Fame As Leverage

The thing about fame-centered or talent-centered paths is that they pull so much attention, and businesses that want a piece of that attention plug their products into the talent/fame to sell to the audience.

And that’s how the talent gets jobs and makes money.

It’s mostly creative people who walk this path.

Technical people do too, but their journey is different. For the technical person, it’s: Product → Business → Fame.

Think Steve Jobs, Zuckerberg, Elon, Sam Altman, and even NVIDIA’s Jensen Heng. 

There are also capitalists and industrialists like Elumelu, Dangote, Warren Buffett, etc. 

These are people who became famous because their business scaled. Their product sold in large numbers, and fame came after. As the company grew, so did their public profile.

Now flip it.

For the creative talent, it’s: Fame → ??? → Panic → Monetization (if lucky).

Fame comes before the business. And what people don’t say enough is fame doesn’t come with money. 

And this is one of the things that creates pressure for famous people. That terrifying silence between “Everybody knows me,”  “How do I live up to this standard?” and “How do I pay my bills?”

In some cases, the fame is sudden, and it meets the talent unprepared.

I experienced this on a low scale when I was 19. I’ll teach lessons from it another time.

So to make money, the talent starts plugging brands into their fame. You become the billboard. 

You promote, you partner, you pitch, and it feels like freedom and independence, but you still don’t have agency.

Yes, you’re creating content, and you have visibility. But where is your sale coming from? Who determines your cheque?

A brand still has to choose you.

You must fit their budget, their aesthetic, and their audience. And sometimes you might not. 

You could be brilliant and still get passed over because you don’t control the system. You only perform in it.

Another thing is, fame often has a short shelf life. 

Only a few people stay at the top for long.

Most are one-year wonders. Some three or maybe five. 

The one-year wonders are the moment. 

The timeless talents are the movement, so they’re relevant in any given moment.

That’s why I always preach “learn the businesses around your talent. Study industries, study the chains in those industries.”

Whether you’re a one-year wonder leading a moment or a timeless talent leading a movement, channeling your fame to a business will aid you in extracting more rewards from your talent and fame.

There are so many paths where visibility can trick you into thinking you have leverage.

If you’re an influencer, content creator, or public figure, and all your money depends on brands choosing you, you don’t have agency. 

You have popularity that you have monetized. 

You’re working like an entrepreneur, but you’re still selling time for money, which is okay, until it’s not.

To build real agency, study the people who hire you to promote their products; you will find clues to the things you can build and sell. 

If you can’t do it on your own, find a business-savvy partner. 

But I recommend you become that person yourself. Reinvent yourself where necessary.

Think beyond content and beyond brand deals. 

If you own one product that sells, you can sell it to thousands. Possibly millions, over and over again.

You can’t do that with brand deals. 

Every new job is a new audition. Every new promotional content will be created from scratch. Every campaign has an expiry date.

Look into brands in skincare, in food, fashion, in entertainment, in tech; every brand has its own version of what customers buy repeatedly.

Skincare - Niacinamide, Moisturizer

Fashion - Shirts, Pants

Tech - Smartphone, AI, CRM

Food - Rice, packaged tomatoes

Every brand has its own version of what’s in demand and sells it at scale.

In America, where fame is more monetizable, the biggest and wealthiest stars still own something. 

A large chunk of their wealth comes from ownership. A brand, a stake in a brand, a company, or co-ownership in a business.

In Nigeria, in Africa, we don’t yet have stakeholders and support businesses that aid the monetization of fame and talent. 

Whether the talent is creative or intellectual (add public speakers, educators, and thought leaders) here.

Research speaking bureaus in America and see the number of businesses and talents dedicated to making sure public speakers are booked. 

They make a commission from every successful booking. That’s their entire business model. 

Also, the brands and events that hire the speakers over there often have budgets that Nigerian businesses are aiming to generate as yearly revenue.

If you’ve got talent or skill you developed and you’re already getting attention, start asking yourself:

What can I own?

What can I sell at scale?

What am I building that doesn’t need to be picked or approved by someone else before I get paid? 

Agency is about ownership, the type of ownership that brings you real independence.

If you don’t build your own, you’ll be rented out until you’re no longer relevant.

I’m rooting for you!

— Ebere Lisa