Ivan Bosnjak (FlowAscending) is a gaming YouTuber who streams focusing primarily on Valorant content.
For the last three years, he has been able to turn his passion into a full-time career, with multiple income streams.
He said: “For the first 10 months of my content creator career, I was working upwards of 14 hours per day in order to guarantee my success in the industry.
“Currently I still put in anywhere from 60-100+ hours per week. It’s an incredibly gratifying job but it definitely takes a lot of commitment.”
His income varies significantly but can be anywhere from £60,000 – £150,000+ annually.
He explained that there are many factors which determine someone’s income online, gaming or non-gaming related.
One of his income streams is YouTube ad revenue which is generated from the amount of views received per video. Additionally, he gets Twitch revenue, sponsorships, E-sport Organizations and TikTok deals.
Mr Bosnjak added: “The larger the community you build, the more potential money you can earn. The bigger the audience you can attain, the more revenue you’ll be able to generate through multiple different sources of income.
“On Twitch viewers can gift money through subs, bits and donations directly to the streamer. Additionally, streamers can play ads on Twitch which Twitch will pay them for (similar to the Youtube ad revenue system).”
The 25-year-old has been gaming since he was nine when his parents got him consoles such as the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation 1, 2, 3 and 4.
As he grew older and expanded his game reach, he got better and was able to generate a plan to take his passion full-time.
He said: “I feel incredibly lucky and grateful for the opportunities I’ve been presented with thus far and I can’t wait to see what more I can make of it.
“However, being honest, I don’t feel this way every day. Once your hobby becomes your job you can definitely lose sight of why you began doing it in the first place. Just like any other job that’s exactly what it becomes, your job.
“You have to show up every day and make sure you’re putting in the work, even on the days you really don’t want to. There’s days where I can experience super highs and love every minute of it and other days where I really don’t enjoy it and want to do anything else but gaming.
“The important part is to remind yourself just how blessed you are to be in the position you’re in and why you worked so hard for this career in the first place. And when I look back on my last three years and what else I want to achieve it brings me nothing but pure joy!”
When explaining how others can pursue gaming for income, the streamer suggested there are other avenues individuals can pursue.
He explained that people can directly apply to be a part of a gaming company. The jobs which they can apply for within these companies can massively vary just like any other company, but this is definitely a more reliable option if someone wants to be directly involved in the gaming industry but don’t want the stress of being independent and entrepreneurial.
He said: “I’d recommend for anyone that has a passion for gaming to begin by outlining what your strengths are and being realistic in which avenue of gaming you’d like to pursue. Becoming a professional player isn’t as easy as it may look.
“Just like any other athlete, you will have to practice many many hours of the day and continuously strive for perfection, either individually or within a team.
“If you’re more inclined to become a content creator, you’ll have to study the market and the niches that come with it.
“Once again, it looks easy from the outside but the process of becoming a well-established content creator can take a lot of work.”
