Podcast Summary: Creator Science #278
Episode Title: How I’m Approaching The Rest of 2025 (Behind The Scenes)
Host: Jay Clouse
Date: October 14, 2025
Main Theme / Purpose
In this highly personal solo episode, Jay Clouse pulls back the curtain on his business and creative process as he reflects on the first three quarters of 2025. Sharing openly about financials, priorities, challenges, and mindset shifts, Jay details how a year of changed circumstances—especially fatherhood—has forced him to refocus, simplify, and reimagine what ambitious growth means for himself and his Creator Science business. He explores the trade-offs between continued rapid revenue growth, product launches, team expansion, and his deepening commitment to both his flagship community, The Lab, and his first book. Jay's aim: help creators understand what strategic iteration and ruthless prioritization look like when navigating new, more complex personal and business seasons.
Key Discussion Points and Insights
1. Revenue, Growth, and the ‘Plateau’
- Current Revenue Update: Business earned just under $600,000 this year, tracking slightly below last year.
- Jay on Expectations:
“I expect growth all the time because growth is what we're going for, growth is good... I always expect that to continue.” (03:11)
- Why the Plateau?
- Last year’s big boost was the launch of “Creator HQ” (Notion-based product), contributing ~$100,000. No such launch this year.
- Focus in 2025 shifted to developing a traditional book proposal instead of launching new products.
- Sponsorship Changes:
- Fewer, more selective brand sponsorships due to the resource tradeoff and their impact on audience experience.
- Preferring deeper, quality partnerships (e.g., Uscreen, Circle, Kit, Kik, Cari).
2. Personal Life Shifts & Working Structure
- New Fatherhood:
- Jay became a father last summer, took ~3 months paternity leave.
- Emphasizes the shift from just 'time' to 'presence' with his daughter.
“It's not even that I lost working time. I lost a lot of thinking time... Of course, I would prefer the latter (to be present with my daughter).” (12:05)
- Navigating Parenting & Work
- No daycare; both Jay and his wife at home → increased need for communication and scheduling.
- Inspired by Amanda Goetz’s advice to time-block strictly so both parents can guilt-free focus on work or parenting.
“If we're both around each other with the baby, we're both like half parenting, half working.” (16:13)
3. Ruthless Prioritization
- New Priorities:
- #1: The Lab—membership community, now at $500k ARR.
- #2: The Book Project—Jay’s first traditional book, despite being a ‘high downside, uncertain upside’ project.
- Letting Go:
- Paused or ended: new AI product development, interviews on others’ podcasts, public speaking, potentially coaching/VIP Lab access, many sponsorships, and a new “signature product” for creators.
“All of those things need to go away in the immediate term. Everything that is not those things.” (23:41)
4. Resource Allocation & Ambition Redefined
- Comparing with Other Creators:
- Jay realized the creators he compares himself to (e.g., Codie Sanchez) often have much larger teams and budgets.
“I really can't compare myself to somebody who is utilizing far more resources than I am to get output greater than mine and expect myself to keep pace with that.” (28:55)
- Team:
- Resisting hiring full-time/expanding headcount; prefers to invest energy into the book and staying lean.
“Having a daughter didn't make me less ambitious, but... it did make me think about my priorities.” (30:20)
- YouTube Team Changes:
- Jay is stepping back in as producer due to financial constraints.
- Seeking a new thumbnail designer after a long-term team member moved on.
- Sees this as a chance to bring more fun and innovation back to the channel.
“It's at least fun. I'm trying to bring more fun back into the work.” (35:47)
5. The Power of Proximity & Community
- On Growth by Association:
- Credits masterminds and being around further-along creators for major business breakthroughs.
“Because I could see it, I knew I could be it.” (37:16)
- The Lab’s Evolution:
- Created to replicate this proximity experience for others.
- Includes live sessions, community forum, mastermind matching, offline events, vetted service providers directory, and access to Jay’s courses.
- Noted that some members have renewed four years in a row.
6. Content Strategy Shift
- From Short Form to Long Form:
- Paused daily LinkedIn, X/Twitter, and short-form video posts; focus shifted to long-form writing and content.
- Jay sees long-form writing as increasingly valuable in an AI-driven world where quality thinking is at a premium.
“Writing is thinking. And so if I prioritize getting better at writing, that means that I'm implicitly in prioritizing getting better at thinking.” (44:23)
- Repurposing Content:
- Seeks processes to transform essays into video scripts, podcasts, and carousels for LinkedIn/Instagram.
- Observes changing platform dynamics: LinkedIn content is now closer to Instagram (visual hooks) than to X.
- Serving Advanced Creators:
- Intends to “assume high intelligence and ability” in his audience, choosing to serve intermediate-to-advanced creators rather than beginners.
- Experimentation Ethos:
- Inspired by Stephen Bartlett’s 'failure team' concept—solo creators can replicate this through community-driven experimentation.
“The lab is built for creators to experiment and grow together. It's like having this large failure team if we do our part in running and sharing those experiments.” (51:12)
7. Product Strategy: Doubling Down on the Lab
- Signature Initiatives:
- First 'Lab Offline' event—a 2-day, in-person mastermind in Boise.
- Rolling mastermind matches, now including 70+ members in each cohort.
- Lab Report: A 70-page collective insights document on what's working for members across platforms and revenue streams.
- Trusted Partners Directory for vetted freelancers/service providers.
- Sales Page & Experience Overhaul:
- Plans for a new sales page, video trailers, and better showcasing of community assets.
8. The Book Project (Progress, Struggles, and Insight)
- Status:
- Finished draft book proposal received positive but critical feedback—particularly on the title, which remains unresolved.
“My only mark of success for this book is I want to be able to look in the mirror... and say, did I do everything in my power to make this book a success?” (01:06:13)
- Challenge:
- Difficulty finding time/energy for deep, generative writing while maintaining the business and family life.
- Context switching between the book and newsletters/podcasts is too costly.
- Title dilemma: wants it to appeal broadly (men/women, business/self-help crossover), but the options seem to split the audience.
- Creative Struggle:
“Creative problems like this are not that easy to solve. You need to create the time and space, you need to be consuming things that create new ideas for you. But ultimately, it really does feel like there's a waiting component.” (01:14:18)
- Sticking Through the Hard:
- Sees the difficulty as what creates opportunity in traditional publishing.
“Hard things are the opportunity. That's why there is still an opportunity in books, is because there is a difficulty to doing the process... that weeds people out.” (01:17:00)
9. Navigating the Plateau and Looking Ahead
- On Doing Less:
- Struggles psychologically with a plateau, as his career has been built on creating new things and always saying yes.
- Recognizes the value plateau brings: discipline, routine, clarity, dialing in for the next move.
“The plateau is where you find discipline, consistency, routine. You figure out your way of doing things.” (01:19:43)
- Goals for Q4 2025:
- Finish the updated book proposal.
- Finalize Lab upgrades, calendar, events, and evolving content strategy.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
On Priorities and Saying No:
“All of those things need to go away in the immediate term. Everything that is not those things.” (23:41)
-
On Resource Comparison:
“I really can't compare myself to somebody who is utilizing far more resources than I am... and expect myself to keep pace with that.” (28:55)
-
On Creative Struggle:
“It really does feel like there's a waiting component. I try to solve with intensity. I have, I think, 500 title ideas right now... but none of them are right yet.” (01:14:20)
-
On Plateau and Consistency:
“The plateau is where you dial ourselves in. The plateau is where you find discipline, consistency, routine.” (01:19:45)
-
On Book Project Realism:
“[For] most people, the upside is not super high. Most people are not Mark Manson, they're not James Clear... Of course, I aspire to that, but it's super uncertain.” (20:22)
Timestamps for Important Segments
- 00:00–05:00: Revenue update, examining reasons for slower growth
- 12:05–19:00: Impact of fatherhood and new routines
- 19:00–24:00: Ruthless prioritization and 'saying no'
- 28:00–36:00: Resource allocation, ambition, and team comparison
- 37:00–42:00: Mastermind power and The Lab community
- 43:00–48:00: Content strategy shifts, long-form writing, and repurposing
- 51:00–54:00: ‘Failure team’ concept and community-driven experimentation
- 56:00–01:04:00: Lab upgrades, event planning, and product evolution
- 01:06:00–01:15:00: Book project progress, challenges, and creative dilemmas
- 01:19:00–end: Reflections on plateau, discipline, and future focus
Closing Thoughts
Jay’s candid “retro” provides an invaluable real-time snapshot of what it's like to navigate business plateaus, shifting life priorities, and the messiness of creative ambition. By doubling down on his community and long-term writing project, Jay models strategic focus—reminding listeners that in creator business, saying 'no' may ultimately be the most ambitious move of all.
For more on the Lab, community experiments, or Jay’s ongoing book journey, visit creatorscience.com/lab.