Why choose empowerment over convenience? Lita Goddess of Growth shares her story of leaving a TikTok manager role to preserve her creative sovereignty. A must-read for creators building a legacy.The question of Empowerment Over Convenience is a powerful and relatable quandary that encapsulates the core dilemma of the modern creator. This personal story I share in to makes the philosophical choice tangible.
Choosing Empowerment Over Convenience: Why I Walked Away from TikTok | Lita Goddess of Growth
Walking away from a promising contract isn’t easy, but sometimes it’s necessary for true growth. After securing a position as TikTok’s creator network manager in April 2025, I faced a shocking reality when my post helping creators join my network was mysteriously deleted. Despite multiple attempts to understand what “violation” had occurred, I received no clear explanation—just a permanent warning on my account. In that moment, the choice became clear: temporary convenience or long-term empowerment.
This experience forced me to confront the power dynamics of social media platforms I’ve navigated for years. From the early Facebook days when we naively mixed personal and professional lives (remember that colleague who posted London vacation photos while on sick leave?), to Instagram’s questionable content moderation that kept pushing inappropriate content despite my repeated blocking—each platform has revealed the same truth: these digital spaces we invest so much in are never truly ours. They are rented spaces, and the landlord can change the rules without notice.
The Allure and The Illusion of Platform Partnerships
The monetisation journey has been equally revealing. Before TikTok, I hadn’t even heard the term “monetise.” I diligently built my following to reach the magic threshold for livestreaming, only to discover the stark differences between countries. While my American connections secured direct brand payments per video, UK creators faced entirely different rules and opportunities. These regional inequities highlight another layer of complexity in the creator economy that rarely gets discussed. We are sold a dream of a global village, but the pay cheques and opportunities are fiercely localised, creating an uneven playing field from the start.
When the TikTok manager role came along, it felt like validation. It was the “convenient” next step—a title, a perceived partnership with a major platform, a clear path. But the illusion shattered quickly. The unexplained censorship of my post wasn’t just a glitch; it was a symptom. It was the manifestation of the very algorithmic anxiety I sought to help others overcome. How could I, in good conscience, guide creators through a system that I knew could arbitrarily penalise them without recourse? My integrity, the core of Lita Goddess of Growth, wouldn’t allow it.
The Anatomy of a Sovereign Decision
Now in September, I sometimes question whether I was too hasty in ending my TikTok partnership. But when I consider the accumulated experiences—the unexplained censorship, the opaque policies, the feeling of building on unstable ground—I know my decision aligned with my ultimate goal of authentic self-employment.
This is the crux of choosing empowerment over convenience. Convenience is the well-trodden path, the ready-made system, the promise of reach. But it comes with hidden costs: your autonomy, your peace of mind, and the very creative sovereignty you set out to achieve.
Empowerment is the harder path, initially. It is building the website from scratch, as I am doing now. It is connecting the pages of my own ecosystem—Sovren Collective, Empowerment Diaries—into a cohesive strategy that I control. It is the quiet work of laying a foundation that no one can take down. This path is built on the principle of valued exchange, not on the whims of an algorithm.
The Quiet Confidence on the Other Side of Doubt
Do I have days where I wonder if I made the right choice? Yes, particularly on days like today when I’m deep in the weeds of building a web presence from scratch. The doubt whispers that the convenient path would be easier.
But then I remember the reason for the decision. I remember the feeling of that permanent warning on my account, a symbol of powerlessness. I remember the frustration of the geographic pay gap. And in that remembrance, I feel my sovereignty click into place. The doubt doesn’t vanish, but it is overshadowed by a profound knowing that I am building something real, something that aligns with my core values.
This isn’t just about leaving a platform; it’s about arriving at a principle. It’s about recognising that true sustainable business isn’t built on the fastest route, but on the most solid foundation. The convenience of the platform was a short-term lease on a property I could never own. The empowerment of building my own hub is the first brick in a legacy.
I expect great things not despite this choice, but because of it.
Have you ever had to walk away from something promising to preserve your autonomy? To choose the harder right over the easier wrong? That moment of choice, where you honour your own growth over external validation, is where true power is born. I’d love to hear your story of choosing empowerment over convenience. Share it with me, and let’s build a community that celebrates sovereign decisions.
✨ This is the work we do in the Sovren Collective. If you’re ready to build your empowered foundation, [explore it here].