DeAndre Brown didn’t expect to make money as a content creator at the start of his journey.
Brown has built a following around his trademarked persona, The Corporate Baddie®, which highlights how Gen Z is navigating the workforce while prioritizing their work-life boundaries and mental health. He has 1.1 million followers and 76.5 million likes on TikTok alone. This year, his partnerships include Vaseline, La Roche-Posay, and Delta.
@imdrebrown The best part of being a SkyMiles Member? I’m earning miles with @delta just by living my life ✨#deltapartner
Biggest Mistakes Navigating Brand Deals
“There was this one brand I was working with and I created this video for them. They actually were a competitor of LinkedIn and I created a video for them. It went so viral. I would read the contracts but like not really really read it,” he shared on the podcast. “I didn’t know that they had in the contract they said perpetual usage … Basically they own it forever … So any money that they’re making from using your content, none of that goes to you”
In order to regain the rights to his content, Brown shared he had to pursue legal intervention.
“I saw that ad so many times it was ridiculous … It had went so viral already. So I guess they thought like, ‘Oh, this is good.’ And it took like maybe a year and a half, almost two years. I had an attorney at this point and it took my attorney and all of that before it was finally down. So that was my biggest mistake,” he added.
Brown also adds that another mistake he made was splurging, with his first car being his single most significant purchase. He admitted he didn’t need to buy, and the car he had was sufficient, but he felt he needed to prove to everyone that he was doing well after leaving his job. This incident now serves as a cautionary tale for others.
“I tell my friends that are now starting to get into content creation and really take off and get all the deals, ‘You don’t need to go buy the $100,000 car. You don’t need to get the $10,000 bags. You don’t need all of that. Like really put that money elsewhere before you do that.’ And sometimes I wish I did that,” he explained on the podcast.
