Becoming a YouTuber was a long, sort of accidental journey for me. I studied Broadcasting at the University of South Carolina with dreams of becoming Katie Couric. But, upon graduation, I decided I didn't want to move from home. Honestly, I wasn't mature enough for a broadcasting job. I wasn't ready for the real, real world.
So, I stuck around my hometown, got a outside sales job, and was living my obscure life. During that time, social media became more of a thing. Facebook was opened to non-college students, Twitter was launched, and I enjoyed playing around on those networks. It was becoming more clear that businesses could harness the popularity of these networks. My boyfriend's business friends started asking if he knew anyone that could help out with their company's social media accounts, and he offered me up. With no real B2B experience and certainly no experience running my own business, I started Flutter Media where I managed social media accounts for other small businesses. Over the next 8 years, I grew that business, managing up to ten clients at a time and was loving my work helping other businesses succeed.
Meanwhile, I was finally ready to leave my hometown and moved to Charleston, South Carolina. I didn't know anyone and wasn't sure if I was going to be able to find new clients for my business, but I was ready none-the-less. When I got to Charleston, I immediately signed up for Meet Up and found a crafting group that was going to be meeting up for a sewing class. I went, met a friend I still have to this day, and began a new hobby I loved. I bought a $100 machine from Wal-mart the very next day, took that machine - still in its box - back to the quilt shop that held our class the night before, and began taking lessons. It started with unboxing the actual machine, turning it on, threading it, and practicing straight stitches on paper. Eventually, I was taking advanced classes from a very experienced seamstress, and I was making clothes every week, sewing every day.
All this time, I had really become a fan of YouTube. I had seen vloggers like Elle and Blair Fowler, Shay Carl, and Harley Morenstein become incredibly successful producing content that was a reflection of their life, likes, and hobbies. As I started to outgrow the classes at the quilt shop, I was seeking a way to continue to learn how to sew and hone my skills, and naturally went to YouTube. But, the content I found was incredibly dull, and lacked the level of entertainment I had become used to on YouTube. It was more of an encyclopedia entry rather than a fun place where I could immerse myself in my favorite hobby.
So, one day, I casually pitched my idea of starting a YouTube channel to two girlfriends, and surprisingly, they said yes! I, thankfully, had experience with video editing from my time in college, had a point and click camera for my social media business, found a tripod at the dumpster, and had plenty of ideas for content, so I was able to launch the channel very quickly.
My outgoing, spontaneous personality was also very helpful for me to create a channel that was immediately entertaining and fun to watch. I don't even think I posted one tutorial until after several weeks after the launch. I was never camera shy - hence why I went into Broadcasting to begin with and the ability to talk to a machine vs a real person proved to be one of the best assets I was able to bring to the channel. All of the jobs I've ever had - waiting tables in college, two corporate sales jobs, and Flutter Media were all preparing me for a career that didn't even exist when I was growing up.
If anyone reading this wants to start their own YouTube channel, my advice would be to find your voice and always be your true, authentic self. I launched a channel that was nothing like the rest of the sewing channels at the time. I had little sewing experience by comparison, but I had passion and energy and, ultimately, that is what has made Inside The Hem successful. I'm not the best sewist, but I am the most outgoing, so that's what I promise to bring my subscribers with every video!
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