They got a show that they wanted. And like, I tell a lot of people all the time, like, y 'all talk a lot, but y 'all put in the work.

1:09:47 I'm like, there's been days where, like, when I started doing the podcasting again, it started going hard and I understood what I wanted to accomplish this time. There were days I was waking up two, three o 'clock in the morning and my girl right there in bed, she's like, what are you doing? Working on stuff, working on stuff, working on stuff, sleeping three, four hours. Because I wanted it. I wanted to build that momentum. And now I got the momentum going. I'm keeping it going. And I got other things that I'm working on and are strategizing. And like I said, I'm pulling all these different components together for the overall structure of what I'm building. And it's just more and more every day. And I'm like, like I'm about to when we get done, I'm going to tell you some things that I want you to do. within the next couple of weeks to really help your content, to get you paid more, and to bring more opportunities to yourself. So we're going to have that discussion off video. OK.

1:10:49 But you know, people got to want it more. And a lot of people talk. That's how they do is talk. And I got to the point where I tell people like, look, you could tell me so many times that you want to do something. But until your actions dictate and show I'm not gonna believe you there are so many times that I've tried to build a creative community here like Per se we have a lot of different meetup spots. We can meet up and shoot content Just all the country creators meet up in one place We get all the content that we need and we post it we share You know about that place in Port Valley. There's a content like greater space on it one day on TikTok. I was like, that's for a belly. I never knew that.

1:11:49 Nobody that's in your neck of the woods. So, you know, that's a, that's an option right there. I definitely need to get on that because I never knew that it was a definitely, yeah. And it's close to home, like you said, yeah. So yeah, but yeah, I'm sorry. Pity's your doll though. I don't even know what I was saying. You just talking about creating a community and stuff like that and what your trials have been. Just, just. People don't want to they don't want to put in the word. They don't want to do it. It's like I Can't like you say like we said, I can't want it more than you do. I'm giving you the tools I'm giving you the opportunity and it's free I'm gonna do is be here pull up your phone shoot some currency. Maybe chop it up I'm gonna post it. You're gonna read and post it It's gonna get the attention that it needs because we're working together. We're bigger. We're bigger.

1:12:47 We're a bigger brand together Movement by myself, but of course if we're together, yes I love it. I'm already late. Everybody know how can they get a hold of you? They can check out your content If they want to buy those courses that you put together, go ahead and plug yourself. Let people know. All right. Y 'all can find me on any social media platform at LERDI Official. TikTok is like one of my main focus. But my biggest following is on Facebook. I'm very active on Facebook and TikTok and Instagram as well because my Instagram, my TikTok, my Facebook early. So what you see on Facebook, you would definitely see on Instagram, but I would appreciate it if you follow me on all three. So y 'all going y 'all follow Larry, like I said, she's double what she does. She's been viral. one, two, three, actually super viral.

1:13:58 I like the, I like to say the million is super viral, but you've had other videos have done hundreds of thousands of views too. So you know what you're doing. Um, so if y 'all need some creative ideas, get up Lerdy. I'm saying work out what y 'all work out and do your thing is always you can keep following the platform. And if you like the exclusive content, you can go to Apple and become a subscriber. because I do got exclusive content on there that y 'all gonna love, and the words, the knowledge, as you've heard that Lerdy has said, will help you out and benefit you tremendously. Thank y 'all for support, and as always, keep checking the social media, bank .underscoreradio .underscore show on Instagram, and bank .radioshow on Facebook.

1:14:46 Appreciate you, Lerdy.