The girl with the dot on the canvas.

I haven’t written a LinkedIn article in over 2 years.?

I had to go back and remember what my last one said. The headline was, “How I accidentally made way more money being my unprofessional self.”?

Oh yeah, that’s right.?

For those who don’t know yet, allow me to introduce myself.?

My name is Shay Rowbottom. I am an artist who, through a fascinating series of events, somehow ended up a video marketing guru that teaches businesses how to grow on LinkedIn.?

That’s what I’ve been doing for years, and that’s how I make all my money.?

But, as my previous article stated, which still stands true to this day:?

I am not your average marketer.

I am an artist.?

An artist who lost myself a long time ago, and has struggled to find my way back.?

But, if there’s anything I’ve learned in life, it’s that God has a way of doing things that sadly don’t align with my ego. (which is pretty massive, in case any of you non-psych majors here didn’t pick up on that yet)?

Anyways,

I share my story today in hopes that it can inspire someone out there to veer back onto the artistic path God intended for them. I feel like I sabotaged mine, yet somehow still landed myself in a position of wealth, privilege, and visibility.?

I guess I’m a “business influencer”, or whatever…?

sweet.

I have to tell myself it’s for a reason. Even if it’s only to make myself feel better. But hey, perhaps...

the real reason I’m here is for you.?

Whoever you are, reading this now, I pray this finds you well. Just as you found me.?

So, this is my story.?

When I was 18 I was a painter.?

I did large-scale abstract acrylic paintings. With a mix of realistic portraits, vibrant colors, and psychedelic fantasy worlds, that could only be a reflection of where my mind wandered off to back then. (And still today. Who am I kidding, I live for the dreamworld)?

I felt so good at what I did. Amazing. It was my therapy and my path to a promising, fulfilling career in those days.

All I needed was my art, and I was okay.

I never felt accepted at home. My siblings and I bullied one another to which my parents seldom intervened. My dad was scary, and my mom was always trying to control something. Especially me as I got into my teen years… that’s why finding this canvas and this paintbrush became such a relief.?

It became my whole world.

I used to walk to high school listening to R&B and Rap (still my fav) and plan in my head my painting for that day.?I was an exceptional student. Getting straight A’s without hardly trying. And while I’ve grown wise enough to realize the school system is garbage for most kids, I was that small percentage that it actually worked for.?

Lucky me.?

School, teachers, and classmates gave me the validation I was missing at home. For that,?

I am forever grateful.?

So my calculated younger-self made it a point to get all my credits out of the way by the time I became a senior in high school, so I could solely focus on art classes and developing my paintings.?

I would spend 7 hours a day in the art room senior year.?

You could find me in some corner, baggy smock, headphones cranking, bright paint, big canvas, and a messy bun to match the chaos all around me.?

I loved it.?

I knew I didn’t want to have a traditional career, or office job, and the last thing I ever thought about was getting married and starting a family. (That looked like hell)?

All I wanted was to do was escape my family.?

All I wanted was to make a living doing art.?

That’s it.?

I told myself the only way I was gonna do college is if I was gonna go to art school. But, of course, art school is expensive.?I’d need a scholarship regardless, not to mention this was the year my parents got divorced, and my college savings had been swallowed in lawyer fees.?

Whatever.?

I crush at this art thing, someone will give me a scholarship!

They have to.?

Right?

Once again… God’s timing isn’t always what we hope for.?

I applied, and I waited.?Full of hope, ambition, fantasy, & pride… I knew my true destiny wasn’t far now.?I knew the world’s validation for me as a creator was coming, any day now!

Anyyyyy, any day now.??

Yet - when the letters started to come in… all I was left with was a handful of rejections.

over…

and over….

and over again.?

F*CK!?

Well, this isn’t going as I expected.?

I started to grow anxious when I realized I wasn’t going to get a full ride. Not even a full ride, but NO substantial scholarship showed up, despite me applying endlessly, and holding that vision for myself in my mind.?

I felt so confused. I couldn’t understand why other classmates of mine were getting offered scholarships… yet not me!?

I grew especially jealous when I saw other classmates living my dream.?

There was one chick in the art room I specifically grew resentful of. As she also did paintings but they (in my eyes) did not require much skill.?

Kind of like that modern day Andy Warhol “dot on a canvas” kind of art.?

She would literally just dump paint on a canvas. Very easy in comparison to my elaborate, realistic, and time-consuming projects.?

Yet, everyone praised her, and she ran off into the sunset with her full ride.?

Just kill me now God, please.?

I was livid, but mostly kept it inside.

“SERIOUSLY!? REALLY!? A dot on a canvas and she gets a full ride… how!? How is that more valuable than me!? This is so unfair.”

Ugh.?

I was broken.

That was the start of me abandoning my paintings, to transition to music and rapping.?

I thought I’d try something else.?

I had always written poems, and also fantasized about being famous.?I thought, hey, if the universe won’t reward me for my paintings… maybe they’ll like my music instead!

Wrong.?

I tried out for American Idol in 2012, made it through the first round but got cut in the callback.?I recorded a lot of songs, released an album, and performed at some decent sized venues. But, in the long run -

I never made it as a musician either.?

*tears*

It did, however, lead me to video production.?

In 2016 I decided to call it quits for a while on my music, and take a chance on the other side of the camera, to learn shooting, editing, and how to actually make a living doing something other than waitressing for a change.?

I was tired of working for someone else, and especially tired of not knowing how to monetize what I THOUGHT were very valuable artist gifts I had.?

Poor me.?

I started to edit videos for large blogs online, learn marketing, business, how to grow a page, how to become an influencer… and soon enough I’d find myself making money through social media, in a value exchange for the much-needed video content that was becoming heavily in demand on social platforms around this time.

Soon enough I’d go from freelance video editor,

to boss.?

By age 24 I had 30 in house employees I managed, mostly editors, providing daily video content to some of the largest pages on Facebook.

Some of my old clients:

I had money, success, and a booming career. As.. a… I guess….. a video marketer?

Idk. It was weird. I felt conflicted. But after so many years being tired of working for someone else, and getting nowhere with my art… I said screw it!?

I guess I’ll do marketing then.?

Here I am.?

As with any artist, throughout the years there were many moments of darkness, depression, and suicidal ideation I somehow made it through. Despite all the success at a young age, I really did not like my business, my partners, or feel at home being an entrepreneur.??

And then…?

I found LinkedIn.?

LinkedIn came at just the right time, as my artist side was REALLY needing an outlet again. (Somehow editing viral videos of cute cats and trending tech products just wasn’t cutting it anymore)?

I needed RELEASE!?

LinkedIn, -whether ready for me or not-, became that release.?

Within 2 months of posting consistently here, I had generated over 6 figures in revenue for that viral video company I was running at the time.?

The craziest thing is, I wasn’t even trying.?

I was simply just being myself.?

YES - I knew video content, as I’d been studying it for years at this point. And LinkedIn, (still today), but ESPECIALLY back in 2018 when I started, did not know a thing about how to grow a business using video.

I guess I found my value.?

Business started to flock to me like crazy. & eventually - that’d be my ticket out of the Facebook viral video company I’d founded and grew tired of.?

So, I sold my shares and pivoted to LinkedIn completely.?

It was a beautiful thing to go off on my own, as I was accustomed to entrepreneurship at this point, but still always had business partners.?

This one was mine.?

No investors to tell me what to do, no partners to bump heads with… just me, my creativity, my self-expression, and this very peculiar… somehow still around and still relevant platform...

LinkedIn.?

I quickly grew a following and started getting clients left and right.

Within the first 10 months since I went off on my own, I made a million dollars in revenue from LinkedIn.?

Nothing to finally scream at me - “YOU’RE VALUABLE!” Then looking at a 7-digit number in my stripe account, one month before my 28th birthday.?

Wow.

I did this.?But how? Am I really that good of a marketer?

I don’t think so.?

I don’t have a college degree. I never studied marketing professionally. Heck I’ve STILL never even taken one copywriting course!?Just a background in video editing, viral clips, and years of data for what works to grow a blog using video. And for that, I’d say sure,?

I suppose I do have some value.

People started to pay me more and more for help creating videos, and growing their business on LinkedIn, but I’ve still always felt like an imposter.?I still hate myself for not making it as “an artist”.?

I still don’t really feel like myself at all.?

I don’t even post about marketing all that much. Usually some dramatic, poetic crap about how much of a victim I am.?But - my focus really wasn’t making money (initially) - it was just having an outlet for all my repressed darkness.?

I was just happy to have people listen to me finally.?

To feel heard, and have people pay attention.

To finally feel a sense of family.?

Here, on LinkedIn.?

I know I trigger people. I know my posts can come out of left-field and just be ridiculously offensive at times to some. & after almost 4 years on this platform, I definitely know… without question…

that a lot of other marketers here despise me.?

I get it.?

They did everything right!

They read all the books, they got the degree, took the copywriting course, and binge-watched Gary V content until they were blue in the face.?

They are the REAL marketers! I’m just some chick who came in guessing.?

I hardly even had to try, yet somehow I crushed them all.?

And by-golly!

Do they hate me for that.?

There’s certainly no shortage of strong opinions and controversy when it comes to my name.?Bring up “Shay Rowbottom” at a business event, and see how polarized the room gets.?People either love me or hate me. But hey,?

everyone knows me, and everyone has something to say.?

#winning

To all the “real” marketers out there, who did all the work, took the courses, and applied all the principles. Who “SHOULD BE” the ones receiving more attention, growth, and success on social media…

Hate me.?

Resent me all you want.?

Seriously.

I’m not even mad.

BECAUSE -?

I totally get it.?

I’m that girl who wakes up, feels inspired to rant, takes it to my LinkedIn, and within a few hours I have hundreds of thousands of views and several new deals in my inbox.?

whoops.?

And YOU!-

you did everything correctly.?

You studied real hard.

You applied all the principles.?

You got the experience.?

Yet you’re just barely staying afloat while I skyrocket ahead,?stealing all of LinkedIn’s attention…

effortlessly.??

In the world of digital marketing,?

I am that girl with the dot on the canvas.?

I am the girl that puts barely any effort into this marketing thing, yet the universe rewards me 10fold.

Lol, f*cking blows dude.?

I’ve been where you are, and I hated it.?

Sorry.?

All of this to say…?

For whatever reason, God wanted me here.?

Yes, I think I could have made a pretty badass painter, or singer, or rapper… or whatever fine-art-of choice the kids are doing these days.?

It wasn’t in the cards for me, I accept that.??

& maybe??

Perhaps - it was merely God’s will to redirect me to the world of business for a while, to project my artistic pain onto a world of professionals & entrepreneurs, the high performance individuals who keep society going.

To inspire a large amount of money-makers to slow down a bit...

and just be human sometimes.?

To show them that this can still make you money.?Potentially more,

at least in my case.?

After all - could I really have helped you guys as much through simply having some fancy exhibit somewhere with a bunch of colorful paintings?

I don’t think so.?

I still don’t know where my path leads, but I know I need to get out of God’s way when he redirects me to something different at times. Even if it’s not what I WANT - perhaps it’s what the world needs most.?Perhaps I stop making it about me for a change. Perhaps it was never supposed to be about me.

Perhaps it was all for what's best for you guys.

To all my “true marketers” out there, who resent me for being the girl with the dot on the canvas... if it makes you feel any better,

I really do feel like an imposter most days.?

And especially as of lately, with the advent of my most recent depressive breakdown… I really want to get back to being an artist.?Yet somehow, I just don’t know how anymore.?Or perhaps… I am still an artist, and LinkedIn was meant to be my canvas.?

At least…?

for now, anyway.

So in the meantime, I’ll just keep sharing my wisdom with you all, as it’s clearly a service the world is valuing.?

I’ve made nearly 3 million dollars in revenue here, mostly selling a $5,000 info product, an online program on how to make videos and grow on LinkedIn.?

After several years of people complaining about there not being a smaller, more affordable option available… I decided to finally hunker down and build an accelerator version of my program, the “Get More Clients With Video Bootcamp,” available now, for only $997. Enroll here.

If you’re at all curious about my background in viral video, and how I use the principles I learned to fuel my growth here on LinkedIn, then click the link and consider subscribing to my community.?

We’re not perfect. We’re not Vaynermedia. We don’t know it all… but at the end of the day, what I’ve realized most is…

we’re all just a bunch of lost artists figuring it out.?

I think my program, for many, is a safe haven back to their creative expression. A piece of themselves they don’t want to admit they killed long ago.?

Hey, even if it’s the name of “It’s just for business, I need more clients.”

Haha, sure little child… sure.?

You want to make dope art, just admit it.?

I’m not here to shame you. If there’s anyone who knows the pain of getting in front of the camera again, and rediscovering yourself as the creative, beautiful soul that you are…

It’s me. & I’d be honored to help you on your journey.?

Click the link here, and sign up today.?

You never know where this new venture might lead you.?

You never know when it’s your turn…

to be the girl with the dot on the canvas.?

#Shayshine?