Before Grindstone, I struggled to keep track of tasks and manage my time efficiently. I had just gotten back into posting my own content after doing UGC ads exclusively for almost 2 years. Financially, I was doing okay. But when Dillan told me Grindstone's mission was to help creators monetize better, I was intrigued. My biggest fear was not knowing if the investment was worth it. Most things seem like a big "what if". And with a family to take care of, forking up that much cash felt really risky. But over the last couple of years, I've learned that in most situations there's a saying that is almost always applicable. "You get what you put into it." Since joining, I'm capable of doing far more than I could prior. You see, while courses and coaching may seem like a scam at times, if you look deeper into it, you're often paying not just for knowledge, but TIME. Everything resource in Grindstone, anyone could find and build on their own. But do you have the TIME to build custom budgeting sheets to keep track of your finances? Do you have TIME to do endless amounts of research to understand your niche better, find monetization paths you had never thought of before, and build a community that will give you solid feedback on your work? Do you have TIME to individually research and learn how to use tools to do things like obtain brand contact information, organize your content, and create progress tracking sheets? Dillan and Colby are two amazing men. They are driven and comitted to helping creators not just for monetary gain, but because they enjoy seeing driven people win. There are SO many resources that they provide. If I were to build from scratch every thing they have given me and CONTINUE to give me throughout this program, it would take me 6+ months to get it all figured out. But I didn't have 6 months. I'm 28, I have a wife, a son, and a mortgage. I needed to take the risk to kickstart my journey to get back on the right track. And I don't regret it! If you're on the fence about Grindstone, just keep these 2 things in mind. 1.) "You get what you put into it." If you take it serious and treat it like a job, you will learn and grow. 2.) Say you take it serious and do all that's asked of you, and by the end of the 6 months you don't make back what you spent. You get a refund right? So it may take some time, but you have NOTHING to lose and EVERYTHING to gain.

When I initially joined Grindstone, my YT channel was around 100 Subs. I had been working on it for about a year. My biggest concern was how to get more traction on my videos. Now a few years down the road, I'm at nearly 5500 Subs, I'm monetized, I've had videos pull in ~60k views, and have had a total of ~900k views on my content. And that's just the YT stats. I've grown tremendously as a person over this time. The way I break down tasks, the way I look at problems, how I handle stressful situations -- all of that has improved for me. One of my biggest questions before joining Grindstone was "do I need this?" We all get pretty busy on our grinds and have to be protective of our time (and money). "If I just keep doing what I'm doing, won't I succeed?" Maybe. I'm a pretty tenacious guy, so I like to think so. But, you know what they say about doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results. Grindstone has been a great place to get other opinions; an outside perspective. Being in a community of like minded folks who want you to succeed is a great asset. Having a personalized coach who can challenge your perspectives and assumptions is a great asset. Plus, the content grind is often a lonely process. It's very easy to hole up in your editing den and never talk to another human being. That makes the day to day very very tough to stick with. Having resources just for support can be tremendously helpful in maintaining motivation, especially in those tougher times when nothing your doing seems to be yielding the results you expect. Would I recommend Grindstone? If you're serious about growing your content, then heck ya. :)

Dillan is a diligent, hard working pro and turned me from an amateur to a knowledgeable YouTuber/podcaster very quickly. He and his excellent counterpart Coach Colby helped me focus my attention and time where the biggest payoff would be, and helped motivate me. Colby helped me identify a number of strategies that differentiated my content from others who have overlapping audiences. This focus has improved my content and refined my marketing. I have also received lots of excellent advice and guidance from the Grindstone community which is an excellent resource. I could not recommend their services more.

I felt stagnant with content and unsure of how to branch out. I had quite a few doubts about Grindstone as they weren't the first program to reach out offering coaching and direction with content. There were a few different reasons I decided to take the leap with them. First was the personability they approached with, being genuine and showing they weren't treating their clients as just a number. Also their principles about what type of clients they would accept vs which they wouldn't aligned a lot with my beliefs. Finally, their willingness to offer differing payment structures that made it easier for someone like myself struggling financially to be able to attend the program. After a few weeks with their help and direction, I have an arsenal of new skills to combat stagnancy and structure my content that I didn't before. If anyone is unsure if Grindstone is for them, I can say without a doubt, just go for it. They will help in more ways than you could imagine. I'm grateful for the knowledge and new tools I wouldn't have had without them.

When I first started streaming on Twitch, I took off like a rocket and hit Affiliate after 6 weeks of streaming. I (relatively) exploded quickly, but just as quickly my growth stalled and my stats started declining. I struggle for months to try to turn things around but nothing seemed to work. I was frustrated, alone, and on the cusp of giving up. When Dillan first contacted me, I was a first skeptical, but he saw in me something I was struggling to see in myself at the time. His confidence in his ability to help me become a full-time creator convinced me to take the leap to work with Grindstone. In less than 2 months since I started working with them, they have not only helped me turn things around into the best growth months I've had since my first initial growth explosion, but I've also 1) hit the top 3% of creators on Twitch, 2) had my personal best single stream stats of all time, 3) started receiving my first requests from companies asking me to review their products, 4) got accepted into one of Twitch's official Creator Clubs, 5) sold my first products on my newly launched merch store, and 6) have started getting noticed, recognized, and invited by other (larger) streamers to collab with them. While I still have a long journey ahead of me into becoming a full-time content creator, I'd hands down recommend Grindstone to anyone needing that extra bit of help, guidance, and support in their content creation journey.

Hi, I'm Gemma! I run a YouTube channel focused on creative simulation games. Grindstone completely transformed my creative journey. Not only did the 1-on-1 coaching sessions inspire me, but the genuine care from Dillan and Colby, the founders, truly made a difference. They've fostered a welcoming and inclusive community where everyone feels supported. If you're a creative looking to grow and connect with a supportive community, Grindstone is 100% worth it!

I make YouTube videos about music software development. My big challenge was in developing a strategy whereby I could attract new people to the channel while making that content I found interesting and useful. I felt that Dillan understood where I was at in my journey and was immediately able to guide me through exercises that gave me further clarity in terms of what my goals actually are, and how go move towards them. Generally, I felt like I learned a lot that I could use in a very short amount of time. So I absolutely would recommend to anybody who is wondering what to do next about developing their content.

I have been a music producer, musician and beat-maker for over 10 years. I’ve had placements, features and interviews materialize during that time, that have created a following as a producer. I’ve always struggled to post regularly on social media and had issues marketing releases or properly conveying my image to a larger fanbase. Grindstone coaching and their scientific approach to consistent posting, studying analytics and KPI’s has really helped me grow as a content creator. In talking to Dillan and Colby, I always feel like I leave the call having learned something to build on for the next benchmark or goal. Their program has really helped me thus far and I’m super excited to see where it takes me in the future.

My coaching sessions were transformative. After just one session, I created a set schedule for my podcast and felt 10x clearer and more confident about the direction our show is heading. I also became more aligned with my cohost. We put together a schedule that allowed us to spend less time on the podcast while still maintaining the great quality. Coaching is wonderful because I find I go in with one problem, and through the session realize there's something else blocking me. I recommend to anyone looking to level up as a creator and as an individual. I find myself recommending Grindstone to my creator friends and they keep telling me how impactful their sessions were.

The biggest pain I had content wise before joining grindstone was my storytelling ability and the overall packaging of my videos. The main goal for me has always been to make the best videos I can and positively impact other people’s lives. I’ve been able to improve both of these tremendously and there’s a clear growth through the view count but also the way I’m able to communicate how I’m making these videos now. The biggest fear about grindstone before signing up was definitely the payment. I finally said yes because I’ve been in the YouTube game for almost 6 years, at the point of joining grindstone, and I thought it was finally time to bet on myself a little. I think eventually I would’ve been able to do what I’m doing now with my content but the whole point of working with other people and talking your way through content creation is to speed up that journey. It just helps you improve so much faster and honestly you’re more invested in it when you’re having people excited to talk with you about it as well. I really do believe the grindstone community has helped me tremendously in the last 6 months. If you’re unsure about joining just take a look at the growth some of these creators have had (including myself). There’s a clear difference in the storytelling and the thumbnails since I joined. The views show that clearly.

My main pain points were defining a long-term vision, clear and original branding/framing, and how to apply fundamental content creator business best practices. My main doubts before joining were that the GS community didn't have creators at my level or in the same industry and that I didn't need a coach to hold me accountable. I said yes anyway because I still needed help and guidance despite those doubts, and I felt that Grindstone's track record outweighed my assumptions. After being a part of GS, I'm now able to consistently take action on content and business decisions with confidence. I have a clear vision and system that allows me to make regular progress toward my big-picture goals and I get to have regular calls with people who are genuinely stoked about the work I'm putting in and the progress I'm making. There's no way I'd be where I am in my content creator journey without GS. Joining this community has been the most important decision I've made in my pursuit to be a full time creator.

I didn’t know what type of content I should’ve posted on my different platforms and accounts. I didn’t think there was a way to combine all of my ideas into one, and felt overwhelmed about needing to post on all platforms and all accounts very frequently. Now i have so much more clarity with my content journey, I feel free and at peace with where I’m going and so excited to carry this momentum with me moving forward. I would tell anyone who is unsure about grindstone to give it a shot because it is game changing. It is liberating and powerful. Colby gives his absolute best to ensure that you experience breakthroughs and get unstuck. Such a blessing to be a part of this!

Dillan is an amazing person in general, but was also super helpful in terms of helping me sort out my chaotic mind and goals. I tend to want to do a lot, and have trouble figuring out what is worth prioritizing and what is not a good use of my time, so Dillan offered me some very useful feedback on that end of things. HIGHLY recommend working with him if you want to get more efficient and productive. Thanks Dillan!

Loved meeting with Dillan! He knows how to ask questions and exactly pinpoint the major sticking points. Thank you Dillan!

I’m a writer and I was new at it around the time I joined Grindstone so there was plenty that I didn’t know. Grindstone coaching helped my writing considerably by providing actionable feedback on how to make my writing more valuable to my reader as well as instilling in me the confidence that I get better with each article that I write. I’d recommend grindstone to a newbie creator who really wants to get into this space because with grindstone coaching, you’ll get a lot better a lot faster

It was fun and energizing to talk with Dillan about my computer science educational content, and refine my understanding of who I'm doing this for and how I can help them. Thanks Dillan!

I'm the creator of Beginner Maps - an email course and podcast for community creators. As a creator, it's difficult to make plans while you're trying to move fast. This session helped me verbalise what my 3-month goal was and what should i be doing to make not reaching it impossible. Having someone like Dillan on your back can be as impactful as going to a gym with a personal trainer! 🔥

Q. What do you create? A. I help Info-business owners scale revenue with the help of landing pages & CRO. I create content around the same and a bit of my personal lessons learned. Q. What challenge did you have before your first session / how did coaching help? A. My challenge was around being able to reach more to ICPs. The coaching session helped me understand my impression as a creator. Besides that, I gained insight on the consumer mindset and what type of content I need to be creating more. Q. Why would you recommend Grindstone to someone else? A. Absolutely, yes. Dillan is a great coach. He knows what questions to ask and lets you navigate answers first. Once that is done, he then helps you with actionable steps that you can take right away. To gain maximum benefit from the session, I'd suggest doing a self-analysis beforehand and coming up with precise pain points.

A few weeks back, I had a coaching session with Dillan and was very impressed with how attentive he was to me and my specific needs and questions. I would highly recommend his services to anybody who is seeking some guidance with their channel or other social media!

From day one, being a part of the Grindstone community has been an incredibly rewarding experience. Every week, I participate in the Work With Me calls, which have not only provided a consistent space for productivity but also fostered a sense of accountability. The sense of community and support has been really relevant for me. So much has been done during this calls so I am grateful for Grindstone and the Work With Me calendar! It's great to know I have a community that is with me every step of the way.

Who am I and what do I create? I'm a music producer with a passion for crafting beats and melodies that resonate with people's souls. Music isn't just a hobby for me; it's my calling, my way of expressing emotions and telling stories without words. How has Grindstone helped me? Grindstone has been a game-changer for me on my journey as a music producer looking to turn my passion into a thriving business. The community's wealth of resources, from expert advice to practical tools, has been invaluable in helping me stay consistent, refine my skills, and navigate the often complex world of music entrepreneurship. Whether I'm seeking feedback on a new Instagram reel, brainstorming marketing strategies, or just looking for motivation to keep pushing forward, Grindstone is always there to provide support and guidance. Why would I recommend Grindstone to someone else? I would wholeheartedly recommend Grindstone to anyone looking to turn their passion into a successful business endeavor. Whether you're a budding musician like me or pursuing any other creative venture, Grindstone offers a welcoming and supportive environment where you can connect with like-minded individuals, gain valuable insights from industry experts, and access a treasure trove of resources to help you grow and succeed. It's more than just a community; it's a catalyst for turning dreams into reality.

My name is Anastasia and I am an adult fiction author. Since joining Grindstone, I’ve developed systems in my day-to-day life that making writing and editing easier and more productive. Grindstone keeps me accountable and has helped me hit my goals much faster than when I was working on my own. I would recommend Grindstone to anyone working in a creative field or building their own career.

My name is Austin, though some know me as Ocho and I create gaming content. Grindstone has been instrumental for me to set and achieve goals for myself, keep my focus on the future and most importantly, get access to information I otherwise wouldn't have. I highly recommend Grindstone as a place for people to connect with other creators who are just looking to learn. You may not be creating in the same niche or even the same medium but we all have similar goals. That community insight is invaluable.