DS 17, who's deluded- me or him??

Because there are scammers on every app/corner of the internet?
Also, photos of people at the gym? 😅 neither myself or any of the content creators making money via TikTok are posting “sad photos at the gym” I assure you.

Oh is that true then why people on that app scamming people out of money if ya getting £800 a month for sad photos of you in the gym because people are scamming people out of money So if you earn that why people getting scammed

Either do some real talk with him right now, or wait until he reaches his thirties and is still working a till in a supermarket. There’s also nothing wrong with minimum wage work it’s just our system that makes those working min wage jobs unable to actually live and afford things.

Incorrect. I’ve made over £800 per month on TikTok from the creator fund before and I don’t even have a “big” account - it depends on your RPM and how many people watch your videos on the FYP. I wouldn’t quit my full time job for this personally, but you can see for yourself big creators on TikTok have successfully done this, and are now mortgage free as a result!

He’s deluded you can’t make money on tik tok posting stuff i didn’t make money posting videos on there not one penny I got rid of tik tok as its a waste of time and too many scammers so i deleted the app and accounts and im a lot happier i make money by working. So tell you’re son to get a job cos he can earn loads more from working

Fine to do this, or any other aspirations, alongside a job as long as he's paying you rent. Doesn't have to be alot but he does have to understand the true cost of living, so be clear with him about splitting your costs per person in the house includes food, utilities, transport costs etc.

You can support him if you wish by not charging full share of costs, but make sure he realises this. You can also encourage him to try other jobs or careers that may not be academic, apprenticeships etc. He sounds like he has drive and ambition, don't kill it, but try to help him direct that drive.

It's unlikely he'll make his money on Tiktok but he might be able to use that experience and drive elsewhere.

Balance supportive with sensible won't be easy, good luck.

He needs to up his hours at the supermarket to full time and start paying his way. You can let him get on with the TikTok thing but expect him to be earning a full time wage .

No, that’s all, thank you.
To OP. As pp said, £50 is not bad start, he’s already got large audience. Another vote for suggesting him a digital marketing course, more advanced one and finding a job in this area.

He blends coffee.

Hes out there developing coffee blends. Believe me we dont understand it, but if I could post footage of him at world coffee shows without it being outing I would

Apparently coffee is HUGE business in Australia and extremely lucrative . So the Barista and the Barrister have done well

Anything else I can help you with?

Forget about op's son, give me this top tip!😂

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/amitsinghkalley_tiktok-career-esport-activity-7233755885947232258-aBQG?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android

£50 a month? Practically a millionaire! 🤣

Maybe give him a list of your monthly outgoings so he can see what it actually takes to live in the real world!

That's interesting! How did he make it? What exactly he has done to buy his penthouse?

I’ve made my living on YouTube for about 15 years now, so I know it is possible to make the internet pay your actual bills, but a bit like kids who assume they can play in the premiership because they are okay on their school side, there is a lot more to it than meets the eye really.

In order to have longevity in video format, you need a balance of being a strong communicator with plenty to tell. You need a wealth of life experience, essentially! Otherwise you have the same few stories to tell over and over and they aren’t very interesting the first time. The people who are worth continuing to follow are the ones who have kept raising their hands in life to keep having stories to tell. They need to try things or go through things that are interesting enough for others to want to listen.

There is a need for multiple streams of income and almost everyone you see making a living is making more than the videos you see on their main channel. Somewhere there will be long format videos in addition to short format videos, somewhere there will be ‘premium’ content people are willing to straight up pay you to watch rather than earning a penny per view on TT or YT.

There is a heap of marketing. Almost no creators exist on one platform alone, so you have to keep an eye on what’s working on three or four different networks and that part can be less fun than your original passion.

There’s a decision to be made as to whether the topic(s) you cover are more universal or niche. Lots of people watch the more popular topics - like how millions of people will watch the same make up tutorial. But also those topics are crammed full of influencers already and it’s really hard to break through and get any views at all. If your topic is less universal, it’s easier to break through but you can be absolutely at the top of the game and be in the five figures of subscribers, not millions and millions. And if you decide not to have any sort of topic then… well… good luck. It will be really hard for anyone to find you without some sort of easy way to describe you.

You're self employed so you will need to do your taxes, work out how to balance uneven income from month to month and all that boring stuff that is so far removed from making the actual videos.

I’m old so never was a teenager thinking I would do this. I studied other things and started in a more traditional career. I didn’t give up the traditional job until the side thing had overtaken my earnings and I’d given it enough time to make sure people actually liked my videos enough to keep coming back. I hope he doesn’t look down on his followers like he does people at work, because I just can’t see that working.

Anyway, sorry I’ve written you some sort of essay in working on the internet and a lot of it might be obvious to you but I feel like it’s often not at all obvious to teens who think this will work. Absolutely no problem with dreaming about it! But a bit like when you find out a singer you love actually went to the Brit School or the footballer never went on holiday as a kid because the family put all time and money into their sport training, it often turns out that there is a ton of work behind the scenes before the big success.

YANBU.

Social media as work is super volatile, trend dependent and susceptible to scandal and cancel culture. Although people can and do make a living from it, I don’t think it’s a sustainable income path for your teen and he ought to seek an apprenticeship or enrol in college again. Of course that’s no to say he can’t use it as a creative outlet, it should be a hobby more than a career path.

I'd be making him work full time at least. DS dropped out of college at 17 and eventually got an apprenticeship but he knew he was expected to work full time in the interim.

He reminds me of one of my siblings (who is now in his late 20’s, still living at home, jobless because all jobs are below his worth).

Yes, there is a small chance he will become big on TikTok but there is a much better chance he won’t. So, advice on things my mother should have done that she didn’t but might help your kid turn a bit different to my sibling.

1- Tell him it’s okay to want to become big on TikTok but until that happens he is still living in the same world as the rest of us and therefore needs to pull up his socks and STOP looking down at people. Respect is non-negotiable.

My brother looked down at everything and everyone as he was certain he was predestined to become rich and famous. To the point he let go of way too many work opportunities (despite him having no educational background as he didn’t even graduate high school) and now is jobless and almost unemployable. And most people are no contact with him (99% of the family, me included) as he was just a nightmare to be around.

2- Force him to be responsible. Have him pay rent so he is always forced to work. My brother always lives rent free at my mum, that’s why he is still there at almost 30. Because he has no way to even afford rent elsewhere nor have a profile that would make people rent their flat to him.

3- The minute he starts being disrespectful to you and/or your home. Kick him out. Yes that’s harsh but he is an adult. And if he starts one day looking down at you, your life, your person. Do show him the door. Save your sanity and force him to find his way into the world. I still strongly believe my brother would be in a slightly better place if he didn’t have my mom to fall back on continuously.

4- force him to have a plan B.

And that’s a tip from me because I do work in the field of people who are very wealthy/have a certain social status and as a result do know quite a bit about the behind the scenes.

The quickest way to live the life he wants to have sometimes isn’t to be the celebrity (much harder to accomplish) sometimes it’s to work for them. Salaries are high, you still get a lot of the benefits (staying at the villas, being on the yacht, flying private). And if you invest your salary well you might be able to close the gap between them and you.

I have several brothers, and all of them are into wearing luxury brands and would love the luxury life (though they all 3 have an approach to it that differ from the other. 1- (the oldest) is
what I have just described. want luxury but expect the lifestyle to fall on his lap and if he has one pound it’s one pound spent. He has no idea on how to manage his finances, save or invest. 2nd brother has a job, is responsible and a lot more independent than his older sibling. He is smart, has an interest in learning about finances and we are actually working on an investment project together as he is the only sibling I would actually invest with and want to properly give a leg up as I know he will do his part and work as hard as me into turning our projects into reality (he is early/mid 20’s). He doesn’t earn much currently but he budgets well, and while he spends his money on brands he wouldn’t ever spend money on brands or pretending to live a life he doesn’t live over his rent.

3rd and youngest brother is still underage (17) and is a mix of both siblings. He has an interest in finances and learning to manage his finances (and I spend a lot of time with him trying to teach him wisdoms I have learned and continue to learn through my work) but he doesn’t have the same work ethic as 2nd sibling, and is a bit more on the lazy side/ waiting for stuff to happen to him rather than being proactive. My advice to him is the same I would give your son:

You want to make money? 1- learn about money, managing finances and budgeting. 2- find your niche. What are you good at and what is the best most efficient way to exploit that that will also give you the revenue that you are hoping for? And if you want to taste luxury without having to spend money on it, then do work for those who have money as you will be PAID to actually go on the yacht, jets etc… while they (the wealthy folks/famous folks) actually PAY for it. It’s work obviously, but it’s sometimes the closest one can get to that lifestyle if that’s truly their goal.

Personally I work too much in the behind the scene that I actually would discourage my siblings to aim for that lifestyle (I think it’s soul destroying for many and most people with those lives struggle to be happy and content within their lives) and more aim to be happy. So I would try and dig at what in that lifestyle would make your son happy? Is it money? Is it the attention? Is it owning a mansion? is it impacting people with his work?

Many ways to get those things without becoming TikTok famous. And I would encourage him to find out what is motivating him to become famous and look for plan B and C that would have similar characteristics or feed his soul in similar ways that might be completely different to his original goal.

His attitude towards supermarket workers is terrible. Does he not understand how important frontline workers are?

Everyone should follow their dreams, but while he is doing that he needs to know he also has to work to improve his skills and put a roof over his head (pay digs) and eat.

The reality check you need to give him is charging him digs so he has no disposable income and needs to work more. If he doesn't have the money to pay reasonable digs read him the riot act to get a job.

dh has a nephew who is mid 30s now and has only ever worked very PT in retail for short periods because he is going to "make it" making sound bites for games. In 15 years he has made a couple of grand from it and is wasting living off, with his unemployed gf an inheritance of around £300k he got in his early 20s. It will dry up soon and he will get his reality hit then.

😂

I agree with this. A reality check doesn't have to be confrontational. Sit him down, show him your bills and tell him you expect him to contribute a fair sum towards these. Leave how he does this up to him obviously.

At the moment it could be argued that you are enabling him if you have not set out your expectations already.

Growing up, I was under no illusion that I had to bring money into the house if I was going to continue to stay and this was set out a long time before I started to earn.

I could never ever do this with my kids because if they got sent into a conflict zone and were involved with the death of people they would never manage to live with themselves.
We have quite a few people in the family who were in the forces and it has totally fucked them up.

Yes, he can make money on TT provided he has a clear strategy and niche. At 17 and with a lack of any education behind him, I struggle to see what his subject specialism may be that he can claim any authority over. Does he have any skills?
If he is just dancing and making memes, then it is hardly going to be a long-term money maker. There are plenty of examples of people making money by using SM to build an audience to then sell them highly specialised services. But it doesn't sound as though he has any of that. It's all very well to want to become an influencer but then you do need something to influence people to do...

It's the latest version of a get rick quick scheme and like all such schemes, some people do get rich quick but 99% don't.

I don't think it's just his age, I know lots of school Mums and middle aged men who are just waiting for their TikTok or Youtube channels to take off and have fantasies that they're going to make tonnes of money.

He could also end up having to kill people, having PTSD or dead, so wouldn't recommend this.