Figure out what sets you apart

CNBC’s Success Tip of the Week: Whatever business you’re in, figure out what sets you apart – what makes your voice, your product, your content compelling. Morgan Eckroth, creator of the TikTok account MorganDrinksCoffee, calls it having a “thesis,” so your voice doesn’t get lost. Once you have that vision, make a plan – and execute it. Here’s how Morgan set herself and her content apart, and turned it into a lucrative business.

Morgan Eckroth started her TikTok account, MorganDrinksCoffee, as a social media marketing experiment in 2019. Now she has more than 6 million followers, brings in up to $9,000 a month and only spends eight hours a week creating content.

Eckroth, 24, films herself reenacting coffee shop interactions and recreating orders, from intricate latte art to espresso shots. She then posts the videos on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, garnering millions of views.

Her revenue comes from ads, branding deals and merchandise sales — and the gig is far more lucrative than her full-time job as a marketing strategist, she says.

The best part? Eckroth’s side hustle is replicable, but it takes some mental toughness, she says.

“It’s very easy to lose yourself, your voice, if you’re just online and posting what everyone else is,” Eckroth says. “I think you need to have a thesis for why you’re making content. It’s great if that’s ‘I want to sell more of my product.’ For me, I want to translate the coffee experience online.”

By laying out a plan, you’re able to hold yourself accountable for the goals you’ve set, she says.

“Having that written out for yourself is really helpful, because then you can align every video against that thesis,” she says. “I always ask myself, ‘Am I accomplishing what I set out to on here?’”

Read more here.

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The Success Tip of the Week is adapted from the weekly CNBC Make It Work newsletter, written by?Ashton Jackson.?Sign up?for our newsletters, baked fresh and delivered straight to your inbox.

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