Anybody have a business model/mentor

[Purple Penguin]

We plan to some extent, and wing the rest. We have five kids, and I learned early on after about the second one that things don't always go according to plan with children. So for the most part we go in with a general idea and the rest we just swing by the strings of our pants. Some time the best content comes from just letting the kids be themselves.

I had two plans when we started. The first was a spreadsheet with startup and operating financials so I could keep track of startup costing and then control the operating expenses. The second part was a marketing plan that outlined what steps to take to market videos and the channel. This includes a social media strategy, Adwords strategy, etc. Then there was a branding outline that specified the logo, tagline, color schemes, message we want to get across.

Another key component was what I would call a 'best practices plan'. This is a combination of detail research on other successful channels, an analysis of their video strategies, seo, promotions, topics, etc. This outlines the types of videos we should do, and when to do them, to have the best chances of success. One key decision that came out of this was not to launch with giant surprise egg videos. Apart from one particular (now big) channel, most startup channels that did their giant egg videos too soon flopped on those videos as they did not have enough channel authority for YT to place those videos in suggested. We held off until we had several thousand subscribers, and the giant egg videos were able to get much better traction. There were several other similar items like that I identified and planned for.

If I format and print and bind all those together, they would make up the business plan. Of course some sections are missing, as I did not want to spend weeks and months planning for something that might have flopped. There's a certain energy to rolling your sleeves up and just doing stuff, that too much planning can stiffen.

Mentor wise? I find several past/older members of this board extremely helpful, a few inspirational.

We tried the giant surprise eggs videos way too early on our first channel. They kind of flopped (but we also were too new and still learning the basics of editing and what not. Maybe we tried a little too early still on this channel, because while some of ours aren't doing bad, they are nowhere near the type of success you are getting.

By the way our kids watched your Dory Surprise egg and loved it. The fish tank was an awesome idea!

 

[Sunsbookishgamesx]

I think its best to spend as you grow

 

[KiddieToysReview]

We plan to some extent, and wing the rest. We have five kids, and I learned early on after about the second one that things don't always go according to plan with children. So for the most part we go in with a general idea and the rest we just swing by the strings of our pants. Some time the best content comes from just letting the kids be themselves.


We tried the giant surprise eggs videos way too early on our first channel. They kind of flopped (but we also were too new and still learning the basics of editing and what not. Maybe we tried a little too early still on this channel, because while some of ours aren't doing bad, they are nowhere near the type of success you are getting.

By the way our kids watched your Dory Surprise egg and loved it. The fish tank was an awesome idea!

Thanks! The tank was Ely's idea, she always wanted fish; originally I wanted to fill it with water and take it out of the egg full, but there was no way to lift it for the kids just too heavy, but would have made for a great bloopers video if we tried though.

You can't predict what would take off and what would not. Just have to try many things and see what hits and what doesn't. I think the key is to scrap what's not hitting and run with what is, and to always keep trying, perhaps 2-4 different things each month.

 

[Purple Penguin]

Thanks! The tank was Ely's idea, she always wanted fish; originally I wanted to fill it with water and take it out of the egg full, but there was no way to lift it for the kids just too heavy, but would have made for a great bloopers video if we tried though.

You can't predict what would take off and what would not. Just have to try many things and see what hits and what doesn't. I think the key is to scrap what's not hitting and run with what is, and to always keep trying, perhaps 2-4 different things each month.

you are right about that! Our Elmo Eats the alphabet video was doing nothing for months, and one day Youtube picked it up and we started getting views out of the blue. Some of our other videos go in bits and spurts.

Taking a full fish tank out of an egg would have definitely made for a good bloopers video,

 

[k13lock]

Appreciate the responses everyone.

One immediate question. If someone has a video that thinks can go viral, its best to wait until the channel starts to catch steam before posting it? Have a few that should be punching far beyond what they are at

Obviously my lack of consistency is what is hurting atm

 

[PictureFIT]

Appreciate the responses everyone.

One immediate question. If someone has a video that thinks can go viral, its best to wait until the channel starts to catch steam before posting it? Have a few that should be punching far beyond what they are at

Obviously my lack of consistency is what is hurting atm

Thing is, EVERYONE thinks their video will go viral. 99.99% of the time it doesn't. Just post it.

On the topic at hand, yes, people recommend setting a business plan and I agree to an extent. Honestly, I didn't go into this with a business plan because I was busy organizing a full-fledged business already. This was something I did on the side and let it grow. I just made sure I did everything I can to make it grow. The only difference between you and me is that I *did not* spend any money on it (other than necessities for video making). You should never dump any financial burden into a project unless you know you can guarantee you at least break even. Just not worth it if you don't.

 

[Spolt]

Tai Lopez

 

[KiddieToysReview]

Appreciate the responses everyone.

One immediate question. If someone has a video that thinks can go viral, its best to wait until the channel starts to catch steam before posting it? Have a few that should be punching far beyond what they are at

Obviously my lack of consistency is what is hurting atm

I would recommend to wait until you have built up some channel authority. If you release your best work when no one is watching, well, no one will see it.