I feel like I’m, doing right now. What a lot of people do in like q4, like prepping for the new year, but I was still like in my growth phase, so I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, and I just want to focus on my content.
And now I’m, like holy crap over the next year, like I want to scale like crazy. Two weeks ago, I uploaded a video on my channel sharing how to start a YouTube channel in 2020 and honestly that video blew up it absolutely exceeded.
My expectations in terms of views, which is really just telling me that a lot of people are thinking about getting started on YouTube, but one of the things that I mentioned in that video is, when you start a YouTube channel.
You’re, actually starting a business, and I didn’t dive all into what that meant. So in today’s, video. I really want to talk about the business of YouTube and what other people aren’t sharing, because you’re thinking about getting started on YouTube.
These are things that you need to know because they are going to hit you in the future. Now I’ve, been on this platform for over two-and-a-half years, but in reality I started my brand back in 2016 and since getting started just guys.
I have learned so much. I have made so many mistakes and I’ve. Just had my expectations blown on what it means to be a youtuber, slash, influencer honestly, I have run into so many different challenges, so many different struggles that I never even knew that I was going to face.
I thought that I was going to spend all of my time creating content and it was just going to be fun, but in reality I feel like there’s just so much that people aren’t talking about a little fun fact About me, I actually went to college for business, so I have a degree in marketing and photography and because of that business degree, because that marketing degree really, I had to take a lot of business-related classes.
So I had to do those typical assignments where you had to create a business write. A business plan figure out how you’re, going to market it, how you’re gonna pay, for it all the finances. All of that stuff – and at the time I kind of thought it was silly because I was like I’m, not gonna start a business.
I pictured a business as a physical store or even an online shop where you’re selling, something, and I just thought that was never me when in reality, once I became a creator, a youtuber, I started my own business just in a different way.
So I am so incredibly grateful for all of those classes, because it really has taught me a lot and I ‘ Ve actually been able to apply a lot of that stuff into my business today, but the things that I feel like just no one talks about is really the legal side of becoming a creator and all the disclaimers you have to create all the contracts you have To sign even on my website, I have to have a terms and conditions page.
I have to have a privacy policy. I do have a disclaimer in the description bar of every single one of my videos, saying that some of the links included in there could be affiliate links, because that is something that you have to disclose the legal side of YouTube.
But I just feel like gets so honestly complicated and a lot of big youtubers have their own lawyers and work with lawyers that read over all their contracts and make sure that the wording and everything is perfect.
So creators can continue to do what they do. But the other side that goes into that is becoming an LLC or figuring out. Okay, are you gonna be a sole proprietor, or what are you going to do within your business, and a lot of creators have an LLC it for their business, which is actually something that I am going to be doing in the next couple of months? The next thing we have to talk about is money.
You guys know I love talking about making money as a youtuber, and this isn’t gonna be one of those videos, but I’m more so when I talk about the practicality, how you make your money, where your money comes From because it’s, not like you’re receiving a normal paycheck, you know like.
If you get a job at, let’s, say a car wash or McDonald’s, or something like that. You are getting a paycheck every other week or every week for the work that you have completed compared to when you are a creator, when you’re youtuber, I mean your income.
First of all, it’s, not consistent. It’s, not like you’re, going to receive $ 200 every other week that’s, just not the way it works. Your income can actually really really fluctuate, and I really preached about having several different income streams.
So I make money through my ads here on YouTube, obviously affiliate marketing. I already mentioned sponsorships. I do have my own paid products and things that I have created that I also sell and I’m sure.
There are other ways that I make money that I just can’t think of right now, but yeah. You need to have a variety of different income streams, because your income, isn’t going to be consistent even here on YouTube.
One of the months I’ve, made over 5,000 dollars for my ads revenue compared to another month. I’ve only made $ 2,000 for my ads revenues, so it’s, just not the same as working a normal 9 to 5 job or even part-time job.
The other thing when it comes to your money is that, like I already said, you’re, not receiving a paycheck every week or every other week. Actually, how you get paid is pretty entry so for YouTube. Your ad to run through Google Adsense and you get paid on the 21st or it depends like that, hits on a weekend.
Then you may get paid on the 24th or some bangin around that range and that’s only once a month that you’re receiving a paycheck. So, actually, all of the money that I made in March isn’t going to hit my bank account until April 21st.
It hits the month later now that’s, only one of my income streams, so in reality the way that it kind of worked out. For me, I really get paid two times a month, so I get paid the first of every month when it comes to my paid products and some of my affiliate marketing sales, and then I also get paid on the 21st and the 22nd for some other affiliate Marketing sales, as well as my ads, so yes, it’s kind of like I’m receiving a paycheck like I know two times a month, I’m, going to get paid, but it’s.
Just it’s different with every platform, with every affiliate network that you’re, a part of, or even if you’re, just working one-on-one with a company with affiliate marketing. It really just all works out a little bit different and the other thing that I just quickly quickly mentioned there is that, with my ads revenue, what the money that I make in March, I don’t actually receive until April, and that’s pretty common, especially with affiliate marketing sales.
I mean I’m, not even talking about sponsorships here, but even my paid products, the money that I make it’s not like I’m receiving immediate payment. Actually, it takes a month, sometimes even two months, to receive the money that you’ve already made.
So currently, I think I ‘ Ve got like seven thousand plus dollars just waiting to hit the payout point so that I can receive that money. So one thing that you really need to do when you become a creator – and this is why I wouldn’t, say dive into this too early like do not go full-time being a youtuber.
If you are not making enough money to sustain yourself. The reason is because you really have to budget like every month my income really fluctuates, and one month I could be making. Now. I’m just throwing out random numbers here, but I could be making $ 5,000 a month compared to $ 15,000 a month.
And if I’m expecting every month, I’m gonna make $ 15,000 a month and then one month I only make 5,000. I could end up getting myself really screwed or in some credit card debt. If I’m, not being smart, so you really have to budget and realize these days I’m getting paid, but it’s for money that I’ve earned a little while ago.
So you really have to be able to not only look in the past and realize okay, where’s, my money coming from, but also think in the future. Like the money I’m making now I won’t actually receive for the next month or two, and when it comes to money, I also just want to mention that I use QuickBooks to track all of my income as well.
As my expenses, because that is important for your taxes – I have mentioned taxes a couple of times here on my channel and actually in that video about how to start a YouTube channel. I included a little clip where I said that I pay my taxes quarterly.
I had to pay my taxes quarterly and I got a good question where someone said: okay, you pay your taxes quarterly. So there’s YouTube. Send you a w-2 every quarter like what the heck does that mean when in reality? Actually, let me just include a little disclaimer here, guys because legal stuff, like I already said I am NOT a tax professional, I’m, not an accountant.
I just sharing information based off of my own experiences, so this is my experience. This is not my accounting advice. No YouTube does not send you a w-2 every quarter here’s, the reality. You know if you are working at that car wash or McDonald’s when you receive your paycheck.
If you really pay attention to it, you will notice that they are paying taxes or if they’re, taking money out of your paycheck to pay taxes. So when you file your taxes at the end of the year and you get a tax return and you’re, making money, it’s because of the taxes that you’ve, already paid all throughout the year.
Compared to the way that I’m, making my money and Phebe comic creator or YouTube are the money that you’re receiving taxes. Haven’t been taken out, so you would actually have to pay taxes. Now there’s, two ways that you can do it and again I am NOT a tax professional.
I’m, not an IKEA sheriff. We should be talking like we experienced a so this is my period. This is not my company, but you can pay them quarterly, like I do, and actually, if you go to google and you look up 20 20 estimated payments, they have changed because of everything that is going on in the world right now, but I think it’s April June, maybe September and then January, you have to pay your quarterly taxes, but you can pay them quarterly or you can just pay them at the end of the year.
In one whole lump sum now, please look into that. Typically, estimated taxes are due April 15th, which is normal tax day. I already did my taxes for all of 2019. That is done. That is good to go, which is great everything that’s, going on actually the first estimated tax payment.
That is typically due April. 15Th has now been postponed until July, I believe so Alex and I were taking a look and as of right now, the second estimated payment, which is typically due in June isn’t being postponed, so it may be in the future.
But I don’t want a big payment and – and I don’t want another big payment in July, so I am still going to be sticking to uh, paying my first quarterly taxes on April 15th, that’s. What I have chosen to do, you guys do whatever it is right for you, but that is what I am doing over here and the way that I do it Alex actually worked in an accounting firm.
So he knows how to do it and he calculates my taxes every quarter, figures out how much I have to pay now in the future, because my business is getting a little bit more complicated and I’m making more money.
I am probably going to get an accountant and they are going to help me with my taxes, but know YouTube is not going to send you something. You just have to figure out your taxes on your own, which is another reason why I recommend having a money or a finance software.
I guess you can say so. I use QuickBooks, which manages again my income and my expenses and your expenses are so important because you can actually write off some of the things that you buy for your business.
So like this camera that I’m currently using, I use it for my YouTube channel that’s, something that I can write off and as just a general rule of thumb. If you have no idea how much money you’re gonna need to pay for taxes every quarter, I would recommend saving about 30 %.
When you’re, getting started, you probably actually won’t need to pay 30 % of what you were earning, but I would say just to be safe because whoo the first time that I had to pay quarterly taxes, I saved no Money for it none, I was in the spot where I didn’t, have any money to pay my taxes, because I didn’t plan on ahead of time.
So if you are at the point where you were making good money off of YouTube and you haven’t paid, your taxes save about 30 % of what you were making in your savings account and know that that is going to go to your Taxes not to a new pair of shoes near first getting started with YouTube.
Some of these things. You might not even need to worry about like if you haven’t made a dime from YouTube and you do not need to worry about paying your taxes quarterly. That’s, something that’s, not even on your plate.
Yet but I just wanted to kind of expose you to some of these things, because this is the direction that you’re going like if you want to be a full-time youtuber, that’s, something that you need to know about.
But the next thing I want to talk about definitely doesn’t apply to the beginners out there, but this is something that you will run into. I can guarantee it hiring out help or building out your teams.
Honestly, I think this is something that youtubers do a pretty good job. Talking about. Like you’ve, probably heard that youtubers have managers, they have publicists, they have agents, they’ve got lawyer, some of them have assistants.
Oh they have videographers. They have editors and I feel like that’s, become more transparent when YouTube was first getting started, a lot of people just did it on their own, and once they started to hire out help, I feel like it was all hush-hush.
No one really talked about it, but now people are pretty transparent, which I really like, but just from my own experience, guys back at the end of 2019. I was getting to the point where I was feeling really overwhelmed and it got to the point where I was really really overwhelming.
For me, I had a lot of companies reach out to me wanting to do sponsorships, and I just didn’t understand that space at all I didn’t feel like I had the time to get back to them. Negotiate deals figure out what I was actually worth as well as work on my content, like I just wanted to spend all my time creating content working on my paid products like things within my business, I was really good at and I had no idea how to Even handle sponsorship, so at the beginning of this year I ended up signing on management, so I do work with a team two people, husband and wife.
They’re freaking, awesome. Okay, I’m about to hop on a call with my management team. I typically talk to them. I try to get on the phone with them at least once every other week, so it’s like two times a month mirror on the phone, but otherwise I’m texting them just about every single day.
They help me with all of my brand deals all of my sponsorships and basically just to explain what they do a little bit more. They negotiate all deals so a first things. First, either we are reaching out to companies that I really really would love to work with or when companies reach out to me they are the main communication, so they will say yes like let’s, negotiate figure out if this is actually a good Fit for both of us – or they will say no.
This isn’t a good fit for Katherine, because let me tell you we have turned down so of so many different companies that just didn’t really fit with my brand or it’s, something I never heard of Something that I wasn’t honestly interested in something I didn’t think you guys were interested in.
I want all of my sponsorships to be very natural as well as things I truly love they reach out. Do all the communication with brands as well as negotiate deals, so they will do all the back and forth, and let me just tell you it takes months to set up a sponsorship months.
They do all of that work. They deal with the contracts, make sure they read it over before I sign anything. Obviously, if I have the final say whether we actually move forward with any brand, they really understand what I am looking for.
But of course I have the final say, and then they deal with invoicing them money that I made all of that stuff. Everything honestly that relates to sponsorships they deal with and it’s, freaking awesome, because then I can spend more of my time.
Focused on my content and it’s, not like I’m missing out on that other income stream because, like I said diversifying your income is so so important. So for me, I only have experience with management up until this point, but I have heard that other influencers do have publicists and they do have agents which help with other aspects of your business and a lot of people also have assistants.
So they have vo ographers or editors, like I said, and in the future. Actually, after Alex and I move, I am going to be looking into getting an assistant or someone help me out, because there is so much work that goes into even just creating the content that you guys see it I mean I ‘
Ve said this before it takes me days to create a YouTube video and there’s, so many different aspects within my business and different areas that I want to be able to focus my time on. So if I could have someone help me with different aspects that maybe I don’t want to spend my time on or something that someone else can do what that would be really really great.
But I could go on forever about the business of YouTube and things that I just feel like. Aren’t talked about that much, but I am trying to share some of that stuff within my vlog. So if you guys do not pay attention to my Friday uploads, I’m, trying to bring you more and more behind the scenes of what it means to be a youtuber and even just creating my videos like things that you typically wouldn’t see so definitely make sure that you’re subscribe to my channel and you do not miss my blogs.
There’s. Anything else that you want to learn more about in terms of being a youtuber doing this full-time any of the legal stuff finance stuff. Please let me know in the comment section down below and I’ll – try to create another one of these videos for you guys, but otherwise I hope you guys liked it.
If you did make sure you were to thumbs up subscribe to my channel down below – and I will see you guys back here on Tuesday with another video and on Friday, with a vlog bye guys, so there’s, a store recording in this car.
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