Hey friend,

Every week I hear from HR/TA professionals who have been pushed out of corporate and are navigating a tough job search. Many are struggling to make ends meet and want advice on how to gain visibility. Some want visibility to land their next role, others want to go fractional, and others want to become full-time creators. They all understand that creating content is how you gain visibility in 2026, and they all ask me the same thing: How do I start?

The truth is, content creation is a long game. Yes, there are ways to get massive visibility fast—but consistency and trial and error are the most important parts of being a creator. There's no magic shortcut. But that doesn't mean you wait until you need it to start.

Madison Butler had a 10-year plan. She made it to the C-suite. Did all the clawing, all the fighting, all the things Black women have to do just to get a seat at a table that wasn't built for us. Her plan was to eventually go solo—on her own terms. Corporate America gave her 18 months.

When we talked on the podcast this week, she told me she recently had a real good cry over it. Not because she's sad to leave corporate, there are upsides to that. But because something that was hers was taken from her. She built it. She earned it. She fought for it. And it was just... gone.

Madison isn't alone. In 2025, 600,000 Black women were pushed out of corporate jobs. Most can't find their way back in—at least not at the same level they left. So what do you do when the traditional path closes? You pivot. You build a platform. You become a creator. And everyone celebrates the pivot like it's a win.

But Madison said something that stuck with me: you can successfully pivot to content creation and still be mourning the career you built. Both things can be true.

I've been there too. The first time I got laid off was in 2016, and I made a conscious decision to never put all of my eggs in one basket again. After that I was laid off a few more times, and the last time was in 2023 when the TA bloodbath was starting.

But because I had been putting in the reps for years: building an audience, figuring out my voice, learning what resonated, I was able to turn that audience into clients. I started Workfluencer Media, launched my podcast, and built a business from my content.

I'm not saying this to brag. I'm saying this because if I had waited until I needed a platform to start building one, I'd still be scrambling.

Whether you have a job right now or you're in the middle of a search—start creating content today. Not because it'll go viral. Not because you'll land clients next week. But because when the moment comes—and it always comes—you'll be ready.

I'm not going to tell you to "just start posting" and leave you hanging. Here's exactly what I want you to do:

Post one thing next week about something you genuinely appreciate from what you do for a living. That's it. Not a hot take. Not a controversial opinion. Just something real about your work that you find meaningful, interesting, or worth sharing.

It could be a lesson you learned the hard way, a moment that reminded you why you do this work, something you wish you'd known earlier in your career, or a small win that felt big to you.

Tag me when you post it. I'll engage with it. And you'll have taken the first step.

She gave some advice during our conversation that I think every new creator needs to hear:

The overthinking is what kills most people's consistency. You're not going to get it perfect. Your first posts probably won't perform well. That's fine. You're building a muscle.

She also said something about audience size that reframed how I think about growth:

Stop chasing follower counts. Start building relationships with people who actually care about what you have to say.

Madison and I went deep on the grief of losing a career you fought twice as hard to build, what it really means to pivot to content creation when you didn't choose it, and the unfiltered advice she'd give to anyone starting out.

Listen here:

Until next time. 💖