Why Making Money Online Doesn’t Always Mean Building Wealth
As Black creators generate unprecedented income, many are confronting a harder truth: visibility doesn’t guarantee stability, and wealth requires a different playbook.
With a projected buying power of $2.1 trillion this year, according to Nielsen, there is no question that Black influence is strong on both the buyer and influencer sides. Many creators have had to face their new reality head-on, of going from a few dollars in their bank account to thousands, sometimes even millions, at their disposal. To many, this can be a blessing, but understanding the importance of management and building wealth for yourself is a new feat that many are still learning.
For Texas-based influencer David Lockridge, it looks like intentionality now that can pay dividends later. “Don’t think just because you have the money that it will always be there. You have to make sure you set aside money for different things because you never know. The money is not stable when you’re a content creator,” Lockridge explained when reflecting on financial lessons that he’s learned from becoming a content creator.
From building his platform with cleaning content to now having brand deals under his belt from brands like IKEA and Microsoft, Lockridge has been able to make a name for himself in the influencer space as someone who champions family values and is authentic to his humble beginnings. Beyond the camera, he’s had to face the realities of uncertainty around payment amounts and deposit timelines, along with the balancing act of managing finances while supporting extended family.
“Mentally, I try not to let it stress me out but it’s something that I deal with daily. […] I wish people could really understand. People that are in that position, they know but outsiders they would never know unless you tell them and even if you tell them it goes in one ear and out the other,” he told EBONY.
While many influencers lean on financial management tools or seek professional advice, other content creators are provided the support of an agency to help them sustain their wealth. There is a knowledge gap in knowing healthy financial practices for wealth building in the Black community. As well as what some refer to as “The Black Tax,” where many are having their income already be claimed by someone else from the responsibilities that have been put on them to provide for others. Whether it’s providing for a parent’s medical bills or a cousin asking for a loan for their business, there’s an influx in how much financial reliance there is on someone who “made it out” from initially being lower income.
Food and lifestyle influencer Hope Romeo has taken matters into her own hands by taking the time to better understand financial delegation and expense tracking. The larger hurdle has been ensuring that, as a Black female creator, she’s being paid adequately. “Whenever I’m faced with negotiating my rates with specific brands, it’s important that I never go beneath what I believe me and my content is worth. Being paid fairly and equally is extremely important because I realize how much value my content brings,” Romeo shared with EBONY.
Some of this financial pigeonholing could also be attributed to the box that many Black creators are put in. While there’s an overindex in people in niches like lifestyle and fitness, there is still room for versatility with influencers that isn’t always acknowledged. “One of the biggest misconceptions that I have seen personally as a black woman content creator is that we are all only in one niche. […] My only hope is that we begin getting noticed in other niches outside of beauty and lifestyle spaces and that up and coming black creators don’t fit themselves in one box but instead create space for all of their interests,”
Founder and CEO of CFG, Annelise Campbell, is a prime example of what support looks like for a content creator from an agency perspective. Her belief that creators should have access to financial information and that it’s the company’s responsibility to help them stay knowledgeable drives both her and her team to lend them support where needed.
“One of the first things we do when a creator joins the roster is evaluate their tax and accounting set up. Making sure they are set up as a business and that structure makes the most sense for their size, scale and location. We connect them with as many of our resources as we can, whether that’s advisors, accountants, tax professionals,” Campbell told EBONY. Alongside her team, they’ve been able to scale millions of dollars in brand deals across their portfolio of creators where they’re able to sit at the intersection of culture and impact.
Similar to CFG, Agency Cliquish CEO Taylar Barrington-Booker has implemented a strategic framework for her company that enables her and her team to support Black content creators in purposeful brand partnerships that provide representation across a variety of niches. “When we talk about rates and negotiations, we’re really dealing with cultural fluency at its core. Outside of campaigns specifically targeting Black audiences, we don’t think the industry always understands where Black creators fit in, and honestly, that’s not entirely anyone’s fault. You don’t know what you don’t know, and we all carry our own cultural biases.
That’s an industry-wide reality,” Barrington-Booker noted when asked about the stigmas that her company has had to face in amplifying Black creators. With a deeper understanding of industry standards for price points and the responsibility of being able to potentially impact the livelihood of households, Barrington-Booker and her team are able to advocate properly for equity in compensation and campaign alignment. Whether it’s in front of the camera, in the boardroom, or on the assembly line, Black Americans remain underpaid despite strides in leadership and education. This gap hasn’t dissolved with evolution; it’s amplified where work is still needed. To improve this, it will take the work of content creators spreading awareness on their platforms and communities.