What does it take to turn an audience into a business—and how do you do it without losing the enjoyment that got you started? This week on Rogue Startups, Craig and Colin compare notes on building creator businesses. Colin shares what he’s exploring after selling his business, including his golf content, sponsorship opportunities, and fractional roles. Craig talks about growing his YouTube channel toward 25,000 subscribers and building a second revenue stream through ads and brand partnerships.

We dig into the gap between getting views and building a business: growing an email list, creating relevant lead magnets, nurturing subscribers, and developing your own products. We also explore how to find a clear coaching niche by combining your skills and experience—and why honest feedback from your team can help you focus on the work where you add the most value.

Then we get practical about YouTube growth and podcast repurposing. We discuss strong premises, titles, thumbnails, and why the first minute deserves so much attention. We wrap up with how AI tools are changing content production and software businesses, including the opportunities—and uncomfortable questions—that come with automating work you once paid people to do. Fittingly, this episode includes an intro reflecting on using Codex and DaVinci Resolve to edit the conversation itself.

Talking points:

• Building a creator business without turning a hobby into a chore.


• Monetizing through sponsorships, brand deals, and fractional roles.


• Why smaller audiences can still be valuable to sponsors.


• Turning podcast and YouTube audiences into newsletter subscribers.


• Using lead magnets, segmentation, and your own products to build more predictable revenue.


• Finding a coaching niche through a distinctive combination of skills.


• Asking your team where you can contribute most effectively.


• Giving each piece of content a clear job: views, subscribers, or revenue.


• Creating stronger YouTube hooks, titles, thumbnails, and opening minutes.


• Repurposing podcast conversations into standalone videos with custom intros.


• Using AI to streamline editing, copywriting, and publishing.


• How changing customer needs could reshape SaaS and service businesses.

Subscribe to Rogue Startups wherever you listen, and subscribe on YouTube for future episodes. Follow Craig @thecraighewitt and Colin @colinmcgray on social media. Let us know what you thought of the AI-edited episode—and which practical AI workflows you’d like us to explore next.

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