- Joined
- Feb 9, 2022
- Messages
- 11
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Hello,
I've only read around a little bit on the forum so far, but it's been such an insightful read already. I enjoy the honest but helpful sort of air that seems to permeate the threads. But I know myself, and before I give into the bad habit of soaking up every newfound fountain of knowledge for hours on end instead of actually doing something, I want to get right down to business (haha).
I didn't spend my youth following any entrepreneurial inclinations. As a kid I liked making games and writing stories (still do). But I like to think this doesn't disqualify me from breaking off the script and achieving my version of freedom. I actually ended up reading TMF when I was 16 years old by chance, because even back then I didn't think my parents' exhausting and financially strained lives seemed very inviting. I'm 20 today (so I guess you could argue I'm still in my youth) and I've reached the point of no return. I simply can't see holding down any traditional job to be the best path financially or in terms of autonomy.
There's only one thing I think I know how to do well, and that's YouTube. I've enjoyed it for years, I've studied every aspect of it - I even did it myself for a little while to no avail. And then one day I woke up to a few thousand people enjoying my videos and urging me to continue. I couldn't because of shaky life circumstances, but I'll never forget the encouraging words people left. I couldn't believe my eyes and I know I'll die with regret if I don't give it a proper shot again. It was just a lot of fun.
Except for earning myself a livable existence, I don't have wild entrepreneurial dreams. I set three overarching goals that makes my heart ache with how proud I would be if they came true:
I'm well aware that starting a YouTube channel is not akin to starting a "real" business. On top of this it arguably violates many of the CENTS commandments. This is why other than just making videos I'm thinking of leveraging the eyeballs into other value-driven services/products that I'll develop over time. But one thing at a time. I fully agree with the anti "do what you love" sentiment, but I don't think there's anything wrong with leveraging skill(s) you both enjoy and might be good at. The market will decide and I'll adjust accordingly.
The Goal
If I could get monetized within these six months (1000 subscribers and 4000 hours of watch time) and start seeing some measly ad revenue I'd be happy. That'd be proof enough for me to keep going with this particular direction. Also it is just a clear goal to work toward when starting from scratch. Most people don't get there that fast and maybe I won't, but I think 6 months is a decent runway. Either the plane starts lifting off the ground or it doesn't.
The Plan
Here's the battle plan. I'll be in a very fortunate position for the next ~6 months. I live in a small apartment I pay for with a part-time job, but I cannot stay longer than August (it might end up being shorter, I don't know). It will take too long to explain and no one cares about my life circumstances, but basically what this means is that I have six months where in it doesn't matter how obsessively I'm spending my time. I can work on videos whenever minus when at the job.
I'm aware that I'm using a long-term strategy for a short-term challenge, but this is what I want to try: I'll be posting at least one video every month because that's how long they take to produce on average (due to animation). I'll be working on cutting down the production time as much as possible so hopefully I can make more without dropping significant quality. On top of this I will make an "extra" video documenting the process of learning a skill in a bizarre way, which I'm not sure how much time it'll take. So that comes out to be ~7 videos. Doesn't sound like a lot, but I would rather take the time to execute on a unique, evergreen idea that racks up 100,000 views over time rather than 100-1,000 views and is then lost in the sea of similar time-bound videos. The Internet Historian and James Jani (Valier) said it best:
(That doesn't mean it's not possible spending a month producing hot garbage, but once again the market will decide).
I'll put the end date as August 15th for now as I don't know at what date in August I'll have to start easing off the gas somewhat. I'll be updating every Friday with:
Thank you for taking the time. See you next Friday!
I've only read around a little bit on the forum so far, but it's been such an insightful read already. I enjoy the honest but helpful sort of air that seems to permeate the threads. But I know myself, and before I give into the bad habit of soaking up every newfound fountain of knowledge for hours on end instead of actually doing something, I want to get right down to business (haha).
I didn't spend my youth following any entrepreneurial inclinations. As a kid I liked making games and writing stories (still do). But I like to think this doesn't disqualify me from breaking off the script and achieving my version of freedom. I actually ended up reading TMF when I was 16 years old by chance, because even back then I didn't think my parents' exhausting and financially strained lives seemed very inviting. I'm 20 today (so I guess you could argue I'm still in my youth) and I've reached the point of no return. I simply can't see holding down any traditional job to be the best path financially or in terms of autonomy.
There's only one thing I think I know how to do well, and that's YouTube. I've enjoyed it for years, I've studied every aspect of it - I even did it myself for a little while to no avail. And then one day I woke up to a few thousand people enjoying my videos and urging me to continue. I couldn't because of shaky life circumstances, but I'll never forget the encouraging words people left. I couldn't believe my eyes and I know I'll die with regret if I don't give it a proper shot again. It was just a lot of fun.
Except for earning myself a livable existence, I don't have wild entrepreneurial dreams. I set three overarching goals that makes my heart ache with how proud I would be if they came true:
- Helping my mother out of not poverty, but too close to it for comfort
- Being able to tell my long-distance girlfriend that I'm earning money doing my own thing and that it means I can come be with her permanently
- My brother finding my videos on his own because they've become popular enough (we're into the same thing)
I'm well aware that starting a YouTube channel is not akin to starting a "real" business. On top of this it arguably violates many of the CENTS commandments. This is why other than just making videos I'm thinking of leveraging the eyeballs into other value-driven services/products that I'll develop over time. But one thing at a time. I fully agree with the anti "do what you love" sentiment, but I don't think there's anything wrong with leveraging skill(s) you both enjoy and might be good at. The market will decide and I'll adjust accordingly.
The Goal
If I could get monetized within these six months (1000 subscribers and 4000 hours of watch time) and start seeing some measly ad revenue I'd be happy. That'd be proof enough for me to keep going with this particular direction. Also it is just a clear goal to work toward when starting from scratch. Most people don't get there that fast and maybe I won't, but I think 6 months is a decent runway. Either the plane starts lifting off the ground or it doesn't.
The Plan
Here's the battle plan. I'll be in a very fortunate position for the next ~6 months. I live in a small apartment I pay for with a part-time job, but I cannot stay longer than August (it might end up being shorter, I don't know). It will take too long to explain and no one cares about my life circumstances, but basically what this means is that I have six months where in it doesn't matter how obsessively I'm spending my time. I can work on videos whenever minus when at the job.
I'm aware that I'm using a long-term strategy for a short-term challenge, but this is what I want to try: I'll be posting at least one video every month because that's how long they take to produce on average (due to animation). I'll be working on cutting down the production time as much as possible so hopefully I can make more without dropping significant quality. On top of this I will make an "extra" video documenting the process of learning a skill in a bizarre way, which I'm not sure how much time it'll take. So that comes out to be ~7 videos. Doesn't sound like a lot, but I would rather take the time to execute on a unique, evergreen idea that racks up 100,000 views over time rather than 100-1,000 views and is then lost in the sea of similar time-bound videos. The Internet Historian and James Jani (Valier) said it best:
(That doesn't mean it's not possible spending a month producing hot garbage, but once again the market will decide).
I'll put the end date as August 15th for now as I don't know at what date in August I'll have to start easing off the gas somewhat. I'll be updating every Friday with:
- Subscriber count (0/1,000)
- Watch hour count (0/4,000)
- % of video completed + video #
- (Days remaining, to scare myself)
Thank you for taking the time. See you next Friday!
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