I don’t think this man needs any further introduction, but I’ll try it anyway.
Bob Claglett is the founder of I Like to Make Stuff (ILTMS) and one of the most recognized makers with more subscribers on YouTube than Jimmy Diresta and April Wilkerson. Combined (June 2019).
He was one of the first makers to do content creation as a full-time gig and has countless incredible projects under his belt. Varying from simple shop projects and home improvement to building incredible comic props and movie gadgets like the blaster of Optimus Prime from Transformers.
His book Making Time caught my attention because I wanted to know how he started his incredible journey and learn a thing one or two from his experience as a content creator.
Content
The book consists of two main parts and a short introduction.
The first part is about his journey from a full-time software developer that built projects as a hobby on the weekend to starting his own business with content creation and following his true passion. You can get a pretty good look into how he started his complete online journey and turned it into a profitable career.
In the second part Bob describes his approaches and thoughts as a successful content creator. They reach from the vulnerability, you expose yourself to when uploading videos to how he treats incoming sponsoring requests and the responsibility he has as an influencer. This chapter has a lot of small tips and tricks if you want to start your own online business.
Layout
The book is laid out pretty simple but effective. 79 pages without any graphics or pictures. It is an easy read and doesn’t take up more than a few hours to read
Target Audience
Bob got the same questions about how to start or grow as a content creator over and over again. This book is his approach in answering them and showing what it takes to be a full-time content creator. So everybody, especially in the maker space, that wants to start his online content business or seeks ways of expanding and maximizing productivity is definitely at the right place here.
Conclusion
At first, I was a little bit disappointed because the book only had 79 pages and the price is still the same as books with 150 or more pages.
But his direct and honest way of telling his own story definitely makes up for that.
I found the book fun and easy to read, while still giving me a good impression of how he started turning his passion into a way of providing for his family. Makers of all sorts and content creators will find inspiration in his story and the chapter about his processes changed the way I organize my projects.
