OK, so unless you’ve been living on Mars you should have heard about the allegations of sexual assault by comedian and YouTuber Russell Brand.

In this article, we will not be looking at whether Brand is innocent or guilty, (at the time of writing Brand has not been charged by the police and there is no court hearing) but instead, we’ll look at the lessons entrepreneurs can learn from his downfall.

Before the recent allegations, Russell Brand had a successful career as a comedian, ran a production company, launched a podcast, written books, acted in films and much much more. Russell Brand it appears is quite an entrepreneurial so and so.

With his YouTube channel approaching nearly 7 million subscribers, some argue the volume of his ever-increasing anti-establishment voice has led the powers that be to take drastic action to silence him. Others say his past behaviour has been severely suspect and he only has himself to blame.

Whatever viewpoint is correct, this article will put all that stuff aside and look at lessons we can learn from his fall from grace.

Don’t rely solely on social media platforms

Although Russell Brand has not been charged or convicted, social media platform YouTube has demonetised Brand’s channel. Demonetisation effectively means that the YouTuber has no means to generate income from the views of their content. In Brand’s case, this could be a hefty chunk of change.

Lessons learned: If your business model relies on monetisation from a third party such as YouTube you need to be honest with yourself and accept that you do not have a robust business model. It does not matter how big your channel is or the number of subscribers, the subscribers do not belong to you! They belong to YouTube, Facebook, Rumble or whoever you are using as a platform to get views.

The test is simple, do you have the direct contact details (name, email, telephone) of your subscribers? If the answer is no then you effectively have no business. It’s only a matter of time before you lose all your revenue.

Without the direct contact details, your platform of choice can restrict your account arbitrarily, change the rules and block you from your own subscribers.

More concerning is that the UK Government has been shown to have intervened in the Brand case by sending letters to the major social media platforms requesting whether they have plans to allow Brand to continue to be monetised.

This sets a dangerous precedent in which entrepreneurs could lose income derived from third-party platforms on the basis of rumour and allegations alone.

Protect yourself by having your own website with your own registration page, so you can reach out independently to your subscribers and monetise your offering directly. Yes, it’s so much harder this way but it’s the only way in the long run.

Be careful what you post on social media

Much like the Andrew Tate case, Brand has been caught making suspect and potentially incriminating comments to camera. These comments are readily available on YouTube, ironically the same platform that has demonetised him. In the video he jokes, that he once “R..ped”, someone.

Lessons learned: It’s important for entrepreneurs to understand that anything posted on social media is forever. Do not post anything that you are not 100% proud of. Understand that ‘jokes’ may be taken out of context and comments can be dredged up years later after public opinion has changed. What was funny 10 years ago may be downright offensive today.

Ensure that your posts are not crossing the line legally or morally. Imagine your children or grandchildren reading or watching your posts decades from now, what will they think of you?

Politics and religion

Russell Brand much like Andrew Tate has been screaming from the rooftops about the corruption of the establishment. Ironically, Brand himself was a product of the same establishment that he now apparently despises.

It’s common knowledge that if you want to have a polite conversation with someone it’s probably best to avoid politics or religion. The reason is, these subjects are divisive and the conversation may get heated very quickly, especially if you have major differences of opinion.

On a larger scale posting political content to thousands or millions of people is likely to get heated and yes, initially that’s great for views but don’t cry foul if you get shut down or demonetised eventually. In the background, you are generating loads of enemies not just subscribers!

Lessons learned: Yes, we live in a so-called free society and we should be able to post our opinions but understand that if your focus is political or religious content you are going to create some heat, not all of it will be positive. If you must post this kind of content the approach needs to be cleverer and more nuanced. Shouting your opinions to camera will get you views but…

Final thoughts

Once again we see a major entrepreneurial influencer take a fall from grace. Whether innocent or guilty, the important question is why do we hold these egotistical and narcissistic characters in such high regard in the first place?

If entrepreneurs use the likes of Russell Brand, Andrew Tate, Sam Bankman Fried and Elizabeth Holmes as a template for success, what example will they be setting for future generations?

We need to do so much better.

***Disclaimer: This article is not financial advice and is given for informational and entertainment purposes only. Readers should conduct their own research and not invest more than they can afford to lose. Crypto is extremely volatile, and as such can drop in value considerably without notice. Pop Up World has a global presence and is not specifically targeting any jurisdiction with its content. Any crypto references are not intended for UK businesses or consumers. You should always seek legal advice to understand if the use or investment in crypto is allowed in your jurisdiction.

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