Episode 68 features Khan who you may know from his streams or the many emotes of his which populate Twitch, his merchandise, or his coffee.
We discuss all of that plus; his journey back to art, being a teacher, building a brand, streaming for selfish reasons, philosophy, consistency, and much much more.
Throughout the conversation, we discuss:
- “I make stuff.”
- Coaching and Teaching
- Martial Arts
- “I like dense things…”
- Are you your brand?
- Streaming art
- Khanguer Blend Coffee
- Starting the grind
- Jack of all trades
- Apparel Lines
- Developing a video game
- Expectations
- Price and Design
- Time Management
- Daily Comic
- Recharging
- Write it down
- Drunken Boxing
- The impetus of change
- Mortality
- Goals
- And much more
Mentioned and Helpful Links from This Episode
Music created and provided by Henno Heitur of Monkey Tongue Productions.
–End Show Notes Transmission–
–Begin Transcription–
00:00:00:01 – 00:00:23:39
Agent Palmer
Previously on Agent Palmer dot com. Tanequil is a great middle sector for the High Druid trilogy. Fact over fiction why I’m watching more documentaries than ever before, and since the last episode, I’ve been working on being more open about mental health. This is The Palmer Files episode 68 with Khan, who you may know from his streams or the many emotes of his which populate Twitch, his merchandise, or his coffee.
00:00:23:44 – 00:00:44:26
Agent Palmer
We discuss all of that, plus his journey back to art. Being a teacher. Building a brand. Streaming for selfish reasons. Philosophy, consistency, and much, much more. Are you ready? Let’s do the show.
00:01:08:18 – 00:01:30:09
Agent Palmer
Hello, and welcome to the Palmer Files. I’m your host, Jason Stershic. Also known as Agent Palmer. And on this 68th episode is Khan. He is the founder of con Art. And as you’ll soon hear, wears many hats. This is a conversation I cannot wait to share with you, so I’ll keep this short. You’re going to hear about Khan’s journey, not only where he’s going, but where he’s been.
00:01:30:14 – 00:01:55:21
Agent Palmer
This conversation may be between two creators, but Khan and I create different things. If you are a creator or entrepreneur, listen close because everything is applicable. This is an inspiring discussion. You’ll hear about why Khan started streaming on Twitch, how he’s diversified into merchandise, and even his own coffee blend. You’ll learn about business and creation, time management, and process.
00:01:55:26 – 00:02:16:09
Agent Palmer
All of that is coming your way very soon. But first, remember, if you want to discuss this episode as you listen or afterwards, you can tweet me at Agent Palmer, my guest Khan at Young Khan. That’s why u n g k h and or this show at the Palmer Files. You can find more information about Khan con artists.org.
00:02:16:09 – 00:02:48:22
Agent Palmer
That’s k for an artist.org. You can find additional Khan merch@fts.com. That’s h f t e Eskom or get some of his conquer blend coffee at Kings Coast coffee.com. Don’t forget you can see all of my writings or rantings on Agent palmer.com. And of course email can be sent to the Palmer files at gmail.com. So without further ado, let’s get into it.
00:02:48:27 – 00:03:09:10
Agent Palmer
Khan, you are a creator and a thought leader and an educator. And like an illustrator and a designer, you are a lot of things. When people ask you what you are, what is your first response?
00:03:09:15 – 00:03:15:01
Khan
I make stuff that’s pretty much where it starts and ends.
00:03:15:06 – 00:03:15:26
Agent Palmer
All right.
00:03:15:29 – 00:03:20:08
Khan
What kind of stuff? That could be a very long list. So I just kind of lead into, make stuff.
00:03:20:13 – 00:03:21:26
Agent Palmer
Okay.
00:03:21:31 – 00:03:28:01
Khan
It’s a pretty good general. Slathering for what I do, as a profession.
00:03:28:06 – 00:03:31:59
Agent Palmer
Did. Did you always want to make stuff?
00:03:32:04 – 00:03:51:27
Khan
I would say yes. And like, probably in my, you know, early 20s, I got disillusioned because I couldn’t get any work. And, you know, I wasn’t very good. So I wasn’t getting the work to begin with. And the internet was is not as good as it is now. So, that was on hiatus for, like, maybe a decade or over a decade or so.
00:03:51:27 – 00:03:53:41
Khan
So I didn’t really make anything for a whole decade.
00:03:53:45 – 00:03:55:59
Agent Palmer
And now you’re catching up for that?
00:03:56:04 – 00:04:04:38
Khan
Yeah. I’m, I’m filling out all ten years in the in the span of five. I’m putting 15 years of time in the five years, basically.
00:04:04:49 – 00:04:29:08
Agent Palmer
I’ve been slowly creating for the better part of a decade, between the blog and the podcast and, like, helping other people. But I, I, I gotta tell you, the, the one thing where I feel like you and I differ because I am a creator as well, sort of, but I tend to prefer to help people make things as opposed to making the things.
00:04:29:13 – 00:04:52:40
Khan
Understand that I’m moving towards that. That’s the goal, is to move away from making so many things into, you know, assist people to get in the position that I’m in because, as a designer, you can’t really do commission work forever. It it’ll it’ll drain you, it’ll drain all your energy. So I’m moving more to education.
00:04:52:41 – 00:05:02:47
Khan
Stuff like that help people make things, coaching people, on a monthly basis. So other designers, other creators, they want to, you know, up their game in the space.
00:05:02:52 – 00:05:17:09
Agent Palmer
If I go back a decade or two, like during your your decade of no creation, and I said, you are going to be a teacher and help other people like, would you have looked at me weird?
00:05:17:13 – 00:05:35:09
Khan
Oh, no. No, because I was, I was teaching martial arts. I was working at a high school, as a as a physics teacher. So I, I’ve always been into helping people, help people, like, figure things out. Like, that was the best thing about teaching kids martial arts was helping them, like, you give them a concept and you watch them slowly.
00:05:35:09 – 00:05:45:54
Khan
Like, unwrap it like a gift. You like, you’re almost there. Just, just just tear the corners just a little bit more. You almost got this week. We’ll come back and try it again tomorrow or next week.
00:05:45:54 – 00:06:06:59
Agent Palmer
So yeah. Is that martial arts background? The reason that like, I, I, like I’ll fanboy out for a moment. Like, I watched a lot of your conversations and I just, I was like this, this guy’s a a philosopher for almost like, does that is that come from the martial arts?
00:06:07:04 – 00:06:33:38
Khan
But then that’s let’s play one of my favorite, you know, topics. I’ve got a small library behind me. Probably about 25% to 30% is all philosophy. Probably 30% is martial arts. There’s no fiction. Vectors all like history and philosophy and stuff. So fine art books, books on, you know, Asian history, you know, Middle Eastern history, stuff like that.
00:06:33:42 – 00:06:54:38
Agent Palmer
I have I have a I don’t know, I think my library’s probably 50 over 50 between fiction and non I, I’ve, I try to make sure I don’t fall into one or the other, for very long, because I feel like you can learn just as much from fiction as you can from non. But I also like the idea of learning from real people.
00:06:54:43 – 00:07:02:54
Agent Palmer
Philosophy though, like I like discussing it. I like talking about it. I’m not really good at reading it.
00:07:02:54 – 00:07:24:36
Khan
It’s it’s. I like dense things. I, it’s, that’s just a personal thing. Like, I, I’ve tried reading. I’ve only only there’s only at like one fictional course I’ve read through front to back. And that was the Dune series by Frank Herbert. Okay. And that’s a very dense read that kind of reads like nonfiction at some point. Is very, it’s like more of a history breakdown in reverse.
00:07:24:36 – 00:07:46:22
Khan
He’s like, oh, man, this is really good and simple. This is a really not a good read. I don’t think this is the but a so political in whatever. So that’s my, that’s my, my brand of fiction which is not like most fiction. All right. So yeah, I’ve tried reading like other popular fiction. Just like, oh, man, this is, I am getting drowsy.
00:07:46:27 – 00:07:49:42
Khan
Getting drowsy.
00:07:49:46 – 00:07:58:28
Khan
You put me in front of, like, some, some Krishnamurti. I’m like, oh, man, this is deep. Oh, man. I’m going to chapter ten already. Oh, God. Please go.
00:07:58:28 – 00:08:07:46
Agent Palmer
On. I, I mean, you bring up brand, right? Like you. I don’t know how to ask it. Are you your brand?
00:08:07:51 – 00:08:08:34
Khan
Yeah. Yeah.
00:08:08:36 – 00:08:24:49
Khan
Okay. I mean, if you want to be authentic to what you do not like, you know, put on a false, like facade all the time, that seems extra tiresome. So. Yeah. Yeah, I, is what you see is what you get. Okay. That’s that’s that’s pretty much it.
00:08:24:54 – 00:08:51:07
Agent Palmer
And and do you find do you find that tiring like, because I’m, you’re live on Twitch. You’re more public like this. You know, I put my podcast out, I put my blog out, but I’m, I guess I’m shielded because it’s not live. Do you enjoy that aspect of it like that? Live? I don’t want to say performance, but that that on display.
00:08:51:07 – 00:08:54:20
Agent Palmer
So I guess performance elements of it.
00:08:54:25 – 00:09:14:12
Khan
I don’t really think about it as performance, but I live stream is more or less, it’s a stream for a selfish reason. I stream, so I hope to be alone when I work. That’s the reason I stream. Okay, it’s not really for, so people get into streaming because, you know, they want to showcase their skills.
00:09:14:14 – 00:09:37:29
Khan
That’s that’s the that can be a part of it. But, I’m mostly stream, so I don’t have to sit here alone for six hours while I work on these projects for for clients. It also helps me, get the, you know, help people like, you know, ask questions about what I’m doing. And I do get to showcase this stuff to other people and potentially gain more clients.
00:09:37:29 – 00:09:57:12
Khan
But, I don’t get, like, I know some, some there’s a lot of streamers that, you know, don’t like to show the face and stuff like that. I’m just like, I’m just here making stuff. Yeah. And, drinking coffee. If you want to sit in, you can sit in here. Even if you want to shoot this shit above, let the latest Marvel movie we can do that.
00:09:57:18 – 00:10:11:14
Khan
I don’t we we. This is this is just me here. Not working in the darkness like a hermit. Even though, you know, I’ve been home the best to. To have you like a hermit. So this is like my little bit of social interaction for the day.
00:10:11:19 – 00:10:31:08
Agent Palmer
I got to tell you, I love your authentic city because there are times when I, I don’t know, I don’t follow people when I can see it’s a facade. And I know some people don’t care, like just entertain me, but I, I, I need authenticity in my entertainers now.
00:10:31:13 – 00:10:50:38
Khan
Yeah. There are a lots of people that have like, you know, they have YouTube channels and have like their own, their own art streams and they are what they seem to be on their YouTube channels, which is very upbeat, very poppy. You know, just I’m just like, if we were to meet in real life, I don’t think we could hang out.
00:10:50:40 – 00:11:06:20
Khan
This is this is way too I don’t know, this is this is this is not this is this feels surreal to me. I mean, if that’s how you were in real life, I know people who live there. I like that, that are, you know, Poppy all the time. I’m like, but those people are super taxing to me. I can’t socially.
00:11:06:20 – 00:11:10:25
Khan
It was like, I feel like they’re just sucking the life. I’m like a vampire, but.
00:11:10:32 – 00:11:11:52
Khan
Oh, okay, I got I.
00:11:11:52 – 00:11:16:12
Khan
Get it, I get it. You’re happy, I get it. No, I understand, I understand, I understand, but please.
00:11:16:20 – 00:11:21:24
Agent Palmer
I’m not even like that with coffee. Like, I and I drink a lot of coffee, and I’m not.
00:11:21:29 – 00:11:31:44
Khan
I am 50% coffee and 50% beard at this point in my life, I it is. This is what’s holding this glue together of my body that I have this coffee.
00:11:31:49 – 00:11:49:58
Agent Palmer
So let’s talk about the coffee for a moment, okay? You have your own blend of coffee. As a coffee drinker myself, an avid coffee drinker myself, like that seems like a very, very cool thing.
00:11:50:02 – 00:11:58:52
Khan
Yeah. I was actually lobbying to have my own blend for two years, and, I finally broke them.
00:11:58:57 – 00:12:02:06
Agent Palmer
Persistence pays off.
00:12:02:11 – 00:12:23:07
Khan
Finally broke. And then the community was like. So once that concrete blend going to come up at Kings Coast, I’m like, you guys, are you guys are backing this up to, I’ve always had a good, relationship with the guys at a rare drop who, this is like a subsidiary of, the Kingscote Coffee. I did the rebrand, for where?
00:12:23:08 – 00:12:47:06
Khan
Drops logo. Okay. Some years ago, and I did some, some set design work at, Guardian con 18, GCS 18 and Florida. So otherwise they had a good relationship. All those guys that owned company. Professor Broman, darkness for two nine. You know those guys? Yeah. Like, I’ve even done, like, work on. They’re showing me their emotes, and I made, you know, some of their channel graphics and stuff like that.
00:12:47:06 – 00:12:57:34
Khan
So they finally got around, like, we really want to have this stuff in a bag in a position opened up. And I was like, say, no more and more. I’m there. Say no more.
00:12:57:36 – 00:13:26:33
Agent Palmer
Now, I, I know you do a lot of things, as far as design goes, and I know you’re branching out now, but like, can you tell me about the mentality of building that portfolio to begin with? Because obviously you’re only kind of you’ve enabled yourself to branch out because you’ve, you know, got a portfolio and you’ve you’ve got regular or semi-regular design clients.
00:13:26:38 – 00:13:33:09
Agent Palmer
And now you’re branching out. But like, what was the grind like to get there? Because that’s not an overnight thing.
00:13:33:14 – 00:13:54:56
Khan
No more or less. We come to mentality just working lots of like I jobs and basically the, the workmanship I get like the work ethic from my dad who, has his own construction business, but he basically did everything. Like, if you want the plumbing done, we’ll do the plumbing. If you want to have a roof put on, we’ll put the roof on.
00:13:55:01 – 00:14:12:10
Khan
You want to have, you know, have some drywall put up. We’ll do that. You want to have the cabinets reinstalled? We’ll do that once you tear down your garage and you know you to do some masonry work. We do all that stuff. So when people come to me with, when I was doing, when I first got into it, I was working at a bar as a bartender.
00:14:12:15 – 00:14:31:08
Khan
Not come home at night and make, you know, fan art for destiny. And that kind of got me to do an email for people, people like, oh, man, it’s so great. Do you do logos? And I’m like, no, but I’ll learn. Yeah. And eventually I picked up the logo stuff and people were like, oh man, do you do scenes and overlays?
00:14:31:08 – 00:14:57:52
Khan
And I’m like, no, but I’ll learn. And that’s basically how I picked up every skill so far. So that’s going from like logos to overlays to motion graphics to, merch design to pixel art. You know, it, that it all branches off as people come to me because, the, the reason people come back to me is because I know this from work on my dad.
00:14:57:57 – 00:15:08:46
Khan
If you give somebody a good product, you give somebody, you’re you if you want to be a, you know, a great, source of whatever they need and be reliable, they will call you back all the time.
00:15:08:54 – 00:15:09:28
Khan
Yeah.
00:15:09:33 – 00:15:26:43
Khan
And that’s pretty much how I built all that. But just take a take out. I’ll get something people want and I’ll learn about it. And I’ll practice it for like 30 to 60 days and I’ll be like, all right, I’ll do this for you, but for half price, because I’ve never done it before. But all right, we’ll see how it goes.
00:15:26:43 – 00:15:42:08
Khan
And, you know, it’ll go okay. And then, you know, and I started doing mascot design like, this would be, you know, I guess this would be like, you know, $50. I do 25. It’s my first time because mascot like, I if I, you know, last one I think I did was like 500 or something like that.
00:15:42:08 – 00:15:42:52
Agent Palmer
Yeah.
00:15:42:56 – 00:15:53:44
Khan
So, you know, you, you, you learn as you go and the more you grow, the more you can like, you know, kind of play with your, your skill level. So you up that as you go.
00:15:53:53 – 00:16:00:59
Agent Palmer
So you can do anything. I mean, in that vein, you can. There’s very little you can’t do.
00:16:01:04 – 00:16:13:47
Khan
I mean, I don’t believe there’s anything. Nothing anyone can do. There’s there is a, you know, there’s the same there’s a the jack of all trades and, you know, the master of none. I’m like, I mean, I’d rather just be a jack of all trades. It keeps me sane.
00:16:13:52 – 00:16:14:23
Agent Palmer
Yeah.
00:16:14:28 – 00:16:22:16
Agent Palmer
Well, I mean, it’s the, you know, the the saying continues that, you know, but still better than a master of one, right. Like.
00:16:22:16 – 00:16:22:49
Khan
Yeah.
00:16:22:53 – 00:16:50:22
Agent Palmer
But I guess, I mean, I, I started this off by like listing off all the things, like all the potential titles you can give yourself. Or in addition to creator, do you have, I know you recently put out a video of, like your 2022 goals, but like, looking beyond. Right? Like, do you like, is there something you want to do or are you just taking it as it comes?
00:16:50:22 – 00:17:20:16
Agent Palmer
Right. Like I’m going to do this and then we’ll see how that goes and do this. Or is it like, you know, down the road like, no cons is going to be doing movies and, you know, albums in like, like is there is there an end like, do you have a, like a I don’t know, I, I don’t want to see like dream because you, you, you seem to be in reality which is a nice change of pace.
00:17:20:20 – 00:17:41:10
Khan
Now thank you. I guess the overall thing I’m, I’m probably doing right now is just kind of moving towards strength. And then the, the conquer brand and probably moving into its own apparel line, which takes a little bit more capital and, finishing my first game, developing. So those are like the immediate goals.
00:17:41:10 – 00:17:51:29
Khan
Yeah. You know, I started it, I started as second brand a few days ago. A second apparel brand that’s going to help me, like, get some in-house, press stuff going on.
00:17:51:34 – 00:17:57:31
Agent Palmer
Now, at this moment, like as we’re talking. Is this all still just.
00:17:57:36 – 00:17:59:22
Agent Palmer
You know,
00:17:59:27 – 00:18:05:04
Agent Palmer
At some point, like, are you going to get some help?
00:18:05:09 – 00:18:33:14
Khan
The five year goal is to start my own firm, and I can just be creative director, okay? Because like most things, you kind of want to move with your reputation and at this point, I’ve worked with probably over 1200 creators in the past five years, on their merchandise and stuff. Yeah. And out of all the out of 1200 doors, I’ve only I probably had less than 20 people be unhappy.
00:18:33:14 – 00:18:51:20
Khan
But I do. So it’s very important to me when I start this firm that I get the right people in there and that I’m able to pay them, you know, my goal, the number in my head I want to pay people is 450 K. Starting off as a designer. No, no. Hire like 1 or 2 of the top.
00:18:51:20 – 00:19:07:00
Khan
So that’s the that’s the that’s the five year plan to start my own firm. I know people have done it recently and I love what they do. I like if I can’t do something, I refer people to them because they got a whole team of six and people like me, you guys can go to them, for the car.
00:19:07:01 – 00:19:12:55
Khan
Touch. I’ll be around. But you you want to. You want to get something that is workable and looks professional. You can go with those guys.
00:19:13:09 – 00:19:13:29
Agent Palmer
Yeah.
00:19:13:43 – 00:19:47:30
Agent Palmer
So were you always going to end up being an, I don’t know, entrepreneur is such an overused word. But like, it, it helps describe so many things, right? Like you’re a brand ambassador for yourself and a business owner. So, you know, because because I look at it like this, I, I have my own agency, technically, as a as, like, a digital marketing consultant, and it’s to help people.
00:19:47:30 – 00:20:12:14
Agent Palmer
I never really did it to make money. And that’s, that’s my own, like, little hang up, like I’m just so focused on the helping that I the. I’m not, like, the greatest businessman, but I’m okay with that because I’ve, I’ve managed to eke out a living elsewhere. Right. But you, you have like, a road map that you’ve built for yourself.
00:20:13:23 – 00:20:18:17
Agent Palmer
That I’m, I’m I’m genuinely impressed.
00:20:18:22 – 00:20:20:08
Khan
Sometimes I scare myself.
00:20:20:13 – 00:20:21:24
Agent Palmer
Oh, no.
00:20:21:29 – 00:20:21:59
Agent Palmer
I mean, this.
00:20:21:59 – 00:20:45:29
Khan
Is, kind of, like, out of necessity, though, like, I just I needed to, I take everything I do super seriously, and, you know, I try to, like, the whole thing is when I give people work and I get people, you know, I give people designs. You’re giving me your hard earned money, and I’m giving you something that should make that money work for you.
00:20:45:29 – 00:20:49:27
Khan
So everything you I do for you should be an investment. More or less.
00:20:49:39 – 00:20:50:41
Agent Palmer
Okay.
00:20:50:46 – 00:21:05:00
Khan
So that’s the kind of way I move with my business. So if I’m producing things that gain you more traction financially, this business should work just fine.
00:21:05:05 – 00:21:13:40
Agent Palmer
I mean, it, it’s. Do you have any clients that are like, you’re you’re. I don’t want you to work on this life.
00:21:13:45 – 00:21:15:21
Khan
Okay. Yeah. Yeah.
00:21:15:26 – 00:21:38:00
Agent Palmer
So it’s a balance there because. Yeah I feel like that’s I’d like I very much understand where you’re coming from. Like most creatives work in a vacuum by themselves. Like I, I edit this podcast by myself like I write by myself. I get to record with you. Right. Like that. This is the part that’s interactive to me.
00:21:38:14 – 00:21:48:30
Agent Palmer
Otherwise. Yeah. If I, if I, if I had lived a, if I was living alone, I would have no interaction with anybody outside of the recordings.
00:21:48:52 – 00:21:58:43
Agent Palmer
So I get that. But like did you know what you were getting into when you were like, I’m, I’m just going to go live on Twitch while I do this.
00:21:58:48 – 00:22:22:00
Khan
No, I really I was doing a Destiny podcast with a buddy. Oh, that’s doing Destiny fan art. And he was like, make sure really, like stream your emote work. And I was like, nobody wants to watch me do this. I told the story probably 50 times, but I was wrong. Oh. I see him again.
00:22:22:05 – 00:22:44:51
Khan
But, yeah, I was just, you know, I was getting home at midnight from work, from working the bar and lighting the stream up to it for you, just making emotes. And, you know, the Destiny community would would drop by sporadically. And that became like the, you know, the kind of go to thing. But, no, I had no idea this would be here because I, I didn’t even know the first time made an emote.
00:22:44:51 – 00:22:58:46
Khan
I wasn’t even on Twitch. I wasn’t even like, I even I was even I didn’t know what emote was. I was like, I game and I listen to Disney podcasts. You should watch me on Twitch. I don’t even want to watch anybody play games. So I was wrong about that too.
00:22:58:51 – 00:23:06:48
Agent Palmer
Well, I mean, I guess for for me, I have to ask what you did. You’re no longer a bartender.
00:23:06:53 – 00:23:07:22
Khan
No.
00:23:07:27 – 00:23:31:32
Agent Palmer
So what was that like? Because that’s a that’s a major milestone for you. You’re, you know, you don’t, you know, this creative pursuit, this passion of yours is now your primary source of income. What’s that like when you get to go? All right, you know what? I don’t have to be a bartender anymore.
00:23:31:37 – 00:23:50:13
Khan
It was a little bit scary at first because, you know, I was from a mobile mill beginning to mid 30s. I’ve been at that job for, like, six years. 6 or 5. Six years. I was, you know, a bartender. And the the day I put my two weeks notice in, the owner was like, is are you sure you want to go?
00:23:50:13 – 00:24:10:31
Khan
Do you you want to be GM? I was like, I don’t, I don’t, I don’t want to be GM. At that point when he was there for them that that GM, I was like, I just I was making enough money to do like drawing at home, saving me the 45 minute drive to the to the, to the bar.
00:24:10:36 – 00:24:33:18
Khan
And I was doing it on stream and, you know, not making an extraordinary amount of money that was bartending because, you know, some days are good and some days are terrible because you’re really working at a bar. Yeah. But it was it was a little bit scary. But I was living, you know, of, of Molly and, you know, she had, her own income.
00:24:33:23 – 00:24:46:03
Khan
So it was like it was really like falling back on the idea that I could, you know, kind of move from there was kind of like this kind of grow the business because I was getting work, work, and I was like booked up for four weeks and booked it for a month. I was like, oh, man, I could do this.
00:24:46:03 – 00:24:56:57
Khan
I could, I could really make this work. Yeah, there’s, there’s a, there’s a niche for me to fulfill. And, once he was like, you should you should be unique. Do you want to be GM? I was like, I got to go.
00:24:57:01 – 00:24:57:19
Khan
I.
00:24:57:19 – 00:25:22:38
Khan
Gotta go. If I don’t go now, I’ll be gone. I’ll never go and I’ll regret this. So it was, it was a little bit of fear, a little bit of scared. But ultimately when you, when I got out of my, you know, got out there and I was like, I’m well now doing this full time, there was a huge amount of support for the things that I did was like, oh, there’s this could actually work.
00:25:22:43 – 00:25:39:14
Khan
Because they say, you can come back whenever you want at the bar. I still got the key to I still to this day have the keys to the bar because they would not take them back. Wow. And I was there last year like visiting you know, right when the pandemic kind of like load a little bit and I was like, all right, you know, the keys back to the bar.
00:25:39:19 – 00:25:43:10
Khan
No. Keep me might no, no, you might need in one day without the rest.
00:25:43:14 – 00:25:57:40
Agent Palmer
You know, it feels like that. That could be like, that’s that’s your your South star. Like you’re always going away from it, right? Like that. It’s not your North Star because it’s not where you’re headed, but you’re always going away from it because you don’t want to go back there.
00:25:57:45 – 00:25:59:06
Khan
That’ll have to know.
00:25:59:11 – 00:26:13:24
Agent Palmer
Yeah. Well, did you always treat design as professional even when it was just like early on. Just an emote here and an emote there.
00:26:13:29 – 00:26:33:04
Khan
No, it was just more or less making like, you know, grocery money and like, you know, gas money. Like the first time I made, like, I think I was making emotes for like $15 and I was drawing them with a trackpad on my, on this little free for a laptop I got. And they were taking like an hour to two hours to make one, like, flat color emote.
00:26:33:08 – 00:26:41:38
Khan
So it was like I wasn’t you know, taking it too seriously, but like, I made $60 today. And for the bar, I probably make 120, but this is more fun.
00:26:41:43 – 00:27:03:57
Agent Palmer
Well, so I guess I have to ask you this because personally, for me, one of the reasons that myself and I have a friend who who started a design agency as well, and one of the reasons that we had such a hard time charging more wasn’t because we didn’t value our work. It’s because it feels wrong to charge people for you.
00:27:03:57 – 00:27:25:53
Agent Palmer
Having fun. I don’t know if this was something that is unique to us, or if it’s just generally speaking, for people that charge to do something they love to do. There is that moment early on when you’re when you find out what other people charge and you go, can I this is so much fun. I feel like I would do this for free.
00:27:25:58 – 00:27:36:25
Agent Palmer
Did did you have that? I don’t know, I’m maybe it’s unique to me, but, like, did you have that trepidation when you went like, all right, I can charge more than 15 for this?
00:27:36:30 – 00:27:41:48
Khan
No, because the orders were getting larger and you were taking more time, and I was like, I can it’s not sustainable.
00:27:41:55 – 00:27:43:29
Agent Palmer
Okay. All right.
00:27:43:34 – 00:28:08:07
Khan
The first time I got an order for, like, 30 emotes was, for somebody. And, this is very early on, like, this is like the first, like, 500 demos ever made, for, high distortion. He was in, team SoloMid and TSM, is going to take forever. And then this is like, my large is like a few hundred stars, like, out of a few hundred dollars and whatever.
00:28:08:07 – 00:28:25:37
Khan
I was sure I’ll wasn’t ghostwriting 20 bucks anymore back then, so 20 times 30 is like, you know, 500 bucks maybe, or something like that. This is like the biggest order of it, really. And then, like the tablets, reason broke down the middle of the order. So I was like, I got it. I got up the prices of some breaks.
00:28:25:37 – 00:28:47:04
Khan
I can’t afford to to replace anything. Yeah. Eventually I found a YouTube channel that talked more about design and pricing and, you know, getting over those those helps in that, like watching those videos on YouTube. Big shout out to the future, with Christo. That, like, upped my income to six figures in the first two years.
00:28:47:04 – 00:29:05:09
Khan
But watching those videos and and thinking about pricing, design and how you should price design and why you should price design and why what you do is valuable. Yeah. Because when you can make something like if you make a sandwich, like almost a sandwich, when you try to make that sandwich, no, but this is sustenance for a person.
00:29:05:14 – 00:29:15:18
Khan
Yeah. Did they make it? No. Could they make it? I guess they could, but not like me. Yeah. So you kind of have that that idea in your head. Like when you’re making things. This is.
00:29:15:18 – 00:29:17:22
Khan
Invaluable. I just made it. This is. What is this?
00:29:17:24 – 00:29:35:36
Khan
I mean, if I could do this in actually, not everybody can do this. You got to take a step back and look at it in a, in a, in a wider scope and realize that the value you bring to the table is, in fact, value. Because we get discount on things we do as creators, all the time.
00:29:35:36 – 00:29:56:00
Khan
Like, we knocked a couple pieces today and people look at me, you do this for how much money? Like 50 bucks. How long does it take you when in this matter? So you kind of like, you gotta break yourself out of that mentality of because you’re producing the things, the process, you’re your skill level, you get the same value to that.
00:29:56:00 – 00:30:03:56
Khan
And that’s kind of difficult. Yeah. So that that that YouTube channel was like why this was monumental in making the business success.
00:30:04:00 – 00:30:24:17
Agent Palmer
So I then go to you’re in all these places and you’re doing all these things. How do you manage all of it? Because it, it this isn’t like, I just have a Q and I work on what’s next. Like, you have so many you’re you’re literally juggling now.
00:30:24:21 – 00:30:35:26
Khan
It’s there’s a, there’s a method to the chaos. There’s there’s just there’s a Q okay. The Q is at like five months right now, which came down from six months like recently.
00:30:35:30 – 00:30:41:49
Agent Palmer
But how do you manage that with the video game? And, the merchandise?
00:30:41:53 – 00:31:01:16
Khan
So, Sundays and Mondays are five hour streams, and I do rush orders those days. And if I don’t have any rush orders, those are typically my days off. Okay. The problem is, I haven’t had I haven’t not had a rush order. And months and months and months and months and months. So.
00:31:01:20 – 00:31:05:56
Agent Palmer
It’s it’s a good problem to have, but not sustainable as a problem to have.
00:31:06:03 – 00:31:23:01
Khan
No, because the rush orders were reaching the point of being at the length of the regular orders. Yeah. And then I have the emergency rush orders with, like, I kind of work on them, you know, you can get it. You can get in two weeks for this, double the price, or we can just double the price. Yeah.
00:31:23:06 – 00:31:46:02
Khan
But when I start to put in, like, my merchandise stuff and my own personal stuff, the, the, the what happens is I become adept at making things in an hour or two and then just, you know, because I’ve done it thousands of times at this point. Yeah. When I make emotes of I’m on emote number 5200 and, you know, X number right now.
00:31:46:02 – 00:32:04:54
Khan
So it’s all just a workflow. I literally pumped out 35 T-shirt designs for a new company in the span of two weeks while doing other work for people. Because I’ve done so much typography, I’ve done so much design work. I am my hand. It’s like my hands are in the muck all the time.
00:32:04:56 – 00:32:05:51
Agent Palmer
Yeah.
00:32:05:56 – 00:32:13:03
Khan
That they just never they just never get clean. So the design muck is always there.
00:32:13:08 – 00:32:20:57
Agent Palmer
Do you find it’s, it’s like a muscle memory thing where like that. Like. Like by my hand knows what it’s doing.
00:32:21:02 – 00:32:46:38
Khan
More or less. Because, if you do a stream like the first hour of the stream for an hour and a half, I do sketch whatever I want to sketch. That allows me to be more focused with my, actual work time. So it’s a six hour stream. The first. I’m just like, I want to sketch some wafers or I’m going to sketch, well, I’m gonna I’m going to do some pixel art of, you know, something for an hour.
00:32:46:43 – 00:33:01:26
Khan
And that literally speeds of my work process because now I’m not thinking about anything else. What I want to do for today is already done. Like, I, I don’t have to think about. Oh, I’d rather be. I did that already as there’s no excuse for that anymore. I’ve already done what I want to do.
00:33:01:31 – 00:33:18:57
Agent Palmer
That’s it’s interesting because that seems like counterintuitive to the whole. Like, I’m going to do this and then I’ll get to what I really want to do, right. Like, because that’s always the, you know, what’s the dessert? And you’re basically having dessert first and going, well, I’ve done what I want to do. Let’s get on with it.
00:33:19:01 – 00:33:23:17
Khan
Yeah. Now there’s nothing to look forward to but being done with the work for today.
00:33:23:22 – 00:33:31:17
Agent Palmer
Now, when did that start. Because or like was that always the case or was that like a, like a thing you tried and it like it worked out really well.
00:33:31:22 – 00:33:50:21
Khan
Probably over the course of the past two and a half years or so. I was learning how to illustrate people. Yeah, I’m still learning it. Literally people. So that’s been like a no, I’m not I’m not trying to be a pro illustrator. Like it’s not really. My goal is to illustrate, you know, commissions for, you know, people seeing the characters.
00:33:50:26 – 00:34:08:22
Khan
I just get a lot of joy out of just illustrating people and, you know, so that’s more or less what I do then. Or sometimes I just have a design like set like to I’m going to graphic design like idea in my head and I just, you know, crank out something in illustrator in like, you know, 20, 30 minutes or I’ll put a timer on or something like that.
00:34:08:27 – 00:34:18:53
Agent Palmer
Do you work in? I, I guess traditional mediums, right. Like, I know you do a lot digitally, but do you, you know, charcoal, pencil?
00:34:18:58 – 00:34:19:50
Khan
Not in forever.
00:34:19:59 – 00:34:30:29
Agent Palmer
No, I mean, it’s it’s something you’d want to get back to, like, for not not for pay. Mind you, I’m, I’m thinking more like hobby wise. You’re just, like, returning to your roots. Kind of a deal.
00:34:30:34 – 00:34:50:08
Khan
No, no papers inferior. I don’t really want to. Okay, I don’t really. I can’t get command Z on paper. It’s fine, I get I there is no one do. And it’s like I just rather how this is like digital is just so streamlined. It is like, I don’t like this. I just delete now, I now I didn’t burn a tree now and it’s fine.
00:34:50:08 – 00:34:52:52
Khan
Yeah.
00:34:52:57 – 00:35:03:35
Khan
But looks so cool. I’m pretty sure it does look cool to have a sketchbook in front of you, but I just if I’m working digitally all the time and I’m making the work digitally, if that’s good enough for me.
00:35:03:37 – 00:35:08:04
Agent Palmer
Okay. What do you do when you’re not creating?
00:35:08:09 – 00:35:28:18
Khan
Well, run the business is like an hour worth, like, Of emailing in DMs and checking up on people’s orders and clarifying. So that’s like a, like that’s like 30, 45 minutes of my day on average. I spend about 30 minutes writing my comic, my daily comic.
00:35:28:22 – 00:35:50:16
Agent Palmer
By the way. I can’t and I can’t say any specific examples, but I have felt personally seen at least twice in the last few weeks. Like I wonder, like, is it the creative? Like, I don’t know, ether where like now I’m feeling that too.
00:35:50:20 – 00:36:10:04
Khan
I it’s, it all started as, as a one off joke, for hot tub streamers and it people really, really liked it. And like, wasn’t this comic coming out and, like, I’ll make one tomorrow or whatever, and it’s been 250 days or something like that since then. All right. Soon it it’ll be a book. It’ll be a book.
00:36:10:07 – 00:36:13:39
Khan
And we actually releasing, a little, little Kickstarter pretty soon.
00:36:13:39 – 00:36:38:49
Agent Palmer
So the question I have, let’s go back to like, I don’t know, number 150 or whatever, right. It feels like when something like that happens, there’s the pressure to continue the streak and then there’s the pressure to like, no, this is still fun, right? Was the pressure to continue the streak ever greater than the this is fun.
00:36:38:54 – 00:36:39:39
Khan
No.
00:36:39:44 – 00:36:59:24
Khan
Okay. No one is making it do anything. Like, if I didn’t want to do any more, I would just stop doing it because I’m not getting paid for it. I mean, sometimes I get some tips on it from my coffee, but I’m not really is if if I were to one day go, I have run out of ideas and I don’t think anything I say is funny anymore.
00:36:59:24 – 00:37:16:32
Khan
This this comic is over. It, hasn’t happened yet. I just, you know, some days are funny and some days are poignant. And some days just like that rush. That one. This this could have been. This could be better. But no one can complain about because no one’s paying for it. It’s fine. It’s true.
00:37:16:40 – 00:37:20:58
Agent Palmer
Yeah, I well, I mean, people will find a way to complain anyway, but.
00:37:20:58 – 00:37:24:09
Khan
Oh well people complain about I’m like, you make one and you’re like.
00:37:24:14 – 00:37:29:35
Khan
Maybe I will. I’ll wait. That’s what I thought.
00:37:29:40 – 00:37:41:41
Agent Palmer
So let’s get into like, you are away from the business and you, you’re you’re away from the stream. Are you just reading about philosophy like, is that your downtime?
00:37:41:46 – 00:37:48:58
Khan
Oh, I haven’t picked up, book in so long because I’ve been so busy.
00:37:49:03 – 00:38:07:31
Agent Palmer
How do you recharge, then? Because, like, I know for me, I can’t be on all the time for weeks on end. I mean, I can, but, like, at a certain point, I break and I go like, oh, no, I gotta okay, it’s time. Like, step away from step away from the computer.
00:38:07:36 – 00:38:26:36
Khan
It typically, power left for an hour or two at night time. I built a gym in my house the first year I started the business. I’d take a break the past two months because I had, like, pull some muscle. So I’ve been, like, sitting in this chair, and, well, I’ve been doing, like, cardio. I’m like, you know, hit the bag.
00:38:26:49 – 00:38:55:47
Khan
Yeah. You know, watching some some 80s anime and hit in the bag in the basement. So a little cardio, moving around, playing some video games when I can, enjoying the new Destiny DLC. But a lot of time. Then when I get into my office, I’m like, I have this idea of like, I’m just breaking this study real quick and, not like maybe I should just go and make breakfast and then I’ll end up making that into a t shirt and releasing it, because I have an idea.
00:38:55:48 – 00:39:03:53
Khan
And, I know, the thing I’ve learned about my ideas is if if I don’t make the idea, then somebody else will, and I’ll just be upset at them. I, I didn’t do it.
00:39:03:53 – 00:39:29:48
Agent Palmer
I, I, I have to ask you this, do you write down everything because, like, I’m a guy that I’m very aware I’ve lost good ideas because I didn’t write them down in time. Or I didn’t document them in some kind of way to remind myself, like, oh, you had this good idea, right? So now I carry I, you know, I have a phone, but I, I need to write things down.
00:39:29:52 – 00:39:50:00
Agent Palmer
That’s just a habit of mine, but, like, I, I have a notebook everywhere I go. So I that blog post that, you know, inspiration, that little piece of writing that I don’t know what will turn into. Like, I always have to write things down. Do you just run to a computer? Like, I have an idea. Let’s go.
00:39:50:04 – 00:40:13:09
Khan
It depends if I, If I’m still doing something important for a client, I just. I’ll write it down. Okay. Because I literally like, I have my two books here. This one is what I’ve ordered my clients in, and this one is what I put my ideas in for, like, my courses. I want to write, the notes for the courses I want to write and the ideas for different companies.
00:40:13:09 – 00:40:32:00
Khan
I want to start, you know, stuff like that goes in here for, you know, notes for my stream. So I literally write things down physically. But if it’s something where I have an idea and I’m not doing anything, like watching YouTube videos, I’m like, crank out the design real quick on illustrator and it’ll look it won’t look as good.
00:40:32:00 – 00:40:47:52
Khan
And like this looks okay. And I release that that not okay design. And I’ll come back to another day and I’ll redesign it and then re-upload. It is fine as it. That’s the way I kind of like proceed with things because ideas you like this looks good. You come back the next day like this could be better. So you kind of like tweak it a little bit.
00:40:47:57 – 00:40:58:56
Khan
But I always just, I always just release it like I never just like, I never like this isn’t good enough. Like, whatever. I’ll put it out. If it’s not good enough, no one buy it. That’s kind of my my mentality.
00:40:59:06 – 00:41:30:45
Agent Palmer
I mean, every designer I’ve ever talked to is like, you know what? There are days when you go, what was I doing yesterday? Like, like because day to day, week to week, whatever. Like you, you know, you look back on what you did, whether it’s yesterday or last week and you go, now, I could have done better or like I did that like for me, I’m artistic with words like, that’s where my art, artistic ability lies.
00:41:30:50 – 00:41:43:19
Agent Palmer
And I will look back at stuff I’ve written and go like, wait, I wrote like I, I’m sometimes amazed I wrote that, right? Like, do you look back at some of your designs and go like, wow, now that was really good.
00:41:43:23 – 00:41:50:28
Khan
Yeah, yeah. Sometimes try to recapture that lighting in a bottle. But you know, some days are good and some days are great and some days. Right.
00:41:50:33 – 00:41:51:14
Khan
And this.
00:41:51:14 – 00:41:52:14
Khan
Is workable.
00:41:52:28 – 00:41:59:30
Agent Palmer
Do you, do you take the time to look back on occasion, or are you always pretty much looking forward?
00:41:59:34 – 00:42:15:14
Khan
Only on stream, actually, on people who like. Well, can I see an example of this? And like, okay, I got some back there and I will put them on. This is really good. That’s good. This is relevant in this. I gotta get back to this. So yeah. You have you have those days for sure.
00:42:15:18 – 00:42:24:38
Agent Palmer
Nice. All right. So that we’ve covered a lot. But I have to ask about the martial arts. How did you get into it.
00:42:24:43 – 00:42:27:31
Khan
To, bad kung fu movies?
00:42:27:36 – 00:42:32:37
Agent Palmer
There are no bad kung fu, right? There are no bad kung fu movies. They’re all good.
00:42:32:41 – 00:42:35:38
Khan
Oh, man. You. As you can see, the ones I’ve seen.
00:42:35:43 – 00:42:37:28
Agent Palmer
I mean, I enjoy them all.
00:42:37:33 – 00:42:39:57
Khan
Oh, they’re enjoyable. Okay. I’m bad, I’m bad.
00:42:40:00 – 00:42:43:43
Agent Palmer
All right, all right, I guess I guess I on that. We can agree. Like, I like.
00:42:43:43 – 00:42:46:55
Khan
Chili cheese fries taste really good, but they are bad.
00:42:46:55 – 00:43:00:44
Agent Palmer
Okay. All right. I perfect, perfect metaphor right there. I mean, because like one of my favorites is legend of the Drunken Master. And that’s like fairly good I guess.
00:43:00:55 – 00:43:03:16
Khan
The first one or the second.
00:43:03:16 – 00:43:04:30
Agent Palmer
One. The second one.
00:43:04:35 – 00:43:09:08
Khan
Okay. Yeah. Yeah that was really good to me. I like that one. Yeah. Actually learn that style.
00:43:09:22 – 00:43:29:43
Agent Palmer
Did you. Drunken drunken boxing. Yeah I guess I, I’ve read a little bit about it just because I was curious. Because I think anybody who’s watch that movie more than once goes, like, wait a minute. Hold on. But there is a way to mimic it without actually getting drunk, right? Yeah.
00:43:29:50 – 00:43:31:06
Khan
Yeah. It’s just it’s performative.
00:43:31:20 – 00:43:32:19
Agent Palmer
Okay?
00:43:32:23 – 00:43:55:48
Khan
It’s performative. It’s. I wouldn’t recommend it for fighting. It’s it’s really, really good for your body, though. Oh, is it the, it really kind of, relies on the elasticity, the way you move and your joints move, which not are traditionally how you move. So it’s like a moving yoga almost, except it’s a lot more ballistic.
00:43:55:53 – 00:44:15:26
Khan
So. That’s like I was I was probably at my most like, shredded like midsection when I was doing that because all of the, the, the movements you had to go through. And my spine was super flexible. Oh, to be young and have good knees and a good back.
00:44:15:26 – 00:44:23:57
Agent Palmer
Well, so so how many? I mean, I know I’m not going to ask you at your age, but like, how long have you been doing martial arts then?
00:44:24:02 – 00:44:30:30
Khan
Probably since I was ten. Well, well, I was doing karate at ten, so I started doing kung fu at 14.
00:44:30:41 – 00:44:31:17
Agent Palmer
Okay.
00:44:31:22 – 00:44:35:51
Khan
So.
00:44:35:56 – 00:44:42:14
Khan
25 years. Okay. 25 years. Yeah, almost. Almost 30 years. Wow.
00:44:42:19 – 00:44:47:28
Agent Palmer
Have you been doing anything else that long?
00:44:47:33 – 00:44:48:08
Khan
Nope.
00:44:48:13 – 00:44:48:57
Agent Palmer
Okay.
00:44:49:01 – 00:44:51:49
Khan
No. Not consistently. No. Yeah.
00:44:51:49 – 00:45:29:39
Agent Palmer
I mean, that’s the thing. Like, I, I’ve literally recently, within the last couple days, picked up my bass guitar for the first time in years. We go with years and, I’ve been playing regular guitar, but I was a bassist when I first started playing instruments, and, like, I don’t think I’ve ever been consistent with my stuff, so I’m kind of like, in all that you’ve been doing it for that long consistently because I, I end up falling into more cyclical things when it comes to that.
00:45:29:43 – 00:45:40:40
Agent Palmer
So I, I play guitar for a few years and then I’ll be like, oh, like now I pick up the bass again. I pick that up in a while, but I never end up being consistent with it like I want to.
00:45:40:45 – 00:46:02:02
Khan
Yeah. I’m not, I’m not training. I used to like I used to train 3 to 5 days a week, and I was competing. I don’t know. I probably been to, like, probably a little bit under 100 tournaments. I probably have, like, over, like, 51st place trophies and medals and I got rid of I got rid of a lot of that stuff.
00:46:02:07 – 00:46:07:45
Khan
I was just like, it’s it became so cumbersome, just like, oh God, this is just I saw now.
00:46:07:51 – 00:46:11:11
Agent Palmer
Do you miss it? Like the competition?
00:46:11:16 – 00:46:11:37
Khan
No.
00:46:11:48 – 00:46:34:47
Khan
I really, at some point you reach a level of, like, competition where, like traditional, like martial arts. Like if you do, like, forums and like, you know, push and stuff like that, like, points forward that I eventually move into, like, doing wrestling and doing, like, full contact fighting. I kind of miss the fighting, but you take you take too many shots to your leg.
00:46:34:47 – 00:46:49:01
Khan
You’re like, you can’t get it. You got to remember that. You you gotta you’re going to be alive. Another ten, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50 years. You can’t you can’t keep doing this to your body. So I miss I miss that kind of aspect, but kind of happy doing what I do.
00:46:49:16 – 00:47:11:18
Agent Palmer
Yeah. I mean, it feels like like I almost want to call you a philosopher man, like I because the things I’ve watched and read and, like, consumed of yours, like, it just feels like you’re on a different wavelength, like, I don’t I don’t mean that to be like, coy or like, I don’t know, blow smoke, but, like, it just feels like you get it.
00:47:11:23 – 00:47:30:01
Khan
It’s it’s a lot of that stuff actually came from, like, I was really big into philosophy. One thing that really was a major turning point in my life, which kind of made me jump into the business, was when I got sick, right before I got back into art. Like, I couldn’t do martial arts, I couldn’t lift weights like I was a bodybuilder before I got sick.
00:47:30:01 – 00:47:53:42
Khan
I was probably like 195 pounds shredded. I had like a six pack all the time, and I was doing like, muscle ups and like, you know, like two finger push ups and or two finger push ups on one hand, like it was, I was I was out of control. And then I got a muscle disease that hit me, and I, I was bedridden for like a little bit over a year, and I lost control of that.
00:47:53:42 – 00:48:13:24
Khan
I felt like that I could have died. And, facing your own mortality began to become a little bit more cognizant of, like, the world around you and what you want to do. Like, I don’t have time for this. You want to go Facebook for 45 minutes? No, no, I got I got better things to do.
00:48:13:29 – 00:48:14:24
Khan
I got I’ve got.
00:48:14:24 – 00:48:19:34
Khan
I’ve, I you’re not paying me enough to argue with you right now I, I gotta go, I gotta go.
00:48:19:39 – 00:48:25:23
Agent Palmer
So art was always kind of around then you just happened back into it.
00:48:25:37 – 00:48:46:16
Khan
Yeah, I was, I was doing it. I had accepted to the Cleveland Institute of Art, in high school, which is a very prestigious school here. Except for it was like, I think in, in $2,001, it was like, you know, 60 or $50,000 a year. When I was, like, not going.
00:48:46:16 – 00:48:49:31
Khan
There.
00:48:49:36 – 00:49:06:15
Khan
So after that, I went to, I went to I took graphic design at Kent State, and I lasted a semester for I flunked out. So I started making, like, some designs with my buddy. We started doing shirt designs for bands. For hardcore bands. Okay. For a short amount of time.
00:49:06:15 – 00:49:09:14
Agent Palmer
Is that where the screen printing starts?
00:49:09:19 – 00:49:30:08
Khan
That’s where the shirt. The love for sure making begins. Okay. And it kind of ends like maybe 2 or 3 years after we were really getting traction. And then like after that, it’s kind of just kind of faded away and, like, I just didn’t draw for a while. I would moved. I bought this house, and that was kind of like just working at the school.
00:49:30:08 – 00:49:46:43
Khan
And, you know, you know, bartending on weekends and summers and, you know, I got sick and I’m like, I can’t do the things that I like to do. I can’t I can’t go to the gym. I can’t, I can’t even really I couldn’t really play video games cause I had an eyepatch. And it was like, I couldn’t use my hands, like I want to use them.
00:49:46:43 – 00:50:03:20
Khan
So that was basically just kind of like just drawing things very slowly on my own. This, laptop, I got. Thanks. So I actually have it at the bar. Oh, my realtor gets chipped in to my GoFundMe to help keep, the mortgage payment paid while I was in hospital.
00:50:03:24 – 00:50:04:46
Agent Palmer
Wow.
00:50:04:51 – 00:50:15:51
Khan
Yeah, that that that floated me for, like, 2 or 3 months, which is nice. But yeah, that I use the money from there to get a laptop to, you know, have some kind of an outlet.
00:50:15:56 – 00:50:19:43
Agent Palmer
Did you ever imagine this is where it would lead?
00:50:19:48 – 00:50:44:46
Khan
No, I was kind of just. I don’t, I don’t really press my way into, like, manifesting, you know, some kind of, like, grand scheme for kind of the this design. This is going to be the best I’m going to make the most. So to it, I’m gonna be the number one ambassador. But at the moment, thinking I’m the best designer on Twitch, everything kind of just like, happened.
00:50:44:55 – 00:50:45:33
Agent Palmer
Yeah.
00:50:45:38 – 00:50:58:19
Khan
And that’s kind of like the way I just kind of, like, go about life. I just, I have a place I want to get to, but I’m not trying to run there. I mean, I’ll just keep doing the things I’m doing and I’ll propel myself there.
00:50:58:24 – 00:51:19:39
Agent Palmer
Well, and it sounds like and it looks like from the outside that you’re enjoying, but I, you know, again, I, I always talk myself into this corner of like, oh, you’re enjoying the journey. But like you truly, it feels like you truly are. Like you’re happy where you are. You’re in no hurry to either stay here or get there.
00:51:19:39 – 00:51:22:45
Agent Palmer
But the more you do, the further you go.
00:51:22:50 – 00:51:23:46
Khan
Yeah.
00:51:23:51 – 00:51:44:36
Khan
I mean, sometimes you kind of you can you can run so fast, you fall flat on your face. The traction of, that, put forward a little happened. I’m not the one thing that I’ve learned about running the business in, like, promoting like, the other things I do is, I know what I like to see,
00:51:44:41 – 00:52:02:50
Khan
And I don’t like people selling me things all the time and telling me to buy their things all the time. Yeah. So what I do things, I’m like, I made this thing. It’s here. You might want, I don’t know, it might help, that that’s how best to promote all of my goods and services. That’s where that’s where the sale.
00:52:02:50 – 00:52:04:58
Khan
That’s where the selling begins and ends.
00:52:04:58 – 00:52:38:58
Agent Palmer
You you and I are equal. That I mean. Well, let’s put it this way. The the average, creative on the internet at large does not promote their stuff or sell their stuff enough. I think. But also, we don’t enjoy the selling like it’s good to make sales, right. Like that. I’m not saying that. But like, you would rather spend the next hour either talking process or actually just creating something versus trying to sell the thing.
00:52:40:02 – 00:52:51:47
Khan
I’ve learned to stop selling. I this kind of like if, Apple has it as it has a marketing budget, you know, but they’re not really selling anymore. You, you know what you’re getting.
00:52:51:58 – 00:52:53:26
Agent Palmer
Yeah.
00:52:53:31 – 00:53:13:08
Khan
Basically an Apple user will tell you about what Apple products can do or a, you know, a, an Android user will tell you about the latest phone. You know, what it does? The goal with what I do is if I want to do something so well, and I’ve done this so far, is that when people receive the thing, people tell other people about it.
00:53:13:13 – 00:53:24:23
Khan
And so to me, I don’t tell people about it, which is kind of that’s the that’s the, the gap. You the jump between point A of being unknown and point B getting the clients and have them actually know refer people to you.
00:53:24:29 – 00:53:25:54
Agent Palmer
Yeah.
00:53:25:59 – 00:53:34:11
Khan
But you want to have that service you want to under you want to under-promise and overdeliver. So if you like. Oh yeah, I can do this here. You’re most of my. This is way better than I thought it would be.
00:53:34:13 – 00:53:43:49
Khan
Like excellent. Now tell your friends good.
00:53:43:54 – 00:53:48:26
Khan
You.
00:53:48:31 – 00:54:18:12
Agent Palmer
I cannot emphasize one piece of this conversation enough. The impetus for change is not always positive. For con, it was a disease, but it bore such beautiful fruit in regards to his designs, his coaching and teaching, and of course, his coffee. Again, the impetus for change isn’t always good, but that doesn’t make the change itself bad. The change can be for the better, no matter what the reason for it is.
00:54:18:16 – 00:54:40:35
Agent Palmer
But one thing of note is that upon reflection, I don’t know if I see con streaming as selfish. I think we all want some company and companionship. We all want to be part of a community and share the good and the bad. As Sam said to Frodo, share the load. And let’s be honest, humans have evolved to be community participants.
00:54:40:40 – 00:55:03:38
Agent Palmer
So it may have been selfish in his eyes, but I see it as human nature. So go out and do the things, be a part of the communities and above all, make your thing, whatever it may be. Thanks for listening to The Palmer Files episode 68. As a reminder, all links are available in the show notes. And now for the official business.
00:55:03:42 – 00:55:24:52
Agent Palmer
The Palmer Files releases every two weeks on Tuesdays. If you’re still listening, I encourage you to join the discussion. You can tweet me at Agent Palmer, my guest con at Young Con. That’s why u n g k h a and or this show at the Palmer Files. You can find more information about Comic Con artists.org that’s K and artist.org.
00:55:25:05 – 00:55:50:19
Agent Palmer
You can find additional con merch@hft.com. That’s h fte askham or get some of his cocker blend coffee at Kings Coast coffee.com. Email can be sent to this show at the Palmer Files at gmail.com. And remember, you’re home for all things. Agent Palmer is Agent palmer.com.
00:55:50:23 – 00:55:55:48
Unknown
You.
00:55:55:53 – 00:56:03:54
Unknown
Can.
00:56:03:59 – 00:56:16:38
Unknown
Leave.
00:56:16:43 – 00:56:26:14
Unknown
Me.
00:56:26:18 – 00:56:31:08
Unknown
A sheet.
00:56:31:13 – 00:56:33:52
Agent Palmer
All right. Con, do you have one final question for me?
00:56:33:57 – 00:56:50:23
Khan
Yeah. I always find this interesting when I’m talking to people that, you know, do something creative or, you know, kind of put forward their, they said on social media, like, or, you know, in media in general, like, what was the genesis of this podcast, like the format of it, like, how did this whole thing spin out to this?
00:56:50:28 – 00:57:14:19
Agent Palmer
It’s fairly nebulous. Of like a bunch of things coalescing. And I’ve done the origin story before, but like the origin story starts with the blog and me getting in or, you know, introduced to podcasts and kind of guesting a lot and then producing. And then I get the idea for my own show, and then I finally launch my own show.
00:57:14:19 – 00:57:39:44
Agent Palmer
But where it is now is more nebulous. Of all of the episodes that have come before it. So like all those other things that I just cliff notes were important, but like you, you know, I’m I’m the creator, be the sole creator behind all of this. So I’ve edited episodes that maybe the guest talked more than I did, which is fine.
00:57:39:44 – 00:57:58:39
Agent Palmer
Like, you know, not every conversation is 100% 5050. That’s true. If you’re sitting down to have coffee with somebody in a diner or if you’re on a podcast. But I take that into consideration when I’m in it, like in the editing process of like, oh, you know what? I didn’t talk enough there, or I talk too much there.
00:57:58:44 – 00:58:21:11
Agent Palmer
And so I’ve kind of got a general feel for what I think I’m looking to do, but a lot of it ends up being roll with the punches because it’s like everybody’s different and I’m not having the same person on to talk about the same thing over and over and over again. And, you know, I’ve talked to a bunch of graphic designers.
00:58:21:11 – 00:58:44:18
Agent Palmer
Every conversation has been different, right? And I’m not trying to get the same thing. But the other piece to this is I’ve learned from watching others what I don’t want to do, like, I just want to have a conversation with you, man. Like, you seem like an interesting person. Let’s talk. Not. You seem like an interesting person.
00:58:44:23 – 00:58:54:09
Agent Palmer
What can I trap you into saying? That will be clickbait, right? Like, I mean, I know those people. I’m never going to be one of them. Like, I can’t, I don’t even know if I could do that.
00:58:54:14 – 00:58:56:54
Khan
I need the clicks, though. You know? I need the clicks.
00:58:56:54 – 00:59:28:07
Agent Palmer
No, no. Like, because I feel like you, it’s. I want to connect with you like my presumption for my own audience. What I know of it is that when I connect with you, or if I’m just so enraptured in your story, if I’m just listening and asking questions to move it along like they’re happy with that, my audience doesn’t need me to attack you, and they’re not looking for me to trap you.
00:59:28:12 – 00:59:54:51
Agent Palmer
And I think that’s an evolution of having done it right. Like, that’s, that’s not a thing where. Yeah, I think I’ll have a podcast, but it will be. I’ll talk to people. Cool. But like, you have to do it so many times and so often, and listen to yourself and then see what happens. Like, I’m I’m like, I love this format.
00:59:54:56 – 01:00:20:28
Agent Palmer
I don’t think enough people talk in long form conversation, and I talk to a lot of people where they’re on like a they’re on a show that’s like a 20 minute podcast, and they’re like, it was just starting to get good. And they said, thanks for coming. You know, I look, I get long winded. Maybe my guests get long winded at times.
01:00:20:28 – 01:00:31:19
Agent Palmer
That’s going to happen. But I never want it to be like, oh, that was really interesting. No time for a follow up though. Thanks for list. Like no, like no, it’s not.
01:00:31:19 – 01:00:54:03
Khan
Good. I know exactly what you mean. I’ve. I’ve hosted a, co-hosted a couple podcast, and it’s, it’s it’s an interesting balancing. I had to ask. It’s always people’s, you know, intentions for for starting a podcast is always different, especially one that’s not based around any particular kind of content. No, no, I was on. Yeah.
01:00:54:05 – 01:01:27:27
Agent Palmer
Don’t get me wrong, I’m very aware that I don’t follow my own advice. Right. Like you want to start a podcast, pick a topic like it’s better you’ll have a built in audience, right? However, I started the podcast after blogging for eight years, and the benefit of that was that in eight years of blogging about anything, okay, because I have a geek blog, generally speaking, but you can be a sports geek and a music geek and a book geek and a movie geek.
01:01:27:32 – 01:01:52:26
Agent Palmer
I can write about anything I want, and that’s one of the reasons that the blog is now ten years old, because I haven’t gotten sick of it. I think if it would have been like a ThunderCats blog, I’m going to run out of episodes like I might get sick of it. Like being in it every day. No, I can write about anything and everything and eight years of that was like, all right, I’m gonna start a podcast.
01:01:52:26 – 01:02:18:55
Agent Palmer
I’m just going to talk to people. Who are you going to talk to? Anyone? Everybody’s got a story. And so I feel like the benefit of it is that I’m, you know, you and I can have you back on in two years, in a year, in five years, we’ll have a different story. You’ll be in a different place, I’ll be in a different place, we’ll have different conversation, etc., etc. but at the same time, I won’t be sick of this show because I’m going to talk to whoever and whatever.
01:02:19:00 – 01:02:37:15
Khan
That’s where I identify with you at a lot. It’s like, well, we could do a topic. And that’s how I kind of like with my business, I could, I could just do emotes all the time, for Twitch. But I would get sick of it and I would it would drive me insane. That’s kind of the reason why I do so many different things.
01:02:37:15 – 01:02:57:00
Khan
If I didn’t, it would be to text me mentally like it would. It would be so dry mentally to do the exact same thing all the time that I would you would get burnt out. So you have to you have to talk about something else, or you have to make something else or do something else is fresh. Those muscles where you atrophy mentally.
01:02:57:05 – 01:02:58:45
Khan
Hey, creatively.
01:02:58:49 – 01:03:28:46
Agent Palmer
Yeah, I, I get enough exercise from like helping people with their other things. And I’m, I’m, I think a lot of creatives are surrounded by creatives. We kind of congregate around each other. We find each other like, like gravity, like. Yeah, you just. I gotta pull to that guy, and I don’t know why. Oh, you know, years later, like, oh, he’s he’s making a movie and I’m going to help him produce it, right?
01:03:28:46 – 01:03:52:03
Agent Palmer
Like, we, we find each other and I get enough of that of, like, other mediums elsewhere that I can continue to write once a week and put out this podcast every two. Right. Like, but I, I think it’s one of the reasons that I, I connect with you, because like, you are doing all the things like I had an idea and it’s not just on an idea board.
01:03:52:03 – 01:03:54:56
Agent Palmer
It’s like, no, I’m going to do that. Like, let’s go.
01:03:55:01 – 01:03:56:18
Khan
Always make the thing.
–End Transcription–
This transcription was processed by PalmerTech 3.1 and may contain errors for HUMINT (human intelligence).