Can You Make Money on TikTok Right Away? We Asked a Creator Who Did

We sat down with Daniel J. — known on TikTok as @justdanielj, or by his brand name, "Dead Broke" — to ask the question every new creator wants answered: can you actually make money on TikTok right away?

His answer: yes. But it's not as simple as it sounds.

"This is the only platform where you can immediately monetize right off the bat," Daniel explained. "Especially with TikTok Shop. You can create a product and start selling with zero followers. You can go live with zero followers. The reach and the audience TikTok gives you to push a brand, a website, or direct your community somewhere — that can happen very, very fast."

That immediacy is what sets TikTok apart from other platforms, according to Daniel, who built his own streetwear brand, Dead Broke Clothing Co., using exactly this strategy.

But fast doesn't mean easy.

"Is it easy? It is not easy," he said. "You have to really buckle down. You've got to post five to ten videos every single day for months. And on live, you need to go live for hours and hours and hours before you gain a community of people who actually want to support you."

Daniel described the process as relentless — not a get-rich-quick shortcut, but a legitimate grind that rewards consistency over time.

"With that hard work, in a short amount of time, you can monetize very, very fast on TikTok," he said. "In my opinion, this is the only platform where you can get an immediate rise to monetization — but it does take a lot of work. With a lot of work, it can happen fast."

He also pointed to the platform's unpredictable upside: the possibility of a viral video.

"It's like scratching off a lot of tickets," Daniel said. "Sometimes you hit, sometimes you don't. But at least you keep scratching, keep playing. That's how I always think of it."

For Daniel, that mentality — consistent effort paired with the chance of a breakout moment — is exactly how Dead Broke Clothing Co. went from an idea in his mom's garage to a real, growing brand.

Follow Daniel's journey on TikTok at @justdanielj.