“I can always talk about hate and other people not judging me BUT it starts with me not judging other people first” – ATEEB KHAN
#010 – In this episode, Ateeb and I discuss the advantages of creating on Tiktok. We talk through action vs consumption, cancel culture and fear of success.
Hope you enjoy the episode!
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Highlights from this episode:
[2:00] What has Tiktok done for you?
[6:50] How to stop consuming and start taking action
[8:30] How to remain consistent
[10:43] The stress of being a content creator on Tiktok
[18:54] Fear of success
[23:45] One piece of advice Ateeb would give to his younger self
Connect with Ateeb:
A little bit about Ateeb:
Ateeb has consistently pushed himself out of his comfort zone. He left a long term toxic relationship, moved to 2 different provinces, started a clothing line, and started a personal brand online ALL in the middle of the pandemic. He is following his dreams and has now built an online following of over 25,000 followers on Tiktok alone in the last 12 months.
Resources mentioned:
Garyvee Podcast
Naval Ravnikant with Joe Rogan Episode
The Tim Ferris Show
Transcription:
Ateeb Khan
If you take the followers and engagement and the numbers outside the amount of things that it has opened up for me is, I’m learning new skills just because of this like I’m you know, day in and day out, Yet using all these editing software’s when I when I can. I’ve, oh my god, the amount of people that I’ve met when I was, you know, documenting my journey, people reaching out like connecting with other content creators.
Mahrukh Imtiaz
You are listening to the Spicy Chai podcast. I’m your host, Mahrukh Imtiaz. And I’m on a journey to create inspiring, helpful and meaningful content. This podcast is not going to showcase high-profile individuals spouting college advice like find your passion or hustle harder. Instead, my mission is to bring you the voices of people who are just a bit ahead of you. People you can relate to, and the people who will inspire you to put your own voice out there.
So grab your cup of Spicy Chai, and let’s get the show started.
Welcome to Episode 10. So this is part two of the interview with Ateeb Khan and part one is episode nine. So if you want to listen to that, you can go ahead and listen to it. Now. You don’t need to listen to part one before you listen to part two. But if you want to learn a bit more about self-awareness, empathy, how to stop judging others how to get to that level of maturity, then I would truly recommend episode nine where at the talks about all of those things and then gives practical advice on how you can start implementing all of that.
And without further ado, let’s get back into the episode. We’ve we’ve spoken a bit about how you started this journey. And I mentioned in the beginning that you’re at 16,000 followers now, if that’s something you expected or wanted when you started TikTok in what has that done for you? Right.
Ateeb Khan
I mean, I brag about them at 18,000 or 16.
Mahrukh Imtiaz
Oh, amazing, amazing. 18,000 are in my bag. Yes, yes, all brags. And I’m so proud of me for doing that.
Ateeb Khan
But yeah, no, thank you. So that was really interesting. Because it It honestly, I mean, you know, you see other creators, everyone’s in a different place. Like there’s people like high up and all over the place, right? So I right now, it doesn’t feel any difference. What I did when I was like at 1000, which is really interesting, because I’m so like, I’m still enjoying it to the same level. But I won’t discount the fact that I had no idea like, you could have not paid me just tell me that I would have had like, you know, 15,000 followers by end of year, my like, stretch target was like, you know, I just keep doing it. And maybe another thing I had this conversation with you guys was like, Yo, my target at the end of the year. If I get 5000 followers, I’ll be so happy. And I remember that. Yes. So I had no idea or ambition or the I just didn’t realize it would play out that way. But I’m super grateful for whatever little engagement and the little community that I’ve created. You’re very
Mahrukh Imtiaz
You’re very humble when you say little, but it’s amazing, like, and that’s what I want to I want to dig further. Like what do you think it opened up for you? What kind of opportunities do you have now? Because of that following that you didn’t have before?
Ateeb Khan
I yeah, I think I cannot overstate enough, the amount of just not I mean, if you take the followers and engagement and the numbers outside, the amount of things that it has opened up for me is I’m learning new skills just because of this, like I’m you know, day in day out yet, using all these editing software’s when I when I can, I’ve oh my god, the amount of people that I’ve met, when I was, you know, documenting my journey, people reaching out, like connecting with other content creators and videographers and photographers. Like, it’s very humbling when you see this, like photographer with I think she has like hundreds of 1000s of followers on Instagram. She’s an amazing photographer. And she started on Tiktok. And she followed me back like a few days ago, I was like, wow, that, you know, that means a lot. Yeah. So you know, and then you suddenly realize you have access to these people, you can send them a message be like, hey, like how do you do this thing and you basically get surrounded by people you I wouldn’t have otherwise. So for me, it’s been not only just the fact that I’m creating content and seeing growth there but also like the people that I’m attracting and also like the different opportunities that I’m getting through it, you know, people reaching out and being like, Hey, you want to do this shoot in this place together or do you This is how you should go here. I wouldn’t have never realized it if I didn’t have tick tock. Yeah, so it’s been like and then on top of that, like I’ve personally I learned so much on tick tock outside of creating content. Based on the algorithm I’ve learned how to, I learned a lot of small business steps to create my business on tick tock, like a lot of my side hustles. So, I remember when, during the pandemic, pandemic, when I was just learning and creating content at that time, I was only watching content on tick tock related to small business and side hustles. Right, literally, every time I would come in, screenshot, screenshot, screenshot download, on Sunday, I would open my notepad and go to my phone, and basically write down all the stuff that are going to take out, hey, for example, they’re just content creators saying, Here are the top five apps for Shopify store, okay, write those down and what they do, here’s how you can create a logo for free, okay, these are the three websites, write them down, test them out. Here’s the top side hustle in affiliate marketing, you can create an economy Clickbank or a write that down open a clickbank account, just testing, testing, testing, I think I’ve learned more from tick tock than I would have from any other channel. Regarding starting my business, it also gave me the inspiration, seeing other small businesses and other people creating, you know, side hustles to actually get started. So I’d say to me creating content consumption that I’ve done and I’ve learned from it has been enormous. And that’s why I also seek to create value on tick tock. And,
Mahrukh Imtiaz
And you know, you spoke a lot about how you consume things, then you started applying when you were creating content or what like, you know, your own merch that you’re rocking Danone right now, like, you know, you learned it, and then you applied a lot of people they get into this rut of consuming, consuming, consuming and then not taking action. What do you think differentiated you? How did you become this person who did consume and then took action?
Ateeb Khan
I think because I was already in the whole process of I’m creating content regardless, like every day, like I’m putting some content out there, right. So when I do see something that’s interesting, and I basically am not, I want to test out things. I feel like the biggest thing has been me testing out different things, and not sticking to like a structure. Like the more tests I do, the more different things I learned. I learned more about like, what works, what doesn’t. And I think like, learning isn’t real, if you haven’t done it yourself. So when I see something on tick tock, and let’s say I learned this thing, I don’t check mine that I’ve learned until I actually do it. That’s when I’ve actually learned it when I’ve actually done the task. Like, that’s, that’s for me, like the learning is not learning and watching. For me the learning is like after watching, did I apply it? Now I’ve learned otherwise don’t like, I haven’t learned anything, because I haven’t done it. Right. So there’s no like, on paper proof that I’ve learned. So that’s how I hold myself almost accountable, or that’s the way I view it. So it’s like, if I want to learn it, I’ll have to do it. Otherwise, it just means nothing.
Mahrukh Imtiaz
Right? And you mentioned there that you have this mindset that you’re going to keep posting day in and day out, regardless of what happens. What puts you in that mindset, like what got you into I’m going to post regardless, because there are a lot of people out there, they post a bit and they fall off. What would you tell them? Okay,
Ateeb Khan
So I’m going to correct myself a little there. Try to post every day and I remain consistent. But I allow myself to take breaks. Like, the thing is, I want to enjoy the process. And I want it to come naturally. And that’s how my creativity works. So the general template is I’m going to post put something out there every day. And usually, like I almost always have so much content plan that I’m already like, Okay, I have three things in my mind, I have to get one thing out. So it’s easy, right? But there are days, like, for example, I’m on the road, I’m doing a road trip, or I’m hiking all day, and I’m tired, I come back, I don’t force it. For me, that kind of goes against it. So general rule is I’ll get something out every day because I do have the ideas and things that I want to put out. But for me, the biggest thing is, I never want to feel like I have to because the moment that has to comes into place, then it takes the fun part away from me. So, you know, rule of thumb is I can I’ve seen a lot of people tech talk talking about it, you have to post every day. But that’s not how I approach it. I know I should be probably posting three, five times a day and that would give me more growth. But I think I lose like my level of interest. It would take the whole purpose away. I wouldn’t be having fun. So I
Mahrukh Imtiaz
So I think that’s what’s important here is that there might be a lot of advice there but you one has to do what works for them and their schedule and their process. Not Does like there are people who say, pull seven times a day, and it might not work for everyone. So it’s just like, but the important piece is You did say you do stay consistent. It’s not like you go out off the radar for three months, like you are consistent enough, maybe four to five times a week, one time, maybe three times a week, one time, but you are consistent. Right, which I think it’s an important piece.
Ateeb Khan
Yeah, go ahead. Sorry. Yeah. And there’ll be a day where I do like, three posts. Do you know what I mean? There’s no rule like that. Right?
Mahrukh Imtiaz
Exactly. And there are I mean, you spoke a lot about the benefits, it created access to different kinds of people. You’re learning a lot of new skills, you’re upgrading your skills, their sense of accomplishment, achievement there. But what are some of the lows of being a content creator on tick tock now with 18,000 followers? Doing some sort of side? hustles? What are some things that you’re like? I don’t love this. Yeah,
Ateeb Khan
That’s, it’s funny, you asked me right now, because I think I went to something it was a week ago, that stressed me out a lot. Almost wearing my sleep. So there was this video, I posted, I went on a hike and I found this hidden gem you want to call it I don’t think it was like really that hidden because I found it on all trails. And it was easy for me to get to. I posted it, and in a few hours it reached 40,000. So it was almost exciting at the time. Yeah, this videos taking off. And then these comments started coming in from like, some locals saying, hey, you know, we will all want this location to be disclosed, like, tourists will come and they’ll, like, ruin it for us. And people like, and some people come in, and, you know, stuff like that. I’m like, Whoa, this is getting out of hand. And I deleted like the location from the comment section. Right? And I was like, You know what, I don’t know what the right thing to do is, but can I do my own research, I don’t want to take a strong stance in it. Even though you may be coming from a place of hate, or you’re being really aggressive. I don’t know what the right thing to do is, so I’ll just remove it, removed it. And then there was like, all these comments of people who wanted the location, were saying like, Oh, local Jackie, keeping all the spaces it’s keep. So it started like this entire, like, conflict, where people were like, Hey, you should post it. Like, why post videos if you can share the location, and the people like don’t post it, and put being attacked, like I was being attacked for both some like, it just kind of got out of hand. And I was like, I don’t know what the right thing to do is I called I messaged a friend, a couple of friends and their environment, environmentalists, just to figure it out on like, you know, what is the right answer here? Like, I don’t know what the right answer is. And it’s a bit of a gray area. Like, you know, there’s no more obligation for me not to share locations, obviously. But there have been instances where some locations have been going viral, and a lot of tourists come in, and they they’re suspected, which is kind of sad. But you know, at the same time, especially a place like Whistler, the economy depends on people coming in. Again, it’s a national public park. So there’s a lot of data points, which I’m still not convinced what the right answer is. So I decided not to take a stance, and I just let it be. But at the time, it was like, Oh, my God, this is just getting out of hands. And, you know, my biggest fear was like, canceled culture. It’s like, Oh, my God, like this guy came in and ruined, like this place for us. So maybe that’s the paranoid side of me talking. But I’m scared of canceled culture. And it ticked off
Mahrukh Imtiaz
The mind like explaining that, because I haven’t heard that term before. Yes. So yeah,
Ateeb Khan
Canceled culture is like a big thing. These days, I started with like, the me to movement, I think, I’m not sure like, I’m not an expert on this topic at all. So yes, but it’s about like the internet taking like, matters into their own hands and canceling people. Like, without substantial evidence based on something they may have seen online or rumor. And because of the reach of the internet, there have been people whose careers jobs have been impacted without substantial evidence that actually did those things, or because of like the ramifications of the publicity, right? impacted the rap. Right? Actually, a lot of people talk about the human level rhetoric and who is one of my I would say, like, just, you know, he’s his philosophies that really sound right. And he talks about that as well. And it’s a dangerous culture. It’s like, almost like mob mentality on the internet. So that concerns me a little bit is like, what if? Because I post a lot of things on the whim. Like I make spelling mistakes, and I posted like it’s very creative and very rough, right? But what if one day I post something that me A somehow against you. Yeah against me or I heard like a minority group. I don’t know. Like, I’m just saying like, that part scares me because I take dogs and go viral really fast, right? That is one of my fears that is like, that’s why I keep a close eye, like when I post something on my comment section and especially when some videos taking off. So that’s like the downside I would say for tick tock for me, right?
Mahrukh Imtiaz
Yeah. And those are legit fear fears. And the thing is, it’s, it’s interesting that you continue to post despite having those fears. What would you say? Like, because a lot of that, honestly, fear of not knowing what is right. Like you spoke about that a little like, I just didn’t know what the right answer was. I mean, that’s honestly very correct. Like there are a lot of times I post stuff that I’m like, I A lot of times I put the research studies in and you know what, this is where I got this information from, but I got a lot of backlash to like, You’re wrong. I remember once I posted something like you’re always in control. And I got a few hateful DMS like no, not everyone’s in control. Some people live in underprivileged societies, you know, and it really shocked me, because I was just like, Oh, that’s not what I meant, like, you know, and I don’t mean to like, discredit what people are going through, but the fear of people back lashing, or people coming at you saying, you said something wrong is real. And I just want to emphasize that that that will happen, everything has some risks, and that will happen is you gotta have some faith that if your intention is right, and you’re doing it with for the right, why you’re not doing it for for the fame, or for the viral videos for the money, but you’re really trying to make an impact. I think that’s what keeps me grounded. And that’s what, that’s why I’m always like, this wasn’t my intention. This was my intention. And I feel like, that’s the same case for you. That’s what keeps going. Right? For sure. I
Ateeb Khan
I think you put the nail on the head, you use the word that I was thinking was like intention. I think like, as long as my intentions are in the right place, and people see that, that should protect me, like, from any backlash that I might get, I really believe in my intentions. And, you know, hoping that if anything is misunderstood, I deploy a lot of transparency, even when that happened. I could have done like, delete the comment, or I could have taken any extreme measures to just like, sweep it under the under the rug. But I think my biggest, I think, I think the offense in the sense that complete transparency being like, hey, like, you know, in the comment section, can you please explain to me like how this could actually impacted and inadvertently, that’s not my intention, and completely transparent. And people were like, seeing all those comments come through, and being like, oh, you know, this guy is like, taking it really well. Someone commented, as a local, he’s like, man, like you handle this really? Well, thank you so much, and stuff like that. So complete transparency and putting, like my intentions out there and really admitting, I don’t know everything. I honestly don’t see that and be like, I don’t know what the right answer is. So I think I’ll just remove it right now. Even though like there were some people like, Hey, why are you letting some person tell you to do things certain way and stuff like that as well? There were people on both ends. That comments, I shouldn’t if you go it’s like just like a massive, like, you know, conflict from people from both sides. But yeah, that’s it. That’s
Mahrukh Imtiaz
And and, you know, one thing that I do like about your journey is that you’ve actually started off, you started off with literally zero, and then you’ve grown and grown and grown, as you’ve posted, like, again, you’re at 18k. The last time I checked your were 16k, which was just, I would say a few days ago, right? So you’re growing, and with that comes certain expectations, and a lot of people let that get to them. There’s this fear of success, or like, oh my god, now there’s all these people following me. Has that happened to you? And if yes, what how do you deal with it?
Ateeb Khan
Um, so firstly, for me, I’ve always had no expectations now in a bad way. Like, I don’t believe in myself. But that’s how like, I approach many things. It’s like, it’s all upside I, when I pursue something, I’m mentally completely ready to completely bomb it. And that allows me to be completely relaxed, like I’m starting my business. If it completely goes to shit, I ruined my rent, I’ll come back from it. I’ll try something different I learned from it. So my personal expectation from you and me is like, zero expectations, but I’ll aim for the moon and see where that takes me. But to your point, like, now I’m getting content and I’m like, used to getting like, you know, a decent amount of views. And sometimes, like, you know, there’ll be a video that just I just flops completely. And I think that’s where the process comes into the place for me is I really believe in The kind of content that I want to put out. And I mean, at the same time I take feedback I really engage with like my, you know, people that are like part of my community and see what’s resonating with them. And even though I preach that don’t take the positives and negatives, like, don’t take the negative feedback and don’t take the positive, but I’m guilty right now of using all this really overwhelming positive feedback that I’m getting, it’s, at the end of the day, that’s where, like, I’m human, but I use that to be like, Oh, my God, like these people are saying such things, like, it’s clearly impacting them in a positive way. So it means a lot to me. And I use that to be like, you know, what I need? This is, this feels right. And, you know, I know, I’m like, generally, my compass is in the right place. So it was never about, honestly, I know, it might sound fluffy, or some people say, but for me, it was never about an X number of followers or views, I really wanted to make an impact. Even if it was like one person or a small amount of people, it just had to be like value. And as long as there’s some people are taking value from it, It think that’s gonna keep me going. So I’m never gonna let like the number of like views or followers get to my head. As long as I know, I was able to bring value to some people, right? But to me is like, insane sitting over here. I can say something. And someone in New Zealand could be like, I needed to hear that, thank you so much. And have like a great feeling. Starting off the day in a different way, for me is more than like, oh, like 50,000 views or people commenting that one comment means for me more than anything else. And as long as I get those, like individual people being impacted, I think that will keep me going even though I should not need that. For me to keep me going. I also enjoyed the process. But it definitely helps when you get those feedback, when specially when you’re having a bad day.
Mahrukh Imtiaz
I agree. I agree. And I think even even the fact that you use all of your positive feedback in a positive way, like you don’t let it overwhelm you, you almost think of it as, hey, I have all these people that want to watch me and want to watch these videos, I need to continue creating, rather than Oh, shoot, there’s a lot of people that will watch me. So I think that’s, that’s very important for you to listen to like even the positive feedback, don’t let it overwhelm you more. So take it as great I need to continue produce or if even if you’re not getting many views, that’s okay, as well, because it doesn’t matter if you get 50,000 views, but you’re free and packed in that one person. I think that’s an important message, which is that hence bears repeating. For a lot of people listening today. This has honestly been an incredible question. Not a question. It’s been an incredible conversation. You know what I mean? Final question for you what the? What’s one piece of advice that you would give to your younger self? And I don’t mean, like 15 years ago, I mean, your younger self a year back? So pretty recent at the vaults, one piece of advice you’d give him?
Ateeb Khan
Um, that’s a good question. One year back. I was in a very, it’s funny, because when you were back was exactly when like, I felt everything around me was crumbling into pieces. I would, I would say, you know, trust your gut. That’s it, like trust. I know, it sounds fluffy. But literally, that’s what I had to do at the end. And I would just remind myself, like, go with my gut and my intuition. Because at that time, on paper, a lot of things seemed like I had to make a different choice. Yeah, and I will look at things in a long term view as opposed to like, you know, avoiding short term difficult conversations. That’s very specifically geared to my one year ago self.
Mahrukh Imtiaz
I love that. I love that and where can people find you?
Ateeb Khan
So on Instagram, ateebk. That’s my Instagram. Tik Tok. It’s a ateebofficial. I was supposed to change that handle, but it’s growing on me. So I stick to it now. And yeah, that’s my TikTok handle.
Mahrukh Imtiaz
Yeah. Well, thank you so much for being here today. I had a really, really good time having this conversation. Well,
Ateeb Khan
Thank you for having me, Mahrukh. That was great. Thanks for having me. And, you know, in this conversation, I did take something as well, because I’ve haven’t dug into certain things myself. So that was great. Thanks for asking those questions. And, you know, we’ll be in touch so Always a pleasure.
Mahrukh Imtiaz
Yes, of course. Of course. I’m very grateful to have a friend like you. So definitely staying in touch.
And for all of those listening, thank you so much for listening. If you haven’t yet subscribed, please click the subscribe button and until next week. You got this beautiful!
Hey you thanks for listening to Spicy Chai I really appreciate it. And to make sure you never miss an episode subscribe to the podcast the obvious and if you want to learn more, head over to Mark imtiaz.com and until next time my friend hit the record button or you know the publish lots of love from your favorite.
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