Creating a Thriving Personal Brand w/ YouTube - A Journal & A Personal Guide.

[MJ DeMarco]

Here's the trailer if the rest of the forum hasn't seen it...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujePSkRe3Ns


Never heard of this Tyler1 dude, but I'm definitely intrigued!

James, aside from the video creation, you have a great voice for this. Americans love the English accent, gives the content a real authentic feel.

 

[Valier]

Update 6. Growing...

My Tribute to The Millionaire Fastlane
7th video wrapped up and published. This one was heavily inspired by the man himself @MJ DeMarco and I consider it a tribute to the lessons I’ve learnt from TMF and Unscripted .

View: https://youtu.be/6mRbDEtDoyA


Anyway, I’ll keep this update short as there isn’t a huge amount to report on.



Exponential Growth
So, I’ve seen a huge growth in the channel since posting the last video – which received an amazing reception after its release! We’re now at 214 subscribers at the time of writing this.

Although it’s nothing crazy, it’s amazing to think that there are 214 different people who have tuned in to my content and thought it was worth subscribing to. Positive market feedback definitely does feel great .

My Instagram has also been gaining some new followers from the channel.

But let’s talk about monetisation:

Patreon & Donations
I now also have my Patreon and Paypal.me link set up – in fact, we received our first donation after the last video!

One of my subscribers made a one-time donation of 20p, and although that isn’t anything life-changing, it’s still awesome to see that even with a small fan-base someone was willing to make a donation.

My Patreon tiers have also been created, three different tiers are as follows:



For now, donations and Patrons will be my main method of monetising the channel – that is, until I can start running ads, and until I release some courses (more info on this to come, it’s in the works )


***
That’s about all for now, my next video is going to be a pretty risky move – but if my plan works out, then it may very well be the video that takes this channel to new heights.

We’ll just have to see till then…

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Andy Black]

[MILESTONE] Update 7. The Algorithm Answered My Prayers, Insanity Ensued…

“Wait.. what’s going on? Has it finally happened? Has the algorithm picked up one of my videos?
Those were the first thoughts I had that morning… just before sh*t hit the fan, and everything changed.​

View attachment 33038


An Early Update
My intentions were always to post updates on this thread after the release of a new video.

But with what’s been happening in the last few weeks – things have had to change.

On my last post I reported we were at 214 subscribers, and labelled this as “exponential growth”.

Now, roughly a month after that post, the channel stands at 20,092 subscribers.

And for those of you just following this thread right now, I know what you’re thinking: “what the f*ck? How??” – at least, I know that’s what I was thinking.

I’ve had heart palpitations over the last few days because of the craziness that has just ensued, which meant I was up late in the evening unable to sleep, and lost my appetite for eating due to sheer adrenaline that has kept my body in a 24/7 alert state.

But today I woke up and things were better, I felt more focused, calmer, and ready to make this post as well as taking this YouTube channel to a whole new level.

This one is a long post, but I think it’s necessary.

Without further ado, here’s what happened since the last post, and my explanations as to why it happened:


The Algorithm Takes Notice
About maybe two weeks ago, I woke up and ran through my usual morning routine – and upon checking the channel stats, I noticed a sudden increase in views per hour to the channel.

Overnight, my average viewers to the channel (per hour) went from 1-6 to 20-40.

“Huh??” was the immediate thought. Initially I assumed that someone may have posted the video somewhere online, on a subreddit maybe, which must have brought some surplus traffic to the channel.

But then I checked the analytics and saw that the views were coming from “browse features” – meaning the video was being shown on the homepage/recommended tab for audiences.

Even then I was so shocked and surprise to see the influx of viewers… it blew my mind like nothing else.

But then things continued to snowball…


My First “Viral” Video

It continued to grow, hour by hour, day-by-day - more &more average views on the channel per hour, more comments (some very endearing ones too) started pouring in.

The “Fake Guru” video was, of course, the main powerhouse. The algorithm had picked it up and started pushing it out to a bunch of people… but gradually i.e I would have maybe an average of 100 views per hour on the fake guru video, and then after a day it would suddenly shoot up to 500 views per hour, then the next day it would suddenly shoot up to 1,000… etc etc. Currently the video averages about 1.5k views per hour (I’ll explain what this pattern is all about in just a moment).

To cut the long story short, at the time of writing this the video stands at 208.4K views.

What’s even better is the fact that I have set the channel up in such a way that I wanted to create a “catalogue” of videos (as mentioned in my previous post), and so once they finish watching one video, my audience would be curious to watch another – which in this case, was my “toxic world of self-help” video (makes sense, considering the topics of self help and fake gurus can be closely related).

The Self-Help video is at 63.7k views right now, the Money video is currently at 36.4k. And the others are in the thousands – tens of thousands. Yeah… pretty insane…

So, I want this to emphasise how powerful the “catalogue” concept is when building a YouTube channel. Everyone is told to pump out content like crazy, but someone who commented on my video made an amazing point: if your favourite artist was releasing an album every three month, would they really be that special anymore?

The principles of abundance vs scarcity play a part here. When something is abundant it has seemingly less value because after all, there’s plenty of it. But when it’s scarce, it’s far more valuable (I think I already mentioned this on the last post). But when a channel that posts once a month, people are far more inclined to think “Oh! I know that they’re not going to post a video for a long while now, and I know what I’m about to get is high quality”, which not only urges them to click the video, but also entices them to watch right through to the end.

Notice those two factors? “urges them to click the video”, and “entices them to watch right through to the end” – two factors that the YouTube algorithm heavily prioritises.

Not only that, but if all the content on your channel is on par with the same level of quality as that video, they’re more inclined to binge watch, meaning more views (that make up for the long gaps between uploads), and in my personal opinion a more loyal fan that trusts your work far more than the YouTuber that’s uploading 24/7. Pretty cool, right?


So, What About the Sudden Increases In Average Views Per Hour Every Day?
As I mentioned: once the algorithm picked up my video, I would get a consistent number of views per hour, then after a day, that average number would suddenly shoot up (not gradually), it would quite literally just shoot up.

I wish I could find the video that explains this, but here’s why:

From what I’ve heard/seen with my own eyes, once the algorithm picks up your video it will begin to split test it against someone else’s video to an audience of let’s say 100.

So it’s: Video A VS Video B.

Based on whichever video does better during this split test (calculated by looking at the click through rate, watch time, engagement rate, etc) it will then progress the video on to the next split test to an audience of let’s say 1,000.

If Vid A won, then it becomes Vid A VD Vid C.

And the trend continues until your video eventually gets beaten, and from there on the views start to stagnate and return to normal (it doesn’t necessarily die out, it’s just that the algorithm stops pushing it out as much).

I wish I saved the screenshots of this taking place live, because seeing it in person is far more powerful than just writing about it.

This also explains why you will suddenly get recommended a video that seems a little irrelevant to your interests – because that video has beaten enough split tests to be spread to a completely new audience.


Other Consequences of a Viral Video, and an Exploding Channel.

A few many other incredible things happened once the algorithm picked up my video – stuff that seriously blows my F*cking mind:

• Last post I mentioned a Patreon account. That account now has 12 amazing Patrons, and I gross £47 a month from that at the moment.

• I also received donations on my one-time donation link which has totalled since the last post to £133

• My Instagram has blown the hell up. Before everything went crazy I had about 400 and something followers. Now I’m at 986 followers, I’ve got hundreds of message requests that I’m trying my best to get back to… although it is quite overwhelming, as someone that ghosted social media quite a lot (more on how this is all changing in a bit)

• I’ve had a few “companies” approach me via email requesting video editing services, and an opportunity to have a zoom call with them – which I’m going to get back to. But I am most likely going to decline all of them (depending on the offer) due to the fact that I have built a strong momentum with the channel, and the best long-term strategy here is to ride that momentum out as much as possible. But this has given me a great idea in the far future for expanding the channel out and creating a media company that takes on clients and creates incredible content for companies (i.e presentations, advertising material, etc, that are designed to engage and hook employees/potential customers). If the channel continues to put out amazing content, then the channel itself becomes marketing material.

• I even had the former CMO of Just Eat, Ash Ali, reach out to me via email congratulating me on my videos, and saying that it touches on many of the things discussed in his new book “The Unfair Advantage” – and that he would love to send me a free copy of it. To which I, of course, agreed to. What’s even more crazy is the fact that I attended a networking event (a few months back) days before making my first video that had Ash as the headline speaker!! (I don’t even think he knows this… crazy).

• I’ve had many people reach out offering to work with me for free – which I’ve explained to them that I am incredibly grateful for the offer, and as soon as I start to create a bit more of a process with how I want to run the channel, and the community of followers I will start looking at how I can bring in outside help (paid, of course).

• I’ve had several others reach out to me offering for me to go on their podcasts. I still need to respond to them, but I haven’t gotten round to it yet.

• Others who have reached out to me have given me amazing tips on growing my social media pages, on improving my video production (in terms of the lighting of the videos when my face is present). It’s so mesmerising to have all of this advice & support, and they all do it for free. Incredible…

You can imagine that since the last post, going from slow and steady growth to the F*cking insanity that has happened over the 2-3 weeks, this has been overwhelming.

So… now let’s talk about the future plans:


Main Priority
At the end of the day, one crucial thing has allowed all of this to happen: having good quality content.

Yes, I targeted a niche subject that was rising in popularity with the Fake Guru video, but many others have done a video on the same subject – and yet my video is perhaps one of the most viewed when it comes to this subject (with the exception of Coffeezilla’s – a YouTuber that exposes guru’s- videos).

If the video wasn’t edited good enough, researched well enough, and presented well enough, this wouldn’t have happened. People wouldn’t have wanted to click to see more videos and binge the channel, people wouldn’t have bothered leaving incredible comments about how much they’ve enjoyed the content.

And so, my main priority is and will always be to put out great quality content.

Oh, and if my audience has been enjoying the content from the last few videos… they have no F*cking clue what is about to hit them with future videos.

I’ve learnt even more editing techniques, tried to make better scripts, etc. The game is going to be stepping up to a whole new level. And I have a “mastermind” plan for how to get this next video to be another banger and go viral (but more on this when the video gets finished).

But of course, as per the title of this thread, we’re trying to build a thriving personal brand. And so, I think it’s time that I tell you guys how we’re going to be changing our old ghosting on social media ways to creating some flourishing social media accounts


Social Media Presence.
So, the Instagram is popping off right now, I’m currently trying to reply to as many people as possible who message me – something that I’m doing that I think is incredibly effective is I send voice messages in my responses.

It’s quicker than typing a message, and it adds a whole new level of interaction with my audience. I can only imagine what it would be like watching someone that I love on YouTube respond to me with a personalised voice message. I’d be very impressed. So, I think it’s a tactic that I should absolutely adopt.

And it’s been a fascinating experience!

Some of my audience have responded to my voice messages with their own voice messages, and it’s so amazing to hear what my “fans” sound like.

I’m also going to be expanding to Twitter, and eventually, TikTok. I think Twitter is great to post re-purposed content and potentially have it blow up – and I think TikTok is such an untapped market at the moment for my niche, relative to other platforms, and I think it can bring a younger audience to the channel ( we can have both a mature and younger audience combined together… why not?). Still need to study how TikTok works and what sort of content I can put on there that could possibly do well… I’ve had someone on Instagram reach out to me who’s had a viral video on TikTok before, and I think I’ll set up a zoom call with him to get to know more.

Also, I’m going to be working on my LinkedIn for the sake of building more professional relations with people that may be in the entertainment/film/video production industry (all a part of a greater vision I have for the channel and business that I will not share for now because I don’t want to get too ahead of myself… although I will be executing on this vision right from the get-go because my God, this goes far bigger than just a YouTube channel, and I’m slowly starting to realise this).

Feel free to add me on LinkedIn – “James Jani”.


What Type of Personal Brand I’m Trying to Build
Rightly said by a few people in this thread, and in my older “Quidemy” thread.

A personal brand is just who YOU are at the end of the day, it isn’t really “built” per say, it’s your reputation.

So here’s the sort of reputation I’m hoping to translate through to my socials:

Most important to me is being someone genuine and relatable to my audience. No flexing content or anything of the sort.

Much more down-to-earth advice, and a documentation of my journey. I’ve been getting quite a bit of advice from some of the people that have reached out to me regarding how to execute content that displays this in the best way possible.

I think Ben Francis (founder of Gym Shark) does a brilliant job of this on his YouTube channel – he’s a super inspirational businessman, and has built up an incredible company at only 27 years old, definitely someone I look up to.

And I do intend to start distributing content to all my social channels, with teasers of videos and other such videos in the aim of increasing my reach to new audiences drastically.

Gary V has quite an amazing guide on this that I have saved somewhere, but I’m definitely going to be digging it up as soon as possible and executing on it.


Now, Time To Talk Money…
Let me just say, I don’t even care that much about the money right now, I have an amazing vision for where this channel/business can go, and that is what is motivating me to get up in the morning and work non-stop at this.

I’m super F*cking pumped.

But with that being said, the numbers and the potential earnings of this channel are… incredible, to say the least.

And when I started doing the maths, my heart really started beating like crazy.

In the upcoming months I hope to release a course on video editing - something that many people have been asking for in my comments and messages (the market is sending clear signals to me, that’s for sure). And so I hope to release a “beta”/MVP version of the video editing course soon,

At the start the course will be priced pretty cheaply (I’m thinking like £30), but over time I’m looking to get feedback from the customers about what they like, don’t like, what they find confusing, what they want to see more of, etc and continuing to develop the course until it hits the right sort of quality that is worth charging anywhere between £100 - £300 for (which is a fair price in comparison to other video editing courses on the market).

But what I want to do is create a course that is on the same level of quality as a “masterclass” course – if you haven’t seen how masterclass create their courses, I highly recommend looking at the trailers on YouTube… they’re incredible, to say the least.

I’m confident I can create perhaps one of the best video editing courses to exist in the market within 2 years time.

Also, the course encompasses EVERYHTNG, to take someone from a complete beginner to a pro (with that being said, I’m not a pro myself, and hence why the course will be in a constant state of development as I grow my skills as a video editor along the way) so when the MVP version is realeased it will go over the foundations, then down the line I will release another expansion that covers things like animations and what not, and then another expansion down the line that will introduce other elements, etc etc.

Now let’s look at the numbers, and why this is something insanely profitable:

Let’s assume that we get 1,000,000 views a month to the channel (so not necessarily on ONE video, on the channel as an entirety), a VERY plausible number considering the fact that I’ve received about 180k views in the last 48 hours, and that’s only been the last three months (imagine in 1 – 2 years time if I continue producing quality content, which I have every intention on doing!).

Let’s say we convert 1% of that audience.

That’s 10,000 customers.

If the course is £150, then that translates to £1.5 Million in revenue…

If we convert .5%, that’s still £750,000….

A month.

Yeah… easy to see why I was getting a bunch of heart palpitations when I started running the maths.

That doesn’t even include things like ad revenue (we’ll talk about that in just a second), other products (i.e I want to make a course on starting up a YouTube channel once the channel gets even bigger), sponsorships, donations, etc etc…

The opportunity here is beyond ridiculous…

As for ad revenue: I’ve started monetising my videos, and I’m just waiting to see what my CPM is (how much I get paid per thousand views), which is taking YouTube a little while to process the data for me to see.

I’ll probably expand on this in a later post, but your CPM on YouTube depends on many factors, but one of the biggest factors is your niche.

Gaming channels suffer low CPM due to the nature of their audiences likely being teens who don’t have money to spend on the ads that are presented to them. They’re likely going to have a CPM of £1 - £2.

But when it comes to the finance, business, entrepreneurship niche… things get a little more interesting.

Of course, I can’t confirm this for my own channel yet (and as soon as I do get confirmation, I will post about it), but some personal finance/entrepreneurship/business channels get reportedly a cpm that can range from £6 - £15.

So, if their channel gets 100,000 views every month, then they potentially earn between £600 - £1,500 a month). These aren’t crazy numbers, but then again, that’s only if they get 100,000 views a month.

If that number is 1Million, then the earnings are more like £6,000 - £15,000 in revenue.

Much better.

Again, without confirmation of CPM on my own videos, I’m not going to comment on it further – but it’s definitely worth noting that earnings potential could be huge when it comes to ad revenue as well.

***

Conclusion
A lot has happened in a very short period of time.

A lot. And I’m still trying to comprehend it.

But I wanted to say that I’m glad my videos have set people down a better path when it comes to business and entrepreneurship, I’ve put quite a few people on MJ’s works now, and I’ve got more of my audience thinking about solutions to problems, and not just blindly chasing money.

At this point, I have no idea what’s going to happen, who knows? Maybe the whole thing crashes and burns…?

But I don’t know about that…

I think I have something special in my hands right now, and you can bet everything that I’m going to work my a$$ off to make it into a reality, including that big vision I have that I will expand on in the future.

We’re only getting started.

Till the next update.

Damn... One of the most amazing updates I’ve read on the forum. Super excited for you, and super impressed with your Toxic video.

GOLD!

 

[Visionary96]

GOLD! Awesome! (and rightfully deserved.) I think this is a very exciting thread at the moment because James IS going to reach 1 million this year. Guaranteed. Other YouTubers starting out will be able to harbour so much advice and value here and I think that's amazing.

I actually cannot fathom how much good energy exists on this forum. It's actually quite scary.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Fox]

This thread is super interesting and very motivating.

It has me rethinking my own approach and maybe cutting back in posting each week to work on much higher quality. I just rewatched some of your content and it’s clear a lot of effort goes into the concept/strategy.

Do you have any advice for an established channel @Valier on how to go about making improvements?

If you ever start a YouTube growth course let me know - you got a lot you can teach people!

 

[Andy Black]

if anyone has any advice on how to avoid burnout/recover from one, would love to hear it!

"Start how you mean to continue." ?

If you don't want to work 12 hour days later on, then consider the working day you'd like and do something close to that?

Also, go for "strolls". I used to go for 45 minute strolls every evening before settling in for my evening shift at the computer. No rush, no stopwatch. Let your mind chatter away making sense of what's "on you mind". I'd come over with a sense of calm. I'd also know what I needed to do next, rather than be overwhelmed with a big to-do list.


I get it though. Sometimes we need to go faster.

"We can't break tackles at marathon pace." (Blaise Brosnan)

I personally don't believe growing a business is a marathon not a sprint. I think business is more a series of sprints than a marathon. Just remember ... you can't sprint forever.

 

[Valier]

1. How did you know your channel going to succeed and whats your planning process? (frankly, I thought that It would not work but it's clear now that it was my bias and I am wrong)
2. I can communicate in English but my camera and mic skills are not great, please suggest something to learn and improve.

I love the way you narrate your videos would like to do something similar in the app development domain.

P.S. The Framework I work on is new so there is extremely low competition. waiting for your tylor1 video

Hey buddy! So here's my answers to your questions:

1. How did you know your channel going to succeed and whats your planning process?
I didn't. I mean, I didn't know for sure.

During the first few posts on this thread (before the channel blew up) you'll see that I spent a lot of time studying the algorithm whilst putting it into practice with my own videos.

Now, I knew that if I continued I could definitely gain a strong audience over time (as long as the content never stopped improving in quality, which is something I make sure to do each time).

I wanted the quality of the content to keep people hooked till the end (watch time), and I wanted that to spark a binge-watch of the channel (more watch time), but looking back I also see how important the topic of the content has played a huge role in my success so far. (This is something I'm going to again be talking about a lot more soon, it's a little too much to put in one answer here).

2. I can communicate in English but my camera and mic skills are not great, please suggest something to learn and improve.
Hmmm...

I can't give you much advice on communicating in English since that's my first language, although I can image that starting a YouTube channel is going to help you greatly.

As for camera and mic skills, if you mean your ability to narrate/be on camera, then my best advice is the following: practice, practice, practice. The fear with my YouTube channel is that it may send signals out to everyone that you have to start off "perfect". But that's very damaging and far from the truth.

I think my first video is terrible. The editing is decent, but my energy is incredibly low on camera, I don't talk loud enough, it's far too long and has a lot of fluff that could have been cut. Yet I still uploaded it because I knew I just had to start. And from there on I made adjustments and worked on things that I knew I wasn't too good at.

In that same regard, you just have to work on being on camera, and work on your narrating, and continue to adjust.

Here are two practical exercises:
1) For narrating: go grab a book/story/article online and record yourself reading some of it. Do the best you can with your voice to make the narration interesting/exciting. Once you've recorded yourself, play it back and take notes on what you think is good/bad (it may be worth sending this to friends that you trust will give an honest opinion as well). Once you have that feedback, do another recording the next day in an attempt to improve upon what you've been told, then make notes on that new recording, and repeat the cycle. Doing this every day is bound to help you. It's just like learning any new skill. Also, go and study up on narration and voice-acting to see what professionals do and how you can adapt that into your work.

2) For being on camera: at the end/beginning of your day, record a 10-minute video on camera, talking about what you did that day, or what your plans are for the rest of the day. Don't stop, even if you stutter or get too nervous, just keep recording. Repeat this every day, and I can promise you'll begin to get more and more comfortable being on camera.

Also please tell about how you learned storytelling

This one is tough because I never really "learned" story telling. It was just something I'd done through my writing and acting since I was a kid. Also, being an avid reader of fiction throughout my childhood to teenage years definitely helped.

Also, there's still a lot that I have to learn.

I think I've got a talent for it, but the problem with talent is that it's not structured, and so I'll have to put my answer on pause here because I don't have any more value to offer until I actually start studying storytelling myself and am able to pin-point real practical advice to give you!

Hope that helps

 

[Mario~]

@Mario~ , please kindly share your progress too (if its OK)- thanks!

That's a very broad question and I definitely don't want to hijack this thread.

Having been on YouTube since 2015 I've seen changes to what the algorithm prefers.

What @Valier is doing seems to be the way to go in 2019/2020.

YouTube's algorithm is optimizing to keep users on the platform as long as possible and improve overall user experience.

Things like the subscriber count matter a lot less these days compared to in the past.

Browse features traffic (specifically Home) is the main metric you want to be looking at for viral growth. Another one people mention is the Suggested video traffic. Based on my data Browse/Home is king.

Most of those views will come from non-subscribers. YouTube decided to show your video after a series of split tests that measure average watch time and all forms of engagement as well as session ends (if people leave to different websites or stay on YouTube). I believe @Valier proposed a hypothesis about split testing earlier in the thread. It does match my own research.

High quality engaging videos can also resurface and go viral weeks/months after being published which is great news for new creators. Another thing that's great these days is new analytics data. You can really learn a lot about your audience and what works.

There's a lot more competition on YouTube than ever before but I would say it's still my #1 platform recommendation for personal branding and business as your content has potential to go viral and you could have a decent size audience within months.

-M

 

[SebastiaanVaz]

As I already expected, other big YouTubers are noticing James and are now creating videos about him left and right.

@Valier, on top of all the other staggering influence you've exercised on everyone so far, you are also a huge source of inspiration. I mean, the growth you are experiencing on YouTube is almost unheard of.

We all got absolute GOLD on our hands, because, really, all that you need to know to do the same can be found by analyzing James' first posts in this thread as well as his YouTube channel and videos.

Don't wait for his course; do your research and produce.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Valier]

Great info, thanks James. Interesting about getting paid regardless of length of ad watch. I hadn't expected that as I believe advertisers only get billed after either an engagement (click through) or watching 30 seconds+? (or the entire ad if shorter?)

Really looking forward to your next YouTube upload and your updates. Congratulations.

I actually need to make a revision on that update.

I've just been doing a little more digging, and there's a lot of misleading and conflicting answers to this, but what seems to be the most plausible explanation is you are paid depending on what the advertiser’s goal was.

If they were running an ad with a selected goal of getting impressions, then you are going to be paid as soon as someone sees the ad.

If they were running an ad with a selected goal of getting clicks, then you will be paid whenever someone clicks your ad.

Going to revise my update post now to mark this correction!

 

[MJ DeMarco]

My parents are both immigrants that fled from their country during a civil war and had to sacrifice a lot when coming to the UK - including working insanely hard to raise me up.

Being able to finally show them that their sacrifices are starting to pay off is another amazing feeling that's come about from all of this.

Wow, very heartwarming. They must be so proud of you, and you, proud of them as well.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Amazing how success attracts the grifters, scammers, and low-rent assholes.

 

[Valier]

I think you’ll learn good things and pick up good skills working on your personal branding videos.

Just consider this though:

• Gary Vaynerchuk: How to build a personal brand from nothing

Ah, yes - I had already considered this because it is a very good point, and I posed the dilemma to myself of should I do something big first and then build the personal brand? Or should I just go for it?

I concluded that waiting to give myself permission probably wasn’t the right thing to do because my intention with the channel is not to position myself as an ‘expert’. After all, I haven’t don’t shit yet.

But rather, the point of the channel is to share things as I go along, i.e I’m attending one networking event every week for a year, and midway through the year I’m going to make a video on it and explain what I’ve learnt, and how the challenge was overall.

I don’t want to come across as a ‘life coach’ or anything like that but rather somebody that’s working to figure things out along the way - and bring my audience along for the ride.

 

[Fox]

Here is some context into how impressive this progress is...
(and a sneak into where this could lead to)

This Youtuber went on to have massive success and become very well known. In this video he is talking about his first crazy growth stage - 50k subs in 2 months. It is totally nuts that @Valier has done like double that with no signs of slowing down.

I think @Valier is on a very similar trajectory to millon(s) subs and it is really cool to see that on top of that he has his very own unique style/approach that is clearly very well liked.

Exciting thread for sure!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Fox]

Great to see that money coming in for you @Valier.
I hope it helps you make more great content and see even bigger growth.
Are you planning on reinvesting anything back into production for now?
(not that it needs it but just curious)

---

Just a quick note on CPM's - making any video that is closely related to a product or service is going to get you very high numbers. I made a quick video on Wix once (not even promoting it) that has a CPM over $100..

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Fox]

Wow...

What the f*ck. I had no idea that doing a video on a specific product gave a CPM THAT high. That's incredible.

I can only imagine what some of these kids' toy channels are getting. Thanks for this info @Fox!

As for re-investing back into production: 100% yes.

I don't intend on spending my money on anything other than improving my videos at the moment.

I'm going to be getting a new mic & video camera for sure, and I'm looking to either buy/rent a proper studio to record these videos, or just save up for a house and live/work there as well. That will include some lighting purchases as well.

My biggest issue as of right now is having my bedroom as the "backdrop" for when I physically appear in my videos, not to mention the terrible acoustics of the room. And yet it's still the best room in the house for me to use at the moment... :/


I could also rent a place for the short term, but I'd prefer to just save that money for a deposit.

Ya that is money very well spent. I have struggled with the rent an office/spare bedroom/buy thing also. If you can buy - go for it. I have spent like 60k plus on rent over the last few years probably!

Also if you own the space you can really set it up right and dial it in. But renting is fine too if you want a quicker solution. Look for a house with two bedrooms and use the bigger one for recording.

With lighting it can change things a LOT.
Here are two different videos made only 6 days apart...





I didn't really do any lighting work in the top video and imo it looks quite bad.
Bad lighting can make anyone look very tried/unhealthy very easily.

On Youtube there are a ton of great lighting tutorials so I am sure you will figure it out fast.

It is going to be exciting to watch how your production keeps going up! Great work dude.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Valier]

btw @Valier do you script everything out first and do the audio or do the video and add the audio afterwards?

Yup! The process normally goes: find the idea >> research >> script >> film >> edit. Although sometimes I may find pieces of music along this process that I really enjoy and know that I'll end up using in the final product.

Just seen your teaser video. Love the way you are building the anticipation. It will be interesting to see how many people are there for the launch.

Yeah - I don't think I've seen other channels try and do something where they build hype towards a video and premiere it almost like its own movie/tv show, so definitely want to experiment with that for the next few videos.

Definitely interested to see what the actualy premiere event will look like. But even if it's a low number, I'm honestly not bothered at all. I think I'm still incredibly early on this journey, and there's plenty of stuff to learn!

Trailer was wicked james mate. You're doing everything right with this channel.

Glad you enjoyed it Visionary - really appreciate the support, as always my friend

Never heard of this Tyler1 dude, but I'm definitely intrigued!

Thank you MJ!!

Yeah - I mentioned it on my last update (before the channel blew up) that I was going to be making a video that could be a little risky. Tyler1 is obvioiusly part of a niche community, or at least, a community that wouldn't normally be associated with the content of my own channel.

I'll get into my reasoning/strategy behind making this video once it's released and I make the update post on it!

James, aside from the video creation, you have a great voice for this. Americans love the English accent, gives the content a real authentic feel.

Thanks again MJ! Ahaha, I've been told that English accents are loved in the States - which is great considering the majority of my audience are American

 

[Valier]

Since you didn't mention this in your future plans, just thought I'd say this seems like a very real possibility to me if you still want to pursue it. You might be able to score a netflix deal or something similar after a few more of your videos and from there, its just a matter of going all in in the film world if that is what you still want. Money won't be an issue soon and you'll have all the time in the world to perfect your skills in that direction.

Y'know, I was thinking about this, and then I saw a great interview with Logan Paul where I realised: YouTube is actually the best place to be.

Everything is under my own brand on YouTube, I have full control over the content, there are no deadlines, no creative limits, it's all there for me.

Going to Netflix would be more of an ego boost than anything (assuming if that ever happened). Although, I will say that in the distant future I would love to take the role as a screenwriter and make some stuff for Hollywood, or the west end - but that's when I've settled down a little more and can do all of this without having to worry about money.

You are one of the biggest breaths of fresh air to come around here in a long time, my friend. I have enjoyed reading your entire story. You will achieve your goals. Thank you for being transparent, and sharing this amazing story with us.

Vigilante!! Thank you so much man, that really means a lot of coming from you

I'm actually so excited to attend the Fastlane Summit. Ever since I heard about it, I wanted to go, but couldn't afford to. But man am I pumped to go to the next one now.

Thanks for keeping us "in the know" and helping me spread my message -- I think there is one person on this planet as happy as you, and it's me. You are showing me that my content and my underlying message is resonating with the masses. While I knew that already cuz I've sold truckloads of books, to see it confirmed via video is awesome.

As you become more famous and more valuable, I hope you continue to share with us your unfolding story, and dang, it is unfolding!

My pleasure MJ - as I said, this forum provided a ton of value to me; having my journey documented here is an honour. I have no intentions of stopping

 

[StarVoyager]

Two days ago, I saw a video on my YT home page that kept popping up. I decided to go ahead and click it knowing full well I'd probably click off of it after the first few seconds depending on how the content was. It was about the rise of fake gurus and it piqued my curiosity.

I was mesmerized by the content, so much so I began to look at the other videos on the channel. By the end of the video about self-help, I subscribed because not only was the content great, the production value was incredible.

I shared it privately with one of my work friends. She loved it and mentioned Unscripted and how great it was. I had never read anything from @MJ DeMarco so I decided to go ahead and get the audiobook, which I'm in the process of listening to now and is mind blowing. I also have Fastlane waiting to be heard as well.

My point to all this was that YOUR videos brought me here and I am surprised and encouraged by your work. I wish I had had as much foresight when I was your age, but I didn't. Regardless, I'll be listening and watching as you grow and I really hope you continue to put out high value content as this is currently my desire to do as well, albeit in a bit of a different niche.

TWO things:
1. Your voice, like others have mentioned, is part of the reason I was so captivated. I WANT to hear more (and no, this isn't some type of old lady fantasy. ) but the fact that you have a good commanding tone helps you deliver your message.
2. I would like to be part of the beta when you have the video course if possible. If you haven't started a mailing list for this yet, I suggest you do and I will subscribe.

Thank you for such great work and showing how to take videos to a whole 'nother level!

 

[Valier]

First off I want to to start by thanking you for introducing me to TMF . A few weeks ago I watched a video on fake gurus on youtube after which your video "The Toxic World of Self Help" was recommended. After watching it I felt I had just watched a video about myself and something that I felt like I would never be able to share or discuss with others because they wouldn't understand. Because your video dealt with so many of the things I was facing I knew that if you recommended a book it must be something special. I went to amazon purchased the book and finished it yesterday joined the forum late last night and found your post today. I cant begin to tell you how much reading this book has done for me. Thank you and keep up the great work.

Hey @Phestone,

I'm so glad you found the channel man, and I'm glad that my video on Self Help resonated with you on that level. In hindsight, I was worried that recommending those two books at the end of the video may have made me seem like a hypocrite - but that's why I prefaced it by saying that these books were genuinely books that helped me out alot, they didn't feed me motivation, and they weren't just trying to upsell me on some other product.

I'm glad you picked up on that, and decided to get MJ's book - trust me, I wouldn't have even started the channel if I hadn't read TMF . It is perhaps one of the countless amounts of self-help books I've read that I can truly say had a profound effect on my life, world view, and goals.

Also, welcome to the forum - just like the books, this place is a gem too, and there are some amazing GOLD threads on here that will aid you in your journey. All the best!

Holly Sh!t, @Valier.

I clicked on this thread and it blew my mind that it was you! I found your content on youtube a while back I think I started watching the "fake guru's" one and subbed right there so, it was sort of mind blowing realizing you were the OP.

It's also weird stumbling upon this thread considering just this morning I was thinking about recording some content (Which I've never done before). I'm still figuring out the best way to set everything up and my business model but I feel it's going to be hard to sleep tonight.

Anyway, congrats on your journey man, I remember subbing to you because your content felt fresh and honest, no clickbaiting or anything like that.

Oh, I added you on Linkedin.

Congrats once again, VERY well done Sir.

Ahaha, that's amazing to hear @Mr Cracker,

Yeah, I guess my username on the forum makes it hard to know that this is James from YouTube.

Fun fact: my username, "Valier" is the surname of a fictional character from a fantasy book/series that I've attempted to write in the past!

Best of luck with your own content! If you're going to be starting a YouTube channel, I highly recommend it. YouTube is still in its early phase, and it's only going to get bigger and bigger, that I can promise you!

Will add you on LinkedIn now as well

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[MJ DeMarco]

@Valier's latest release below:

Well done video.

Sadly when you look at the video and all the people "pumping" up crypto, it's all young men who put all their "get rich" eggs in the crypto basket. They have a vested interested in its continued tulip pump. James even mentioned it in the video, that many view "crypto" as their only hope of financial freedom.

Truly sad.

The best take of the video is crypto is still searching hard for its "utility value" -- a fact that cannot be denied.

This video is so good, it could easily be slightly reproduced with some expert interviews and appear on Netflix.

 

[Andy Black]

Let's get this started with a basic introduction.

Hi, I'm James. 19 y/o from the UK, chose not to go university since there wasn't any subject I wanted to study that would suit my direction in life. The big goal is to be semi-retired by 30, but that's okay if I don't get there, I'm focusing on the process and journey above all else.

I recently started up my new business which if you are a FLF INSIDERS, you can find my thread here:

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/progress-starting-an-online-finnacial-learning-platform.91864/

So then, what's this about a personal brand & a YouTube channel?
I came to a realisation that I wish I had come to a few years back: a personal brand is an incredibly powerful thing. Especially in business, and especially if you are trying to go fastlane.

With just 100 loyal fans you can do so much to promote your other side hustles, and/or monetise that audience.

This realisation drove me to conclude that I wanted to start building up my own personal brand - right now, with no hesitation, and do my absolute best to get this thing up and running because let's all be clear here: the odds are not in my favour. There are so many channels out there, that it's damn near impossible to be seen amongst the crowd...
or is it?

A Guide as well as Documentation
The purpose of this thread is to not only document my process and journey, but also provide a guide for what is working/isn't working and how you can learn from whatever mistakes I make.

Provide value above all else, as always.

Keeping it Honest and Real
Like in my INSIDERS thread, I want to be entirely transparent with everyone and keep it as real & as honest as I can.

If one day I decide to just quit the whole thing I will document it on here. I'm in this till I either succeed, pivot, or quit, and you'll have a clear picture on where this process will take me, and where I may have gone wrong/gone right.

What's Been Done So Far...
I already have my channel up and running, and as a matter of fact, you can check out my first video here:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xg6CGNoynDI


How the First Video Went.
Keeping up with the theme of transparency: I was very nervous when recording and releasing this video.

I've done a lot of acting throughout my childhood - teenage years, and making this video was more nerve wrecking to me than any audition that I've done in the past. But this is the first barrier that people will face if you're trying to make it on this platform: THE FEAR OF POSTING YOUR FIRST VIDEO.

Once I posted that video, I felt a slight sense of relief. I sent a few messages out to some close friends who I had told I was starting this channel up, and they went on to watch it. And a few of them shared the video on their Instagram stories.

Let me be clear here: I was too nervous to post this video on my social media. That's why I just DM'd some friends, in the hopes that I can land maybe 80 views on the video to get me started off.

But once some of these friends posted it to their story something amazing happened: other people started sharing it on their story. Some of these people were friends, but there were also some that I hadn't spoken to or seen in a while that shared it. I even had some really kind messages about how they found the video really helpful and well done.

I really didn't think it was a great video at first. I thought it was bad, and kinda boring because the nerves really stopped me from bringing the energy to the screen that I usually could do with acting. My only intention was to post the first video no matter how nervous I felt about it.

After I felt that positive feedback, I finally made the leap and posted it to my own socials. In total the video sits at around 260 views, 32 likes, and 8 comments. I was more than impressed by that as a debut video - I genuinely didn't think it would surpass 100. I earned about 35 subscribers in total from that video, and a few new followers on my Instagram.

The Goals.
My goal isn't really to be 'internet famous' or anything like that. It's simply to get a personal brand started up, have my name put out there, share some genuine advice from someone who is passionate about entrepreneurship, and self development (no 'woo-woo' selling my $1500+ course shit), and see where it goes.

If you're looking for some specific targeted goals, here's my main objective for the year:
Reach 1,000 subscribers by 2021.

That's all. For now. The reason why I say this is that the subscriber count is really just a vanity metric. I'm more interested in improving things like watch time, and Click-Through-Rate (CTR) - y'know, the metrics that actually count. But until I have some data from my own videos to work off, I can't set those targets as of right now.

My aim is to post once a week. Although it may be once every two weeks every so often. Truth is, I'm balancing three things here: the channel is one thing, the full time job is another, and my other side hustle which I've been working super hard on is the third. Ideally, the latter two are working hand-in-hand, but that doesn't deviate from the fact that my full time job as an estate agent has some ungodly hours that can really eat into free time.

But again, all will be documented here.

Conclusion
That's about it for now.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask me them.

And most importantly: ALL feedback is appreciated, the good, the bad, the ugly. All of it.

Have a wonderful weekend folks

Fair play for putting yourself out there.

I watched the first minute or so of the video. I think a more positive body language might help? You appear to be trying to act casual? I know it’s easy to be self-conscious on camera. One of my tricks is to think of who I’m helping.

Check out the second post here for my first ever talking head video:

• NOTABLE! - [Progress] #AndyTalks

And the first post here is a talking head video of me giving talking head video tips:

• EXECUTION - Figuring out YouTube

 

[Valier]

I watched the first minute or so of the video. I think a more positive body language might help? You appear to be trying to act casual? I know it’s easy to be self-conscious on camera. One of my tricks is to think of who I’m helping.

Damn... hit the nail right on the head with that one.

Perhaps that also explains the lack of energy. In an attempt to cover up the nerves, I tried to have a more relaxed body language which translates to less energy. Cheers for that, Andy!

I've had a few peeks at your Youtube thread as well, but haven't had the time to have a good read through - I'll get to that as soon as possible. Thanks a ton

 

[Andy Black]

Right. I’ve just caught up.

On creating a course:

Document as you go along?

People are following you, and your video quality is literally remarkable in that people are remarking on them. Many will no doubt want to be able to create videos like that.

Not only that, you’ve got experience creating and growing a YouTube channel and can advise people who want to do the same. You can teach people things you picked up acting that can help others who are nervous on camera (my goodness... but remember your very first video and how you were so nervous?)


You’re inundated with messages now which is great. What about giving people a chance to learn more from you sooner rather than later? Your course doesn’t have to be polished at all.

You could literally make a paid membership area where people can follow along as you build your business. I have a small paid email newsletter where I do that. I just write about what I’m up to and my learnings.

You mention Masterclass.com. I like their model and am moving my Google Ads course into another Thinkific instance where people can access all core courses for a price of “$x every 3 months“. You can test pricing of course. I mention this because I want to have some core courses, but then also add some quick progress-thread style courses and behind the scenes videos. People want to look over my shoulder and have asked to. I’ll see how that goes.

The beauty is that it’s raw, but some people will want that (or even prefer it).

Sooo... knock something up quickly, slap a price on it (ideally recurring), and let people give you their money.

Even if it’s $9/mth to follow your updates as you grow your channel, I’m sure you’d get more than a few takers. I would, even just to see how you figure out that side of it.

The tech is irrelevant. @Fox is using Kajabi. @Lex DeVille is using Wordpress. I don’t know what @lowtek is using.

I’m using Thinkific because it has a free level to get started with, although that’s only for three courses and no membership feature. To allow the membership/subscription feature I’ve upgraded to the $99/mth package (already paid for this month by my first subscriber).

My paid email newsletter is on Substack, but I may end up moving it into Thinkific as a progress-thread “course”.

Happy to have a quick Zoom to go over what I’ve been doing.

 

[Visionary96]

I'm trying my best to get some sort of course going, but I have to admit: things are getting quite overwhelming.

My biggest priority right now is getting this next video out... but my God is it a giant project that I can only reasonably expect to be out in the next 4-5 weeks, and I'm working pretty ungodly hours at the moment to do that, as well as keep up with important emails/messages that are being sent through.

I don't want to rush through the course either, whilst I aim to first make an MVP version of it, and gradually improve the course over time, I still want to make sure I'm teaching it properly and haven't just scrambled to put something together for the sake of a cash grab.

Right now, YT ad revenue is paying me ridiculous amounts of money, if I do say so myself - so I'm being a little patient with the course.

But I'll start recording lessons for it as soon as this next video is done.

Again, it's me completely on my own doing this at the moment, so it's definitely become a bit daunting over the last few weeks with what's been going on, but I'm going to get more to grips with the processes behind running this channel, and hopefully begin to outsource/hire others to help me and ease off the stress as time goes on.

Rather than addressing your viewers about the delays till the next video, why don't instead you release teasing screenshots on your Instagram/youtube stories leading up to the video? Hype them up until release. Get them talking to each other about what it could be about!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Valier]

Nice catch. Here's another one.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIhMCcFFYM8

Ahahaha - yeah, I saw this!!

Really surreal when I watch someone else reacting to my stuff... before, I would watch other people react to my favourite YouTubers, and now I'm the person being reacted to...

Very strange feeling...

 

[Valier]

Here is some context into how impressive this progress is...
(and a sneak into where this could lead to)

This Youtuber went on to have massive success and become very well known. In this video he is talking about his first crazy growth stage - 50k subs in 2 months. It is totally nuts that @Valier has done like double that with no signs of slowing down.

I think @Valier is on a very similar trajectory to millon(s) subs and it is really cool to see that on top of that he has his very own unique style/approach that is clearly very well liked.

Exciting thread for sure!

Damn... I'd been watching Matt's videos on and off for a while now, but that's crazy to put into perspective. I think I've said this countless timesbefore, but it just feels so surreal to me.

Right now, editing videos is my only form of normality amongst everything that's going on .

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Valier]

It is, also of concern is the use of public figure faces, in your thumbnail. There's case-law that says public figures can defend use of their images, especially if used for commercial purposes.

Michael Jordan sued Domincks for using his name and likeness, and it was with good intent.

Jordan says ‘it was never about the money’ after $8.9M jury award

A delighted Michael Jordan said “it was never about the money” Friday night after a federal jury ordered the owners of the defunct supermarket chain Dominick’s to pay him $8.9 mil…

www.chicagotribune.com

This was all they did (and it was favorable.) Considering James is not speaking highly of the two individuals in the thumbnail, my guess is they could bring a case. I'm not a lawyer and I understand that James is in the UK, but there is some above average risk here as opposed to just some standard video.

Nonetheless, this has become one of my favorite threads as I look forward to reading the unfolding story!!!! Congrats on the big first check!

This is also on my radar, and I'm starting to self-educate myself on defamation laws and such.

Also in the process of getting my insurance for this - just in case!

Again, I do somewhat rely on the fact that YouTube has been cluttered with videos that talk about celebrities, businesses, and all walks of personalities in both positive/negative lights, using their faces in their thumbnails, and I've yet to hear of a single lawsuit being filed against them.

The only lawsuit that I'm aware of was when the YouTuber h3h3, who reacted to other people's content, had someone come after him after he made a pretty negative video about the guy. Even so, h3h3 ended up winning the lawsuit, and that was that.

Nonetheless, this has become one of my favorite threads as I look forward to reading the unfolding story!!!! Congrats on the big first check!

Hugely honored to have you say that MJ

I've been recently looking over some of my favroutie posts on the forum, and it reminded me so much of how this forum kept me going over the last year and a bit. Especially when I was working my two jobs and as a real estate agent shortly afterwards.

You've created something really special here MJ, and I'm sure you already know it!

 

[Vigilante]

Update 9. Reflection, & My Complete Story [this one is going to be long...]

Well well well, look what came in the post today:
View attachment 33819​

Since I'm almost finished with everything for this next video, and it's been a fairly good day, I figured there's nothing better to do than to tune in to my favourite community, and give you guys another update on things, and reflect on all that's happened.

But I also realise I haven't given you guys a whole lot of context behind everything that I'm doing, why I'm doing it, and what led me to here in the first place.

This one is going to be a long, and I apologise if it feels like I'm rambling, but here it is:

***

I mean it when I say this: without MJ's works, I doubt I would be here right now.


"I WANT TO BE THE WORLD'S BEST ACTOR"​

I dreamed of being an actor. I don't know where this dream initially started out - I think it might have to do with my Mum taking me to theatre classes on a Saturday when I was young to keep me busy with something.

I also loved writing - I can vividly recall my Mum getting me blank notebooks when I was younger (before I even knew how to write properly) and I would just start scribbling lines, imagining what I would be writing about. When we got a computer for the family, I did the same thing on Word - just smashing away at the keyboard, not writing actual coherent sentences, just imagining the story that I was writing.

But by the time I was 11/12, my dreams of being an actor went to the forefront of my mind - I think the catalyst for this was being complimented on my acting ability in drama class, and constant comments like "you should be an actor" that convinced me that I really should be an actor, and that it shouldn't just be a dream.

By the time I was 15, I was taking it far more seriously. I started considering what Drama schools I would audition for, I started learning more about how the industry works, etc etc.

When I was 17 I failed that year to get into drama school, forcing me to take a "gap year". I knew that it was a tough game - the UK has some of the best drama schools in the world, and those were the ones I was going for, it wasn't going to be easy. Thankfully, I was accepted into a Gap Year Diploma course at a reputable Drama School (this would be a one year course designed to help me get into drama school, whilst teaching me more about the craft).

GOING BROKE IN PORTUGAL​

That summer holiday (just before starting the course) I went on a trip with some friends to Portugal. I had around £400 cash, and £600 in my bank account. I came back to the UK with 0 cash, and 15p in my bank account, as well as a broken phone.

I needed money.

And just like that, a desire had sparked that I hadn't really thought about before: a desire to make money. When you want to be an actor, I guess you just accept you'll be broke, until you make it. But now I had lost all my savings in one holiday, and something needed to change.

I started searching online for help, came across people like Gary V who convinced me to sell/flip items on ebay. I first started by selling items in my own room: video games, consoles, etc etc. Then once that was done, I went down to a car boot sale (garage sales of the UK) with a friend and went about looking for items that I could flip for a good profit. After 2-3 months of this, I had about £1000 in my bank account. And suddenly I felt this weird feeling: something like... freedom?

THE FIRST TASTE OF MONEY​

I didn't have to ask my parents for travel money, I didn't have to ask them to buy me clothing items, or any item for that matter. I felt independent. I was hooked to this feeling.

As I started my Drama course and began progressing with it, I grew more and more interest in money, personal finance, and entrepreneurship. Then two things happened: I started listening to what I consider to be bad advice from "fake guru's" who would bombard my YouTube recommendations with dreams of financial freedom, working on the beach, being my own boss, etc etc. I started hating the concept of having a job.

"Make your money work for you" I would often regurgitate, as Kiyoaski had told me. And I continued plowing through the typical personal finance books constantly reccomended to me.

Suddenly the desire to have money turned into desperation. My parents came to this country to give me huge opportunities, I needed to make money to give back to them all that they had given me.

LOSING MY PASSION​

Then the second thing struck: I started to lose my passion for acting. Maybe it was the constant grind of non-stop rehearsing, or maybe the final straw was when I got into the final round of auditions for the Drama School I had so despereately wanted to get into, only to be told "thank you, that's all for now" after I was only JUST beginning to get into the scene for my monologues that I had to perform. Maybe it was realising that I only got into this industry from a childhood dream, and validation from when I was a young teen. That I was only doing this for the fame, and egotistical reasons...

Either way, a combination of these two things led me to desperately seeking the help from these "guru's" online. I couldn't afford their courses, so I pirated them, and it led me to wanting to create a Social Media Marketing Agency.

I called up a good friend of mine asking if he wanted to start this "venture" with me together, and he agreed. We had dreams of making so much money from it. "It'll be easy" is what I had told myself, "just 10 clients paying us £1,000 a month means a six-figure salary".

THE BOOK(s) THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING​

Then I picked up a book that changed everything for me.

This "Millionaire Fastlane " book had been recommended a few times now, and although I didn't like the title and thought it sounded super cheesy and scammy, I decided to make the purchase.

I can still vividly recall being sat on a train where I was about to go and get my acting headshots done, and opening the first page and reading, then continuing to read, then realising that I had stumbled upon a gem.

I started realising the faults in my thinking, and how my mindset surrounding money was so foolishly deluded. And I also felt angry: angry at all the other personal finance books that never talked about something so simple as solving problems in a market, or that you are paid in proportion to your perceived value - why didn't these "business gurus" tell me this? Why did they make me think business is about catching the next fad/trend? Of course, later in the book I realised that they were the ones selling the shovels, MJ's words helped me see that.

Shortly after reading TMF I went on to Unscripted , and enjoyed it just as much.

Around this time I had finally grown to accept that I had lost my passion for acting, and as my drama course concluded for the year, and I said goodbye to my actor friends I went back to my friend who I had started this marketing business with and told him that we needed to take this seriously.

Despite MJ's advice, I felt like I had to try something. I knew that the premise for this business was built on a desire for money, not an attempt to solve anything. And yet I continued with the business because I had nothing else.

We didn't get far - although we tried. We made cold calls, cold emails, set up meetings, but never landed a single paying client in the end. Only a "free-trial" client that ended up ignoring us after we spent a month working on their socials.

It was time to call it quits. He knew it. I knew it. And so we did (this was around October 2019).

SWALLING PRIDE & GETTING A JOB​

From there I swallowed my pride and got a job as a customer service assistant and at a call centre.

It felt good to be earning money again, and the jobs weren't that bad. I met some really nice people. But boy did I hate the idea of doing this for a living.

At the same time, I felt a sense of freedom. Leaving the marketing business allowed me to really start applying what MJ's books taught me and to start looking for an actual problem I could try to solve.

I remember coming to this forum so many times and reading some incredible threads to keep myself motivated during this period. I remember printing out @Envision's thread on how the forum changed his life, and reading it during my lunch breaks feeling inspired and motivated as hell to do something with myself.

NEW IDEAS & BEGINNINGS​

One thing led to another and I found myself with the business idea for Quidemy - an online finnancial learning platform that taught finanncial related subjects in a clear, concise, and digestible way.

As I started progressing with the idea, arond Nov/Dec the idea of starting a YouTube channel popped into my head frequently.

I wanted to "build up my personal brand" I told myself, I wanted to also indirectly promote Quidemy, and I knew the entrepreneurship niche on YouTube was crowded with so much snake oil, bad/misleading advice, and ingenuine people [the problem] - I guess I kinda understood how MJ must have felt seeing all the books about money/finance regurgitating the same slowlane dogma, and feeling as though I wanted to give my own genuine voice into the mix [my solution].

And so, leading up to the creation of the channel I started learning how to edit videos - after finishing a course on Udemy I gathered the bare basics, and just figured I'll learn things as I go along.

STARTING YOUTUBE & GOING ALL IN​

By the end of January I had started creating my first ever video, and was nervous as hell. All I could think about was what people were going to say behind my back ("James is starting a YouTube channel? Ahahaha, good luck wiht that..." etc etc) but I had to brush aside these thoughts and persevere.

Once I uploaded it I breathed a sigh of relief - I had finally gotten the first bit of content out of the way. I was too scared to post the video to my socials at the time, for fear of what people would say, I chose not to. I only sent it to a few friends. And then they started to share the video on their own socials, and overall people were supportive (contrary to my irrational fears of being mocked).

The story from here on has already been recorded in this thread.

I also had gotten a job as an estate agent after that first video was released, a job that I burnt out on within 2 weeks because I hated it so much. The people were fine, the job was fine, but I hated every working hour thinking "I could spend this time working on Quidemy, or a YouTube video".

My least favourite video on the channel is my Instagram video - just because of my mental state when filming it: I had come back from a day of work, it was late at night, I was feeling incredibly stressed, and yet I forced myself to make that video because I knew I couldn't make an excuse to delay it any longer.

Then I quit the estate agency job, lockdown happened, my focus turned to the channel and Quidemy - and shortly afterwards I dropped Quidemy and focused solely on the channel realising that it combined both my business side, and my creative side together almost perfectly.

IT ALL HAPPENED FOR A REASON?​

Leaving us to the crazy events that transpired over the last month and a half, and just an overall realisation of "wow, there were so many seemingly unrelated events, hobbies, or 'faliures' that have brought me to where I am right now":

- Always loving to write.
- Practicing the craft of acting.
- Losing my money in Portugal.
- Going under the "fake guru" spell.
- Reading MJ's works.
- Getting rejected from drama school two years in a row.

Even now, I wonder how things would have been if I had gotten into drama school... a reality that I think would not have been as great as the one I am living in right now.

But without a doubt one of the biggest events was reading MJ's work and discovering this forum.

The values and principles taught in those works were what led me to where I am right now, not a single part of me doubts this.

I'm so grateful for the incredible people on this forum that have helped keep me motivated with their threads and their own journeys - to add my own journey to this forum is an honor, and to have had one of my videos dedicated to MJ's works go viral is little in comparison to how much your work has impacted me MJ.

I am also grateful to the many people who came to the channel and felt like what I had to say was worth their time. The last few months have been some of the best months of my life.

Not necessarily travelling around the world, living in a mansion, at a party...

...but sitting at my desk, in my room, during quarantine, editing these videos, and knowing that I have provided value into other people's lives, and that by first providing that value, I am now able to earn an amazing income from it.

I have so much more planned, but I think that I will always cherish these memories and remember them to be the start of something incredible.

***

CONCLUSION
​

Ah, and before I sign off this update, here are some of my personal goals that I've been writing down in my journal for the last few months and figured it was worth sharing:

- Become a Millionaire by 25.
- Become semi-retired by 30.
-Retire my parents.
- Travel around the world.
- Buy my first house by 22
- Own a Tesla by 25 (LMAO, yeah - I'm a Tesla fanboy, have to admit)
- Have my YT business generate £100k/mnth in the next 3-4 years (more on how I plan on doing this to come)
- Teach/promote entrepreneurial values to children/teens in the form of some sort of charitable work.

Much love to you all! ​

And with that, I'm off to bed (this post took me damn near 3 hours!!)

You are one of the biggest breaths of fresh air to come around here in a long time, my friend. I have enjoyed reading your entire story. You will achieve your goals. Thank you for being transparent, and sharing this amazing story with us.

In a climate that has become fearful of "personal branding" you're a perfect example of class, value, and contribution. Keep pressing. Looking forward to meeting you at the next Fast Lane Summit.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

What the hell
I just checked his top video and the scam bullshit is everywhere in the comments...

View attachment 37197

Sad thing is, these dumb asses are everywhere.

If the forum didn't moderate/screen posts, this is EXACTLY how every thread in the forum would look.

We literally delete dozens of these spam posts per day, and the rest don't make it past user approval.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.