Why You Need to STOP Believing THESE YouTube Myths Right Now

We're gonna be talking about four myths that keep you from helping people. Essentially. I had a business coach tell you a quick story. I had a business coach. This was before I was online, because I didn't want to go online. I was like, why am I gonna go online? And I had this business coach, and she was like, you have a gift. I don't think you realize this. You have a gift, and you're selfish if you don't share that with the world. And I was like, ooh. That was a different way to put it, because she's like, you can help so many people, but you're being selfish by not doing that. So I want you to keep that in mind as we go through some of these myths about what's keeping you from getting started. And the first one is, a lot of people think it's too late. They're like, oh, there's so many other YouTubers out there who have millions of subscribers. Like, how am I supposed to go up against them? Trust me, I lived that David and Goliath battle. When I started uploading real guitar lessons to my YouTube channel, I had. I had 100 subscribers. I don't even think I had 100. I had, like, 95 or something. And they were all people from, you know, my live performances that I was uploading or students of mine that I taught in my guitar studio. And I'm going up against these people who've been doing guitar lessons for, like, over a Decade now on YouTube. Okay, go look up these people. Marty guitar, Justin Guitar, Andy Guitar, everyone, guitar. And these people have millions of subscribers, and they have built phenomenal brands. And I'm just like, how am I gonna stand up to these people? Like, why would people want to listen to me when they can go listen to him? Okay, So I want you to know it's not too late, because people need you. Okay? I found out people needed me because they needed a female teacher who had a slightly different perspective on learning. I don't have a degree in music. Most of the teachers on YouTube have music degrees. I don't. So I teach from a very different method. And I think that message was needed. And I know that because my channel has grown and become very successful through that messaging. So if you think it's too late, it's not. And if you're also wondering if you're too old, there are a lot of older YouTubers. One of my favorites, I forget her name. Older woman. I think she started in her late 50s, and she started a cooking channel to teach People how to cook. She's killing it. And she's an older adult, so if you're worried about age, that's also not a factor. There are lots of older YouTubers who are killing it right now, so it's never too late to start. Lauren, I don't have the right equipment. Myth number two, okay? People think you need fancy equipment. You see here, I got the lighting. I got the lapel. I got the nice camera. I got my little silver plaque back here. You know, I've got the nice studio now, but I didn't start that way. One of my first videos that I uploaded in 2017, this video went viral, got over 2 million views, and it was insane because it's not even in high definition. It's sd, I think I had a single overhead light. This was done at my music school because I didn't have a studio at the time. I recorded it with my phone, and luckily, I did have a lapel mic. It was the one feature, one accessory I did have. I had a tripod, and I had a lapel mic. I had a video that got millions of views and probably made me hundreds of thousands of dollars. Okay, so you don't need fancy equipment. Now, if you're a videographer, you're a photographer. Yeah, you probably want your setup to look nice if you're selling videography and photography. But if you're someone like me, a guitar teacher, you know, you're an art teacher, real estate. You know, if you're not something that is film or film, you know, filmography. Is that even a word? Cinematography, Maybe that was the word I was looking for. But, you know, unless you're in photography and you don't need a polished setup, go look at a lot of the early YouTubers. Go look at Gary Vee. Go look at Alex Hormozi. Go look at, you know, Grant Cardone. All these people who started off, they got millions of followers, but go back and find their oldest videos. I remember watching some of Alex Hermosi's older videos, and he's, like, in a closet, at a desk, just, like, teaching in, like, this hallway. So it doesn't have to be perfect. You don't even have to have the greatest lighting. Your phone is so much more powerful than the phone I had. In 2017, you'll be able to take great video. Just get a little lapel mic, because that's gonna make a huge difference. People will forgive bad video quality, as you can see in my video, but they don't forgive bad audio. So audio is probably one of the biggest things you can focus on from the beginning. Myth number three, I need to be a natural on camera to get started. Now people look at me and they're like, lauren, you're just such a natural at this. I was not a natural at this, okay? The first time I went live on camera was a Facebook Live. It was horrendous. I didn't, like, didn't know what to do with my hands. I'm like, I'm talking to a camera. And, you know, it's really weird talking to a camera. Okay? Because you have to talk to the cameras, that the camera is a person, and it's very awkward. Even my first YouTube videos, you know, I had someone who responded to one of my videos, and he's like, you actually look really calm and collected. Like, you actually look like you did pretty well. And I was like, I felt stupid. I really did. Making those videos. I'm like, I've never talked to a phone or camera before. It felt really weird. And I just felt like I couldn't be myself. And it really takes 20 to 30, sometimes even 40 videos for you to start loosening up and becoming yourself. And I think that's when you make your best content, is when your personality comes out. So, you know, I'll admit there's still sometimes that little voice in my head that's like, oh, how's my hair look? You know, like, oh, did I, you know, have a zit on my face? You know, there's things that come up. There's video sometimes, and, like, my hair is, like, doing really weird things. And we'll put, like, little screenshots of my guitar being like, nice hair, Lauren. But, you know, I don't worry about things being perfect. That's a skill in its own right, okay? But you don't need the fancy equipment. You don't have to be a natural on camera. You just have to be yourself, because that's what people want. People want real people. They don't want superstars. We can get superstars in the movies, okay? And go over to Instagram. If I want fake people, they want real people. They want you. So just be yourself, and that's what's going to attract your tribe. Don't know what to talk about or what my niche is. I always tell people, think about what you're an expert at. And if you don't know what you're an expert at, think about the questions people ask you. Like, what are the questions you get asked the most? So, for example, my wife's a nurse. She always gets asked medical questions because she. People hear she's a nurse, and all of a sudden they think she's a brain surgeon. They think she's, you know, an osteopath. They think she's a chiropractor. They're asking her all kinds of medical questions under the sun of which, you know, she has answers to some of them, but she doesn't have answers to all of them. But people see her as an expert in the medical field because she's a nurse. Okay, now me. People come up to me and ask me, lauren, what's the best guitar that I should buy, you know, to get started? Or, you know, how old should my son or daughter be for them to start learning guitar? You know, is there. Is there a right age to get started? So I get asked a lot of music and guitar questions because that's what people see me as an expert. And now, obviously, I'm getting asked questions about YouTube because people see my success on YouTube. They see my success with selling courses. They want to know, like, hey, how did you do this? You seem like you're doing a lot of things right. So people think I'm, you know, they say I'm an expert in that. So that's why they asked me a lot of questions. So there is something in your life that people ask you a lot of questions about. So think about that, and then that's probably your niche. And you're like, oh, Lauren, I'm a hermit. Nobody asks me questions. Think about something you're. You're very passionate about. What's something that you could talk about for days on end without getting bored, Something you will do that. That you'll work through lunch, you'll forget to eat, because that's how much you love this. That's your passion, and that's what you should go after. Okay? Because I know there's so many ideas. Oh, Lauren, I want to do this. I want to do that. I really like cooking. I love travel. I love this. It's like you need something that you can be so passionate about for the next year or two. Even if you were making no money, you would still do it. That's how big the passion has to be. You have to love this so much that you don't care if you're getting paid for it, because I'm going to tell you, in the first couple years of YouTube, you're not going to make a lot of money, but eventually you will if you're consistent and you have the right business approach. You can make a lot of money. And like I said earlier, YouTube can be completely life changing, but it starts about figuring out what the content is that you're going to put on YouTube for. Probably like a lot of you, you're working on this part time like I did, so I have a lot of experience with that and I'm going to share my thoughts and tips on being as consistent as possible with YouTube when you're still working your full time gig.