9 months ago, I was in debt with -$300 to my name. Nothing. And this past month, I officially hit my first ever $20k month with UGC. I got questions from other newer creators who are just starting in a similar position, so I wanted to make a post on exactly what I did The first thing I want to address is it wasn't "sunshine and rainbows." It wasn't this glamorous $0 to $20k/m get rich quick path you see all over social media. It took 9 months of trial and error, impostor syndrome, and lonely nights filled with doubt and thoughts of quitting. for me, this meant filming after bedtime when the house finally went quiet, running on countless sleepless nights, then dragging myself to my 9-5 the next morning. It meant editing on my lunch break and missing bath time and bedtime stories more nights than I want to admit, all to chase something I wasn't even sure would work. But I believe in sharing this fully, because for years I was in a scammy industry doing digital marketing, MRR, and selling courses, making affiliate commissions on products I didn't even believe in. The whole space was dishonest. I still remember crying myself to sleep thinking, "all these other moms are making $10k/m, what in the world am I doing wrong?" i quit in 2024 with nothing to show for it but hundreds of wasted hours and $10k+ in courses. And going all in on UGC was the best decision I've ever made. For the first time I wasn't selling anyone anything or guilting another mom into a course. I was making content around products I actually liked and getting paid for it. The work stopped feeling like work. So let me get tactical. If I could go back, this is the advice I'd give myself. First, your income follows what you believe you're worth. For years I thought the six-figure life was reserved for doctors, lawyers, and people "smarter" than me. I made zero progress until I saw real proof from other creators, moms, and even teenagers doing it. “If they can do it, why can’t I right?” Second, stop selling your time. I'd never take a gifted collab or a flat $50-200 video again. When I was doing 30 of those a month for $3-5k, that's exactly when I was burnt out, because I was capped no matter how hard I worked. Now I only take deals where there is a massive upside for me, my favorite is CPM, paid on performance, bonuses per 1,000 views.