← The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan
The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan
624: (Solo) How to Create More Than You Consume (Without Burning Out)
00:09:46
Most founders drown in content — YouTube, TikTok, newsletters, podcasts — but they rarely create anything themselves. And here’s the problem: consumption doesn’t build businesses; creation does. In this episode, I share the practical systems and mindset shifts I’ve used to consistently create content for my personal brand and Foundr, even while running a company.
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Hey, founder fam. I want to talk to you about something super exciting. We're officially partnered with Omnisend, the email marketing and SMS platform built specifically for e commerce founders. We've been recommending Omnisend to founder students for a while now because it just works. Whether you're launching your first store or you're scaling to seven figures, it really helps you automate your marketing and get real results. Did you know, on average, OMNISEND customers make $68 for every $1 they spend, which is an insanely good return. And because you're part of the founder community, you get 50% off your first three months with the code. Founder50. Just head to omnisend.com founder without the e to get started. All right, now let's jump back into the show. Hey, founder fam. What is up, Nathan? Here, today we've got another solo episode, and I'm going to dive into a question I've been thinking about a lot, and that is how do I create more content than I consume? And that's something I've been thinking about a lot. You know, for 2026, I just want to be creating more content than ever, but in a meaningful way because we live in a world where we're drowning in YouTube, TikTok, podcasts, newsletters, books, the list goes on. And don't get me wrong, consumption can be powerful if it's intentional. But if you're trying to build a business, a brand, a movement, you can't just consume. You need to create and you need to actually go out and take action on the things that you're learning. I've been building my personal brand now for close to a year, and I'm looking to ramp it up. And it's one of these things where I also have been caught up in the past where I'm just getting a new iPhone and I am getting 2 terabytes because I download so many YouTube videos that my 5, 500 gig just doesn't. Doesn't cut it for me because I Download so many YouTube episodes of things I'm supposed to listen to and watch and implement. And it's easy to consume and feel good and think that you're making progress, but you're actually not. So consumption is easy, but creation is what builds leverage. In this episode, I'm going to share the systems, the simple rules that help me and our team at Founder stay in creator mode even when life gets busy. Hear the stories, learn the proven methods, and accelerate your growth and future through entrepreneurs. Welcome to the Founder Podcast With Nathan Chan. So every podcast you publish, every post you write, every product you launch, that's something that can generate value while you're not working. It builds your brand. And I think of this like planting seeds. It attracts talent. And I've seen it firsthand how it can, like, just build trust and open doors. And from that, you know, I've had so many opportunities from creating content, and because I'm posting content now on my personal brand, I'm getting more opportunities than ever, speaking gigs. So I'm looking at going to Nepal to do another speaking gig next year. We'll see how that goes. There's a lot going on, but I guess when you're consuming, it doesn't do that. So the key is to create your default not scrolling. So this is the rule I try and live by, which is create before you consume. And one of the simplest rules that really changed the game for me is this. Every morning before I check Slack or Instagram, I aim to create one thing. I aim to post one thing. And for those of you thinking, well, this might be tough, I'm, you know, trying to get a workout or get on top of my emails, I want you to stop for a second. Remember, these early hours are yours to own. And this is for so many people, myself included. Like the time where you really get to think. Now remember, creating doesn't need to look like filming TikTok at 6am for me. It could look like a few ideas for my solo podcast episode or some notes that I write or notes on a course or a gap I've seen in our curriculum, or a rough script or bullets, or write a note or something in a chatgpt and really get that momentum, like get it 75% there or something. And it's not about making it perfect, it's about showing up as a creator first. And it could be just moving things forward. Right? You don't have to actually post, but create, build, create something, think of something, reflect, write notes, really start to document more than ever. Because once you open up your phone and start consuming passively, your mental energy is already compromised. The next thing you want to think about is building a content operating system. This isn't just about mindset, it's about having a system. So here's what we do at Founder and what I would recommend to our students too. So first things first, you want to use Notion or Apple notes or even voice memos. Document your thoughts, lessons, behind the scenes, moments as they happen. I personally love my remarkable notepad for this reason. It allows Me to capture notes digitally while still being present. Then you want to batch create. So set aside like 90 minute blocks each week just for content or social media. Sundays, no meetings, no emails, just you and your ideas. Set it up, use AI where you can to keep you moving. It's awesome. ChatGPT is your friend. Get that leverage and remove that kind of content writer's block or content block that we have or that creator's block. And then at Founder, we know that every podcast can become multiple tiktoks and reels. A piece of newsletter content, quotes for social, an article for our magazine, a week's worth of content for my personal brand, a post in the founder community. And this was built from that one same piece of content. And my point is that you don't need to always need more time, but you need to get smarter about leveraging what you already have on hand. So one of the biggest game changers for us at Founder is, is just trying to leverage and repurpose as much content as possible. Even more than ever now, we repost stuff that has crushed it before or we try and spin it. So if I've got a carousel that does really well, then how can I create a reel around it? Or how can I create more of like a B roll reel? Like always trying to repurpose the content that you have to push yourself to really kind of go, all right, well, do I need to create something from scratch? And then we even have a rule, right, that we always kind of look at our bank and repost like things at work every couple of weeks and we revisit the stuff that worked three months ago. So I want to be real with you, right? This isn't easy either. There are weeks where I binge YouTube, I get caught in Instagram in the rabbit hole just like everyone else. But here's what helps. I curate what I subscribe to and if I'm not acting on the info, I try and unsubscribe. I start my morning without the scroll, focus on meditation exercise to start my day off right, and I know where I'm going. I get my mind turning. But you wouldn't expect to get six pack abs if you eat junk food all day. So you can't expect clarity or output if your brain is just stuffed with input 24 7. The next thing I want to talk about is you don't need to be a content machine. You just need to recognize the moments in your life that can be turned into content. And it's all about stories. Stories is what sticks the more you feel comfortable being vulnerable. Once you start, I promise you, you're going to care less about what people think and just keep going. What's a lesson from a tough conversation? That's a real. What's a mistake that you've made this week? That's a carousel story. What's a customer win? That's a story. I had an allergic reaction. I'm allergic to a lot of food. I posted about my anaphylaxis and that post blew up. I got half a million views and I wasn't going to post it, but it was a reminder, right? It was a reminder of the important things that matter and people really appreciate it. Somebody even wrote to me like a well known business owner and founder that I respect, said thank you so much, Nathan. I have a a son with allergies and I'm always worried if he'll be able to live his life. And you've just shown me that it's possible even with all of his allergies. And you have more debilitating allergies than him. So guys, before I wrap, I just want to share that creating more than you consume isn't about being perfect, it's about being intentional. It's about choosing to show up as a producer of value in the world, not just a passive observer. It's so easy to get caught up by these social media algorithms. And because these guys are so good, these multi billion dollar companies are so good at making you consume content to feed their algorithm to sell more ads. And you have to break it because oftentimes we are not in conscious control of what we are doing. And when you commit to this practice every day, it compounds in ways that consumption never will. I promise you your business will be better off. You'll grow and accelerate your career as a founder. I can't stress this enough. Let's make 2026 our best year yet. It's a great philosophy to subscribe to. If you got value from this episode, hit me back. Shoot me a DM Nathan Chan on Instagram. And if you want more structure and support to build a real brand from scratch, don't forget to check out Founder plus. It's our step by step platform that helps you really launch your e commerce brand. Really scale your e commerce brand and you'll get to learn from real 7 and 8. Figure 5 founders. It's incredible. You can go to founder.com membership. Thank you for listening and I'll see you in another episode. Ciao.