How DeMarcus Shawn Went From Starbucks Employee To Full-Time Content Creator

Being funny pays. Just look to TikToker DeMarcus Shawn as confirmation.

Beginnings

Growing up on the outskirts of Chicago, IL, he recalls always being funny, often creating skits or playfully imitating his family members. His humor translated well to the camera, and he would toss around various skit ideas with his two older brothers.

With the rise of social media, leaning into it was natural for Shawn. Ultimately, he landed on TikTok as his breeding ground for content though initially his Instagram was geared towards his creative interests.

“I grew up doing music and learning how to sing and photography. I’m a guy that’s heavy on drawing and painting,” he told AFROTECH™. “ Those are my hobbies that I like to do. Outside of that, when I came into TikTok, it was more of what I’ve been doing with my siblings, but on a larger front.”

Full-Time Content Creation

Shawn was working on building his online presence while also employed at Starbucks. Starting in 2017, he worked at various locations, including a Target storefront, a regular Starbucks shop, and eventually a mall. By 2021, in the midst of COVID-19, he decided to leave the company altogether.

By this point, he not only had earnings from TikTok but he also was running a photography business. Although he doesn’t claim these ventures as his reasons for leaving Starbucks, he simply felt that it was the right time to move on.

“I quit Starbucks mainly because I didn’t really wanna work there no more,” he explained. “I had money saved up. So I was like ‘I’m gonna take a month off and then jump back into the workforce.’ Also, I had my own photography business going on and running time. So I was doing decent in terms of taking care of myself. But TikTok, I was growing on TikTok at that time. And right after I quit, I guess, I had a boom on TikTok where I was like, ‘Okay. You know what? I might as well stick with this.'”

While Shawn did not disclose his exact earnings from TikTok, with 6.6 million followers as of this writing, he has been able to rack coins through various ways, including the TikTok Creator Fund, which is contingent upon views as well as authenticity, engagement, and adhering to its Community Guidelines and Terms of Service, a press release notes.

Shawn mentions that in TikTok’s early stages creators could make up to $2,000 from a quick video through the fund.

“You ain’t rich when you first start, like when you first start making money online…. When TikTok first started, you may make like $2,000 off a quick video.’ And you’d be like, ‘Oh, we gettin’ to the bag. Like, I can spend it… This is a quick check,” he recalled AFROTECH™ .

He also mentions other sources of income through TikTok Live — although he does not use the feature frequently — such as brand deals and commissioned products, which he advises all users to take full advantage of.

“There’s so many different things that you could do, not only on TikTok… and I tell people, ‘if you want to create videos, just do it, because even if you have a regular job, you could still earn money online,'” he said.

Financial Management

As it pertains to managing the earnings he has pocketed, mindfulness has been key since he started his content creation journey. Shawn admits to a quick learning curve when he started and says he still refrains from spending a lot of his earnings.

His mindset towards his financial habits was instilled in his upbringing. He experienced several trying times, with the lights occasionally going out or expenses not being paid, but overall he looks back on his upbringing as being generally good and views it as learning lessons.

“My parents made sure that if somebody came over we had a decent place, but at the same time we still went through tough times… My parents taught me how to not end up in that situation. Knowing what you can afford or what you cannot afford,” Shawn said.

“Even now that I’m in this space now, I look back and I try to teach my parents on how to save even though they taught me quite a bit,” he continued. “That’s why I’m, I think, I’m very good at saving my money. Even now, any jewelry that you probably see on me is probably Amazon. I have no shame in saying where stuff is from just because, like, even though I can probably buy and I can afford it, that’s not where my headspace is.”

His Team

The content creator is focused on building a secure and lasting future. Since starting on social media, he has refrained from mindless spending. He has also built a team to guide him through the business aspects of content creation, which include his parents who provide discernment in matters related to his finances and brand deals.

“They don’t tell me what to do, but they do give me advice where I’m like, ‘Should I work with this brand? Should I not?’ They kinda let me steer me in the right direction,” Shawn explained.

Most recently, he got an accountant. Prior to that, in 2021, he secured a manager, which has also been helpful to vet brand deals and opportunities. He adds that the compensation from these deals has been “very, very good.”

“Not all money is good money,” he said. “So you gotta, you kinda gotta know your brand before signing to work with other brands. When I first started, I really didn’t take to any other brands. Working with my manager, it opened me up to even if this brand is huge and they’re giving me this amount of money, if they don’t align with my personal brand and what I stand for, or even if it just doesn’t align in general, I’m not gonna work with them even if the money is good… You have to know your audience. You have to know who you’re selling to.”

What’s Next?

As for what’s next for the TikTok creator, who was named among “Comedy’s Next Generation” by Variety in 2023, he hints at a potential coffee shop venture in the near future although he has not confined himself to a firm blueprint for what’s to come.

“I think later on down the line, especially for me, I kinda always say, like, I really don’t know what that entails. Again, I wanna start up a coffee restaurant in the near 2 years, a year and a half,” he reflected to AFROTECH™ . “I know I do wanna do that and maybe down the line, direct a couple movies and stuff. But at the same time, even though those are big things I wanna do, I still don’t know what I wanna do, if that makes sense.”

He continues, “…It’s okay to not really know what you wanna do at the moment because as humans, we have multiple interests. So what I may like today, I may not like in a couple weeks, and that’s fine. So right now, I think I’m just kinda figuring out what exactly what I want for myself in the near future.”