How Sarah Renae Clark Built a 5 Million Dollar Business Without Brand Deals

In a world where most creators depend on brand deals for revenue, Sarah Renae Clark stands out. The Australian creator built a $5 million business selling the Color Cube, a product that sold over 100,000 units by focusing on audience needs rather than sponsorships. Her journey is a blueprint for how smaller creators can successfully monetize — only with products. She started by testing the market through digital products and community-driven marketing long before she even launched her YouTube channel.

Choosing Not to Explore Brand Deals

While many creators chase sponsorships to diversify their income, Clark has found success with a product that has made her more financially independent.

“I’ve built something that serves my audience directly,” she says. “The Color Cube allows me to make a living while helping my community in a way that doesn’t depend on external sponsors.”

By not focusing as much on brand deals, Clark maintains full creative control over her content and business. As Clark explains, “The product sales gave me the freedom to pull back on the videos, which gives me the freedom to make better videos that I’m really proud of rather than it feeling like a burden. I can now design the business I want, without having to make videos for the algorithm or keep up certain things just to maintain finances.”

Why Do Creators Rely on Brand Deals?

The question remains: why don’t more creators follow in Clark’s footsteps? Perhaps it’s because brand deals provide a low-risk way for creators to monetize their platforms, especially for those with large audiences. For most, it’s the fastest way to generate income without needing to develop their own product or manage complex logistics like manufacturing and distribution.

But the downside? Brand deals come with limitations. Creators often sacrifice creative freedom to meet the demands of sponsors, and their income becomes dependent on external brands—a fragile foundation if those deals dry up.

Why Don’t More Creators Develop Products?

Developing a product like the Color Cube isn’t easy. It requires upfront investment, time, and expertise. Many creators are hesitant to dive into the complexities of product development because it’s risky and they face questions like: what if no one buys? What if you invest thousands in manufacturing, only to be left with unsold inventory?

Clark avoided these pitfalls by starting small. She didn’t leap straight into a physical product. Instead, she tested her idea with digital products first, using the Color Catalog to gather feedback and gauge demand before committing to a larger-scale production.

Clark’s journey began with digital downloads, not video content. In 2018, she created and sold her first product, the Color Catalog, a digital resource offering curated color palettes for artists. She used Facebook groups, Pinterest, and blogs to market her products, without the help of a brand deal or even a significant online following.

“I didn’t have a big audience when I started selling the Color Catalog,” Clark explains. “But I knew from the sales and feedback that people needed more help with color selection. That’s when I knew I could create a physical product.” After proving there was demand for her product, Sarah invested 100K in the first print run of the color cube after proving there was demand and her latest run cost 350K.

This step-by-step approach minimized her financial risk and gave her the confidence to move forward.

Thoughtful Design for Form and Function

One of the key reasons for the Color Cube’s success was Clark’s meticulous attention to design. She wanted the product to be more than just functional — it needed to be visually appealing. The idea was to create something that people would be proud to display in their homes. “I didn’t want it to look like just another tool that people would throw into a drawer,” she says. “I wanted it to be something that could sit on a bookshelf and look good.”

Her thoughtful approach paid off. The Color Cube is designed to be compact, colorful, and aesthetically pleasing, making it a product that not only serves a purpose but also becomes a decorative piece in people’s creative spaces.

Organic Growth and a Viral Product

Interestingly, the Color Cube wasn’t something Clark heavily marketed at first. She would simply use it in her YouTube videos, without even trying to sell it. “People started asking about it in the comments,” she says. “That’s when I realized there was real demand.” This organic curiosity drove initial sales, and today, Clark frequently spots her Color Cube in other people’s videos, even joking that “it’s more famous than I am.”

As a result, she didn’t need massive advertising campaigns to make the Color Cube a hit—it became a viral product, driven by the enthusiasm of her audience and their word-of-mouth recommendations. Now, she does buy ads to bring her sales to the next level, but only after she figured out how to reach her audience organically.

The Power of Niching Down

Clark’s success illustrates the importance of creating hyper-targeted products. Unlike merch that fans buy to support a creator, niche products are designed to solve a specific problem. This was key to Clark’s success with the Color Cube — her audience needed a tool that made color selection easy and enjoyable. Instead of generic merch like branded hoodies, the Color Cube provides help to creative communities, from crafters and illustrators to painters, to choose colors that go together.

For example, the Color Cube serves a community of miniature figurine enthusiasts that often struggle with choosing the right color combinations to bring their intricate models to life. The Color Cube solves this by offering pre-curated color palettes.

What makes her story even more remarkable is that she sold over 100,000 units and $5M in revenue with a relatively small YouTube audience. As of 2024, Clark’s YouTube channel over 340,000 subscribers and she only posts about once a month, proving that a massive following isn’t everything.

As Clark notes, being niche helps differentiate a product from more general products that creators like MrBeast or Logan Paul often sell, such as food or energy drinks that appeal to a broad market. “They’ve gone general with things like food because they have the reach for that. But niche creators can’t succeed by offering something just for fans to support them—you have to solve a real problem for your audience,” she explains.

By focusing on a narrow, specific need, creators like Clark are able to connect more deeply with their audience and build a sustainable business that’s driven by value, not just support.

Lessons for Creators: Building a Business Beyond Brand Deals

Sarah Renae Clark’s story offers valuable insights for creators. While brand deals are often seen as the quickest route to monetization, Clark’s path shows the power of developing your own product that directly serves your audience.

By investing time and effort into understanding her community, Clark was able to create a product that not only solved a real problem but also grew into a profitable, sustainable business.

Her success demonstrates that creators in niche markets can compete with larger companies if they focus on solving specific problems for their audience. By avoiding dependence on external sponsorships, Clark has maintained full creative and financial control, ensuring the longevity of her business.

For creators looking to build a long-lasting career, Clark’s journey is a reminder that thoughtful growth, rooted in understanding your audience, can be more rewarding than chasing short-term brand deals. Whether you’re a fitness guru, gamer, or artist, Clark’s story proves that creating products based on audience needs can lead to bigger, more sustainable success.