Making my way into a new niche (is overwhelming)…

But I'm not moaning. Promise.

I’m sitting writing today’s newsletter in the media centre at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

If you’d told me, ten years ago, that I’d be a full-time tech content creator making a good living out of talking about things I find genuinely fascinating, I wouldn’t have believed you. If you’d then said I’d also gain the freedom to explore other areas about which I’m just as passionate, I’d have told you to get out of the room.

Well, that’s exactly what’s happened. But, as ever, all is not what it seems. Kinda.

From afar, this must look and sound really cool. Why would there be anything to complain about? This is the definition of living your dream, following your passions and being able to pay the mortgage and feed the family at the same time. Right?

Absolutely. I couldn’t be happier with where I am right now. But it’s not quite as skip-out-of- bed joyous as it seems. I’ve talked about this in previous newsletters, but I’ve been reminded of it again this week; the need to create and the constantly turning treadmill of a content business can sometimes be overwhelming. Exhausting, even.

The decision to head to Goodwood this week was to further explore the opportunities for our new Mark Ellis Motors content brand. There hasn’t been much of a plan (it’s my first Goodwood, so I had no idea what to expect) apart from getting here, capturing content, posting some random short form stuff on TikTok and Instagram and, possibly, making some new connections.

The challenge has been keeping everything else going. I have a brilliant team who do so much behind the scenes to keep the wheels turning - more than me, in that regard, these days - but I’m still the one who has to turn on the camera and talk into that mic. This has resulted in at least three major pieces of Mark Ellis Reviews content needing to be ‘mobilised’ and shot while travelling this week. I’ve done this a lot, but I won’t lie - this week has been tough going in that respect.

It doesn’t help that the new niche we’re entering - automotive - is absolutely bonkers. There is so much to go at, so many cool products to explore, and events like Goodwood are as utterly mad as they look when viewed from afar. There have been times over the last two days where I genuinely haven’t had a clue where to begin. Throw in the knowledge that other, bread-winning content needs to be made, and that makes for quite a fuzzy head.

We’ll get it done, but the prospect of filming a video last night in my hotel room after a full-on day of immersion in the world of high-octane motorsport left me wanting nothing more than my hotel room bed. So, I skipped it and pushed everything in my diary back one day, which means having to work some of this weekend - again.

To reiterate - none of this is a moan, but, as I always say, if you’re following these newsletters in the hope of one day following in my footsteps, you need to be ready for it - particularly if you have a family. I have a small window of an afternoon and a morning with my family this weekend before flying to Milan on Sunday which, again, sounds amazing. I just wish I had more time with them and slightly less content to create.

I’m moaning, aren’t I? I’ll stop it. Because this job really is incredible. It’s just much, much harder than it looks sometimes.

Right, I’m off to gawk at some supercars - catch you next week.