How to Make Money at FinCon (and Make the Most of Your Time)

08/19/2026

Let’s get something out of the way: Going to FinCon costs money.

By the time you add up your pass, travel, hotel, meals, and time away from your regular work, it’s completely reasonable to ask:

How can I make this investment worth it?

We think that’s a question worth asking. And the answer isn’t only about leaving Palm Springs with a brand deal.

Making the most of FinCon means knowing what you want from your time here. And knowing how to find the people, conversations, and opportunities that can help you get there.

Maybe that is a paid partnership. Maybe it’s meeting other creators in your niche, finding a collaborator, solving a problem in your business, making the right brand connection, or finally meeting someone you’ve known online for years.

FinCon is designed to help creators build something sustainable and profitable. And whether you have 300 followers or 300,000, there are opportunities here to grow your business and make money from the work you’re doing.

But buying a pass doesn’t guarantee any of that. You have to show up ready to take advantage of what’s here.

So rather than give you a giant list of everything you could do at FinCon, let’s talk about how to come with a plan and make the most of the three days you have here.

Before FinCon: Know What You Need

Before you open the FinCon schedule and start starring sessions, ask yourself:

What does your business need right now?

Maybe you want more clients, another revenue stream, a bigger email list, better brand partnerships, or help figuring out something that just isn’t working.

Turn that into a goal for your time at FinCon. It can help you decide which sessions to attend, which 1:1 Meetings to request, and even who you want to meet from this year’s attendee list.

You can’t do everything at FinCon. And you don’t need to. Your goal helps you decide which opportunities deserve your time.

Know how to answer: “So, what do you do?”

You’re going to get this question. A lot.

People often lead with whatever they think sounds impressive instead of the information someone actually needs to understand their work.

You don’t need to start with your viral video, your biggest brand deal, how many years you’ve been doing this, or your entire career history.

Keep it simple: What are you making? Who is it for? Why are you making it?

You don’t need a memorized elevator pitch. You just want to be able to explain the core of your work clearly and quickly.

If the conversation keeps going, there’s plenty of time for the rest.

And at FinCon, conversations have a funny way of keeping going.

1. Be Strategic About Meeting Brands

FinCon gives you two great ways to meet brands: scheduled 1:1 Meetings and conversations in FinCon Central.

Before we get into how to approach each one, let’s clear up something we hear from creators all the time:

“My audience isn’t big enough for brands yet.”

Don’t count yourself out.

Follower count and reach matter for some partnerships, but they’re not the only things brands look for. Your niche, engagement, expertise, content, platform, and audience fit can matter, too. Some brands are specifically interested in smaller creators because of the strong relationships they’ve built with their audiences.

You don’t actually know what a brand is looking for until you talk to them.

So don’t reject yourself on their behalf.

Now, about those two opportunities. You should approach them very differently.

1:1 Meetings: Narrow your list & do your homework.
FinCon Central: Widen your list & stay curious.

1:1 Meetings: Narrow your list & do your homework.

Every Creator Pass includes access to our 1:1 Meetings Program, where creators and brands can request scheduled 15-minute meetings with each other.

Those 15 minutes go quickly, so do some homework before you request them.

Look at the participating brands. Visit their websites and social accounts. See what they’re focused on right now, how they’ve worked with creators in the past, and where your work and audience might fit.

What could you bring to the conversation that’s relevant to what they’re trying to do?

“I’d love to work with you” is nice, but it’s not much of a partnership idea. Give them something more to work with.

And don’t just click “request.”

Send a quick DM to the brand rep introducing yourself. Tell them you requested a meeting and why you think the two of you might have something worth talking about.

Remember: They may not know your work yet. Give them enough information to think, Oh yeah. I’d like to meet this person.

When you get the meeting, don’t spend all 15 minutes pitching.

Have your short explanation of your work ready. Then ask questions and listen.

Your research helps here, too. There’s a big difference between asking “So, what does your company do?” and “I noticed you’ve been doing more around X lately. Is that something you’re continuing to focus on this year?”

Bring your media deck, but don’t spend the meeting presenting it. Have it ready to reference or send afterward.

Most importantly, before those 15 minutes are up, talk about what happens next.

Maybe you’ll send your deck and a few ideas on Monday. Maybe they’ll connect you with someone else on their team. Maybe you agree to reconnect when a particular campaign gets closer.

After the meeting: Write it down. Seriously.

Take a minute to note who you talked to, what they were interested in, anything you promised to send, and when you said you’d follow up.

You will think you’re going to remember everything. You will be wrong.

By the end of FinCon, your brain will be holding approximately 600 names, conversations, session notes, restaurant recommendations, and half-finished thoughts.

The 1:1 Meeting was the introduction. You still have to get the ball across the finish line. Follow up when you said you would and send what you promised to send. That’s where the meeting can start turning into something more.

FinCon Central: Widen your list & stay curious.

Now let’s do almost the opposite.

Every year we watch creators walk through FinCon Central, look at a booth, decide within a few seconds that the company probably isn’t relevant to them, and keep walking.

Try not to do that. You don’t know what you don’t know.

A company you’ve never heard of may be trying to reach exactly your audience. A brand you don’t think is a fit may be working on something new. The person at the booth may hear what you do and see a connection you hadn’t considered.

Or maybe you simply have an interesting five-minute conversation.

Give yourself a goal: Talk to 10 companies you don’t already know.

Instead of walking up ready to pitch, walk up curious. Ask what brought them to FinCon, what they’re working on, and how they work with creators.

Then tell them what you do. You may be surprised where the conversation goes.

Remember:
1:1 Meetings: Narrow your list & do your homework.
FinCon Central: Widen your list & stay curious.

2. Tell People What You Do. Ask What They Do, Too.

Not every valuable connection at FinCon comes from a brand.

Creators hire other creators all the time. They need writers, editors, designers, podcast producers, consultants, coaches, speakers, social media help, and plenty more.

They also recommend each other.

But someone can’t hire you, or send an opportunity your way, if they don’t know that’s something you do.

This doesn’t mean turning every FinCon conversation into a sales pitch. In fact, please don’t. 😂

It can be as simple as mentioning your work when it naturally comes up:

“I produce my own videos, but I also edit and produce content for a few other creators. That’s become a pretty big part of my business.”

And while you’re at it, find out what they do, too.

What are they working on? What are they good at? What are they trying to grow?

You may meet someone you want to hire or collaborate with. Or you may meet someone who’s perfect for an opportunity that comes across your desk six months from now.

Be clear about your own work, but be curious about everyone else’s, too.

And if someone wants to know more about what you do, make it easy. Have your website, portfolio, offer, or examples of your work ready to share.

The goal isn’t to leave FinCon having pitched yourself to 100 people. It’s to leave with more people who understand what you do, and a better understanding of what the people around you do, too.

3. Use FinCon to Work Through a Business Problem.

Think back to what you decided your business needs right now.

What do you need to learn or figure out to get there?

Use those questions to help choose your sessions.

Our Session Explorer lets you filter this year’s sessions by topic and platform so you can quickly find the ones most relevant to what you’re working on. Actual times and locations will be available when the app launches with the detailed schedule.

And don’t overlook meetups and Creator Conversations. Sometimes you need someone to teach you a step-by-step strategy. Other times, you need to sit with people doing similar work and actually talk through what you’re trying to figure out.

But don’t stop when the session ends.

That’s one of the biggest advantages of learning something at an in-person event.

Ask the follow-up question. Introduce yourself to the speaker. Compare notes with another attendee. Bring up what you learned over lunch.

The answer you need may come from the person on stage. It may come from the person sitting next to you.

That’s part of why we build FinCon with so many different ways to learn and talk with each other. You’re not here just to sit in a chair and collect notes.

4. Use FinCon to Make Something

How many times have you ended a great conversation with another creator by saying:

“We should totally collaborate sometime!”

And then…you don’t.

FinCon gives you a rare advantage: you’re actually in the same place. Use it.

Last year, one relatively new attendee came ready to record interviews. By the time he left, he’d recorded around 30 of them with creators at all different stages, including some very recognizable names.

He asked, people said yes, and he went home with a whole lot of content.

You certainly don’t need to record 30 interviews. But think about what you could make while everyone is together.

Record a podcast episode. Film a video. Plan a newsletter swap. Or simply get the follow-up call on the calendar before you walk away.

Do a little matchmaking before you arrive.

Think about creators you’d genuinely like to work with. Maybe you already know each other online but have never met in person, or your audiences and topics are a natural fit.

Reach out before FinCon with an actual idea.

“Hey, we’re both going to be at FinCon. I’ve been thinking it could be fun to record something together about X. Interested?”

That’s enough to get things moving.

And leave room for the things you didn’t plan. You might meet someone on Wednesday and be recording something together Thursday.

That’s part of the fun of having this many creators in one place.

The goal isn’t to leave FinCon with as many collaborations as possible. It’s to recognize when there’s a natural fit and, when you can, do something about it while you’re both there.

5. Make a Big Event Feel Smaller

Hundreds of Money Nerds in one place is part of what makes FinCon fun.

It can also be a lot.

You don’t need to meet everyone. And you definitely don’t need to spend three days working the room, collecting contacts, or trying to figure out who the “right” people are.

A handful of people you actually get to know can matter a lot more than 100 people you barely remember.

Opt into the smaller stuff.

One of the easiest ways to meet people at FinCon is to make the event smaller.

Sign up for a Dinner Club. Join a meetup or Creator Experience. Or host something yourself. These are intentionally smaller, more casual ways to spend time with other attendees around a meal, an activity, a shared interest, or something you want to talk about.

Sometimes it’s a whole lot easier to get to know six people over dinner, meet a few creators for coffee, or join a morning walk than it is to walk into a room of hundreds and wonder where to start.

Pay attention to the opt-ins before FinCon and check the app once you arrive. Put yourself in a few smaller groups and give yourself a chance to actually get to know the people in them.

Leave room for the people you didn’t plan to meet.

We’ve spent a lot of this article telling you to come with a plan.

Here’s the other side of that advice: Don’t plan every minute.

Some of the best FinCon conversations are the ones you couldn’t have put on your schedule.

They’re the person you happen to sit next to at lunch. Someone you keep running into between sessions. A conversation that starts at a meetup and continues in the hallway an hour later.

So yes, know who you want to meet and what you want to accomplish. But leave some room for the people and conversations you didn’t see coming.

You also don’t need to know where every relationship is going. Someone may eventually become a collaborator or open a door you never expected.

Or you may simply enjoy knowing them.

That’s valuable, too.

There’s room for more good money content, more good ideas, and more successful creators.

So come with a plan. Just leave a little room for FinCon to surprise you, too.

FinCon Creates a Lot of Beginnings

A 1:1 Meeting isn’t a brand deal. Attending a session doesn’t solve your business problem. Meeting another creator isn’t a collaboration.

But they’re all places to start.

And yes, those starts can lead to money – a new client, a paid partnership, a new revenue stream, or a collaboration that earns for both of you.

But they can also lead to the person you text when you need advice, an idea that changes how you run your business, a collaborator you keep working with for years, or simply a few more people in this industry who know what you do.

FinCon puts a lot of people, ideas, and opportunities in one place.

You get to decide what you want to do with them.

Come knowing what you want. Show up ready to participate.

There are a whole lot of opportunities waiting for you once you’re in Palm Springs.

Register for FinCon here.