How a Crochet Hair YouTuber Grew in Self Acceptance & Happiness

Welcome back to the She's Crafted to Thrive show. I am super excited to have Miss Leah Lavon on from YouTube. She's been YouTubing since July 2016. She has over 98,000 YouTube subscribers who are pretty much probably some of the most engaged people out there. I am one of those people, and the reason why I wanted to have Leah on the show, you guys, is because As you know, I'm all about sharing all the different aspects of my life as a chronic illness warrior, as well as just a woman who loves creativity. And for me, creativity a lot of times comes through my representation with my hair. If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook and you see me visually, you will see my hair is always different. I don't really stick with hairstyles very long. Um, occasionally they last for 4 to 5 weeks, and usually that when I have a crochet hair in my head or I have discovered something new. And Lia has been a part of that journey for me big time, because when I've had surgeries and things like that, I've always tried to use crochet in my hair to give me the time I need not to really have to worry about my hair. And what I love about Lia's channel is that she really talks about not like necessarily how to install it, but how do these hairs like really stand up to the test of time. And not only that, Her personality is just quirky and fun, and I just really like her vibe. So I wanted to have her on the show, and I thought you guys might enjoy it as well. If all of the women I know that I talk to, we all love our hair because it is a great way for us to show our creativity, creativity, as well as for us to show our personality. And sometimes we cry over our hair, sometimes we want to cut our hair. I don't know about you, that's me. It's a love-hate relationship a lot of the times, but it is a part of my journey. For me, when I have my hair when I feel most confident, I literally feel like a different person. And what I enjoy about this conversation with Leah is that she shares her own journey of why she even started this channel, how it's been a really great creative outlet for her, as well as a great outlet for her to really get to know herself more professionally and emotionally and all of that jazz. And I'm just excited about this. This is a new episode that I don't think I would have done, like, my first year of having my podcast. So stay tuned to listen to some of the things that I feel like we all struggle with, but we all embrace in the end. And that's around, you know, body positivity and positive talk about our own selves and our own journey and really embracing the skin and hair we're in, if you will, and enjoying that. So stay tuned for some fun chats and laughs and real talk with Leah. Welcome to She's Crafted to Thrive. I'm your host Nikita Williams, and this show is for all the ladies who are making and creating things that they love. You will hear conversations about the real everyday struggles of juggling life and business while trying to maintain passion and harmony. As women, we have the skill of getting things done, but sometimes we get in our own way. It's here where you'll see that you're not alone. You'll discover that success does not mean perfection. Fear and Negative thoughts and challenges are all a part of the journey. And on this podcast, you'll find the inspiration and tools you need to have a life and business that thrives. I am so excited because first of all, I think, Leah, you are the first like YouTuber only I've had on the show. I've had some really amazing people who are like kind of on YouTube, but their whole world is like social media or something like that. I'm so excited.

That's exciting. I'm happy to be the first YouTuber on here. First time for me. You're my first podcast. So vice versa, we're doing first. I love that.

I think one of the things that I've loved about my journey as an entrepreneur is just being able to mix those worlds together. Like, there's no line for me, really. So I'm like, yay, when people say yes, I'm just excited.

So anyway, tell us who you are and what you do. So my name is Leah. I have a channel, Leah Lavon, where I produce content primarily around hair in 20— I think '20 this year, probably halfway through the year, shifting the focus to hair and lifestyle. But primarily hair is what majority of people know me from on YouTube. I have about, what, 95? We're getting close to 95 subscribers on YouTube. So that's super exciting. And then I've been doing it for 4 and a half years now.

That's awesome, girl. When I found it— because you were the first person. OK, y'all know I'm kinky hair. I've been doing this, like, hair thing for a minute.

So when I—

found you. I was like, she is so real. She's not just doing like the testimonials of how great the hair is, you need to put in your head one time. But I did that and it did not happen like that. It did not last that long. So I loved your approach of being like, hey, I'm gonna come at you, share what I do, here it's done, and a week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 4 weeks. Yes.

Yeah. And then that's kind of what I wanted to show. That's kind of why I started was because I was seeing the one day. Like, when I was going to look for crochet hair and I was looking for options, it was, okay, these people put it in and then that was it. It was like, okay, they put the hair in, okay, what happens after that? So, and it's synthetic hair primarily, so it's that hard line between how long will this last.

Yeah, yeah, totally. So what made you want to start a YouTube channel about hair?

So I would say it was primarily I was going on a trip. And I had been a sew-in girl from ages. I've been doing sew-ins for 2 years. I was going on a trip where primarily was going to be around water. I had taken swim lessons the couple months before my trip because I just had a weird feeling that it was a cruise. It was my first cruise. What if I fall off the ship? Maybe I just need to know how to float. The best reason to learn how to swim. Yes. Yes. Swim lessons, but during the swim lessons, my hair just wasn't holding up. And luckily I had a stylist that I was going to— like, I would go to lessons at 9, I would go to my stylist at 10, but that was just, of course, costly and all that. So I needed something that was going to last through multiple washings. And then I came across crochet hair through a friend who— she too was— we had gone swimming like the summer, a couple months or weeks before my cruise, and I was like, why is your hair looking good and mine looking terrible? Um, about crochet hair, and just from then on I was I was like, okay, well, I gotta tell the world about it because they don't know. Clearly no one knows about this. I have to expose the world to this. They're like sleeping on it, and I have to be the one to let them know. Little did I know there were so many crochet hair videos on there, but I was just the one late to the game. But it was me wanting to help other women make that decision for their, you know, if they had trips coming up or they needed something very low maintenance, or they had a fast-paced life and they just wanted keep something, keep something kind of low maintenance. Crochet hair is a very good low maintenance option, so that's why I went that route.

So were you kind of like— I feel like that was happenstance, right? Like, kind of like it fell into, oh, I'm going to share this with everybody. But had you before that wanted to do like a side hustle or like something creative like this? Because it is totally creative kind of a world.

So I would say it's more so happenstance. So I had always watched YouTube from 2008, and I started my channel 2016. So 8 years of just watching YouTube and seeing other people do it. I watched more beauty and more kind of lifestyle at that time. But it was really like I had always thought about it. I was very introverted. I'm very nervous. Like, I'm somebody who's very shy. So it wasn't— I didn't think YouTube was going to be my route. I thought it would be maybe a blog, or maybe like— I think I had started like— I did like one blog post, and I was like, oh, this typing, I can't do it. I did that probably 2000, like when I was in college, like 2012, 2011. So no, I don't. I hadn't had any side hustle, I think, aspirations when I started.

Well, I think that's so funny because yes, that's how my podcast started because I was trying to do the blog thing and I was like, uh-uh, this is too much typing. This is too much. Like, this is just too much. This is what I felt like. It was too much. So I love to hear that. So what is the dream for Leah Lavon when it comes to like you YouTube and where you're going with this, is this like just a passion project or is this something that you're looking forward to, to replace what you do as your full-time thing? Or, or is it something that you're just, like I said, like your, your baby?

I don't ever think, and I've always said this, but I mean, life can change, but I don't ever think it's going to replace my full-time thing. So real time, real life me is a recruiter. So I work in talent acquisition and I go to colleges back when the world was open, and I would recruit on engineering positions. So I love that. I love interacting with students. I love giving people jobs and stuff like that. So I don't think I'll ever stop doing this, but it does become challenging as it's grown to do both. I think it'll always be my baby. And I think that's the— the reason I love it so much now is I have no obligations for it. So a lot of full-time YouTubers have to— you have to hustle. You have to always do this. You got to get the sponsorships. You got to make sure your AdSense is right. You're really relying on this, so you sometimes burn out, I feel like. Whereas me, I do kind of get burnt out working full-time, but I can always, okay, take a step back from, you know, my channel— or not take a step back from my channel, but take a step back from posting as much, take it down to 2 times a week if I need to. I was originally doing 3 to 4, which was— I don't know how— look, I don't know how I did that, but I've taken it down to 2, which works for me and my full-time schedule. So it just makes me happy. I think when it— when I put like a job on it or a requirement on it, I would for some reason, I think I'll have less fun doing it. I don't know. It's weird.

Well, I kind of feel what you mean. I felt like I've been there too with the podcast. When I first started, I was doing a podcast every single week. And it's a little bit different than a YouTube channel because I'm most of the time talking to other people. And they're in different environments. So it's a lot of editing. There's a lot of coordinating of time. And girl, I'm like, one, I have chronic illness. I need to sleep.

Mm-hmm.

Two, I run a business. Like the podcast is just the side thing. Like it might funnel people, but it's really just like a thing to share with everybody from a standpoint of like women being creative and sharing what they love to do with the world while being a woman, period, in the world. So yeah, I can't imagine working a full-time job and trying to do something, especially video related, 3, 4 times a week. I don't know how you did that either. I don't even—

I do not know. It was a lot of 3 AM sleeping and getting up to go to work at like 6 AM. It was tough. Wow, wow.

So along this journey of like juggling these two things, one is like a really fun place, and you also sound like you really enjoy your recruitment job. Do you find that there are challenges with handling that, or, you know, maybe fears that come up while you're doing both things?

I think the challenge mainly is making sure, one, I don't, I don't get burnt out at either of the two things. So like, I'm good at keeping my work-life balance, like logging off. It was tough when I was traveling a lot, but I'm good now that I'm not the vlogging off at 5, and then I put my Leah Lavon hat on that I like to call it at like 5:30, and then I'm working from 5:30 9:30 to 9:00. So I think at the end of the day, it was challenging getting that schedule aligned because when I first started it, it was never this thing. It was never, you know, it was just willy-nilly and, oh, my first video did okay. So this, this is going, this is going a good way. So I think the other challenge too is the first few years really was about finding my way around the algorithm, finding my way around the analytics and knowing what day to post. So the first few years is about experimentation. Does Monday, Wednesdays work? Do Tuesday, Thursdays work, do Sunday's work. I think 4 years deep, I know my days, I know my audience, I know when they're on, I have the sense of how to use Instagram with my YouTube. So I think the challenges now would only come if I applied more pressure to my YouTube. So if I started doing more sponsorships— I do it enough sponsorships right now to just level me out now. But if I think I put more on my plate with, with sponsorships, with posting more, with, you know all that, I think then there'll be some challenges. But right now I'm in a, I'm in a pretty non-challenging place.

That's awesome. That is so— that, girl, that is like gold money right there. I'm just saying, especially if you're working full-time and doing such a— because I mean, I can only imagine, I mean, the time it takes me to edit, you know, a podcast episode versus a video, there is a lot of time that comes in there. And to have things popping in and stuff, that's always the thing with YouTube. I'd be like I can't, I don't think I can do that. I don't think I can be that creative, stuff popping into a screen. Yeah, this is that. Uh-uh.

Oh yeah, no, no. And then it's also about like finding, because I'm uploading a video today that won't go live until tomorrow. I typically post today. We're recording this on a Monday, so I typically report, post today, like right now. But this weekend I was just sleepy, like I was just so tired, so I didn't edit anything, and it felt so good, but I felt so bad at the same time because I was like, there's not going to be a Monday video, so don't know what to tell them. But, but I, you know, I busted my tail in between now or logging off of work and now to get something so I would have something for tomorrow. So I think giving yourself that grace to be like, yeah, I'm just tired, like, and not feeling guilty about it. I think because I'm not full-time right now, I don't— like, it's like, it's still fun for me. Again, it's still like, you know, it's an income generator, but it's still— I'm still having fun with it.

Yeah, yeah, I love that. So when I first started watching your channel, I think it was like— I don't, I don't know, have you moved a couple of times? I feel like you've moved a couple of times since I've been following you on YouTube. And I'm like, I'm like, sometimes if it's been a minute since I didn't come back and I'm like, wait, when did that happen? Okay, she's somewhere else. I remember when you were taking— like when you first started, you were doing like in front of the stairs and And I think you had a roommate. And I just remember when I first started watching you, and I was like, oh, she's so good at this. But then my life changed. So then I was like, when I finally came back, I was like, where Leah at right now? So I wonder, do you have challenges in your life? Because I remember, I'm going back to what I was saying earlier, when I first started watching you, you were always talking about your weight. You were saying you were having a hard time with your weight. And I don't think I understood. Completely like where you were coming from because, you know, Keita is a curvy girl. I ain't got no issues with, you know, whatever. So I'm trying to lose it. So, and I remember listening to something, I think you were going on a cruise and you're like, girl, yeah, I'm so glad I gained weight. I was like, what is happening? I'm confused. I'm so confused. So I'm guessing this is probably like a health challenge or something that you've dealt with all your life. Do you mind talking about that a little bit?

Yeah, sure. So my very first few videos, probably 2016, the first probably 10, I was on a weight gain journey. I know it sounds so crazy, and even looking back on it, it sounds so crazy because that was like 25-year-old, 26-year-old me thing, and now I'm 31. So definitely grown since then. But yeah, I think all my life, I think especially growing up, and I grew up mainly in like an urban area, so urban area, I did, you know, the curves is it. The curves is it. You're in high school, you're middle school, guys passing you over. Because I'm just always like, well, I got a good personality, why are you guys not seeing this? Like, I'm so— oh my goodness, I know I'm built like a toothpick, but like, y'all see me for who I am. So I think it was something I always dealt with. I remember one time in class, somebody put a twig— they went outside, got a twig, got a piece of Play-Doh, put it on the head, set it in my seat. I was back from class was like coming back from like lunch or break or like whatever it was, and I came back and then this stick with the Play-Doh, it was sitting in my seat. And we just put it there because nobody can tell the difference between Talia and this stick.

So, oh my gosh, that was cruel.

That is so wrong. These were friends. These were— and of course I laughed back then, but it was like in my— in the inside I was like, I really wish I was like a little bit thicker. I mean, it was— I was probably you know, 18, couldn't crack 100 pounds. So it was very— and then my mom always telling me, it's gonna come, or like, it came later for me. Looking back at pictures of her, it's like, it never— like, you've always kind of had a body, so I'm confused. But no, I think in my early, mid, even early 20s, late mid-20s, it was like, well, I kind of want to, you know, I want to be bigger, I want to be thicker, I want to go on a journey. And then at this time too, YouTube had videos on people who were, you know, you have your weight loss journey, but I think it's a little less known because because nobody thinks about it. But there are people out there who do want to, like, gain weight. And gain weight either— I probably should have did it the smarter way of, you know, weights and all this. But I was trying to do it the gluttonous way, I guess, eating the wrong things and intaking of my calories. And I think I did that from probably 2016 to 2017. And then I realized doing it the gluttonous way only gives you the weight where you don't need it. And then it also, too, became about, like, just accepting, I was like, this is the body I've had for 20-something years. If I was meant to have the curves, I would have had the curves. People just gonna have to accept, like, I'm very thin. And I think even since then though, I've kind of just— as my mom said, it came with age. Like, later on, I kind of got— I'm not Kim Kardashian, but I'm my body. And I feel confident in it now, as opposed to at the start of my journey.

I love that you said that. That's so funny. Like, that's seriously a funny thing because, you know, for curvy ladies, and you You'd be watching, you'd be like, wait, what is happening? What is happening? You'd just be really worried, like, okay, okay, okay. But I love that— what I loved about that though, honestly, and the reason why I brought it up was because that you were so unapologetic about sharing your journey. Like, and I think as women, we kind of like, no matter what size you are, we have kind of like this feeling of like, we shouldn't tell people what we're dealing with, and it might be weird, and I don't want to. And I felt like you really embrace that, especially as a woman of color, because we don't really see that often. Yeah, you know, and, and it—

you—

if we see it, but it's not really talked about, if that makes sense. Like, it's not like, you know, we ain't gonna— we don't know what's happening, but it's the elephant in the room nobody's talking about.

Like, you know, so you get the Cardi B treatment or the something treatment and just go behind the scenes and get the shots, and then everybody's thick. Or Kylie Jenner, you're skinny and then you're not skinny. I was trying to do it the, the sharing way. Sharing, you know I'm not Kylie, I ain't got the money for the augmentation, so I'm just gonna eat all the Cheetos I can.

Oh my gosh, Cheetos. Oh my goodness, oh my goodness. So kind of getting back to like this journey of yours, like, do you feel like you've learned a lot about yourself like as a YouTuber? Like, are there a lot of things that you've kind of maybe would have taken a little bit longer had you not done the YouTube channel to learn about yourself? I think so.

I think so. My starting my channel was a two-parter. It was when I was going on my trip. But I think me staying with it was I was leaving a— I would call it relationship. That wasn't a bad relationship. It was just I was growing. And I needed to replace, I guess, the relationship with something to occupy my time. Because you can really— getting and leaving a relationship, you can really focus your time on it, focus your energy in thinking about it, replaying conversations through your mind. I think for me, the channel really became an outlet for me, not in the sense that I talked about my relationship, but it became a, well, I can't have time focusing on what went wrong in this relationship if I have to edit a video today to put up. Again, I think that's why I posted so frequently too in the early days was because I was trying to get through that situation. So I think it taught me a lot about, OK, well— and I found happiness in doing all of that too. So I thought, you know, a lot of times you think happiness comes from a mate or a partner, but it's sometimes about finding kind of that internal happiness. So I think I found something that I was really truly happy about, truly passionate about. So much so, of course, when the dude tries to come back around, I think he tried to come back around. I think if I hadn't had YouTube, I might have fallen into that trap. I might have been like, well, I mean, I don't have nothing else to do. But it's like, no, I have all the stuff to do. I don't have time for this. So I think it was really— a lot of my friends, too, will say this about me is that I really have grown in the last 4 years kind of as a person, kind of as a— I would say, like, doing YouTube has gotten me better at even my real job. I talk to people constantly at my real job. And again, going back to the fact that I'm introverted and shy, I think even though YouTube, I'm talking to a camera, I'm not really talking to anybody, I think it has still gotten me to a place where when I am talking to actual people, I'm confident in what I'm saying. I'm not reading from a script. I'm telling them about the company I work for and how great it is. And it feels really organic. So I think YouTube has really helped me hone in on kind of, you know, personal traits as well as professional traits in my real life.

So I think that's a huge thing that you just said because I feel like I talk, you know, I work with creative women and a lot of them are introverted. And honestly, Leah, I'm watching your channel, I don't think that at all. Like when you said that earlier in this conversation, I was like, she an introvert? Maybe she should take one of them personality tests one more time because I cannot, like, I'm like, I don't feel that at all. All, but okay. Like, so for all my introvert ladies listening, because there are several, like, what are some things that— first of all, because YouTube is so— I just can't, like, I can't imagine an introvert, like, who's really an introvert, is going to want to start a YouTube channel. Like, in my head, that does not connect. Like, a podcast I get, because you— nobody's seeing you. Like, nobody is trying to have a conversation other than yourself or the other person. That's it.

But YouTube How did that happen? I think you'd be surprised because I think a lot, like, talking into my, I guess, YouTube cohorts, I think you'd be surprised how many of us are. Because again, it is just majority of the time us talking to just the camera. So it's just me in my room talking to a camera, me editing by myself. I, I haven't ever done a meet and greet. So until the day I do it, like a meet and greet, I guess that'd be the one time where I get it to the test and I get my introvertness to the test. But for the most part, I don't have a lot of of interaction with people unless it's— I've seen people like in real life. So people who've seen my channels, who've met me in real life, they'll probably tell you how awkward I am. That'll be the real test. When people see me in real life, I never know what to do. I'm always like, how do I stand? Okay, you see me? Like, it's been at nail salons, it's been at airports, it's been at like places. And I'm just like, oh gosh, act normal. Then I'll walk away. I'm like, she totally thought I was a dweeb. Like, she really— where, like, this didn't go right. They always say I look shorter in person. I'm like, the camera adds height. Like, so I think I— you just be really surprised at how many of, like, I've talked to so many of us, and it's like, yeah, we're— we can turn it on for the camera and then go back and be like in our little hole editing by ourselves, doing everything else by ourselves. Like, never— even in my vlogs, you probably can tell too, because I'm like, it's always me talking to my dog or something like that. It's never another human, typically.

That It's so interesting, but your job is very, like, people-oriented. Like, you have to talk to people.

So— Yeah, I force myself to do that. So in college, I was an ambassador, so I gave tours to people. I always put myself in positions where I have to talk to people. So whether it be my real job, whether it be just anything, I just put myself in positions where it's, like, super awkward. Because my grandmother was like— even growing up, she was like, Talia, you got to be the— my grandmother's shy. My mom is extremely shy. She would try to put me up at the top at church to put all to read all the stuff. And I'm just like, but I'm not— I can't do it. We'll be reading from— so it's always been, and I've always put myself in positions to make myself uncomfortable, to like, even after I'm at a recruiting fair or career fair, I always go back to the hotel and I'm like, oh my God, did I do right? I shouldn't have said that. That was so corny when I said that. That joke was not even cool. Like, I'm always second-guessing what I said. Like, man, they're going to think— they're going to think— like, I'm trying to relate to them because I recruit like 18-year, 19, 20-year-olds.

So I'm like, man.

And they could tell I was like an older adult. Like, I was trying to be hip with them, but they knew. They knew.

Oh my gosh, you have me cracking up. I was just telling— this is a completely different note. I was just telling my husband, I was like, I think this year is the year I realized we are so old. Like, I'm talking to people who are like just in their early 20s, and I'd be like, what?

Why do I have—

why do I feel like I'm trying to change my voice and what I'm saying for them to really connect with what I'm saying? Looking at me like, no, that's not cool no more.

Like, what is that? Stop that in 2014. No.

Oh, that's so funny. Well, I am really— like, what I love about what you just said is that just like putting yourself in situations. I think I'm like that too. I'm not an introvert at all. I'm an extrovert. I love people. I am highly upset that 2020 COVID-19 has made me stay at home all day every day, like, you know, on purpose. Like, you know, like I'm really annoyed by that, but my husband who is an introvert, he's like, thank you, give it to me some more. So I hear it. But what I love about it is that I, when I'm feeling like I need to learn something new, or if there's something that I know I need to do, I have to make myself do it. So I have to say yes. I'm a very like person who likes to say, let your yes mean yes, let your no mean no. And if I'm going to do it, I'm going to try my best, you know, Side note, I have a chronic illness, so sometimes life happens. So— but for the most part, put yourself in a situation so you can grow. So for you, has there been any, like, life hurdles or chronic illnesses that you've dealt with or even supported someone who lives with chronic illness?

So no chronic illnesses. I do have severe asthma, which I've had forever, which really got worse towards the— it is always bad during the transition from fall to winter and from spring to summer. It's pretty bad. The coronavirus took us inwards, I was like, oh, I'm gonna have to be at home. Because when they told me that it makes your lungs feel like glass, I was like, okay, so we're not playing, we're not, we're not gonna do this. But any hurdles, I think, would be the constant change of kind of where I've been. As you stated at the beginning, I started in another house, I went to another house, and then I'm here, which who knows how long this is going to be for. I'm always changing, but it's just been the, the hurdle of maintaining a job and wanting to grow in my position. I started this channel when I was at a job that I really fully didn't love. So I mean, threefold: me starting my channel, I love hair, getting out of a relationship, and hated my job. So I transitioned to another job, which was in— I'm in North Carolina, the job I work at is in South Carolina, which for reference is about 30 minutes from, from where I am now. It's about an hour from where I was before. So it was when I— that transition between moving from the stair house, which I love the stair house, that was just such a pretty background. I just, I just miss that place. But transitioning to my space now was the hurdle of juggling my job, which was an hour 20 away from where I lived. And then I was just, I was like, I have to move away from this place. So I'm here now. And it was definitely messing up my YouTube because when I get home, I drove an hour 30. I'm not trying to edit no videos. So I have to make the sacrifice of, OK, I have to move closer to this— I live close to the state line now, as opposed to close to the other side of Charlotte. So I think that was just my one hurdle. And then also with just savings around that too. I was like, oh, I'm going to buy a house too. And my next move, I'm going to move into a house because I'm 30. You're supposed to have a house, right? You're supposed to— that's what they say you're supposed to do. You're supposed to be married, have a house, have all this stuff. And I think it was just the hurdle of, well, I'm not I'm not in a place where I can buy a house. So the challenge of, OK, I have to rent again, and just be stringent with my money, and making sure I'm saving, and not frivolously spending my YouTube money. So I think no real challenges, but it's just some definitely personal hurdles that have always been thrown at my YouTube channel, and my growth, and what I want to do. But I've been swinging those hurdles, hitting those balls with the rackets, whatever the saying is. I've been doing it.

I think so. Yeah, I can't tell whether or not that that's been a thing. I always feel like when you show up for us— and I say us because it really is 90,000 other people, by the way, that are watching you, the introvert, on YouTube. I feel like you're just really honest with what you're sharing and what you're looking to do. And how do you think this year really— obviously, there has been a lot. Going on this year.

Yeah.

There's been a lot going on this year. Like, COVID was just the tip of the iceberg. But how has this year either taught you how strong you are and how creative you are? Because I feel like this year has really tested us all to be either better versions of ourselves or worse versions of ourselves. So how has that been like for you?

I think it's definitely— It's definitely taught me to be a better version of myself. I think it's definitely taught me to pivot in terms of, okay, professionally pivoting from, I'm not going to career fairs. How do I still attract talent and I can't go to them? But then on my YouTube side, it's been about pivoting in the sense that, you know, with coronavirus and hair being majority made in China, like, okay, so what happens if— that just hit me where, what happens if the market did shut down and we weren't able to get most of our products? My channel is heavily dependent on crochet hair. So I think this year I brought a lot more lifestyle in and pivoting towards the lifestyle side, which ironically, I mean, it's, it's more— I'd say not beneficial, but more profitable actually. My, like, my actual revenue has gone up on my lifestyle videos, which don't attract as many views surprisingly as my crochet hair content. But I can make more money on a video that gets 3,000 views and it's lifestyle than I can on that gets 20,000 and it's hair. And I was like, wait a minute. Wait, what have I been doing this whole time? Like, I— like, because I was like, oh, my videos aren't performing as well because I'm pivoting and people want my hair stuff. So they're like upset and they're not watching as much. But then I was looking at the money and I was like, why didn't nobody tell me that the payment— because brands— because YouTube knows to put ads on lifestyle more than they do hair. They don't really know the audience for hair, even though I know it. And they could probably put a Cantu commercial or they could put something on there. But they don't know fully what to put. Lifestyle, they're like, oh, she's talking about a dog? Put that Pedigree commercial. Like, put like— so lifestyle, they really know. Like YouTube backend, my ad revenue, like the— you get paid cost per 1,000 views. So my, I guess, hair content, let's just say I make $3 for every 1,000 views. Well, I could make $20 for every 1,000 views on a lifestyle video. And I was like, I mean, and I have more fun making lifestyle videos. Really, crochet hair is like, you've seen, you know, I do the first day, I do like, I come in later. That's just normal. Like, it takes nothing out of my day to— I have the hair in, I'm not doing anything, I'm sitting in front of a camera and telling you, hey, this is, you know, it's going downhill. But, um, but with lifestyle, it's more artistic. I think it's fun. I think, you know, I don't care if my vlog only gets like 3,000 views. I'm like, I had fun doing it. So I, I pivoted in the sense that I know some people are not I'm not gonna, you know, be happy about it. You know, I've gotten to 90,000. A lot of those are for hair, but it's about like, I wanna make sure I'm doing stuff I love too. So I'm never stopping the hair, but I'm definitely incorporating more into my channel this year of just lifestyles and things I love and things I have control over. I have no control over the hair market, but I have control over how my day goes. So yeah.

You know, that's a really good point just in general for like any business. Like, you know, I think this year of us, you know, the things we say, I'm, I'm probably never gonna do that, right? I'm probably— that they can do that, but I'm gonna do this because that— and then 2020 happened, you're like, oh wait, maybe I should try that, maybe I should do that, right? And I think it's in a lot of good ways, it's kind of put us in a place to be more open-minded in the way of like what we do for our content on, on social media, on YouTube, on like everything, right? And so that's been in a really cool place. I think that a lot of ladies that I've talked to, you know, from the podcast, they're like, yeah, this year has been amazing. And they've also had that realization like, dog, I'm making more money right now doing this than I was doing something else. And why did this take so long? Because we was over here and we didn't, we didn't think we were, we didn't know. I think that's what it is. And sometimes we need like something to be like flip our role upside down. Thank you for Fresh Prince to, you know, tell you what you need to do. So that is really cool. What are some things that helps you like tool-wise for YouTube? So like for anybody who's thinking, maybe I want to start a YouTube channel, maybe I don't, how do I do that?

What do I need to do?

Do I need a camera?

Do I need a mic?

How do you make those videos? Like just like maybe the top 3 things that you think someone who might be wanting to do you two would need?

So definitely camera, but it doesn't have to be the most expensive camera. So I film on a Canon G7X Mark II, which is primarily a vlogging camera because it has a flip-up screen, not as expensive as some of your Canon bigger kind of beauty cameras like the T3i type series. So I think just a good camera. I started off on an iPad, surprisingly. iPhones are really good nowadays. This actually is what I shoot a lot of my vlogs on too, because you don't want to be— I don't— I'm still nervous in public, so I won't— it's easier to carry my phone around to vlog than it is an actual camera. So the— my iPhone is 4K, so it shoots sometimes even crisper than most of my— the cameras out there these days. Two, I have my— I have my mic in front of me because it's always in front of me. This is something I just started using this year though. So surprisingly enough, I was not using a mic, and I started in maybe September, so really a few months ago, and it changed the whole game for me. Like, I look at the last 4 years and I'm like, dang it, I was not using a camera. I mean, I wasn't using a microphone. So I was out here just like, ugh. It was just so game-changing. So it's just a simple little lapel mic, $14, and I attach it to me. And so because your camera is picking up all the audio— I got a dog, so that's really what made me realize, oh, it's picking up my dog. Because I used to just be in here, and I thought I was doing the best I could. But really, it just got better with the mic. And then I think the third thing is I'm very cheap over here. I'm very like, you You would really think I had a whole production, but I don't. I'm trying to think of the other equipment. I don't use a light. I use natural light for all my videos. So right now I have just my bedroom light on, but I don't have like the ring lights and stuff that people have. My third thing is my iPad. My iPad is how I edit. So I don't edit on a computer. I have like this crappy, like $100 computer that I got 4 years ago, which works for things like this and Zoom, but I edit on my iPad. So I think just iPad, mini cheap purchase, use it for regular iPad things but also editing all my videos. So just some, something to edit on it. Again, you don't have to go out and spend the money on a MacBook Pro to get Final Cut Pro or iMovie or whatever it is. I think you can get to a substantial amount of subscribers just using, again, things around the house. I didn't get my first camera until 5 months, 4 or 5 months of doing YouTube. So I didn't have anything really, and I got to a good enough number, I think.

Yeah. I'm like, yeah, I mean, yes, Leah. I'm like, you're almost at 100K at this point. And I feel like when I first started following you, you were already at like 25K or something. And I was just like, this is cool. I totally get— I mean, the numbers don't lie. You have to have some kind of like you have to have the personality that people really like and enjoy. And I think just being true to yourself and like how you show up. I think one of the things I always wonder, and I always wonder and always tell people, so like people ask me what other podcasts do I listen to? And I'm like, honestly, I listen to very few on purpose because I don't want to one, have in my head that, oh, so-and-so does it this way and I should do it that way because they have like, you know, twice the amount of people listening to them. And I don't want to go down that rabbit hole because that definitely will happen. And they—

like, it will happen.

So like, for me, it's very strategic who I listen to. More or less, most likely they've been on my show. So like, outside of that, I'm like, mm, I don't know. So is that kind of like something you do too? Like, to like, you know, keep your mind from being like— what do I like to say— the imposter syndrome? Like, it's like that thing for being a YouTuber?

I think for me, so I used to, again, always watch YouTube before I became one. I think it's funny that I stopped watching a lot of the people that I used to as soon as I became one. I was like, I love them so much. And then it's like, oh, I never watched them again. But I think it was for that reason of I don't want to copy her. Like, I loved YouTuber Tayce Pink beforehand. But then as soon as I started making content, I didn't want to watch her as much because I was like, I'm going to become her. Like, I looked up to her. So the people people I watch on YouTube now are people typically not even in my niche. Like, they're not even— like, they're just so off from me, but I'm watching them sometimes. I do like watching vlogs more now since I'm not traditionally a vlogger to get my, like, B-roll footage to understand kind of the concepts of that. But in my crochet hair niche, in my hair niche, it's like, I don't want to be them. And also, I don't want my opinions to rub off. Like, I don't want to watch their review and be like, well, maybe I feel that same way about this hair. So it's a lot of, of course, not watching people, It's always like, well, dang, I love them so much. Still supporting them on Instagram and everything else, but I don't watch them as much, no.

OK, so last question. What is the biggest mindset shift you've had to embrace or cultivate or work on or change while running— one, having a full-time job, having a YouTube business, because it really is a business. It's creative, but having that. And all the things that you feel in general as a woman doing this? What has been that thing?

I think for me— and we kind of talked about this off air right before we got on— but was my name. My name, my full name, my real name is Talia. But my channel name was Leah. And I started that, or I did that initially, because I was like, well, I can't have anybody from work to find me. And what if this is a flop? People from high school and college are going to know. And it's going to be embarrassing. Let me just do it like just my first name or half of my first name and my middle name. And I think through growing, I've realized, regrettably, sometimes I wish I had done Talia or Talia LaVon or some variation of that. But two, I feel like I've had to shift from I'm not gonna— nobody's gonna know anything about me outside of this. And I think over the years I've opened up more. So I think when you first get into this side business or whatever, whatever it is, I think even bloggers sometimes get into that syndrome where it's like, how much do I share? It's like a little bit of pouring and a little bit of pouring until you kind of just say, hey, I'm just going raw and open. I'm going to be who I am. So I think over the last year, like, even my friends who watch my content, like, the first few videos were like, you're just like a newscaster. It's not you. And it just took years— not even, like, months— years, really, of, like, even more, like, pouring out and being myself and being authentic and being truly me. I think 4 years ago, would I have ever thought that I would share half the stuff I share on here? I thought I was just talking about hair, and that's it. All they're going to know is about hair. And now, you know my family. You know I'm open about dating. I'm open about, like, everything more now. And I think even more probably in the future. You know, there's still stuff that's off limits. But then I've gotten, you know, pretty comfortable about sharing, like, my journey as a woman, things I feel, you know, passionate about, financial success or failures and all that. I've gotten more open about that. About that throughout my journey. I think that's something that I think anybody needs to go into. Just find your level of comfort, and then you're probably going to break that down years later. You're going to be like, I'm never talking about this. And then 2 years later, you know, something— you'll be like, well, here I am talking about this. I never thought I would bring this up, but here's my journey, and here's this. And yeah.

I think that's like a really cool thing to hear, because I do think we all at the very beginning get in our head. Thinking, I don't want nobody from my job, all that kind of stuff. And I mean, I've had that myself too when I'm like talking about like past life, like before my own business, before podcasts. And I'm thinking about, man, I'm telling people all kinds of stuff about that world. And I don't know if they want to hear that, but it's out there now. It's out there. So I do love that it's like embrace your story and just feel comfortable. Comfortable where you are. Like, you know, just do you, and that's cool. Well, thank you so much for being on the show, and I'm so thankful. Can you tell us where everybody can find you on all the things?

Yeah, I am on YouTube at Leah Lavon. I am on Instagram at Leah Lavon 89. For some reason could not get rid of that 89. Somebody was Leah Lavon. And I guess my— I'm not that big on other social media, but now I'm on Clubhouse at Leah Lavon. So now I feel like I'm on another app, girl.

So This is a complete— anybody is listening to this far at the end of the episode, let me tell you something. I have had so many people reach out to me about Clubhouse. Are you on it, Nikita? You need to be on it. Why aren't you on it? I'm like, I have an Android phone. Like, I do. I'm like, I have an Android phone and I have an iPad that was the first iPad, I guess, in history or something, and I can't get the update for it. So here I am for the last month. And my husband's like, do you really need an iPhone? I said yes, because this is like one of those breaking, like, you know, trending and new things that I do not think is going to go away, like Snapchat. Like, this is going to be like the thing. And I'm like, I'm sorry, Apple, but I don't really care for their products because they do it on purpose so that you have to buy all this stuff. But like, seriously, I'm like, oh, and I'm literally— when I say every single day I get an invite every single day. And I'm like, really?

You're a podcaster, so it's like perfect for you.

I know, I know, I know, girl. I know. I— trust me, I know. So, well, I'll be having an iPhone soon. So anyway, thank you so much for being on. This was fun, and I really appreciate you taking time.

Well, thank you for having me. This was fun.

All right, ladies, that is a wrap. I hope you enjoyed hearing about Leah's journey on YouTube and in her own life personally and creatively. And I hope that you learn what I so appreciate about her journey is that she is embracing this side hustle to find more joy and accomplish some of the goals that she's looking forward to in life, financially, personally, emotionally, And it's okay. You know, a lot of times on the show we talk about, you know, going from the 9-to-5 into making your, your side hustle your main gig. And if that is not what you want, you don't have to do that. You can do whatever it is that fits into your world, whatever success looks like for you, especially when it comes to running a business. And that is a part of what I so enjoyed about this episode, because Leah is is so confident in what she's doing and giving herself the grace to say, you know what, I'm going to put my foot on the brakes when I need to. And I want to keep this fun. I want to keep it making me some coins, some money on the side, but I'm really good and happy where I am and what I'm doing in my main life, like what I'm doing for work. So whatever this looks like for you, if this is encouraging you to maybe take some of the pressure off of what a side hustle might look like for you, I I hope it does that. I hope it empowers you to make decisions based on what works for you in your life. And I hope you go check out Leah because I have loved, loved following her journey. It continues to grow. She has a new puppy and that has been so fun to watch and just seeing her grow and her content and what is important to her. So check her out on YouTube. Go to my show notes at sheescrafted.com to learn more about her to connect. All right, as always, remember that yes, you are crafted to thrive.