Welcome to the two-hundred and forty-first episode of the Heart + Hustle Podcast!

Today we’re talking to creator and entrepreneur Brian Kirkwood (@briantreks) about his journey into content creation, the platforms he uses, and how he chose them based on their strengths and challenges. He walks us through six essential steps for aspiring creators, the tools he relies on daily, and what it’s like collaborating with other creators and working with his partner. Brian also shares his top travel destinations and gives us a preview of his new course designed to support and guide fellow content creators.

Sign up today to get first notification of Brian’s new content creator course: forms.gle/y9zMxYXebvhbgzNm6

Follow Us on Social Media

Follow us on Instagram.

Instagram: Charisma | Angelica

Threads: Charisma

Meet the hosts: Angelica Yarde and Charisma O’Keefe

We’re now on Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Play Music, Acast, and Stitcher! Subscribe via Apple Podcasts and rate and review.

Episode Transcription

00:00:00.81
Charisma:
Hey guys, I am super excited today because we have a guest on who I’ve really wanted to speak to for a long time. So today we’re going to be speaking to Brian Kirkwood of Kirkwood Media Group, LLC.

00:00:12.02
Charisma:
Brian, thank you so much for joining us today. We are really, really excited to dive into everything content creation with you because you just know everything about it.

00:00:16.02
Brian Kirkwood:
Thank you.

00:00:20.26
Charisma:
Your resume is so impressive. For those who are not already familiar with your work, let us know just a little bit about you and what you do, and also how you originally got started in content creation.

00:00:31.50
Brian Kirkwood:
Awesome. Well, Angelica, Charisma, thank you so much for having me. I love it because I had lots of time to prepare since we scheduled this several months ago, like at the beginning of the year.

00:00:41.30
Charisma:
Yes.

00:00:42.44
Brian Kirkwood:
And I was like, gosh, they are on it in 2025 and they are ready to get episodes out for this podcast. I appreciate you both reaching out and giving me time to make sure my thoughts were all together.
So, yeah, a little bit about me. I live in Florida, and a lot of people who come to Central Florida get their start with Disney on the college program, and that is my story.

00:01:12.05
Brian Kirkwood:
I came for my college program in the fall of 2005. I know, showing my age a little here.

00:01:24.65
Angelica:
I was like, are you genuinely our baby?

00:01:24.92
Brian Kirkwood:
No.

00:01:26.17
Angelica:
What do you mean? 2005 is real. Aging.

00:01:28.56
Brian Kirkwood:
Yes, can you imagine? 2005! I’m just resisting how long ago that was.

00:01:29.56
Angelica:
That’s real.

00:01:36.23
Angelica:
Aging.

00:01:36.98
Charisma:
I do that all the time.

00:01:37.70
Brian Kirkwood:
Same.

00:01:38.85
Charisma:
I do it all the time. My husband is always like, what are you talking about? That’s not the right year. And I’m like, my bad. But yes, I too was in college around that time. So yes, our age is showing for sure.

00:01:50.62
Brian Kirkwood:
I love it.

00:01:51.23
Charisma:
Yeah.

00:01:51.80
Brian Kirkwood:
I think nowadays, if anyone is comparing college program dates, my dates are definitely the furthest back.

00:02:04.13
Charisma:
I don’t know.

00:02:04.28
Brian Kirkwood:
And not to toot my own horn here, but I feel like my program was one of the last best programs because we still had to show up to campus and interview in person. There were no phone interviews.

00:02:22.45
Brian Kirkwood:
They came to campus, met face-to-face, and hired you that way. That was one of the last years they did that.

00:02:30.91
Angelica:
I’m going to be very annoying here, just for people who’ve listened for a while. We have a lot of international listeners who don’t know what the college program is.

00:02:34.70
Brian Kirkwood:
Yeah, okay.

00:02:37.58
Angelica:
Can you give like a five-second explanation about what it is and why it’s important?

00:02:38.32
Brian Kirkwood:
Yes.

00:02:42.22
Brian Kirkwood:
Yeah, so—

00:02:42.34
Charisma:
We have to call that out because, as someone who grew up in Orlando, that’s just something I know, but most people probably don’t depending on where they are in the world.

00:02:47.38
Brian Kirkwood:
Yeah.

00:02:51.24
Brian Kirkwood:
The Walt Disney World College Program is a program for students in college or university, or who have just graduated.

00:03:02.40
Brian Kirkwood:
The idea is to come to Walt Disney World—though Disneyland was an option too—and gain work experience. Disney provides housing, so you’re in an apartment or dorm-like setting.

00:03:19.25
Brian Kirkwood:
The goal is to get work experience, and we also took classes. For my program, I had one class a week. I even got college credit for it toward my degree.

00:03:33.51
Brian Kirkwood:
That’s where I started. I was with Disney for a total of seven years. That’s where I got my foundation, and it was a great one. It’s a great company to work for. Of course, there’s politics like anywhere, but overall, it’s a solid place to start your career.

00:04:16.61
Brian Kirkwood:
I did several different jobs during those years. Also, I like to mention that I spent a year living in Brazil around 2015.

00:04:33.56
Angelica:
Nice.

00:04:33.69
Brian Kirkwood:
Living in another country really expands your understanding of how the world works. When I came back, I joined a company as their director of marketing—a real estate company that started in Central Florida.

00:04:52.56
Brian Kirkwood:
I spent about seven to eight years with them. Then in 2020, the pandemic hit. During that time, a lot of people started new paths or projects. Mine was content creation on TikTok. I started sharing my experience at the theme parks since I was an annual passholder at the time.

00:05:19.82
Brian Kirkwood:
So I had my annual passes ready to go when the parks were reopening during the pandemic.
Actually, it really started with Universal, because I think they were the first to open, I think, and then Disney.
With Disney, my content really started to hit with Disney content.

00:05:41.40
Brian Kirkwood:
And from there, I knew that Disney wasn’t the only—I didn’t want to be just a Disney theme park content creator.
I wanted to do travel and food, and I knew that very early on.
So I did not just stay within the Disney niche. I made sure to put myself in the travel niche as well.

00:06:02.36
Brian Kirkwood:
Anywhere I go, I’ve basically had the mindset—past and present—that anywhere I did go, and anywhere I go today, I’m focused on sharing that with my followers.
I had super quick growth on TikTok, which is kind of rare these days.
But at the time, I was one of the few that was doing it.

00:06:30.36
Brian Kirkwood:
I was right there at ground zero of content creators really growing on TikTok because TikTok was just so crazy and popular at the time from a user perspective.
But from a content creation standpoint, especially in my niche,

00:06:49.38
Brian Kirkwood:
there weren’t as many creators, so there wasn’t as much competition as there is today.
And then from there, over the years, I knew I couldn’t just be on TikTok.
I grew on Instagram as well and have been doing my best with YouTube.
So that’s a little bit about my past and kind of where it took me, in a very macro or high-level view.

00:07:15.89
Angelica:
Well, that’s awesome and exciting. And also, I think the time periods all make sense. Like TikTok really blew up in 2020.

00:07:21.83
Charisma:
Yeah. Okay.

00:07:23.32
Angelica:
And I think a lot of younger people don’t remember that.
People were on TikTok, but it really didn’t start to find its wings until everybody was at home.
So I think, A, that’s good.
And I think it’s key that you also said you knew early on not to put yourself just in the Disney niche,
because I think sometimes when people tie themselves to a company or another outside brand they have no control over, things start to happen.
And I did see that a lot. There is a creator—she used to go under

00:07:54.40
Angelica:
“Breed Tales,” with Black women who love Target. That was kind of the idea.

00:07:58.80
Brian Kirkwood:
Mm-hmm.

00:07:59.36
Angelica:
And now she had to detach herself from that.

00:07:59.66
Brian Kirkwood:
Mm, oh.

00:08:01.82
Charisma:
Yep.

00:08:02.59
Angelica:
And she started to do that—

00:08:03.34
Brian Kirkwood:
Yeah.

00:08:04.55
Angelica:
Luckily, she started to do it last year.
She was smart and picked up on it really early because Black creators at Target started to call out that their things weren’t being properly set up.
So she started to detach herself—

00:08:14.25
Brian Kirkwood:
Right.

00:08:14.91
Angelica:
Just “Retail While Black”—I think that’s what her IG is right now.
So you identifying that early on avoids a costly mistake,
because you’ve got to change your URLs,

00:08:22.71
Brian Kirkwood:
Yes.

00:08:23.69
Angelica:
You’ve got to change your Instagram handles.
You’ve got to change all these things—your email addresses—and it just becomes too chaotic.
So I really liked that you shared all of those easy planning steps,
all from you just taking a chance early in college and deciding,
“Hey, I want to spend some time in this program that’s outside of where I’m from.”

00:08:36.98
Brian Kirkwood:
Mm-hmm.

00:08:40.63
Angelica:
So that’s really awesome.

00:08:42.68
Charisma:
Yeah. I also really love your focus on food in general,
because I think sometimes theme park food can be hit or miss.
And I do not trust a lot of theme park creators when they say,
“This food is so good!”
Because I’m like… is it, though?

00:08:43.14
Brian Kirkwood:
Yes.

00:08:57.91
Charisma:
That’s why I love your content—because I see you eating all over Orlando, all over the world really.
And what I love is that you actually talk about the food and explain stuff about it, if that makes sense.
Because I feel like a lot of people are just like, “It’s good,” and they won’t share anything else.
You guys are like, “No, we’re actually going to tell you.”
You’re also very big on rating—like, “This is a 7 out of 10” or whatever it is.
So I love that, rather than just being like,
“Look, I’m eating it. I love it all!”
Because I feel like a lot of people say that.

00:09:02.78
Brian Kirkwood:
Yeah.

00:09:14.85
Brian Kirkwood:
Cool.

00:09:20.73
Brian Kirkwood:
Yeah.

00:09:27.65
Brian Kirkwood:
I’m more prone to rating big businesses—like Disney’s big business.

00:09:34.41
Charisma:
Yeah.

00:09:34.90
Brian Kirkwood:
If I’m showing something from a small business and maybe I don’t love it, then you’re going to see it—
but maybe I don’t share exactly what I thought about it.

00:09:45.51
Charisma:
Yeah, you’re like, “I’m not going to necessarily go in on the small business,” but yeah.

00:09:49.40
Brian Kirkwood:
Yeah. So I’m careful with that.

00:09:50.24
Charisma:
Yeah.

00:09:52.28
Brian Kirkwood:
People say, “What is it like to review food?”
Well, I’m not really a food reviewer.
I show you—I show the experience—and then I tell you what I like.
Like, yeah, I show the experience.

00:10:01.52
Charisma
And show the experience as well, which is big.

00:10:05.15
Brian Kirkwood
Yeah, so.

00:10:05.36
Charisma
Cause I’m very big on that. Like when I’m paying money to eat out, I really do.

00:10:08.90
Brian Kirkwood
Mm-hmm.

00:10:09.28
Charisma
I’m like, if I’m paying that money, I do want a nice experience. And I feel like you do a good job at showing the whole thing.

00:10:15.77
Brian Kirkwood
Yeah, I think we’re comfortable—and teaching my partner—and I think we’re comfortable in different settings. We’re happy with casual, but then we also have the privilege and the opportunity to do a lot of fine dining as well. And so…

00:10:31.12
Brian Kirkwood
We love to show what you can expect when you’re going to be spending XYZ amount of money, whether it’s a little bit or a lot. What can you expect? And something that I’ve been doing—I kind of made it my mission within the last, I don’t know, probably six months, maybe even three to six months—is really showing the prices.

00:10:55.86
Brian Kirkwood
Because I was doing some research for a trip that we were taking in partnership with Visit Las Vegas.

00:10:55.93
Charisma
Yeah.

00:11:03.52
Brian Kirkwood
And a lot of the content creators, especially with short-form, weren’t really being detailed about the prices. And I was trying to evaluate, okay, what am I going to have to be spending here? Even though I had a certain amount that I was going to get refunded back because it was a partnership.

00:11:22.50
Brian Kirkwood
What am I going to be spending at these restaurants? So that really kind of sparked me to be like, okay, I need to be showing details. And we can probably get more into that too, and it goes into SEO as well—making your content,

00:11:31.93
Charisma
Yes, the transfer.

00:11:43.00
Brian Kirkwood
More readable by the search engines, more readable by the platforms that you’re posting on. The more data that you can give, the better—in terms of it being able to place it in front of the right audience.

00:11:58.74
Charisma
That’s smart. That makes sense.

00:12:00.58
Angelica
Yes, we can definitely get into that. And as we move on into my next question, which really is about the platforms, the algorithm, and all the things. So, there are so many different platforms, so much happening, so many different ways to share your content, get in touch with your audience. How do you decide which platforms you’re currently using and what are the benefits and the drawbacks of each platform?

00:12:22.78
Brian Kirkwood
So, I mean, the natural thing, I think, for me in July of 2020 was, well, I’m going to post on TikTok where I’m consuming all my content, right? Because at that time, that’s what we were doing. Like, we were hardly on Instagram, I feel like, at that time.

00:12:39.35
Angelica
Yeah.

00:12:39.65
Brian Kirkwood
And we were watching these really entertaining pieces of content on TikTok because we had lots and lots of time. So that’s how I got my start. And it also…

00:12:54.13
Brian Kirkwood
I really didn’t go into it with the intention of like, I’m going to be a content creator like this. That didn’t happen. I did not turn a switch on in my brain that said, I’m going to be a content creator and this is the path I’m going to go down. I just literally started filming. And I knew, though, that there was a certain type of way I was going to do my content, even though I didn’t really have the intention of making it my full-time job.

00:13:20.99
Brian Kirkwood
I knew that I wanted to be informative in a way that other people weren’t. I wanted to do voiceover. I wanted to give information. So TikTok gave you all of that. I could record on my phone camera, then upload the videos, edit them, and do voiceover. So that’s how I started. And then I knew—something told me—that I needed to be on Instagram as well. I needed to grow on Instagram.

00:13:50.72
Brian Kirkwood
Because I treated this—by the end of 2020—I was treating it like a business, even though it wasn’t my full-time job. I had seen a little bit of money coming in.

00:14:06.51
Brian Kirkwood
And I just knew. I knew it was something that I could grow if I wanted to. So because you’re in that growth mindset, once you’ve had a business and you’ve seen success with business,

00:14:20.91
Brian Kirkwood
You come into a growth mindset of, “Okay, what do I need to be looking out for?” And I just knew that I needed to not be only on one platform. So I made my efforts with Instagram, and now Instagram has really become my main platform because it treats me better in terms of the algorithm. It treats me better than TikTok nowadays. Back in the day, TikTok—every video would hit, and I would have tens of thousands of views on a regular video. And then if it went viral, it would be even more.

00:14:53.21
Brian Kirkwood
But now on all platforms, I’m like, if I get 10,000 views, I’ve had a great day. That used to not be the case. It used to be like, “Well, 10,000 is too low,” and that’s getting a little bit into the nitty gritty, but it’s just—there’s more people out there. There’s more content that the algorithm has to digest and pull through. So now Instagram is my preferred platform just because I think it gives better access to communicate with those who follow.

00:15:27.07
Charisma
Thank—

00:15:27.11
Brian Kirkwood
I think that it’s more—it’s a little bit more consistent in the way it pushes out content.

00:15:31.97
Angelica
Mm-hmm.

00:15:34.48
Brian Kirkwood
And I appreciate that. And then I think YouTube is great. I love the idea of long-form. It’s something that TJ and I, my partner, are working on to get better at and be more consistent with.

00:15:52.73
Brian Kirkwood
And then as we’re talking about different platforms, something that also kind of landed in my lap in the last six to nine months—which I don’t really know how valuable it is, but I’ve started to tell people—is that I have grown my Facebook page by 25,000 followers in the last six to nine months just by hitting the button on Instagram that tells Instagram to publish my reel over on my Facebook page as well.

00:16:09.64
Angelica
Yeah, wow.

00:16:09.77
Charisma
Mm-hmm.

00:16:23.81
Brian Kirkwood
My “Brian Treks.” And that’s where I’m posting—as Brian Treks.

00:16:26.50
Angelica
Mm-hmm.

00:16:28.97
Brian Kirkwood
I don’t know if we brought that up, but I am posting as Brian Treks on all platforms.

00:16:31.59
Angelica
Yeah.

00:16:31.87
Charisma
Um—

00:16:34.62
Brian Kirkwood
And so I just—I could click that button as I post to Instagram—my Instagram reels, or my static images or carousel—and it posts over to my Facebook business page. And I don’t really touch it too much. And it’s grown.

00:16:52.48
Brian Kirkwood
It’s grown over there. And that really only started when that feature really kicked into gear—where it was posting the reel itself, not just sharing it from Instagram, but posting the reel in and of itself.

00:16:58.04
Angelica
Yeah.

00:17:09.10
Brian Kirkwood
And then that took time for, I think, the Facebook algorithm to realize I was a serious creator. There’s a lot of time factors when you’re building a following, and I can speak more to that too, but hopefully that answered your question.

00:17:24.78
Angelica
No, that—perfectly, exactly right on. The way that Meta utilizes both platforms is very different—very different algorithms—but you using the ability to just share it to Facebook has garnered you eyes and just a different generation. It’s just the age.

00:17:41.11
Angelica
It genuinely—it’s like Facebook is for your 40+. Those people are always on it. And so you’re getting that audience who really wants that content.

00:17:47.09
Brian Kirkwood
W—

00:17:49.25
Angelica
Because honestly, those people also have the money, and they’re going to be traveling, and they’re going to go eat this food, and they’re going to these places.

00:17:51.87
Charisma
True. True.

00:17:54.70
Angelica
And they’re more likely to share the content as well. I know people try to give boomers a rap—boomers are sharing. And yeah.

00:18:01.97
Charisma
We are sharing everything.

00:18:02.45
Brian Kirkwood
Yes.

00:18:02.96
Angelica
Boomers are sharing content.

00:18:03.59
Charisma
Goodness. Mm-hmm.

00:18:04.44
Angelica
So you can have content that is ageist and like against boomers or whatever—like whatever beef we got with people who are older—but those people are loyal to their audiences, the people they follow, and they share to the people that follow them.

00:18:14.08
Charisma
Hang—

00:18:17.02
Angelica
So whether it’s just their friends or their church groups or whoever, they are sharing everything they see all of the time.

00:18:22.20
Charisma
That is so true.

00:18:22.16
Angelica
And you can’t pay for that type of engagement. You just cannot garner that. And so I think organically getting that through just using the Facebook—the Meta—algorithm is such a smart move.

00:18:32.95
Angelica
And I do see more younger… Like I saw a Drewski skit on Facebook today.

00:18:37.55
Charisma
Yeah.

00:18:38.13
Angelica
I was like, why is Drewski on Facebook? But—because money. Money is on Facebook. That’s why.

00:18:42.76
Brian Kirkwood
Yeah, exactly.

00:18:42.91
Angelica
Yeah.

00:18:44.37
Charisma
It is so true. I feel like a lot of—so like thinking about Instagram or TikTok—I feel like there are a lot of creators, and there’s a lot of people that consume.

00:18:55.19
Charisma
But a lot of times, the people that are not creators on those platforms aren’t sharing as much as they used to. Whereas I feel like people who are on Facebook—even if they’re not creators—they still share like every day. Like they’re doing updates every day.

00:19:07.65
Charisma
They’re letting you know their thoughts every day. I feel like the most aggressive person I know who will send me videos is 100% my mother. She will be like, “You need to watch this video.” And I’ll be like, “Okay, I’ll watch that later. I have to work.” “No, watch it now.”

00:19:20.32
Charisma
“Look at the dog. He’s doing something,” or whatever it is. And so, yeah, I feel like boomers are very aggressive on sharing. So yeah, I mean, Facebook is holding strong. The numbers are there.

00:19:31.00
Charisma
I personally love long-form content. Like, Angelica and I started out with blogs—like, what, 15 years ago at this point? I don’t know how many years ago.

00:19:38.18
Angelica
20 years, according to what I just got the email for.

00:19:39.82
Brian Kirkwood
Oh my gosh.

00:19:41.10
Charisma
But yeah—

00:19:41.06
Angelica
So if you guys want to feel old, that’s when it was.

00:19:43.20
Charisma
So we both started our separate businesses, and we had blogs on the side that had to do with our businesses. She was sharing her design work, I was sharing my photography. And I really feel like it endeared us to our customers and our client base and really made people feel like they knew us more because they were able to dive into that longer-form content.

00:20:03.81
Charisma
And of course, that was back in the day where the big thing was actually writing out a full-on blog post. Maybe you share some photos in it, maybe you share some videos in it, but you’re really taking the time, writing an article basically.

00:20:16.04
Charisma
And so because of that, I do love YouTube because I feel like I get to know people a bit more and I’m like, okay, that’s where the trust builds for me. You know what I mean? And then… if I follow you on YouTube and I feel like I get to know you there, then it’s a lot easier for me to go ahead and follow you in all the other places and go ahead and buy what you’re selling, you know?

00:20:36.73
Charisma
So I love that you’re doing the long form content because I do. I feel like that’s something a lot of creators kind of lack—the skillset to be able to pull off these days.

00:20:37.35
Brian Kirkwood
Right.

00:20:47.63
Brian Kirkwood
Yes. Yeah. A hundred percent. You know, it’s a challenge to do both too. It’s a challenge to do YouTube and then short format style, hand in hand.

00:20:53.50
Charisma
Mm-hmm.

00:20:59.64
Brian Kirkwood
And—

00:20:59.86
Angelica
Yes, yes. It’s a very creative challenge to come up with long form content if you’ve only been doing 90-second videos. You know, it’s just a big stretch of your creative mind and how it works.

00:21:07.94
Charisma
Or two different—yeah. Mm-hmm.

00:21:11.85
Brian Kirkwood
Yes, definitely.

00:21:15.89
Charisma
So if someone is brand new to content creation, they’ve never done it before, but they’re kind of watching and seeing some of their favorite creators, and they’re like, “This is something I know I want to do, but I don’t know how to get into it,”

00:21:28.42
Charisma
What would you tell them are the first six steps to take toward success as a content creator?

00:21:35.22
Brian Kirkwood
That’s a great question. So I would say step number one—I think a lot, and this is coming back around to thinking in a business mindset—because

00:21:47.08
Brian Kirkwood
I have a broadcast channel on my BrianTreks Instagram where I speak directly to content creators. I just call it “Content Creator Tips.” And something that I remind people of in that broadcast is that anything that’s coming out of my mind—whether I’m doing a voice message there or a video message or I’m just typing it out for them—

00:22:10.48
Brian Kirkwood
It’s always from my point of view as a content creator. I am always in the mindset of making money. And probably anyone who’s listening to this—

00:22:18.37
Charisma
Love that. And we love that here. Can I just say—we love that here. That is why we have this podcast. At the end of the day, we want people to run successful businesses.

00:22:23.87
Brian Kirkwood
Yes.

00:22:27.56
Charisma
And again, we both come from the creative side of things, and we love the art of it and the creativity. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to make money. So I love that you’re like, “No, we need to get paid.”

00:22:34.70
Brian Kirkwood
Right.

00:22:37.48
Charisma
I love that.

00:22:37.64
Brian Kirkwood
Yeah. So my viewpoint is not like, “Oh, I want to be a content creator because I’m creative and I have something to share and I’m going to just do it for fun.” Yes, all of that is true to some extent, but listen, at the end of the day, if you want this to be long term, then you’re going to have to make money. So you have to get real with yourself.

00:22:59.12
Brian Kirkwood
And so a lot of times in business, for entrepreneurs and people who are starting out or need to reposition themselves, they need to determine why they’re doing it. So that’s the number one step—why are you doing it?

00:23:12.51
Brian Kirkwood
And one of those reasons, of course, could be for money. But it’s more than that, right? You have to have some kind of passion. So figure out—is there something specific that you want to share, that you have knowledge of, that you are an expert in? Whatever that is, determine your why. So why are you doing this even beyond the money? But listen, all of us sitting here today are in it for the money. But there’s more to it than that, so you have to determine the “more”—what’s the more for you in terms of your why?

00:23:47.10
Brian Kirkwood
And then the second thing would just be: get started. I think that so many people sit on content. So many people have the—I’m going to give an example—

00:23:58.89
Brian Kirkwood
So many people I see walking, whether it’s in the park or out doing content or whatever, they have the DJI Pocket 3. You guys know what the Pocket 3 is, right?

00:24:09.01
Brian Kirkwood
The little vlog-style camera.

00:24:10.28
Angelica
Yep.

00:24:11.16
Brian Kirkwood
Yeah.

00:24:11.60
Angelica
Yep.

00:24:12.12
Brian Kirkwood
I see them walking around, and there are so many of them out there now. And I’m like, are you actually—are all these people that I see, like, I see 10 of these walking by in the last two hours—are all of those people actually, you know, let’s just use the term, “putting pen to paper” and actually editing those videos and publishing those videos?

00:24:30.89
Angelica
Right.

00:24:31.57
Charisma
Yeah. Yeah.

00:24:35.22
Brian Kirkwood
Or like, I don’t know. I just don’t think they are, really.

00:24:38.89
Angelica
It feels that way, yes. We just had an exotic car show recently, locally here. And the same thing—I saw no less than 10 people with the same camera that you’re talking about.

00:24:50.06
Angelica
And I was floored. Like, who are you?

00:24:50.12
Brian Kirkwood
Right.

00:24:52.27
Angelica
And at the international market, I know they probably are. But some of the local people—like, who are you? Are you, though? Or is it just something to do, to just do something, you know?

00:24:59.37
Brian Kirkwood
Right. Right. Like, anyway. So I say that—and that’s probably a meandering way to say—just get started. If you have the content, don’t sit on the content. Get started. Even if you’re pulling up your MacBook, you’re—

00:25:17.30
Brian Kirkwood
Or pulling up your laptop and you’re using whatever native editing software you have on that—like for MacBook, it’s iMovie—or if you’re downloading CapCut and just using the free version of CapCut, just get started. And then hit that publish button, because the longer you take to hit publish, the longer it’s going to take for you to get anywhere. Period. Your first videos,

00:25:46.50
and your first piece of content—you’re always going to look back and say, “Oh, that’s so cringe,” right? Because I do. I can go back and scroll back on TikTok and look at what I first posted and be like, “I would have done this or that differently.” So the second step is really to just get started and hit that publish button.

The third tip I want to give is: the best camera is the camera that’s in your hand. Do not feel like you can only start content creation if you’re going to wait till you get a better phone, or you’re going to wait and get that DJI Pocket 3—and that’s when you can finally start.

00:26:27.27
Like, that’s an excuse in my opinion. Just don’t use that as an excuse. The camera that’s in your hand is the best camera out there because it’s what’s right there. So you need to just start capturing.

00:26:41.89
And then my fourth would be: pay attention to trends. But also your gut—don’t let trends outweigh

00:26:54.75
who you are and what you feel comfortable doing. Some trends are fun and great, and you want to use trending audio when you can, but you shouldn’t make trends your only priority. Because sometimes trends bring in views, but they don’t translate to long-term relationships with followers.

00:27:18.20
Angelica
Mm-hmm.

00:27:20.42
Brian Kirkwood
So, my fifth thing is: try different things. You want to keep doing what’s successful and stop what is not successful. My advice to a new creator—especially if they’re not really sure exactly what their niche is, or what their niche within their niche is—is just start posting things and see what does well. Even if you’re posting three times a week, after two months you’ll be able to look back and say, “Okay, this is what’s doing well and this is what’s not.”

00:28:03.28
You can keep doing the thing that’s not doing well because maybe you’re really passionate about that type of content. But you have to look and really see, “Okay, what is doing well? I have to repeat what is doing well.”

00:28:20.10
So I think it’s important to take a look at analytics and reflect on your content. And you can only do that by getting started and posting.

My sixth thing is really the key to everything in life—and that’s what I’ve learned over the last five years: consistency.

00:28:40.75
Consistency is the key to all success. Period. There’s no other piece of advice. That is the advice: consistency. Because if you’re not consistent, then you’re never going to be able to look back at those two months of analytics and figure out what’s doing well and what’s not.

00:29:02.20
So, consistency for me is the long haul.

00:29:03.67
Angelica
Yeah.

00:29:04.72
Charisma
About that.

00:29:06.08
Brian Kirkwood
So, I’ll use an example of Instagram. When I decided, “Yes, I’m going to start growing on Instagram,” I posted for probably about three months.

00:29:16.92
Really consistently. I was reposting anything I was doing on TikTok onto Instagram, and I started to see some growth. And then, for whatever reason, I stopped. I don’t know why—maybe I got busy at my day job, or just… whatever. For whatever reason, I stopped for several months.

00:29:35.02
And then I told myself, “No, I really just have to stick to it with Instagram.” And when I restarted, it took about three to six months for me to see results again.

00:29:51.75
So if you stop, then you’re putting a stop on your overall growth. When we’re talking specifically about algorithms and posting to socials, if you’re not consistent, you will have to start over in terms of the algorithm recognizing that you are serious about content creation and that you’re showing up for the followers.

00:30:17.24
Brian Kirkwood
So.

00:30:18.74
Charisma
I like how you explained that, like, for the second time—like, you really do need to be showing up to let the algorithm know that you are a creator.

00:30:18.97
Angelica
Mm-hmm.

00:30:29.28
Charisma
You know what I mean? And I don’t think a lot of people think of it that way, but it makes sense.

00:30:32.87
Angelica
Here.

00:30:34.04
Charisma
Like, you have to be. Because I think a lot of people are like, “What do I need to do for the algorithm?” And what they’re wondering is, “What time should I post? How many times a day or a week? Or, you know, what song should I post?”

00:30:44.88
People are so concerned with those things, but they’re not concerned with being consistent enough to show the algorithm. Regardless of what time I post or what day, I’m going to be showing up consistently.

00:30:58.01
And that is very true. I’m surprised more people don’t speak on that, to be honest.

00:31:03.01
Angelica
Thank you.

00:31:03.41
Brian Kirkwood
So, one of the things—I’ve had a couple calls with Instagram directly over the last few years—and a couple of years ago, it was really going around how Instagram was advising that you post on set days

00:31:20.83
of the week. So, let’s say your days are Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and then you’re also posting at set times too. If, maybe Mondays you’re posting at 6 a.m., but Wednesdays you’re posting at 6 p.m., that’s fine, as long as those times are

00:31:40.97
consistent each day of the week. The times can be different.

00:31:44.62
Charisma
Yeah.

00:31:46.26
Brian Kirkwood
So, I don’t know how true that is to the algorithm. And I don’t really—when I give advice now, I don’t care if that’s necessarily true for the algorithm. What I think is better, though, is for you as the individual. So, if you’re coming up as a creator and you’re taking content seriously, whether you’re a content creator or you’re doing this for your business, and social media is part of the business, you have to figure out a schedule. You need to stick to a schedule. It’s not just for the algorithm.

00:32:19.63
It’s also for you. You need to know when you’re going to show up and when you need to have the next video or carousel lined up, ready to post. So, yes, it goes into the algorithm. Sure, and I think it’s probably still true that it’s important to show up at specific times to train the algorithm.

00:32:42.07
But more so, it’s important for you as a creator to get into a routine of posting.

00:32:52.04
Angelica
Yeah, it’s all about consistency.

00:32:52.77
Charisma
Yeah.

00:32:53.84
Angelica
Like you said, it’s kind of key to 99.9% of things in life. I’m so sorry to say that if you’re a younger adult and haven’t figured that out yet…

00:33:00.40
Charisma
Yeah.

00:33:00.53
Brian Kirkwood
Yes.

00:33:00.68
Charisma
Everything is… yeah. It helps with everything. Consistency helps.

00:33:03.45
Angelica
It really is just being consistent and showing up for yourself every day. So, if this is your business and you want to make money off of it, you have to show up every day. Your followers are waiting for content, they’re waiting for things to see. And like you said, I think just starting is also key. There’s this paralyzation of not succeeding, and I think people see larger content creators and think, “Oh, they must put in so much work,” which they do. But they’re like, “I could never do that.”

00:33:31.83
The reality is, most of you could if you just were consistent, just a couple minutes every hour. Maybe you work from home—figure out that timing. If you could do it after work,

00:33:39.60
figure it out. A little time aside, it actually doesn’t take that much.

00:33:42.17
Brian Kirkwood
Mm-hmm.

00:33:42.32
Angelica
It takes a lot of hours. I’m not going to downplay the work; it’s hard work. Editing videos is not fun if you don’t like it. But it’s just showing up and being consistent with it. So, if it’s two hours every night after work just to get going, that’s better than nothing.

00:33:56.00
I’d rather you be doing that, putting out content, seeing what happens. And like we say on this podcast all the time: fail fast.

00:34:03.48
Charisma
Mm-hmm.

00:34:03.75
Angelica
If something doesn’t work, like you said, that’s okay.

00:34:04.23
Brian Kirkwood
Yep.

00:34:06.49
Angelica
You spent 20 hours on it. I mean, look, we’ve all done that. We’ve all had our favorite thing we were so excited to share and debut, and the audience just didn’t care. The audience didn’t resonate with it at all. It hurt all of our feelings.

00:34:18.42
And we picked it up and moved on. We did something else, we pivoted. But I’m still proud of the work that I’ve done, even if it didn’t sell. I’m proud of the products I created, even if they didn’t sell because I loved them. It doesn’t mean they were bad products.

00:34:29.16
It just means it wasn’t ready for the audience at the time that I did it.

00:34:30.25
Brian Kirkwood
Sure.

00:34:32.72
Angelica
So, you know.

00:34:34.52
Brian Kirkwood
You have to be self-aware. You know, it’s important in life, right?

00:34:36.47
Angelica
Who?

00:34:38.87
Brian Kirkwood
To be self-aware, but it’s also important to be business-aware. You have to be aware of the choices you’re making and be able to look back and, sometimes relatively quickly, be able to say, “Eh, that’s probably not working.”

00:34:51.64
Angelica
Yeah, maybe that wasn’t the move, girl. But that’s okay.

00:34:54.35
Brian Kirkwood
Yeah.

00:34:54.96
Charisma
Thank you.

00:34:55.68
Angelica
Okay.

00:34:56.43
Brian Kirkwood
Right. Exactly.

00:34:58.80
Angelica
Okay, so we talked a little bit about tools. We talked about some equipment. Could you share what tools you are using? And could you give us your top three?

00:35:08.66
Brian Kirkwood
Okay. So if you don’t come from a business mindset or you don’t come from the corporate world where maybe you have more exposure to keeping things in order, invest in resources to help you with that. So for me, I guess I live in Google Workspace.

00:35:31.10
Brian Kirkwood
My email runs through Google Workspace, and you could set up Google Workspace just by getting a Gmail account. But what I’m really talking about is Google Drive—like Google Spreadsheets, Google Docs.

00:35:49.08
Brian Kirkwood
There’s so much you can do inside Google Drive to run your business. I just couldn’t live without it.

00:35:59.39
Charisma
Same. I don’t know what I would do without Google Drive. It scares me sometimes to think about what would happen if they took it away. All my systems are in there. My goodness.

00:36:11.83
Brian Kirkwood
Yeah, exactly. I think we’re not in a place where that would ever go away, but if it did, I would be devastated. I personally hate Outlook, so I pray that Google never goes anywhere with Google Drive.

00:36:28.95
Charisma
That relieves us.

00:36:30.68
Brian Kirkwood
So I would say one of the things you want— and I know I talked about your camera being the best tool, whatever phone you have, that’s the best camera. That’s true, but I do think something that really has saved me is when I upgraded my phone two years ago. This is its third year now, and knock on wood, it’s still hanging on.

00:36:59.52
Brian Kirkwood
But I invested in a larger amount of storage on my phone.

00:37:03.61
Angelica
Yes, yes.

00:37:05.79
Brian Kirkwood
That has changed my frustration so much. The last phone, I think I had 500 gigs, and this one has a terabyte. I’m not even close to filling it up, and it’s been three years. So when you’re ready, upgrading your phone to have the better camera, but more storage as well, is key. For me, I film everything, and that takes up so much space, especially filming in 4K. Upgrading that storage can save you a lot of headache. I didn’t realize how frustrating it is until I was asked this question. It’s so annoying when you get a message saying you’re out of storage.

00:38:00.94
Angelica
So frustrating.

00:38:03.06
Brian Kirkwood
Especially when you’re at a restaurant or filming somewhere.

00:38:07.34
Charisma
You have to decide what to dump.

00:38:10.52
Brian Kirkwood
It’s too much. Definitely splurge on the extra storage. Staying in the camera realm, I would say if you’re going to do YouTube, eventually invest in a separate camera, away from your phone. I think it’s really difficult to do YouTube on your phone. It’s a great way to get started, but eventually, you’re going to need that separate device.

00:38:37.52
Brian Kirkwood
It just makes things a lot easier because sometimes you need your phone for other things. It’s better to have a separate device for that. A few more tools: QuickBooks is helpful to categorize expenses—that’s what I use.

00:39:01.24
Brian Kirkwood
CapCut is a game-changer. I would be so sad if I lost it. I was really sad for the 24 hours that we lost it.

00:39:09.90
Charisma
I was about to say, I know you were right there with that.

00:39:10.85
Brian Kirkwood
Yeah.

00:39:11.55
Angelica
laughs

00:39:14.56
Charisma
That was a stressful time.

00:39:17.35
Brian Kirkwood
Did you see my stories on that?

00:39:18.88
Charisma
Yes, I did.

00:39:19.04
Brian Kirkwood
I don’t know if Christmas saw. Oh gosh.

00:39:20.84
Charisma
Yeah.

00:39:21.62
Brian Kirkwood
I was like, I don’t know, there’s just not another editing tool as simple but also full of features as CapCut.

00:39:33.64
Charisma
It’s a powerhouse.

00:39:35.10
Brian Kirkwood
Yeah.

00:39:35.26
Charisma
Mm-hmm.

00:39:35.85
Brian Kirkwood
If you don’t know, CapCut’s attached to TikTok. It’s owned by the same company. CapCut is basically the TikTok editor on steroids.

00:39:45.81
Charisma
I’m really weird in that I use CapCut, InShot, and Vixer.

00:39:51.62
Brian Kirkwood
Okay.

00:39:51.74
Charisma
I like all three.

00:39:51.93
Brian Kirkwood
Yeah, but…

00:39:53.59
Charisma
I know most people are like, “No, they have one they really like.” But I like all three for different types of things.

00:39:54.03
Brian Kirkwood
InShot’s okay.

00:40:01.39
Brian Kirkwood:
Yeah.

00:40:02.50
Charisma:
So I’m like, I would survive, but it would be bad.

00:40:02.52
Brian Kirkwood:
Anyway, I love…

00:40:04.42
Charisma:
It wouldn’t be like Google Drive going down, though, which would be… I mean, if Google Drive goes down, I don’t even know. I’m going to knock on Angelica’s door and be like, “I live with you now because I can’t take care of myself.”

00:40:12.39
Angelica:
Don’t speak that. I was gonna say, don’t speak this evil into existence. Stop it. What’s wrong with you?

00:40:14.02
Brian Kirkwood:
Yeah, don’t. We have to stop. We have to stop.

00:40:17.91
Charisma:
Right. Google Drive is going to thrive. It is going to be around forever. Yes, I’m going to speak it into existence that it’ll be around forever.

00:40:27.47
Brian Kirkwood:
Ah.

00:40:31.66
Charisma:
Yes.

00:40:33.88
Brian Kirkwood:
And then the other thing that I use, and sometimes this is controversial, but I do use ChatGPT.

00:40:42.05
Angelica:
I mean, girl.

00:40:43.42
Charisma:
Yes, we don’t think it’s controversial.

00:40:44.78
Angelica:
Yes, we don’t think it’s controversial.

00:40:46.67
Charisma:
We think it’s bad.

00:40:46.96
Angelica:
It is what it is, you know? We have episodes on AI. I have thoughts, but it is something that, like I said, I use for the captions of this show. We use it to put the entire show’s transcription. I go through ChatGPT, and if I were to use a service that I pay for, which I do have, they also use the same bots. Friends, like they’re using the same OpenAI. Like, everyone is. Unfortunately, that is the life we’re living. It’s built into your phones. You know, it’s one of those things where even now, when you search on Google, Gemini is the first result. The bot is working, whether you like it or not.

00:41:09.16
Charisma:
Right.

00:41:09.29
Brian Kirkwood:
Yeah.

00:41:13.15
Charisma:
So then we’re just paying them to do it, and it’s kind of silly.

00:41:14.54
Brian Kirkwood:
Yeah.

00:41:17.38
Brian Kirkwood:
So, yeah.

00:41:23.07
Charisma:
Yeah.

00:41:23.88
Brian Kirkwood:
Yeah, I think that’s true. It’s in everything now. At this point, it’s infiltrated everything. I know that there are some concerns about environmental impacts, with the amount of power it’s taking.

00:41:32.23
Angelica:
Yes, for sure. I totally agree.

00:41:36.02
Brian Kirkwood:
But now it is literally in every ounce of everything that we’re using.

00:41:40.13
Angelica:
Everything.

00:41:40.87
Brian Kirkwood:
Use…

00:41:41.20
Angelica:
Yep.

00:41:41.56
Brian Kirkwood:
I…

00:41:41.61
Charisma:
I think a lot about that Transformers ride, and I’m like, man, I learned nothing from this.

00:41:42.33
Brian Kirkwood:
I use…

00:41:48.54
Charisma:
Not even the movie, but the ride, because I used to go on the ride at Universal, the show really.

00:41:48.76
Angelica:
A pop, girl.

00:41:52.37
Charisma:
I used to do that all the time.

00:41:52.97
Angelica:
Oh my god.

00:41:53.71
Charisma:
And literally, just the other day, we had the Baymax show running in the background, and I told my husband, “I know everybody talks about how dangerous it could be to have a robot in your house, but if they made a robot look like Baymax, I would be like, ‘Welcome in. I’ll pay thousands of dollars to have you.’”

00:42:04.75
Charisma:
Sign me up.

00:42:11.60
Charisma:
John’s like, “If the doctor looked like Baymax, if they had that as a natural nurse, I’d go to the doctor once a week.” I’d be like, “Sign me up. I love the doctor now.”

00:42:21.33
Brian Kirkwood:
But, but…

00:42:21.84
Charisma:
So, yeah. I’m like, if there’s some sort of robot-human war, like, you know, I’m going to be like Team Vision, guys.

00:42:31.39
Brian Kirkwood:
Yeah, my ChatGPT, I use it for… I use it for pitching. It’s very helpful with pitching.

00:42:40.16
Charisma:
Yes.

00:42:41.06
Brian Kirkwood:
And then I also, I’ve started using it this year to scan over legal documents, like my contracts.

00:42:47.21
Angelica:
Yeah, yeah.

00:42:48.56
Charisma:
Very good for that.

00:42:48.85
Brian Kirkwood:
And so, you know, obviously you always want to get your advice from your lawyer. I am not a lawyer, not advising anyone. But I have found stuff. It has found stuff for me that I’ve actually negotiated out or up, certain things that I maybe didn’t think of, and it thought of it for me.

00:43:09.52
Brian Kirkwood:
So it’s a powerful tool.

00:43:11.39
Charisma:
Yeah, I think people don’t realize, like, you don’t have to use it to replace things, but you can use it to move things along. I find that because I work with so many different types of people who do so many different types of things, I find that it helps me get a document or information to them that would be further along, and then they can do their job faster.

00:43:23.17
Charisma:
Yes.

00:43:32.04
Brian Kirkwood:
Yes.

00:43:32.71
Charisma:
Yeah.

00:43:33.12
Brian Kirkwood:
Yes, absolutely. Yeah, so it just expedites things for sure.

00:43:38.34
Charisma:
And I’m like, outside of ChatGPT, I really do try to be an environmentally friendly person. I’ve been a vegetarian most of my life. I’m a very crunchy person outside of it, but it is hard because it is everywhere. So I do use it sparingly, but it is one of those things where it’s kind of a little bit hard to avoid with the amount of work people are expected to do today.

00:44:04.72
Charisma:
And then you look at the economy and those sorts of things, and it’s like, unfortunately, we have to make money in this economy because we are basically in a recession, Great Depression, whatever you would like to call it.

00:44:16.16
Charisma:
We live in a capitalistic hellscape. Like, we do have to make money. You know, I would be a big fan of not making money and everybody sitting outside, eating fruit, and sharing their art, but I don’t get to design this world, I guess.

00:44:28.70
Charisma:
So, you know, I’m just trying to do my best. So, I have a question with a little tea for you.

00:44:34.16
Brian Kirkwood:
Absolutely.

00:44:36.47
Charisma:
So, like, I’ve done a lot of work with influencers. I’ve done a lot of brand deals, a lot of work behind the scenes, photography, video work, all the things. I’ve worked with influencers and creators across the board, and I’ve seen a lot of things, both good and bad, and lots of shockers.

00:44:53.85
Charisma:
So, I want to know a little bit about what your experience has been when it comes to working with or alongside other creators. Have you tended to find a more supportive environment? Has it been competitive?

00:45:06.11
Charisma:
A bit of both? Do you think you’d like to work alone more?

00:45:06.93
Brian Kirkwood:
Mm-hmm.

00:45:09.74
Charisma:
Do you like collaborating more? What’s it been like for you? Just the whole landscape of creators and influencers at the moment?

00:45:17.14
Brian Kirkwood:
Sure. So, I touch three different niches. I would say I touch theme parks where I started, Orlando, especially leaning into food in Orlando, and then travel. So, I really have three niches. And I think that for me, each of those niches and their dynamics with creators are different.

00:45:39.23
Charisma:
Makes sense.

00:45:39.66
Brian Kirkwood:
And especially with the more local creators here in the area I live, it’s very different.

00:45:54.22
Brian Kirkwood:
I see there is definitely competitiveness, but also support. Many of my friends now are creators I’ve met within the last five years, so it’s been fantastic in that sense, meeting like-minded and supportive people.

00:46:09.14
Brian Kirkwood:
But over time, you also see some of the competitiveness of people or people acting out of pocket for no reason. You learn who those people are, and then you have to decide whether to cut them out completely, put them on mute, or whatever you need to do to maintain your sanity.

00:46:59.91
Brian Kirkwood:
Right. You can’t always block somebody completely, but there are ways to protect your peace, like muting them if their posts are just annoying.

00:47:18.61
Brian Kirkwood:
I just don’t think TikTok has that feature, honestly, but the mute feature on Instagram is nice.

00:47:46.75
Angelica:
You.

00:47:48.89
Brian Kirkwood:
So, I think you just have to take stock. You need to be aware of who you’re dealing with. I always try to align myself with people who are professional and respect the businesses we’re working with and other creators. There is space for everyone, and that’s okay. A lot of us are doing similar content, and that’s fine. There’s nothing new under the sun in 2025. We’re all doing very similar things in our own way.

00:48:36.27
Brian Kirkwood:
So, in every niche, there’s probably a bit of both. Travel bloggers, for instance, are busy. They don’t have time to fiddle around. They’re constantly on the move, and I don’t think they have as much time for collaboration.

00:49:01.31
Brian Kirkwood:
But, I’ve collaborated before, and I’m focusing more on that this year. I want to collaborate a little more, especially as I learn more about YouTube and stretch my wings there. I want to be more collaborative, especially in the YouTube space, to hopefully learn and introduce myself to other people’s audiences and vice versa.

00:49:47.42
Angelica:
Yeah, that’d be fun.

00:49:48.70
Brian Kirkwood:
But yes, there is drama, and I just do my best to stay away from it and edit the people I align myself with.

00:50:04.08
Brian Kirkwood:
So, yeah.

00:50:04.87
Charisma:
I think you do a really good job of avoiding the drama but still connecting with people.

00:50:05.04
Angelica:
That’s such a good term.

00:50:11.29
Charisma:
And you’re very, I think, accessible. You know what I mean? In the community and that sort of thing. You go out to events, you support things—so I love that. It’s great to see.

00:50:21.84
Charisma:
You’re especially very supportive of the local Black creator community here, in case anybody isn’t already familiar with your work. I love that.

00:50:30.58
Brian Kirkwood:
Here.

00:50:31.38
Charisma:
Yeah. Yeah.

00:50:32.04
Brian Kirkwood:
Yes, absolutely. I just want to find a nice spot with no drama. I want to give back to the community because I think it’s important to share what I’ve learned. If two creators can get on the same wavelength and talk freely, it makes things much easier because this can be very isolating. There are certain people I’ve connected with that I can text and ask, “Hey, were you invited to this?”

00:51:07.40
Charisma:
Mm-hmm.

00:51:18.37
Brian Kirkwood:
Or, “Did you get offered this?” They can respond without animosity, like, “Why wasn’t I invited?”

00:51:32.66
Brian Kirkwood:
There are people who, if you message them for feedback, might feel jealous if they didn’t receive the same offer as you. You’ve got to figure out who those people are and avoid aligning with them. It’s important that creators stick together and communicate because if we silo ourselves, it’s toxic for our business. If we’re not talking to other creators about best practices or how we respond to businesses, we’re doing ourselves a disservice.

00:52:17.95
Brian Kirkwood:
As creators, it’s important to remove your ego and connect with others. It takes time, but now I have a foundation of creators I can reach out to, asking, “What do you think about this?” or “Did you get invited to this?” It’s nice, but it takes time and practice.

00:53:04.61
Angelica:
Yeah.

00:53:04.69
Charisma:
Yeah, I agree.

00:53:04.89
Angelica:
Being self-aware and understanding your values, your audience, and the content you’re trying to create is key.

00:53:07.52
Brian Kirkwood:
Yep.

00:53:12.73
Angelica:
And when someone misaligns with that, as you said, you don’t have to make a big deal out of it. You don’t have to create a feud because they’re asking why they weren’t invited to a PR opportunity. It’s okay to say, “You’re not the person I need to collaborate with,” and move on to someone else who is reliable. That comes with age too. When you’re younger, your ego can get in the way. You might get offended, thinking, “Why are they beefing with me? Beef with Disney instead!”

00:53:33.64
Brian Kirkwood:
Yeah.

00:53:39.97
Charisma:
Yes. Yeah.

00:53:46.02
Brian Kirkwood:
Yeah. And I’m an older creator in this space. I could be the oldest one in the room sometimes.

00:53:47.75
Angelica:
It happens.

00:53:55.27
Brian Kirkwood:
But, yeah, a lot of it comes with age. I’m not saying all young creators cause issues, though—I have many young friends.

00:54:03.56
Angelica:
Yeah, yeah. It’s just that you have the wisdom that some people don’t have, which is exciting for people to learn from you. We’ll talk more about that shortly.

00:54:10.89
Brian Kirkwood:
Yeah.

00:54:12.82
Angelica:
So, you’ve mentioned this a little, but you do work with your partner, which is exciting. We both work with our husbands, so we know what that life is like. But for those who don’t know, what is it like working with your partner in this space?

00:54:31.16
Brian Kirkwood:
Well, for me, it’s really easy because we met through me posting content. That’s the short story.

00:54:40.56
Angelica:
That’s cute.

00:54:42.74
Brian Kirkwood:
Yeah, we met that way, so it was easy. He already knew what I was doing—it was early on, around 2021. And he knew about what I was doing when we met. So, it was natural, and he complements me well.

00:55:14.85
Brian Kirkwood:
You know, I can be a little bit more intense, not high-strung, but I can be a bit more intense, and he’s super laid back. So, we complement each other in that way.

00:55:26.91
Brian Kirkwood:
I kind of gave YouTube to him. I was like, “Listen, YouTube is your thing. When we’re together, you’re holding the YouTube camera.” I’m handling the short-form content because that’s what’s bringing in the money right now. But you’re going to help us develop YouTube.

00:55:50.79
Brian Kirkwood:
That’s the working pattern we’ve fallen into. He’s learned editing in Premiere Pro, and we’re getting a little better at it every day. It’s a pretty natural flow for us, though.

00:56:02.79
Brian Kirkwood:
He’s not full-time in this yet.

00:56:15.52
Angelica:
Thanks.

00:56:16.47
Brian Kirkwood:
He has a part-time job, so we’re not together every second of the day. But if we were, it wouldn’t be an issue. We’re just waiting for that day.

00:56:28.13
Charisma:
I can definitely tell. I could tell as soon as I met you both that you’re the type of couple who could be together 24/7. That’s how my husband and I are, and you can just spot it in other people.

00:56:39.41
Brian Kirkwood:
Yeah.

00:56:41.56
Charisma:
You’re like, “Oh, you guys love each other. You’re obsessed with each other.” I can tell.

00:56:44.99
Brian Kirkwood:
Yes.

00:56:45.45
Charisma:
I could work with him all day, every day.

00:56:46.04
Brian Kirkwood:
Yeah.

00:56:49.30
Charisma:
We don’t spend that much time apart, but when we do, it’s terrible. We really prefer working together. I feel like we work better when we’re together. Even if he’s just in the same room, my stress levels go down, and I get so much more work done.

00:57:04.26
Brian Kirkwood:
Mm-hmm.

00:57:05.90
Charisma:
It’s just more fun. Go ahead.

00:57:08.87
Brian Kirkwood:
I’ll say this really quick. When we first lived together, we were in a one-bedroom apartment—a very small one. And I always tell people that was a test of the relationship. We lived there for over a year.

00:57:19.70
Brian Kirkwood:
If you want to test your relationship, live in a one-bedroom apartment together for a year. That’s your test of how well you cohabitate and work together.

00:57:23.41
Charisma:
Yes.

00:57:25.60
Brian Kirkwood:
If you want to test your relationship, that’s the way to do it.

00:57:46.67
Angelica:
Yeah, for sure. I think if you’re afraid to live with someone, don’t want to travel with them, travel internationally with them.

00:57:55.54
Brian Kirkwood:
Well, that’s another thing.

00:57:57.35
Charisma:
And you guys do that a lot, so…

00:57:58.87
Angelica:
That’s a great way—maybe a little pricey—but a quick way to find out if you can handle each other. If you can’t travel together, wrap it up in a bow, friends.

00:57:59.70
Brian Kirkwood:
Yeah, yeah.

00:58:09.14
Brian Kirkwood:
I highly recommend it. If you can’t travel with someone and you care about travel, it’s a wrap.

00:58:14.52
Angelica:
It’s a wrap.

00:58:15.99
Brian Kirkwood:
Yeah. It puts you in so many situations you can’t control.

00:58:21.47
Angelica:
Mm-hmm. A lot of times, you can’t control those things.

00:58:21.85
Brian Kirkwood:
Yes.

00:58:23.07
Angelica:
Exactly.

00:58:26.29
Brian Kirkwood:
Yes.

00:58:26.32
Charisma:
Yeah, and I think… go ahead.

00:58:26.77
Brian Kirkwood:
Go ahead.

00:58:30.17
Charisma:
No, you go ahead.

00:58:30.35
Brian Kirkwood:
No, I was going to say, I’m usually the one who knows everything that’s going on. TJ doesn’t always know every little detail because I’m more the detail-oriented person. But it’s how you react to each other in the moment if something goes off-track, like after a long day of travel. How you handle it tells you a lot about how you’ll interact long-term.

00:58:46.79
Brian Kirkwood:
It’s a sign of how you’ll be long-term.

00:58:47.12
Angelica:
Mm-hmm. Yep.

00:59:07.47
Charisma:
Yeah, I feel like another thing people don’t realize is that, if you’re not a creator, you don’t know what it’s like to be a creator or influencer. There’s this big thing of having a “plus one” at events.

00:59:17.56
Charisma:
You go to a lot of events and bring someone with you.

00:59:18.82
Brian Kirkwood:
Mm-hmm.

00:59:20.96
Charisma:
That’s what’s brilliant about working with your partner—they can learn how to be a good plus one.

00:59:33.84
Charisma:
You’re going to events together, and there are literally posts on how to be a good plus one. I’ve gone to events as a plus one. My background is in photography, so it’s easy for me to step in and say, “I’ve got your videos and photos.”

00:59:53.59
Charisma:
A lot of people don’t know how to do that, but it’s great when you have a partner who loves being with you, enjoys spending time with you, and knows how to help out in those ways. You can do that for each other, which is very helpful.

01:00:08.64
Brian Kirkwood
Well, we need to get TJ into a photography class though. I will say that.

01:00:13.94
Charisma
No, really? I feel like everything looks great all the time.

01:00:16.24
Brian Kirkwood
Yeah. Yeah.

01:00:19.91
Brian Kirkwood
He’s great at filming, but his still photography and his eye for framing—we just need to work on that.

01:00:21.93
Charisma
Okay.

01:00:27.28
Charisma
He and I can have a day. We can go have a theme park day, and I can teach him some basics.

01:00:29.35
Brian Kirkwood
Yeah.

01:00:32.62
Charisma
I think that’d be really fun.

01:00:33.35
Brian Kirkwood
Yeah.

01:00:34.05
Charisma
I’ve had to do that with my husband. I’ve had to drill a lot of tips and tricks into him because he just doesn’t get it. He’s never really been that into photography—he’s just been like, “Okay, you’re behind the camera, and you’re fantastic at it.” I used to bring my big camera, my DSLR, everywhere.

01:00:50.39
Charisma
Right. Taking photos of our nieces and nephew, family, or whatever. There are all these amazing photos of John, especially our travel photos. Oh my gosh—photos of him in Scotland and all this stuff—but it looks like I’ve been nowhere, done nothing, and seen no one because I’m always behind the camera.

01:01:08.02
Charisma
So I told him, even though I don’t necessarily love being in front of the camera, I do know how important it is. I’ve taken family photos, weddings—I’ve done all this stuff. So I’ve tried to train him a bit, like, “Come on, I need to step in front of the camera sometimes.” And I don’t expect it to be as cinematic, but at least I don’t want you cutting off my feet in the shot. Come on.

01:01:33.56
Brian Kirkwood
Yeah, exactly.

01:01:34.02
Charisma
So I’ve had to teach him some steps and things. But I do think with the parks, it’s really fun to have carefree photo days where you’re like, “I’m just going to work on my craft today.”

01:01:46.39
Charisma
You can just go capture stuff because there’s so much to capture there. You can go with low stakes for the day and just learn all day. We can definitely set that up.

01:01:54.85
Brian Kirkwood
I think that’s actually a good idea.

01:01:58.29
Charisma
Yeah, we can set that up.

01:01:58.72
Brian Kirkwood
We should probably say…

01:01:59.37
Charisma
I would, because sometimes your partner telling you something just doesn’t hit. But when someone else tells you, it clicks. I have photographer friends—like Shay Walker, who we had on the podcast. I’ll say the same thing Shay says, and John immediately gets it.

01:02:11.85
Brian Kirkwood
Mm-hmm.

01:02:15.24
Charisma
And I’m like, I’ve been telling you that for two years, but when Shay tells you, it clicks. So I’ll tell TJ so he gets it.

01:02:24.35
Brian Kirkwood
Yes, please.

01:02:27.90
Charisma
Yeah, so since you travel so much for work, we have to ask: what are the top three destinations you’ve visited so far? I know that’s hard because you guys travel a lot.

01:02:37.37
Brian Kirkwood
So, we did Virgin Voyages. We did it last year, but two years ago, in 2023, we did a Mediterranean cruise. After the Med cruise, we spent three or four days in London.

01:02:54.54
Brian Kirkwood
And I think London is definitely my town. I love London so much.

01:02:59.99
Charisma
Yes.

01:03:01.54
Brian Kirkwood
And eventually, I’d like to do a VRBO or Airbnb there for like six weeks or two months.

01:03:07.80
Angelica
Mm-hmm.

01:03:10.47
Brian Kirkwood
I could really actually just move to London if financially that were possible. London is just a vibe.

01:03:14.43
Charisma
Same. I’ll go with you.

01:03:21.68
Brian Kirkwood
People compare it to New York City, but it’s cleaner than New York.

01:03:25.04
Charisma
So much better.

01:03:26.70
Brian Kirkwood
It’s just better. There’s something about the feeling you get in London. The other place I’d consider living is Lisbon, Portugal.

01:03:38.56
Charisma
Ooh.

01:03:38.52
Angelica
Mm-hmm.

01:03:38.97
Brian Kirkwood
If you’ve never had Portugal on your list, you absolutely need to put it on your list. I spent a week there in 2018 because I had a friend who was getting married in Lisbon, and I just fell in love. I was there semi-solo—had my own Airbnb, and one of her friends who was at the wedding, we hung out most of the week, so I had a buddy to explore with. I just loved Lisbon. I want to explore more of Portugal. I could see myself living there as well.

01:04:20.77
Brian Kirkwood
And then, for my third one, I put Singapore.

01:04:25.32
Charisma
Ooh.

01:04:25.54
Brian Kirkwood
I put Singapore because I really like it there, but it was also our entryway into Asia. I want to do more in Asia. Singapore is definitely very westernized, so it’s an easy way to ease into Asia.

01:04:39.24
Angelica
Mm-hmm.

01:04:40.52
Brian Kirkwood
Everyone speaks English. We traveled 24 hours to get there, but it didn’t feel as far away because we could understand everything. It wasn’t a culture shock in that sense, but there are so many cultures in Singapore.

01:04:56.78
Charisma
It wasn’t a culture shock in that sense. Yeah.

01:05:04.11
Brian Kirkwood
I really appreciate that what I do for a living took me to a collaboration with Visit Singapore and brought me to Singapore. It’s amazing, you know? Especially since, compared to some other people, I haven’t been doing this as long. For that to come into my inbox and be something I did relatively early in my career as a content creator, I really treasure that experience. I got to live out my crazy Crazy Rich Asians fantasies there for a couple of days.

01:05:36.20
Brian Kirkwood
I treasure that experience, and I got to live out my crazy Crazy Rich Asians fantasies there for a couple of days.

01:05:46.51
Charisma
Yes.

01:05:46.56
Angelica
Right?

01:05:47.58
Charisma
I would say that was probably my favorite work of yours so far—the coverage you had from there.

01:05:48.16
Brian Kirkwood
Oh, thank you.

01:05:54.08
Brian Kirkwood
Thank you.

01:05:55.08
Charisma
It was just next level. Everything was stunning in every direction. I don’t know, it was just exciting to see. I was like, “Oh, this is awesome.”

01:06:00.95
Brian Kirkwood
Yeah.

01:06:03.63
Charisma
Because, of course, a lot of people have traveled there after Crazy Rich Asians and everything, but you showed so much more of it. You did a much better job of showing how it all pieced together. It’s like you see certain buildings and recognize them from the film, but you showed how it all connected, if that makes sense.

01:06:13.88
Brian Kirkwood
Yeah.

01:06:21.37
Brian Kirkwood
Yeah, there’s so much. In my notes here, I have a mention for fellow Disney fans. The Cruise Line, I think, starting next year, will have a ship, the Adventure Ship, out of Singapore. If there are some Uber Cruise Line fans listening, who are planning to go to Singapore, you can check out some of my content. I have a highlight reel of my stories from that trip on my Instagram, which is probably the most detailed content I’ve posted about it.

01:06:50.62
Brian Kirkwood
Singapore is great. I can’t wait to explore more of Asia. I want to visit Japan, China, and other parts of Asia, but Singapore was a great introduction.

01:07:20.04
Charisma
Love it. I also agree—London is in my top destinations. People don’t realize how small the UK is. If you’re coming from America, it feels much smaller. You can do so many awesome day trips or quick overnight trips and see so much without much effort. We paid like $40, and we were in a completely different area with a completely different vibe, then back in London later that day.

01:07:52.85
Brian Kirkwood
Yeah.

01:07:53.36
Charisma
It was amazing. I love New York too. I’ve spent a lot of time there, and my brothers live there. But they’re very different. A lot of people compare any city that’s a big city where they speak English, and they say it’s the same, but no, the vibe is different. London feels incredibly old. There were so many things we stood in front of and they said, “This is a bajillion years old.”

01:08:12.27
Charisma
I mean, there were so many things we were standing in front of and they were like, “This is bajillion years old.”

01:08:12.77
Brian Kirkwood
Yeah.

01:08:17.21
Charisma
For a place that’s English-speaking, it felt incredibly old. I’ve been to places older than London, but as an English-speaking place, so much of it felt incredibly ancient.

01:08:32.16
Charisma
Yeah, we loved our day trips to Oxford and places like that. I wish we had the train system they have there. In the U.S., we’re limited to what we can do with trains. I love that we can now get to Miami, but I wish we had more options. I’d love to just hop on a train and be in New York, you know? The technology is there, we just don’t have the infrastructure yet. I can’t wait until we do.

01:08:43.10
Brian Kirkwood
Same.

01:08:49.12
Charisma
I wish Orlando would let Disney build monorails all over central Florida. I would ride around the monorail as a kid and think, “Why aren’t these everywhere?”

01:09:13.10
Charisma
Like, why wouldn’t Orlando just say, “Hey, Disney did a great job with these, just put them all over,” and then we’d have good public transit here.

01:09:28.35
Brian Kirkwood
I agree. Unfortunately, the rumor I heard is that Disney rejected a Brightline station on property.

01:09:37.14
Charisma
I’m not surprised.

01:09:37.89
Brian Kirkwood
It’s so unfortunate.

01:09:40.33
Charisma
Yeah, I’m not surprised.

01:09:40.45
Brian Kirkwood
So unfortunate.

01:09:41.68
Charisma
Yeah, I’m not surprised. They make a lot of money getting people back and forth from the airport. I always say we should have a monorail stop here in Celebration.

01:09:52.52
Charisma
The HOA fees are really high here. Why can’t we get our own monorail stop?

01:09:59.43
Brian Kirkwood
Yeah.

01:09:59.78
Charisma
I hate driving, if you can’t tell.

01:10:01.77
Angelica
I’m going to say, we can tell.

01:10:04.92
Charisma
Yeah.

01:10:05.32
Brian Kirkwood
Yeah.

01:10:06.23
Angelica
I also want to double down on everybody needing to go back and check out Brian’s Singapore stories. I literally just did it, and just for him eating durian, I feel like if you do nothing else…

01:10:14.97
Brian Kirkwood
Oh my gosh.

01:10:15.81
Angelica
Just watch him and TJ eat durian.

01:10:16.09
Brian Kirkwood
Yeah. Go watch.

01:10:18.49
Angelica
It’s very funny.

01:10:19.35
Charisma
Yes. Okay.

01:10:21.71
Brian Kirkwood
If, um, I think… sorry, I was going to speak on durian.

01:10:21.74
Angelica
Go ahead.

01:10:25.22
Brian Kirkwood
I think Costco was selling durian.

01:10:28.84
Angelica
Oh, yeah, yeah.

01:10:28.92
Brian Kirkwood
So if you’re looking for durian…

01:10:29.37
Angelica
Yeah. It’s mostly at any Asian market as well, wherever you are in the U.S.

01:10:31.56
Brian Kirkwood
Yeah.

01:10:36.12
Angelica
I can think of five different markets in a 10-mile radius from here that sell durian. So, if you want to try it, it’s accessible.

01:10:45.18
Brian Kirkwood
Yeah. And have fun with that.

01:10:45.62
Angelica
Yeah.

01:10:48.96
Charisma
Oh, man.

01:10:49.88
Angelica
No, spoiler alert, but no spoilers. Go check out them eating it, then go to your market and try it.

01:10:53.16
Brian Kirkwood
But…

01:10:54.95
Angelica
And then you write back and say, “You know what? You were probably right.”

01:10:59.01
Brian Kirkwood
Yeah.

01:11:00.64
Angelica
So, we’re kind of coming to the end, but you do have a course that’s coming out for creators. All this information you’ve already shared is valuable and honestly worth paying for in this episode alone.

01:11:06.11
Brian Kirkwood
Yes.

01:11:12.37
Angelica
But can you tell us a little bit more about your course and why our listeners should be signing up on day one to get that content for themselves?

01:11:21.30
Brian Kirkwood
Yeah, definitely. So, I’m calling it the Content Creator Playbook. Basically, it’s a course that’s going to give you my side of things and share some of the things that I do. A lot of content creators feel overwhelmed, maybe unprepared, and unsure of how to organize their business as well as monetize their brand.

01:11:33.68
Brian Kirkwood
I’m going to talk about how to pitch brands, and we’ll discuss how to charge, but not too much. I think that’s an individualized thing for each creator—what they should charge and how to come up with that.

01:11:44.56
Brian Kirkwood
There will also be some community aspects to the course, so if a creator wants me to look at their content or page and talk a little bit about what they should charge, I can do that.

01:11:59.09
Brian Kirkwood
We’ll also discuss negotiation and how to position yourself as a professional. That’s really the focus of this course—giving you tools and resources.

01:12:17.46
Brian Kirkwood
I’m sharing my spreadsheet for tracking pitches and content. I’ll give you the tool that I use—it’s just a spreadsheet, but it’s set up for pitching and content tracking.

01:12:50.70
Brian Kirkwood
You won’t just have me on videos talking through these things, but you’ll also get tools and resources with each module. I’m hoping to launch it within the next few weeks—by mid-May—and I’ll be sharing a link for sign-ups to get a notification when it’s live. I’ll send out an email and, hopefully, I can provide a promo code for a discount to those who sign up.

01:13:32.82
Brian Kirkwood
The price will be under $100. I don’t plan on charging hundreds of dollars for the course. I want it to be approachable for people, making it easier for them to click in, get the resources, and set themselves up to take advantage of what they’ve already built.

01:13:47.55
Brian Kirkwood
It’s less about how to grow and more about taking what you’ve already built. This course is probably best for creators with around 20,000 followers or less.

01:14:05.32
Brian Kirkwood
That’s kind of where my focus is in terms of who this course would be the right fit for.

01:14:19.89
Angelica
No, that’s a perfect demographic because a lot of people don’t include that information in their courses. They just kind of make it broad—anybody can take it. But I think it’s important to have an idea of how many followers you have and how that would be approachable for you. Creators with 10,000 followers are often very invested in the content they’re creating; they just need to know how to get to the next level.

01:14:30.39
Charisma
Thank you.

01:14:31.58
Angelica
Having this content from you, sharing all of your behind-the-scenes, and offering it in video format for $100 is such an accessible and easy-to-apply offer. It’s a great opportunity for our listeners and anyone following you. I’m really excited for you to step into the teaching space and share all that knowledge you’ve gathered from your journey—from living in the college program to everything you’ve learned along the way.

01:15:22.63
Angelica
The depth and that perception, and putting it all together for someone to be able to just easily sit and watch these videos, is incredible and invaluable. So excited for that.

01:15:29.97
Charisma
And I love that you’re making it accessible as well, because I feel like that’s a good investment point where it’s not breaking the bank.

01:15:32.40
Angelica
Yes.

01:15:37.01
Charisma
Someone can invest in themselves and start to take themselves seriously. I know a lot of people are sometimes overwhelmed by the creator space, but I think there are so many people who—like you were talking about—just let things sit in drafts. They’re recording but not following through.

01:15:48.68
Charisma
And I feel like there are so many unique voices. Even if everybody’s sharing similar content, what makes things different is people putting their own unique spin on it.

01:16:09.96
Charisma
There are creators out there that everyone’s going to connect to. We’re not all going to connect to the same people. There’s enough space for everyone at the creator table, and you’ll have enough people who will connect with you. So, I really feel like the more diversity, the more different opinions we bring into it, the better.

01:16:29.80
Charisma
People can find the creators they connect with. I love that you’re helping those who are just getting started or haven’t been serious about it for as long. I love when entrepreneurs take themselves more seriously because they deserve it. It takes a lot of talent to do what you do.

01:16:46.62
Charisma
It takes a lot of organization to do what you do. I’m very, very impressed. I thank you so much for everything you’ve shared today. I feel like we’ve learned so much. I feel like there’s so much more we could dive into.

01:16:58.85
Charisma
So, I feel like we definitely need to have you back on again in the future. With so many of these things, we’ve just scratched the surface. This is such an incredibly complex field, and there’s so much going on with it. There’s also a lot of stuff happening this year with things like Epic Universe.

01:17:01.84
Brian Kirkwood
Yes. Yes.

01:17:20.96
Charisma
I’m very excited to see what creators are up to this year. We’ll definitely need to have you back. I’m sure this course is going to be awesome, and we’ll have you back on to talk about the process and how that went.

01:17:33.78
Brian Kirkwood
Absolutely. I would be happy to come back, and I thank you both so much for having me on.

01:17:39.69
Charisma
Absolutely.

01:17:39.64
Angelica
Thank you so much.

01:17:40.33
Charisma
Thank you.

01:17:40.80
Angelica
We’re excited to have you on, and we’ll have all these links in the show notes. We’ll talk soon.