How To Start Something New
I finally get a good day job and start a YouTube channel + The first Yoga With Adriene and Hilah Cooking collaboration video.
Note: This is part two of a series of extended posts updating my no longer available YouTube Book. For the first installment, click here. This concludes the Introduction. Next week, we’ll get into the weeds, but this backstory is important because it lays the groundwork for everything that came later.
Winter 2009
It only took me a few months at the new job to build systems that automated almost everything I was responsible for. I had learned a lot about systematizing things while building my tiny empire of niche websites, and I put all of that to work at the day job. Now, everything was humming along smoothly, and I had a lot of downtime in my cubicle. All I had to do was show up.
I finally had a steady day job with benefits and a secondary revenue stream. The niche websites had started making consistent money. It was a small amount, but it was something, and the number was steadily climbing. Most importantly, it was proof that the concept worked.
Somehow, I had turned things around in less than a year. It felt like my life was back on track.
Now that I had some breathing room, my mind inevitably wandered back to new creative projects. I kept reminding myself that I was still on my self-imposed one-year break.
Instead of starting a new project, I tried my hardest to just be normal.
I got up early every day and went to work. At work, I would knock out my tasks, make sure all the systems were running, and spend the rest of the time working on my websites. After work, I ran on the trails at Lady Bird Lake. After my run, I made myself dinner. By dinner, I mean a basic grilled chicken breast and steamed, frozen broccoli. It was edible, but not necessarily delicious. After dinner, I usually met my friends at a bar. I’d also see a few movies every week. I was focused on having fun. But it wasn’t enough.
I still had the itch to make something new, and it was getting harder and harder to ignore.
Since I was a kid, movie-making has been in my blood. I have always loved making videos. Even between my two feature films, I spent my free time making sketch comedy videos and short films.
I had the itch again. I was getting bored with carousing around Austin every night, and I wanted to create something. But this time, I was determined to keep it small, control it, and, most importantly, NOT lose money.
I was still just getting back onto my feet financially, so if I were going to do something, it would have to be cheap.
And by cheap, I meant FREE.
I didn’t have any money to spend, but I DID have a very basic video camera, a janky photography tripod, and my old MacBook with Final Cut Express. I wanted to try something fun and straightforward that would combine making videos with all the new internet stuff I had learned.
This is where Hilah re-enters the story.
We had been close friends for several years, and she acted in several sketch comedy videos I directed. She was also one of the leads in The Spider Babies. I mentioned that I wanted to start a new project. After some brainstorming, we decided on a funny cooking show for people new to cooking.
Hilah is a natural on camera, hilarious at improv, and a great cook. We also had a good working relationship (and I loved her cooking). It seemed like a winner all around. We decided we were going to make Hilah Cooking as a web series. There was no established roadmap to success on YouTube, and we didn’t even know if we would ever be big enough to get accepted into the Partner program. We just wanted to make something as good as possible. We’d do our best to get better with every video. If people liked it, maybe we could get a deal to make a TV show.
My research showed that there was a potential audience of people who had never been exposed to their parents' cooking. They had grown up on fast food and microwave dinners but now desired to learn to cook for themselves. Since we had zero money to promote the show, I planned to use search engine optimization to find these people when they were searching for a recipe or topic.
I figured if we could rank high enough for things like “How to Poach an Egg” or “How to Make Chili,” we would have a constant stream of new viewers. Some would probably hate the show, but some would love it. And the people who loved it might stick around.
⭐️ We did rank #1 for both of those terms for several years and they brought millions of viewers to our channel. We got out-ranked for “How to Poach an Egg” when I wrote about it in the first edition of this book. I’ll give you some more great keywords to steal in future installments. ⭐️
Our initial goal was to make 100 episodes. Then, we would take a break and evaluate whether this was a business or a hobby. I compiled a massive list of heavily searched food and cooking terms that I thought we could successfully rank for. We used it as a basis for putting together our list of 100 episode ideas.
We decided on a schedule. We would shoot every Saturday and publish a new video every Monday night.
We released our first episode on January 26, 2010.
February 2013
I turned off my PC, flipped the switch on a fluorescent light, and – for the last time – walked out of the cubicle where I had spent most of my working hours for three and a half years. It had been a great experience and everything I had hoped for when I set out to get a job.
But lots had happened since we launched that first episode. I was now bringing in more money from my side businesses than my bi-weekly paycheck. Hilah Cooking was thriving, and I had recently launched the Yoga With Adriene channel.
We had launched several successful products and started producing additional series for outside companies. I had spent all my Paid Time Off traveling around Texas, shooting a new travel show for Tastemade.
Between my real job and side businesses, I worked around the clock, and everything started suffering. Quitting my day job seemed crazy at the time. But nothing had captured my imagination like internet video, and I felt like I had only begun to scratch the surface. It was time to put the pedal to the floor and go for it.
I turned in my security badge and walked to my car.
I was now a full-time YouTube producer.
Chris
PS: Next Time - How To Start a YouTube Channel.
PPS: Here’s the first Hilah Cooking + Yoga With Adriene collaboration video. The intro gives you a few quick glimpses of The Spider Babies. This is one of the only places on the internet where you can find footage from this project.