Podcast Summary: Creator Science with Jay Clouse

Episode #287: Reflecting on a Year of Parenting (and how that’s impacted me as a creator)
Release Date: December 30, 2025
Host: Jay Clouse
Guest Host: Josh Hall (from “Web Design Business”)

Overview

In this candid episode, Jay Clouse joins longtime friend and fellow creator Josh Hall to reflect on his first year as a parent. They discuss the profound impact fatherhood has had on Jay’s productivity, business priorities, and overall approach to content creation and entrepreneurship. The conversation is a transparent look at the tension between sustainable personal growth and the demands of running a creator business—offering wisdom for any entrepreneur balancing ambition with family (or other major life responsibilities).

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Impact of Parenthood on Business and Productivity

• Parenthood as a Double-edged Sword: Jay describes fatherhood as “the best thing that's ever happened to me. Let's start there. It's also the most destructive thing that's happened to the business.” (11:19)
• Time is now at a premium, and Jay’s previous “pack the calendar” strategy became unsustainable. Nights and weekends, once fair game for work, are now family time.
• Prioritization Crisis: “I've really had to rework some things and I’m still very much figuring that out.” (12:57)

2. Clarity from Constraints: Saying No (A Lot)

• Becoming a parent has sharpened Jay’s sense of what truly matters in business and life.
• Quote: “My tolerance for stuff that doesn't matter has decreased. My ability to weed things out and say no to things has increased.” (13:33)
• Entrepreneurs at their stage must say no “99 out of a hundred times... It's a significant level of no.” (17:31)

3. Presence Matters More Than Time

• Josh notes that as a parent (of three kids), true presence with family is more important than just “more time.”
• Jay adds that as his daughter grows, “I don’t want to not be there mentally, you know... So, not only do I have less working and execution time, but I have less thinking time too. It’s a double whammy.” (19:45)

4. Sustainability and Realignment

• Both discuss the need for external constraints (like parenthood) to force high performers to “slow down and realign priorities.” (20:46)
• The business must adapt to changing life circumstances—the old grind never ends well.

5. The Entrepreneurial Mindset: Scarcity, Survival, and Emotional Regulation

• The early grind leads to “scarcity mindset,” which can take years to unlearn as the business stabilizes.
• Emotional resilience grows with exposure to entrepreneurial scars: “The first couple bad client interactions are just devastating... but then a year or two later, they’re just a different personality.” (24:22)
• Discussion of how over time, business highs and lows emotionally “level out”—but Jay questions, “Is that optimal? Like, is that the best way to experience day to day life?” (25:23)

6. Staying Competitive and Avoiding Stagnation

• Jay feels “a lot of pressure all the time to disrupt myself or continue to elevate myself—or get lost in the wash.” He recognizes this mentality drives success but also psychological costs. (27:33)

7. Content Strategy in a Season of Less Time

• Studio Upgrades: Jay’s new studio setup allows for easier video content but admits tech friction remains for high-quality production (e.g., 4K, color correction). (07:37)
• Writing Feels Easiest: In limited time, long-form writing comes most easily—especially when motivated by “I got something to say.” “It’s always easier for me to create from a place of... not I should make something, but I got to say something.” (28:46, 31:36)
• Content Repurposing: Focus is shifting toward having writing be the backbone for podcast/audio/video and short-form content. (33:07)
• Newsletter Cadence: Still at least one, sometimes two per week; much is written within 48 hours of send-date, driven by urgency or revelation. (35:29)

8. Context Switching and Deep Work

• Creative work now requires blocks of time—context switching is much harder, especially with the unpredictability of baby care.
• Jay and wife Mal carefully plan childcare and work blocks: “I need to stay in flow... It needs to be separated day to day: writing day, recording day, book day, lab day.” (39:48)
• Reactive tasks (like community engagement in “the Lab”) are squeezed into small, less productive blocks.

9. Reducing External Commitments and Focusing on Core Business

• Jay is cutting out speaking, interviews, and one-off calls to protect time for the book and core Creator Science activities.
• He's “choosing myself as a client, my business as my priority. And that's a tough conclusion to come to as an interviewer.” (47:16)

10. Temptation to Burn It Down and Start Over

• Jay admits to often feeling “halfway to pushing the self-destruct button”—a common entrepreneurial urge. He cautions that restarting means forfeiting compounding returns and the “time in market” advantage—especially in an era changed by AI and low entry barriers. (49:45)

11. On Signature Products, New Offers, and Focus

• Jay has many potential projects (e.g., “Creator School,” a signature product course), but knows that dividing attention means none will reach their potential.
• Says, “The lab is just so successful that it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to put my attention elsewhere versus just continue to compound the great thing we spent four years building there.” (54:03)
• The wisdom: When/if conviction is very high about a new opportunity, it's worth going all-in; but until then, compounding current strengths is best. (56:20)

12. On Paid Ads and Scaling

• Jay is cautious: “I don’t really have the assets in place to do that strategy effectively... Cold traffic doesn’t buy higher price things. You would spend so much money getting a lead that's that qualified.” (59:13)
• Jay would consider ads if he had a low-ticket funnel, but currently prefers more direct, organic outreach.

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On saying no:
  “You gotta say no 99 out of 100 times. That’s one yes versus ten yeses. So it’s really hard.” – Jay Clouse (17:31)

• On adjusting to family life:
  “There's no better antidepressant than hugging your kid.” – Jay Clouse (14:20)

• On presence:
  “We’ve all had the experience... doing four things at once. Multitasking, watching a game, hanging out with my baby, listening to my wife – and I didn’t know what was going on in the game. I missed time with my daughter. I did not hear what my wife said.” – Josh Hall (18:31)

• On entrepreneurial growth:
  “The first time you’re exposed to something, it’s shocking, scary, hard. And then over time it gets easier. If you’re not feeling any level of discomfort, that’s probably a bad sign.” – Jay Clouse (25:23)

• On compounding your advantage:
  “Your advantage to some degree is your time in market. It’s hard for somebody to build what I have built over eight years right now. But if I started something new, I could absolutely be out-competed pretty quickly.” – Jay Clouse (49:45)

• On self-investment:
  “If they want to get off the time-for-money train, you need to hire yourself as your own client. You need to take your own work seriously... If you don’t do that, you’re just slowing down that curve.” – Jay Clouse (66:25)

• On choosing focus:
  “What games am I going to play in the season? What games do I want to get good at?… Increasingly I’m drawing the line—If I’m going to play a game, it’s because I want to compete. And I can’t compete in all of them with my current resource constraints.” – Jay Clouse (61:59)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Impact of Parenthood: 11:19 – 13:24
• Being Present vs. Busy: 18:31 – 20:46
• Prioritization & Saying No: 17:31 – 17:55
• Burning Out and Self-Destruction: 49:45 – 52:08
• Content Creation & Repurposing: 28:46 – 35:29, 33:07
• Deep Work and Context Switching: 39:48 – 42:49
• Ad Strategies and Caution: 59:13 – 63:38
• Final Advice for Fellow Creators/Freelancers: 66:25

Actionable Takeaways

• Protect your core work: ruthlessly prioritize. Say no—even to attractive opportunities—if they don’t align with your family needs and highest business leverage.
• Batch your time: structure your week so creative/deep work is uninterrupted. Reserve shallow/reactive tasks for small time windows.
• Leverage constraints: Major life changes (like parenthood) can force necessary realignment toward sustainability.
• Don’t get distracted by “new and shiny”: Compounding takes years. Protect your “time in market” advantage.
• Find your best mode: Create content when you have something genuine to say, then repurpose that into all forms possible.
• Hire yourself as your own client: To move off the pure time-for-money treadmill, invest focus and resources in your own signature product or asset.

Episode Tone

• Honest, reflective, and realistic; a bit of tough love for overly ambitious or distracted entrepreneurs.
• Friendly, supportive, and generous—both hosts openly share vulnerabilities and lessons from hard-won experience.

For Further Connection

• Follow Jay: creatorscience.com
• Creator Science Podcast, Newsletter, The Lab: all available via his website.
• Guest Host: Josh Hall at joshhall.co

Perfect for:

• Entrepreneurs, course creators, and coach/consultants navigating shifting life priorities.
• Anyone feeling swamped or stretched thin—seeking honest talk about sustainable business and family/life integration.

Memorable Sign-off:
“If you want to get off of the time-for-money train, you need to hire yourself as your own client.” (66:25)