The TikTok phenomenon Salary Transparent Street<\/a> (STS) hinges on a classic formula: Hannah Williams, a cheery and approachable 26-year-old, stops people on the street in various cities and asks them what they do and how much they make.\u00a0<\/p>\n Less than two years into its existence, STS has clearly hit on the zeitgeist, amassing 1.3 million TikTok<\/a> followers and nearly 32 million likes across each of Williams\u2019 short-form videos. She also sends out a newsletter, keeps a running database<\/a> of salaries in different jobs across the U.S., and has published negotiation guides and interview pointers.\u00a0<\/p>\n This week, Williams landed on Forbes\u2019<\/em> 30 Under 30<\/a> list. Propelled by her commitment to normalize money conversations among all demographics\u2014she says younger people have been more likely to share their pay than older people and women more so than men\u2014she has, per Forbes,<\/em> testified on behalf of Washington, D.C.\u2019s Pay Range Act, which would mandate all D.C. job listings to include salaries<\/a>; brought her camera crew to nearly half the country; and surpassed $1 million in brand deals.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of people don\u2019t know how to price themselves in the market\u2026and that\u2019s why Salary Transparent Street exists\u2014to try to help advocate for employees to do market research to figure out what they should be asking for so employers don\u2019t take advantage of them,\u201d Williams told Fortune<\/em><\/a> <\/em>last year.<\/p>\n So it was worth noting when Williams, in her true-to form candor, shared with Fortune<\/em> this week that she gave herself a whopping pay cut.\u00a0<\/p>\n Given her partnership with Capital One and the jarringly high pay<\/a> most influencers can command, you can imagine that Williams rakes in a hefty salary as a TikToker.\u00a0When she threw herself into content creation full-time in May 2022, she says, she set her own salary at $200,000, up from the $115,000 she was previously making as a senior data analyst at CATHEXIS, a government contractor firm outside DC.\u00a0Today, she\u2019s at $125,000\u2014a $75,000 self-imposed pay cut. (The average U.S. salaried worker earns just over $59,400<\/a>.) <\/p>\n The big reason for paring down? \u201cI didn\u2019t want to hold the company back, in terms of growth, in order to pay myself more,\u201d Williams tells Fortune.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n In order to find success in the rapidly evolving creator economy, you need a long-term approach. That means eschewing any kind of \u201cget-rich-quick\u201d mentality, she says. <\/p>\n Williams understands the impulse. \u201cWhen you see money coming in, it can be tempting to pay yourself a high salary, because you think, I do the work,\u201d she explains. \u201cBut right now, I\u2019m more invested in growing my team, improving my content, and setting up the page to grow on its own without me having to watch it 24\/7.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Williams, unlike most workers, is uniquely suited to take such a significant pay cut. That\u2019s mainly because it was on her terms; she\u2019s half of a double-income-no-kids<\/a> (DINK) household, and as founder\/CEO, she makes the rules. She\u2019s also ramping up her sponsorships, recently partnering with Deputy<\/a>, a software platform for managing hourly workers, to draw more attention to shift workers who don\u2019t make an annual salary at all.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n When she went full-time at Salary Transparent Street, Williams says her then fianc\u00e9, now husband was making $112,000, and for their lifestyle in Alexandria, Va., that put them in good shape. \u201cWe knew how much we could live off, and we felt that while we made that sum of money, we were doing really great, getting on top of debt,\u201d she says. Plus, the two share frugal values and even had a micro-wedding earlier this year. \u201cAs long as bills are paid, I\u2019m happy,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n When she was making $200,000 before the cut, she says, she was paying her husband $65,000 as her cameraman. \u201cSo I thought, $265,000, that\u2019s a lot more than we were making combined before [I left my data analyst role],\u201d she recalls. \u201cWe can afford the pay cut. We know we have a very good budget, we know our expenses, and know exactly what we need to be on top of it.\u201d<\/p>\n She and her husband are the only full-time employees of STS, which has since swelled into a hub of resources<\/a> and content across various channels, all with a main goal of helping increase pay equity through advocacy and transparency. She also pays \u201cfive or six\u201d part-time workers to help with social media management, accounting, and website development.\u00a0<\/p>\n But pay cuts aren\u2019t for everyone<\/a>. Job hopping<\/a>\u2014which Williams herself has done and staunchly advocates for\u2014is often the best way of doing the opposite: grabbing higher salaries. Staying at one organization can quickly lead to pay stagnation, whereas moving around every two years or so ups the chances of boosting your salary better than pretty much anything else. Taking a pay cut for a new job can set you back<\/a> years and years; every raise builds on the salary that came before it, so it\u2019s critical to start as high as you can\u2014and stay there. <\/p>\n Generally, the only times it makes sense to take a pay cut are when you\u2019re switching industries<\/a> or if you\u2019re getting a way better work-life balance in exchange. (Case in point: Almost two-thirds<\/a> of workers say they\u2019d take a pay cut to be able to work from home.) And, perhaps, if you\u2019re an entrepreneur like Williams who feels it\u2019s a strategic long-term move.<\/p>\n At this stage of her brand\u2019s growth\u2014Williams published her first video in April 2022\u2014it\u2019s wiser to take a pay cut if it means investing elsewhere, she says. But, she adds, \u201ceveryone else should make more money.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/i-amphtml-sizer>
\n\t\t\t<\/amp-ad>\n\t\t<\/div>\nRunning the ship<\/strong><\/h2>\n