This entrepreneur named Charlie is really something. He’s from California, and he made a whole lot of money on YouTube—like $200K a month! Not only did he have six different channels, but he also used his introverted personality to make it big online. Find out how he got started and what he thinks all entrepreneurs should know.
The Journey Begins
Persistence, adaptability, and learning from every possible source are all themes in Charlie’s story. For months on end he made no money and tried out photography, video, print modelling, acting, a clothing brand, marketing agency, real estate, mortgages and everything else under the sun as side hustles. He wasn’t particularly successful at any of these ventures either, but he kept his head down and hustled through it all.
Breaking Through
Charlie’s YouTube channel started to become popular in 2020. He saw that he could make $750 in one day from AdSense. This was when he knew how much money he could make from YouTube. He educated himself on everything there was to know about YouTube, with a focus on content creation and monetization. He took almost every day to make videos and thus, his subscribers began to increase on his main ‘Charlie Chang’ channel, where he now has 1.1 million of them.
Monetization Strategy
Charlie makes money in a lot of ways:
- He gets 50-55% of his money from Affiliate Marketing.
- Brand Sponsorships bring in 20-25%.
- AdSense makes up the last 20-25%.
Growing Multiple Channels
Apart from his main channel, Charlie has a few other YouTube channels:
- StartUp Wise – 50.1k Subscribers (326 videos)
- The Charlie Chang Show – 3.63k Subscribers (247 videos)
- My First Website – 785 Subscribers (47 videos)
- Charlie Chang – 1.13M Subscribers (682 videos)
- The Penthouse – 72 Subscribers (1 video)
- Paired Recruiting – 142 Subscribers (65 videos)
Charlie has also started a staffing business and wants to grow it and maybe get bought out by a bigger company.
Gaining Mastery over YouTube
Charlie emphasizes that getting good at YouTube took him about one to two years. He attributes his success to:
- Presenting Information: In a relatable and understandable way, crucial for holding the viewer’s attention.
- Improving Production Quality: Continuously enhancing camera work, audio, and storytelling.
- Pivoting Content: Adapting to trends, such as focusing on crypto content when it was booming.
Key to Viral Content
Charlie says that in order to have a chance at going viral, you should:
- Make content that can be searched for – For example, one thing people search for is “how to invest in stocks.”
- Use interesting titles and thumbnails – His video called “Asking Coachella VIPs what they do for a living” did really well. He took a cool event and made great pictures/storytelling around it.
Tools and Team
Charlie uses these tools:
- ClickUp – for content planning
- Frame.io – for uploading and revising footage
- Slack – for team communication
- Hubstaff – for time tracking
He also highly depends on foreign workers, whom he hires through Upwork, Fiverr, or his own staffing company called ‘Paired.’ Because of the great prices he has been able to get for hiring overseas staff, his team – which includes project managers and video editors and graphic designers, etc. – only costs him about $20-25K per month.
Financial Overview
There are downsides to running a media business with only 26 people on staff, but being smart about how you use your resources helps keep costs in check. Using his staffing company, Paired, to make hires is one way he finds top-notch employees who are also affordable.
Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
Charlie has suggested a few things for new entrepreneurs to do:
- Get around the right people and content so you almost can’t help but believe in your potential.
- Learn skills that are in high demand and can be monetized within months, especially skills that build on each other.
- Start businesses that sell services, which usually need little start-up cash.
If you get analysis paralysis, make choices quickly and learn from screwing up. You can also grow and innovate by changing your environment or schedule.
Daily Routine and Lifestyle
Charlie usually wakes up pretty early and does this thing where he goes to the gym and then works out from about 5:30 or 6:30 A. M. His job takes up anywhere from 30 to 50 hours of his week.
Final Thoughts
Charlie’s journey shows us how important it is to create our own identity in this world. We shouldn’t just do what we think we are supposed to do. If you feel like you don’t fit in, find some other people who feel the same way and put yourselves in an environment where you can thrive as entrepreneurs.
If you take Charlie’s advice, you could also make millions of dollars and become really influential online.