SECTOR SPOTLIGHT: Working with Content Creators

Each issue, we hear from an Assistant in a different sector about what unique features shape their role, and those which are universal; in this issue, Zoe Hill shares her perspective as a Virtual Assistant supporting the creator economy

I was standing in the car pickup zone at Los Angeles airport after flying in from New York. With me were the talent company director and the content creator. We were waiting for the second flight to land, as one of that group was the main driver for the hire car I had organised to take us all to the Airbnb I’d booked. A 30-minute wait. I’d communicated this and no-one said anything. It was fine. Except it wasn’t.

I watched the creator’s eyes start moving. Scanning. Left to right, then back again. The director noticed too and was doing the same. And within five minutes of standing in that pickup zone, someone had recognised the creator; then someone else. More people staring and pointing. That’s when I understood what I’d missed.

In every previous role I’d supported, waiting 30 minutes for the full group to land before travelling together was completely normal, preferred even. Nobody questioned it. Nobody minded. I’d operated on autopilot, handling the project in a way I had always delivered. Executed the logistics correctly on paper but didn’t stop to consider the broader picture.

Content creators aren’t just busy people with demanding schedules. The biggest ones are public figures. People watch their content every single day, recognise their faces in airports, and approach them in public. This content creator has well over 9 million followers as a standalone influencer; when grouped with his team, they collectively have 155.6 million. I had planned the trip without accounting for that reality, and within minutes, it was obvious. He ordered an Uber and we left. Problem solved, but not solved by me.

I sat with that moment for a long time afterwards. Not because the logistics had failed – they technically hadn’t – but because my understanding of who I was supporting had. That’s a different kind of failure, and a more important one to fix. That moment taught me a lot about what I needed to know about what this sector demands, and I’d done nothing to prepare for it.

Content Creation Is a Serious Business

In 2024, YouTube’s ecosystem alone contributed $55 billion to US GDP and supported more than 490,000 full-time jobs. The global creator economy is projected to hit $480 billion within the next five years. These are the YouTubers who have built genuine business enterprises off the back of their audiences – who started with a camera and an idea and have since grown into operators running product lines, brand partnerships, live events, and teams of their own. The most recognisable names, such as Sidemen, MrBeast, Cal Freezy, Saving Grace, Talia Mar,

and Logan Paul, aren’t just influencers. They’re running holding companies, consumer good brands, and media enterprises that compete directly with legacy industry players.

Behind every one of those businesses is a team of individuals managing different areas. HR, Business Management, Marketing & Sales, Production, Accountancy, Partnership Lead. Every role you expect to have within a “normal” business, you will find backing the enterprise of a content creator. Beyond that, there is an enormous volume of administration that is required, and that’s where the Assistant role sits, yet is not often filled.

For example, creating a single 10-minute YouTube video can take between 7 and 15 hours from concept to upload. Behind the scenes, there are brand deal negotiations, contract reviews, invoicing, travel logistics, event coordination, email management, and the full weight of a personal life that doesn’t pause because a deadline is approaching.

Content creators are pushing these videos out daily. When you take that into consideration, you can begin to understand what these individuals are carrying. By comparison, a “normal” business generating £3m a year in revenue in any other sector would have an EA, an office manager, and a finance function as standard. The idea that an executive generating the same revenue would be managing their own travel, their own inbox, their own contracts, and their personal logistics on top of creating would be considered unreasonable in any other sector.

Sector Challenges

The business and personal life of a content creator constantly overlap. On the business side, the role includes understanding the priorities around brand partnerships, scheduling across time zones, event logistics, email management, coordination of speaking engagements, travel logistics, expenses. If you described this workload without mentioning YouTube, it sounds entirely familiar. On the personal side: appointment management, gift research and sourcing, vacation planning inclusive of travel, activity management and catering coordination, general life admin.

One afternoon you might be booking flights for a shoot and the next thing you know you’re trying to source cowboy boots at 7 p.m. with next-day delivery for a Halloween party. Both tasks require the same professionalism and same commitment to getting it right.

Beyond the task list, there is also a layer of emotional labour that is specific to this sector: creators are often operating under significant pressure – audience expectations, platform algorithms that constantly change, brand scrutiny, and in many cases, a personal life that is partially or fully public.

The role of the Assistant is to be a calm, reliable constant in an environment that is frequently high-stimulation. That means absorbing pressure without adding to it, holding difficult information with discretion, and maintaining professionalism in situations that don’t always have a clear protocol. It also means understanding, often without being told, when the creator needs space and when they need someone to step in and take something off their plate entirely.

Transferable Skills

The skills that make an exceptional EA in a law firm’s corporate headquarters (precision, discretion, prioritisation, communication, and the ability to hold a lot of moving parts without dropping any of them) are exactly the same skills that make an exceptional Assistant in the creator space; it’s the framework that’s different.

You’ll plan ahead, but likely action later

The creator will nod along, aware that things need to happen for that conference in four weeks’ time, but they are very much prioritising the here and now, as that’s where the algorithm needs them to be. They expect you to understand what is coming up; however, those things will not get actioned until the very last minute. That trip that you flagged five weeks ago is now in 36 hours and still no decisions have been made. You are sat there waiting for the green light so that you can go full steam ahead with logistics: flights, hotels, cars, restaurant bookings, itineraries.

Reactivity is a skill

In many business environments, reactive work is framed as a failure of planning. In practice, the ability to triage, reprioritise, and execute under pressure without losing quality of work is one of the most valuable things an EA can offer. It’s worth developing deliberately, not treating as a last resort.

Breadth makes you more useful

The wider the range of tasks you’re comfortable with, the more genuinely useful you become to the person you support. Staying narrowly within a defined scope protects you, but it can also limit your impact.

Operational leadership

The ability to see what’s coming, to solve problems before they’re noticed, and to hold the structure of someone else’s professional and personal life in order – that is a form of leadership. It deserves to be recognised as such, by the profession and by the people doing it.

The invisible work is the important work

Some of the best EA work leaves no trace. Everything runs, nothing breaks, and the person you support can focus entirely on what they do best. That outcome looks effortless from the outside. We all know, however, that it isn’t.

So, You’re Thinking About Making the Move

For anyone looking to move into this space, here is my honest review.

No two days will look the same

At 9 a.m. you’ll be organising flights for an upcoming trip and at lunch you’ll be picking up tailored bespoke suits for a wedding. Go into this role with an open mind that there is no such thing as a typical day for this role. Furthermore, you will need to be comfortable with the idea that your hours will differ day to day, and although much can be completed during the day, you will receive requests such as a last-minute private dining booking for 10 guests at 6 p.m. for that evening; this role is reactive in all forms. 

The job description is vast

You’re there reviewing scheduling logistics for upcoming events and brand shoots and then all of a sudden you’re on a hunt for a gift because someone’s birthday has been forgotten. If taken with an open mind, this becomes one of the most interesting aspects of the work.

Learn the landscape

You don’t need to be a content creator yourself, but understanding how the creator economy functions will be beneficial. Understand how revenue is generated, how brand partnerships work, how the different platforms operate, what the pressures and incentives look like. This is no different to learning about an exec’s priorities and goals within a corporate environment and is not difficult to learn, but going into the content world without knowing some information beforehand will slow you down.

Discretion has a different weight

In professional environments, confidentiality is standard and a hugely important factor of the role. In the creator space, where the client is a public figure, discretion is something you’ll need to be conscious of in every interaction, even if you are talking to someone within the company that the creator has built. The smallest slip-up can have a major impact on the reputation of the creator.

The personal and the professional are blurred

Many execs in a professional setting are juggling their work and personal balance and you are helping to ensure that distinct boundaries are maintained. In the creator space, this could not be more blurred, and professional matters and tasks chip into personal endeavours at every angle. If you prefer clean boundaries, then this is the most important factor to know before you step in.

If you do your best work when you always have to think on your feet, this sector will suit you well.

A Final Note

The content creator world is growing. It’s not just YouTube anymore; it’s hitting our TVs through documentaries and game shows. Creators are listening closely to their audience, the algorithm, and the economy around them and acting on the present to push forward. Yesterday is old news; the here and now is gold.

I’ve been working with content creators for four years. The support I am requested to complete keeps me on my toes and challenges me every day. I’m a part of things that I never dreamed to be possible, and I’d love the opportunity to tell 18-year-old Zoe that this is what we get to be a part of. If you have ever thought about supporting the creator industry in administration format, I’d love the opportunity to connect with you!