TL;DR: Discover nine of the most powerful strategies for entrepreneurial success from Steven Bartlett and Stan Store’s John Hu. Whether you’re just starting out or leveling up, these tactics will help you stay consistent, build trust, and accelerate your success.
There’s never been a better time to build a Creator business and pursue the life you want. Unlike traditional career paths, there’s no gatekeeper standing in your way—you can build an audience, own your distribution, and take control of your future on your own terms.
And you don’t need millions of followers to succeed. More than 140 million Creators are fostering engaged, loyal communities with just 1 – 10K followers. As generational shifts continue to transform how we view careers, creativity, and entrepreneurship, more and more people are choosing to carve their own path. In fact, 57% of Gen Z aspire to be Creators.
The time to take the leap? It’s now.
And you don’t have to do it alone. Long before it became the norm, Steven Bartlett and Stan co-founder John Hu forged their own paths as Creator-entrepreneurs. Today, they’ve built multi-million-dollar Creator businesses and are passionate about helping others do the same.
In this powerful conversation with John, Steven shares the top nine Creator mindset and strategies that fueled his growth—from posting every day to building one of the world’s top business podcasts, The Diary of a CEO.
Let’s dive in.
Watch the full interview here 👇
At a Glance: Steven’s Top 9 Success Strategies
Short on time? Here’s a snapshot of Steven’s top strategies for Creator success.
- Consistency is the ultimate catalyst for success
- Embrace the “shedding period”
- Master the feedback loop
- Sweat the small stuff
- Reframe impostor syndrome as growth syndrome
- Build trust through authenticity and vulnerability
- Optimize your learning with experiments
- Understand the discipline equation
- Use AI as a thought partner
The Secret to Success: 9 Proven Ways to Succeed as a Creator
Whether you’re just getting started or looking to level up, these nine strategies from Steven Bartlett will help you grow faster, stay consistent, and build a Creator business that lasts.
1. Consistency Is the Ultimate Catalyst for Success
The #1 strategy Steven credits for his success? Posting every single day, no matter what. “I’ve never seen someone who posted every single day not change their life. Especially if they do it for two to three years minimum,” adds Steven.
After over 15 years of consistently posting content as a Creator, Steven credits his unwavering commitment to posting daily as the #1 catalyst in his own entrepreneurial journey.
It all started with a simple commitment: He’d post on Twitter everyday at 7:00 pm. That one habit changed everything. Steven believes that when you commit to showing up, your life starts to organize itself around that commitment. Suddenly, content creation shifts from a “nice-to-do” to non-negotiable.
Success isn’t about instantaneous virality, but about the cumulative impact of consistent inputs.
This is what Steven calls “pedals over podium,” where you focus on the input (like posting consistently), versus the output (like followers or revenue), which is outside your control and can lead to demoralization.
And the data backs it up. According to Stan’s internal insights, our top Creators all share one trait: they post every single day. This consistency leads to compounding returns.
Steven emphasizes, “If you have over 1 million followers in this Creator economy, you are a millionaire. Potentially even a multi-millionaire.”
The hardest part of building momentum? Remaining consistent during the slow beginnings.
It took Steven 1,000 posts to reach 10K followers. But the last three posts he shared before hitting 1 million followers? They gave him over 300k followers.
It’s slow, then it’s fast. But most people quit before the tipping point. And you might think nothing is happening when growth is slow, but something very important is happening—you’re learning.
This consistency sharpens your thinking. Writing every day taught Steven how to break down complex ideas and communicate clearly, which has ultimately helped him grow as a CEO, speaker, and podcaster.
2. Embrace the “Shedding Period”
If you’re just starting, creating content might feel…cringey. This is a natural part of the process. Your initial content will likely be objectively bad (and potentially embarrassing). Steven adds, “Embarrassment is the cost of entry.”
Every successful creator, including Mr. Beast and Steven himself, started by producing content that felt embarrassing.
The real reason most people don’t make it as Creators? They quit before they’ve even really started. Or they’re so worried about what others will think that they don’t start at all.
This fear of what friends or others might think is a significant barrier for most people, but it’s crucial to persevere through this “shedding process.” Shedding your old life is the cost of stepping into a new one.
3. Master the Feedback Loop: Produce, Post, Pay Attention
The other thing that holds Creators back from success? Not having the skills. But you’ll only get those skills through first-party experimentation—it’s the experience that teaches you.
You’ll develop these skills by paying close attention to your data, which is crucial for learning and improvement. Steven recommends mastering the three Ps:
Produce it.
Post it.
Pay attention.
Many Creators overlook that last step, but the real learning happens when you deep-dive into your data. Steven personally spends more time on his analytics than anyone else on his team, which allows him to make data-driven decisions that are instrumental to his success.
His process echoes the Feynman technique:
- Learn something: Select a topic and map your knowledge.
- Simplify it: Once you understand it, simplify it in words a child could understand.
- Share it: On LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, or wherever your audience is.
- Assess and archive: Did your audience understand it? If so, move on to the next learning. If they didn’t, you have more learning to do.
4. The Power of 1%: Sweat the Small Stuff
Significant breakthroughs often come from the accumulation of small, seemingly insignificant improvements. “Sometimes in life, when you turn over small stones, you get big prizes,” says Steven.
In business and in life, it’s very difficult to take big steps forward, but it’s very easy to find lots of small ways to improve. Both lead you toward progress.
The “1% rule” means assuming every detail matters and realizing that small changes can have a profound impact. For example, changing just 10 seconds of The Diary of a CEO intro led to the single biggest improvement in their view-to-subscription ratio—resulting in millions of new subscribers.
Many competitors overlook these “petty” details. That’s your advantage. By constantly focusing on small improvements, like reworking a caption, improving the first seconds of a video, or simplifying your checkout flow, your efforts will compound and create meaningful momentum.
5. Reframe Impostor Syndrome as Growth Syndrome
Feeling out of your depth? Too often, we label this as impostor syndrome. But really, it should be seen as a sign of growth. Not knowing what you’re doing doesn’t mean you don’t belong. In fact, the opposite is true: it means you’re stretching into something new.
What if instead of calling this impostor syndrome, we called it growth syndrome?
‘Impostor syndrome’ is a loaded term that can make you believe you’re a fraud. But really, this feeling shows you’re pushing boundaries and entering new territory.
Every individual you admire has frequently put themselves in situations that trigger this feeling. Embracing these moments is the path to the growth and life that you’re looking for.
By actively reframing the story you tell yourself, your brain will begin to see this feeling as a growth opportunity. Steven adds, “Surround yourself with people who stretch you. Lean into the discomfort. That’s where your next breakthrough lives.”
6. Build Trust Through Authenticity and Vulnerability
If you want to build a loyal audience, be real with them. Audiences trust you when they start to see you as a human being. Being authentic, even when it’s inconvenient or seemingly counterintuitive, is crucial for building that trust.
Steven adds, “If you show me your imperfections and you show me what you’re struggling with and what you’re not getting right and what you’re confused about, then I believe that you’re going to show me and tell me everything.”
He often talks about his mental health and personal challenges online, even when it’s uncomfortable. That vulnerability has become a superpower.
John echoes this, saying, “Through showing our journey of building Stan, including all of our struggles and failures, I’ve been able to build honest, human connections.”
7. Optimize Your Learning Through Experiments
The secret to maximizing your learning? Increase your rate of experimentation. To do this, Steven recommends a simple approach:
Form a hypothesis, change one variable, and check the results. That’s it.
Your hypothesis should pose a prediction you can objectively validate or invalidate with data.
Say you believe changing 10 seconds of your YouTube video will have a positive impact on retention. Review your analytics, measure your retention rates of the last 10 videos, and implement the change. Then, compare the retention rates of your next 10 videos. This will give you concrete results.
Experiments are how you learn quickly. The more you run—and the more closely you study the results—the better your content becomes.
8. Understand the Discipline Equation
If you want to succeed at anything in life, it’s crucial to understand discipline doesn’t come from willpower—it comes from psychology.
You see, consistency is driven by a psychological equation:
(Why) + (Enjoyment from pursuit of goal) – (Cost of pursuit of goal) = Behavior.
You’ll be disciplined in any area of your life where this equation equals a positive. And if you pursue something for the wrong reasons, it will be incredibly hard to be consistent.
When it comes to content creation, you can influence this equation in your favor by:
- Getting super clear on your “why.” Your reason for creating content must be strong and deeply rooted in something you genuinely love and would want to do for a long time—not just external motivations, like money or fame.
- Increasing your enjoyment of the pursuit. You can do this by making the process of creating content as enjoyable as possible, whether it’s finding accountability partners or simply doing something you’re passionate about.
- Limiting the cost of the pursuit. Remove friction points and reduce any psychological barriers to creating content. Make it easy to start, like having your recording gear readily set up or finding ways to minimize discomfort when creating content.
9. Use AI as a Thought Partner
AI tools like ChatGPT can be amazing for sparking ideas or clarifying your thoughts—but don’t let them do all the thinking for you. Steven warns, “If you use AI, you’re outsourcing some of your critical thinking.”
AI should act as a thought partner, not a replacement for your unique perspective and style. Steven currently uses AI to stress-test ideas, explore algorithms, and get unstuck, but always builds on top with his own thoughts.
He recommends a balanced approach: Use AI for inspiration, but make sure you understand what you’re creating. A majority of the value you’ll gain as a content creator comes from getting better at thinking critically about your niche or subject matter.
That’s the idea behind Stanley AI. It acts as a true thought partner by helping you generate ideas that reflect your unique voice, story, and style. Stanley even pulls from your top-performing content to help you repurpose it in new, authentic ways.
The result? Top 1% content ideas rooted in who you are.
Because the goal isn’t to sound like everyone else. It’s to sound unmistakably like you.
Success Starts With Showing Up
Building a successful Creator business doesn’t happen overnight, but it’s never been more possible. As Steven and John’s journeys show, the path is built one post, one experiment, and one brave moment at a time.
You don’t need a massive audience to succeed. What you do need is the willingness to keep showing up consistently—even when it’s uncomfortable, even when no one’s watching (yet). Every post you share, every lesson you learn, and every small improvement you make compound over time.
Whether you’re just getting started or doubling down on your growth, these nine strategies offer actionable advice and mindset shifts that can help you grow from just starting to achieving your dreams.
Because success in the Creator economy doesn’t go to the loudest voice or the most polished content—it goes to the ones who stay in the game, stay true to themselves, and keep moving forward.
If you’re waiting for a sign to go all in on your Creator journey, this is it.
The tools are here. The audience is out there. And the future is yours to create.
