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# What I Wish I’d Known Before I Started Creating
- URL: https://axxus-insights.ghost.io/what-i-wish-id-known-before-i-started-creating/
- Published: 2026-09-20T18:44:28.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-20T18:44:28.000Z
- Description: What creators in Axxus focus groups say they wish they had known before they started: agency splits, content ownership, account control, boundaries and wellbeing.
- Author: Axxus, INC
- Tags: Creator Voices, Starting Out

Ask creators what they wish they had known before they started, and the answers are rarely about cameras, editing or posting schedules. In Axxus focus groups, they were about **money**, **ownership**, **control** and the personal cost of the work. These are the top themese.

## Agency splits can take half or more of earned income

The revenue split was a recurring subject among participants who had worked with agencies. A split is the share of revenue an agency keeps in exchange for managing a creator’s account. Participants described splits that took 50 to 70 percent of earned income on each managed account, and reported these figures particularly at larger, well-known agencies. Arrangements vary, and some agencies include services such as account management, scheduling and promotion in the split. Several participants had moved from one agency to another, each time under a new set of terms.

Two details change what a split means in practice. The first is the base it applies to. A split calculated on gross earnings, before platform fees, costs a creator more than the same percentage calculated on net earnings, after fees. The second is scope. Contracts define which accounts and which income the split covers.

For Instance: A creator earns $1,000 in fan payments in a month, and the platform keeps a 20 percent fee, leaving $800.

- A 50 percent split of the $800 leaves the creator $400.
- A 70 percent split of the $800 leaves the creator $240.
- A 50 percent split calculated on the original $1,000 takes $500 of the $800, and leaves the creator $300.

Terms to understand before signing:

- Whether the split is calculated before or after platform fees.
- Which accounts and which income the split covers.
- How long the agreement runs, how it ends, and whether the split continues after it does.
- How and when payouts are made, and what statements the creator receives.
- Who creates and controls the accounts.
- Who owns the content.

## Content ownership is set by the contract

Participants who had worked with agencies said they had not known who owned the content they produced, or that ownership was something to ask about. Content is intellectual property (IP): the legal rights to copy, distribute and earn from it. Who holds those rights depends on the contract and on the law where the creator lives. 

Points to look for in an agreement:

- Whether it assigns ownership or grants a license.
- How long the agency can use the content after the agreement ends.
- Whether the agency can repost, resell or repurpose the content.
- What happens to existing content when the creator leaves.

## Account Lockouts & What To Do

Participants described losing access to accounts held or controlled by an agency. Where this happens, the steps are:

1. Gather records: the contract, payout statements, and messages showing who set up the account and when.
2. Contact the platform through its official support channels and explain that a third party has removed access.
3. Complete the platform’s direct identity verification, so the platform can confirm who holds the account. Requirements differ by platform.
4. Seek independent legal advice if access is not restored. The contract, not only the platform, may determine what the agency is entitled to do, and legal action is sometimes necessary.
5. Keep all communication in writing.

**Analysis:** Account control comes down to who created the account, whose verified identity is on it, and whose email address and payout details are attached. An account created under the creator’s own identity, with the creator’s own recovery and payout details, is the hardest to lose control of. 

## Niche, brand and the search for a viral post

Participants described working to a niche and brand identity set by an agency, with little personalisation and no clear measure of return. They described a cycle of posting in the hope that something would go viral, with no way to tell why one post performed and another did not. New creators also said collaboration opportunities were hard to get.

**Analysis:** Reach measures attention, not revenue, and it is difficult to plan around. A niche the creator chose and understands gives more to work with than one assigned to them. [Attention Isn’t Income](https://axxus-insights.ghost.io/attention-isnt-income/) covers the gap between the two.

## Content costs, platform rules and appeals

Participants described the ongoing cost of costumes and props, the time an appeal takes when content or an account is removed, and uncertainty about what is safe to post and where. Rules differ between platforms and change over time, and each platform’s current content policy is the reference. A creator who keeps dated copies of what they post, where they post it, and any removal notices is better placed to appeal.

## Boundaries and workload

Participants described the need for clear boundaries between work and personal life, and for regular time off. Creators in adult content described the constant focus on sex as draining in more ways than one, and said this applies across the sex industry.

## Finding support

Participants described finding a therapist who is friendly to sex workers as essential, and said it is not discussed enough. Some practitioners state on their profiles that they work with sex workers or the adult industry. Asking about a practitioner’s experience before a first session is reasonable.

## Stigma and family relationships

Participants described overcoming stigma and negative associations with the work. Strained family relationships were common, whether from initial shame or the possibility of it, and some creators lost family relationships.

**Analysis:** Decisions about who knows, and when, are easier to make before publishing than after. A creator’s privacy setup determines how much control they keep over that. [How Private Can You Actually Be as a Creator?](https://axxus-insights.ghost.io/how-private-can-you-be-as-a-creator/) covers the options.

## Staying true to your goals

Creators whose goal is not explicit content can set firmer boundaries on what they make and restate those boundaries to their audience. Choosing niches a creator intends to compete in, and avoiding those they do not, keeps the work aligned with the goal.

## A checklist before you start

- Read the split, ownership and exit terms before signing, and understand how each is calculated.
- Keep the accounts, credentials and payout details in your own name.
- Get independent legal advice before signing, and again if a dispute arises.
- Choose a niche you understand and intend to compete in.
- Set boundaries on content, working hours and audience contact early.
- Line up support, including a practitioner who understands the work.
- Decide who knows about the work before it is public.

## Sources and notes

- Feedback from Axxus focus groups with creators. Participant accounts are reported as given. Agency split figures are participants’ reports, vary by arrangement, and do not refer to any single specific agency.
- Platform requirements change, so check each platform’s current help pages.

*Axxus is creator business infrastructure built to help creators start, grow, and manage their businesses with greater clarity.* [*Learn more at axxus.io*](https://www.axxus.io/?ref=axxus-insights.ghost.io)*.*