Ghalib Hassam

Account Manager @ Kurogo | We create thought leaders through personal branding

I’m the Head of Content at Darkroom.

My job is helping the people inside the company share what they already know without turning it into performative content or forcing anyone into a creator box.

I’m building an internal thought-leadership motion across LinkedIn, X, Substack, and TikTok by putting structure around good thinking and making it easier to create content consistently.

Before this role, I spent a few years deep in LinkedIn, working closely with founders and operators, asking a lot of questions, and turning long conversations into clear, useful content.

What I noticed pretty quickly was that the people with the most insight are usually the least interested in posting. They don’t lack ideas. They lack time, systems, and a clean way to translate what’s already in their heads.

I come from an engineering background (master’s in engineering), which probably explains how I think about content.

At Darkroom, that shows up as helping leaders find their real point of view and designing content systems that work across platforms.

I’m especially interested in founder-led and expert-led content, and in building internal content engines that feel sustainable.

Always up for a coffee chat. Feel free to hit me up.

Personal Brand Manager.

Progress in 30 days or your money back 💸 Fluff-free fitness to help you drop fat and gain muscle 🤝

Hey, here's my journey in a nutshell...

2020 -started my dream university course 
(dropped out 10 weeks later)
2023 - restarted uni studying marketing
2023 - graduated university with a 1st class marketing degree
2023 - applied for a load of jobs I didn't want
2023 - ignored a load of advice and became a personal trainer instead
2024 - started posting about fitness on LinkedIn.
         - Grew to 30k followers, gained some clients, sold some guides 
2025 - Realised I don't love online fitness coaching. But I do love LinkedIn.

Currently - a 26 year old personal trainer just figuring out what to do. 
(While growing on LinkedIn)
(And aiming to make this my job) 
(So I can work from anywhere)

Say hi!!

Ellie Hines 🍋

My dream is to work from my laptop anywhere. 
These are 4 things in my way. 
+ how I’m gonna beat them:

That’s my goal:

- No office
- No fixed schedule
- Location + financial freedom

Here’s what needs working on: 

1. MINDSET 🧠

Literally controls everything else. The universe rewards audacity, not talent. (which is good). Mean’s we’re in more control than we act like. Practising positive thinking, visualisation and honestly just being mentally tough “this can’t get me” attitude. 

2. Time management ⌚

I say “I don’t have time” but my screen time disagrees. I NEED to be more intentional with my time. Gonna start by tracking how long I spend on XYZ and time blocking 

3. Procrastination 🥱

Lol it can be BAD. Working on it by: 1. Having max 3 tabs open, phone in a draw, easy to-do lists, realistic daily goals, pomodoro working, working out of the house

4. Skillset 💻

No one’s born an engineer? Or a doctor? Or a banker? They go and learn it! We’re in the best time EVER to exist to learn things. It’s there, just got to be proactive about it. Immerse myself into learning, improving, figuring it out. 

I have obstacles. We all do. 
the absolute best news?
They’re not permanent. 

You want something?
Get out of your own way!!

P.s - tips for any of the above would be welcomed with open arms!

Self employed - Learning LinkedIn in public

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“You’re so lucky to be self employed…”

Wait, do you mean the:

- being “cringe”
- putting yourself out there
- paying for your own mistakes
- starting @ 7am, finishing @8pm
- having friends/family openly doubt
- an actual never ending to - do list
- not earning money when you’re ill
- working while others switch off
- prepping for unstable income

Yeah self employment is gooood. 
I love it. 

But if it was genuinely just that amazing and that easy, 
literally everyone would be doing it.

Just saying.

What’s your biggest struggle with your job?

I want to master LinkedIn. 
Everyday I study top creators. 
They have these 5 things in common:

1️⃣ They’re known for 1 main thing
    - Consistent with their messaging
    - You know what they’re on about
Justin Welsh - Solopreneurship 
Lara Acosta - LinkedIn growth 
Jasmin Alić - Community focused 
Sophie Miller - Making socials simple 

2️⃣ Their content is easy to digest
    - No long confusing words
    - No reading between the lines
    - My brain “enjoys” their content

3️⃣ They use recognition with education
    - Posts are written for readers
    - People engage when they feel seen
    - Content makes the reader say “that’s me”

4️⃣ They balance storytelling + authority 
    - “Normal” enough to trust them
    - Authoritative enough to be inspired
    - Combines credibility and connection

5️⃣ They show more than tell
    - Less “do this”
    - More “by doing this”
    - Applicable over generic advice

These aren’t hacks. 
It’s what separates the top creators from the rest.

What’ve you noticed?

I worked 11 months to build my dream, 

then threw it away in month 12.

In January 2025 I set myself these 3 goals:

1. Build an online community 
2. Launch online fitness products 
3. Work full time with online clients 

So I did:

- I posted about fitness consistently
- I launched online fitness plans
- I built my online client base

For 11 months, I chased those goals. 
I showed up daily, I put work in. 

And on month 12 I realised it wasn’t for me. 

So I stopped. 
Gave my clients notice.
And rebranded my LinkedIn. 

Now I don’t know who needs to hear this,
but YOUR GOALS ARE ALLOWED TO CHANGE. 

What you want can change. 
What you enjoy can change.
What you prioritise can change. 
(Chances are, they will!!)

And you owe an explanation to absolutely no one :) 

It’s not a failure. 
It’s not a “waste”.
It’s not a loss. 
It’s life.

When have you changed your mind about something?

3 years ago this was my biggest fear. 

Now it’s one of my life goals…

Living as many lives as I can

I used to worry about not being able to figure out:

- which job I wanted forever
- where I wanted to live
- who I wanted to be

and then felt like a failure when I changed my mind.

Then last year I had a realisation:
I don’t need to choose just 1. 
And neither do you.  

We get 1 (hopefully) long life. 
Why on earth would we limit it to just 1 version?

I tried something and it “failed”?
> Great, I experienced it

I changed my mind on life?
> Why should I always want the same?

I took a detour?
> Predictable books are soo boring.

As a chronic over optimiser, 
this perspectives changed my life. 

Now finding 1 job, living in 1 place, knowing 1 set of people feels like suuuuch a waste. 

Same to you:

If you’ve changed your mind
If your path took a turn
If something’s failed
Embrace it.

You get one life.
Why not live all the versions you can?

I got called “lazy” for dropping out of uni. 

Then went back and got a first. 

2018 : Re-sat A-Levels for my dream course
2019 : Got accepted + started studying 

10 weeks in : Knew it wasn’t right, dropped out

- Got told I was lazy
- Told I need to try harder
- Asked if I just didn’t want to work

2020 : Changed uni’s and studied marketing

2023 : Graduated with a first class degree 

Then:

- Got a new qualification
- Got a job in a new field
- Became self employed
- Travelled Australia
- Ran a marathon
- Fully freelance

But noooo I’m lazy because *I* made a decision about *my* life, on something that *I* knew wasn’t for *me* and *I* didn’t enjoy. 

Let’s get 1 thing straight. 
There’s a HUGE difference between :

1. Quitting as in giving in 
2. Quitting as a controlled decision

And number 2 is a strength.

If you know something isn’t for you, GET OUT.
We don’t have enough time to waste.

I wasted a year learning LinkedIn the wrong way.

But this 1 thing changed everything:

I joined LinkedIn in 2022
Saw the potential. 
Wanted results myself.

So I started:

- Reading endless "how-to" posts
- Trying to mimic the big creators
- Watched hours of LinkedIn vids
- Researching the perfect strategy
- Making pages full of instructions

Spent months in research mode.
Posted occasionally. 
Minimal results.

Then I did this 1 thing instead:

Got involved ❗️

- Started posting 3x a week
- Posted about what I wanted
- Stopped copying + found my voice
- Connected with many creators
- Saw what did / didn't do well
- Adjusted as I went along

I still read and learnt 
But I priortiized action > endless research.
And that's what made the difference. 

Grew to 30k followers
Gained real engagement
Built a strong community
Sold my own guides. 

Here's the reality. 
For literally everything in the world ever….

You can read as much theory, listen to as much advice, make as many notes as we want but nothingggg beats just trying and getting involved. 

Theory gives direction.
Practice gives progress. 

P.s - drop 1 piece of advice for LinkedIn newbies (and me)

I thought uni was the golden ticket to success. 

Then I was 3 yrs in, 9k debt, no grad job…

Everyone’s doing A-Levels
> I’ll do A-Levels 

Everyone’s applying to uni
> Guess I’ll apply to uni 

Everyone’s hunting for a grad job
> Suppose that’s the next step

Next I was applying for roles
Going to interviews I didn’t want
To get a job I didn’t even care about

Because that’s what we do right? 

Then 2 months in:

- Switched the job tab to the feed one
- Saw loads of self employed creators
- Doing their own thing with freedom
- Opened my eyes to other options
- Wondered if I could do that too
- Stopped applying for jobs

That week I started my PT qualification.
6 months later I was self employed. 
2 years on, I still am. 

Do you know what’s scary.
How much we live on auto pilot.
Doing the next step, what’s expected.
Without stopping and actually thinking. 

What do we actually want?
What makes us genuinely happy?
What is the best way to get there?

It’s so easy to not even choose a path, 
and just inherit one instead. 

What about you?

Who’s success are you building for?

Yours, or the version that sounds good?

I’ve consumed/created on LI for 2 years.
You can have the best post ever, 
but it can still flop without this:

Good structure. 

LinkedIn’s a scrolling game. 
And people scroll fast.

You could have the most insightful, interesting, helpful content ever.
But if it’s unattractive to read, 
it doesn’t stand a chance. 

Make it easy to read:

1. Get rid of the fluff
2. Make lists follow a pattern
3. Break it up with white space
4. Remove unneeded filler words 
5. Avoid paragraphs/long sentences
6. Keep sentences punchy (8ish words)

The easier it is to consume, 
the more people consume it. 
Simple. 

Don’t set yourself up for failure. 

(This made a HUGE difference to how my content performed)

Happy Saturday. 
Here’s my in’s and outs for 2026. 
As a 26 year old figuring it out. 

Ins:

1. Money ;)
2. Travelling 
3. Failing forward
4. Exploring the UK 
5. Jigsaws > scrolling
6. Reading more books 
7. Meeting LinkedIn people
8. Organisation would be nice
9. Water. Hydration. Mine’s pathetic.
10. Researching interests (psychology)

Out:

1. Being more busy than productive 
2. The sentence “I’d love to”… (do it) 
3. Consuming more than I create 
4. Obsessing over impressions 
5. Overexplaining my choices 
6. More planning than doing 
7. Late night doomscrolling
8. Waiting for other people 
9. Living on autopilot 
10. Negative self talk 

Your turn.

1 in, 1 out?

2025 me could never reach my 2026 goals.
A rebrand is on the cards. 
Here’s 6 areas I’m working on:

1. Mindset 🧠
    - Where EVERYTHING starts
    - Being intentional with thoughts
    - Working on emotional intelligence

2. Persona ✍🏻
    - Visualising who I want to be
    - Showing up and acting as *them*
    - Building confidence through proof

3. Environment 🤝🏻
    - Being aware of my surroundings
    - Choosing places where I work best
    - Way more aware of the effects of this

4. My circle 👭
    - Who do I want to surround myself with?
    - Make more of an effort to see them more
    - Make an effort to meet more of them people.

5. Life 🌎
    - Stopping living on autopilot
    - Make more time for experiences
    - Figure out what I actually want (not others)

6. Work ethic 💻
    - When I lock in I lock IN
    - But first I will procrastinate
    - Finding methods to control this

Questionably the most important point, 

Weekly/monthly checks to make sure I’m actually following through with what I said.

2026 is the year I properly take control of my life. 

Any other areas I should look at?

I’ve been self employed for 15 months.
This is one of the biggest things I’ve learnt. 
(It saved my buisness)

Take advice with a pinch of salt.

People have said to me:

“Don’t bother with posters/social media”
 ⚡️ got most my clients from posters and social media

“You need to charge higher prices” 
⚡️lower prices helped me gain traction and momentum

“Don’t work for free” 
 ⚡️over 80% of taster sessions converted to paying clients

“It only works if you niche down” 
⚡️might work when you’ve built up a base but I just wanted numbers and experience

Advice can be great but,
Just because you’re hearing it,
doesn’t mean you should follow it.

Here’s why:

- you might do it better
- you might do it differently
- you might have different goals

P.s - especially if it’s coming from someone who isn’t where you want to get

I listen to a podcast on the way to work daily. 

Here’s my #1 takeaway:

Last year I wanted to stimulate my brain more.
So switched music > podcasts
Founders, CEO’s, comedians, authors etc.

The biggest take away:

📢 A do-er will always beat a thinker 📢

Every single time. 
And as a baddd overthinker. It hit HARD. 

My word for 2026 is ACTION.

I think a lot.
I plan a lot.
I vision a lot.

But I don’t *do* enough. 
And that’s what’s changing this year.

In work, pleasure, growth, LIFE
I want my actions louder than my intentions.

Goes right = you know what works 
Goes wrong = you know what doesn’t

Sometimes over thinking is the most unproductive thing you could do 

What’s one thing that needs less thought and more action?

I’ve been on LinkedIn for 3 years. 
This year I’ll make the most of it.
With these 5 things:

1. Experimenting

➡️ The fastest and most direct way to learn what works best. Doing it wrong is actually a long term shortcut 

2. Utilising DM’s 

➡️ I’ve NEGLECTED my DM’s for forever but that’s where the best connections are made so see you there

3. Share my journey

➡️ I’m not an expert (yet). But too often we wait to be one before thinking we’re ‘important’ enough to post. Instead, my learning journey  is fueling my content. 

4. Meet more people IRL 

➡️ LinkedIn has to be one of the best ways of connecting with likeminded people as adults?? Who’s in Manchester and fancies a coffee?

5. Play the long game 

➡️ Instead of micro focusing on 1 week, even 1 month, I’ll be focusing on the whole year. It’s not all gonna fall into place in 4 days.

A bonus - write everyday. 

2026 is the year I’m going innn on LinkedIn. 

What about you?

How are you using LI this year?

10 months ago I ran 35km 
Cried 3 times 
But it rewired my brain forever:

December 2024 :
- Signed up for Manchester Marathon
- As a newbie runner seeking a challenge
    
March 2025:
- Deep into marathon training
- 35km deep to be precise
- Took me +4 hours
- Just with myself
- I cried 3 times
- 2 phone calls
- 0 motivation
- 0 positivity
- Pain CAVE.

But I knew I had to tick it off to do the full thing.

One of the hardest mental and physical things I’ve ever done honestly. 

Harder than the actual marathon.
But I did it. 

And it taught me this:
I can do it. 

When it’s slow.
When it’s hard.
When I’m tired. 
When it’s lonely.
With no motivation.
When it feels impossible. 

I can still do it. 
I did it. 

I didn’t come away from that run with motivation.
I came away with evidence.

And if you’re waiting to *believe* you can do something,
maybe what you actually need is proof.

Go get it.

Not knowing what to post is a #1 struggle on LinkedIn. It’s been mine too.
Then I asked myself these 4 questions:

Context:

- I posted fitness content for over a year
- Chose my content pillars, wrote easily
- Changed my whole LinkedIn identity
- Been struggling to know what to write

Here’s 4 categories I’ve dug into to help:

1. Direction ➡️
    - What do I want out of LI in the next 6-12 months?
    - What’s my main goal on LinkedIn?
    - Monetisation, job prospects, exposure?

2. Identity 😀
    - What do I want to be known for?
    - How do I want to come across?
    - If someone described my page, what would I want them to say?

3. Audience 💬
    - Who do I want reading my posts?
    - What stage of the journey are they on?
    - What do I want to make them feel?

4. Proof 🧾
    - What relevant experiences do I have?
    - What am I learning/testing right now?
    - What can I show, not just say?

SO many people drop LinkedIn before giving it a chance because there is 
1. no structure 2. no consistency 3. no reason to what they post.

My advice?

Use a bit of time to build a simple strategy.
It makes it easier and 10x more enjoyable.

Any more suggestions?

This is THE best thing I did for building my business:

Let go of how I thought it would pan out.

Before starting a business, I thought it would go something like this:

- Start the job
- Build an audience
- Do some PT tasters
- Gain in person clients
- Have top organisation
- Build some fitness guides
- Sell them on LinkedIn / IG
- Build a pretty solid income
- Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat

But it’s gone more like this:

- Massive growths and loses in profit
- Not enjoying the parts I expected
- Loving parts I thought I’d hate
- The least linear growth ever
- Doubting if it’s what I want
- Getting used to rejection
- 

We all have a version we imagine in our head before we do it.

And then it’s often:

- Slower than we expected
- Harder than we expected
- Longer than we expected

It doesn’t mean we’re failing.
It doesn’t mean we’re doing it wrong.

It just means it’s different to how we imagined, before we did it, before we had any experience.

And let’s be real, that’s not that surprising.

BTW : you can be ambitious af, and still have days/weekends that look like this:

You don’t have to be chained to a desk, 
working every waking hour 
caffeinated to the eyeballs
to be chasing big goals. 

Go outside
Look at grass
Read a fiction 
Watch a show 
See your mates
Cook new things 
+ chase your goals!!

What you doing today?

I gained 35k+ followers, 100x engagement, and sold guides on LinkedIn by doing these 5 things:

For context:

2023 : posted randomly whilst in Uni
2024 : posted about fitness - grew to 30k+

Here’s what changed :

1. Posting about something I’m actually passionate about ⚡️

- I went from posting about my degree subject because I thought I had to, to a subject I actually cared about and had passion for. Makes it 100x more enjoyable (and easier)

2. Built a *simple* strategy 💭

- Asked myself who do I want to be known to? What for? What do I want to gain? Then created content around *that.* Doesn’t have to be complicated but a little structure HELPS.

3. Found MY voice 📢

- Huge one. I stopped trying to imitate other people and found my own style and tone. People aren’t gonna remember you if you’re a carbon copy of someone else. Plus it feels fake. P.s - this didn’t come instantly. 

4. Balanced authority and relatability ⚖️

- “You have to be authorative” “People want relatability”. How about both? Educational content helps build reputation, and relatable content helps make meaningful connections + built trust

5. Focusing on progress > perfection 📈

- Cliche but true. In 2022 if a post didn’t do well, I wouldn’t post for a week. Now we just get on with it. Every daily post is a chance to grow, and it really shouldn’t be deep enough to stop you

Bonus one -  Patience. LinkedIn is a loooong game. 

Remember:

- disattach from the numbers
- practice and experiment
- and stay consistent!!

LinkedIn has SO much to offer
and pro’s outweigh any “cons”.

taplio

The Battle

Ghalib Hassam

Ellie Hines 🍋

Followers

Posts

Engagements

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taplio

The Battle

Ghalib Hassam

Ellie Hines 🍋

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Ellie Hines 🍋's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreEllie Hines 🍋's LinkedIn Performance