Simon Bowler: On The Business Of Being A Creator And What Brands Get Wrong (Part 2)

In the second half of this 2-part conversation, Simon Bowler — the North Yorkshire carpenter behind one of the biggest construction accounts in the UK — gets specific about the business of being a creator: what a brand deal actually costs you. He explains why he turned down countless tool brands for years and waited for Milwaukee, because once you pick up one battery you're in that ecosystem for your whole career — and why saying yes to one PPE or clothing brand quietly shuts the door on every competitor watching. He's blunt that content creation is a business, that money is most of the point, and that what brands are really paying for isn't the one promoted post but the organic content that keeps the audience there. And he makes the case for sweat equity over flat fees — “I'm sick of not being a millionaire” — admitting the one deal he wishes he'd taken a stake in was Big Wipes. He then flips it round for the brands and marketers listening. His advice: watch a creator for months before you approach them — one brand studied him for six months before the first email — find the post that blew their account up, then check what they actually learned after it, because a big following off one freak viral hit is a red flag. He's candid about what gets the audience's back up: the scattergun approach of posting one product to a thousand small accounts, last-minute turnarounds, and tool reviews that smell of a payday. Along the way he covers why aspirational content beats tips, tricks and hacks (“that's attracting a DIY audience, not a trades one”), the first 0.7 of a second that decides whether anyone watches, and the £50,000 Milwaukee van giveaway he built around a single bleeped swear. It's a straight look at how the brand-creator relationship really works from someone who sits on both sides of it — and a reminder that there's no magic pill, just hard graft over a long time. Follow Simon Bowler: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonbowlerltd TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@simon_bowler Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simonbowlerltd YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@simonbowler1 Sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Big Wipes (bigwipes.com) Stay connected with dissident creative agency: https://linktr.ee/dissidentagency Subscribe now and don't miss future episodes of The Build Up Podcast!