I'm not one for hustle culture.
So I get it.
If you’re working a corporate job or any kind of standard 9-5-or-so, adding another thing onto your plate in addition to your family, relationships, feeding yourself, and occasionally showering is hard.
But with how quickly technology is changing, you need to give yourself opportunities.
Building your own professional network via YouTube is the greatest way to do this.
Here’s why and how.
Why should you build your YouTube channel?
1. You guide the conversation
By that I mean you dictate what you talk about and how you talk about it.
So this means, for example, that if you have 20 years in tech but are most interested in design, you can talk about design from a tech background.
You can learn about design concepts in public (check out how iPhone design evolved, do “Top X” lists of best/worst designed cars — and use your tech background to make the videos interesting and insightful in ways no one else could)
If you are finishing up law school and don’t have a ton of experience or credentials yet, you can take a page from Legal Eagle’s book instead.
Devin Stone (of Legal Eagle) blew up by doing reaction videos for TV shows and movies, as well as current legal rulings.
His channel makes at least $185k/mo so…not too shabby.
This allows you to craft your future career path and demonstrate proficiency in something you may not have credibility in (yet) by leaning on your own expertise and knowledge.
2. You build a portfolio of “you”
Yeah, that sounds weird.
Let’s say you never intend to make money from YouTube.
That’s totally fair and a good mindset.
But think of your YouTube channel as a leg up anytime you’re networking with new people, trying to get new clients, applying for jobs or promotions, and generally trying to stand out.
This assumes, of course, it isn’t seen as a liability (and if you’re a professional like the ones I work with — you definitely don’t want your channel to be a liability) and your channel showcases your thoughts, personality, and knowledge in the best light.
The fact of the matter is sometimes being more of a “known quantity” helps give you the edge over someone else.
That’s why people pay more to work with someone who has a large following, track record, and name recognition—they assume they’ll get more value than from someone they’ve never heard anything about.
You close this gap by giving people a glimpse into your professional self via your YouTube channel
3. You improve your thinking
This may be more of a personal journey overshare.
But building YouTube channels and closely examining both how I communicate and how well my videos (for myself or clients) are received has really helped me crystalize my ideas.
I like to dig into a subject, analyze it to death, ask a bunch of questions, and talk through it.
However, my most successful videos usually have a completely different feel to them.
They’re more focused.
They don’t get bogged down in the weeds.
And they always tie the information back to something that’ll help the viewer.
Additionally, there’s often an element of storytelling in them.*
This clarity of thinking helps improve your communication on the whole, in a world where our communication has become fragmented.
*Unless they’re “Top X” videos. That so far hasn’t seemed to matter as much.
That’s all for this week.
I hope you had a good one and I’ll see you next Saturday!
-Steve