Are You a Twitch or YouTube Content Creator? This Financial Advisor Can Help You Level Up Your Earnings

What’s the fastest-growing type of small business? If you guessed online creators, you guessed correctly.

While many people still can’t fathom how anyone can earn a living from an online social or gaming platform, thousands of creators today have shown it can be done, and quite lucratively in many instances.

According to a report by SignalFire, the creator economy includes 50 million amateur content creators around the globe and another 2 million considered professionals. Among this growing group of professional content creators, YouTube ranks as the most popular platform among professionals with 1 million creators, followed by Instagram and Twitch with 500 thousand and 300 thousand creators, respectively.

As this population of content creators has grown tremendously, so has their need for professional guidance to make smart money moves with their online earnings.

A financial advisor specializing in Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) and prioritizing Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors can help you be a more informed and educated investor.

While it may be easy to find several nearby financial advisors with experience helping entrepreneurs, the odds that one of them specializes in serving online content creators are slim.

Fortunately, many financial advisors offer virtual services so you can meet online no matter where you (or they) live. This means you can choose to hire a specialist financial advisor who lives hundreds of miles away if you decide their knowledge and experience working with online content creators is a better fit to help with your unique financial planning needs.

Fortunately, many financial advisors offer virtual services so you can meet online no matter where you (or they) live. This means you can choose to hire a specialist financial advisor who lives hundreds of miles away if you decide their knowledge and experience working with Twitch and YouTube content creators is a better fit to help with your unique financial planning needs.

Financial Planning for Twitch and YouTube Content Creators

💡 In the Q&A below, you’ll gain insights from a financial advisor who understands the unique planning needs of content creators, specifically serving Twitch and YouTube content creators to help them make smart decisions to enjoy life more today while preparing for a comfortable retirement in the future.

🙋‍♀️ Do you have questions not answered below? Use the form on this page to submit your questions, and we’ll update this article with answers from the financial professionals and educators in the Wealthtender community. You can also contact the financial advisors featured in this article directly to set up an introductory call or ask your questions by email.

💸 Smart Money Insights for Twitch and YouTube Content Creators

This page is organized into sections to help you quickly find the information you need and get answers to your questions:

1. Q&A with Financial Advisors Specializing in Serving Twitch and YouTube Content Creators
2. Get Answers to Your Questions About Financial Planning for Content Creators
3. Browse Related Articles

Q&A: Financial Advisors Specializing in Serving Twitch and YouTube Content Creators

Four Questions with Ryan Bannister, CPA

We asked Raleigh, North Carolina-based financial advisor Ryan Bannister to answer four questions useful to Twitch and YouTube content creators interested in learning how to make smarter money moves with their earnings.

Q: What is a common financial planning challenge unique to Twitch and YouTube content creators that you frequently encounter when working with your clients? How do you work with them to overcome this challenge?

Ryan: The most common challenge I see with content creators is navigating the world of self-employment. A lot of folks get into creating content just for fun or as a side hustle, not expecting it to grow into the booming business they have today.

This brings challenges along with it, like not having an employer-sponsored 401(k) or benefits plan, as well as potentially missing out on the tax advantages of being a business owner. I also frequently encounter business planning questions like: 1) whether it’s profitable to expand into other social platforms, and 2) making sure they’re not overpaying the talent agency that represents them, just to name a couple.

I help clients sort out and prioritize all of these critical questions by first looking at their goals. Based on where they want to go in life and business, we’ll then organize the questions they have and create a plan to get there with personalized solutions.

Q: For Twitch and YouTube content creators who are unsure whether or not they should hire a financial advisor at the current point in their lives, what guidance can you provide to help them make a more informed and educated decision?

Ryan: Twitch and YouTube content creators are well aware that the space they work in is unlike any other. The creator economy is such a new, unique environment that most financial professionals simply either disregard it or don’t truly understand the industry or the creators.

It’s imperative to have someone that understands what you do and the day-to-day challenges that come with it. Plus, because creators are typically 1099 contractors, rather than employees, they encounter a ton of unique planning challenges that a lot of folks don’t deal with. There’s not a 401(k) plan or benefits that you can just sail with into the sunset. A lot of creators are also the first in their families to have wealth or even consider working with an advisor.

This can bring a lot of stress, especially when the rumors are that most advisors just want to stuff your money in an account with them and never talk to you again. In my opinion, you want to find an advisor you can actually trust and who is held to the fiduciary standard by law. You can find these advisors through credible online resources like Wealthtender and XY Planning Network.

Get to Know Ryan Bannister, Financial Advisor for Twitch and YouTube Content Creators:

View Ryan’s profile page on Wealthtender or visit his website to learn more.

Q: When you first speak with a Twitch or YouTube content creator, what questions do you like to ask to better understand their unique circumstances and determine how you can best help them achieve their goals?

Ryan: I love meeting for the first time because every creator is so unique, and I get to hear their story. The first couple of times we speak are really dedicated to getting to know more about the creator personally, their business, and what they want to achieve. 

I’ll ask questions like:

• What’s on your mind that caused you to schedule time for this conversation?
• If you could solve any financial concern today simply by snapping your fingers, what would you solve?
• Out of the many goals we’ve discussed, which two are most important to you?

Questions like these help us get on the right track by figuring out what matters most to clients upfront. My financial planning process is totally goals-based, and by starting with what you want to achieve, we can reverse-engineer our way into the strategies to get there.

Q: How do the services you offer Twitch and YouTube content creators distinguish your firm from other advisory firms?

Ryan: I didn’t get into financial planning to “gatekeep.” Many other advisory firms require outrageous minimum investments, don’t help clients create a financial plan, and especially don’t care about the client’s individual goals. I stand out from these firms because I know that many times the people who need financial advice the most are ignored. I also offer fee-only services, which, along with being a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA), make me a fiduciary and legally obligated to act in a client’s best interest. 

Trust is the most important factor in any relationship, and my promise is that I will always be transparent and upfront in the services I provide to clients. Content creators have given me countless hours of entertainment over the years, and I love being able to give back. As part of the relationships I’ve formed with creators, I understand the unique challenges they face, which I believe vastly separates me from my competition who can’t relate to creators.

Resources to Help You Choose a Financial Advisor

✅ Top Questions to Ask a Financial Advisor

✅ How Much Does a Financial Advisor Cost?

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