Julian Sarafian

Julian Sarafian is a lawyer and content creator. His law firm – For Creators by Creators PC – is the premiere law firm focused on representing content creators and social media influencers. As a content creator himself, Julian produces videos and blog posts related to the legal profession, law, and mental health on Tiktok, Youtube, LinkedIn, and Instagram, where his cumulative following is nearly 350,000. He has given multiple TedX talks. The Cost of Success dove into what originally made Sarafian viral – his mental health story as a high achiever who faced mental health challenges along the way, culminating in him quitting his job in Biglaw during the COVID pandemic. The second talk – How Content Creators are Being Ripped off on Social Media – shed light on the legal underbelly of the creator economy and how content creators are being taken advantage of by big money brands and social media platforms. He has written and published op-ed pieces in The American Lawyer, Law360, Business Insider, Bloomberg Law and CNBC. His advocacy for mental health has been covered by the New York Times and Bloomberg Law.

Prior to becoming a content creator and founder of For Creators by Creators PC Julian practiced law at CA-based Biglaw firm Wilson Sonsini, where he helped startup companies with their legal needs. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School and UC Berkeley.

What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?

I’ll wake up around 9am, grab my coffee while clearing my inbox, then make breakfast. After eating I’ll handle legal work that’s on my plate, usually ranging from a few brand deal reviews to some startup corporate governance or a demand letter for a brand that hasn’t paid a creator. By early afternoon I switch gears and head into content-generation mode. I’ll film a Youtube video or a few Tiktoks for my personal brand, post on LinkedIn, and do some creative writing. By late afternoon (4/5pm or so) I log off for the night, save responding to a few emails before I sleep. I work well by using a checklist of action items I want to knock out for the day and sticking to it. It keeps me on track and execution-focused.

How do you bring ideas to life?

Trying, failing, trying, failing, trying, and eventually succeeding. I go for it. I don’t write business plans, create a methodical plan, or talk to advisors. I deconstruct how to bring the idea to life and take steps to try it out. If I need to, I’ll use tools like ChatGPT or Google to help teach me what I need to know. But otherwise, I dive right in.

What’s one trend that excites you?

More and more public trust being in the hands of individuals as content creators rather than large media conglomerates. Ultimately the news itself is a nexus of information-sharing, and for a long time the process was controlled by a few massive companies (and to some degree mainstream news remains that way today). But with the rise of social media and the competitive nature of content creators seeking to edge each other out, more and more information is being distributed by individual people rather than corporations. And that’s great. Trust in individuals tends to be higher than organizations for the typical consumer, and when there are more competitors in the market of reporting on the news, it will push the large companies to adapt their practices to provide a better product.

What is one habit that helps you be productive?

Taking deep breathes as often as I can remember. It slows down my heart rate, clears my head, and helps me refocus.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Plan for the unexpected. Don’t think that life will be what you expect – that you will become a Biglaw lawyer and stay for 20 years before retiring, or that life won’t be disrupted by a global pandemic. Be agile, open-minded, and ready to change things up at a moments’ notice.

Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you.

Russia is weak.

What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?

Challenge your own way of thinking. Talk through how you feel, or ideas you have, with yourself and don’t be afraid to call out weaknesses, inconsistencies or hypocrisy therein. That’s how you can grow without relying on others. This practice applies to career, mental health, development, or even conversations for pleasure.

When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?

I go outside and meditate for 10 minutes. It serves as a “reset” for me.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?

Personal branding. Speaking out on things I care about, sharing my opinions, and talking openly about my law firm has built audiences on multiple social media platforms. That, in turn, has brought me clients, press opportunities, and new friends. It’s amazing how your name can spread through the Internet in ways you never expect by hitting “post.” Personal branding also reinforces my position as an authority figure in my field (law), which boosts my credibility when clients are shopping for a law firm.

What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?

I ran a startup company Nest Mode – an e-commerce product that was designed to reinvent shower storage – that I spent nearly 2 years building before launching on Kickstarter. The campaign was mediocre at best, raising $13,000 out of the goal of $270,000. The project ended there.

Major takeaways: if you want to build a company, you need to be prepared to bleed and work relentlessly for it. You can’t do it part-time, or even full-time. It needs to be overtime, all the time. Lesson #2: views are cheap. Just because people resonate with a product online by watching videos about it, commenting that they love it, or following you on social media, doesn’t mean they’ll convert. Lesson #3: without passion, your startup idea will flounder. Passion is what will keep you motivated when things are looking dim in your company, and without it it’s easy to give up.

What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?

A digital marketing agency focused on pairing brands with influencers on LinkedIn to advertise to the influencers’ audiences.

What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?

ChatGPT. I use it to draft contract provisions, long emails, ideation for marketing, and even website copy. Sometimes, I’ll use it to bounce ideas off of or if I want to vent about something frustrating me.

What is the best $100 you recently spent?

A paid subscription for the mobile application Evergreen. It’s a wonderful app that helps you stay connected to your partner and grow together through quizzes, thoughtful questions, and journaling exercises. It’s made our relationship more enriching, deep, and intentional.

Do you have a favorite book or podcast from which you’ve received much value?

Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker. It’s an excellent read that dives into why humanity is better off today than ever before, and provides a stark contrast to what the news and “doomscrolling” show us on a daily basis. Reading it gave me a new perspective on life and how lucky we are to be alive right now – optimism that I leaned on later when I quit my biglaw job to pursue other ventures.

What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. The animation, writing, and soundtrack to that film were all incredible.

Key learnings:

• Keep an open mind because things will probably not go as you expect.
• Deep breathing can help you be more productive, focused, and energized.
• If you fail, try again. Action is what separates those who reach their goals and those who sit on the sidelines.