I Left My Job for YouTube: How I Manage $300K+ in Creator Income

00:29:01
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4D9iFBhR-A8

Zusammenfassung

TLDRIn this video, Taylor reflects on her first year as a full-time YouTuber after leaving her corporate consulting job. She discusses her income sources, which include brand deals, YouTube ad revenue, and consulting work, and emphasizes the importance of financial transparency. Taylor shares her budgeting strategies for managing irregular income, including keeping a buffer for larger expenses and tracking her revenue projections. She also covers the complexities of taxes for creators, the importance of health insurance and retirement planning, and her approach to investing. Finally, she highlights the need for diversification in income streams to ensure longevity in the creator economy.

Mitbringsel

  • 💰 Taylor transitioned from consulting to full-time YouTuber.
  • 📊 77% of her income comes from brand deals.
  • 📅 She budgets for irregular income by keeping a financial buffer.
  • 📈 Investing in ETFs and mutual funds is her strategy.
  • 📝 Quarterly estimated taxes are a key part of her financial planning.
  • 🏥 She pays for her own health insurance as a self-employed individual.
  • 📉 Diversification of income streams is crucial for longevity.
  • 📊 Tracking revenue projections helps in financial planning.
  • 💡 Business write-offs can lower taxable income.
  • 🏙️ Living in a big city can offer networking opportunities despite high costs.

Zeitleiste

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    Taylor reflects on her transition from a stable consulting job to becoming a full-time YouTuber, sharing insights on financial transparency and the realities of earning as a content creator. She aims to provide valuable information for aspiring creators and those interested in personal finance.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    The video outlines Taylor's income sources, revealing that 77% comes from brand deals, 19% from YouTube ad revenue, and 4% from consulting and affiliate revenue. She explains how brand deals work, including payment structures based on views, and provides a rough estimate of earnings per video.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:15:00

    Taylor discusses the challenges of managing irregular income as a creator, emphasizing the importance of budgeting and financial planning. She shares her monthly expenses and how she navigates the unpredictability of brand deal payments, suggesting that creators should maintain a buffer for larger expenses like taxes.

  • 00:15:00 - 00:20:00

    The video covers Taylor's investment strategies, highlighting her approach to dollar-cost averaging and the importance of keeping liquid assets for emergencies. She also discusses diversifying her investments, including exploring real estate through accessible funds, and the benefits of using money market funds for better returns on liquid assets.

  • 00:20:00 - 00:29:01

    Finally, Taylor addresses the complexities of taxes for creators, including quarterly estimated taxes and business write-offs. She emphasizes the need for professional help in managing taxes and shares her thoughts on the longevity of a creator's career, stressing the importance of providing value and diversifying income streams.

Mehr anzeigen

Mind Map

Video-Fragen und Antworten

  • What are Taylor's main income sources as a YouTuber?

    Taylor's income comes primarily from brand deals (77%), YouTube ad revenue (19%), and contract consulting (4%).

  • How does Taylor budget with irregular income?

    Taylor keeps a buffer of liquid assets and tracks her expenses closely, allowing her to manage her finances despite the irregularity of her income.

  • What is Taylor's approach to investing?

    Taylor invests in ETFs and mutual funds, and has recently started exploring real estate investing through platforms like Fundrise.

  • How does Taylor handle taxes as a creator?

    Taylor pays quarterly estimated taxes and utilizes business write-offs to lower her taxable income.

  • What advice does Taylor give for financial planning as a creator?

    She suggests keeping track of revenue projections and maintaining a buffer for larger expenses.

  • What are some of Taylor's expenses as a creator?

    Her expenses include rent, utilities, co-working space, and production costs, which she manages carefully.

  • How does Taylor ensure longevity in her creator career?

    She focuses on providing value and diversifying her income streams to reduce risk.

  • What is Taylor's view on health insurance and retirement as a self-employed individual?

    She pays for her own health insurance and maxes out her Roth IRA, acknowledging the challenges of managing these aspects without corporate support.

  • What is the 52-20-30 budgeting rule?

    It's a guideline suggesting that 50% of income goes to needs, 20% to savings, and 30% to wants.

  • How does Taylor track her revenue?

    She uses a run rate to project her annual revenue based on her earnings to date.

Weitere Video-Zusammenfassungen anzeigen

Erhalten Sie sofortigen Zugang zu kostenlosen YouTube-Videozusammenfassungen, die von AI unterstützt werden!
Untertitel
en
Automatisches Blättern:
  • 00:00:00
    hello this is Taylor a year ago I left
  • 00:00:02
    my consulting job the corporate world
  • 00:00:04
    and income stability to become a
  • 00:00:06
    full-time YouTuber and I have learned a
  • 00:00:09
    lot over the last year and so in this
  • 00:00:11
    video we're going to cover everything I
  • 00:00:13
    have learned specifically about making
  • 00:00:16
    money as a content creator one year into
  • 00:00:18
    my full-time Journey now I've always
  • 00:00:19
    been transparent with my finances on
  • 00:00:21
    this channel I just don't think it
  • 00:00:23
    should be as taboo of a subject as it is
  • 00:00:25
    and my hope is that this video will be
  • 00:00:27
    helpful to some of you who are just
  • 00:00:29
    starting as a creator or really to
  • 00:00:30
    anyone who's looking to level up their
  • 00:00:32
    personal finance game in general so
  • 00:00:34
    we're going to be chatting real numbers
  • 00:00:36
    they're going to be up here behind the
  • 00:00:37
    scenes details and how Creator money
  • 00:00:40
    actually works and a lot of it might
  • 00:00:42
    surprise you so if Financial
  • 00:00:43
    transparency sounds good to you too give
  • 00:00:45
    this video a thumbs up subscribe and
  • 00:00:47
    let's get into it okay you'll never take
  • 00:00:49
    100% of the consultant out of me so
  • 00:00:51
    let's keep this organized and throw in
  • 00:00:53
    some arts and crafts because it's fun so
  • 00:00:55
    first we'll talk about my income a quick
  • 00:00:57
    overview of my revenue streams and about
  • 00:01:00
    how much they pay then we'll dive deep
  • 00:01:01
    into a regular income as a Creator
  • 00:01:03
    specifically how I budget and
  • 00:01:05
    financially plan and how I invest with a
  • 00:01:08
    regular income after that I'll tell you
  • 00:01:09
    exactly how I track and project my
  • 00:01:12
    Revenue as a Creator which is especially
  • 00:01:14
    important for a few reasons that we'll
  • 00:01:15
    cover then we'll go over some of my
  • 00:01:17
    expenses as a Creator plus a word on
  • 00:01:19
    cost of living in big cities as you can
  • 00:01:21
    probably tell I'm not in my usual city
  • 00:01:23
    of New York I'm in La the other big one
  • 00:01:25
    followed by health insurance and
  • 00:01:27
    retirement accounts as a Creator fun
  • 00:01:29
    creator taxes which are a lot more
  • 00:01:31
    complex and finally longevity as a
  • 00:01:33
    Creator now let's jump in and go back to
  • 00:01:35
    our third grade arts and crafts so how
  • 00:01:38
    do I as a Creator even make money well
  • 00:01:41
    the slices of my income pie are pretty
  • 00:01:43
    simple right now there aren't that many
  • 00:01:45
    of them my total revenue in the last
  • 00:01:46
    year was comprised 77% from Brand deals
  • 00:01:50
    AKA sponsorships 19% from YouTube ad
  • 00:01:53
    revenue and about 4% from contract
  • 00:01:55
    Consulting and affiliate Revenue heavily
  • 00:01:58
    concentrated here I know more on that
  • 00:02:00
    later quick overview of what each of
  • 00:02:02
    these are so brand deals are the parts
  • 00:02:05
    of my videos where I take about a minute
  • 00:02:07
    in the middle of the video to tell you
  • 00:02:09
    about a specific brand so like when
  • 00:02:11
    YouTubers say now I'd like to take take
  • 00:02:12
    a minute to thank today's sponsor so and
  • 00:02:14
    so I try to make my more fun than that
  • 00:02:16
    but that's a brand deal and how much
  • 00:02:18
    should they pay well it's dependent on a
  • 00:02:20
    lot of things so the brand itself the
  • 00:02:23
    Creator and the niche that they're in
  • 00:02:25
    how engaged Their audience is what type
  • 00:02:28
    of video the sponsorship actually goes
  • 00:02:30
    into but a very rough rule of thumb is
  • 00:02:32
    that on the low end a brand might pay
  • 00:02:34
    about $20 per thousand views that a
  • 00:02:37
    video is expected to get and on the high
  • 00:02:39
    end they can pay around $100 per 1,000
  • 00:02:42
    views the lower end typically will come
  • 00:02:44
    from more lifestyle-based Brands if I
  • 00:02:46
    had to generalize while the higher end
  • 00:02:48
    will skew more towards business finance
  • 00:02:51
    banking SAS companies but there are lots
  • 00:02:54
    of exceptions for sure and again it's
  • 00:02:56
    dependent on a lot of things so back of
  • 00:02:58
    the envelope math for a video that's
  • 00:02:59
    expected to get 100,000 views the brand
  • 00:03:02
    is probably paying the Creator anywhere
  • 00:03:04
    from $2,000 to $10,000 for that brand
  • 00:03:07
    deal now ad revenue is the check that I
  • 00:03:09
    get from YouTube every month for the ads
  • 00:03:12
    that play at the beginning middle or end
  • 00:03:14
    of my videos but Taylor what if I have
  • 00:03:16
    YouTube premium so I watch ad free do
  • 00:03:18
    you still make money for me brilliant a
  • 00:03:20
    lot of people ask me that yes I do part
  • 00:03:22
    of the fee that you pay for YouTube
  • 00:03:23
    premium every month gets distributed to
  • 00:03:25
    the creators that you watch Good
  • 00:03:27
    Question keep them coming and how much
  • 00:03:28
    does AD Revenue P again depends on a lot
  • 00:03:31
    of things the Creator's Niche Their
  • 00:03:33
    audience demographics among other things
  • 00:03:35
    but the low range is $1 to5 for videos
  • 00:03:38
    that skew more lifestyle and
  • 00:03:40
    entertainment and on the higher end 15
  • 00:03:42
    to30 plus dollars per thousand views for
  • 00:03:45
    videos that skew more personal finance
  • 00:03:47
    in business so again for a video with
  • 00:03:49
    100,000 views quick maths that can be
  • 00:03:51
    anywhere from 100 to $500 for these
  • 00:03:54
    lower range videos and $1,500 and beyond
  • 00:03:58
    for the higher range contract Consulting
  • 00:04:00
    is something I started recently and I've
  • 00:04:02
    actually been doing it for my former
  • 00:04:04
    consulting firm on a project that's
  • 00:04:06
    about the Creator economy plus another
  • 00:04:08
    small Consulting project I did for
  • 00:04:10
    YouTube about 6 months ago and then
  • 00:04:12
    affiliate revenue is the small amount of
  • 00:04:14
    commission that I might make if you
  • 00:04:16
    purchase something through one of my
  • 00:04:17
    affiliate links or if you become a paid
  • 00:04:20
    member of something that I recommend for
  • 00:04:22
    example epidemic sound which I've been
  • 00:04:23
    using for years I get a little Kickback
  • 00:04:26
    from those referrals affiliate revenue
  • 00:04:27
    is just a teeny tiny portion of my
  • 00:04:30
    Revenue but a huge portion of some other
  • 00:04:33
    creators that I know it really just
  • 00:04:34
    depends on what your business model is
  • 00:04:36
    for an even more indepth breakdown on
  • 00:04:38
    how these revenue streams work and how
  • 00:04:40
    they're calculated I put all of that in
  • 00:04:42
    this video but I will remind you at the
  • 00:04:44
    end about that okay now that we have the
  • 00:04:46
    overview of my revenue streams laid out
  • 00:04:48
    let's chat about probably my biggest
  • 00:04:50
    learning of all which is how to navigate
  • 00:04:52
    irregular income when it comes to
  • 00:04:54
    budgeting Financial Planning and
  • 00:04:56
    investing this is probably the theme you
  • 00:04:57
    guys asked me about the most when I put
  • 00:04:59
    a question box up on my Instagram follow
  • 00:05:01
    me there to be part of these in the
  • 00:05:02
    future so what do I even mean by
  • 00:05:04
    irregular income well in the past when I
  • 00:05:06
    used to get paid once every 2 weeks for
  • 00:05:08
    the same exact amount for my consulting
  • 00:05:10
    job I now get paid very sporadically
  • 00:05:12
    luckily one of my revenue streams does
  • 00:05:14
    have a regular payment schedule and
  • 00:05:16
    that's ad Revenue it comes in once a
  • 00:05:18
    month but the amount differs depending
  • 00:05:20
    on how many views I got that month and
  • 00:05:22
    ad rates brand deals though so very
  • 00:05:25
    lumpy I call a regular income lumpy
  • 00:05:27
    because sometimes I'll get three brand
  • 00:05:29
    deal paychecks in one month and then
  • 00:05:31
    sometimes I'll go 3 months without a
  • 00:05:33
    brand deal paycheck and this is
  • 00:05:35
    obviously dependent on how many brand
  • 00:05:37
    deals I take on and the Brand's payment
  • 00:05:39
    schedule almost all brands that I've
  • 00:05:40
    worked with pay on a net 30-day basis so
  • 00:05:44
    when a video goes live I usually get
  • 00:05:46
    paid for that sponsorship 30 days later
  • 00:05:49
    some Brands pay even faster some pay
  • 00:05:51
    slower but 30 is what I've seen the most
  • 00:05:53
    so how do I prepare and budget for such
  • 00:05:56
    irregular income because it's pretty
  • 00:05:58
    unusual and dare I say unideal to have
  • 00:06:02
    77% of my income coming in at such lumpy
  • 00:06:06
    chunky intervals so I'll tell you what I
  • 00:06:09
    do and then I'll tell you what I think
  • 00:06:11
    you probably should do if you're a
  • 00:06:13
    Creator or really anyone with irregular
  • 00:06:15
    income so what I do believe it or not is
  • 00:06:18
    much more of an art than a science I
  • 00:06:21
    have a general sense of my expenses
  • 00:06:23
    every month I pay
  • 00:06:25
    $3,175 per month in rent a lot I know
  • 00:06:29
    we're going to cover the cost of living
  • 00:06:31
    in New York more in a bit and with
  • 00:06:33
    everything else like food subscriptions
  • 00:06:35
    utilities memberships extra stuff like
  • 00:06:38
    clothes or various Amazon purchases
  • 00:06:40
    that's about another $2,500 per month so
  • 00:06:43
    my total monthly spend comes out to
  • 00:06:46
    about $5,700 per month give or take so
  • 00:06:49
    annualized that's
  • 00:06:52
    $68,400
  • 00:06:53
    yeah sounds like a lot huh uh-huh now a
  • 00:06:57
    popular budgeting rule is 52 2030 where
  • 00:07:00
    50% of your post tax income goes towards
  • 00:07:03
    your needs so like rent food stuff you
  • 00:07:06
    need 20% goes to your savings and
  • 00:07:08
    Investments and 30% goes towards your
  • 00:07:11
    wants stuff you want but don't
  • 00:07:13
    technically need this is more of a
  • 00:07:16
    science and the reason that mine is more
  • 00:07:18
    of an art is because I'm in a fortunate
  • 00:07:20
    position where this number is much
  • 00:07:23
    higher for me as in I save a lot more
  • 00:07:25
    than 20% of my income and these two
  • 00:07:28
    numbers my needs and my want are lower
  • 00:07:31
    and it's for that reason that I kind of
  • 00:07:33
    budget based on Vibes but actually I
  • 00:07:36
    keep close track of all of my dollars
  • 00:07:38
    coming in I always have a projection of
  • 00:07:40
    what my annualized Revenue will be and
  • 00:07:42
    we'll talk about how I calculate that in
  • 00:07:44
    just a little bit and I know my expenses
  • 00:07:46
    so if my income is above a certain limit
  • 00:07:49
    where I'm able to invest most of it and
  • 00:07:51
    I'm being responsible for the most part
  • 00:07:53
    with my expenses then I don't really
  • 00:07:54
    need to stress about hitting these 50 20
  • 00:07:57
    30 quotas something else I do to feel
  • 00:07:59
    comfortable taking this more artistic
  • 00:08:01
    approach is to always keep in mind big
  • 00:08:04
    expenses that I might have coming up so
  • 00:08:06
    I'm used to paying rent every month and
  • 00:08:08
    for all that other stuff but here's one
  • 00:08:10
    that got me in a pickle at the beginning
  • 00:08:11
    of last year estimated quarterly taxes
  • 00:08:14
    oh taxes yes yes we'll have a whole
  • 00:08:16
    section on taxes so just hold your
  • 00:08:17
    horses I'm just using this as an example
  • 00:08:19
    so estimated taxes is a big expense for
  • 00:08:21
    me as a creator that I pay every quarter
  • 00:08:24
    so at the beginning of last year I
  • 00:08:25
    wasn't really thinking about it because
  • 00:08:27
    it was my first year having to pay them
  • 00:08:29
    and I had actually just taken out a lot
  • 00:08:31
    of my liquid assets to invest the tax
  • 00:08:33
    payment day rolled around and I was like
  • 00:08:35
    oh I should have a bigger buffer there
  • 00:08:37
    it all worked out but this is an example
  • 00:08:39
    of a lesson that I learned that then
  • 00:08:40
    became part of my financial planning
  • 00:08:43
    which is to keep a bigger buffer of
  • 00:08:45
    assets that I might need to pay off a
  • 00:08:47
    bigger expense such as quarterly
  • 00:08:49
    estimated taxes liquid and by liquid I
  • 00:08:52
    mean easily accessible do you also keep
  • 00:08:55
    a few months worth of expenses handy yes
  • 00:08:57
    exactly so in addition to that extra
  • 00:09:00
    buffer that I keep for bigger expenses I
  • 00:09:02
    also try to keep no less than 3 months
  • 00:09:05
    of expenses liquid because of my
  • 00:09:07
    irregular income since I don't totally
  • 00:09:09
    know when my next paycheck is going to
  • 00:09:11
    come I don't want to run the risk of not
  • 00:09:13
    having enough on hand which is
  • 00:09:15
    definitely a downside of Creator income
  • 00:09:17
    because that extra liquidity could be in
  • 00:09:21
    Investments if I had more predictability
  • 00:09:23
    so that is how I budget with a regular
  • 00:09:26
    income what I think you should do
  • 00:09:28
    depends on who who you are and what your
  • 00:09:30
    situation is if you're a higher earner I
  • 00:09:32
    think it depends on if you're the type
  • 00:09:34
    of person that always seems to have
  • 00:09:36
    holes in your pockets like money just
  • 00:09:38
    falls right through in which case I
  • 00:09:39
    think taking a more structured approach
  • 00:09:41
    like this could be helpful if you're
  • 00:09:43
    like me where you don't have holes in
  • 00:09:45
    your pockets and you kind of know
  • 00:09:46
    exactly is where your money is going
  • 00:09:49
    each month I think you can afford to
  • 00:09:51
    take this more flexible artistic
  • 00:09:53
    approach if that works for you but if
  • 00:09:54
    you're working to get your finances on
  • 00:09:56
    track or you're in the early stages of
  • 00:09:58
    building Financial stability I think
  • 00:10:01
    that a structured approach such as this
  • 00:10:02
    one would behoove anybody then you can
  • 00:10:05
    really kind of keep track and see areas
  • 00:10:07
    where you might be able to pull back a
  • 00:10:09
    little bit or areas where you can
  • 00:10:10
    Splurge for what my opinion is worth I
  • 00:10:12
    think that 30% for once is too high
  • 00:10:16
    Taylor's budgeting rule would flip these
  • 00:10:18
    two because I'm all about building your
  • 00:10:20
    wealth and making your money work for
  • 00:10:22
    you and I know I sound like my parents
  • 00:10:25
    but if you start investing more at a
  • 00:10:26
    younger age compound interests will do
  • 00:10:28
    wonders for you bear with me but here's
  • 00:10:30
    a quick example if you start investing
  • 00:10:32
    $1,000 per month at age 22 so right
  • 00:10:34
    after graduating college let's say
  • 00:10:36
    assuming a 7% annual rate of return
  • 00:10:38
    that'll be worth almost $3.3 Million by
  • 00:10:42
    the time you're 65 and we can plug in
  • 00:10:43
    lots of different numbers to that
  • 00:10:44
    calculation but the point is that time
  • 00:10:46
    in the market beats timing the market as
  • 00:10:49
    they say speaking of which this is a
  • 00:10:50
    nice segue into our next section which
  • 00:10:52
    is investing as a creator with a regular
  • 00:10:55
    income so going back to that amount that
  • 00:10:56
    I said I like to keep easily accessible
  • 00:10:58
    about months of expenses plus the buffer
  • 00:11:01
    that's also how I decide when to invest
  • 00:11:03
    and how much so when I go above that
  • 00:11:05
    amount I'll pull out extra to invest and
  • 00:11:07
    if I go below that amount because I
  • 00:11:09
    haven't had a brand deal payment in a
  • 00:11:10
    while then I'll just hold off in
  • 00:11:12
    investing and let my pot grow for a
  • 00:11:14
    while longer from these other revenue
  • 00:11:16
    streams like ad Revenue contract
  • 00:11:17
    Consulting Etc whereas in the past when
  • 00:11:19
    I was in Consulting I had automatic
  • 00:11:22
    withdrawals come out of my checking and
  • 00:11:24
    into my investment account every single
  • 00:11:26
    month because I had regular paychecks
  • 00:11:29
    this is a strategy called dollar cost
  • 00:11:31
    averaging which is where you invest a
  • 00:11:33
    fixed amount of money at regular
  • 00:11:35
    intervals of time regardless of the
  • 00:11:37
    stock price so while I no longer invest
  • 00:11:39
    fixed amounts of money nor at regular
  • 00:11:42
    intervals of time I do still invest
  • 00:11:44
    regularly and typically much larger
  • 00:11:47
    chunks so it's kind of similar to dollar
  • 00:11:49
    cost averaging in that I ignore Market
  • 00:11:51
    timing and just focused on buying
  • 00:11:54
    consistently over time and what do you
  • 00:11:56
    invest in well pretty much as it's
  • 00:11:57
    always been since I first first started
  • 00:11:59
    investing 80% is in ETFs and mutual
  • 00:12:02
    funds that track the S&P 500 and 20% is
  • 00:12:06
    in individual equities but as I'm
  • 00:12:08
    getting older and anticipating some
  • 00:12:10
    bigger purchases within my 5year Horizon
  • 00:12:13
    I'm starting to think about diversifying
  • 00:12:15
    Beyond just stocks wait spill the tea
  • 00:12:18
    what else are you investing in well I've
  • 00:12:19
    actually been interested in real estate
  • 00:12:21
    investing for a really long time wait
  • 00:12:22
    you're buying property in New York City
  • 00:12:25
    in this economy well the econom is
  • 00:12:27
    actually really great right now but no
  • 00:12:29
    I've been researching the fundrise
  • 00:12:30
    flagship fund it's a lot more accessible
  • 00:12:33
    than traditional real estate investing
  • 00:12:34
    Define accessible because that sounds
  • 00:12:37
    expensive that's why it's great you can
  • 00:12:39
    start with $10 $100 or $10,000 and gain
  • 00:12:43
    access to a 1.1 billion doll portfolio
  • 00:12:46
    of real estate including over 4,700
  • 00:12:48
    rental homes and Industrial properties
  • 00:12:50
    okay cool but is it complicated it
  • 00:12:53
    sounds kind of complicated no it takes
  • 00:12:54
    less than 5 minutes to set up an account
  • 00:12:56
    and become a real estate investor and
  • 00:12:58
    this helps with diver ver ifying your
  • 00:12:59
    portfolio exactly private real estate
  • 00:13:02
    typically isn't nearly as volatile as
  • 00:13:04
    stocks so it can help balance out your
  • 00:13:05
    portfolio plus you get exposure to real
  • 00:13:07
    estate without having to you know become
  • 00:13:09
    a landlord Taylor you're always putting
  • 00:13:11
    me on the best things if you want to
  • 00:13:13
    check it out you can get started
  • 00:13:14
    clicking the link in my description and
  • 00:13:16
    thank you to fundrise Flagship fund for
  • 00:13:18
    sponsoring this little chat and my final
  • 00:13:20
    investment as a creator with irregular
  • 00:13:22
    income is actually something i' would
  • 00:13:24
    recommend to anybody even if you have
  • 00:13:26
    steady paychecks but this is not
  • 00:13:27
    Financial advice so so remember how I
  • 00:13:29
    mentioned that it's kind of a shame that
  • 00:13:31
    my 3 months of expenses plus the buffer
  • 00:13:34
    are liquid rather than sitting in
  • 00:13:36
    Investments where they can be generating
  • 00:13:37
    a return well something I finally
  • 00:13:40
    started doing was investing my liquid
  • 00:13:42
    assets in a money market fund so whether
  • 00:13:45
    you choose a high yield savings account
  • 00:13:46
    or a money market fund this either one
  • 00:13:48
    of these is so much better than just
  • 00:13:50
    having your cash sit in a checking
  • 00:13:52
    account that generates basically zero
  • 00:13:54
    return and that's what I did for way too
  • 00:13:56
    long it's basically akin to keeping your
  • 00:13:58
    money under your mattress so this might
  • 00:13:59
    sound kind of complicated but it's
  • 00:14:01
    really not money market funds are just
  • 00:14:03
    mutual funds that invest in lowrisk
  • 00:14:05
    short-term Securities and as of late
  • 00:14:08
    they're offering between 4 to 5% annual
  • 00:14:10
    yield 4 to 5% for comparison typical
  • 00:14:13
    checking accounts offer between 0 and
  • 00:14:16
    .1% high yield savings accounts are also
  • 00:14:18
    a great option and they've been offering
  • 00:14:20
    about the same annual yield as money
  • 00:14:22
    market funds as a blade so put simply a
  • 00:14:24
    money market fund is a great place to
  • 00:14:26
    park cash or funds that you don't need
  • 00:14:28
    red second but that you want accessible
  • 00:14:31
    within 1 to two days so like an
  • 00:14:32
    emergency fund or money to pay off your
  • 00:14:35
    bills or to pay for quarterly estimated
  • 00:14:37
    taxes because it generates a little bit
  • 00:14:39
    of return the reason I chose to park my
  • 00:14:42
    cash in a money market fund versus
  • 00:14:44
    opening up a high old savings account is
  • 00:14:46
    because I already have a Schwab account
  • 00:14:48
    where I'm regularly transferring cash
  • 00:14:50
    from my checking account into my
  • 00:14:52
    investment account and so now I just
  • 00:14:53
    invest some of that cash in a money
  • 00:14:55
    market fund
  • 00:14:57
    specifically SWV XX versus opening up a
  • 00:15:01
    whole new high old savings account which
  • 00:15:03
    isn't hard but I don't know this felt
  • 00:15:05
    like fewer steps moving on to tracking
  • 00:15:07
    my Revenue this is fun so remember how
  • 00:15:09
    earlier I mentioned that part of my
  • 00:15:11
    financial planning is having an
  • 00:15:12
    annualized Revenue projection I think
  • 00:15:14
    this is really important for any Creator
  • 00:15:16
    or contract worker or anyone with a
  • 00:15:18
    regular income to do so you can actually
  • 00:15:20
    do some financial planning so the way
  • 00:15:22
    that I project my annual revenue is by
  • 00:15:24
    using a run rate which is a metric used
  • 00:15:26
    to project future returns based on
  • 00:15:29
    current results it's actually really
  • 00:15:30
    simple and very helpful but it does have
  • 00:15:32
    its limitations which we will talk about
  • 00:15:34
    but here's how it works I take the
  • 00:15:36
    amount of money that I have earned up
  • 00:15:38
    until that point in the year divided by
  • 00:15:40
    how many days have already passed to get
  • 00:15:42
    how much money I made on average each
  • 00:15:45
    day and then I multiply that by 365 to
  • 00:15:48
    get my annual projection easy example
  • 00:15:50
    let's say I make $10,000 in the month of
  • 00:15:53
    January divide that by 30 days I know
  • 00:15:56
    it's 31 days but to 30 to keep it simple
  • 00:15:59
    that is
  • 00:16:01
    $333 per day then if I multiply that by
  • 00:16:04
    365 days my annual projection there
  • 00:16:06
    would be about
  • 00:16:08
    $120,000 per year so the Run rate
  • 00:16:11
    assumes that I will continue to make
  • 00:16:13
    this same amount each month which
  • 00:16:15
    introduces its obvious first limitation
  • 00:16:17
    which is that it doesn't really account
  • 00:16:19
    for variability at least not in the
  • 00:16:21
    short term so what I mean is people with
  • 00:16:23
    a regular income might make a killing
  • 00:16:25
    one month and then make $0 the next
  • 00:16:27
    month so short term data might be
  • 00:16:30
    misleading it's less of a problem once 6
  • 00:16:33
    months has passed for example because
  • 00:16:35
    you're getting a more accurate
  • 00:16:37
    representation of what that whole year
  • 00:16:38
    will look like and it's for that reason
  • 00:16:40
    that I also mentally adjust my run rate
  • 00:16:44
    if I make a killing at the beginning of
  • 00:16:46
    the year or if things are going super
  • 00:16:47
    slow because it'll kind of skew the
  • 00:16:49
    results if that makes sense this
  • 00:16:51
    literally happened to me last year I
  • 00:16:52
    signed like three brand deals in the
  • 00:16:54
    month of January and this number was
  • 00:16:56
    looking nice and juicy but it didn't
  • 00:16:58
    turn out quite as nice and juicy I was
  • 00:17:00
    thinking of ways to adjust my
  • 00:17:02
    calculation to account for that
  • 00:17:04
    variability and so I took a look at
  • 00:17:06
    seasonality in my earnings and what I
  • 00:17:08
    found is actually kind of funny so you
  • 00:17:10
    often hear that highest spend on
  • 00:17:11
    Advertising is in Q4 because it's around
  • 00:17:13
    the holidays and that's when consumers
  • 00:17:15
    are spending the most money so I did
  • 00:17:16
    heat mapping in my spreadsheet to see if
  • 00:17:18
    I could spot any Trend like that like
  • 00:17:20
    times of the year where I'm making the
  • 00:17:22
    most or making less and this is what I
  • 00:17:24
    found so these are dummy numbers this is
  • 00:17:26
    just an example this is not real but
  • 00:17:28
    this would be an example of totally
  • 00:17:30
    spotting a trend through heat mapping
  • 00:17:31
    AKA making more during fall and winter
  • 00:17:33
    months and then things really slowing
  • 00:17:35
    down through the spring and summer my
  • 00:17:37
    income heat mapping looks like this
  • 00:17:39
    there is literally no pattern even still
  • 00:17:41
    I think it's a fun feature to include in
  • 00:17:43
    my spreadsheet and maybe one day there
  • 00:17:44
    will be a trend so that's how I track my
  • 00:17:46
    Revenue in one column I have all of my
  • 00:17:48
    brand deal dollars and then my ad
  • 00:17:50
    revenue and my contract Consulting and
  • 00:17:52
    affiliate revenue and then I have my run
  • 00:17:54
    rate projection number front and center
  • 00:17:56
    so I always have a sense of what I'm
  • 00:17:58
    going to make make by the end of the
  • 00:17:59
    year which again I kind of mentally
  • 00:18:01
    adjust if it's only been a few months
  • 00:18:03
    now a lot of you guys asked me to dig
  • 00:18:04
    deeper into my expenses as a Creator
  • 00:18:07
    camera lights computer what the cost of
  • 00:18:09
    each video is and within the context of
  • 00:18:12
    living in New York city where the cost
  • 00:18:14
    of living is literally insane how to
  • 00:18:17
    navigate that so let's tackle these
  • 00:18:19
    questions first my production costs as a
  • 00:18:22
    Creator are unusually low I have
  • 00:18:26
    absolutely bought some gear over the
  • 00:18:28
    years I bought a big fancy turbocharged
  • 00:18:30
    computer to make my life a lot easier
  • 00:18:32
    when I'm editing my videos but to this
  • 00:18:34
    day I film everything on my iPhone
  • 00:18:38
    seriously that blows away other creators
  • 00:18:40
    more than anyone I use these Road
  • 00:18:43
    Wireless goto microphones that I've had
  • 00:18:45
    for years at this point shout out in the
  • 00:18:47
    comments if you remember what video I
  • 00:18:49
    bought them in and then I'm using a kind
  • 00:18:50
    of shitty $29 tripod from Amazon right
  • 00:18:53
    now everything I do use is linked in the
  • 00:18:55
    description but it's not much you'll see
  • 00:18:57
    now it depends what type of videos you
  • 00:18:59
    make if you want to make really
  • 00:19:01
    cinematic Vlogs it probably makes sense
  • 00:19:03
    to invest in a camera in more gear but
  • 00:19:05
    since day one I have always said that I
  • 00:19:07
    am a lean deal team Finance joke but to
  • 00:19:11
    this day I'm a one-woman show I've never
  • 00:19:13
    hired anyone I do all of my own ideation
  • 00:19:15
    scripting filming editing as you can
  • 00:19:17
    probably tell I mean I'm in a standing
  • 00:19:19
    in a parking lot it is my time that I
  • 00:19:21
    trade which is worth a lot let's not
  • 00:19:22
    discount that but you know it's my job
  • 00:19:24
    so I hope it gives some of you some hope
  • 00:19:26
    that you don't need a ton of money or
  • 00:19:28
    gear to start a YouTube channel quite
  • 00:19:30
    the contrary if you have a phone with
  • 00:19:32
    internet connection and ideas that's all
  • 00:19:34
    you need to start now where my expenses
  • 00:19:36
    are not low pretty much everything else
  • 00:19:40
    my co-working space is $254 per month I
  • 00:19:43
    pay $160 per month for my workout
  • 00:19:46
    classes I live in one of the most
  • 00:19:48
    expensive cities in the entire world and
  • 00:19:50
    some of you asked me on Instagram about
  • 00:19:52
    budgeting for where you live and what
  • 00:19:54
    your goals are and I have thoughts on
  • 00:19:56
    this so when it comes to being a creator
  • 00:19:58
    and this really goes for any profession
  • 00:20:00
    in addition to the crazy costs that come
  • 00:20:03
    with living in a big city you should
  • 00:20:04
    also consider the benefits prime example
  • 00:20:07
    New York City is as much of a character
  • 00:20:10
    on my YouTube channel as I am you can
  • 00:20:12
    almost argue that me living in New York
  • 00:20:14
    is a business expense I have met so many
  • 00:20:16
    friends and other creators from living
  • 00:20:19
    here and the networking opportunities
  • 00:20:21
    and the meetups are plentiful and then
  • 00:20:23
    on a personal level the energy and
  • 00:20:25
    motivation that I feel from living here
  • 00:20:28
    it's a their discussion but my point is
  • 00:20:30
    that living in a city doesn't only come
  • 00:20:33
    with the annoyingly High Cost of Living
  • 00:20:35
    but also a potential return on
  • 00:20:37
    investment for the opportunities that it
  • 00:20:39
    might bring of course you still have to
  • 00:20:41
    budget and plan accordingly for it I
  • 00:20:43
    wouldn't recommend going into debt to
  • 00:20:46
    move to New York but my point is try to
  • 00:20:48
    take a more holistic analysis that's my
  • 00:20:50
    thought moving on to a big topic for us
  • 00:20:53
    self-employed folk funding my own
  • 00:20:55
    retirement and health insurance what fun
  • 00:20:57
    so these are some of the the benefits
  • 00:20:59
    that I gave up when leaving the
  • 00:21:00
    corporate world the health insurance
  • 00:21:02
    part is annoying because my consulting
  • 00:21:03
    firm had gold standard health insurance
  • 00:21:05
    but the retirement accounts have been
  • 00:21:07
    fun so starting with health insurance
  • 00:21:09
    when I left my consulting job I started
  • 00:21:11
    paying for my own specifically I went
  • 00:21:13
    online to New York state of health
  • 00:21:15
    evaluated the different plans and chose
  • 00:21:17
    a high deductible plan that really just
  • 00:21:18
    covers the bare minimum because I am a
  • 00:21:21
    healthy person and don't anticipate too
  • 00:21:22
    many doctor's visits so it really just
  • 00:21:24
    serves to protect me from going bankrupt
  • 00:21:26
    if something catastrophic happened but
  • 00:21:28
    it is annoying to pay for I'm not going
  • 00:21:29
    to lie it's hundreds of dollars per
  • 00:21:31
    month and without exaggeration it's
  • 00:21:34
    probably my least favorite part of
  • 00:21:35
    leaving corporate but that's probably a
  • 00:21:37
    good place to be if the thing I miss the
  • 00:21:39
    most is the health insurance and I
  • 00:21:40
    didn't even use my gold standard health
  • 00:21:42
    insurance that much I just liked knowing
  • 00:21:43
    that I had it as for retirement accounts
  • 00:21:46
    I still max out my Roth IRA every single
  • 00:21:49
    year and there are other tax advantage
  • 00:21:51
    accounts for self- employed people I
  • 00:21:53
    didn't end up funding any of them in
  • 00:21:55
    this past year but hopefully this time a
  • 00:21:58
    year from now I will have an update for
  • 00:22:00
    you on that but to tie a bow on this
  • 00:22:02
    very riveting topic a lot of you asked
  • 00:22:04
    me to touch on the stress of managing my
  • 00:22:07
    own retirement the health insurance part
  • 00:22:08
    again is annoying but when it comes to
  • 00:22:10
    the retirement Vehicles yes I do miss
  • 00:22:13
    out on the 401K match which is a typical
  • 00:22:16
    thing that a lot of corporate jobs will
  • 00:22:17
    offer you and that you should take
  • 00:22:19
    advantage of if you have it cuz that is
  • 00:22:20
    literally free money but my income is
  • 00:22:22
    higher now and my increased Investments
  • 00:22:24
    make up for it that's kind of how I see
  • 00:22:26
    it it doesn't cause me too much stress
  • 00:22:28
    personally okay tell me why I'm kind of
  • 00:22:30
    excited to talk about taxes it was
  • 00:22:33
    perhaps my most asked about specific
  • 00:22:35
    topic and it's become kind of a big part
  • 00:22:37
    of my life because Creator taxes are
  • 00:22:40
    definitely more complex than regular
  • 00:22:42
    jobs and so I've learned a lot about it
  • 00:22:43
    over the last year so let's talk about
  • 00:22:45
    it quarterly estimated taxes business
  • 00:22:47
    write-offs and having an accountant
  • 00:22:50
    versus doing it myself so in a regular
  • 00:22:52
    job I keep doing the air quotes but a W2
  • 00:22:54
    job as we would classify it here in the
  • 00:22:56
    US you can elect for your employer to
  • 00:22:59
    withhold part of your paycheck each
  • 00:23:00
    month to send to the government in taxes
  • 00:23:02
    so come tax day you've probably already
  • 00:23:04
    paid everything that you owe to the
  • 00:23:06
    government in taxes and then you can
  • 00:23:07
    file them yourself in 20 minutes using
  • 00:23:09
    Turbo Tax or the likes not the case for
  • 00:23:11
    creators I make what is called $10.99
  • 00:23:14
    income in the US which is income earned
  • 00:23:16
    as an independent contractor so
  • 00:23:18
    Freelancers creators anyone who gets
  • 00:23:20
    paid for special one-off projects makes
  • 00:23:23
    $10.99 income and this includes ad
  • 00:23:25
    Revenue that I get from YouTube even
  • 00:23:26
    though it's a huge corporation that you
  • 00:23:28
    might expect to withhold part of those
  • 00:23:30
    paychecks they don't they do for their
  • 00:23:31
    corporate employees obviously so now I
  • 00:23:34
    get to do that myself and it's not just
  • 00:23:36
    one big payment at the end of the year
  • 00:23:38
    it's quarterly so you've heard me
  • 00:23:39
    reference quarterly estimated taxes
  • 00:23:41
    earlier in the video These are taxes
  • 00:23:43
    that I pay every single quarter based on
  • 00:23:45
    how much I estimate I will earn by the
  • 00:23:48
    end of the year and the reason it's
  • 00:23:49
    every quarter is for the same reason
  • 00:23:51
    that regular jobs will withhold part of
  • 00:23:54
    your paycheck to pay to the government
  • 00:23:56
    in taxes it's so the government
  • 00:23:58
    maintains a steady flow of Revenue and
  • 00:24:00
    so the taxpayer doesn't have to pay this
  • 00:24:02
    huge lump sum at the end of the year
  • 00:24:04
    which kind of makes sense so let's say I
  • 00:24:06
    get paid for a brand deal in January and
  • 00:24:09
    I pocket the full amount without paying
  • 00:24:11
    any taxes on it yet feels great for me
  • 00:24:13
    but Uncle Sam doesn't want to wait until
  • 00:24:16
    tax day April 15th of the following year
  • 00:24:19
    to receive his cut of that for my
  • 00:24:21
    non-americans Uncle Sam is the
  • 00:24:23
    personification of the United States
  • 00:24:25
    federal government so I pay my portion
  • 00:24:27
    to Uncle Sam every quarter we already
  • 00:24:29
    talked about how I budget for this I
  • 00:24:31
    just make sure to have a buffer easily
  • 00:24:33
    accessible to pay for that now a fun
  • 00:24:35
    topic and a benefit of Creator earnings
  • 00:24:37
    are write-offs or business expenses this
  • 00:24:40
    includes things like camera gear which
  • 00:24:42
    we already discussed I have none video
  • 00:24:44
    editing software legal and Professional
  • 00:24:46
    Services hired to help your business
  • 00:24:48
    website hosting costs office supplies
  • 00:24:50
    used to run your business there are a
  • 00:24:51
    lot of them I actually found a great
  • 00:24:52
    resource on Creator write offs that I
  • 00:24:54
    will link in the description now this
  • 00:24:55
    all sounds like fun and games but what
  • 00:24:57
    does it even mean to write something off
  • 00:24:59
    it means that it lowers your taxable
  • 00:25:01
    income by the amount of the business
  • 00:25:04
    expense so let's say I make $100 in a
  • 00:25:06
    year and spend $30 on a camera for my
  • 00:25:09
    business then I only have to pay taxes
  • 00:25:11
    on $70 of my income so while write offs
  • 00:25:14
    are nice to have I do see some people
  • 00:25:16
    fall in the Trap of spending more than
  • 00:25:18
    they normally would because it's a
  • 00:25:20
    business write off so yes it helps lower
  • 00:25:22
    your taxable income a little bit and it
  • 00:25:24
    does lessen the sting of some expenses
  • 00:25:27
    but if it's not a purch that you would
  • 00:25:28
    have made otherwise you're not coming
  • 00:25:30
    out on top so be aware of the write-off
  • 00:25:32
    trap as I call it and finally a lot of
  • 00:25:34
    questions about whether I use an
  • 00:25:36
    accountant to file my taxes yes I do
  • 00:25:39
    even though I do feel like I have a
  • 00:25:41
    pretty good hold on the various
  • 00:25:42
    components and I do keep close track of
  • 00:25:45
    every dollar coming in for reporting
  • 00:25:46
    purposes Creator taxes is still a pretty
  • 00:25:50
    complex process in my opinion I worked
  • 00:25:52
    with 13 different brands last year even
  • 00:25:54
    more if you count the ones that I
  • 00:25:56
    received affiliate revenue from like
  • 00:25:58
    Amazon so it's a lot to track so I
  • 00:26:01
    happily pay a trained professional to
  • 00:26:03
    file for me and I can also ask him
  • 00:26:05
    questions throughout the year as needed
  • 00:26:07
    and last but not least let's talk about
  • 00:26:09
    longevity as a content creator one of
  • 00:26:12
    the main criticisms that I hear about
  • 00:26:14
    this career is you know how long can you
  • 00:26:16
    keep that up so many channels inevitably
  • 00:26:19
    kind of die or the Creator falls off and
  • 00:26:21
    stops getting views yada yada and it's
  • 00:26:24
    true it is incredibly rare to make this
  • 00:26:27
    a living for years on end and so I have
  • 00:26:30
    looked at creators who have managed to
  • 00:26:32
    do it and I spotted two consistent
  • 00:26:35
    things across all of them the first
  • 00:26:37
    thing they all do in some shape or form
  • 00:26:40
    is continuously provide value this is
  • 00:26:43
    how literally any business works you
  • 00:26:45
    provide value in some way shape or form
  • 00:26:47
    for the customers time and or money so
  • 00:26:50
    in the case of a content creator if you
  • 00:26:52
    can manage to provide value whether
  • 00:26:54
    you're literally teaching something my
  • 00:26:56
    mind goes towards Finance creative who
  • 00:26:58
    have been around for a while or you're
  • 00:27:00
    providing value through entertainment I
  • 00:27:02
    think of more personality based people
  • 00:27:04
    channels or anything in between creators
  • 00:27:07
    who have made this their career for
  • 00:27:09
    years continue to provide value on their
  • 00:27:11
    channel for a long time which then
  • 00:27:12
    allows them to be set up really well for
  • 00:27:14
    the second thing that I've noticed they
  • 00:27:16
    all do which is diversify I am such a
  • 00:27:19
    broken record on diversifying and I'm
  • 00:27:21
    one to freaking talk look at my income
  • 00:27:22
    it couldn't be more concentrated if I
  • 00:27:24
    tried and sure in theory it's not
  • 00:27:26
    necessarily a bad thing to have so much
  • 00:27:27
    of your in come coming from one source
  • 00:27:29
    as long as things are going well but I
  • 00:27:31
    just think that it's inherently risky to
  • 00:27:33
    have so many of your eggs in one basket
  • 00:27:35
    because it's true who knows when the
  • 00:27:36
    brand deals will fall through even if
  • 00:27:38
    you do continue to provide value you
  • 00:27:40
    know the market could slump and Brands
  • 00:27:42
    could completely slash their marketing
  • 00:27:43
    budgets so what I have seen Mega
  • 00:27:45
    successful creators do to increase their
  • 00:27:47
    lifespan in this industry is diversify
  • 00:27:49
    the revenue stream into other avenues
  • 00:27:51
    things like starting their own product
  • 00:27:53
    launching a course starting a membership
  • 00:27:55
    subscription model of sorts and then
  • 00:27:57
    they already have a start from this
  • 00:27:59
    audience that they have grown over the
  • 00:28:01
    years Emma Chamberlain has her coffee
  • 00:28:02
    brand Ali abdal has several different
  • 00:28:05
    courses and a book that he wrote my fam
  • 00:28:07
    just launched a clothing line that is
  • 00:28:09
    killing it so back to me I know I've
  • 00:28:11
    been saying this for a long time but I
  • 00:28:13
    really do have plans to diversify my
  • 00:28:15
    revenue streams over the next 12 months
  • 00:28:16
    to take some of the pressure off of that
  • 00:28:18
    brand deal section consider this your
  • 00:28:20
    reminder for the more in-depth breakdown
  • 00:28:21
    on how some of the revenue streams are
  • 00:28:23
    calculated and as always if you found
  • 00:28:25
    this video helpful please give it a
  • 00:28:27
    thumbs up and subscribe I'd really
  • 00:28:28
    appreciate it and I can promise that I
  • 00:28:30
    will put more and more work into these
  • 00:28:31
    videos over the next year so thank you
  • 00:28:33
    for being here and until next time
  • 00:28:35
    turtle out this is my attempt to do a
  • 00:28:39
    perfect circle I'm not even left-handed
  • 00:28:42
    I'm using a string well that part I can
  • 00:28:44
    fill in myself how about that oh yeah
  • 00:28:46
    baby that's not that
  • 00:28:49
    bad
  • 00:28:52
    sweet LA
  • 00:28:54
    PD I didn't ask you anything
  • 00:28:58
    yeah oh yeah
Tags
  • YouTube
  • Content Creation
  • Financial Planning
  • Income Streams
  • Budgeting
  • Investing
  • Taxes
  • Health Insurance
  • Retirement
  • Creator Economy