FREE Call: Discover how to start UGC (even with 0 experience): Book a Call Now

You're working full-time and grinding on UGC. Is it actually possible to do both?

Host Nate Flake sits down with Joshua Abel, a guy who chased Hollywood in his 20s, spent five years going on auditions, and walked away when life got in the way. He bounced through careers, burned out running his own agency, and ended up hauling steel plates on a factory floor.

A lot of us have taken the long road to figure out what we actually want.

In his fourth month doing UGC, Joshua hit $10K. He was still showing up to work every day. He hadn't quit yet. In this episode, he breaks down what that grind actually looked like. The early morning gym sessions, the outbound emails on lunch breaks, the videos filmed between meetings. And why that season was worth every exhausting minute of it.

Chapters:
00:06:30 - The Small Town Exit Plan
00:08:31 - The Dream He Quietly Gave Up On
00:11:31 - The Fear That Kept Him Playing Safe
00:14:49 - The Job That Started Eating His Life
00:16:22 - One TikTok Scroll Changed the Plan
00:18:30 - The Morning Routine That Built Momentum
00:19:32 - The Month Everything Suddenly Took Off
00:22:02 - The Raise, Remote Work, and Time Back
00:29:07 - Why He Had an Unfair Advantage
00:32:00 - The Second Chance He Refused to Waste
00:34:34 - The Fear That Never Fully Goes Away
00:38:46 - The Community That Felt Completely Different
00:41:24 - The Hardest Part Wasn’t the Work
00:46:30 - Corporate Safety Is an Illusion
00:51:41 - The Shift From Creator to CEO

This one is for you if you feel like you started too late or have too much going on to make this work. Joshua gets into the mindset shift that made staying at his job feel like a choice instead of a trap, and why that one change made him better at UGC, not worse.

Some people find their things early, but Joshua proves you can find it later and still go all in.

Press play and learn what UGC does for you beyond the money. The confidence, the community, the second chance.

Joshua’s Portfolio: www.joshuaaugccreator.com

Attend this week's FREE UGC webinar and learn how you can start today: https://ugcmasteryacademynate.com/webinarsignup

UGC CREATOR CONNECT DALLAS! Join the waitlist here to be notified when tickets become available for UGC Creator Connect in Dallas, Texas -Spring 2027: https://ugcmasteryacademynate.com/waitlist

FREE Call: Discover how to start UGC and land brand deals (even with 0 experience): Book a Call Now

Connect with Nate
Instagram: @nateflakecreates
YouTube: UGC 101 Podcast

Contact / Collabs
For guest pitches, partnerships, or sponsorship inquiries.
https://ugcbynate.com/

UGC 101 is a podcast for creators who want to make real money with user-generated content without a big following, expensive gear, or a background in marketing. Host Nate Flake is a working UGC creator who has partnered with hundreds of brands and built his business from scratch. Each week, he sits down with everyday creators, brand strategists, and freelancers to break down what's actually working in the UGC space right now.

FREE Call: Discover how to start UGC (even with 0 experience): Book a Call Now

You've filmed the script. You edited the video. You delivered the work. So why are you chasing invoices and not getting paid?

Most creators don't think about income protection until they've already been burned.

Nate sits down with Grace Tabib, co-founder of DuPay, to talk about what it actually takes to run your UGC business like a business, starting from the very first deal, not after something goes wrong.

If you've ever wondered whether you need a contract, what to do when a brand ghosts you, or how to stop chasing invoices and start creating, this episode is your answer.

Chapters:
06:38 - Why Contracts Still Scare Creators
07:30 - The Problem Starts Earlier
08:34 - The Saturation Myth Breaks
10:15 - Where Creators Lose Control
11:54 - The Tiny Details That Get You Paid
13:36 - Why AI Can Cost You Money
16:26 - The Demand Letter That Changed Everything
18:39 - The Stamp Brands Recognize
20:30 - The Contract Generator Creators Needed
23:49 - The Watermark Red Flag
24:47 - What Happens When Brands Ghost
27:44 - Where UGC Is Really Headed
30:38 - The Money Creators Forget to Chase
34:27 - The Million Dollar Payoff

Grace breaks down the tools DuPay built after reviewing hundreds of creator contracts, and explains exactly where most unpaid invoice problems actually start. Spoiler: it's not at the end of the project.

Nate and Grace get into the real numbers too. DuPay has recovered over $1 million for more than 750 creators. The part that sticks is this: most of those creators had already given up on ever seeing that money. The conversation shifts from chasing money to building the kind of business that doesn't have to.

Press play and learn how to stop chasing invoices and start getting paid.

Protect your contracts, invoices, and payments: https://dupayme.com/
Use code NATE25 for annual plan or NATE10 for 1st Month

Attend this week's FREE UGC webinar and learn how you can start today: https://ugcmasteryacademynate.com/webinarsignup

UGC CREATOR CONNECT DALLAS! Join the waitlist here to be notified when tickets become available for UGC Creator Connect in Dallas, Texas -Spring 2027: https://ugcmasteryacademynate.com/waitlist

FREE Call: Discover how to start UGC and land brand deals (even with 0 experience): Book a Call Now

Connect with Nate
Instagram: @nateflakecreates
YouTube: UGC 101 Podcast

Contact / Collabs
For guest pitches, partnerships, or sponsorship inquiries.
https://ugcbynate.com/

UGC 101 is a podcast for creators who want to make real money with user-generated content without a big following, expensive gear, or a background in marketing. Host Nate Flake is a working UGC creator who has partnered with hundreds of brands and built his business from scratch. Each week, he sits down with everyday creators, brand strategists, and freelancers to break down what's actually working in the UGC space right now.

FREE Call: Discover how to start UGC (even with 0 experience): Book a Call Now

Are you spending more time on emails and invoices than actually making content?

Host Nate Flake sits down with Nia and Tanner, a professional model-turned-UGC creator and her software engineer co-founder, for one of the most grounded conversations about what it actually takes to run UGC like a real business.

Nia brings 14 years of modeling experience and a firsthand look at how UGC opened up a new path beyond traditional modeling. Tanner brings the systems thinking, product background, and AI-powered tool they built to solve a problem almost every creator quietly deals with: Admin Overload.

You’ll hear what brands are really complaining about when they work with creators, and it’s probably not what you think. Nia breaks down the mistakes that cost creators repeat bookings, from inconsistent content quality to unclear communication, and the simple habits that make brands want to keep working with you.

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed juggling pitches, invoices, revisions, follow-ups, and content all at once, this episode speaks directly to that chaos. Nia and Tanner built Beeasy.ai after seeing how much time creators lose to admin and after Nia realized she had thousands of dollars tied up in invoices she forgot to send or follow up on.

Chapters:
05:26 - The Accidental Start That Became UGC
06:22 - The Skims Strategy Nobody Sees
08:49 - How She Started Pitching Brands
10:22 - The Relationship That Keeps Paying
12:30 - The Moment UGC Finally Felt Real
14:54 - Why Influencers Are Losing Ground
19:30 - The Portfolio Mistake Costing Creators Deals
23:21 - The $15,000 Invoice Problem
29:30 - When Creators Started Pulling Out Credit Cards
35:52 - The Admin Secret Everyone Breaks On
42:00 - What Brands Actually Hate
46:52 - The Question That Saves Every Reshoot
54:52 - The Advice Every New Creator Needs

You’ll learn why admin is the silent killer of most UGC careers and what you can do about it before it starts costing you time, money, and repeat work.

Pay close attention to Nia’s advice around briefs and communication. One simple habit that can save you from reshoots, protect your time, and make brands trust you more.

Press play and learn how to stop running your UGC business like a hobby and start treating it like the real career it can be.

Stop Chasing Invoices. Start Cashing Them: www.beeasy.ai/

Nia's portfolio: https://alegriaaa.co/

Attend this week's FREE UGC webinar and learn how you can start today: https://ugcmasteryacademynate.com/webinarsignup

UGC CREATOR CONNECT DALLAS! Join the waitlist here to be notified when tickets become available for UGC Creator Connect in Dallas, Texas -Spring 2027: https://ugcmasteryacademynate.com/waitlist

FREE Call: Discover how to start UGC and land brand deals (even with 0 experience): Book a Call Now

Connect with Nate
Instagram: @nateflakecreates
YouTube: UGC 101 Podcast

Contact / Collabs
For guest pitches, partnerships, or sponsorship inquiries.
https://ugcbynate.com/

UGC 101 is a podcast for creators who want to make real money with user-generated content without a big following, expensive gear, or a background in marketing. Host Nate Flake is a working UGC creator who has partnered with hundreds of brands and built his business from scratch. Each week, he sits down with everyday creators, brand strategists, and freelancers to break down what's actually working in the UGC space right now.