Learn how Devin Reed become full time entrepreneur after 10 years of full time W2

*This is Devin's total engagement numbers from his 4 year journey (through July 11, 2024) 

Introduction

Have you ever wondered how to go from being a full time employee to a full time creator? 

Well, the short answer is... it takes time.  Sometimes it can be quick and sometimes it's a slow burn like a bundle of sagebrush that you're passing around a campfire. 

Devin's journey is an amazing one.  

Building out the content strategy at two of the best B2B SaaS brands that have leveraged LinkedIn to create pipeline for their business: Clari and Gong.  

If you're seen any content from them on LinkedIn, Devin has been part of the masterful strategy that has been executed.  

It didn't start out that way.  It takes serious time, energy and trial and error to figure out how to make this work for the audience you're speaking to. 

And now, he's been able to break out on his own and continue the journey of building his personal brand.  

It took 9 years to breakout but it's been amazing to watch.  

Now, let's get into how he started and why I think his creator style is the Corporate Breakout. 

Content Style: The Corporate Breakout

Working as a W2 employee is the easiest (and safest) path to earning a healthy living.  

They give you healthcare, a consistent salary and benefits that you would never get on your own. 

It's magical and most employees want to do 'their own thing'.  

But what they don't realize is how difficult it is to go through trials and errors to figure out what's going to work on your own. 

Building your own business is not easy.  It's extremely hard and typically why you see people stay in the W2 world for their entire career but... 

Devin was able to break out.  

He used his personal brand to break out of the traditional path. 

If you are a W2 employee that wants to eventually do their own thing...

Follow what Devin has done and start building your personal brand on LinkedIn.  

You'll be able to leverage that for your current role AND give you the freedom to break out and build your own business when the time is right.  

Whether you're someone that is an individual contributor just starting out or you're a seasoned veteran for 10-15+ years in your career, get started today.  

If you do it for a year consistently, you'll be amazed at what you'll create. 

So, where did Devin start? 

Let's get into it...

We All Start Somewhere

Devin Reed started his LinkedIn journey in March 2015. His journey on LinkedIn for the first 2 years was more like probing the LI landscape. 

He shared his first post on March 10, 2015, and went on to share 7 other posts in the same year. All his posts in 2015 had 13 reactions, 2 comments, and 1 repost. 

In 2016, Devin shared 10 posts, having a total of 14 reactions with no comments or reposts. For real, not a single comment or repost for an entire year. 

See! We all start somewhere! And this was the first few baby steps that Devin took on LinkedIn.

Now, let’s check out some of his post in the early days.

This was Devin’s first LinkedIn post on March 10, 2015

Hook: Are you looking to add some crazy to your webinars? Join ON24 on 3/11 http://bit.ly/1E7cJ7o #ON24webcast (1 repost)

December 14, 2015

Authenticity is key if you're going to leverage social media successfully (1 reaction)

Of all his 8 posts in 2015, Devin shared 5 in March.

Devin’s post with the best performance in 2016 was shared on August 10, 2016

Hook: I'm not saying do it, but I'm not saying don't do it either (5 reactions)

June 2, 2017

I'm excited to share that I've relaunched my blog and website, TheReeder.co! (6 reactions)

August 7, 2017

If a recruiter doesn't know me and won't take the time to send a personalized connection request, why should I believe you won't take the lazy route in trying to place me? (16 reactions, 2 comments)

That was the highest reaction Devin got in his first 3 years of posting on LinkedIn. He posted considerably more in 2017 than his previous two years. In 2017, he shared 56 posts in all. 

In 2018, Devin shared 203 posts, which was a huge improvement from the previous years.

Although Devin posted more in 2018, his posts were not very consistent. There were days he posted more than once, and he stayed away from posting for weeks. For instance, he shared 14 posts in January and only 1 in February. 

April 6, 2018

Not pictured, "This is How We Do It" by Montell Jordan playing in the background (38 reactions, 4 comments)

November 7, 2018

I’m not one to drink the Kool aid, but the Gong app is simply a game changer. (73 reactions, 16 comments, 3 reposts)

The year 2019 was a year of learning the art of consistency on LI for Devin. He shared 38 posts in January, posting twice a day in many cases. 

Let’s see some of his posts that performed well in 2019.

February 27, 2019

#Sales101 - Customize your email subject line! (29 reactions, 50 comments)

How did Devin get this many reactions and comments??

First, he talked about an important subject matter to sales people - his subject was about the subject line of an email (probably the most important part of the email)

Secondly, Devin used the right #hashtags in his copy - #Sales101, #Salespeople, #Salesleaders.

Thirdly, he ignited comments with his closing line. “what are some of the best subject lines you've seen?”

Even you’d want to get the funniest or most provoking subject line that made you open an email. 

Fourthly, Devin started engaging his comment - his response always adds to the number.

June 25, 2019

You down with ABP? Yea, you know me. (109 reactions, 12 comments, 4 reposts)

For the first time, Devin crossed the 100 reactions margin. This is a post that targets an experience that every sales rep faces on a daily basis. Nothing triggers more engagement than sharing opinions on topics that your audience has a deep connection with. 

July 16, 2019

The time is now....

I'm giving you our Discovery Master Class, including 7 DEAL-DEFINING discovery call tactics  (118 reactions, 771 comments)

Wow! How did Devin get a whooping 771 comments on this single post?

He was giving value for free!

And the CTA was to comment “SEND IT!” to get the link.

Of course, he was also there to engage the comments.

Testing Phase

Two things obviously changed in Devin's Testing Phase; 

Firstly, he broke out of the "corporate mask" and started being himself with content creation. Secondly, he greatly improved on his copywriting skills. 

September 4, 2019

Last week, I witnessed something I've NEVER seen happen in my career (1645 reactions, 165 comments, 22 reposts)

October 22, 2019

Two years ago I made a BIG leap.

I decided to leave a company that was on track to IPO for a 40 person start up  (916 reactions, 72 comments, 1 repost)

Something is common with these 2 viral posts. Despite the fact that it was all pure text and no pictures or videos, they performed really well. For the first time, Devin had more than 1k reactions on a single post. 

That’s the power of story telling. The first is a powerful, intuitive, real story and the second showcases a commanding and intense storytelling. 

Of course, he had already started engaging all comments on his posts - that's also a strategy!

December 12, 2019

There are 1.37 BILLION results for sales tips on Google.

But *data-backed* sales tips? That’s another story. (688 reactions, 138 comments, 18 reposts)

January 10, 2020

Yesterday, I pissed off a lot of people... (1584 reactions, 242 comments, 24 reposts)

How do you think this post went viral!?

The post is a tactical response to another viral post. Just the previous day, Devin shared about his view on the impact of swearing on sales. You can check out the post here.

Hook: Have you ever cursed on a sales call? 

And yes! This post went viral, having 951 reactions, 340 comments, 57 reposts.

March 30, 2020

COVID-19 has shaken up every aspect of our lives over the past few weeks.

And sales conversations are not immune. (769 reactions, 97 comments, 19 reposts)

This was in the heat of COVID, and like many other creators I have reviewed, Devin shared about the pressing matter of the moment. As of this time, the pandemic just hit the world, and everyone’s working on coping with it. Posts that help people cope better would fly.

May 20, 2020

There are a million ways to write a cold email.

But only one CTA is proven to book more meetings. (1299 reactions, 276 comments, 30 reposts.)

Devin does one thing really well. He sometimes makes his LinkedIn posts really short. Then, redirect his audience to his newsletter. In this case, the LI post serves as the hook - brief and catchy!

October 19, 2020

The worst way to open a follow-up prospecting email: (924 reactions, 110 comments, 16 reposts.)

December 14, 2020

No one wants to work next week. (1117 reactions, 53 comments, 11 reposts.)

As you’d have noticed, this post is short enough, delivers value on how to easily get your prospects before they hit the Christmas break, and sales reps would resonate with it. 

February 17, 2021

Nobody wants the corporate version of you. (6734 reactions, 516 comments, 295 reposts)

Before now, Devin has reached 1500 reactions, but 6k?? That’s a whole new level. 

June 3, 2021

Four years ago I was sitting at my desk when my director walked up to me. (1338 reactions, 98 comments)

Finding Devin's Creator Style

Devin started something remarkably stunning at this point in his Creation journey. He started sharing some very powerful one-liner, hooking posts. 

Just one line and that’s it!

Let’s check out some of these posts and their results.

October 29, 2021

27 tattoos later and I still haven’t “ruined my chances at getting a good job.” (15298 reactions, 622 comments, 156 reposts)

In his 9 years of posting on LinkedIn, this one-line post has been the most viral as of July 2024. This post alone has over 15k reactions, despite having just one line of text, no pictures, no videos, no link to a newsletter. 

Why!?

It is a highly controversial subject matter. Controversial topics usually get the most reactions on any social media, including LinkedIn. 

Even some of the replies became viral, like this one;

December 20, 2021

Your company does not own your LinkedIn profile. (9073 reactions, 551 comments, 88 reposts)

February 4, 2022

Helping others is the best business model. (1000 reactions, 63 comments, 17 reposts)

See, all these three viral posts are one-liners and controversial. 

On May 11, 2022, Devin did something different with his post.

Hook: Nobody wants the corporate version of you. (4880 reactions, 406 comments, 179 reposts)

This was a repost of another viral post, which Devin shared on February 17, 2021 (having 6734 reactions, 516 comments, 295 reposts.)

Reposting a previously viral post with/without tweaking it is highly likely to go viral again with the same audience. 

July 26, 2022

Celebrate progress because results don't come every day. (10840 reactions, 156 comments, 317 reposts)

December 19, 2022

No one wants to work next week. (3008 reactions, 91 comments, 32 reposts)

This same post got 1k+ reactions two years ago. See! Another proof that if it performed well before, it can do so again. 

April 26, 2023

My CEO just started posting on LinkedIn and in the first 30 days he got 1.2M+ views. (3095 reactions, 256 comments, 36 reposts)

September 29, 2023

B2B companies: CONTENT IS KING!  (1019 reactions, 112 comments, 31 reposts)

December 19, 2023

I’ve literally never looked at college degrees when making a hiring decision. (960 reactions, 76 comments, 8 reposts.)

May 1, 2024

My CEO just started posting on LinkedIn last year and he got 6.1M views in the first 12 months. (2143 reactions, 210 comments, 43 reposts)

Devin shared a very similar post on April 26, 2023. That was when his CEO clocked 1 month of consistently posting on LI. This is just an upgrade of the post from the previous year. If it performed well then, it’s not likely to do any different now.

June 3, 2024

It's official! I'm a full time entrepreneur and Founder. (2679 reactions, 304 comments, 4 reposts)

July 9, 2024

Show me an underperforming marketing team and I’ll show you CEO who… (1605 reactions, 205 comments, 37 reposts)

So what does all this mean for you?

The Corporate Breakout: Is it for you? 

If you're thinking about breaking out from your corporate job, you need to think about how you can do what Devin did. 

This is your case study for how to break out of a traditional job. 

You don't need to wait 9 years and have two successful B2B SaaS companies to do it.  

It just takes dedicated focus for 12 months and then determine your exit path. 

Focus on building your brand.  Be a top performer at your W2.  Find a way out.  

If that's what you want to do with your life. 

Conclusion

Here’s what you should take away from Devin's journey that started almost a decade ago:

• One liner punchy posts work
• Have a unique point of view (and be contrarian) 
• Repurpose Repurpose Repurpose

Devin tried a LOT of different formats for posts to see what works.  

In the early days, it was a lot of trial and error but he was able to get to a final creator style once he found his groove. 

Check out the details below on each of the items I call out here but remember, everybody's journey is unique.  

You can learn from others but you also need to turn this into your unique style to succeed.  

If you have any questions about the journey or want to talk through the details more, please send me an email to: andrew@andrewcmcguire.com

Until next week... I'll see you on LinkedIn.